The meadows and forests of Hillsbrad have lost their greenness and become as bright as the autumn sunset. As the seasons change, the year begins to come to an end again.
On this quiet afternoon, Dalaran's magic shield suddenly opened a hole, and several griffins wearing the emblem and armor of Lordaeron flew into the magical city.
Jaina looked up eagerly on the platform of Krasus. She was draped in a shawl made of fox velvet. After seeing the griffins of Lordaeron, a smile appeared on her face.
"You are always so punctual." The female mage smiled softly at the people on the gryphon.
"It seems that I was lucky and didn't encounter any ogres blocking the way." Arthas took off the hood of his wind-blocking cloak, got off the griffin, and gave Jaina a gentle hug.
Jaina pouted, "It wasn't because I was in a hurry that time that I walked across the forest - okay, teacher, he is waiting for us, don't keep him waiting."
Arthas nodded, "I haven't visited Master Antonidas for some time."
Surrounded by the guards of the Privy Council, Arthas and Jaina headed towards the Violet Castle in the center of Dalaran. With Jaina there, the journey was smooth, but before entering Antonidas's private mage tower, Arthas Si asked the privy guards not to follow him, and he and Jaina walked into the portal leading to the living room of the mage tower.
As the arcane light fell, the figure of Jaina of Arthas appeared in a large room. Antonidas, wearing a loose robe, was drinking coffee at a round table, holding a Dalaran issue in his hand. 's daily newspaper.
After noticing the opening and closing of the portal, Antonidas stroked his long gray beard, raised his head and looked at Jaina and Arthas, "Ah... it's Arthas. It seems like you haven't been a guest here for a long time." Already..."
Jaina untied Alsace's wind-shielding coat, folded it several times and held it in her hands. She stood aside without saying a word, and just glanced at Alsace.
Arthas straightened his collar, "I was in such a hurry to leave Dalaran that I didn't have time to visit Antonidas. I'm really sorry."
Hearing this, Antonidas put down the coffee cup in his hand and glanced at Alsace's serious expression. He couldn't hold it back, and the atmosphere he created instantly collapsed. He laughed and scolded, "You kid, I didn't see it." You have been so peaceful, and you can even do things like cross the endless sea to find strange races to fight against demons. What else can you say you can't do?"
Antonidas has been the Speaker of Dalaran for who knows how many years. Although the general lifespan of humans is not as long as that of elves, some powerful mages can still delay their own aging through arcane magic, that is, Antonidas He didn't care much about his appearance, otherwise he would probably look younger than Alsace's father.
However, even a powerful mage like Antonidas has a limited lifespan that can be extended by magic. Except for relying on a magic source like the Well of Eternity, or having a guardian-level blessing, no one can achieve immortality. .
"Who would think of taking such a risk if they were not forced to do so?"
Alsace acted very helpless, but Antonidas obviously did not accept this trick.
"Okay, okay, your kid let me know during the years he spent in Dalaran. You are completely different from your father, or in other words, you are different from the ruler of the alliance," Antonidas said. As he spoke, his voice suddenly dropped, "But is it really worth it?"
"I can give you a very definite answer - it's absolutely worth it."
Arthas replied categorically that he had realized what Antonidas wanted to express, and in order to convince the old mage, he must give Antonidas enough proof.
"Even if it means opening that forbidden grimoire again?"
"In the past, it may indeed have been a prop used by the enemy to invade us, but as long as we can use it correctly, we may not be able to turn it into our own strength." Alsace said solemnly, "You should still remember the meeting a few days ago. Bar."
Antonidas leaned back in his chair, his eyelids lowered, and he looked at the newspaper on the table in silence for a while before he continued, "Is the arrival of the devil destined to be inevitable?"
"Master, based on the information we have received, I can be sure that the devil's ultimate goal is to destroy the planet under our feet and everything we rely on for survival. From any angle, we have irreconcilable conflicts with the Burning Legion. And they will rush towards us desperately, as the orc world and more planets that have turned to dust can testify."
Antonidas shook his head, "In that case, why should we take the risk to open a portal to the star realm? Wouldn't that make our situation more dangerous?"
"It's completely different," Arthas denied Antonidas's view. "Only when we open the Dark Portal can we take the initiative in our own hands, and even completely move the battlefield away from Azeroth; but when the enemy If we open the Dark Portal or other passages, we will be forced to withstand attacks behind the castle and defense lines."
Alsace's words and expression seemed a little blurry under the sunlight that shone into the room. Antonidas looked at Alsace and saw the shadow of another person in the figure shrouded in warm light.
Antonidas sighed and temporarily put down the memories of the past. He stood up from the chair, walked slowly to the bookshelf nearby, drew a few runes casually, and took down a heavy book.
Holding the grimoire under his arm, he slowly walked to the table and placed the book gently on the table. "Alas... the look and tone in which you said this reminded me of an... old friend - —We all owe him a lot, and he said similar things to you back then."
The old mage turned the pages of the book with his skinny fingers, and while looking sideways at the chandelier on the ceiling, he said to himself, "If he were still here, maybe he would take the same approach as you... Haha, I am old. He just has random thoughts, didn’t he do the same thing back then?”
Antonidas's brief description made Alsace feel vaguely familiar, but he was not sure who he was referring to.
The old mage didn't care, and just continued to talk to himself, "I am old, and I thought that after the orc trouble was solved, I could go back to the beginning. Since when did conservative mean something to me? , but the shackles I put on myself.”
Antonidas' hand while flipping through the book suddenly stopped, as if frozen in time, and his eyes also bloomed with a surging and agile arcane brilliance that was completely different from his aging body.
