After Sakura studied two cultures and learned Common, she sought ways to modify some things, for she planned to build a society to teach humans how to value nature as Tyrande hopes for her as well as researched ways to prevent magic addiction. The Magecraft of Earth where she was from, does not cause Magic Addiction whatsoever so what the hell is wrong with the magics of Azeroth? She supposed it lay with the origins...as in to whom and where these sorceries originated that may be incompatible with mortals as they cause addiction in elves yet humans are fine and dandy...unless dumb enough to dabble into the forbidden. So she planned and planned for decades before enacting the Will of Priestess Tyrande.
She took on the name Sakura Darkgrove.
First step: she needed a plot of flat land near a river, mountain and a gold mine on top of a really good leyline. And not in any claimed territories by other nations. That was the tough part. Quel'Thalas and Dalaran claimed Lordaeron's best leylines she had to settle for a 'third class' one. She wandered for months comparing leylines and settled for the best she could get, thus wound up building a port city and no mountain, but at least there's access to seafood and a nearby Goblin Shipyard! She also had to build a Water-Purifying Facility to bring in fresh water to her city and sell off the salt in powdered form!
Second step: build formidable walls and gates and a magic tower she designed, the Starfall Tower, inspired from Tyrande's strongest spell. But unlike the Starfall she uses, the towers sends blue energy balls the size of human heads in wide-spread spray attacks, and fires like a bullet with its farthest range being twenty meters and charging time was two seconds before firing again. Her territory thus has two walls: the outer wall for farmlands, and the inner wall as an Academy City. Using magic, she built the town herself with the Architecture being beautiful and elegant. Residential Areas, Recreational Areas, Facilities, etc. The outer wall is very well-protected as it has more towers with a longer range than the inner wall and a formidable barrier appears! However, the inner wall's towers pack more firepower in turn and it's range was within the outer wall area.
Third step: build Moonwells in strategic locations. The Moonwell is solely for human consumption and for watering the crops. The purified water is just for cleaning and bathing! The Moonwell effects on humans, particularly magic-users is that it replenishes Mana and heals life. It's not an addicting substance. Would their revered goddess give them such poison?
Fourth step: bring in orphans, the younger the better. But Sakura was picky in who to take in. She takes in orphans with both beauty and brains, as well as craftsmen with no place to go and gave them jobs with a lucrative salary. She also hired servants for everything else.
Final step: amass a massive military made out of sorcerers, puppets and golems. She crafted Puppet Archers, Swordsmen, Spearmen, and Gunmen wielding magical versions of M1918 BARs and Artilleries. Such were possible as Sakura wished for all knowledge of magecraft in the world so naturally, she also got knowledge of magi who use guns as Mystic Codes. She sealed them all in magical talismans that she protected carefully otherwise all that effort for nothing.
She let the city remain unnamed for security's sake.
The first batch of orphans became her first ever students in magic, and taught them how to live with nature as the night elves did with her. Training takes almost a century before they set off on their own journeys, healing the land with their magic, and bringing in new orphans to the city that was their home. Some even became teachers of different schools within the city and as per tradition, they will learn the basics from Sakura first, being language(common, darnassian and japanese), manners and etiquette, life skills for independence, basics of magic and warfare for ten years, and the religion of Elune before going to a school of their choice taught by her students. Sakura's a priestess from her upbringing, so she raised her orphans to worship Elune and both love and nuture nature, and become good, kind humans...while showing no mercy to those who clearly didn't deserve it, just as how Sakura was raised. It was also a matriarchal society, where women held all the power.
Upon graduating from the basics at age 19, Sakura would then cast on them the Immortality Spell, so they could learn and master magic from other schools within the city. Learning other magics not taught in her city is forbidden, as they cause mages to descend into magical corruption and addiction that is incurable. A fate worse than death for all mages. After learning all the city can offer and they become Archmages, Sakura will then remove the Immortality Spell on her students, but not on teachers she assigned in the schools she built.
The Academic City grew, with a population of 5000 in 900 years due to marriages done as well as bringing in a new generation...that anyone living in Lordaeron soon learned of Mages who travel in threes were often seen in armored robes of dark maroon and gold embroidery. The groups are often two men and one woman, too tall for a typical human with beautiful porcelain skin, and are beautiful/handsome nature lovers who wander the countryside, restoring nature, and lending their aid in regards to healing that the people they helped would often say how kind and friendly they were and that's pretty much it. But picking a fight with them, is a bad idea. They leave one survivor to tell the tale of their might to spread their reputation.
