Make Azeroth breathtaking

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Within the great forge of Darkforge, the ceaseless clanging of forging iron echoed. Blacksmiths from the Thorium Brotherhood, the Dark Iron Dwarves, and from Ironforge, the Bronzebeard Dwarves, forged weapons and armor to combat Ragnaros in this natural forge born from his deeds. Ore ingots smelted by the dwarves, enchanted leather processed by trolls or night elves, and enchanted cloth crafted by blood elves were continuously fed into the forge, where they were crafted or forged into suitable magical equipment. Several exceptionally skilled artisans were even forging weapons and armor with power unimaginable to ordinary warriors using rarer materials.

However, even though the logistical preparations were better than expected, and even though the troops under their command were more elite than planned, everyone still had a slight question mark in their hearts—unlike young dragons like Nefarian and Onyxia, Ragnaros's existence was truly ancient, and the entire Blackrock Mountain was almost his domain. In such a place, was there really a slim chance of winning against an avatar of the elemental lord himself?

Varian didn't know, Thrall didn't know, Jaina didn't know, and even Dagran, who had attempted to assassinate Ragnaros when he was young, didn't know. The only thing they knew was that they couldn't bear to do nothing and leave themselves with regrets when something happened in the future.

About a week passed in this dull manner, when an unexpected visitor arrived in Ratchet.

Cenarius?

Following the news from the bearskin, Varian, Jaina, Thrall, and Tanys arrived deep within Wailing Caverns and saw the towering figure of the demigod standing on the rocks beneath the waterfall.

“Bloor has already told me of your achievements. Well done, allies. May the power of nature bless you.”

"Thank you for your blessing, Cenarius, but the challenges we face now are far more brutal and arduous."

Sal stepped forward and gave a slight bow in respect.

"That's exactly why I came here."

Cenarius spoke in a deep voice, his hand drawing a mysterious arc in the air.

"Due to some unusual signs emerging within the Cenarion Circle, I must remain in Moonglade to oversee things, so I apologize that I cannot travel with you. However, I can offer you a glimpse..."

As Cenarius spoke, his vine-like fingers gently brushed against the waterfall behind him, splashing up a string of crystal-clear water droplets. Thrall's eyes narrowed slightly, understanding what Cenarius meant.

"I understand, thank you for your guidance."

———————————————Ratchet————————————————

"Tell me, what is the meaning of Cenarius's revelation to us?"

Upon returning to Ratchet, Varian couldn't wait to ask Thrall and the others, because he realized that, apart from himself, the other three seemed to understand Cenarius's implication.

"Under normal circumstances, water and fire are incompatible, so you need to ask a water elemental for help to fight a fire elemental."

Tanis answered in a muffled voice.

"Find a water elemental? Cenarius means we need to find a water elemental for help?"

"Don't worry, Varian. The reason why mages often choose water or earth elementals as their partners is because these two elemental creatures are more stable and easier to communicate with compared to air or fire elementals. Cenarius's suggestion must be because he believes that we will at least not suffer too bad a result."

Jaina, sensing Varian's concerns, explained softly.

"However, although I, my shaman, the shamans of Ratchet, and some of the shamanic witch doctors of the Darkspear trolls, as well as the shamans of Thunder Bluff, can all communicate with water elementals, we are limited to communicating with some weaker water spirits or talking to water elementals in a certain area. To deal with Ragnaros, the power of these water spirits is far from enough."

Thrall stroked his chin, looking somewhat troubled. The best way to deal with an elemental lord was to find another elemental lord to lend a hand. He had found the name of the water elemental lord in the tomes: Neptulon the Tidehunter. The problem was that this elemental lord's traces were almost all in the deep sea, making him impossible to touch!

"The power of the Tidehunter... is that enough?"

Just as Thrall was pondering how to summon enough water elementals to help him, Jaina's sudden mention of a name interrupted his thoughts.

"Jaina, do you have a way to contact the water elemental lord?"

