Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 251, Section 8. This is absolutely the brightest day in troll history.

Thousands of miles away from Silithus, in the South Sea, on the island of Zandalar, lies the oldest empire of the troll civilization. They once possessed most of the world's territory, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, this once invincible empire has now fallen into decline.

However, the Zandalari trolls are still the oldest civilization in the world.

Long before the dark trolls migrated to the vicinity of the Well of Eternity, the priests of Zandalari held high positions in the troll empire, and that glory has not faded to this day.

Although the troll empire is fragmented, trolls scattered throughout the world still respectfully acknowledge the Zandalari as the legitimate trolls, and the esteemed Golden King is the nominal "lord of the trolls." Today, King Rastakhan sits in the golden palace of Dazar'alor, the "City of All Spirits," and is holding a grand banquet with his courtiers.

Today is neither a traditional festival for trolls nor a festival of some Loa god, but the atmosphere of this suddenly convened banquet is extremely lively.

Even the reclusive "Dark Prophet" Zul made an appearance at the banquet.

"Hahaha, today is the happiest day of my life! Come, everyone, let's drink this cup to the brim!"

King Rastakhan raised his golden goblet, inlaid with jewels and shaped like the Loa emblem, and his ministers echoed his sentiments, each with a joyful smile on their face. After this round of drinking, the robust and noble Golden King, slightly tipsy, proclaimed:

"Then, Lord Zum'llar, messenger of Sandfury from Tanaris, may you please repeat the good news you brought?"

The shaman of the Shanu clan, whose name was called, had only eaten a few bites of food and drunk a few sips of wine to moisten his throat when he was asked to repeat the message he had already said three times.

The old troll was quite helpless.

But seeing the ministers and priests of the various Loa gods looking at it with anticipation, the Sand Doctor was helpless.

The Sandu clan has been in decline for far too long.

When it came to pay homage to the Golden King this time, Chief Ukz of Sandfury specifically instructed it to perform well in Dazar'alor, to restore Sandfury's glory, and to ask for more aid.

The clans in the desert are living a hard life. The resources of Tanaris are basically monopolized by greedy goblins. If they do not receive support from the wealthy Zandalari Empire, the Sandfury clans will truly be so poor that they have to eat sand.

Fortunately, the Sandfury trolls did indeed capture very important information this time, and as the chieftain and the witch doctor had predicted, it caused an astonishing sensation as soon as they brought it to Dazar'alor.

And so, under the watchful, teasing, and expectant gazes of the noble trolls, the Sandfury Witch Doctor cleared his throat and once again began to recount the events that had taken place in the Silithus desert with great emotion.

When it spoke of how the Sandsguard elves of Cenarion Hold had been transformed into primal dark trolls by the decay of the Plague, the Golden King's court erupted in cheers and applause once again.

While it's a bit crude to find joy in seeing others suffer, the trolls don't care about such things; they're overjoyed to see the elves in trouble.

Most importantly, the events in Silithus fully demonstrate the ancient truth that the trolls have always believed in!
"What the hell! So those arrogant elves who looked down on everyone were actually a branch of our troll empire, and the dark trolls who were completely ignored in the empire back then."

The eagle priest of the Amani clan drew out his words, mocking:

"It's hilarious to see those pointy-eared elves shamelessly proclaiming their nobility! Now the whole world can finally know the truth that the shameless elves have been carefully hiding: what a load of bull! Elf Empire!"

"What utter nonsense about 'Light of Light' Azshara! She's clearly the 'jewel' of our troll empire!"

"Haha, well said! Come on, have a drink. If you're so good at talking, then talk more!"

“I think the representative of Amani makes a lot of sense. Our ancient stone tablets in the Kingdom of Gurubashi record the inscriptions on which the dark trolls migrated to the borders of the empire. That is enough to prove the history of the elves.”

Those petty people just wouldn't admit it, and even sent people to try and destroy our inscription.

The bat god priest of the Gurubashi trolls also spoke up:

"When I get back this time, I'll ask Lord Blood Lord to make a thousand copies of that ancient inscription, translate them, and send them all over the world to let other races see what kind of people the pretentious elves really are."

