Medivh the Great Protector

I was walking slowly towards the Redridge Mountains. The path from Dalaran to here was not close, and Master Antonidas refused to teleport me straight there. According to him, it will be useful for me to walk and think about my further actions and the line of behavior.

Stopping, I breathed in the cold air and looked around. How beautiful it is here. I didn't want this beauty to be destroyed in the future. Shaking my head, I walked past several squirrels who were looking at me with interest.

This year has passed strangely. Not even so ... It went utterly different than I expected. Learning from an official like one of the Council of Six was completely different from regular teachers. The whole point was that the archmage did not teach me new spells or how to quickly increase my reservoir and the magic source's power. No. He taught me how to better understand magic, how to make spells better and stronger. In addition, I got a lot of acquainted with many important sentient Dalaran. They were not only very powerful in political stance. They also had some great knowledge and thus did not hesitate to advise me about magic when needed.

I general, on the one hand, I did not get what I would like. But on the other hand, I gained more valuable experience than I can imagine so far. Of course, I became stronger, but still, I haven't learned how to teleport. Yes, I know the spell, but my reservoir does not allow me to create this spell. It is what I have to raise all the time of study with Medivh. I am sure that he knows many ways how to do this. According to Antonidas, the Medivh library stores fewer books, but at the same time, the number of rare and simply dangerous there is much more than in all of Dalaran combined. All forbidden knowledge and practices since the creation of the Order of Tirisfal have been collected there. That is almost three thousand years.

I was also engaged in researching those crystals that I brought from the Illusionary Caverns. The only thing that I understood is that they have a high energy saturation and can transfer such property to any other crystalline form of matter. So, if you bathe an ordinary metal ring in this liquid, it will turn into a finished blank for an artifact. Almost any spell can be put there. Well, I did not skimp and mastered the most challenging spell at this moment. It was called Light Resonance. This spell was very dangerous and not applicable if you are surrounded by allies. Only when surrounded by enemies. When activated, this spell deals lethal damage to almost any creature within thirty meters. The farther from the source, the weaker the impact will be. The strength of the impact itself also depends on the magician's strength who is going to create this spell. Also I put it in a ring for use in an emergency.

After straightening the bag that was behind me, I continued on my way. Some time ago, I got off a high-speed sailboat. I am sure that the desired place is already very close. Signs about this spoke clearly and clearly. Shaking my head, I continued on my way. Day and night, and then again, in the same way, repeating days and nights.

When I finally approached the valley's desired entrance, I just froze, looking at this place with interest. The peaks of the Redridge Mountains stretched upward, bathed in beautiful sunlight. The ice caps glistened with the sun's rays, resembling something like a diamond coating. To the west of the ridge grew the Elvish Forest, spreading a thick canopy of its huge oaks and satin trees from the foothills to the sea. To the east lay the bleak Black Marshes, a land of swamps and squat hills, shallow lakes and standing pools, abandoned settlements, and hidden dangers. The path that I passed here was not at all small.

You know, learning from Antonidas was not easy, I think. I learned many things that turned my magic into a magnificent and subtle instrument with which you can perform almost any action. Before that, I'm sure my actions were very clumsy. In comparison, I was a villager who had just bought the first computer without Internet access. And now, I am a city dweller who has been using a computer for a long time and can freely surf the Internet. A lot of knowledge was opened for me from a different perspective.

The very place where I was going was perfectly round, as if someone mighty tore out part of the earth, or melted a block of ice, or threw a giant meteorite on the ground. This crater was imposing, and if you listen, you can feel the echoes of powerful magic.

In the center of the valley, a bare rock protruded from a scattering of hills, bald like the crown of an important merchant from Kul Tiras. Indeed, its slopes rose steeply upward, and then gently stretched to the very top, so that the rock resembled a human skull. It looks frightening, and if you know that the most powerful magician lives here, then no one dares to talk about it like that.

