26 Skirmish

The battle of the dragons was a turning point in this war against the Horde. Although not this specific battle ... the turning point happened a little earlier when Alexstrasza burned three-quarters of the army, without thinking who is who. This event opened up a great opportunity for the Alliance. It began to advance deep into the territory of the Horde and destroy all orcs while freeing slaves and prisoners. The hunt started very actively, and no one was going to let go of the wounded enemy.

The geography of the place where the dragons' battle took place changed dramatically, and the Alliance army could no longer freely pass through this land. They had to make a rather large detour to get ahead, but no one hesitated. It is not known what anomalies remained in that zone and how they will affect a person.

After talking with the dragons, I received information from everyone about the place where I can find them. These were the coordinates for teleportation. Overall, I was happy with this result. If I discard all the moral and other "postulates", then I made the most of this war. I got the opportunity to learn from dragons, made many useful contacts with elves, and even gained some theoretical knowledge of black magic. I will not use it yet, as the promise to fight Kil'jaeden is no longer valid. It stopped working as soon as Rakmar attacked me due to his desire to take possession of the Dragon Soul. In general, whichever side to look at, but everywhere I have a profit. That's how I live.

Relations with the Kirin Tor could have deteriorated to the point that I would have been expelled from its ranks. On the one hand, this is not very pleasant, as it could have hurt my father. On the other hand, I don't think the Kirin Tor can offer me more in terms of knowledge than dragons. And I can get money and artifacts from many other sources. So ... nothing really kept me there. But there was one thing ... And this, this thing is named Krasus. He covered me proved that there was no danger in my actions. Having learned his secret, I decided not to tell anyone about it, for which he was very grateful. He also gave me access to all the libraries and collections of secret knowledge in the Kirin Tor. I would not give up on this since knowledge will not be superfluous anywhere, even if they are duplicated.

"Alistar," a voice tore me out of my thoughts. Looking up, I saw Alleria entering my tent. I set up my tent only when the elves and the Alliance army reunited after the division and began to march inland, destroying the orcs. "How are you, my love?"

"Thank you," I answered the elf, pulling her to me. "This war has already bothered me very much. I want to concentrate on magic. "

"Of course," she nodded, hugging me. "I also want to return home and take a break from this, but until the Horde is completely destroyed, we will not stop."

"I see," I nodded. Indeed, it is necessary to continue the work and bring it to a victorious end. The hatred for the orcs was too great. People did not at all seek to take prisoners. Not many orcs were honored to stay alive. Their powers are being used to rebuild Alliance cities from the ashes. No one is going to pity the Orcs, and, it seems to me, they will be brought to their grave. There was no screaming that it was inhumane or wrong. I was not involved in this decision. The Horde is the enemy; this thought will not disappear for a very long time. It's not for me to change that, and I don't want to do that.

A small ball of pure magical energy appeared in front of my face. Alleria stared at it with interest, then rose from my knees.

"You can talk. I will not distract."

"Thank you," I nodded to her and activated the spell.

"Alistair," Krasus said from the magic ball. "We need your presence at the Violet Tower for one investigation."

"Okay," I nodded to him. "I'll be arriving soon."

"Great."

After that, the ball simply disappeared into space. This spell is not very popular. To create it, a magician needs a special artifact. They need to spend many days of painstaking work creating one, and then almost as many to connect it with others. Mass production of such artifacts is simply not profitable, which is why only members of the Council of Six and the most trusted people of the Dalaran government have them. I have become one quite recently, and I will say that I do not feel anything special. I don't have the feeling that I have become 'higher' than other people.

"Go," Alleria nodded, then added. "I'll wait for you."

"I'll be back as soon as possible," he answered with a smile, throwing on my mantle and also drawing the staff to him.

Once outside, I created a teleport spell and went to the Violet Tower. When I got there, I immediately headed up the steps. Some wizards looked at me with interest, while others showed no interest. For them, I was just as simple a magician as many others. They are not interested in the life around them but are immersed in their own research all the time. I would not be surprised if such researchers would have missed the gods' coming and the apocalypse.

