Aiden knew that in the original plot, Cho'gall had also captured Med'an, attempting to use his immense potential to open the seal of C'Thun and release this imprisoned Old God. Although he ultimately failed, Med'an still paid a heavy price. Aegwynn sacrificed herself in that battle.
Aiden couldn't help but think, what if N'Zoth also used this trick, getting Med'an to release him? That would be truly terrible...…
Previously, by chance, he had successfully killed C'Thun and Yogg-Saron, but that kind of success was unrepeatable. He believed N'Zoth would never be foolish enough to swallow him again. And if N'Zoth successfully broke free from his seal, even if he burrowed into the opponent's stomach, he would probably only be digested.
"This is difficult," Aiden frowned.
He tried to find the whereabouts of Deathwing and Med'an in the timeline, but the information he obtained was incomplete. He last saw Deathwing carrying the unconscious Med'an into the Endless Sea, but the content beyond that was blocked by another force.
Aiden knew that must be the work of the Infinite Dragonflight.
"How is it? Med'an, he..." Aegwynn looked almost completely distraught. She was in a panic and didn't know what to do.
Even though she possessed immense magical power, she still needed to find an opponent!
"He will be fine," Aiden replied in a deep voice. "However, there is another matter we must deal with immediately."
Aegwynn and Meryl Winterstorm both looked at Aiden, who slowly uttered a name: "Garona. She is probably in danger too."
—
Garona is Med'an's biological mother. For a long time, she was the only one who knew her son's true identity.
This identity was not glorious; it would only bring endless trouble to Med'an. Once exposed, countless people would want to kill him.
His father, Medivh, had led the orcs to Azeroth and orchestrated countless terrible conspiracies. His mother, as King Llane Wrynn of Azeroth's most trusted friend, had betrayed King Llane's trust, assassinating him while he was completely defenseless, and personally carving out the king's heart to offer it to Gul'dan.
Without a doubt, both of them were so infamous that countless people wanted them dead.
But the child was innocent. Garona knew that her sins were heavy, and bringing the child would only burden him. So, after giving birth to Med'an, she entrusted the infant to Meryl Winterstorm, and completely secluded herself, avoiding people's sight.
She could hide for a while, but not forever. Trouble eventually came knocking.
The legendary female assassin returned to her cabin with prey from outside, as usual, preparing to make dinner. But the moment she opened the door, she noticed something was wrong—a strand of hair she had tied to the door frame was broken!
Someone had been here!
Garona instantly drew her dagger, her eyes flashing fiercely. Although she hadn't killed anyone in a long time, she was still a top assassin! The killing skills were engraved in her bones like instincts, and anyone who underestimated her would pay a heavy price!
"It better be an accident, or I will give you the most profound lesson!" She opened the door, and after only a glance, she saw the anomaly—there was a letter on the table.
Garona felt very uneasy. She had been living in seclusion for so many years, but no one had ever contacted her by writing a letter.
She opened the envelope, and inside was a magical image.
"If you don't want your precious son to die, then listen obediently!" The middle-aged man in the image had red eyes, and his jaw was wrapped in an iron hoop, as if afraid his chin would suddenly fall off.
But no one dared to underestimate him. Although he looked like just a middle-aged human, behind him was an incomparably huge shadow—the shadow of a dragon!
His hand was resting on the shoulder of a comatose young man. The young man had the green skin of an orc, the face of a human, but his jaw had the tentacles unique to the draenei.
Med'an—that was Med'an!
Since Meryl Winterstorm moved away from Duskwood, Garona had never been able to find the whereabouts of this master and apprentice. But she had always believed that with Meryl Winterstorm's strength, he would definitely be able to protect Med'an's safety.
But now Med'an was in trouble—this mother was completely at a loss.
"Don't hurt him, don't hurt my son!" She screamed uncontrollably at the magical image.
The middle-aged man in the image revealed a triumphant smile.
—
The main forces of the night elves are divided into three major factions. The Sentinels, led by the Priestesses of the Moon, are the largest and strongest force; this is the regular army of the night elves. The Watchers, led by Warden Maiev Shadowsong, are considered the law enforcement force. Although they are small in number, they are all elites and are all composed of night elf women. Finally, there are the neutral druids, who uniformly accept the dispatch of the Cenarion Circle.
The druids cannot even be considered a force, but like the priestesses of Elune's Sisterhood, they have a detached status.
