Chương 21: Chapter 20

"… and because we live long lives, we have the natural inclination to not rush things. This leads to apathy and stagnation. We, by nature, tend to push things forward, thinking we can always do them tomorrow or next week, when we really should be striving for constant improvement and bettering ourselves. That is why sloth and stagnation are such sins in the eyes of the Light, and why we try to instill the spirit of striving to your all." Selessa preached in front of the congregation.

She was standing just in front of and below the large statue in the main temple of Silvermoon, while thousands of believers were hanging on her every word.

"We have been too comfortable, for too long, and that has bred complacency. The Troll Wars should've shaken you up from that illusion. They are not the only threat we face, only the one that was closest to us."

"There's another reason why inactivity and the lack of striving is a bad thing. When people like us have too much time on our hands, and most of our needs are met, we often seek out things to do. Indulgences to simulate our senses. Now, I'm not saying having fun is forbidden. We all need time to relax and live a life worth living, but this is a slippery slope. Boredom leads down dark paths, and at some point indulgences lead to depravity.

Our Kaldorei cousins have turned to druidism, and a large portion of their immortal populace spends most of their time in magical sleep, contributing nothing to their society. Now, I don't know about you, but I doubt they're all dreaming about flowers and trees." She joked a bit, eliciting a gale of laughter. Her speech continued to draw parallels between the dangers of what they might face and her previous life as an Aeldari, and the mistakes she'd already seen made.

She kept reinforcing the need for self-improvement and finding healthy outlets for creativity and boredom. Idleness was a frequent issue among the Quel'dorei, especially those living in Silvermoon that didn't work the land. The other priests and priestesses reinforced the same messages in their lessons and sermons, making the doctrine of their faith quite clear. Idle hands and idle minds were to be avoided. Self-improvement was the key.

"Raiel. You keep growing like a weed." Selessa greeted her brother after the sermon was over.

"Big sister." Raiel came to hug her, now standing tall enough to almost meet her eye-to-eye. He'd really sprouted up. He pulled her into a long hug, clearly drawing strength from her presence.

"You came."

"Of course I did. You're officially getting ordained as a priest and healer. I wouldn't miss this, even if I don't have as much time to spend with you as I'd like." She kept hugging him as well. Family was important. As they finally pulled apart, she took a good look at him. Raiel had become a relatively tall boy for his age, only slightly shorter than her, and had the usual cerulean eyes and blond hair of the Sunstrider dynasty.

He had softer features than either Anasterian or Nallorath, though that might've been his soft and warm nature shining true. Despite the neglect of his parents, Raiel had turned out quite well. He was a warm-hearted man, well suited to become a healer. He was also an ardent supporter and believer in the tenets of the Light and had great success in communing with the fundamental force.

He learned most of the priestly applications rather easily, even if he didn't have the heart to really learn spells that hurt others. The stringent lessons he'd gone through had also left him a smart boy, only rivaled by the students of the magisters, for whom book learning was even more important. He kept healthy and exercised, something he learned from her, though like most Quel'dorei of his age, he was rather lanky and lean, bordering on skinny.

"Can you do the honors?" He asked eagerly.

"The priests officially ordained by you always tend to be looked upon more favorably." That was an unfortunate reality, as the priests she'd personally trained and brought into the faith were now training and converting others. Naturally, she couldn't be the one to personally teach and approve of every new priest anymore, and that seemed to create a bit of a division.

Not a large one, but those she'd personally interacted with seemed somehow more legitimate, even if the length of the interactions wasn't necessarily long. It wasn't just a social thing though. It did seem those that were touched by her Light tended to have a stronger connection, so it wasn't entirely without merit, even if individual suitability still mattered more.

"Of course." She promised, and Raiel immediately knelt in front of her and the statue behind her.

"Do you swear to faithfully carry the faith to our people, to heal those in need, to bring Light to those in the Shadow, to teach those ignorant, to banish the sins of our people, to punish the enemies of the faith and our people, and to be the guiding Light? To be the best you can be?" She always added a bit of a personal flair to the process, even if it was mostly becoming standardized. The different customs and rituals were still in the process of being developed after all.

She rarely took part in developing the ceremonies, even if everyone imitated her whenever possible.

"I do so solemnly swear, by the Light, and by my undying soul." Raiel swore with a somber voice. She flooded him with her Light, some of which remained within him, not diminishing her but amplifying his abilities. Anything she might've lost regenerated right away.

"Then stand as a priest of the Light, and a full-fledged member of the faith." She instructed, her voice tinged by her wide smile.

"Thank you, Saint." He stood up and bowed to her from the waist this time, before giving a wide grin.

"I did it sister."

"So you did. I'm so glad you've found a calling." She pulled him into another hug.

"I really have. Healing and helping people makes me happy. It completes me somehow." He replied, and she could hear the restrained tears leaking into his voice. She patted his back.

"We'll celebrate later tonight. Now it seems you aren't the only one." She looked over his shoulder, and saw a line of acolytes awaiting their opportunity to be ordained by the Saint. This too was common whenever she returned to the temple. Raiel laughed.

"Yes, they do tend to let these things gather and do them all at once whenever you come back."

