Galen, struck by a sudden idea, hastily drafted a plan. Its feasibility was secondary; his immediate goal was to win over Kael'thas.
After ending the video call, Galen journeyed to Lordaeron's outskirts to meet Durin and the Thorium Brotherhood delegation.
"Who is she?" Galen asked, gesturing towards a fair-skinned dwarf who stood out from the Dark Iron dwarves.
"I found her on the way!" Durin replied, feigning innocence.
That fair skin, that barrel-like waist... she's undoubtedly a Bronzebeard dwarf, and a female one at that. Her strength is at least at the eighth level. And he "found" her?
Where does one "find" such a treasure? I want to try my luck there too. An eighth level powerhouse... in a small country, she'd be a notorious figure, and with further advancement, a high-ranking official.
"Consider the implications," Galen admonished Durin earnestly. "We are of the Order faction. If you develop feelings for someone, you must take responsibility. Abandoning her after... engaging with her... is despicable!"
"Mind your own business!" Galen concluded his lecture, casting a meaningful glance at Durin before departing Lordaeron, leaving the dwarf in a state of bewildered confusion.
Galen then traveled to Kalimdor, where he had crucial matters to attend to for his next scheme.
After over a year of effort, Hogg and Nibnob's missions were complete. Hogg had successfully become the new leader of the Palemane gnolls. Mulgore was now free from the forces that had disrupted the tauren's rule, allowing Cairne and his people to rest and recover in peace.
Nibnob had conquered all the kobolds in the eastern Barrens, leading over 100,000 kobolds as their king.
Galen ordered the kobolds to excavate the Shadow Cleft within the valley and expand Ragefire Chasm. He envisioned an underground palace even more magnificent and vast than the one Garrosh Hellscream had overseen, a safe haven for the kobolds.
Above ground, a new city was under construction. This city would serve as Galen's base for unifying the eastern Barrens.
The new city was named: Durotar!
As new garrison troops and farmers moved into Durotar, Galen assigned new missions to Hogg and Nibnob . They were to lead their elite gnoll and kobold guards into territories that had fallen to Stormwind, and harass the enemy from behind the lines.
But Galen's true target was not the gnolls and kobolds. It was Triumph Fortress.
Triumph Fortress, Galen's last outpost in the northern Barrens, was strategically located in the east-central part of the southern Barrens. It defended against the quilboar in the south and guarded the pass leading into Dustwallow Marsh in the east.
In addition to its heavy defenses, Galen had secretly placed a special structure deep within the fortress: the orcish War Mill he had acquired from the lottery.
Over the past year, the War Mill had secretly trained three hundred orcish raiders – the traditional orcish wolf riders.
Galen's plan was simple. The high elves believed their northern location and the human buffer state would shield them from the orcish threat, preserving their precious forests.
Galen intended to disabuse them of that notion, demonstrating the orcs' power.
In addition to the wolf riders, Galen planned to recruit elite members of the Revantusk tribe, creating the illusion of an orc-forest troll alliance. This would give the elves an unpleasant surprise.
He would also teach the arrogant councilors of Silvermoon how to be humble and reasonable elves. Their vaunted magical barrier would prove useless!
Galen had long been irritated by the high elves' arrogance. Millennia ago, they were nearly wiped out by the Amani trolls and were only saved by an alliance with the human empire.
They reluctantly shared basic magical knowledge with a hundred humans, and after defeating the trolls, they resumed their haughty ways, deeming human arcane talent pathetic compared to their own elven nobility.
As the human empire waned, the humans' short lifespans and their alliance with these long-lived races gradually weakened.
In the current crisis, the high elves refused to aid Lothar, a descendant of Thoradin. Only when Orgrim Doomhammer reached their borders did they belatedly join the Alliance, sending troops in force.
After the orcs were defeated, the elves, seeing their own safety secured, withdrew from the Alliance. Decades later, the Scourge, with overwhelming numbers, invaded Quel'Thalas, inflicting heavy casualties. The Sunwell fell. The Silvermoon Council perished, leaving Kael'thas, stranded in Dalaran, to deal with the aftermath. Kael'thas situation was truly dire.
Beset by internal strife and external threats, the high elves sought to rejoin the Alliance, but their past actions had eroded trust. The remnants of Lordaeron imprisoned Kael'thas, their leader, who was ultimately manipulated into a path of destruction.
Why bother?
He did all the thankless tasks for them.
Galen sympathized with Kael'thas. Kael'thas cared deeply for his people, but at a young age and lacking power, he could only watch helplessly as his nation's leaders made disastrous choices.
Galen had once favored the blood elves, influenced by their striking appearance. But now, as the Prince of Stromgarde and a high-ranking member of human society, he recognized the importance of his position.
He genuinely considered Kael'thas a friend and was deeply concerned for his well-being.
Galen gathered three thousand elite Revantusk trolls from Aethas, along with the three hundred orcish wolf riders. Galen personally led this force, preparing for some... unconventional actions.
Baron Sanguinar, Kael'thas's representative, presented Galen with a badge representing the Sunstrider dynasty in Eastvale. Everything was in place.
This was Galen's first solo command since the formation of the Heart of Origin's forces. He left the heroes of the Altar of Kings behind.
Durin was in Lordaeron, negotiating the Thorium Brotherhood's entry into the Alliance. Aragorn was stationed at the Thandol Span, assisting Marshal Orestes in guarding the only passage between the northern and southern continents. Gandalf was positioned in Minas Tirith, ready to provide support from all directions. The heroic spirits of Medivh, Durotan, and Draka guarded Galen's fortresses in the Barrens.
Normally, humans would travel by sea from Southshore to Stratholme, then cross the mountains and forests to reach the high elves' territory, located at the northern end of the continent, near the Eastern Plaguelands. This region, adjacent to the northernmost human lands, was called Eversong Woods. Ten thousand years ago, it was the ancestral land and burial grounds of the forest trolls.
The high elves had settled on the trolls' ancestral graves. It was no wonder the forest trolls harbored such deep and irreconcilable hatred.
Anyone would be furious in that situation.