Jaina gently shook her head.

“I have no way, but my father does.”

"Admiral Daelin? I remember him... as a rather pure warrior, capable of communicating with the legendary elemental lords?"

Thrall frowned. As the chieftain of the tribe, he had the most dealings with Daelin in the tribe, but he remembered that from any angle, Daelin did not seem like someone who could summon elemental power.

"The reason why Kul Tisla's fleet can dominate the Endless Sea is because their ships are blessed. This is almost an open secret among the various forces that make their living from the sea, and there are only a few forces that can bless ships."

Tanis, only realizing after Cenarius's reminder that the Allied forces' preparations for attacking Molten Core were missing a crucial step, calmly spoke up.

"The blessing of the Kul Tiran ships comes from the water elemental lord?"

Varian was surprised. He realized that as the king of Stormwind and one of the leaders of the seven kingdoms of the Alliance, he actually knew his brothers less well than a neutral force like Ratchet!

Seeing Varian's surprise, Jaina slowly nodded.

"Ah."

——————————————The Barren Lands, Drake Fortress————————————————

To be frank, Thrall didn't like that Daelin had built this military fortress in a prominent area of ​​the Barrens, one that could tightly block the Horde's sea lanes and allow for unimpeded attacks on Durotar by land and sea. However, he knew this was the price the Horde had to pay to integrate into Azeroth and stop being seen as invaders—in fact, the price was already quite light. Thrall also harbored a slight unease; what if the Horde inadvertently went astray again...?

"call......"

Looking at the majestic fortress before him, and the Kul Tiran sentinels on it who were staring at him with hostile eyes, Thrall let out a heavy sigh.

“Sarl.…”

Jaina looked at Thrall with some concern. Although she knew Thrall wouldn't be in any danger, most of the soldiers in Drake Keep didn't like orcs—which meant that Thrall's meetings with Daelin were either in Ratchet or Theramore.

"I'm fine, let's go."

Sarr strode into the slowly opening gates of the fortress.

53. Neptulon

On the rooftop of Drake Fortress, Daelin stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the shimmering endless sea in the distance. Behind him stood the silent Thrall.

"This is your first time visiting my fortress, Orcish Warchief. How does it feel?"

Sal remained silent for a few seconds.

"Want to hear the truth, General Dalyn?"

"of course."

"Then I'll be frank. The moment I truly understood your fortress, I felt an urge to wipe it away completely with the power of the earth, leaving no trace."

Sal's answer made Daelin's lips curl into a slight smile.

"Are you afraid?"

“I am not afraid, but my tribe is. Ironically, my tribe needs this fear in order to live in this world with its head held high, according to my ideas.”

“I built this fortress not only to instill fear in your tribe, Orc Warchief.”

Daelin turned around and looked directly into Sal's azure eyes, trying to see something else in them, but after several seconds, Sal's gaze remained pure.

"Take it. This is the necklace passed down through generations of our Predmor family, the Heart of the Fleet. It embodies the blessings of the tides upon our Kul Tiras fleet. I don't know if the unpredictable Tidehunter will hear your call, but for the sake of Azeroth, I must say, I wish you success, Thrall."

After staring at Sal for half a minute, Daelin took the anchor-like necklace off his neck and handed it to Sal. Sal bowed slightly and strode away from the top of the castle with the Pridmore family heirloom in his hand. He did not notice that a smile of approval appeared on Daelin's lips the moment he turned around.

"Father......"

After Thrall left, Jaina, who was still invisible, slowly emerged from beside him. Her heart had almost raced when she saw her father questioning Thrall again, something that was rare for her.

"Although you've never been good at judging people, you've certainly got Thrall's character right, at least for Thrall."

Before Jaina could respond, Daelin left on his own. Although he had entrusted the Heart of the Fleet to Thrall, that didn't mean he wouldn't observe Thrall's ceremony from beginning to end...

