Chapter Four: Quel'Thalas

The next morning, Arthas and Uther were already on their way to the high elven kingdom of Quel’Thalas. As they admired the beautiful customs and landscapes along the route, Arthas turned to Uther and asked, “Master, how many ranger units from Quel’Thalas are actually involved in the battle?”

“They haven’t said, but I estimate no more than two thousand,” Uther replied with a measured figure.

“No more than two thousand?” Arthas stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Our intelligence says the invading trolls number at least five thousand.”

“That’s correct, but fortunately, they mostly come in clans. If they suffer heavy casualties, they’ll eventually break and retreat,” Uther explained.

Uther had fought trolls before and understood these savage creatures well. If it weren’t for the sheer number of trolls this time, Prince Kael’Thas wouldn’t have humbled himself to seek aid from Lordaeron.

Arthas keenly sensed something amiss. “Master, don’t you find it strange? How did the trolls manage to gather so many?”

Uther agreed with the suspicion. “I find it odd too. In past years, the trolls never exceeded around two thousand. Now they’ve more than doubled.”

“Could their homeland be suffering famine?” Arthas joked. The two shared a knowing smile, understanding that was impossible since trolls don’t rely on farming but live by hunting and fishing.

The entire realm of Quel’Thalas was enveloped by a rune barrier called Bantino’rel. This barrier not only effectively repelled external invasion but also suffused the forest with the magic of the Sunwell, the high elves’ source of arcane power. As a result, their lands enjoyed eternal spring—lush, fertile, and peaceful.

This was Quel’Thalas, the Forest of Eternal Spring.

After being defeated by the human and elven alliance, the trolls had retreated deep into the boundless forests, but they periodically troubled the rangers patrolling these woods.

This was because although the Bantino’rel barrier was powerful, it required enormous magical rune stones as anchor points to link the ley lines. Such precious stones could not be scattered throughout every corner of the forest.

This limitation meant that even though trolls were pushed back by elven magic and human valor to the mountainous edges of the forest, their presence could always be felt somewhere within Quel’Thalas.

But this time, Arthas found the trolls’ numbers unusually high.

Arthas perhaps knew more about the trolls than some of the trolls themselves. These forest troll clans belonged to the Amani tribe, who had dwelt for generations in the northern forests and foothills of Lordaeron. In truth, the elves were the invaders.

Yet, humans and elves were now allied, and these savage forest dwellers caused great trouble for both sides.

Thus, humans and elves had once allied to drive the trolls deep into the forest’s heart. Still, the trolls’ ambition to revive the Amani empire had never faded.

Their former leader, Zul’jin, had lost an arm in the war to retake Quel’Thalas, later acted as a guide for the orcs invading the Eastern Kingdoms, and after another defeat, vanished into the woods.

Arthas could only say these creatures were relentless. Over six thousand years had passed since the Troll Wars, yet they learned no lessons from repeated defeat.

Each generation grew weaker than the last. What was once a mighty empire dominating the northern forests was now reduced to hiding in wooden huts to worship their feeble loa spirits.

Their blind devotion often brought great trouble to Azeroth.

Trolls cared little whether a god was good or evil; as long as it granted blessings and power, they would worship even the Old Gods.

They could even summon malevolent deities from beyond Azeroth. Faced with such fearless zealots, Arthas had little choice but to send the trolls to meet their damnable gods.

From Stratholme to the border of Quel’Thalas took about two days’ march. Aside from carrying rations and tents, the support troops needed no additional supplies.

Upon reaching Quel’Thalas’s border, two accompanying mages would teleport supplies directly through the portal network.

The advantage of a world with magic was that logistics no longer constrained marching speed. Especially for Arthas’s elite support force, if they marched swiftly from dawn, they could reach the border by midnight.

But Arthas was in no hurry; if the elves couldn’t hold out even two days, sending troops would be a death sentence.

Perhaps the situation wasn’t as urgent as Prince Kael’Thas’s plea suggested. The rangers’ predicament was indeed dire, unable to receive support from their capital Silvermoon, but having fought trolls for thousands of years, if they couldn’t withstand an assault by a few thousand trolls, Silvermoon would have long since become a sacrificial altar for troll gods.

Did Arthas not see through the elves’ intentions? Aside from Prince Kael’Thas’s genuine anguish over ranger casualties, many council members in Silvermoon hoped the rangers would suffer heavier losses to weaken their influence in the royal court.

Kael’Thas’s father, Quel’dorei’s Sun King, was kept in the dark by a corrupt council that only reported good news. Moreover, His Majesty Anasterian’s reign of thousands of years was nearing its end, leaving little energy to deal with a small troll incursion.

If not, Kael’Thas wouldn’t have traveled all the way to the human magical kingdom of Dalaran for “further study.” In truth, he was ousted by the Silvermoon council and forced to come to Dalaran.

He was utterly frustrated with those useless, arrogant councilors. Kael’Thas’s personal magical prowess was immense. Were it not for his princely status limiting his political involvement, he would have already clashed openly with them.

Yet, as the prince of Quel’dorei, he cared for his people, unlike those councilors who only sought their own benefit at the expense of the rangers’ lives.

A significant portion of Silvermoon’s military comprised rangers led by the ranger general. Should they lose faith in Silvermoon, trolls might one day truly break through the Shepherd’s Gate of Silvermoon.

Thus, Kael’Thas appealed to Lordaeron for aid. To King Terenas, the prince’s plea was an opportunity to make his son’s name known among the kingdoms.

The wise old king understood that Arthas lacked nothing except such an opportunity.