Azeroth Monster Manual

Ten days ago, Serena Sun-Eater 'bid farewell' to her exasperated Aunt Sandra and embarked on a journey to the Hinterlands.

Since Aire established the Aire's Light Alliance, Quel'Thalas, once isolated, naturally opened a 'flight point' in Hillsbrad Foothills, undoubtedly making it more convenient for the aspiring elven adventurers (and commoners) who came seeking fame.

However, Serena didn't choose to use the permanent portal to go directly to the Aire's Light headquarters; instead, she chose to use the dragonhawk as transportation, wanting to experience all the novelties she hadn't experienced in the past 200 years.

Early in the morning, a slender figure wrapped tightly in layers was queuing behind a group of elves.

She held a thick newspaper, reading it carefully, occasionally taking a bite of the apple in her hand.

Serena had been queuing here for three hours, but the flight master told her that this situation might continue for a long time.

Although the elves waiting for the dragonhawk formed a long queue, Serena didn't feel bored; on the contrary, she found it quite novel.

Just then, the conversation of a pair of elven lovers in front of her caught her attention.

"Darling, do you think they sell 'Truth Daily' in the human kingdoms? What if they don't?"

The woman leaned into the man's arms, whining and complaining.

"Honey, we can contact my father. He's the sole 'Truth Daily' distributor in Silvermoon City. I think he should be able to mail us the newspaper."

"Really? That's wonderful! 'The Funeral of the Rose' is so exciting! I'm already eager to know if the High Princess can defeat the Magister and marry Master Aire!"

The woman excitedly hugged her boyfriend's arm, saying with a look of infatuation.

"But... I still think Commander Sandra is a better match for Master Aire. Commander Sandra is so adorable; if I were Master Aire, I would kneel and beg her to marry me!"

The man scratched his head, rebutting somewhat shyly.

"What do you mean! Do you even love me anymore? Hmph! I don't think you love me anymore. I'm leaving. You can spend time with your Commander Sandra!"

The woman, hearing her boyfriend's words, suddenly broke free from his embrace and left angrily.

Man: ???

"Baby! I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

"You're not wrong! How are you wrong? You're not wrong at all!"

"I was just joking, isn't it unnecessary to be so serious?"

The man, seeing the gazes of those around him focused on him, quickly grabbed his girlfriend's wrist, wanting to say something.

Whether it was because the man was too anxious and used too much force, or because the woman's skin was too delicate, her originally fair wrist visibly reddened.

The woman touched her wrist in disbelief, shouting with red eyes.

"Oh, so you actually hit me! Even my mother has never hit me; how dare you hit me!?"

"I didn't! I..."

The man hurriedly released his girlfriend's wrist, explaining frantically in a loud voice.

"Not only did you hit me, but you even yelled at me, wuwuwu, I can't live like this anymore, breakup! I want to break up with you!"

The man hurriedly chased after her, pulling on his girlfriend's hand and pleading softly, but the woman remained unmoved, continuing to sulk.

...

Serena silently took two steps forward, standing in the spot where the couple had just been.

"Clearly, I'm more adorable. That old woman, Aunt, is only fit for blind dates, hmph!"

The girl wrinkled her cute nose, muttering softly.

The man used all his skills and finally coaxed his girlfriend back, but when the two of them wanted to return to their original position, they found that the spot had already been taken by someone else. They could only slink to the back of the line and queue up again.

Faintly hearing the sound of arguing coming from the back of the line, Serena giggled like a little mouse stealing grain, until the middle-aged man in front of her turned his head with a disgusted look. Only then did the girl cover her mouth and pretend to read the newspaper.

Time passed slowly, and she had read the newspaper in her hand several times, but Serena's face still didn't show a trace of impatience.

From birth, she had been detected by the Sun-Eater family as possessing extraordinary magical talent. She had always been the good baby in her parents' eyes, the future leader of the family, the aloof and talented girl discussed in her colleagues' mouths. From birth, she had been surrounded by a dazzling halo, surpassing 99% of the elves, making countless people look up to her.

But Serena knew that this was not the life she wanted. She was tired of living under the gaze of others, so from the day she became sensible, she had closed herself off, living entirely in her own world. Apart from work, her life consisted only of herself.

But now it was different. Ever since that young man had entered her field of vision, everything had become different...

For an elf with whom she had no connection, she disregarded the opposition of her family and the Sun King's retention, resolutely resigning from a job that was coveted by others.

She had never met him, and her understanding of him was limited to his name, family, the well-known glorious deeds, and some speculative reports in the newspapers.

She didn't know what kind of emotion it was, but she knew that she wanted to find him and ask him personally, 'What kind of person are you?'

If possible, she wanted to witness everything about him.

Not love, not friendship, it was very subtle. She didn't understand and didn't want to understand. She only wanted to find him now, stay by his side, adventure with him, and finally become a 'legend' like him, spoken of by people.

...

Dragonhawks are beautiful yet deadly ferocious magical beasts. They are natural spellcasters, able to breathe flames and create thick fog.