On a flat top stood a tall tower that stretched its spire towards the heavens. It resembled a man-made explosion, ready to destroy anyone who gets too close. Around the tower itself, there was a low wall that did not know a single attack. I'm sure of that.

When I was in Dalaran, I tried to collect more additional information about Medivh and his relatives. And do you know what happened? It turned out that I know a little more than all the knowledge in the books. The Kirin Tor mages were not very happy about this. They feared Medivh and also felt quite an envy of his power. I learned this while studying with Antonidas. I learned a lot of dirty things there—more than I could have imagined. Looking for information about Medivh made me start learning the language of the elves. But even the data that I received there was not very interesting and useful.

ut let's go back to the magicians. As soon as they found out that I was going to Medivh, they immediately came to me with their suggestions, warnings, requests, and pieces of advice. But they all converged on only one thing. We need to sniff out as much of Medivh as possible. All information, if possible, even how many times he goes to the restroom ... I didn't like it, but I just agreed with a smile on my face. It was only now that I could understand why many magicians avoid great power.

Exhaling, I continued on my way. I have already managed to get tired during this time, and with pleasure, I would like to fall into a soft bed and sleep there. The main entrance to the tower gaped like the mouth of a cave, without the slightest hint of a gate or lifting lattice. Although why they are needed here, I do not understand. There are no such fools who would try to attack this tower. Its owner has a legendary power that frightens everyone.

When I went inside, I immediately tasted magic. She was kind of strange and rather heavy. Behind me, a man appeared from a secret passage without a hint of magical ability. He stood for a while and did nothing. I didn't do anything either. I just looked around.

"Are you the New Young Man?" The man asked in an elderly voice. Turning slowly, I examined him closely. It was a man, definitely, only somehow ugly, as if he were a mutation of some animal. But that was not the case ...

"Excuse me?" I asked him again.

"Are you the New Young Man?" The magician asked me one more time. He spoke with a breath and emphasized the last three words. It sounded pretty funny.

"Yes, it's me," I answered him. He looked strange. He had weird metal shields on his head that did not allow him to look around, but only forward. I wonder why he needs them. "I'm Alistar of Dalaran."

"I understand," the man nodded calmly. "You are Alistair of Dalaran."

We stood there for a while, and then I pulled out a little letter that Antonidas had given me. It was a letter of recommendation, which indicated that I could be a good helper for Medivh. This is briefly. In fact, everything is so pretentious there that you can break your tongue. The old man snatched it out of his hands and sifted through it.

"I was sent as an assistant from the Kirin Tor," I said calmly. I don't think this old man suffers from hearing impairment or other diseases.

"I understand," said the magician. "Of course they did," he added more quietly. "Curtains?"

He pulled some strange glasses with green glass from his pocket. Could it be that I was wrong about his mental capabilities? I don't know. Exhaling, I just nodded my head and said:

"No, thanks."

"Morrows," the man said. "My name is Morrows."

"Nice to meet you," I told him.

"And can you still take the curtains?" said Morrows, poking at me with glasses. "And then everyone here sees reasonable. I wear curtains, the cook wears rose-colored glasses. She thinks it will protect her if anything ... Stupid. Only curtains can protect."

I nodded my head, but still declined such an insistent offer. I don't need these "curtains". Even if there are some strange visions here, I do not think it can be dangerous for me. Exhaling Morrows turned around, and with a limp wave of his hand, called me to follow him.

We slowly began to climb the stairs in the tower. The old man moved very quickly. It seems that he has walked like that more than one hundred times. The steps were low and looked almost new. Too few people walk here.

Reaching the landing where the two corridors intersect, Morrows quickly dashed forward without stopping. I paused for a moment to examine the torches. They were very interesting. They gave off magic power. When I brought my hand closer, I felt only cold. This is a cold fire. A flame that does not burn, but only shines. In Dalaran, phosphorescent crystals were used, emitting an even, calm glow. For this purpose, reflecting mirrors, elemental spirits enclosed in lamps, and huge glowing beetles are used.