"Admiral Goldleaf. Give us your report." Anasterian ordered, with the Convocation in attendance. The Admiral stepped up to the table they were all gathered around and spread out a large and detailed map for everyone to see.

"Lords and Ladies, King Anasterian, Saint Selessa." He greeted everyone at the same time, his addressing of Anasterian and Selessa separately showing his loyalties.

"My mission was to chart our continent, and finally we have completed that mission, although we've only charted things from the coast, and haven't really gone much more than a day's journey inland. As you can see from the map, we in fact have two separate continents that are almost connected near the human capital in Arathi Highlands.

I will not bore you with explanations of the northern portion, as you're already mostly familiar, except to point out that the only real harbors on the eastern shore are in Silvermoon and Alah'thalas, which explains the recent infestation of Murlocks. Aside from those two places, the entire eastern coast is dominated by steep cliffs and mountain ranges. The western and southern coasts are much more hospitable, though the north is again rather difficult, even if not as bad as the eastern coast."

The admiral explained.

"Combined with the ambient mana, no wonder the pests keep flooding the place. They're going to be a constant thorn, aren't they?" Ron'vith speculated.

"More training for our soldiers and warriors." Selessa shrugged and gestured for the Admiral to continue.

"The southern continent can be roughly divided into two sections by sheer geography. The northern half is very mountainous like ours, aside from the very northern section that we'll return to. Most of this area is completely inaccessible from the sea, and thus we have very little inland information. The southern half seems like lowland consisting of fertile forests and even jungles at the very southern tip of the continent.

The Gurubashi trolls mostly occupy this southern half, especially concentrated on the jungles of the southern tip where their capital Zul'Gurub is located. Returning to the north, there are two notable areas just south of Arathi Highlands. There's only a relatively narrow gap between the human lands and the marshlands flooded by the waterflows from the mountains that cover the western half of the northern tip. We could probably bridge the gap if we really wanted to.

Then there's a mountain range again separating these wetlands from the much more promising highlands." The admiral emphasized his explanation by pointing each area on the map.

"You seem enthusiastic about these highlands." Anasterian pointed out good-naturedly.

"I am. I'm suggesting we found a harbor colony there for a very simple reason. There's plentiful Ironwood present." The Admiral grinned. That caused everyone to snap to attention. Ironwood was an excellent material for pretty much every type of construction, from ships to bows, to buildings, to their new ballistae. It was also the type of wood that, for the most part, made up the Ancients, the walking tree spirits protecting the Kaldorei. It was extremely strong, yet malleable when treated correctly.

"We could use the Ironwood to build much sturdier and larger ships we might use to explore beyond the reaches of our continent. That wood would much more easily withstand the rigors of ocean travel." The Admiral added an extra incentive.

"Are the Sin'dorei at a point to support this kind of endeavor?" Melevedon asked, looking towards Selessa.

"Not a standing garrison. Not yet. We don't have the numbers. But we could help in clearing out any hostile forces from the vicinity of this new colony, after which the standard armed forces could take over garrison duties." She replied after a bit of consideration.

"It would make sense to build proper shipyards at this place so we wouldn't need to ship the wood back to Silvermoon." She added.

"On that note, I think I've managed to develop something." Ron'vith interjected, and levitated out a roughly elf-sized blue crystal from a magically enlarged bag.

"We don't want to make Starwells everywhere we might want a colony or base, so I was working to come up with alternatives. This Arcane Crystal has been placed into the vicinity of the Sunwell to soak in as much mana as possible. They can easily be transported to a new colony like this one, where we can place several of these crystals inside the colony, and they'll make sure the inhabitants of the colony won't suffer the same effects the early settlers to Alah'thalas suffered.

They can only last for six months or so, so we'll need to rotate in fresh crystals regularly, but they'll do the job adequately. It's not the same as being near the Sunwell or a Starwell as they don't empower spells in the same way, but it'll suffice." Anasterian studied the crystal and the mana radiating off of it for a while.

"This is great work Ron'vith. You've once again gone above and beyond." Ron'vith just nodded, as if such praise was just his due, and he wasn't wrong in that. The man did good work. Selessa knew they'd eventually need to figure out a solution to their race's dependence on such high ambient mana, but this was a rather decent stopgap measure. It seemed Ron'vith had decided to become more active in his research for one reason or another. Maybe he was aiming to become the next Grand Magister?

"This seems like an idea worth exploring, but let's not rush into things. Let's send a proper scouting party and some prospectors and magisters to properly study the area, and determine the best location for a colony, if we do decide to go with it. We wouldn't want to find out the place is full of trolls after we already have something constructed. Besides, if we do want to go through with it, we'll have to make sure we have the resources and people ready to go.

This isn't quite the same as slowly settling Alah'thalas, as we'll need to ship the people and materials there." Anasterian decided.

[You've gained 250 EXP!]"These Murlocks are becoming a bit of an issue." Selessa commented as she pulled her sword out of the corpse of a blue-scaled fishman. They'd just repelled yet another boarding party of the slimy fishmen on their trip south. This was the seventh time, and their ship was not the only one affected. Luckily, every ship had a contingent of the Sin'dorei, and the marines were already quite used to the process.