At the same time, dragonhawks are also brave overlords of the sky. They have long endurance and swift speed. The only drawback might be that these untamed beasts are too difficult to tame.

However, the elves 'stole' the method of taming dragonhawks from the Amani trolls, coupled with the elves' innate magical affinity.

After thousands of years of effort, the Quel'dorei finally tamed this noble beast and specifically established a brand-new type of soldier for the existence of the dragonhawk - the dragonhawk rider.

And some aging dragonhawks, or retired dragonhawks that could not adapt to high-intensity combat, naturally became civilian versions of transportation.

After six hours of waiting, Serena finally boarded her long-awaited 'dragonhawk mount'.

After happily paying 5 gold coins, the girl finally got her wish and embarked on a journey to pursue her dreams.

The whistling cold wind scraped at Serena's face like a knife. The girl, uncharacteristically, took off her hood, shouting and laughing loudly.

Her messy hair was blown into a mess, and her fair cheeks were frozen red, but she didn't care at all. At this moment, she felt that the knots buried in her heart all these years were silently blown away by the cold wind.

"Aire Saronas! I'm going to find you! I also want to have a wonderful life like yours! I also want to become a great hero like you!"

The girl raised her arms, waving in the air. The dragonhawk beneath her seemed to understand the girl's feelings, let out a cry, and disappeared into the cold wind of Alterac, passing through the clouds.

...

"Achoo! Achoo!"

Serena rubbed her red nose and threw the crumpled paper ball into the inn's wastebasket.

She had caught a cold...

"I knew I shouldn't have gone crazy."

The girl stuck out her tongue embarrassedly, followed by two more rapid sneezes.

"That's right, it's said that the Hinterlands has already snowed. I need to buy two cotton coats for backup!"

The girl clapped her hands and quickly jumped out of bed.

The climate of Hillsbrad Foothills was still relatively warm, but even so, the cold wind at night still made the girl wrap her cloak tightly around her.

Serena walked through the lively Alliance station, curiously looking around. Even though it was late at night, it was still unusually lively here.

The towering mage tower was hung with layers upon layers of bright small light bulbs. Opposite the mage tower stood a beautiful Christmas tree. Next to the Christmas tree, a dwarf with a big beard was wearing a Father Winter outfit and was handing out gifts to the children surrounding him.

On the other side of the Christmas tree, a couple was passionately kissing under the mistletoe. Serena only glanced at it before shyly turning her head away.

Looking at everything in front of her, the girl finally realized that today was already the Feast of Winter Veil.

A strange emotion was brewing in her heart, until she vaguely came to 'Father Winter', only then did she recover.

"Ah, so it's a beautiful elf lady. Haha, your timing is perfect. This is the last gift, so I'll give it to you."

"Grandpa Winter" laughed heartily and stuffed the last beautifully wrapped blue striped gift box into Selena's hands.

"Thank… thank you."

Selena cautiously reached out her hand, and after taking the gift, quickly retracted it.

"Excuse me… are you… are you Grandpa Winter?"

Selena mustered her courage and asked softly.

"Hahaha, although I would love to tell you that I am Grandpa Winter, I don't have a cute little helper or a handsome red-nosed Mason (Grandpa Winter's mount).")

The old dwarf looked at the bewildered girl and couldn't help but burst into laughter. It had been a long time since he had seen such a pure girl.

"Okay."

Just like countless children who have been told by their parents that there is no Grandpa Winter in this world, Selena also became dejected.

"Don't be sad, child…"

The old dwarf wanted to pat the girl's shoulder to comfort her, but Selena nimbly dodged him.

"I'll tell you a secret, but you must never tell anyone."

The old dwarf didn't mind, but instead leaned closer to Selena and whispered mysteriously.

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The girl suppressed her desire to escape and waited patiently for the dwarf's secret.

"This world really does have a Grandpa Winter!"

"Re… really?"

"Of course, I swear by the mountains of Khaz Modan, I really saw Grandpa Winter when I was a kid. He even gave me a red fighting robot!"

The old dwarf smacked his lips with a look of reminiscence. Just as Selena was about to continue asking questions, a sharp, duck-like voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

A hideous goblin wearing a green Christmas hat squeezed in, baring his teeth. He pushed the dwarf while shouting:

"Don't listen to this big beard's bragging. There is no Grandpa Winter in this world!

I used to be a salesperson at Smokeywood Pastures. Those Grandpa Winter rumors are all lies to deceive children, just to swindle money out of you fools.

To get you to buy my… cough cough, buy the rubbish toys and shoddy food made by Smokeywood Pastures.

But I'm different. I'm now an outer member of the Syndicate. Beautiful lady, would you like a box of gingerbread worth 1 gold coin? This is an internal benefit that the Syndicate gives to apprentices. I had to pull some strings and spend a lot of money to get it. I wouldn't sell it to just anyone!"

The goblin struggled to take out a squeezed and deformed box from his large bag and kept pushing it in front of Selena.

"Baal, you disgusting green-skinned imp! You dare to sell the holiday gifts issued to apprentices by the Syndicate. I'm going to report you to the leader!"

