Shandris was very interested in her father, whom she had never met, and felt little hatred. Both her mother, Tyrande, and her godmother, Azshara, spoke of her father with admiration and deep love; he was an extraordinary figure.
"Your father is an amazing demigod. He saved Azeroth, and one day he will be resurrected and return, and then you can be reunited."
Occasionally, in the dead of night, Shandris would see her mother, Tyrande, alone, thinking of her father, who appeared as a Vrykul in armor with an obscured face.
She knew about Vrykul, a type of titan constructs. But neither her mother nor the five Dragon Lords had ever seen such a figure among the Vrykul, as if he appeared and disappeared out of thin air.
Vashj handed over a spatial scroll. Shandris opened the scroll, and a table appeared, laden with an array of delicious dishes: freshwater perch soup, roasted mountain lamb, fairy salad, and flavored fried rice, all prepared by Pandaren chefs.
Besides the table full of delicacies, there was also a verdant necklace, crafted from the bones of Archimonde and the finger bones of Sargeras, combined with various rare materials.
Although the bones were filled with Fel Energy, they had been nourished by Arcane before being infused with Fel Energy, giving them dual attributes. Now, after purification, the bones possessed a unique natural aura, and when made into an accessory, they could bestow many benefits.
Firstly, it rapidly gathers Arcane energy, not only accelerating mana recovery but also forming a unique, high-quality mana shield to protect the wearer, and it comes with a teleportation mark. This triggers when life is in peril, and can automatically restore full energy.
Secondly, the accessory can absorb Fel Energy and convert it into pure energy to replenish itself. If energy is abundant, it can also release pure spell missiles to attack enemies, or be used to amplify spells. Whether Arcane, Fel Energy, or natural spells, they can all receive an amplification of more than one fold.
Azshara merely glanced at it, then floated gracefully over, her fair feet with violet painted nails hovering above the smooth floor. She picked up the necklace, felt it, and casually shot out an ice spear. The ice spear, originally adult-sized, became as large as a mammoth, with a diameter exceeding twenty meters!
This startled even her. For a mage, such an accessory was highly desirable.
"It contains unique rules. Your father has given you a wonderful gift."
Azshara reluctantly handed over the necklace. As a mage, she truly loved such a brutally simple amplification effect. If it belonged to someone else, she would have snatched it without a second thought. But this was for her adopted daughter, and even though she was born to that commoner woman, Tyrande, Azshara treated Shandris as her own daughter and would certainly not seize her belongings.
Shandris happily put on the necklace, admiring herself in the mirror with immense joy, thinking, 'Father truly loves me!'
Vashj covered her mouth and chuckled, seeing that Her Majesty the Queen seemed a little jealous. She then took out another spatial scroll and handed it over, her tone not without envy.
"Your Majesty, this is a gift Lord Arthas asked me to give you."
"Hmph, I don't care for it. He has time to provoke other loose women in the Broken Isles, but no time to visit me in the Eternal Palace?"
She was jealous!
Azshara, who was usually detached, was jealous!
"Hehe, if Mother doesn't want it, then I'll take it!"
Shandris reached out to take it, just pretending to tease her mother.
Azshara quickly snatched it and playfully pinched her delicate nose.
"You little rascal, making fun of me, aren't you?"
"Ouch, no, my nose hurts!"
"Hehe, little rascal, do you know you were wrong? Come, Mama will blow on it and it won't hurt anymore."
Watching Azshara and Shandris playfully bicker, they looked more like sisters; their bond was truly strong!
Indeed, no one else could receive such favoritism from Her Majesty the Queen. Perhaps only Arthas's offspring could achieve this.
Opening the spatial scroll, inside was a sachet, crafted using unique spatial technology, capable of continuously gathering the naturally dispersed energy of the azeroth world-soul.
Holding the sachet, Azshara felt her somewhat unstable form gradually solidify.
It prevented her from completely transforming into a twisted, ugly Naga. This change was not merely physical; it meant her soul would also take on the appearance of a Naga.