I was allowed inside the Council meeting. The magicians immediately took off their masks since I could see through them freely. For me, these illusions were nothing more than antics. I can create these too.

"Alistar, we are glad you came," Krasus turned to me. "We invited you here on two issues."

"Okay," I nodded to them. "Let's talk about those."

"We're curious to know what you think about Khadgar's actions and the fact that he started practicing demonology and other black magic?"

"In general," I said and thought for a few seconds. "If I knew that the reason why he does it is more sublime, then I would not mind. But he also wants to get as much strength as possible, as quickly as possible, without applying any effort and sacrificing everything. So, I think that he should be detained and put under special control."

"You will not offer his execution?" asked me Kael' thas with a concerned expression on his face.

"I can judge another person by my own values, but I cannot be a judge," I replied calmly.

Perhaps Khadgar is really overly dangerous, and in order to protect himself from him, he needs to be killed. But I just can't say it so easily ... Yes, he is not very pleasant to me, as a person, but still ... He is a person, not an orc. During the time that I live in this world, I managed to temper a little my morally. Yes, I can easily kill the enemy, but this is in battle. It's so easy to execute him in front of a crowd of people but it will not be very easy for me. In general, the question was strange and will certainly have consequences.

"That's good," Krasus nodded. "We've already made a decision about Khadgar. The capture of this mage will take place tomorrow. I will take part in the capture, along with Kael' thas. Other members of the Council will be observers."

"And what decision have you already made about it?" I asked the magicians.

"No decisions are made yet," answered the sorceress, who does not treat me very well. I don't know her name ... and she's not interesting to me either. In terms of strength, I surpass her, so nothing else interests me.

I nodded my head and then asked with interest:

"What is the second question you have?"

"Lord Proudmoore asks if you will be ready to take his daughter as a student in the future."

"Not in the nearest future," I replied, looking Krasus in the eyes. "I want to do my own experiments for now."

Krasus nodded, knowing what I meant. I'm really going to go to dragon training and spend time there to gain new knowledge. I am sure they will be very useful to me. Still, training from dragons, especially from the Aspects, costs a lot.

"Okay," Krasus nodded, then added. "That's what I already told the admiral."

After nodding my head at these words, I was about to leave. But something kept me still. As if these sorcerers wanted to tell me something else, but for the time being, they were thinking about whether it was worth saying or not. With a shrug, I left the meeting room and headed toward the exit.

It was quite cool outside, but at the same time, a warm breeze blew, which completely neutralized this feeling of cold. For a second, I froze as I felt someone's attention on my back. Turning slowly, I looked at the Tower, but no one was standing at the exit. Strange ... Who needed to watch me. Better to put some kind of protection on me.

Putting my hand in my pocket, I summoned one of the protective artifacts that mages wear during combat clashes with other wizards. Only after that did I continue my journey through Dalaran. When I was at a respectful distance, I teleported to my own tent. There was no one else inside, just a few sheets of paper on which I did the calculations. They did not stand in the place that I left them. This means that someone needed to dig into them. Even if this secret person found something, he would not understand anything since some of the information is stored in my head or in other hiding places. I extract documents or records with my magic.

It will be necessary to cast protective spells, although they are already here. The only one who can come here without any particular problems is Alleria. I wonder what she needed to know. I don't think she was looking for some dirt on me. Then I find out.

***

Kel' Thuzed stared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't want to do something or go somewhere. But he needs to. Sometimes he was attacked by bouts of laziness, and then he wanted someone to do his job for him. In general, there were many things he didn't like about his current place of work. Yes, he is one of those people who can decide the fate of Dalaran, he is in the Council of Six.

