"Galen, why didn't you wait for us and just march on ahead?!"
"Ah? Lady Alleria told me to hurry, so I quickly gathered the troops and set off. I thought you were ahead of me, so I marched quickly to catch up. I was even commenting on how fast you were, and that I couldn't keep up!" Galen replied to Sylvanas, feigning innocence.
Alleria's expression faltered. She was secretly annoyed, though she didn't show it.
It was indeed she who had urged the army to move quickly. In her anger at Sylvanas for ignoring her advice and seeking out Galen, she had hoped to make him look bad by emphasizing the army's speed!
Unexpectedly, I'm the one who looks foolish, she realized.
Sylvanas glanced at her sister, secretly pleased by her discomfiture, but maintained her composure. After all, the Farstrider army was indeed slower than Galen's in assembling and marching, which was somewhat embarrassing.
Alleria, sensitive to the situation, felt she was losing face. She abruptly returned to the Farstrider Legion headquarters, leaving Galen and Sylvanas to march together at the front.
"Sylvanas, your striders are truly beautiful, and their endurance is excellent for marching," Galen said to Sylvanas as they walked side-by-side.
Their relationship had deepened. Their shared operations, Galen's heroic rescue of Sylvanas in their last battle, and his furious slaying of the Orc Blademaster Samuro had left a profound impression on her.
"These striders are bred for marching and warfare. The ones used by the nobility are far more ornate and elegant," Sylvanas explained.
Sylvanas, a pragmatist from a military family, preferred the army's sturdy striders to the ostentatious displays of the mage-dominated nobility.
"However, while these birds have great endurance and are suited for traversing forests, their carrying capacity seems limited. Have you considered other options?" Galen asked.
He was puzzled. These two-legged creatures, resembling Earth's ostriches, were swift but could only carry a slender high elf. He doubted they could even carry warriors in plate armor, let alone supplies.
"Striders were domesticated by the first Sun King. Their beauty and grace made them beloved by our people, and over millennia, they have become ubiquitous in Quel'Thalas," Sylvanas explained. She seemed eager to share the customs and culture of her kingdom with Galen.
"Besides striders and the dragonhawks of the northern forests, other animals don't appeal to us aesthetically. And we can't abandon our well-established strider and dragonhawk taming techniques to develop new species."
"I see. But your knights still ride warhorses," Galen noted casually.
"Ah, the warhorses. We owe those to Stromgarde, actually. Sun King Anasterian imported excellent highland warhorses from the Arathi Highlands, and after generations of breeding, we have the warhorses our knights use today. Otherwise, our royal knights would probably be charging into battle on striders! Ha!" Sylvanas chuckled, the sound like silver bells.
Strider knights? The image was absurd. At most, rangers might use them. With their long-range attacks and ability to navigate any terrain on striders, they would make excellent guerrilla horse archers. But charging into battle on them? Galen imagined a group of striders with broken necks.
"Silvanas, I've learned a mature gryphon taming technique from the Wildhammer clan. Have you considered introducing gryphons as flying mounts?" Galen asked.
He was curious. Dragonhawks, like striders, had limited carrying capacity. Their claws were not as sharp as gryphons, and while they could breathe dragon fire, it had no offensive power and couldn't even be used for cooking. Dragonhawk knights relied entirely on the rangers or mages on their backs for combat. They were ineffective bombers.
The high elves of the northern forests were isolated, focused solely on fighting the Amani trolls. Their reliance on ranger guerrilla tactics and mage arcane bombardment was sufficient against the trolls, but would fail against more powerful foes.
They should be grateful for their alliance with the humans, Galen thought. He believed the high elves were no match for the human alliance, let alone the overwhelming Scourge.
To increase Sylvanas's chances of survival and help her avoid her tragic future, he wanted to offer his assistance.
"Gryphons, hmm…" Sylvanas was intrigued. Rangers, in addition to their ranged attacks, were also skilled in close combat, like a combination of marksmanship and survival hunters. Gryphons would greatly enhance their capabilities.
"I think it would be difficult. First, gryphons are too ferocious. Our mages, obsessed with elegance, wouldn't approve. Second, gryphons consume vast amounts of food, which would strain our logistics."
Ah, so the main obstacle is the opposition of the court mages? Galen mused. As for the food, he knew from experience that gryphons could hunt for themselves. They only needed to be released for a couple of hours to return with a full meal. Breeders only provided supplemental feeding to strengthen their bond with the creatures.
From Sylvanas's words, it was clear that the political situation in Quel'Thalas was fraught with tension. Sun King Anasterian faced a serious challenge from the Silvermoon Council, and the Sunstrider dynasty was constantly forced to compromise to maintain the kingdom's stability and prosperity, weakening their position.
The Windrunner family was not aligned with the royalists. They fought for the people, and Sylvanas's words revealed her disdain for the decadent nobles.
"Alleria saw through the kingdom's political environment, which is why she disliked staying in Silvermoon City and eventually relinquished her position as Ranger-General to become a free ranger," Galen realized.