Morrows came down to me and waved his hand, urging me to follow him. Without thinking twice, I did just that. I'll consider this place later when I get the chance. We went on our way in silence, and I tried to imagine Medivh. What will he be ...

"There is very little left to go," said the old man. "One more staircase."

We continued our ascent and very soon came out to a large room, which was at the very top of the tower. It was an observatory. Crystal windows cut through the walls and ceiling, clear and transparent. Through them, one could see the sky, which was just beginning to darken.

The observatory itself was twilight, illuminated by only a few torches, burning with the same steady, unblinking light as those burned everywhere. However, here their light was dimmed with special inserts so that one could observe the night sky. In the middle of the room was an unlit brazier, ready for the morning when the air cools down.

Along the outer wall of the observatory were several large, curved tables lined with all kinds of gadgets. Silver spirit levels and gold astrolabes played the role of paperweights pressing down stacks of paper, or bookmarks holding old volumes open to the correct page. On one of the tables was a semi-disassembled model showing the movement of the planets in the firmament. Next to it were laid out pieces of thin wire and spare beads and a set of miniature instruments. Notebooks are piled up against one wall, and a few more boxes are tucked under the tables. On a large frame was a stretched map of the continent, depicting the southern lands of Azeroth and Lordaeron, as well as the dwarf and elf kingdoms of Khaz Modan and Quel'Thalas. The map was marked with numerous colored pins, forming constellations that only the owner could read. In some way, you know, it reminded me of the description of the old wizard's office from one book that I read in my world. Just as interesting.

As it turned out, Medivh was already waiting for us. He was staring at something to the side, leaning on his staff with the figure of a raven on it. His clothes looked very rich. I don't think even a king can afford such jewelry. Gold-silver embroidery, expensive fabric, and other accessories with magical meaning. Exhaling, I continued to stare at him silently. On the back of the magician was a magical image that always changed as soon as you closed your eyes for a moment. It was the face of some demon, or a dragon curled up in a ball, or just a night sky with stars.

Medivh continued to think about his business, while the old man and I continued to wait. Patience is very important in teaching magic. If you are impatient, you can make a mistake in the spell and just die. The old man just exhaled and walked forward, almost noiselessly. He continued to stand by the magician himself, waiting for him to notice him.

"The world is so beautiful," Medivh said suddenly and stirred. He turned silently and stared at his servant. He quickly pulled out the letter and handed it to the magician. He carefully took it, froze for a moment, and then simply set it on fire. The magician's eyes lit up with magical power. Amazing ... It seems that he used a reading technique that I learned myself, as I accidentally opened the wrong book from the same secret collection.

Medivh tossed the letter into the brazier, which instantly lit up, and watched it slowly disappear. Only then did he say:

"And so, the young spy arrived."

I said nothing. Medivh continued to stare at me. And I felt his power, which was incomparable with the power of all other magicians that I had seen before. He was a predator, and I was just some food.

"Tell me, did you open the letter?" The magician asked.

"No," I nodded my head.

"But you know what's inside," the mage nodded confidently. "Tell me how you knew that.

"Aura," I replied calmly. The understanding that I need to answer honestly if I want to learn from him appeared immediately and became as bright as day. "One of the laws of magic says. When doing something with an object, people leave on it a part of their magical aura, their vibrations. Since everyone has their own aura, you can establish a connection with one by influencing the other. Thus, a lock of hair can be used in a love spell, and it is easy to find its former owner by a coin."

I remembered this from the book that I read in the secret assembly.

"Go on," Medivh nodded.

"The more often a person uses an object, the stronger the imprint," I added. "And if a person concentrates on this subject, then you can feel emotions and, overhear the thoughts of the person who wrote this letter."

"That's right," Medivh nodded contentedly, then said. "Plus one point. I see that you were taught very well. And how can this be useful?"

"A magician who has mastered this art can read a book without opening it," I said calmly. This method of studying books allowed me to go through the material much faster. Remembering information almost instantly.