—————————————Ceremony Preparations in Progress————————————————

On a luxury cruise ship belonging to Ratchet, Varian and Daelin stood side by side at the bow, carefully watching the shamans on the island not far away, who, led by Thrall, arranged various ritual props according to certain rules. Jaina stood beside them, diligently recording every detail of the ritual. Tanis smiled and instructed her subordinates to put Thrall's purchases from Ratchet on the books, while Broll and Naralex, along with several high-ranking druids, stood guard in case of emergency.

"teacher."

After placing the last totem, Thrall wiped the sweat from his brow and respectfully inquired of a blind, white-haired old orc.

“The water elementals have begun to whisper, Thrall, your ritual preparations are flawless.”

Drek'Thar nodded slightly to Thrall, indicating that he could begin the ritual.

"Yes, teacher!"

Thrall felt reassured after receiving confirmation from his teacher. He raised Doomhammer and swung it lightly. All the shamans immediately took their positions and placed their hands on the totems they were responsible for. Thrall then walked to the center of the altar, placed the Heart of the Fleet on the flat stone slab, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to communicate with the elements.

At first, Varian didn't think anything was wrong, but as time went on, he felt his breathing becoming increasingly difficult, and there was a slight feeling of stagnation, as if he were not on a ship, but in the water!

The sea has darkened in color; water elements are rapidly gathering here.

Jaina suddenly spoke, and only then did Varian realize that not only was his breathing becoming difficult, but the color of the eerily calm water had also turned an unimaginably deep blue!

"buckle!"

Just as Varian was trying to speak despite this discomfort, a strange mask was placed on his face, and instantly he felt much easier to breathe.

'I knew I'd get a tough start, but thankfully I prepared this...'

As Tannis distributed the masks, she muttered to herself and slightly touched her glasses. In the projected scene in front of her, a huge and terrifying thing was taking shape. Clearly, Thrall had indeed brought one of the four elemental lords—the water lord Neptulon!

"Whoosh!"

With sound, yet silent, with surging waves, yet still waves, Neptulon the Tidehunter quietly emerged from the ocean, standing there silently overlooking the shamans on the island. The moment Tannis saw Neptulon, she even had a strange feeling—that Neptulon's existence was as if it were meant to be there.

"Mortals, what have you done to disturb the great Neptulon?"

Although it had recognized the medium that had summoned it, Neptulon remained curious about the fact that its will had been invoked. In its memory, even after it had blessed the ships of those mortals, the Pridmore family still didn't particularly like dealing with it...

Thrall raised his head, trying to make eye contact with Neptulon, and spoke loudly.

"Great Tidehunter, your nemesis, Ragnaros the Firelord, has returned to the world. We need your help!"

"Lord of the Flame Demons, hahaha, hahahahahaha!!"

Neptulon burst into laughter, like the rolling waves of the sea.

“I know, of course I know. I’ve been keeping a close watch on my nemesis’s every move… What, you mortals actually have the courage to face an elemental lord?”

“We must drive it away, great tide hunters, for our home.”

"Hmm...you don't seem to be lying, little orc..."

Neptulon had almost figured out some things through this series of questions and answers, which pleased it greatly. The fact that the Balrog's clone had escaped to the material world had always been a major threat to it, and it was best to be able to drive it away through the hands of these mortals.

"So....."

Sal was overjoyed and was about to speak when he saw Neptulon looking at the yacht. His gaze made Daelin's heart skip a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

"I will send my chosen one with my blessing, who will protect your soldiers from the supernatural flames and heat of Ragnaros, and I will appoint Duke Hydraxia to help you. My chosen one, accept my blessing."

As he spoke, Neptulon's illusion raised a hand, a faint blue aura shimmering on it.

"Neptulon, I'm sorry, I must guard my fortress."

Daelin spoke in a deep voice. Although he knew that the battle for Molten Core was important to Azeroth, he did not want to get involved personally.

“I know where your son, Tanred, is. After you extinguish the flames of Ragnaros’s clones, I will tell you how to call them back from the other side of the sea.”