With a wave of his hand, he slowly drew the staff towards him with his magic and stood up. His body ached somewhat after prolonged sleep. This dream has been going on for several months in a row. And every day, he begins to agree more and more with his interlocutor. And the fact that he himself is this interlocutor does not bother anyone. Magical energy had already filled his body as usual.

Having examined the surrounding territory with his inner vision. There was no one around, which made him smile a little, satisfied. No tracking spells watched him and could not convey to other magicians that he was doing something indecent and very dangerous. In his hands, from one of the caches, a magic book appeared, made of very strange material. Exhaling, he pulled away from the idea of ​​what kind of material this is. Actually, he got this book from Khadgar. Kel' Thuzad hates the fact that mages forbid all research and forbid the study of black magic and other areas. These are just paths and have no meaning for the whole world. The appearance of orcs from another world has nothing to do with black magic and demonic magic.

Only Khadgar understands him and shares a desire to study demonology and other directions. He doesn't like the fact that the other mages of the Council of Six have revealed this. And if they catch him, then Kadgar will be able to reveal his hobbies. And this can affect his life and health. In this, he agreed with himself in a dream. He needs to somehow try to get Kadgar out of this and then send him somewhere to a safe place. He talked to an intelligent man in his dream, to himself, and concluded that Northrend would be the safest place. The magicians of Dalaran will go there only as a last resort.

Closing the book on how to raise the dead, Kel' Thuzad left his room. It took little time to prepare to save Khadgar. Just a whole week. He had to work in one of his secret laboratories and create some strange and dangerous creatures from a book he received from Khadgar. The book turned out to be a very good source of information.

More forces than planned were allocated to capture Khadgar. After a council meeting attended by Allistar Bumblebee, Krasus decided to supplement his capture forces with several dozen more battle mages. He seemed to sense some problems and prepared. Kel' Thuzad didn't like that either and was a little nervous about it. Although it is not necessary to be nervous but to act.

Kel' Thuzad watched several of the mages' squads with a frown. He wanted to stop this campaign, but he cannot do it so far because he cannot expose himself. As soon as they disappeared into the teleporter, he immediately grabbed the artifact and activated several blood golems. They immediately headed towards where Khadgar was supposed to be now. Also, the archmage sent him a messenger that so many magicians went to pursue him.

Now he can only wait and wait, and also look at the situation in both eyes.

***

Khadgar sat on a small tree stump and tried to meditate. But this was not the main thing now. Not that at all. He recently received from his ally in the Violet Tower that the mages were sent after him, accompanied by the archmages. He very much wanted to face and test his newly acquired powers. He looked at one of his hands, which was streaked with green. He did not feel anything unusual. Just demonic energy, flowing through it, mixing with his own magic, making it stronger and more poisonous.

On his other hand, he had a small artifact that he received from one of the summoned demons. He created a shield around him that would be quite difficult to break through. Shaking his head, he rechecked himself and exhaled. Closing his eyes, Khadgar sensed one of the demons he had managed to capture. It was not easy, but the reward was worth it.

Small dots with life began to appear on the periphery of his sensations. He adopted this scanning space method from the demons since it was more advanced and made it possible to sense the magicians around. In addition, by the intensity of the glow, it was possible to determine how strong one or another wizard one is. In general, the information that his ally gave him turned out to be true inside and out. Standing up, he opened his eyes and continued to stare at the place from where these representatives of the Kirin Tor should appear.

They appeared very soon. A tall mage stepped forward. It was he who had to make the accusation and give the order for the capture. The strong magicians who were in reality responsible for capturing him were in the second line and watched carefully, trying to find some traps or dangerous moments for them and their magicians. But Khadgar was sure that they could not find anything, so he had time to prepare. And when they find everything, it will be too late. His demonic slave is ready at any second to give an order to demonic mercenaries that they will carry out any order. They got paid really decent—couple orcs as a sacrifice.

"Mage Khadgar," said the prosecutor in a loud and somewhat formal tone. "You are accused of using black magic, as well as summoning demons into our world, which endangers the safety of all kingdoms. Surrender, and then your punishment can be eased."

