Maiev couldn't wait any longer; she had to go and confirm the situation with Tyrande. She wanted to say it was flirtatious, but the words wouldn't come out. For ten thousand years, her pursuit and hunting of demons had not been without the motive of avenging her beloved.
Hunting demons had become an instinct, an inseparable habit.
Having just returned, she eagerly used the teleportation array to go back to Darkshore. At this moment, she couldn't help but feel that the Highborne weren't entirely useless; at least their teleportation magic was excellent.
Originally, the home of the Night Elves was on Mount Hyjal, and they settled there after the War of the Ancients. Later, during the second invasion of The Burning Legion, Archimonde attempted to absorb the power of the World Tree. With no other option, they had to detonate the World Tree, killing Archimonde along with it.
This also led to the destruction of their home on Mount Hyjal and immense ecological damage to the area.
Although the Druids were still working hard to restore the local ecology, it was not something that could be accomplished overnight. The Night Elves have now relocated to Darkshore, where a new, massive World Tree has been planted. Although it no longer has the blessing function, the familiar feeling has returned, and many elves have settled here.
Stepping out of the teleportation array, Maiev felt a wave of nausea and dizziness. This wasn't because she was pregnant, but a phenomenon after excessive use of teleportation magic.
Arcane magic is not entirely harmless; short-term use is fine, but continuous teleportation places an immense burden on the user's body.
For short-distance blinks, Maiev could sustain it all day. But long-distance teleportation and blinking impose incomparable burdens; how can a small stream be compared to the ocean?
Shaking her head, she walked directly towards the house at the very top of the World Tree.
On the way, she encountered a bright-eyed, white-toothed half-elf. Even though nearly ten thousand years had passed, she still looked eighteen, not having aged a day.
"Good evening, Aunt Maiev."
Maiev, usually cold to everyone she met, rarely showed a smile, because she had watched this person grow up and had even served as her tactical instructor.
This was Shandris Feathermoon, the daughter of Arthas and Tyrande, and the commander of the Sentinels, who shone brightly in the Battle of Mount Hyjal.
"Evening, Shandris. I'm here to see Tyrande."
Only then would Shandris lower her guard and enjoy a moment of peace, pointing to the treehouse ahead.
"Mother is inside. She seems to be talking to Jaina. She said you can just go in if you arrive."
The treehouse had a natural, soft glow. Although Night Elves don't need lighting, using it for decoration prevented the place from feeling lifeless.
Maiev paused, her mood somewhat complex, her fingers gently stroking the scratches on her armor.
"If your father were still alive, what would you do?"
Shandris's delicate body trembled slightly, her eyes a little moist. She raised a hand to wipe away her tears.
"I would ask him if he had a hard time all these years. When I faced Archimonde, I once felt like I would die. That moment, Father's power saved me; he was always there."
Maiev was deeply moved. She had fought Archimonde, but was sent flying in less than ten rounds.
She was no match at all; that formidable power was such that even the most powerful demigods were no match for him. His eyes were filled with extreme indifference and killing intent, not like a living creature, but a cold machine executing orders.
She didn't know that this was because during the War of the Ancients, Arthas had used the runeblade frostmourne to split Archimonde's soul in two, leading to this symptom of mental fragmentation.
For Archimonde, this was actually a good thing, leaving behind a cruel and tyrannical personality. In these ten thousand years, countless demons had died by his hand, simply because he was unhappy and needed to kill a few demons as a punching bag.
"Is that so? I thought you would hate him."
Maiev's voice was a little low. Ten thousand years, how had they passed?
Shandris shook her head. She wouldn't resent her father, nor would her mother. In fact, in their usual conversations, her mother always had a faint smile on her lips.
Even though they didn't spend much time together, why did her mother also have such a deep love?
Perhaps because Father was a hero. Becoming a hero is destined to be lonely; she should understand her father, and Mother smiled sometimes precisely because she understood her father.
"No, Father is a hero. He won't die; he will come back."
Perhaps it was because everyone in the tribe sang praises of her father, everyone lauded him, which also made her heart feel joyful and pleased.
