Azshara fell silent after witnessing the power displayed by Sargeras, neither agreeing nor refusing.
She needed some time to think; she wouldn't make a decision lightly.
After a long while, she sensed a familiar aura and knew without turning that it was her Head Handmaiden, Vashj.
Only females could serve in the palace, and they had to be night elf females.
Their talent in arcane magic had to be prodigious, their beauty had to be striking, and their loyalty had to be a fervent devotion to her. Only then would they have a slight chance to serve her.
Yes, it was to serve.
A genius in arcane magic could only be a maid here; that was Azshara's rule.
Although it sounded absurd, it was the truth.
"Speak."
Concise and clear, even politeness was omitted.
Vashj, before she became a naga, was truly beautiful, with magical patterns etched on her violet jade skin, only a genius proficient in arcane could condense such an imprint.
A mage with a magic imprint could defeat ten mages without one; besides being aesthetically pleasing, it had more important practical uses.
She lowered her head, looking at her ten violet toes, plump and round like green onions, neat and smooth like crescent moons.
"Your Majesty, Xavius requests an audience."
She didn't state the reason, but Vashj somewhat guessed it had to do with communicating with demons.
She herself felt nothing about the matter; she merely needed to follow the queen's guidance, for whatever the queen said was correct.
It was almost like a hypnotic, brainwashed script, the appearance of a devout believer with fervent faith.
"I understand. Let him in."
"As you wish, my queen."
As Vashj prepared to leave, she suddenly paused, seemingly sensing an unusual imprint, and momentarily became dazed.
Azshara raised an eyebrow. She liked perfection and disliked handmaidens making mistakes in front of her. If it were anyone else, they would have likely been thrown into the Well of Eternity, torn apart by the raging energy, becoming part of the well water.
But this was her most beloved Head Handmaiden. Before this, she had originally wanted the Moon Priestess Tyrande to serve her, but that ungrateful wretch actually refused!
This displeased her greatly, and she wanted to eliminate her. The queen disliked being refused!
However, when she tried to use arcane to imprison the other party, she found that the protection of elune, the Moon Goddess, blocked her spell.
A significant portion of the night elves believed in elune, the Moon Goddess, and even followed the demigod Cenarius to learn the way of nature.
The power of wild nature was not inferior to arcane, but due to their fervent worship of queen Azshara, many night elves preferred to learn magic.
Perhaps wary of elune, Azshara spared the priestess, but she didn't show much favor to the so-called Sisters of elune, driving them to areas far from the capital.
Don't they like nature and being close to nature?
Then go live in the mountains.
"My dear Vashj, you don't look well. Is that the power of the magic tattoo imprint? Hehe, have you set your sights on a man?"
Azshara felt a hint of anger. A handmaiden should dutifully serve her for her entire life; seeking a mate was absolutely forbidden.
After her daze, Vashj immediately knelt, not panicking. As Head Handmaiden, she knew the queen's temperament all too well.
She had served the queen for thousands of years and prided herself on understanding her mistress' character.
"I don't remember why, I only remember the message brought back by the imprint was that you asked me to find a man. He seems to have arrived, not near Zin-Azshari, but in the distant southern end. The exact location is still unclear."
Imprint?
Man?
Azshara was momentarily taken aback, but her exquisitely perfect, flawless face quickly regained its haughty elegance.
She sat somewhat languidly on a chaise lounge by the terrace, her jade hand, adorned with rings inlaid with expensive magic orbs, gently rising.
The bottle of Shadowberry Wine on the table automatically floated up, pouring the dark red liquid into a transparent, crystalline wine glass.
This wine glass was made from deep-sea coral combined with rare materials and magically processed. It had flowing magic, was enchanted with dust-repelling and strengthening properties, and also had a small mana-gathering effect.
Regular use of this wine glass could even increase one's mana capacity, a rarity even among Highborne nobles.
Azshara did want a mate, but she didn't like the males among the night elves; their aesthetics didn't match hers.
As for what kind of man she wanted, perhaps even she couldn't clearly say.
Powerful? That was certainly required; even if he wasn't stronger than her, he absolutely couldn't be weak.
Handsome? This was also a must; how could a noble queen become a mate to an ugly creature?
Although Azeroth was somewhat fantastical and lacked reproductive isolation, this didn't mean everyone was indiscriminate.
On the contrary, picky people would be especially picky.
five slender yet full fingers picked up the wine glass, lightly touching her plump lips, savoring the taste of the flowing wine.
Vashj remained kneeling on the smooth, clean floor, her posture unwavering, still appearing humble and submissive, yet naturally so.
"I don't recall giving such an order, Vashj. Can you give me a reasonable explanation?"
Azshara's gentle voice sent shivers down one's spine, for the gentler she became, the closer she was to throwing someone into the Well of Eternity for execution.
The more gentle she was, the more cautious one needed to be.
Fortunately, Vashj was also well-versed in various magical knowledge and had a close relationship with Grand Magister Elisande.
Elisande was also one of the few mages who studied astrology, a knowledge even more obscure and difficult to understand than arcane, similar to the power of elune, but more like time!
Yes, time magic.
A forbidden magic. Everyone knew of time's existence, flowing by every minute and second.
But this time could not be controlled; even queen Azshara had little involvement with it.
Yet, Elisande could, and had quite a bit of research, capable of accurate predictions, even helping the Kaldorei Empire avoid many risks and losses.
For example, ancient Titan facilities, imprisoned Old Gods, and the dragon Isles, among others.
"Respected queen, my imprint responded, and it was indeed your command. Please check."
Vashj knew that rebuttal was ineffective, and deception was a dead end.
An imprint was like chastity; it couldn't be casually shown to others.
Which girl would joke about chastity?
Oh, you mean a harlot? Then it doesn't matter.
Azshara hesitated for a moment, extended her jade hand, and cast a spell.
Following the message transmitted back by the imprint, she was slightly bewildered for a moment; it indeed contained the message of Vashj accepting her command.
Without hesitation, she knew someone could resolve her confusion.
"Go tell Elisande to come here immediately!"
Immediately, this meant extreme urgency!