A week later, the Ghostlands took on a different hue. Gone were its tranquility and gloom, replaced by the flames of war.
Almost daily, its dark forests were permeated and clashed with sorcery and magical energies.
Suddenly, the Ghostlands took on a bloody atmosphere, as war erupted in earnest.
The High Elves were striving to suppress the increasingly rampant Amani Trolls, while the Amani Trolls, having lost one of its leaders, sought to vent its anger. This presented a perfect opportunity, a perfect pretext for a life-or-death battle.
However, Leylin, who had arrived to support Thalorien Dawnseeker to reinforce the army, did not immediately join the fray. He and his mentors had more pressing matters to attend to.
The task was to install the runestones. To prevent the trolls from unleashing the same powerful witchcraft sorceries in the Ghostlands as they had previously, the Magisters had to complete the installation of the runestones.
With war looming, no carelessness was tolerated. Leylin could not assist with such a task. He was unfamiliar with the subject matter; he knew nothing about the power of the Sunwell.
However, Leylin had other tasks. He was their most reliable support as the mentors recharged the runes and expanded the energy network.
The two mentors fully chose Leylin, and Leylin was fortunate to have been assigned this role. This was his third mission to guard the mentors' placement of the runestones.
This time, their mission was on the frontier of Zeb'Nowa, where Magister Senethir had teleported them.
Joining Leylin on the guard team were a ranger and a mage: Lor'themar and Solarian. Both were equally accomplished ranger and astromancer.
Lor'themar had previously served as Sylvanas's second in command, but now, after receiving this mission, he joined Leylin's mage team. To his surprise, Lor'themar regained his composure, realizing that perhaps his current abilities were truly inferior to this magister's.
Lor'themar's modesty had yielded a real result. Indeed, as an elite ranger, his current abilities were far inferior to Leylin's. Even the beautiful High Astromancer Solarian, who stood beside him, could not match Leylin's.
Sometimes, a simple mage level isn't enough to tell the whole story. Moreover, Leylin was now already a high-level magister.
Leylin and two other team members lurked outside the sacrificial altar. Under the effects of the [Greater Invisibility], they circled the altar, carefully observing any movement there.
A quarter of an hour passed, and a warm energy emanated from the direction of the sacrificial altar. This feeling seemed to transport Leylin back to Eversong Woods—yes, it was a feeling only found in the kingdom of Quel'Thalas, north of Eversong Woods.
Now, the runestones placed by the mentors were carrying this energy into the Ghostlands.
This magical energy, the most effective tool for combating the spread of sorcery, quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding trolls. They sensed this nauseating magical energy.
Slowly, a number of troll beast masters began to gather. As patrols of the Zeb'Nowa, their specialty was detecting infiltrating teams casting spells within the Ghostlands.
Perhaps these beast masters didn't all come from the same troll clan, but whenever an enemy appeared, they would fight together.
A noise within the forest alerted the vigilant Lor'themar, who immediately detected the trolls' movements using the unique senses reserved for rangers.
"Leylin, the trolls are moving fast."
Leylin could sense the presence of sorcery, and he could alsodetect the approach of the trolls with his sensitivity of the earth. The trees were densely packed here, and some spells had no special effect there.
"Prepare for battle! The magister's mission has just begun, and it will take at least an hour to complete." Leylin twirled his fingers, unleashing 30 orbs of [Arcane Missile].
Under Solarian's envious gaze, Leylin readily aimed the large sized arcane orbs on the upcoming trolls. Leylin had made considerable progress in his spell training over the past few days.
Lor'themar also made the necessary preparations, unlike the other rangers. His fighting style was more like that of a warrior, yet his agility and quick reflexes retained the characteristics of a ranger. Lor'themar was extremely formidable against the troll soldiers.
The sound of ghost-clawed mountain cats moving at breakneck speed echoed as dozens of beast masters appeared before the team.
Seeing the small number of beast masters, Leylin blinked a few times and nodded to the two team members, signaling a swift and decisive battle.
High Astromancer Solarian immediately cast a spell, her hands raised high. Using specialized arcane magic, arcane crystals rained down from the towering trees like falling stars.
The beast masters sensed a threat and immediately understood they were no match for these hostile mages.
As troll patrols, beast masters wouldn't fight to the death. Their mission was to gather information and eliminate small groups of elven combatants.
Furthermore, if they encountered mages they couldn't defeat, they would flee immediately, bringing back information to the chieftain at the camp.
Leylin clearly saw the beast masters turning their heads. To prevent these troll patrols from bringing back more trolls, they had to be killed here.
A black cloak flashed as Leylin slowly emerged from his hiding place. His arcane orbs immediately found their targets. Swiftly moving within the trees locking in the enemies.
Before the troll beast masters could react, the powerful arcane orbs had already engulfed their bodies. With multiple blasts, the troll beast masters and their mountain cats vanished from thin air, replaced by a powder resembling arcane dust.
Like a death god, such a basic spell, boosted by magical prowess and arcane mastery, its immense destructive power only made the beast masters' deaths swift.
Surprisingly, Lor'themar was even faster.
Faster than a ghost claw lynx, he became a crimson phantom amidst the black forest. His emerald short blade danced effortlessly, and in that moment, Lor'themar's usual appearance of a friendly elf disappeared.
In Leylin's eyes, despite his low presence, Lor'themar was as powerful on the battlefield as any elven warrior.
All the beast masters died here, and the mission time was quickly over. Grand Magister Belo'vir walked out from the direction of the sacrificial altar and waved to the team.
Following the instructions of the Grand Magister, Leylin finally saw the rune stone in the mission. Since it had just been connected to the energy network, countless connection points still remained above the rune stone.
The directions and paths of these connection points were extremely complex and numerous. Leylin released his divinity and used his clear mind to explore these lines.
Leylin soon discovered that the end point of the rune stone was the Isle of Quel'Danas, the Sunwell.