"Yes, yes," Khadgar said with a sneer. "As soon as possible."

"Then I accept your answer as a refusal," the magician nodded that he was reading the accusation. "In that case, do not resist arrest, otherwise everything will be even worse for you."

"Do you have enough strength for this?" interested magician. "Otherwise, you can't even scratch me.

"I see," the magician nodded. He, in reality, did not care what this traitor would answer. He just made it possible to ease his own fate. But if a person does not want to take advantage of this opportunity ... Well ... this is his choice. "Magicians, capture him."

In the next second, a dozen binding spells flew at Khadgar. But he did not worry about it. In the second, when all the spells were on him, another artifact he received from the demons went into action. In a single instant, two illusions appeared around him, and the binding spells simply disappeared. A smile appeared on his face. With a nod, he gave the order to his slave.

A second later, a devil with leather wings behind her back and horns on her head landed on the ground. This demoness bore the name - Akash. Among the demons of the void, she is called one of the Queens of Pain. Khadgar wasn't interested in why she was called that. The only thing the magician needed to know, so it was that the demoness had received decent pay.

The second demon appeared a little to the side and looked more "demonic." He had a black figure that simply emitted darkness. His eyes glowed with red, devilish fire. In the clawed paws, one could see the remnants of blood that had eaten into him very deeply. The demon's name was Nevermore.

"Demons!" shouted one of the mages. Others at this time were already ready for battle. They expected something like this, and their expectations were confirmed. The commanders began to quickly issue instructions to their subordinates. The demons only watched but did nothing. They were interested. "Be careful!"

"Comrades," Khadgar said to the demons. "Destroy them!"

"I smell souls," Nevermore said with a sneer. "Replenishment to my collection!"

The next second he clapped his hands, and a black spell exploded among the mages. But they were ready for this and immediately prepared to repel the next attack. Akashi jumped forward in a second. She moved at such a high speed that even the human eye could not follow her.

She found herself among one of the squads of magicians, and red balls flew in all directions from her, which hit the five magicians, knocking them to the ground and making them cringe in pain.

"Pain!" The demoness screamed in a slightly insane voice. "Oh, yes!"

"Don't let them come up! Cried out one of the magicians, a small dagger that the demoness threw was thrust into him. He fell to the ground and began to choke in his blood. Several mages immediately rushed towards him. They created a rather large shield, against which several spells that Nevermore created slammed. Khadgar did not take any part in this battle yet but only watched. He was interested to see this. Another demoness appeared near him, from whom the icy cold was blowing. But Khadgar didn't feel it. This cold did not affect him.

"Master," she said in a melodic voice. "Will you order others to join the battle?"

"Not yet, Rylai," he replied with a grin. "I don't think the magicians can handle even these two."

"I understand," the demon nodded and disappeared again in purple flashes. Khadgar was willing to give orders to the other demons he had hired to join the battle, but so far, it was not necessary.

And the battle began to gain momentum. The magicians could hardly oppose anything to these two demons. They had to defend themselves most of the time. The demons themselves were only playing with their opponent. Khadgar did not want to take this toy from them and therefore did not say anything about it.

"Master!" appeared Rylai from invisibility. This time she looked very frightened and dumbfounded. "We need to leave!"

"What happened?" asked Khadgar without attaching any significance of emotion in the tone of his slave. She was always emotional. And when she became like that, everything around was covered with ice.

"Ish'Kafel, Lanaia, and Damnock were killed!"

"What?" confusedly asked Khadgar. "How come? Who killed them?"

"I have killed," the mage said, appearing on the battlefield. It was Krasus that Khadgar had forgotten about. "It was not difficult."

Akasha and Nevermore watched the mage who had appeared attentively and somewhat wary. They sensed a serious danger from this man. Now there was no time for jokes and mockery. They have to be careful since this magician is very strong. Besides, he created a fiery sensation.