"Excellent," Medivh nodded. At this time, our gazes met, and it seemed to me that I saw a completely inhuman look there. A herd of chills ran down my spine from fright. "Tell me, how are you with protective spells?"

"Up to the tenth rank," said to him.

"Magic blows?" He continued asking me.

"The same up to the tenth rank."

Magic is divided into orders. And the more rank a magician can use, the more powerful spells he can use and create. The twentieth ranks are already characters for archmages.

"How about the primary elements?" asked me another question Medivh.

"I can use all five," I told him. "But the fire is my best."

Primary elements - this means the elements. And fire works more easily for almost all magicians, so I'm not unique in this regard.

"What about natural magic?" he asked me. "Can you grow a tree, increase crops?"

"No," I nodded my head. This has never been my interest. And perhaps this is an oversight. If it happens that I find myself without food, then I will need to raise it myself. And without knowledge of natural magic, I cannot do any of this. And I'll just starve to death.

"Can you create a homunculus?" He asked me as if absorbing his gaze.

"No," I replied. "This is forbidden knowledge."

Medivh nodded his head and silently pulled the chair towards him. Falling into it, he continued to carefully examine me. Folding his hands in front of him, he continued to study me carefully and suddenly asked:

"What do you know about demons?"

"Not much," I replied, noticing his genuine interest. "I only know a few spells to banish the weakest. This was not my line of interest, either."

"Okay," Medivh nodded, nodding his head to something. "Then tell me, what can you say about me?"

"About you," I repeated after him and rubbed my forehead. After that, I shifted from foot to foot. "In fact, there is no detailed information about you, but I tried to collect information."

"And what did you collect?" He asked me.

"You are Medivh, which means Keeper of Secrets from elvish language. Your father was Nilas Aran, the mage of the Kirin Tor. Your mother was a sorceress named Aegwynn. I learned that she was a keeper eight hundred years ago.

"Hmm," drawled Medivh. "You did a very good job in this matter. In general, you suit me. You will first take care of my library, and then you will help me in the alchemy laboratory. Morrows will escort you to your room."

Medivh's aide stepped out of the shadows again and bowed lightly. After that, he led me down the steps, just in time for "my" room. Along the way, he told me a little about the magician Medivh and what he was interested in and what his daily routine was. How does he have such a routine ... He can work on one thing, and then jump to something else. Sometimes he gets blown up in the middle of the night and writes something in his diaries in unknown languages. On some days, he simply disappears from the tower. Morose assumed he was just doing his own job. I am required to be at hand all the time.

My "room" was located in a small corner of the tower and was not a room like those I had studied and lived in. It was a simple cell that any monk would appreciate—narrow bed, narrow table, and a window that leads to the street. In addition, there was a tall wardrobe in which I immediately threw my bags. I wonder how many beings there were who wanted to become Medivh's disciples. Probably a lot ...

There was water in the room, and I happily washed my face, gradually washing off my fatigue. It was a pleasure. Exhaling, I changed and prepared to go and explore the tower. Leaving my room, I headed towards the large hall. I carefully memorized the layout of the building that Morrows spoke of, and now I could navigate without much difficulty. Of course, many things still remained unfamiliar to me, but on the other hand ... I will have enough time to fully explore this building. I also need to be quite careful, as I remember from my previous world that a powerful demon is sleeping inside Medivh, which can control the magician's actions. It's completely out of my hands to deal with this demon now, so I'll just take all the knowledge Guardian gives me.

Walking down the corridor, I felt the magic spinning around me. In the next second, the figure of an aged magician was formed from the gray smoke that appeared from nowhere here. When I exhaled, I was able to recognize myself in this figure. Only now, I was sitting in an armchair and was working with some kind of computer.

The man in the chair raised his face, and I realized that this was not my face at all. Only from somewhere, I understood that it was me.

"Learn," a male voice said quietly with an echo. "Learn everything, teach confidently and carefully. You will need all this. Especially work on your soul. You will understand later what I mean."

"But why?" I asked in the vision. "Explain to me ..."

