Maiev Shadowsong—the future legendary leader of the Wardens and one of the most elite combatants of the Night Elves—would eventually garner a fair share of controversial reviews due to her fiery and obsessive personality.
But that was all in the distant future. For now, Maiev was merely one of the many priestesses within the Sisterhood of Elune.
Because of her efficiency and undeniable leadership talent, Maiev held high prestige among a specific faction within the Sisterhood. Many considered her the most likely candidate to succeed the current High Priestess.
However, Andreas knew that Maiev, the "favorite" for the position among most priestesses, would ultimately be defeated by the "out-of-nowhere" candidate, Tyrande Whisperwind.
It couldn't be helped; after all, the Moon Goddess Elune herself would personally descend an oracle to designate Tyrande.
As a faith-based system centered entirely around Elune, the current High Priestess Dejahna, even if she had doubts, could never go against the will of the Goddess.
Maiev did not join the other priestesses in "escorting" the two to the main hall. Shandris watched with confusion as Maiev turned and leapt onto the outer wall of the temple.
"Is Priestess Maiev not coming with us to meet the High Priestess?"
Maiev, who was not yet clad in her iconic plate armor and helm, shot a glance back at Shandris before vanishing from everyone's sight without a word.
Andreas twitched his lips and smirked. "She's likely going to clean up our trail. This priestess lady looks a bit different from the 'clergy' I'm used to."
One of the accompanying priestesses explained softly, "Priestess Maiev is responsible for leading the combat priestess units in the Sisterhood. Their style of operation is indeed different from that of ordinary missionary priestesses."
...
It was unclear exactly what Maiev did, but by the time Andreas, Shandris, and the others arrived at the main sanctuary of the Temple of Shimmering Moonvessel, the noise outside the temple had gradually subsided.
On the way to the main hall, a massive statue nearly ten meters tall first presented itself to Andreas.
The statue depicted a female Night Elf with both hands raised high in a moon-cradling gesture. Her face, tilted toward the heavens, was somewhat blurred. She wore an outfit similar to the long priestess gowns, though more minimalist and elegant in its decoration.
At the foot of the statue was a small lake radiating a faint blue glow. Gentle energy rose from the water's surface like mist, the soft light illuminating the lower half of the statue's flowing robes.
As Andreas looked at the statue, a look of realization dawned in his eyes.
So this is what Elune looks like in the hearts of the Night Elves. Though, are you all so certain she takes the form of a Night Elf?
Andreas had once heard a theory in his past life.
As one of the few true deities of Azeroth, if Elune were to coalesce into a physical form in the material world, she would likely choose an indigenous species of the planet.
However, an awkward situation arose: Night Elves were not the original indigenous species of Azeroth—their predecessors, the Trolls, were.
In other words, ignoring whether the Night Elves could accept it, Elune was more likely to manifest as a female Troll...
Just as Andreas' thoughts were wandering into wild territory, a light chuckle from an unknown source echoed directly in his mind.
"Hehe~ Do you really think so?"
Andreas jumped in shock. "Who!?"
His sudden bristling and frantic searching startled the surrounding priestesses.
Shandris patted her friend's shoulder in confusion. "Andreas?"
Andreas turned his head, looking at the bewildered priestesses in astonishment. "Did you... did you hear someone talking?"
Everyone, including Shandris, gave him a strange look.
"No."
Shandris placed her right hand, glowing with a faint silver light, on Andreas' head. After a brief check, she frowned and asked worriedly, "Your spirit is a bit frantic, but there's no sign of mental derangement. What exactly happened?"
"No..."
Cold sweat broke out on Andreas' forehead. He wiped his face and said with feigned ease, "It's nothing. Probably a side effect of the head trauma and memory loss. I think I'm having auditory hallucinations."
A priestess who appeared to be the oldest and most composed looked at him with pity, saying kindly, "You two must have suffered a great deal on your journey. Please hold on just a bit longer; the High Priestess will soothe the trauma in your hearts."
"I hope so..."
Andreas looked up at the statue in the middle of the small lake. If I told them that an entity suspected to be Elune just spoke to me directly, I wonder if these devout priestesses would fall into an immediate crisis of faith.
...
The official organization responsible for managing the faith of Elune was the Sisterhood of Elune. From the name alone, one could deduce the demographic of its personnel.
Every single priestess was female.
The current leader of the Sisterhood was named Dejahna. Having come from an era of peace, her style was more than steady but lacked decisiveness.
Faced with the massive invasion of the Burning Legion and the overbearing attitude of the Highborne, High Priestess Dejahna's approach leaned toward conservatism. She wanted to resolve the friction between the Highborne and the commoners through peaceful dialogue as much as possible.
In a time of peace, this approach might be effective, albeit slow, but its advantage was that it was safe and controllable. And for the near-immortal Night Elves with the Well of Eternity, time was a cheap resource.
But now, with the enemy host at the gates and countless kin dying every day at the hands of demons, such a conciliatory approach was no longer appropriate. This had caused quite a bit of grumbling against the High Priestess within the Sisterhood.
Though they didn't say it openly, most priestesses hoped for a more courageous sister to take over the leadership and lead them in a resolute resistance against the Burning Legion.
This was exactly why Maiev, as the leader of the combat priestesses, held such immense prestige.
High Priestess Dejahna was a gentle elder. Although the racial traits of the Night Elves meant her beautiful face showed no signs of aging, the aura refined by the ages allowed one to vaguely sense the vast span of time she had lived through.
"Thank you, sisters. Please leave me and our two guests a bit of private space."
After the other priestesses bowed respectfully and withdrew, Dejahna's eyes, glowing with a soft silver light, shifted between Shandris and Andreas.
The young Shandris did not see the deeper meaning in the High Priestess' eyes. She first stepped forward to report her purpose.
Dejahna did not interrupt her. She listened silently with a warm, maternal smile to the report of the battlefield's status. However, her attention gradually shifted from Shandris to Andreas, who stood there in a daze, silent and staring.
Ever since entering the inner sanctum of this Great Temple—heralded as the place closest to Elune—the vague voices Andreas had been hearing intermittently were suddenly amplified.
Perhaps, just as the soul of Azeroth requires a speaker, the words of a true goddess were difficult for mortals to comprehend.
Andreas' mind was flooded with countless disorganized whispers and murmurs. For a moment, he even feared he had fallen into a trap set by the Old Gods, and that the clear, laughing sentence from before was merely a fleeting illusion.
"Ugh!"
Andreas finally couldn't endure the throbbing pressure in his brain. Overwhelmed by the massive influx of information, he clutched his head in agony, his body beginning to sway involuntarily.
Just as Andreas was about to collapse, High Priestess Dejahna reached out in time to catch him. Only then did Shandris notice that her companion was in an abnormal state.
"High Priestess? Andreas, he's..."
Dejahna waved her hand with a serious expression, cutting off Shandris' worried inquiry. She looked deeply at the half-conscious Andreas. Those eyes, flickering with a faint golden light as he drifted off, left a profound impression on her.
"Elune be praised... so it is him..."