"They're tricky opponents on the water." Admiral Goldleaf admitted.

"They can just swim up to a ship unnoticed and try to swarm it, making our usual methods difficult to utilize. They're too close for bows and ballistae, and the magisters can do only so much in the close confines of the ship. Luckily they're not all that formidable up close, though you'll want to avoid their throwing spears. They often poison the tips." A bit of Arcane lifted one of the throwing spears, which actually looked more like a harpoon.

The shaft was made of some sort of reed, and the tip from coral or fishbone. Not very dangerous against armored opponents but therein lay the rub. Most sailors didn't go around in heavy armor during their standard duties. The Sin'dorei did, which made these attacks somewhat pointless, with their healers taking care of the few wounded rather easily, but most ships didn't carry a squad of Sin'dorei.

The fishmen's melee weapons were not any more impressive, though they had rather large mouths and surprisingly strong bite and sharp teeth, so melee wasn't safe by any means. And even a crappy shiv could hurt an unarmored sailor when poisoned.

"Have they always been this numerous and aggressive?" Selessa asked, as the ship made the last stretch past the steep cliffs, towards the peninsula the Admiral had advocated as a perfect location for a colony. Something the rangers had already all but confirmed.

"Not this aggressive, no, though in fairness we rarely had reason to sail too far from Quel'thalas in the past, and the waters around our kingdom are so cold that the little buggers tend to avoid the area. Can't comment on the numbers for the same reason." The Admiral admitted with an apologetic tone, wiping his own sword clean.

"Though I did hear the huge lake of the Mon'keigh, Lake Lordamere, is infested with the damn things, and they're just as aggressive."

"Good thing the Mon'keigh have something to keep them busy." Sha glanced up towards the now revealed terrain.

"Oh, wow. You weren't kidding. That peninsula seems to be made for a fortified anchorage." She'd read preliminary reports before, of course, but seeing was believing as the old saying went. Most of the northern coast of the land tentatively named as the Highlands of the Dawn was covered in steep cliffs, just like the east coast of their own continent. The peninsula just south of the cliffs didn't share this problem.

The coast of the Peninsula was nice and easy to land on and led inland and to the rest of the highlands. The peninsula itself was straight and flat for most of its length, except when it rose up near the tip of the peninsula, sloping uphill to a plateau at the end that was higher than the rest. The end of the peninsula was round and wider than the rest of it, with protrusions of perfect coast radiating out of it.

It was like someone had drawn the embodiment of perfectly defendable landmass, and helpfully added areas that practically screamed "Build docks and shipyards here" while the higher ground could easily be fortified. The shape of the peninsula made it clear you only needed to worry about overland attacks from one direction. It was easy to put the thickest fortifications in that direction.

Additionally, the peninsula was large enough that you could build several farms inside the fortifications, and the prospectors had already judged the soil suitable. She could see the first Ironwood trees not far from the peninsula, giving easy access to loggers and land to build sawmills and the other facilities required for treating the wood. In case of danger, the workers could easily retreat into the fortress they were going to build.

"Exactly. It was almost as if made for us. This was why I was so eager to get things approved." The Admiral admitted.

"Right. Let's get the workers situated, and the magisters creating the portals." She declared as they approached the peninsula. They were not going to keep sailing between Silvermoon and the new colony, when they could just create a portal between the two places. Silvermoon had the Sunwell, while this area had completely untapped ley-lines to maintain the portal. Of course, it would take a bit of time to successfully connect the two locations, but they'd done similar things during the war.

Much simpler than sailing though Murlock infested seas. The process of erecting the initial settlement and fortifications wasn't too challenging, as they'd brought most of the necessary materials and the builders with them. With the portal open, further materials could be delivered through the portal, making the whole thing even simpler.

The Outer Quel'thalas had recently created several quarries and lumber mills just to produce such materials, as someone had noted a great economic opportunity with both Alah'thalas and the new colony requiring lots of building materials. Yes, the magisters could do some of the work, but they weren't going to handle all of the construction. Just the wall built in the Thalassian Pass had required weeks and thousands of magisters under the command of Sapphiron and Ron'vith to complete.

Sometimes using mundane methods and simply reinforcing the buildings with magic was much easier. The Arcane Crystals created by Ron'vith served their purpose perfectly, helping maintain the condition of the workers while away from the Sunwell. The affected area was limited to the peninsula, but that was all that was required. When the work moved to the Ironwoods, they'd move one of the crystals there as well.

The Sin'dorei hunted down some of the more dangerous fauna in the area, which consisted mostly of wolves and wild elementals. Large herds of deer moved around the area, which made for great hunting, and there were also large numbers of gryphons present, which they left alone. The gryphons seemed content to keep away from their new neighbors as well. The only potential issue seemed to be the presence of two nesting places of the Red Dragonflight, which the rangers had only recently discovered.

The dragons didn't seem willing to attack the scouts, but they weren't welcoming either, keeping the rangers well away from their nests which meant they had no idea about the number of dragons involved, or the nature of their nesting places. Unfortunately, baby dragons tended to be rather dumb, so one or two might wander over and cause issues. With no real threats present, she left behind a team of Sin'dorei, and instructions to contact her again if problems arose just as the first docks were being laid down.