They never say where they're from.
But in time, with information pieced together, the people of Lordaeron learned about these nature-loving mages, but location is STILL beyond them.
But for those of Quel'Thalas, they recognize the armor designs. That gave them reason to find out where these human mages studied from. So kingdoms sent out scouts.
'Where we studied? Can't say, sorry.' they would say. 'We are enchanted to be unable to say it. You'll have to find it by luck.' and they showed glowing tattoos on their tongues, much to the high elves' chagrin.
In another 500 years, they found where Sakura's city was. Population doubled and a half.
So emissaries were sent. From the Alliance of Lordaeron to Quel'Thalas.
They were all greeted by Sakura, the Archmagus of the Unnamed City. She wore an elegant, but functional cloth armor that suited a battle mage well, no make-up whatsoever and her staff was both magical and a melee weapon, considering it had a moon-shaped blade on her hybrid halberd-staff. But her natural beauty shone through because she didn't wear make-up! She has long purple hair which looked like vibrant silk curtains in glossiness and eyes the same color. It was a beautiful color and the most noticeable thing about her!
(People in this world haven't heard of soap and shampoo yet they have perfumes, which Sakura found weird, so to her, their hair looks gross and they have oily skins with grime because of travel)
Well, these people never knew asian beauty so to them, Sakura was an exotic beauty more beautiful than any woman they came across! Facial beauty aside, her physical body inspire lust in men among the emissaries...who are ALL men. Her cloth armor comprised of a push-up low-cut corset top that left little to imagination, and a plunging v-line skirt about above the knee length with a high left slit and knee-high boots. High waisted at the side of her hips and covered her rear enough, but a v-line at front that also, left little to imagination. Her shoulders have huge pauldrons and support to enable a functional cape on her behind her back.
'Elune-adore, humans and fellows.' the elven emissaries gaped at her at the greeting. 'I knew this would happen eventually.' she said with a playful smile. 'I came to greet and escort you personally, otherwise the city's defenses will fire upon you. This is as far as safety can go.'
'My lady, that greeting...yet you aren't an elf...'
'Fufu, due to bizarre circumstances when I was a little girl, the Kal'dorei adopted and raised me before making me go back to my natural kind, humans.' said Sakura with a chuckle. 'Thus, I grew up in their ways and faith, the worship of the Moon Goddess Elune and nature's blessings.' she raised her staff, and they were all gone...and instantly in a conference room where it's so grand and beautiful, and the furniture luxurious. There were also six maids in waiting.
'Ladies, prepare the meal. These gentlemen have had a long journey.' Sakura said kindly to the clearly human maids who were dressed in strange outfits(sleeveless yukata, gladiator sandals and long tekko gloves). They wore their hair up for functionality but, are all women here so...shapely and tall?!
'We give thanks to your hospitality, Headmistress Sakura.' said a mage from Dalaran. 'As a whole, we came here to learn about your Unnamed City. It seems to be a new culture entirely and your mages aren't talking much.'
'Well, living anonymously also brings safety doesn't it?' said Sakura with a smile. 'As far as my people know, this city is a Magical Academic City like Dalaran, but our style is different, due to our way of life. We avoid chaos and destruction thus avoid such magics in our schools.' she said. 'Why bite the hand that feeds after all? Our food and needs, nature gives. We must revere and respect in turn.'
'We can respect such views as well, but where do your people come from?' another man asked.
'They're all orphans I took in.' said Sakura. 'I roam the continent every some years for orphans to take in. Orphans whose relatives don't care about them and left them high and dry. Orphans who were taken in by their relatives, I leave alone.' Sakura tut-tutted, shaking her head. 'Then I raise them for nineteen years, before they go to various magic schools in order to master all schools I've built. I cast an Immortality Spell upon them so they do not age as years go by while on their quest to master all fields of magic in this city.'
'It takes about...a minimum of 60 years if you're a fast learner but slow learners take almost a century or longer.' said Sakura. 'After magic training and removal of their immortality to age like normal humans again, they will then roam the world as you know and experience life...before they return home or settle down elsewhere to raise a family before sending their children here for schooling. It's a never-ending cycle, for this land to be beautiful and lush, rich in fertility as well as introducing the faith we've known.'