The dwarf kicked the goblin beside him with a look of disgust and prepared to leave.

"Hey, hey, big beard, don't be so serious. Otherwise, I'll split the money from the sale with you… I'll give you five copper coins."

The goblin clutched his chest with heartache, desperately trying to keep the dwarf from leaving as if he had suffered a great loss.

"Tch! You sell a box of gingerbread for one gold coin and only give me 5 copper coins! Get lost! I'm going to tell the leader about your evil deeds. Don't even think about getting your salary this month, you bastard!"

"No, no, no, 10, no, 20 copper coins, I can't give you any more. Please, please don't tell the leader!"

The goblin hugged the dwarf's ankles and kept crying, but the dwarf was unmoved and dragged the goblin away to report this miser.

"Grandpa Winter…"

Selena said blankly.

"Uh, sorry, little girl, I actually lied to you just now. That damn goblin is right, there is no Grandpa Winter in this world."

The dwarf rubbed his red nose and said apologetically.

"Grandpa Winter…"

Selena pointed blankly at the sky.

"Little girl, being naive is a good thing, but… Anweimar be praised!"

The old dwarf was originally impatient and prepared to educate this innocent little girl and teach her some of his life experiences, telling her not to easily believe the words of strangers.

But when he followed the direction of the girl's little hand and unconsciously looked up at the sky, he discovered an amazing scene in the sky.

Elune hung high in the sky, and the bright moonlight sprinkled down. A white-bearded dwarf wearing a red coat and hat was sitting on a sleigh. He held the reins in his hand, and the other end of the reins was a red-nosed reindeer, pulling the sleigh and running in the sky.

The originally clear sky began to snow, and the civilians looked at the dreamlike scene above their heads, all speechless.

After a long time, an amazing cheer erupted from the quiet garrison.

"Grandpa Winter! It's Grandpa Winter!"

"Grandpa Winter is here to give us gifts!"

"Oh my god, is that red-nosed reindeer Mason? It's so cute."

The people shouted excitedly and laughed, and the entire Light of Elwynn garrison became an ocean of joy.

…

"Mom, Grandpa Winter really came to give me a gift. I'm a good child."

A little elf girl said vaguely while eating a red and white candy cane in her hand, while her mother stared unblinkingly at the sleigh and reindeer in the sky, her eyes slowly turning red.

"Father, I'm sorry. It turns out there really is a Grandpa Winter in this world…"

…

One by one, exquisite gifts fell slowly from the sky as if by magic, accurately landing in the hands of the children.

Not only the children, but even the adults received gifts from "Grandpa Winter."

The goblin Baal tore at the gift in his hand in exasperation, constantly complaining that his business had been ruined.

It wasn't until he opened the gift box and found a few shiny gold coins lying quietly inside that he smiled and cheered loudly.

Selena tightly grasped the two gifts in her hand, her heart filled with warmth. At this moment, she felt that she was the happiest child in the world.

…

"Achoo! Hermit, can't you move over a bit?"

Kael'nel hid beside "Grandpa Winter's" feet, constantly casting Slow Fall spells on the large and small gifts beside him, and then handing them to the old dwarf, while Hermit dyed his beard snow-white, pretending to hold the reindeer's reins, and kept waving to the people below.

"Kael'nel, not to be rude, you should exercise. You're just a skinny stick, I could knock you out with two punches."

Hermit laughed heartily while throwing the gifts that had been cast with Slow Fall one by one.

That's right, Grandpa Winter was Hermit disguised by Aier, and the reindeer was also a temporary engineering tool. Besides being able to swing its limbs like a real reindeer, it couldn't do anything else.

As for Kael'nel, he was responsible for casting Slow Fall spells on the prepared gifts and controlling "Reindeer Mason's" flight.

"Why do you think Master Aier is making us deceive these ignorant people? Isn't the matter of Quel'Thalas not over yet?"

Hermit asked in confusion.

"What do you mean by deceiving? This is called… this is called… this is called sentimentality. The mentor said that every child should have a dreamy childhood and should not be killed by the cruel reality.

Moreover, the mentor also said that these gifts are to be considered the Syndicate's year-end bonus. Stop complaining here, we still have several more stops to make. Don't smile so fake, throw them faster!"

Kael'nel roared breathlessly. The magic power consumed by the Slow Fall spell wasn't much, but it couldn't withstand the large quantity. In addition, he had to control "Mason", so he was putting in a lot of effort.

"Tch, you just learned two words and you're showing off. Master Aier said ~ sentimentality ~ hey ~ what a suck-up!"

The old dwarf twisted his big butt strangely while rolling his eyes and imitating Kael'nel's way of speaking.

The two argued with each other while heading into the distance in the wind and snow.

…

The cold wind howled, but Selena didn't feel cold. Looking at the laughing people around her, the girl couldn't help but reveal a bright smile.

"There really is a Grandpa Winter in this world…"

PS: 5000-word chapter, gentlemen, take a good look. The beginning explains that this story takes place ten days ago, when Aier was still in Quel'Thalas.