She'd mostly come because her presence had been requested by the Convocation, just in case any problems occurred. Due to the coastal settlement being a tempting target for Murlocks, Silvermoon had sent three companies of soldiers and a handful of Spellbreakers to protect the new colony. With the Sin'dorei, they had enough armor to handle most threats from the sea.

"It looks interesting." Selessa commented, looking over the designs.

"I told you I have no expertise when it comes to ships on the sea." Anasterian grunted.

"I was hoping you had some ideas from your previous life." He revealed. She burst out in laughter.

"Uncle, my old people had not sailed the seas for more time than you can imagine. Even if I did know some designs, they'd be on such technological level that we don't have the tools to create them. The principles of construction would be entirely different." Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Her problem was that the knowledge of most engineering topics she had was too advanced for practical use, and very specific because of the Aeldari penchant for using Wraithbone for most things. Her old race had also been artificially uplifted by the Old Ones to fight the Necrons, so they'd skipped many stages of development. Yes, they had backfilled some of it during their millions of years of reign over the galaxy, but not all of it, and not everyone was privy to or interested in such information.

Some Exodite worlds lived primitive lives just to avoid falling to Chaos, but those were a rarity, and not really applicable here.

"You came up with the siege weapons." Anasterian pointed out.

"True but I only gave the idea and added some helpful suggestions for improvements. The artisans and engineers did the real work of making my ideas come true. I might have more to contribute if you wanted to make your ships fly instead of sailing the seas." She chuckled.

"Wait. You can make ships fly?" Anasterian asked, not having even considered the possibility.

"Sure? We did it with just technology and magic can do all sorts of things. Especially when combined with a bit of engineering. How about you start with naval ship designs though. We can work up to flying ships later on." She didn't entirely shoot the idea down, albeit she was a bit reserved as her information when it came to flying vessels didn't take magic into consideration. That said, it would make transportation and the deployment of troops much easier. At least there were no flying Murlocks.

Perhaps later when they had finished with settling Alah'thalas…

"Fine. It's not like we have zero experience with oceans. We don't originate from this continent after all. That said, our exile did leave many of our ships derelict and many of our people lost to the seas. Maybe not the best example. We have some designs, though they're mostly just scaled up versions of our current destroyers." Anasterian stared at the designs he'd been presented with. He wasn't exactly convinced.

"It's going to be trial and error, that's for sure. These things always are." She smiled a bit. She might have made things a bit too easy for the Quel'dorei lately, making everyone else unused to adversity.

"Make a design, build it, sail around and see what works and what doesn't. Take the lessons and make a better design, repeat until satisfactory results are produced. That's how development usually works."

"And you're sure you can't get into this? You seem to learn and develop quickly in whatever you do." Anasterian suggested.

"I could, but I can't do everything. I'm already handling the Sin'dorei, and regularly returning to our new colony to make sure things go smoothly, administering Alah'thalas, and being a religious leader. I'd have to drop something to take on another project, preferably two things if you want quick results." She shrugged. The System did allow her to get into something like design and engineering. It would take some time though.

"Besides, you already have other people for this. Trust them, and trust the process."

"Fine, fine. How are the Sin'dorei progressing anyway?" Anasterian asked.

"They're getting to a point where they're useful, even without me holding their hand. They're fresh off training though and lack experience." She considered them to barely match the skill level of new Aspect Warriors from her old life, fresh off the Aspect Shrine without any combat experience. They'd need hundreds of years of experience and countless missions and fights before she could truly put her faith in them.

It would take time and opportunities to forge them in battle to match the level of Exarchs, not to mention getting them to a level where they could fight something big like a Loa and come out ahead.

"I'm considering ways they can get proper combat experience. The little sojourn with the colony was actually useful, and we'll march against the murlocks when we have the numbers to do it relatively safely. If there are any other fights you'd like to pick, then I'm all ears." They were currently low on competent enemies.

Something like the Yeti were decent for small group training, as were the trolls in the Hinterlands, but there were not enough Yeti to fight on a regiment level, and the trolls presented the opposite problem. Small units could bloody themselves with the trolls just fine, but if she led a full regiment into the Hinterlands, then the trolls would send too many of their own against them. Something she'd also explained to Anasterian.

"Not currently, though with our luck, something is bound to appear sooner or later." Anasterian muttered.

"On that note, we have another issue." He waved towards one of his always present guards, who stepped into a side room for just long enough to lead Thelion inside.

"Thelion. It's been a while." Selessa commented with a smile. Thelion nodded seriously.

"Selessa. It has. We've been busy assisting in the training of the army and providing some additional training for your Sin'dorei. But now we have a problem." Her expression sobered right away.

"What sort of problem?"

"The Spellbreakers." Thelion started slightly hesitantly.

"Our job is to hunt rogue mages, and to keep the magisters in check. To make sure they don't get any stupid ideas about how a magocracy might be more effective than the current state of things. Now all that said, our effectiveness relies on the fact that since we counter the abilities of magisters, we can take them down in martial combat, because honestly, most magisters are pushovers when it comes to combat. That calculus has somewhat changed with the introduction of the Sin'dorei."