"Time is short," he said. "Tell Medivh that you have seen the furious green creatures. Don't tell him anything else."

After that, the vision slowly dissolved into space. I again found myself in the same corridor, trying to understand what this vision is. Is this a warning from me to myself from the future? I walked forward and nearly knocked down Morrows, who was standing in the arch.

"Sorry," I said to him, still not deviating from what I saw. "I ... "

"You're lost," he said, allowing me not to say anything or lie. "I got it. Let's go to…"

The next day I had the opportunity to climb the tower to get used to everything. I will not say that I succeeded, but nevertheless, I got better acquainted with this place. Now I am sure that if there is a need, I can find the right room or corridor. The next morning, I was already sitting in the dining room with Medivh. We ate some kind of porridge with sandwiches and washed it down with hot tea.

"You need to start small," Medivh said. "Working in the library is going to be difficult, but I'm sure you can do it."

"Of course," I told him.

"Tell me how many dimensions do you think there are?" asked Medivh suddenly, continuing to eat his porridge.

"A lot," he answered. "I don't know how many there are."

"And rightly so," Medivh said. "And these fools of the Kirin Tor say there is only one."

I said nothing. And what else can I say about that?

Morrows then took me to the library, which was two stories high and about a third of the way to the tower's top. The staircase in this part of the building wound up spiraling along the citadel's outer wall, leaving a vast space two stories high inside. A wrought iron platform ran along with the upper level, forming a gallery. The room's narrow windows were barred with interlaced iron bars, which dimmed the already scarce natural light. On the lower level, on massive oak tables, crystal balls, covered with a thick layer of dust, glowed dimly with a grayish-blue glow.

I will tell you that I have not seen such a mess in a long time. Opened books were scattered everywhere, unwound scrolls hung from the backs of chairs, and all this was covered with a thin layer of dusty leaves from notebooks, like fallen leaves under the canopy of a forest. Ancient tomes, chained to shelves, were thrown down and dangled in their chains, like prisoners in some dungeon.

"Hmm," I drawled.

"If need be, I can help with this mess," Morose said. It looks like he knew I would have such a reaction.

"Huh?" I asked him with a surprise and then added. "No, not yet. I have everything under control."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," said Morrows.

To be honest, Medivh does not need an assistant here, but a platoon of housewives who could remove everything here. I will work here for a long time, but I am not afraid. I am sure that there will be true pearls among these books that cannot be found anywhere else. So, these searches will be difficult, but not useless.

I went a little deeper. Things were even worse here than I could have imagined. Open books hung from the armrests of chairs and metal handrails. The blockages of letters grew higher as we advanced. In the corner of one of the shelves, a creature built a nest for itself, which I had never met before ... some kind of mutant. When I pulled out a small book, ash fell everywhere, and the skull of a mouse rolled out. Hmm. A mess, just like that, with a capital letter. No ... it's a trash can with valuable tomes. On the upper level, complete chaos reigned - the books here did not even reach the bookshelves, but were heaped with bales resembling mountains and hills. The single empty space looked like someone had lit a fire here in a desperate attempt to somehow get rid of the accumulated paper around. Leaning over the remnants of the fire, I just shook my head - apparently, not only paper was burning here. Scraps of burnt cloth lay in the ashes, which may have been clothing.

"One careless assistant burned out here," said Morrows, who reappeared from the shadows. It looks like Medivh has definitely worked on him, that he can appear and disappear like that. "I hope you will be careful."

"Yeah," I told him. Having adjusted, I prepared for work. First of all, I will sort the books according to the danger to the life of the person who wants to open them. Books with traps will go to one side, safe books to the other. For testing, I will use one artifact that I managed to buy. It was a small candle that glowed red if there was a trap nearby.

Only after activating it, I immediately realized that it was glowing too much. Perhaps this is because there are already a lot of dangerous traps.