After Fandral Staghelm's conspiracy failed, he was imprisoned deep in the Howling Vale in Moonglade, which was originally the sleeping place of the druids and had always been heavily guarded. After imprisoning Fandral, this "serious offender," the defensive forces were further strengthened.
It was said that guarding prisoners should be the duty of the Watchers, but Fandral's situation was special, so he was not imprisoned in the Watchers' prison, but in the Howling Vale.
However, Maiev couldn't hand over the power she held. Even though the druids had sent considerable forces to guard Fandral, Maiev still exercised her power, sending one of her most capable Watchers, Cordana Felsong, to lead a team of Watcher elites to join the ranks of the guards.
The war in the Firelands was deadlocked, and Maiev herself led the main force to the front lines, fighting bravely with the fire elementals, unable to take care of things on Mount Hyjal.
And something really happened here.
A year ago, Fandral Staghelm's betrayal caused extremely heavy losses to the night elves. They lost their eternal life, Nordrassil was nearly withered, and countless members of their race died as a result.
It was said that such a crime would be punishable by death in any country, but after some consideration, Malfurion did not do so.
The biggest reason Fandral did this was not because he was inherently evil, but because he wanted to save his dead son, Valstann.
Fandral and his son were both heroes of the night elves, and Staghelm was only bewitched by the Lord of Nightmares to take such measures. He was also a victim. As a compatriot, if he sentenced him to death, wouldn't Malfurion be harming Fandral, just like Xavius?
So, Fandral was ultimately sentenced to imprisonment. If he could regain his sanity and realize his mistakes, perhaps there would be a day when he would be released.
Fandral had only recently woken up from his coma in the past two months. Before that, he had been immersed in the grief of "Valstann's" death again, completely unaware that it was just a fake created by the Lord of Nightmares.
At that time, the seal of the elemental plane had not yet been opened. Malfurion, following Aiden's advice, specially allowed Leyara to take her daughter Istarre to visit Staghelm often, hoping to move him with family affection and help him out of the shadows of the past.
Leyara was Valstann's wife, and the loss of her husband had also caused her great trauma. So, a year ago, when Fandral said he could resurrect Valstann, Leyara also joined the ranks of the fallen druids. After the failure, Fandral, as the mastermind, was imprisoned, while Leyara was restricted to residence.
A month ago, when she learned that she could take her daughter to visit Fandral, she was very grateful for the kindness of the Archdruid Malfurion.
Every two or three days, she would come to the prison in Howling Vale to visit, sometimes with Istarre, and sometimes alone. In her opinion, this method was still very useful. At least recently, her father-in-law, Fandral Staghelm, had become much more conscious. He became very concerned about his granddaughter Istarre, as if he wanted to pour his love for his son into his granddaughter.
Today, Leyara came to Howling Vale with her daughter as usual. The guards outside saw that it was the mother and daughter and let them go.
When they arrived at the cave, the mother and daughter had to undergo another inspection because there were Watchers guarding inside. These "professionals" were much stricter than the druids outside who "scan faces."
After confirming that they were alright, the Watchers let them go.
Just as Leyara and her daughter walked through the winding tunnel, the commander of the Watchers, Cordana Felsong, came over. She frowned and asked, "Who was that just now?"
"It was Leyara and Istarre, Commander."
"Only the two of them?"
"Yes, Commander."
Cordana looked at the Watcher sisters suspiciously, then looked around and muttered to herself, "Why do I feel the aura of a third person?"
"But we checked, there was no third person," the Watcher insisted.
"alright, stay here, I'll go in and take a look," Cordana ordered.
After speaking, she quickly walked towards the depths of the cave.
She had just seemed to feel the aura of a third person. Cordana wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but out of her consistent caution, she decided to go down and take a look.
Now was a time of war, and the person imprisoned inside was a very important prisoner, so she had to be cautious.
At the same time, another group of people came outside the cave.
"Archdruid!" The guard at the door saluted immediately when he saw the one in the lead.
There were only a few people in the entire Cenarion Circle who were qualified to call themselves Archdruids, and the person who came was Broll Bearmantle.
Broll had a serious face and a very solemn expression. He ordered, "Have our people guard this place. From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Although the guard didn't know what was going on, he realized that it was definitely not a good thing.
"We have to hurry, or things will go wrong!" A playful voice came from behind Broll.