"I see what you're aiming at. If a rogue magister manages to convince a Sin'dorei or several to assist them, those Sin'dorei can take care of the Spellbreakers since they are getting better at the whole martial thing." She saw the potential issue right away.

"Correct. And you're not keeping the recruitment very narrow in scope either. Yes, those that want to become Sin'dorei need to be capable and have the right mentality, but they aren't being screened for their connections and loyalty. In point of fact, you've made it a tenet of the Sin'dorei that their past doesn't matter, only their abilities and work ethics.

You require loyalty to Quel'thalas and the Sin'dorei, but that does leave some room for creative interpretation, if some of the Sin'dorei decide that supporting some old magister friend of theirs is good for the kingdom." Thelion explained his concerns.

"It's not quite as simple as you make it out to be. Yes, we're casting a wide net, but we're also forging the applicants into the sort of people that can survive the training, which by necessity builds bonds of brotherhood. I'm not saying no Sin'dorei will ever betray us, but I am implying the risk is less than you think. Besides, I need to cast a wide net to get enough recruits." She countered, leaning back in her surprisingly uncomfortable chair.

Anasterian didn't like the people he was meeting with getting too comfortable. Thelion hummed in consideration.

"Even taking that into consideration, the point still stands. Now, obviously we can't limit your recruitment because of our concerns, nor can we really do much about their loyalty that you aren't already doing. What we can do however, is bring up the martial abilities of the Spellbreakers. I would like the Spellbreakers get the same training as the Sin'dorei." He finally revealed his thoughts. Now it was Selessa's turn to consider the idea for a moment.

"Why not make the Spellbreakers a wing of the Sin'dorei?" She finally suggested.

"You're already training us with the basic skills of your Order. Despite everyone in the Sin'dorei training as warriors, we still have Sin'dorei who specialize in the skills of the rangers and mounted knights already. Not to mention the paladins. Might as well add another skill set. Why not just go all the way and combine the two groups? It would improve both groups. Spellbreakers would become more skilled martially, and the Sin'dorei would become better at countering magic users."

"The Spellbreakers are an elite unit that only answers to the king." Anasterian pointed out, not dismissing the idea out of hand despite his words.

"And everyone is already calling the Sin'dorei my private army. They started off joking, but they're joking less and less every day." She shrugged.

"Why not have the Sin'dorei serve the same function through me? You know I'm going to follow orders, as long as you don't go full idiot." Both Anasterian and Thelion snorted at that.

"It's not a bad thought. Might spook the magisters though if the number of people with the abilities of Spellbreakers suddenly explodes."

"We also don't want their abilities leaking to the magisters either." Thelion added.

"You think the magisters won't get worried about the Spellbreakers suddenly training under the Sin'dorei anyway? They're already going to assume the two units are connected. As for the secrets, we can have the Sin'dorei sworn to secrecy. They already know to keep their mouths shut about other topics. Besides, if a really determined magister wants to learn about the Spellbreaker abilities, there's not much we can currently do to stop them. I could think of a hundred ways to gain the information if I wanted to.

At least this way we benefit as well. On the upside, now the Spellbreakers will be more capable. The question is, will the Spellbreakers be able to withstand the training without quitting? I hear you've been getting fat and lazy lately." She goaded, regaining her grin. Thelion looked at Anasterian.

"I do believe that was a challenge."

"Care to bet on it, dear niece?" Anasterian asked, grinning as well.

"Always. We'll whip your pudgy Spellbreakers into shape." Selessa promised.

Selessa woke up with a start. Another nightmare from her previous life. Not uncommon. It was a slight wonder she got as much sleep as she did, partially thanks to the System. Speaking of… [You have been granted a mandatory Perk Beauty Over Brawn due to conflicting attributes.] Selessa rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was supposed to be leading a sizeable force of the Sin'dorei against the Murlocks today, and this message was throwing a wrench into her plans. She didn't like wrenches in her plans.

She didn't like wrenches in general.

"Why? And what does the perk do?" She asked. [You are reaching the point in your attribute development where your Body attribute is conflicting with your Charisma attribute when it comes to appearance. While there will always be a portion of people that like heavily muscled individuals, the majority prefer moderation. Some muscles, yes, to show you're fit and healthy, but at certain point it becomes less and less attractive. Now, that in mind, your Charisma is at level 17, vastly outstripping your Body attribute. One of the primary functions of Charisma is to make you more attractive, but making you more muscled as Body develops would detract from that purpose. As your Charisma is vastly higher, it has been given priority. As your Body improves, you will still grow stronger and faster as usual, you simply won't see any physical changes.]"So, the changes will be magical?" She asked in confirmation. [Partially, as that is part of your race, but not entirely. There will also be physical improvements that are not visible, such as your muscle fibers, bones, and tendons growing in density and effectiveness. As a side effect, you might notice slight discrepancies, such as your weight being very slightly higher than your size would imply.] She considered the implications for a moment and didn't really find a downside. She was used to performing beyond her physical limits as a psyker, and this wasn't that different.