“Alright, our clan also has ancient inscriptions. Let’s all post them together! Let’s reveal the truth and let civilized people all over the world judge us.”

"I think it would be better to ask the noble Golden King to issue a decree to the Kaldorei, Quel'dorei, and the Highborne on the Broken Isles, since they can no longer hide the matter of the Demon Plague."

It would be better to persuade them to voluntarily 'recognize their ancestors and return to their roots.'

A drunken old troll priest, wearing the insignia of the immortal god Kagwa, slammed his fist on the table and shouted:
"Our Zandalari Empire is already thriving, so what difference does it make if we recognize another dark troll clan? When the time comes, His Majesty Rastakhan can invite the Black Raven King to Dazar'alor for a chat, so that we trolls can become one family and completely end the conflict between us that has lasted for countless years."

This is a good thing.

"I'm afraid they'll keep putting on airs and won't want to come."

"Hmph, do you think they can have their way with this? The plague has spread so far that even the secluded Sandarra elves in Northrend have become tuberculosis patients."

The elves have no way to control a plague of this scale. Even if they can save some, most elves will still regress to their primitive form. At that time, do you think the proud elves will still accept the dark trolls as their brethren?

Those poor people will be ostracized and have nowhere to go!
Our Zandalari Empire's recognition of them is actually saving their lives. The Empire will protect them from the wicked elves, a truly meritorious act.

The ministers offered suggestions one after another, bringing the banquet atmosphere to a climax. The King of Gold took the opportunity to have the court dance troupe perform for the ministers, saying that he was too drunk to drink and would go to the back hall to rest first.

Moments later, the Dark Prophet Zul and the Sandfury Troll Witch Doctor Zul'Muraen were secretly summoned by the valiant palace guards.

"Are the Sandfury trolls still monitoring the Silithus desert?"

The Golden King took the steaming bowl of hangover soup from his beloved daughter, Princess Talanji, took a sip, and asked softly:

"Can you confirm that the changes in the dark trolls were truly caused by the demonic plague?"

"One hundred percent certain, the noble King of Gold."

The old witch doctor said in a deep voice:

"Just before they transformed into the form of dark trolls, they chased a demon in the Gadgetzan harbor of Tanaris. Our people followed them the whole way, and at that time, the skin of several Sand Guardians had already transformed into the same form as our trolls."

But Chief Ukz didn't pay attention to it at the time.

The chief had always tried his best to lead his people, but unfortunately, the environment of the desert was too harsh, and he simply didn't have the energy to focus on things that weren't in the best interests of his people.

"Because of the important news you brought today, the Empire will increase its supplies to the Sandur Clan by 30% for the next ten years! Now stop complaining about being poor, let's get down to business and not change the subject."

The King of Gold snorted and said:
"Are only the elves of Cenarion Hold reverting to their troll forms? What about the elves in other places?"

“We don’t know that. The Sandfury clan lacks air power and has difficulty detecting elves in other places, but we have informants in Gadgetzan. Relying on the goblins’ extensive commercial network, I can tell you definitively, Your Majesty.”

The old witch doctor, Mullan, pushed up his "big bad guy mask."

Well, this is actually a traditional wooden voodoo mask from the trolls, a very precious spellcasting artifact. It's just that the Sandfury clan's overly brutal style of doing things leads the goblins to call their precious mask such a malicious name.

It said seriously:
"The Kaldorei elven cities of Kalimdor have all been infected by the demonic plague. Although it has not lasted as long as Silithus, where the plague first broke out, according to our calculations, there are at most only twenty days left before dark trolls appear in other places."

If you have an idea, you should start preparing as soon as possible.

The King of Gold nodded, drinking his hangover soup in silence while squinting his eyes in thought.

At this moment, the imperial princess, who was standing beside her father and massaging his back, suddenly spoke up:

“This is an opportunity, Father. Although the priests were mostly joking, there is some truth to it. The demons are spreading the plague to cause the elves to degenerate, which is clearly an attempt to divide them. Our Loa priests have made it clear that the degeneration of flesh and blood caused by the plague is permanent.”