'I see...how old are you now despite how you look?'
'I'm about 2700 years old now.' said Sakura much to the shock of the human emissaries. 'I cannot bring myself to let go, until I am no longer needed by this world. I'm sure there are undiscovered lands in this world I know nothing about...and I will continue the task given to me by Priestess Tyrande until this world is rife with life and fertility.'
This woman was clearly innocent and sincere by nature and wholeheartedly believes in what she was doing. Their experience detect no deceit or such in her voice, eyes and mannerisms. For her age, she carries herself like a carefree girl younger than she should be.
They then asked more questions about the unnamed city's culture and way of life, until the meal finally came.
The plates, bowls and cutlery and drinking goblets are all SILVER! The goblets even have small jewels and carvings for crying out loud! And the food smells way too good!
'Oh! It's been a while since I last saw this silvery water...don't tell me...' the elven emissary shakily turned to Sakura. 'You drink Moonwell Water?'
'Yes. It's very nutritious for the human body as well since we use the Moonwell Water to cook and bless our food so we water the crops with it.' said Sakura. 'The water from the purifiers is just for bathing, cleaning and do the laundry.'
'Er, this is OK, right?'
'It's OK! Moonwell waters are a lot cleaner than plain old water anywhere! I even cooled it down with ice magic!'
The food on the table was mostly leaf-shaped bread, fish, shells and vegetable dishes with filled onigiri. For the elven emissary, its a little different from the rice cakes they eat, but, oh well!
'It's delicious!' was the common consensus, that there's nothing left as the men overate, and drank their fill of chilled Moonwell water that was not just refreshingly clean and pure, but it also healed their travel weariness and aches, and restored their mana levels.
They never had something like this while for an elf afflicted with Magic Addiction, this was sweet relief!
xxx
In the Unnamed City...
The city is the perfect picture of japanese culture. Architecture, the roads, everything! Clothing was mostly flimsy dresses for women with elaborate hairstyles and accessories, and men wear togas over trousers for civilians or mages off the clock, instead of kimonos as kimonos are too much clothing in this world where conflicts happen a lot, so she only had her people wear it in winter for warmth. Those who were active sorcerers wore the cloth armor of a design particular to Sakura's culture, and bedecked in magical accessories of power. Like their teacher, they carried halberd-staves.
Sakura did not need such items because she was powerful even without them.
'Its like we stepped into another world...' was the common consensus.
Sakura's city was beautiful. There's trees, shrubs and parks as well, and playgrounds where children play when not in school.
The city has several schools they haven't heard of in sorcery.
Druidism, Exorcism, Formalcraft, Spiritual Evocation, Shamanism, Magical Crafting, Astromancy, Divination, Spirit Mediumship, Puppetry, and there were stuff they were familiar with too, but too few! They also felt that their way is entirely different from theirs!
Shops and restaurants sold interesting items and food items. There were at least, four temples dedicated to Elune in four districts. They explored and studied the city as much as possible, before finding a hotel to stay for the night.
The Unnamed City is well-defended because it had too many towers, and walls so smooth it's impossible to climb over if one got past the towers.
But the size discrepancy bothered them. The size of the walls outside contradicted the size of the city! Heck, behind the city was the ocean that was also walled up and massive water purifiers to compensate for the fact that there's no river nearby, and they sell the gathered salt from the facilities to villages and towns.
'Oh that?' a civilian told them. 'That's because if you go out, it's our farmlands! It's also well-protected by walls and towers! On horse, it'll take you six hours to leave the farms by reaching the Outer Wall Gate! But if on foot, it'll take double the time!'
Say what, now?!
When they left the city after buying enough food for the trip home, indeed, the lush farmlands was what's outside, and they can see another wall from the distance. They were glad they have horses now! To their left, were massive orchards and to their right, plots of rice that's clearly heavy with grain being harvested! The bunches of rice grains were plentiful on a single plant alone, and the peasantry joyfully enjoying their jobs, as it was pleasurably rewarding to see the fruits of their labor return to them in such a manner, thanking Elune for the plenty. The trees to their left were also heavy with fruit! These people enjoy a time of plenty!
'So that is the power of consuming Moonwell Waters...it has incredible effects on us humans and the crops.' a Gilnean Emissary mused, admiring the plentiful harvest. 'I wonder if she can share with us the Moonwells?'