Even if she were resurrected later, she would only become a Naga, not an elegant and beautiful Highborne.
Closing her eyes, a smug smile appeared on her face. Azshara felt very good now; she could leave the chamber.
"Not bad!"
Opening her eyes, the worry in them had vanished. The longing for Arthas in her heart had also dissipated; after all, she was just jealous.
It turned out her husband hadn't forgotten her, but knew of her current predicament and was trying to make amends. How could she resent him over a little jealousy? That would be irrational and wrong.
If the Naga knew their queen could act like such a young girl, their jaws might drop in surprise.
"It seems the gift from Father made Mother quite happy, hehe, I told you Father is a very good person.
"
After Shandris spoke, her delicate little face fell, becoming worried and distressed.
"Sigh, Father didn't forget us while busy saving the world. He must be very busy and in great need of help, and I want to do something for Father too. Mother, why don't we think about how to help Father? Okay!"
They say a daughter is her father's little cotton-padded jacket; she truly understands how to care for her parents in life.
Azshara gently stroked Shandris's hair with a doting expression, smiling and nodding.
"Alright, my dear daughter has learned to care for your father. Now, first eat the fine wine and delicacies your father prepared for you, and then go check on the Eastern Kingdoms. His kingdom needs a little help, and if you have time, go see your two, oh no, your three stepmothers."
Calling them stepmothers was indeed accurate; whether Jaina, Sylvanas, or even the eldest, Onyxia, they were all younger than Shandris.
Her father found her a stepmother even younger than herself; this was truly a bit hard to take.
Fortunately, Shandris was a priestess of the Sisterhood of Elune, and with her near-infinite lifespan, she truly didn't care about age differences.
Speaking of food, even Azshara couldn't help but be tempted. Such delicacies were extremely rare even at Highborne gatherings. Women love good food, men love good food; fine wine and delicacies appeal to everyone, young and old!
The two began to slowly savor the pastries, but for some reason, they ate faster and faster, more and more deliciously. Eventually, they abandoned all decorum, just wanting to eat, eat, eat, and finish all the food first, it was that good!
And why not? These pastries had a special ingredient: a little Anima. Coupled with the Pandaren's exceptionally skilled cooking, any food they made, even roasted bread, was a delicacy that was addictive from the first bite.
Ingesting Anima has a nourishing effect on the soul. The more stable and complete the soul, the greater its potential and the stronger its power. This is a treasure that is hard to find even with a lantern!
Azshara, disregarding her usual elegance, even licked the food residue from her hands, not wasting a single bit. Only then did she truly understand the profound meaning of 'wasting food is shameful'.
Shandris patted her full belly and comfortably leaned back on the expensive deep-sea sharkskin sofa, which was both adequately elastic and smoothly soft, with an automatic sleep-inducing effect when lying on it.
"So full, it was really delicious. I wish I could eat such delicacies every day."
"When your father returns, let him prepare it then."
Azshara also leaned back on the other end of the sofa, disregarding her image, her expression alluring and languid, without a trace of her usual arrogance or aloofness, more attractive than an elegant and dignified noblewoman.
Vashj merely stood by with a smile. After her two mistresses finished eating, she cleared the table, then magically produced two wet towels for them to wipe their hands.
"Vashj, tell me what Arthas is doing, what are his recent whereabouts. We should also do something for him. This time, I hope you'll do well and bear him a child too!"
Azshara was very generous, allowing her head maid to bear children for her mate.
For loyal servants, whether it was the Kaldorei Queen ten thousand years ago or the Naga Queen now, they had followed her without hesitation, working tirelessly; they deserved credit for their efforts, even if not for achievements.
Therefore, she wouldn't be too stingy; give what's due, it didn't matter.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Vashj felt a stir in her heart. To bear children for Lord Arthas? Did she have that right? Was she to become a mother? Could she take good care of a child?
