Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB] Chapter 243: Jaina

The voyage was long, far exceeding Ethan's earlier estimates. The real Azeroth was simply too vast, and the thods of transportation were primitive and inefficient. Since arriving in this world, Ethan realized that most of his ti was being wasted on travel.

Now that they had finally arrived at Theramore, he wasn't even sure if he had enough ti left to make it back to Stormwind City.

"I'm starting to find this journey rather dull."

Even the long-lived Loki found it unbearable to be stuck in constant transit like this, especially when the ships in this world were even worse than those in Ethan's.

"If it weren't for a black dragon waiting to be dealt with, I'd have you send back right now."

He would rather endure the endless rocking of the Goddess of Dawn at sea than continue wasting ti in this world. And with his strength steadily improving through recent training, he was beginning to feel confident enough to personally teach that arrogant black dragon a lesson.

Loki wasn't particularly interested in mounts. Even if they couldn't ta the dragon, killing a black dragon was a worthwhile endeavor. Every part of such a creature was a treasure. Loki was already thinking about crafting a new set of clothing from its hide.

"If Jaina is willing to help, perhaps we won't have to waste so much ti on the return journey."

Jaina was one of the most powerful human mages in the world, but that wasn't the most important part.

What truly made her valuable was her mastery of teleportation magic. She could not only teleport herself at will, but could also perform mass teleportation, even for an entire army. This ability made Jaina Proudmoore soone that many factions hesitated to provoke.

It was also the fundantal reason why Theramore, despite being repeatedly devastated, marginalized by the Alliance, and distrusted by the Horde, still survived in this world.

Of course, Jaina herself didn't realize this. She still naively believed that she could use gentle diplomacy to unify all races into one big happy family, and she had been working toward that goal. She had even gone so far as to sacrifice her own father to prove her ideals.

Only Ethan and Windsor were aware of these things. Ethan had no interest in giving everyone a history lesson on Jaina Proudmoore's past. Windsor didn't want to speak about her either. He wasn't sure how to evaluate this powerful mage. Most humans already knew about what Jaina had done, and Windsor assud Ethan's group was well-inford too, so he didn't bring it up.

"From this point forward, we'll need to rely on you, Marshal Windsor."

Finally, the reason Ethan had brought Windsor along began to pay off. As a Marshal of the Kingdom of Stormwind, Windsor's reputation was sufficient to ensure the group would have no trouble securing an audience with Theramore's ruler.

If they had arrived as unknown travelers, it wouldn't have been easy to et the leader of a major faction. Jaina was, after all, the legitimate heir of Kul Tiras, one of the forr Seven Human Kingdoms, and had founded Theramore with her father and the refugees of Lordaeron. She was not soone any random adventurer could just walk up to.

But having Windsor with them changed that. Even if the guards didn't imdiately recognize him, they wouldn't dare dismiss a man who claid to be a Marshal of Stormwind. They would report the matter up the chain. In a faction as well-established as Theramore, it wasn't hard to find soone who could verify Windsor's identity.

As a result, only half a day after arriving in Theramore, Ethan and the others t the famous mage who had defied her father, Jaina Proudmoore.

"It's a pleasure to welco you to Theramore, Marshal Windsor. I heard you went missing during battle. I was worried for quite so ti."

In truth, Windsor and Jaina had never seen eye to eye. Windsor was a career soldier, soone who believed in eliminating threats through force. Jaina, however, had always worked to ease racial tensions and dread of a world where everyone could coexist peacefully.

From the standpoint of Jaina's faction, it would have been more convenient if soldiers like Windsor disappeared. With him gone, Stormwind might have leaned more heavily toward diplomatic solutions.

Compared to Jaina's warm welco, Windsor was far less courteous. As a Stormwind Marshal with a short temper and no fondness for Jaina, he made little effort to hide his displeasure. After exchanging a few stiff words, he simply introduced Ethan to her.

At that mont, Jaina realized that it wasn't Windsor who had co to see her—it was Ethan and his companions.

"I've co here to locate the missing King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn."

Ethan didn't particularly like this woman either, and given his identity as an outsider, there was no telling how she might react. So, rather than waste ti with pleasantries, he got straight to the point.

He wanted to know if Jaina had already found or encountered the amnesiac Varian Wrynn. If not, Ethan would have two options: track down the naga who had captured him, or go to Durotar. One path was based on the ga's plot, the other on the official comic.

Originally, he had assud that because there wasn't a lazy, pleasure-seeking king currently sitting in Stormwind, Varian had not been split into two personas. That would an the world was following the ga's narrative.

But Jaina's answer caught him by surprise.

"I have found His Majesty Varian Wrynn."

"What?"

The one who reacted the most wasn't Ethan, but Windsor. The normally stoic marshal leapt to his feet, so excited that he knocked over his chair.

No one found his behavior strange. Jaina thought it was perfectly natural, and she didn't bla Windsor for the outburst. Instead, she tried to calm him and explained that there were still unresolved issues, which was why she hadn't yet sent Varian back to Stormwind.

"What kind of issues?"

After asking, Windsor suddenly rembered what Ethan had said earlier. His Majesty was currently in trouble, and they had traveled all the way to Kalimdor precisely to help resolve it.

He turned to Ethan. "You can fix it, right?"

Ethan didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked for a detailed account of Varian's situation. Jaina made no attempt to conceal anything and explained it all in full.

Once she finished, everyone finally understood what had happened. Ethan felt the pace of events had been a bit fast, but upon reflection, it made sense.

Varian had been missing for a long ti, and Ethan had wasted a lot of ti on the road. The world didn't revolve around him. While he was traveling, Varian wasn't sitting around waiting to be rescued like an NPC.

Jaina recounted how she t Varian Wrynn and explained the difficulties he was facing.

The events roughly aligned with the comic storyline Ethan was familiar with, though so details were different.

Varian had indeed been captured by the naga, as in the ga plot. But even with his mory clouded by Onyxia's magic, he wasn't soone who would quietly remain imprisoned. He made multiple attempts to escape and, by chance, was rescued by a passing shaman.

However, this shaman wasn't a benevolent soul. He saw potential in Varian's physical abilities and brought him to Durotar, where he forced him into gladiator training.

Eventually, Varian ford a powerful arena team with Valeera Sanguinar, a blood elf rogue, and Broll Bearmantle, a night elf druid. Together, they won tournant after tournant, and Varian beca a fad gladiator known as Rogosh.

But he never forgot his goal. Despite the glory, he kept searching for a way to escape and ultimately succeeded.

After fleeing Durotar, he wandered aimlessly, trying to piece together his mories. Theramore, as the largest human city in Kalimdor, naturally beca his target. That was how he encountered Jaina.

Jaina had imdiately recognized him. After careful examination, she confird that this was indeed the missing King of Stormwind. Just as she was considering how to break the spell affecting his mind, Ethan and his group arrived.

"Where is His Majesty now?"

Just as Jaina gestured for Windsor to calm down, a middle-aged man with a powerful aura entered the room, accompanied by two elves.

Ethan looked at the man who ca in first. He knew this was Varian Wrynn, often addressed as "King Varian." But he didn't look like a king right now. He looked more like a bloodstained gladiator.

"Your Majesty!"

As the Marshal of Stormwind, Windsor imdiately recognized his king. Unfortunately, Varian didn't recognize him. He rely frowned slightly and stared at him for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to Jaina.

anwhile, Jaina was watching Ethan, noting how he showed no surprise or emotion at Varian's appearance.

(To be continued.)