'Lady Sakura seems kind and generous for that, but that problem is the Moonwell itself, Lord Wilburt.' said the Elven Emissary. 'The Moonwell must be built on a good leyline, built by the hands of devout worshipers of the Moon Goddess.' he said. 'Elune hears the prayers of her devout worshippers near the Moonwells and it is she who converts the mana within the leylines into Moonwell Water. You'll have to change your religion and must dedicate sincere worship and follow her ways, or the Moonwell will not fill at all. It is why she teaches her orphans the religion when she adopts them. The more worshipers, the quicker they refill. Her architecture reflects worship and respect of nature.'
'You mean gods truly exist?'
'For the Night Elves, at least she exists.' said the Elven Emissary wryly. 'Worship of her and doing sincere goodness is rewarded by her, with her greatest gift being the Moonwell. Who knows about other religions if their gods existed. Having the Moonwell on places where she cannot hear voices of her faithful, she shan't respond.'
'Well...damn.'
The emissaries have brought home information to their respective kings. And their Kings talked about the matter in court.
It's impossible to go near the Unnamed City as when they tested the city's defenses with controlled captured trolls, the unique towers the city had were quick to fire energy bolts that tore apart the monsters they sent, and the towers have a very far range and quick to fire in speeds they couldn't defend from. It was that formidable. They sent fliers next, the towers were also capable of firing upwards! There was just no way in, so it's impossible to send messengers! The only way in now, is if they encounter Sakura's wandering mages to deliver messages for them. She would attend parties she was invited to and other special events so everyone knows what she would forever look like.
They were quick to discover that child-like, innocent and carefree she may be, she wasn't easy to sway their way and impossible to manipulate her. Sometimes out of her own cluelessness and obliviousness because she was socially...inexperienced. Years later she was just as oblivious to romance attempts that left her baffled yet her own people are more socially-skilled than she. It was a lost cause.
Sakura also exports salt and produce from Kalimdor for sale that she grows in her farms. Capital Cities only get them, though.
Not only that, Dalaran and Quel'Thalas also made arrangements with her, that they can send students to her city to learn sorcery they know not, she agreed, though they have to pay tuition unlike her orphans. So they send guarded caravans to the outer walls and drop off students there who would then live in school dormitories. The rules are simple: DO NOT CAUSE TROUBLE. These foreign students happily enjoyed the delicious food and drink served in the dorms for breakfast and dinner, and cafeteria during lunch, they could not help but overeat.
Though they wonder why no milk, butter and cheese? No alcoholic drinks even!
'What are those?' was the answer of the locals working in restaurants to their disbelief. Then again, this was a city that only eats seafood and produce, there wasn't poultry, beef, pork or venison in sight. Heck, there wasn't a single tavern in the city!
Luckily for them Moonwell Water ensures optimal health that unlike most gluttons, they would never grow fat nor have gradually-piling up health consequences. They also get the Immortality Spell applied on them so they remain young until they graduate. And by remaining young and eating healthy, it reflected upon them.
But for students who are engaged nobles...that caused problems, that appeals were made to Sakura to cast the spell on the fiancees of their children as well whether or not they're students. But come school vacations with students going home, food at home...was disgustingly bland-flavored they couldn't bring themselves to eat a single morsel unless they had no choice out of hunger. They think divine-blessed food are incredibly delicious that makes up for human cooking, they despaired when in reality unknown to them, it was just adjusting application of condiments, herbs and spices! But alas, that, was a precious secret Sakura would not share to anyone not a Night Elf.
And every now and then, Sakura herself would come out, picking up orphans all over Lordaeron. Knights would sometimes see her driving an elegant floating palanquin, filled with children. Sakura's city grows bigger and bigger she needed to build more walls and get more space for her people...
But one day, when Sakura was exactly 5000 years old...
Trouble began.
'Headmistress!'
Her former students reported to her.
'What is it?'
'We are finding spots of dead, blighted lands...these patches of ground are corrupted with decay, even trees are dead.'
'Is that so...'
'We wished to bring samples for study but it might corrupt our land within the city we didn't dare to. It might be some disease!'
'Only option...we study it out there.' Sakura frowned. 'Remain here so incase our other pilgrims come back you are to tell them that I will see to this personally. All mages return home until further notice.'
'Yes, headmistress!'
Sakura then ventured out of the city after changing her clothes.
Little did she know that this discovery, will affect EVERYBODY.
And so...it begins.
