Early to mid-game: Sorcerer's Shoes, Shadowblade, Blink Dagger, Force Staff. Late game equipment: Boots of Travel, Blink Dagger, Black King Bar, Battle Fury, Assault Cuirass, Shadowblade. These item builds, relics of a distant past, flickered through Galen's mind.
Such fleeting memories.
His resolve to acquire these magnataur solidified. However, the inherent aggression between males of the species posed a challenge; more than two would inevitably clash. After a moment's contemplation, Galen decided on a solution.
"I will have Ymiron unleash the ancient magnataur from Utgarde Pinnacle and command him to subdue these two!"
The frigid, unforgiving environment of Northrend fostered formidable creatures. Within Utgarde Keep, the Vrykul had preserved many ancient beasts, Gothatok the Craghoof being a particularly impressive specimen. Galen reasoned that the Vrykul's collection likely surpassed the two specimens outside. Why not cultivate a force, an armored magnataur assault team? The cost would be minimal; it was worth the experiment.
"Galen, the matters I've presented thus far are minor details I thought might interest you. However, there are two truly significant challenges!" Aragorn's usual calm demeanor shifted to one of grave seriousness.
"Oh? What else troubles the Borean Tundra?" Galen's interest was piqued. Short of the entire Iron Army of Ulduar mobilizing, little truly worried him.
"Angrathar the Undercity, in the Borean Tundra's northeast, was originally a Nerubian city ruin. Now, the Scourge maintains a constant troop presence there. Furthermore, we've detected two Scourge floating fortresses advancing from Icecrown Glacier. Their movements suggest an imminent attack!"
"Two?" Galen was surprised. Was the Lich King being unusually generous? He recalled the floating city, Naxxanar, hovering above Angrathar the Undercity. Now there were two? Should he thank the Lich King for his attention? But considering Ner'zhul's internal struggle with Arthas for control of the Frozen Throne, such coordinated efforts seemed unlikely. More likely the work of Kel'Thuzad, Dar'Khan, and other Scourge generals. Galen also remembered the crash of Thrym's Fall in the Borean Tundra's northern mountains.
Ner'zhul, a master strategist, coveted the technologies of Maldraxxus and commanded vast Northrend resources. He had constructed numerous floating cities. The largest and most infamous was Naxxramas, Kel'Thuzad's flagship. Thrym's Fall had crashed in the Borean Tundra, Naxxanar loomed over Angrathar, Voltarus served as the Scourge Lord Drakkari's command post on the Storm Peaks border, and Malykriss, the Shadow Vault, defended Icecrown Citadel – a fortress Ner'zhul would never willingly mobilize. Acherus, the Ebon Hold, was home to the Ebon Blade.
Scourge floating cities differed from Dalaran's principles. Their Shadowlands-derived technology didn't inherently make them superior. Like Undead bases in WarCraft III, they were tiered. Naxxramas, Naxxanar, and Malykriss were city-scale, while Thrym's Fall, Voltarus, and Acherus were smaller military fortresses. Beyond these six, Galen couldn't recall the less significant ones, many of which had been destroyed by various forces in his past life.
"For now, we'll set aside Angrathar the Undercity and the floating fortresses, focusing on surveillance. If they don't move, neither will we," Galen decided against a preemptive strike. "Dalaran has been rebuilt. Once Gandalf and the others teleport it to Northrend, those floating cities will be as fragile as paper tigers!"
As vital components of Dalaran ascended to the sky city built by Aegwynn, a large influx of Dalaran mages populated its spires. Galen had named his sky city Dalaran, the resurrected magic kingdom, the City of a Thousand Spires. Unlike its previous iteration, this rebuilt Dalaran was now Galen's vassal state, akin to the Kingdom of Alterac.
Scourge Floating City? Galen scoffed mentally. It can't compare to a sky city built atop Ghostblade Peak! I'll show the Scourge what a true sky city looks like!
Galen waited in Valgarde for over half a month, finally receiving news from Gandalf: Dalaran's teleportation matrix was complete! The Dalaran mages had seamlessly connected the city's structures to the sky city. Furthermore, several councilors had jointly inscribed a city-wide defensive magic circle, including its base. Upon attack, a potent purple magic shield could envelop the entire city. To ensure its resilience, Galen had specifically designated the protective shield's power supply as a top-level priority, guaranteeing its function even if the city's mage tower power was depleted, reserving only a minimal amount of energy for basic levitation.
Dalaran was coming!
Amidst violent spatial distortions, the sky above Valgarde shimmered, and a blue framework materialized, forming an inverted triangular island.
Finally!
The blue frame solidified into reality. The sky city of Dalaran had been teleported in its entirety!
Boom! Though Dalaran remained stationary in the sky, a palpable pressure descended, stirring the ground and sending dust clouds billowing through Valgarde's streets.
On a vast island west of the Borean Tundra, a blue dragon's massive eyes snapped open!
"Roar!"
"Who dares!" The blue dragon's furious roar echoed through its lair. "Who disrupts the arcane currents of Azeroth!