In other words, the division of the elves is now unstoppable.

As the ruler of the empire, it is your duty to take good care of every clan in the empire. Although the dark trolls have been absent from the imperial lineage for tens of thousands of years, they are still one of the lineages recorded when Emperor Dazar first established the empire.

Their names are still engraved on the Stone Tablet. They are the true subjects of the Empire.

To prevent a future tragedy like the persecution of dark trolls by malevolent elves, you should issue a decree inviting the dark trolls back to the Empire. This would undoubtedly demonstrate your authority.

Faced with the princess's suggestion, the Golden King remained noncommittal. He put down the hangover soup, looked at his most trusted Dark Prophet Zul, and whispered:
"What do you think?"

"Heh, my eyes have long been blind, Your Majesty. The future is already in chaos, and I cannot offer you any advice from the perspective of prophecy."

The Dark Prophet Zul is the true wise leader of the Empire. He is the confidant of the Golden King, and when he speaks, the entire Dazar'alor falls silent to listen to his whispers.

At this moment, the Dark Prophet's expression was not as joyful and excited as the other priests. On the contrary, its haggard and aged face, worn from years of observing fate, was filled with worry. It said:

"The resurgence of the dark trolls is indeed unstoppable. However, if we interfere at this time, it may cause the elves to transfer their resentment towards the demons to us. Most importantly, the love-hate relationship between the trolls and the elves for more than 10,000 years is a conflict that cannot be simply explained by changes in appearance."

If you actually issue that decree, it will have the opposite effect, making the dark trolls see it as an insult to them.

Even if we really wanted to recruit the Dark Trolls back to the Empire, we couldn't do it this way.

The core of the problem is that although the degeneration of the plague has no effect on us trolls, our people will still be weakened by the spread of the plague. Once the demons enter Azeroth, will they let us go just because of our hatred for the elves?
Obviously impossible!

The Dark Prophet toyed with the luxurious black rosary in its hand. After a few seconds of silence, it spoke to the Golden King who was looking at it:
"This is indeed an opportunity to demonstrate the majesty of the empire, but we cannot use brutal methods. I have a plan that requires the full assistance of the Sandur Clan, and I also need you to send an elite guard to Silithus."

A great terror lurks in the darkness there!
I believe the elves, who have suffered such a great calamity, will not turn a blind eye to this, and the insectoids behind the Scarab Wall were once the Empire's mortal enemies!

We cannot turn a blind eye to this, neither out of sentiment nor reason.

Based on the elves' subsequent reactions, we should make corresponding adjustments. Therefore, I will personally go to Silithus to oversee this operation, and I will do my utmost to secure a favorable outcome for the Empire.

If possible, I would also facilitate a temporary alliance between the Empire and the Kaldorei to fight together against the menacing demons.

"Your Majesty, ten thousand years ago, the two sides allied during the ancient war. The Loas fought alongside the demigods of the wilderness, and some of that camaraderie still remains, but it is imperative that we take this matter seriously."

"Then I'll entrust you with the entire operation."

The King of Gold waved his hand and said:
"I won't send any special guards. I'll have the Golden Fleet send a vanguard to accompany you to Kalimdor. The Zandalari Empire, as the legitimate trolls, always does things in a fair and aboveboard manner."

At this point, King Rastakhan glanced at the old witch doctor, Ancestor Muran, and said:

"The Sandur clan chose to remain in Tanaris in ancient times to monitor the movements of the insectoid enemies for the Empire. If the remnants of the Aqir Empire can be destroyed in this battle, the ancient mission of the Sandur clan will come to an end, and the valiant Sandur people will no longer have to be trapped in the barren desert."

By then, the Sandu clan will be able to travel far and wide, which will be a reward for the empire's loyalty. I will carve out a rich island in the South China Sea for you to establish a new home.”

"Ah, thank you, Your Majesty."

The old witch doctor knelt down excitedly.