"Come back? Indeed, he will come back. I'll go in now, Shandris. See you later."
"Take care, Aunt Maiev."
The treehouse at the very top of the World Tree was the High Priestess's residence. For ten thousand years, the High Priestess had made the right choices, leading her people to live the life they desired.
Tyrande had earned the respect and acceptance of all Night Elves through her actions. Even though equality was advocated in the tribe, they spontaneously reserved the best things for her.
Fortunately, the High Priestess was not an inflexible old stick-in-the-mud; since it was everyone's heartfelt intention, she accepted it.
Maiev pushed the door open. Nothing had changed inside; exquisite carved statues were placed on shelves, made from the finest Cloudwing Wood, depicting figures with unidentifiable faces. She recognized it at a glance: it was the ancient hero, Queen Azshara's spouse, who was still atoning at the bottom of the sea.
Tyrande was still wearing a plain white robe, moonlight passing through the sky and falling upon her, the faint starlight breathtakingly beautiful, much like elune descending.
"You said Arthas is Ximen Chuixue. What evidence do you have?"
Maiev stared directly at her old rival, unafraid of her inner thoughts being exposed. This was no secret among the Night Elves; there were many in the tribe who wished to marry a hero, and she was not an exception. Even within the Sisterhood of Elune, there were plenty of priestesses who wanted to do the same.
The way to deal with shame is to confront it directly. As long as I'm not embarrassed, then others will be!
Tyrande didn't respond, but a recorded voice came through.
"I am praying to elune. Please wait patiently."
Another devout believer!
Maiev took off her helmet and poured herself a cup of Calming Floral Tea, watching the High Priestess enveloped in starlight. Sometimes she envied the other's good fortune, being naturally favored by the Moon Goddess.
This was something even Azshara, in her prime, couldn't achieve back then. Speaking of which, she had seen Arthas in Lordaeron last time and felt a strong sense of familiarity.
She had even asked him for tips on blinking, and he mastered it instantly, which made her quite suspicious.
If Arthas was truly a reincarnated demigod, and his lingering memories allowed him to quickly master his former combat skills, then everything could be explained.
As she pondered, her thoughts drifted to Illidan.
Her hatred for Illidan wasn't very deep; it was purely because she couldn't stand someone absorbing demonic power and turning into a demon.
To say he committed a huge mistake wasn't quite it. In fact, Illidan's imprisonment wasn't too bad; often, he could spar with captured demons to extract more information about The Burning Legion.
After an unknown amount of time, Tyrande finally opened her eyes; her prayer to the Moon Goddess was complete.
Seeing her old friend arrive, she called her owl companion to bring the prepared pastries.
The exquisite pastries, made with human flour and local Mount Hyjal spices, were indeed exceptional.
"Try these new pastries. I think they're excellent; they could even be used as rations."
"If you find drinking tea boring, we can have some wine. Shandris brought some fine wine from Suramar City a while ago; it tastes quite good and even has some healing effects. Take a few bottles with you when you leave."
Maiev was a little surprised. She knew about Suramar City; because of the use of an artifact, the entire beautiful city was protected.
Archmage Elisande was actually a very excellent diviner who could predict the future through prophecies.
The explosion of the Well of Eternity shattered the continent, and the Kaldorei Empire gradually fragmented.
Night Elf commoners were one part, the Highborne led by Elisande were another part, the High Elf who traveled across the ocean to settle in the Eastern Kingdoms were a third part, and another part followed Azshara to the bottom of the sea and became Naga.
Thanks to their past camaraderie, Elisande was not entirely opposed to the new forces of commoners rising, but she wasn't particularly fond of them either.
Aside from communication among the top leaders, the people below never interacted, disliking each other.
Commoners couldn't stand nobles, and nobles disliked commoners. They were mutually disgusted, so they simply stopped interacting.
Trying to buy fine wine from Suramar was something even goblins couldn't do; goblins who went there would turn into jerky.
Only Shandris could accomplish it. Perhaps it was her identity as a hero's daughter; almost all elves held goodwill towards her.