I have to be careful. By tweaking the settings for this artifact, I made it glow with normal light. Taking the first book I came across, I held it to the artifact candle. It immediately lit up with red fire, which means that there are traps. It's a pity that I don't understand what traps there are. I put this book on one side. The next book I picked up no longer glowed, and I put it in the second pile. Opening it, and turning a couple of pages, I realized that it is talking about how to take care of cows.

"I'll have to sort them by topic and alphabetically," I said to myself. "Then I won't have to do so much work, and things can go much faster. But come on, let's think about it later."

The work progressed slowly. Although not so ... Not just slow, but with the speed of the laziest of sloths. But I felt that everything was going as it should. Medivh only stopped by to check my work and was interested in the affairs of the Kirin Tor. There were questions about relations between races, between simple magicians. It seems that he rarely goes out into the big world, and he is just curious.

Until I forced myself to read the books that were here. I have no time for this yet and need to work. When Medivh allows, I will take up the normal training, but I will not open books. Exhaling, I continued to do my job.

The tower was bizarre. There were not only books but also magic. And this magic was very strange and difficult to perceive. It seemed that reality here was losing its shape, mixing the past with the future for a moment. Sometimes out of the corner of my eye, it was possible to notice figures in cloaks that immediately disappeared, floating scraps of words and just images. In general, if you are not careful, you can turn gray very quickly.

At one point, Medivh simply disappeared. He went about his business, in which he did not initiate me at all. And why should he? I don't think he needs me there. I continued to work on the books in the library, sorting them slowly.

As I was sorting, Medivh burst into the library, and I felt a strange pressure hitting me. An invisible force grabbed me and began to squeeze slowly. I created protection around me, but it immediately began to burst, like an eggshell. I didn't even last a couple of seconds.

"Thief!" shouted Medivh, and waved his stick. A magical blow struck me that threw me to the side of the bookshelves. With my fall, I destroyed the neat stacks. The whole body ached. But, the protective amulet worked, protecting me from taking more damage.

"Stop!" loudly screamed I, stopping Medivh from the creation of some silvery spell. "I'm Alistar, your assistant. Sorting books!"

"Yes?" he asked me again, and then approached, starting to carefully examine. I was barely able to feel the darkest emanations that I had never felt before. It seemed to me that the coldest frost poured over me. "Oh, yeah. Forgive me. Something flew out of my head."

It seems to me that Medivh is somewhat insane. He just threw himself at me, forgetting that he called me to help him. It's amazing how Morrows and the cook did not die from these outbreaks. But this is not what frightens me ... I am afraid of those remnants of energy that I felt in him.

"A thief who decided to put things in order," I tried to defuse the situation with a joke. Medivh smiled too and rubbed his head.

"You are still weak," Medivh told me, then waved his hand, urging me to follow him.

We walked quickly towards the exit, and in the street, he nodded to me at the stone wall.

"I want you to use your strongest spell on her," he said. "Break down this wall."

Without thinking twice, I cast my most powerful spell and brought it down on the wall. The magical blow was strong, but it did not destroy this wall, but only left several cracks on it and knocked out some rubble. What kind of wall is this?

"Bad," Medivh said, then created the spell himself. The wall from the impact crumbled into small pieces. "This is how you should attack, not what I saw from you."

"I understand," I said to him, hoping that he would now teach me something. "I will train.

"Of course you will," snarled Medivh. "You should find the book "Magic Attack" in the library. Now, in addition to sorting books in the library, you must practice this spell."

"Got it," I nodded to him.

After that, long hours and days of training and sorting began again. The book Medivh told me to read was found pretty quickly. It was a thick tome. But, as it turned out, it was locked. And I don't know how to pick magic locks. I cannot ask Medivh, since he certainly will not help me in any way, but will only send away. So I started looking for a book that would describe magical defenses and how to disable them.

And there was such a book in this library. I tried to count the author's aura in order to quickly "swallow" this knowledge, but I failed. The author's aura was very faint and almost imperceptible. Moreover, it was mixed with other auras. This book was also locked, but thank all the gods that it was an ordinary, not magic lock.