It's not that it lacks backbone; the main problem is that the Sandfury trolls have had a miserable time these past few years. If it weren't for the Imperial Oath, who would want to spend their whole life in the barren desert?

This is also the source of the contradictions within the troll race.

Even though the troll empire has long been divided, and even though each clan has its own ideas, they still honor the ancient orthodoxy as their king. Clans like Sandfury, which have the mission of the empire, even though their own Loa are almost dying from the heat, still stubbornly refuse to migrate.

Call them loyal.

Troll rebellion was not uncommon among various clans, and the stories of priests betraying the Loa to seize divine power and become gods themselves were far more numerous than the gossip surrounding the Golden King.

Call them rebellious.

Even the wildest and most aloof tribes of Northrend, the Dracari, still send envoys across the Endless Sea every few years to participate in the All Souls Festival in Dazar'alor and acknowledge the Zandalari tribes' royal status within the Empire.

In short, it's very awkward and uncomfortable.

“Father! I want to go to Kalimdor with the Prophet Zul.”

Princess Talanji whispered to her father:
"The Qiraji are a remnant branch of the ancient Aqir Empire. The war between our ancestors and them is still recorded on the Stone of All Souls. As the successor of the Empire, I have a responsibility to personally participate in the glorious execution of our ancient enemies."

“Very good, my daughter’s courage is as resounding as Rezan’s roar.”

The King of Gold nodded in satisfaction, and the Dark Prophet did not refuse the princess's request to accompany him; the matter was thus settled.

However, after leaving King Rastakhan's palace, the Dark Prophet said to the overjoyed old witch doctor, Mullan:

"I've heard that the ancient imperial sword 'The Whipper' is hidden in the yellow sands of Zul'Farrak?"

"Yes, it is, but..."

The old witch doctor hesitated, wondering whether he should expose his family's dirty laundry.

The scandals that had plagued the clan over the years because of that troll sword were so shameful that even a witch doctor who had betrayed his own Loa and joined the ranks of Bwonsamdi, the god of death, felt ashamed.

"It's good that you're here."

The prophet Zul casually remarked:
"You go ahead first. Her Highness the Princess and I will arrive in the desert within ten days. I need a force of no less than 30,000 elite warriors to march into the ancient sands of Silithus with the Zandalari banner."

Her Highness also needs a divine sword befitting her status to participate in the glorious war.

If you accomplish these two things, you can have your own temple in Dazar'alor for the rest of your life, and the Sandur clan, who uphold their mission, will be rewarded by the Zandalari Empire.

So, Your Excellency Zumuran, how will you answer?

"Uh"

The old witch doctor gritted his teeth, and after a moment, whispered:
"I swear, the sands of Silithus and the enemies of the Empire will witness the invincible might of the Zandalari!"

"Very good, go and prepare."

The Dark Prophet waved his hand, and the Old Witch Doctor immediately left.

It can't delay any longer; it must immediately return to Tanaris to prepare for the arrival of the Golden Fleet and return the divine sword. Ha! If Warlord Antu'sul, who secretly keeps fragments of the divine sword, still doesn't understand the bigger picture, then don't blame the power of Sandfury for punishing its disloyalty!

As Zul'muranra departed, the Dark Prophet Zul let out a low laugh, which greatly surprised his disciples. It had been a long time since the prophet had said that fate was murky and the future could not be seen.

Today's banquet even involved drinking a few glasses of wine, which is practically like breaking a vow.

"Mentor, have you seen the ripples of fate again?"

One of the disciples mustered up the courage to ask a question, but the prophet Zul waved his hand and said:

"Fate has become a wildly dancing storm that will mercilessly lash out at everyone who tries to peek into it. I still cannot see where the turbid and surging river will go, but I can see the storm's trajectory approaching irresistibly."

Should the Zandalari Empire rise like the swift Paku, or confront the enemy head-on like the resilient Akunda?
Ah, let's wait and see.

Go back and prepare, urge the Golden Fleet to set off as soon as possible; I must go to that invitation and don't want to waste any more time.

(End of this chapter)