The robust Storm Crow landed in front of Arthas, and the Arch Druid transformed back into his original elven form.
"Good day, Prince," Malfurion gave Arthas a proper human bow.
Arthas smiled and returned the gesture, "Good day, Arch Druid, I am not worthy of your courtesy."
"You saved my people and prevented Mount Hyjal from falling into the Burning Legion's clutches. By all accounts, you are worthy of the highest respect from any Night Elf," the Arch Druid said with a serious expression, "And this Worgen uprising was also thanks to your notification. That child, Velinde, is a bit too stubborn; she doesn't know to report troubles to us first."
"And thank you for resolving this trouble for the Alliance members. Without the Night Elves' assistance, the Worgen would probably have completely destroyed the peace of the Gilneas Peninsula and Silverpine Forest, and Lordaeron would be plagued by trouble day in and day out."
Malfurion shook his head, "The appearance of the Worgen is our responsibility to begin with. As Illidan said, perhaps the Druids have indeed slept too long in the dream, so long that they have become detached from reality, failing to notice the various events happening in the real world."
"Everyone has their own difficulties, but we must now unite to face an even more dangerous existence," Arthas paused, then continued, "Just like what we are about to deal with."
"You said your scouts found traces of Illidan. Where has he gone now? He hasn't caused any trouble, has he?"
It seemed that even though Illidan had almost transformed into a demon, Malfurion still found it difficult to sever ties with his brother. It was unknown whether the Arch Druid felt any guilt or self-reproach towards Illidan in his heart.
Arthas did not want to meddle in other people's family affairs, but unfortunately, Illidan's plan forced him to intervene. If Illidan truly played along with Kil'jaeden and messed up Northrend and Draenor, that would be real trouble.
These two places were territories Arthas intended to claim. Northrend was the Scourge's homeland, and it was not yet time for others to know about it, while Draenor, this wasteland, would better serve the intention of "bringing the war to the Burning Legion's territory."
Under pressure from the Burning Legion, Illidan dared not openly defy Kil'jaeden and wanted to sacrifice the Sunwell to indirectly save his people, but this would also affect Azeroth's power. Therefore, Arthas wanted to keep the Burning Legion out of the Dark Portal.
And this would require Malfurion's help. First, he had to drive his brother off the throne of Draenor.
Arthas released him to cause trouble for the Burning Legion, not for Azeroth. It was just that Azeroth had not yet completely stabilized, so Illidan was sent to scout Draenor first.
The conceited Illidan did not know that he had been completely used by Arthas as a trailblazer and pioneer, and even his actions were under the Scourge's surveillance.
Illidan himself was unaware of this; his full attention was on absorbing Magtheridon's remaining power and how to face the impending Burning Legion.
"The Citadel of Watch is a fortress established by the Alliance in the Blasted Lands, and this fortress, just like its name suggests, is the Alliance's first line of defense watching over the Dark Portal. Not long ago, scouts from the Citadel of Watch reported finding a large number of Naga on the coast, and the one leading them was a demon."
Malfurion mused, "You mean the demon with the Naga is Illidan?"
"I'm not sure if Illidan has completely fallen into a demon, but the striking fel twin blades in his hands cannot be mistaken. Moreover, without the Naga's help, it would be very difficult for Illidan to reach the Eastern Kingdoms in such a short time, so this is quite reasonable."
"You are right. The Naga never care who their allies are; they will only choose the side most beneficial to them. If Illidan truly has bargaining chips that satisfy them…"
Malfurion sighed. He finally understood why his brother had fled from Azshara. That was probably the best way for him to contact the Naga. When he confronted him back then, Illidan probably lingered there just to contact the Naga.
Otherwise, given Illidan's personality, he would have vanished long before the Warden truly caught up to him.
Malfurion continued to ask, "Is Illidan still in the Blasted Lands? If so, I will send people to find him as soon as possible."
"It will likely be difficult for us to find him for some time," Arthas replied, "Illidan opened the Dark Portal and has left Azeroth. After that, the Dark Portal closed again."
"As far as I know, that portal leads to Draenor, the destroyed homeland of those orcs, doesn't it? I should have been in slumber then, but I also saw a black tide in the dream."
"That's right. We now call the world on the other side of the Dark Portal Draenor. As the name suggests, it is a chaotic zone located between the Twisting Nether and the Great Dark Beyond. After a large number of astral portals collapsed, they completely tore that world apart."
Arthas explained the situation of Draenor to Malfurion, "After the Alliance Expeditionary Force closed that gate, we never opened it again. Or rather, everyone in this world who knew how to open that gate should already be dead."
"Then how did Illidan open the Dark Portal?"
"gul'dan's skull, something Illidan snatched from the Dreadlords Tichondrius. It contains a fragment of the Orc warlock Gul'dan's soul, and Gul'dan happened to be the one who knew how to open the Dark Portal."