She also preferred not to have muscles that were too large, as those tended to reduce flexibility and get in the way.

"Should I expect many more such mandatory Perks in the future?" She asked instead. [Unable to answer at this time.]"Fair enough. Though that in itself is an answer. You could've just said no if that was the case. Where there's one, there's more." She stated confidently, this time not getting an answer. Not that she'd expected one. Instead, she slipped out of her nightclothes, depositing them in a bag magically enlarged from the inside just like her other laundry, and put on her under armor.

Simple cloth as the Quel'dorei hadn't focused on proper under armor yet. Something to look into in the future. She laid down her golden armor on the table in front of her. The armor was golden only in color, as each piece was magically colored. She'd been slightly disappointed to find out that the coloring came from a simple spell that wasn't even considered an enchantment. Each piece was something she'd personally crafted from Wraithbone and enchanted by her own hand.

The coverage of the armor was pretty good, as she'd made sure of that. While it wasn't what they'd call full plate, it at least covered the important bits. She would be going with a shield and a sword this time, as that would be the armament for most of the Sin'dorei unit she was taking on this mission, and she was matching her own equipment to theirs. They would be using the same square formation that she'd used against the trolls, except there would only be a single square.

All four sides could act as the frontline if necessary, the benefit being that getting surrounded was actually preferable and not a problem. First three rows in all directions would be engaging in melee, switching positions when necessary, while the inside of the square would be using bows to target the heaviest concentrations of enemies, as well as supporting the corners, which were the most heavily pressed part of the formation.

The formation of a thousand Sin'dorei would also have five paladins in addition to herself to handle healing and supportive spells. The shield looked like a standard Spellbreaker shield, though it was significantly more effective. She'd designed the shield with a single purpose in mind: to draw in and devour all hostile magic. Magic was still the biggest danger to her, despite her somewhat limited skills as a Spellbreaker.

The only other enchantments included added durability and improved the Wraithbone's already significant regenerative abilities. Unless the shield was completely shattered, it would only take a minute or two to repair itself from any damage, and the thing was already stupidly hard to damage without any additional enchantments. The sword was her latest iteration of a Witchblade, designed to cut through anything, and to allow her to channel the Light through it for maximum effect.

The sword had no fancy effects like shooting out flames, increasing her strength, or making her spells more powerful. That wasn't the role it was meant to fulfill. It had a simple purpose, and that was to cut any physical materials she struck. She had another sword stashed away that she'd designed specifically to cut magical effects, though she didn't expect to need that one today. The Murlocks had some magic, but relatively rudimentary.

Clad in her armor, she stepped out of her tent, to see most of the unit still in the process of gathering. She was early, so she let it slide. This time. Brother Vyas, who had apparently taken the duty of guarding her tent during the night nodded to her in greeting, not letting his vigilance slip. Even in their own camp, the possibility of assassins existed. There were still some remnants of House Luminaris around, and they weren't the only ones who would like to see her dead. Not that killing her was that simple.

Despite the System, she still slept metaphorically one eye open. And while the assassins of this world could do some strange things with magic, they had nothing on the Harlequins, the Druchii, or the daemons of her old life. Even the transhuman assassins of the Mon'keigh were more skilled, despite their stompy feet and lack of any grace.

"Did the sweeper patrols return during the night?" She asked brother Vyas.

"They did, ma'am. No casualties, and the river is now clear of Murlocks. I'll lead a patrol myself to make sure they haven't slipped back." He reported with a firm voice.

"Don't want to take part in the big event?" She asked, with a slight teasing tone. The man scoffed.

"I think you can manage without me. Someone has to make sure we don't miss any strays. Besides, it's good to give some of the others the experience. Not all of our brothers and sisters have the benefit of having participated in the troll war."

"That is true." She nodded in agreement. It was good to share the experience sometimes, and they didn't expect this to be an especially difficult endeavor, though one should never underestimate their enemy. As soon as the unit was gathered, a full thousand Sin'dorei, plus a few of the paladins, they marched to the area still called Tyr's Hand. They hadn't had a reason to give it another name yet, and likely wouldn't until they built a city of their own here, which would likely not be for a few years yet.

The settling effort was mostly focused on the western half of Alah'thalas, only now reaching the center of the land with its plentiful lake-fishing and central location. Tyr's Hand was likely to be the last area to attract settlers, and not just because of the Murlocks. The unit took up the square formation as soon as the first murlocks came to sight, and those with the ability to wield the Light blessed their fellow Sin'dorei and allowed their auras to unfold and add their own protections.

Selessa used a spell to improve everyone's fortitude to keep them fighting longer, leaving the blessings to the paladins. The small fishmen goggled at them for a moment before the first straggling hunters screeched out in their incomprehensible language and charged them with predictable results. The Sin'dorei didn't even bother shooting them down with arrows, as the straggled creatures were just stabbed to death by spears and swords.

"Something's odd." Selessa said with a frown. Talanas, who had joined her on this outing looked at her curiously while testing his bow.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. Something just doesn't feel right. Let's keep going. It's just a feeling." She wasn't sure what was tweaking her instincts, and it wasn't strong enough to really concern her yet. They swiftly mover through the higher ground of the area, before coming to the relatively narrow passage leading down from the highlands to the shore and bay below. The beach was covered in Murlocks and their simple stick and straw hovels.