After-dinner conversation, the two beauties, one large and one small, who had been feeling drowsy from the feast, suddenly became spirited again.
One wanted to know what her mate had been up to recently, and the other was a daughter eager to hear about her father's glorious deeds.
Upon hearing that the Nightborne of Suramar City, led by Elisande, had pledged allegiance to Arthas, revering him as their master and beginning to worship him as a god,
Azshara's eyes flashed with a keen light; she seemed to grasp something. This wasn't some twisted pleasure, wanting to experience being worshipped; her husband wasn't that bored to do something that seemed no different from being insane.
Then there could only be one possibility: her husband truly wanted to develop followers, needing their so-called power of faith?
It sounded somewhat abstract, but demigods seemed to be like this; they all needed to develop followers and draw faith energy from them. She had demigod strength, but she wasn't a demigod; these were two different things.
Even with the Naga and the Highborne on land worshiping and believing in her, Azshara couldn't comprehend the subtleties of a demigod, nor could she utilize this so-called faith.
After leaving Suramar City, they went to the Highmountain area.
Azshara had also been to that place, merely passing through and glancing at it; there was nothing noteworthy.
Only a so-called abandoned lair of the Black Dragon King Neltharion, which was given a name like 'Vault' or something.
Aside from that, it was either the Tauren race, harpies, or those Drogbar cave dwellers, with endless mountains, and passage either by rivers or valleys. Besides flying, which was the quickest and most convenient way, there was nothing there that she deemed worthy of her attention.
When Vashj told her that Arthas had recruited the Highmountain Tauren to join the Lordaeron Alliance, she showed no surprise, nor was there anything to be alarmed about; it was simply recycling waste.
Her husband seemed to enjoy doing strange things, recruiting strange races and creatures.
Training Gnolls to become shepherd dogs for herding, replacing ordinary herders.
Training Kobolds to become highly qualified miners in their digging talent, and also using Kobolds for construction and excavation work—this would make even capitalists shed tears.
As for the Murlocs, they were recruited solely for pearl farming and fishing. As for sending them to war, perhaps as cannon fodder it might work, but they were terribly weak.
Now, recruiting these Tauren, what was he trying to do? Were they to be porters or security guards?
She didn't interrupt Vashj, but continued to listen. When she heard that Arthas had developed the Highmountain Clan chieftain Mela into a follower, Azshara finally understood what her husband wanted.
Followers! More living forces!
Followers were one aspect, and another was bringing these intelligent races into the fold, perhaps in preparation for the upcoming great war?
Her Naga army could also help; their strength could crush any flesh-and-blood race, even the Night Elves couldn't compare.
However, in land battles, while the Naga weren't afraid, they would consume more water. After all, amphibious creatures couldn't stay on land for long periods and needed moisture to keep their scales wet; otherwise, drying and cracking would be fatal to Naga.
Vashj didn't hide anything about Mela. Regarding this, Azshara merely rolled her eyes, wrinkled her high nose, and mumbled an inaudible complaint.
Next was the journey to Valsharah. Many Night Elves were very fond of Arthas, and even the eldest daughter of the demigod Cenarius held a great affection for Arthas.
This was nothing particularly noteworthy. For an ancient hero figure passed down by word of mouth, it was normal for females to be fond of him. He had defeated the Burning Legion and mitigated the terrible disaster caused by the Well of Eternity's explosion. This feat was beyond any demigod, you know!
What surprised Azshara was not hearing about developing followers anymore. She then quickly realized why.
Most female Night Elves worship elune, and some males do too. Druids, on the other hand, worship Cenarius, leaving no extra followers to worship Arthas.
If one tried hard to search and develop, followers could certainly be found, but there was simply no need.
"He entered the Emerald Dream?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, Lord Arthas has entered the Emerald Dream with Maiev. He said there are succubi there, and he wants to investigate the cause and also learn the Way of Nature."
Vashj didn't hide anything. She also wanted to go, but she couldn't help, so she could only return as a delivery person.