Elisande even personally tutored her in magic, giving her all the good things, practically doting on her like her own daughter.
Besides Elisande, even Queen Azshara treated her very well. She was also the only Night Elf to have visited the Eternal Palace underwater, receiving truly excellent treatment.
Even the Mantid in Thousand Needles treated Shandris very well. It was thanks to her persuasion of the Mantid Empress to help participate in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago that the Aquir were sealed away.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a darling of the world, yet she was also ambitious and not at all arrogant. With her status, she could easily have been a tsundere princess, but she was very down-to-earth and highly popular among the Night Elves.
If Tyrande were to retire one day, Shandris would undoubtedly be her successor as High Priestess.
"Alright, some wine would be nice."
Maiev, for once, drank alcohol. She used to be a teetotaler, fearing it would hinder her duties, but today she was truly being accommodating.
Tyrande smiled charmingly, bringing out her treasured wine to entertain her former rival.
"This glass is for you. Thanks to the Wardens' continuous pursuit of demons, the demons near Mount Hyjal have vanished without a trace."
Maiev, however, didn't accept the compliment. She picked up the cup and downed it in one go, her sharp eyes fixed on Tyrande.
"Tell me about Arthas."
As expected, she came because she secretly admired her spouse. This was not surprising; Maiev was always such an unconventional elf.
Tyrande put down her wine glass, a hint of complexity flashing in her wise eyes.
"He was reincarnated and became a Human Prince named Arthas, as you know."
"I'm still not sure if he remembers his past. He's somewhat weak now and has a new wife. If all of this is true, then our reunion would be quite awkward."
That was indeed true, quite awkward.
Maiev, however, felt it wasn't so. During her time hunting demons, she had thought about some things and heard demons mention certain matters.
Putting down her wine glass, her eyes held a hint of doubt. After a brief silence, she voiced her conjecture.
"Demons said that Archimonde harbors extreme hatred for humans. He had never seen humans before, yet he had extreme malice towards this race."
"When he was summoned at the Sunwell in Quel'Thalas, it seems he only chose to flee in a hurry after seeing Arthas."
"You've also seen Archimonde; that fellow is arrogant and conceited, not putting any creature in his eyes, as none are his match. Why did he flee in such a hurry upon seeing Arthas?"
"There's only one possibility: Arthas killed him! You've also heard of the abandoned Caverns of Time south of the Tanaris Desert, which was a settlement for the Bronze Dragon. Later, it became inactive, and they moved to settle on the Northrend continent."
"Have you ever wondered why dragons, who are skilled at time travel, no longer mention correcting timelines? Perhaps that Arthas traveled through time and appeared as Ximen Chuixue ten thousand years ago. I've also learned a bit about the laws of time: Bronze Dragons cannot mention their own names when traveling through time; the laws constrain them."
So, Arthas was unable to use his own name at that time, and couldn't say it, which is why he used an alias.
The so-called Ximen Chuixue was actually Arthas; the two were the same person, and there was no such thing as reincarnation. He simply hadn't reincarnated; his weakness was due to expending his power to repair the World Scar.
It must be said that Maiev, as a Warden, always had a keen eye for details others overlooked, and the truth was often not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
This conjecture was what she had been thinking about all this time. It sounded incredibly unbelievable, because it was too shocking.
Precisely because it was unconventional and defied common sense, no one would think that way.
But sometimes, the truth is often the most improbable one. Eliminate the possibilities, and what remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
When this topic came up, Tyrande's expression also became much more serious. If this were true, the reservations in her heart could be greatly reduced.
She nodded solemnly, her eyes narrowed slightly, pondering the possibility of this explanation.
"You have a point; perhaps that is indeed the truth. Perhaps you need to make a trip to Lordaeron to meet Arthas and clarify this matter face-to-face, Maiev, can you go?"
"Me? Why don't you go? You bore him a child; it's more appropriate for you to ask him. Even if he intended to conceal it, he couldn't possibly deceive the mother of his child, could he?"
Maiev felt that she might be deceived, whereas if Tyrande went, it would be much better.