Tens of thousands of Murlocks inhabited the beach, and who knows how many were in the waters as well. She raised her voice enough to be heard by the Sin'dorei.

"It seems our arrival has been noticed, so let's get ready to greet them. Know what the Sin'dorei will honor and venerate the sacrifice of any that lose their lives in the service of our people. That said, let's not have the first names carved on the Wall of Sacrifice and Rememberance be due to Murlocks." That brought about chuckles and even outright laughter.

"It would be an honor to be the first one to give my life in the service of the Sin'dorei, but yeah, maybe not against Murlocks." Someone commented, eliciting another wave of chuckles, and Selessa allowed the small break in decorum for morale.

"For that reason, don't get yourselves killed. We can heal a lot, but death is still permanent. Protect yourselves and your fellows. Fight together, fight smart, and remember all you've learned. For Quel'thalas and the Light!" She called out loudly.

"For Quel'thalas and the Light!" The Sin'dorei all responded as one, just as the Murlocks started charging them en masse, screeching with warbled voices. This time the center of the formation didn't skimp on arrows, wave after wave of enchanted projectiles loosed with speed only the Sin'dorei were capable of with their constant training, thinning the ranks of the approaching Murlocks greatly.

As the first fishmen practically committed suicide by crashing against the weapons of the Sin'dorei, Selessa couldn't help but get another nagging feeling something wasn't right. Something in the incomprehensible screaming of the Murlocks bothered her, as well as in the way they hurled themselves at the elven soldiers without any kind of strategy.

As another bright green-skinned creature tried to slam its reed-spear through the shield of a Sin'dorei warrior, obviously with no result, something in her mind snapped into focus.

"Those are throwing spears. Why are they rushing into their deaths in melee instead of throwing their weapons? You know, the weapons designed for throwing." She asked Talanas, who was slightly busy shooting arrow after arrow at the biggest Murlocks. Some of the fishmen were actually fairly large, the largest almost reaching the size of small bears. Talanas paused for a moment, before firing again.

"That is odd. Now that you mention it, they seem somehow crazed. They're not usually this aggressive. Murlocks aren't the smartest enemies, but they aren't usually this stupid. They have some cunning and strategy, albeit rather limited." He admitted. There was another thing. She was a psyker. Despite the Murlock language being really fucking weird, she should've been able to learn it by now, or at least parts of it. The screams were still completely incomprehensible to her, as if they weren't a language at all.

"Something is definitely going on." She stated, while throwing a healing spell towards a warrior who'd been wounded. Not by the rudimentary weapons, but one of the crazed Murlocks using its rather powerful jaws to bite him despite grievous injuries. The action had caught the Sin'dorei warrior by surprise, as otherwise it should've been easy to prevent. The enemy had sacrificed its life to get that single bite in, and it wasn't the only one.

More Murlocks kept appearing from beneath the waves, as the Murlocks on the beach all funneled towards the elven formation. There was no attempt to surround them. Not consciously at least. Some of the Murlocks did get pushed to the side and attacked the flanks of the formation just because they couldn't fit the front. The front of the formation was getting blocked by the number of corpses as well. Selessa could suddenly smell ozone and noticed the black clouds above them that hadn't been there when they arrived.

She should've noticed them before, but it was as if they had been hidden by something. She could sense the danger.

"Shields above!" She called out and lifted her own shield above her head. Everyone around her, except those in the front rank fighting the Murlocks, obeyed without hesitation or question, just in time as lightning lanced down from the clouds. All of their shields were warded against magic, something she had insisted as magic was the biggest enemy of a warrior, and hers especially, which was why the effect of the sudden downpour of magical energy was limited.

More than half of the magical lightning was directed to her own shield by the enchantments and the Wraithbone greedily devoured the magic holding the lightning together. As soon as the storm of energy abated, she lowered the now slightly sparkling shield and surveyed the damage. They had not been the only ones hit, as the closest Murlocks had also been affected.

Most of those who had raised their shields, so almost everyone, were fine, though there seemed to be injuries in the frontline among those who had not been covered by the shields of their fellows. Even there, their heavily enchanted equipment had mostly protected them. She was now very glad she had insisted on first-grade equipment for every single member of the Sin'dorei. She'd enchanted many of the pieces herself.

"Healing to those injured! The fight isn't over!" She called out, her own Light flowing into mass healing spells that would target those most wounded first. It was heavy on the mana, but very effective in a chaotic situation like this. The other five paladins joined her in the work, and those most injured were moved towards the center of the formation by their fellows. The murlocks didn't stop coming.

They screamed their crazed battle cries, some even trying to charge the front line with nothing but large fish as their weapons. They were not the real danger. Whatever had cast the lightning spell was. She could only just follow the trail of mana to its source, and barely noticed several serpentine tails disappearing beneath the waves. It seemed whatever had cast the spell was just testing the waters and was not planning on continuing the assault. The clouds above their heads were already dispersing.