Malfurion suddenly understood; everything made sense now. Illidan had absorbed the power from that skull to transform into that appearance, and just as Malfurion had feared, Illidan was already almost indistinguishable from the demons in others' perception, even able to effortlessly wield those dark magics.
Arthas also did not lie; everyone who knew how to open the Dark Portal, except for the Burning Legion's demons, might already be dead. However, the method to open this gate still remained in medivh's book. Even the Scourge reached Draenor through another method of teleportation.
As someone who possessed the authority over death, Arthas could extract some knowledge from another realm exclusive to the dead. Although he had not yet taken the effort to fully explore that world, he had vaguely realized that Frostmourne and that realm were closely related, and so was the Scourge.
It was a plane completely different from Azeroth, like two rooms on the same floor. Although they coexisted and influenced each other, they did not interfere with each other's normal operation.
He had already acquired many technologies from the realm of the dead, including a new type of teleportation technology. Through this technology, as long as there was enough energy, not to mention spatial teleportation, even cross-planar travel was not an issue.
Of course, this could only be used by the Scourge, and it was indeed not yet time to open the Dark Portal.
Under Kil'jaeden's command, Illidan would certainly return to Azeroth once more. At that time, he would still set his sights on the Sunwell and the Frozen Throne.
"It seems my brother has truly gone further and further…" Malfurion shook his head with some disappointment. He had originally thought his brother still had a chance to turn back, but Illidan had even abandoned everything in Azeroth and fled to a new place.
"My condolences, Arch Druid," Arthas comforted, while taking a strange black and red gem from his pouch and placing it in front of Malfurion, "By the way, Arch Druid, have you ever seen anything like this?"
Malfurion stared intently, his face instantly changing. He asked nervously, "Where did this come from?"
"While investigating the Worgen incident, I defeated many Worgen, one of whom was particularly powerful. He even tried to use the power of the scythe, and after defeating him, I extracted this from his residual energy."
Arthas, of course, knew what this energy was, because he had once dealt with the owner of this power, though that fellow didn't know it yet.
"Nightmare power… How could it appear in reality?" Malfurion wanted to take the crystal but dared not touch it with his hand. This power was the bane of his power's origin. The Arch Druid's expression was extremely serious, "Prince, you had best stay away from this thing. It is incredibly evil and will twist your mind."
"I know. It once tried to break through the Holy Light's protection over me, but it failed, which is why I dare to hold it like this." Arthas held the gem, completely unfazed, which calmed Malfurion down a bit.
Although the Nightmare power was terrifying, once it left the dream and encountered a paladin like Arthas, it couldn't cause much trouble.
But Malfurion still dared not easily probe the source of the power in this gem. He said to Arthas, "This thing is the bane of nature and life. It originates from an incredibly evil being, but that fellow has been sealed in the deepest part of the dream by me and my mentor. But now…"
The Arch Druid dared not continue speaking. He seemed to have realized that something extremely terrifying was happening.
"The fellow you're talking about, is it Xavius? The mage beside Queen Azshara?"
Malfurion was somewhat astonished, "How do you know about events that happened ten thousand years ago?"
Arthas was very frank, "The Alliance Expeditionary Force discovered an ancient Highborne ruin in Feralas. According to investigations, the ancient Elves called that place Eldre'Thalas. It recorded some events from the War of the Ancients, so I learned about it."
"Eldre'Thalas? After the Great Sundering, my people only lived around the Mount Hyjal mountain range. We haven't been to that ancient region of Feralas for a very long time. I didn't expect Eldre'Thalas to be hidden in the dense forests there."
Malfurion sighed a few times. After the Great Sundering, Azeroth's landscape underwent drastic changes. The Night Elves' old maps were no longer applicable, and coupled with the current Night Elves' restraint in their actions, they no longer deliberately sought out those ancient cities.
After all, the most prosperous city clusters at that time had almost all disappeared into the tsunami along with Zin-Azshari. Earthquakes, landslides, and a series of other disasters caused many familiar cities to completely vanish into the dust of history.
"Not only a large number of ancient ruins, but we also found traces of habitation there." Arthas dropped another bombshell, "But that area was artificially sealed off, so it's likely that Elves are still living there."
"Highborne still living there?" Malfurion found this somewhat unbelievable. After losing the Well of Eternity, the Night Elves were able to survive under the protection of the World Tree. What could possibly allow Elves to persist in that ruin?
"I don't know if our status as outsiders makes them unwilling to see us, perhaps the Night Elves can gain their permission?" Arthas mentioned casually, "Sorry, I've strayed a bit. Let's talk about Xavius."
Malfurion nodded, but he also kept the situation of Eldre'Thalas in mind. Although magic had brought immense disaster and pain to his people, during ten thousand years of contemplation, and the matter of Illidan, Malfurion realized that he perhaps should not be too rigid in his views on certain matters.