I only needed a knife to open the book. It was a rather thick tome with a huge list of ways to defend against an attack, as well as many ways to bypass them. I began to study this book. Medivh again went somewhere, and this time he was absent for a longer time. He didn't have so long that I was able to fully learn this book and start opening the book on magic attacks.

It was difficult, but I overcame the book's defense and began to study the book with joy. There was a lot to learn, and I would not miss a moment for laziness and relaxation.

The book on magical attacks was written about a thousand years ago. It's amazing that it has survived so well. The author of the book was unknown, as his name had simply been erased from the pages. The theory of building magic blows was very well described and explained here. Namely, what is needed for this, what actions need to be carried out, and how to properly direct the attack. What I was doing was only the first step in building a normal magic strike.

By magic blow is meant a blow with pure magic. It is also called Mystic Strike. Elements are not needed here, only your own power. I didn't start training right away, but only tried to build my own attack. When I finally became more confident in this, I went outside and started training.

The first blows were very weak and not impressive at all. Compared to Medivh's blow, mine was too weak. I wonder if his blow was in full force or not? You will need to ask him when the opportunity arises.

Days followed by days, nights followed by nights. Sometimes I wondered how Dalaran and my acquaintances were doing there. But there was no connection with the outside world.

"Morrows," I said to the old servant. "Tell me, how long have I been here?"

"Two years," the old man replied calmly. This made me put my spoon back on my plate and look at the mage with a surprised look.

"What do you mean two years? I asked him, shocked." I just arrived here."

"Time is very relative here," Morrows said with a breath. "Sometimes, only one day passes here while two in the whole world pass. Sometimes it's the other way around. I know very little about magic, so I don't understand what forces are behind it."

"Hmm," I drawled. "How long do you think my training with Medivh will last?"

"I don't know," Morrows said. "So far, you are the only magician who wanted to become Medivh's assistant and lasted so long.

"Were there many others?" asked him.

"About a dozen," Morrows replied after a while. "Exactly about a dozen."

"And none of them could hold out for that long?" I asked him with interest.

"No," Morrows nodded. "Someone stayed a little more than a week, someone didn't even survive for several hours."

Then Medivh burst into the dining room. He looked somewhat worried. He quickly found me with his eyes and said:

"Alistar, follow me."

Turning, I realized that Morrows had already disappeared somewhere. I wish I had such a possibility of extinction. Throwing in my last spoonful of food, I got up. Medivh immediately turned around and walked quickly towards the exit from the tower. He moved very fast and I had to follow him.

"Morrows," Medivh said. "The Golden Scroll."

"Hmm," said the servant, holding out a small cylinder to the magician. Carved into the side of the cylinder were Dwarf runes, glittering in the light of the lamps. "I've already taken the liberty of action, sir. They are here."

"They?" I asked with a slight surprise. What are they talking about? Wings flapping over my head. I looked up and froze in surprise.

Huge birds descended from the heavens, their wings glittering in the moonlight. But they weren't birds, no. They were griffins. I managed to see such animals in Dalaran, but I have never been able to ride one. These animals had huge cats' bodies, but the heads and claws on their front legs belonged to sea eagles, and their wings were cast in gold.

There was a rather loud blow from the landing. Medivh grabbed one bridle and held it out to me. I took it uncertainly.

"Get up," he said, throwing his leg over the body of this creature himself.

"But I don't know how to manage," I admitted without difficulty.

"Are you taught anything there in the Kirin Tor?" I don't have time for this! - he growled Medivh. He raised his finger. A bluish symbol glowed on it. Without thinking twice, he poked his finger into my forehead, and I felt knowledge explode in my head. "Now you know. Climb up. "

I was surprised to learn that now I really know how to saddle a griffin and ride it, with a saddle or without a harness, like a dwarf. I also know how to turn, make the animal hover in the air, and, most importantly, prepare for a sudden landing. Amazing!

"Ready?" asked Medivh me when I finally climbed to the griffin. "Then, follow me!"

The griffins soared into the air, lifting with powerful flaps of their wings.