That was a good thing, because her own Arcane abilities would not have sufficed to do something about those clouds. Nor did she think any of the Light abilities were suitable. She needed to address this issue once she had time. Weather magic was completely unknown to her. Probably not in the purview of Arcane, now that she thought about it… The battle still took almost the whole day, as tens of thousands of Murlocks practically committed suicide against them.

This was why the Sin'dorei placed such a focus on physical training, so that long battles were something they could deal with. Eventually there were injuries as mistakes were made, but luckily Selessa and the paladins covered for those mistakes with their healing.

"Why didn't they run away?" Talanas asked in clear confusion when the last Murlocks fell.

"I don't think they could." She replied. She'd seen similar things in her old life.

"They were controlled somehow." What sort of power could control what she assumed to be an entire tribe of Murlocks to this extent? That was the real question. This whole thing had been nothing but a test. Test they'd passed with flying colors, but a test nonetheless. Something she mentioned to Talanas.

"I'm not sure I like that idea. Who was testing us? Who cast that magic in the beginning?" He asked the right questions.

"I noticed some serpentine tails disappearing beneath the water after I tracked the spell. I couldn't get a good look, but something at home beneath the waves, that's for sure." She explained.

"Approximately elvenoid-sized, though I only saw tails and from enough of a distance that I might very well be mistaken."

"Never heard of anything like it." Talanas commented.

"We'll need to talk to the King and the Grand Magister."

"And we shall. Let's search the area first and burn the bodies." She commanded the unit to disperse into smaller groups to search, to comb through the hovels for anything out of place, though she reminded them to remain vigilant and keep the magical attack in mind. The others came up empty-handed, aside from the fact that there were no eggs or young Murlocks here. Selessa on the other hand ran into something she'd rather she hadn't.

She found a feather pink on one side and blue on the other, and a small carved symbol on one of the huts. A symbol that was shoddy but reminded her a bit too much of her old life.

"System, why is there a Chaos symbol on this world?" She sent her thought out, just like she did when conversing with the System before. There was nothing but silence for several minutes, and she almost gave up hope on a reply, before she finally got one. [The origin or authenticity of the symbol cannot be confirmed. It is rather suggestive though. We did mention that we can't be entirely sure we brought just you and nothing else over. There has been no sign of significant daemonic incursion, nor any hints of their presence. That said, we are monitoring the situation. This is a possible complication.]"You don't say. Having any kind of Chaos presence is a bit more than a complication." She scoffed internally, though she didn't get an answer. The annoying part was that she couldn't be sure. It was one thing if she could be certain the ruinous powers were somehow present. Then at least she could take measures.

However, the nasty thing about the ruinous powers was that taking such measures could instead work like a call for them if they weren't here already. The ruinous powers were in the end emotions, thoughts, and concepts given form. The more thought and focus they were given, the more power they had, and the more likely they were to manifest. If she suddenly started preaching about them, she might be creating the enemy that she was trying to avoid. On the other hand, if they were here and she did nothing…

that wasn't great either. At least it was exceedingly unlikely that the big three had any real influence here, so it should just be some fragments that would've followed her here at worst. At least she hoped. The feather and the hut with the symbol were both consumed by fire along with the corpses. No need to give Nurgle a breeding ground for disease, if that bloated and putrid evil did have a presence here.

STATUS: Level: 11 2500/11000 EXP (+) 10 Base Points (+)/2 Advanced Points/1 Mastery Points Mandatory Perks: Beauty Over Brawn (+) Body: 9/11 (4 Unspent Perk Points) (+) Athletics 8 (3 Unspent Perk Point) Iron Lungs Heavy Weapons 7 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Cleaving Strikes Durability 7 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Immovable object Reflexes: 8/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) (+) Light Weapons 7 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Swift Strikes Nervous System 7 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Keen Eye for Hidden Subtlety 5 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Arcane Shots Charisma: 17/17 (+2 Max due to Eyes) Politics 17 Competent Underlings Superior Subordinates Shared Vision Intelligent Improvisation Unleased Potential Unlimited Potential Above and Beyond Inspiring Loyalty Improved Resources Rare Resources Treasure Trove Fertile Land Esprit de Corps Conflux Endless Plenty Hardy Stock Social 5 (2 Unspent Perk Points) Pleasure 1 Crafting: 8/12 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Magical Crafting 8 Master of Disassembly Superior Runework Talented Enchanter Master of Efficiency Creation 1 Nature 2 Eye for Errors Eye for Improvement Bonesinging 8 Difference of Kind Amalgamation Amplification Grand Amplification Great Works Regeneration Stronger Than You Think Discipline: 6/12 (+2 Max due to Past Experiences) (1 Unspent Perk Point) Commander 6 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Battlefield Awareness Ambush Expert Cavalry Tactics Squad Leader 4 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Sensei Soldier 6 (2 Unspent Perk Points) One With Your Steed One With Your Steed II Magic: 6/13 (2 Unspent Perk Point) Light 6 Severe healing Baptism of Light I Baptism of Light II Arcane 6 (1 Unspent Perk Point) Massive Spells Master Conjurer Spellbreaker 5 Magic Sight Anti-Magic Zone Projected AMZ