"Khadgar," Krasus said in a cold tone that just chilled him. "I thought you would be an excellent magician. You should have watched Alistar so that he did not step on the "crooked" path ... But you yourself stepped on it. I will kill you, today ... or later. There will be no trial."

Now Khadgar realized that the situation was beginning to turn into a not very pleasant for him. In the next second, a spell escaped his hand. The ground swelled and began to be covered with thorns. They crashed into Krasus and just crumbled into dust without harming him in any way.

The magicians who made the initial arrest have already freed themselves and simultaneously fired at the demons. Akashi jumped to the side, and Nevermore just continued to stand. He was not afraid of such attacks. The souls of previous victims protected him.

Khadgar watched Krasus closely and tried to figure out how to get out of here. If he left immediately and did not watch the demons destroy his opponents, then perhaps he would never have had such problems. But now, he needs to break through with a fight.

"Rylai cover me," Khadgar ordered.

A staff made of pure ice appeared in the Ice Demon's hand. The next second, a spell flew at Krasus. It exploded in front of him, covering everything around with ice. The sound of the explosion was barely audible, but still, it was. Other demons also entered the battle, but now they could not seize the initiative. The mages began to work together, defending themselves against the powerful attacks they were making.

Krasus took a step, and a shadow flickered behind him. The temperature began to rise slowly, forcing all the ice to melt. The scent of charred remains reached Khadgar's nostrils, forcing him to slowly step back.

Then he heard a powerful cry, from which his ears were clogged. It was Akashi. Pink waves flew in all directions from her, crumbling the earth, stones, and trees.

"Shut up," Krasus growled, and then launched some spell Khadgar didn't know. The demoness's head burst into a bloody fountain.

"Your soul will be a worthy addition to my collection," Nevermore said in his broken voice. "You don't...

"Nobody asked you to open your mouth either," Krasus said. In the next second, he was trapped in the ice. But it was not working. Some kind of yellow glow appeared around the magician, which protected him from this attack.

Nevermore launched several magical attacks at this time, but they did not harm the archmage in any way. He took another step forward, and then the glow was gone. Khadgar understood that now everything would be very serious and that he would not leave this place so easily. And this means that he must use all the spells he learned.

He stretched out his modified hand, and a powerful beam of green energy erupted from it. Almost instantly overtaking Krasus, he crashed into a dark pink barrier. This barrier was known to Khadgar, as it returned the spell back to whoever used it. It was a complex spell that only some mages could do. The green beam returned and slammed into Khadgar. He possessed another protective artifact, which was instantly destroyed and fused into his wrist. Pain swept through his body.

Rylai, on the other hand, could not defend herself and received a full-fledged magical blow, which transferred her from the category of living to the category of the dead. In her place, there was only a pile of snow that was slowly melting. Khadgar sensed that the link had been severed and was now dangling loose threads.

"Oh you!" shouted Khadgar, and then tried to escape. But as soon as he created an invisibility spell, it instantly dissapeared.

"You can't escape justice," Krasus concluded.

The archmage's arms were covered with lines of fire, and then he jumped forward. Khadgar grabbed his staff and prepared to defend himself, hopelessly. But then several strange creatures appeared in front of him, which repulsed this attack. One was dispelled by a bloody spray, but others began to bind the archmage. For a second, Khadgar even found hope. A plan appeared in his mind.

"Is that all?" asked Krasus. In a second, the bloody figures turned into steam, which dissolved into thin air. "I thought you had some other secrets up your sleeve. But it looks like I was wrong about you, and you are just an envious creature that is not ready to work to achieve all this on your own."

Khadgar was already slowly panicking. All the instructions of the demons and spells under the influx of fear disappeared somewhere. He could not do anything, and now he was considering how to escape.

"You will not leave," Krasus stated the fact. Khadgar looked closely at the archmage and clearly saw that he was somewhat unpleased. Still, he put his efforts and faith in him, and he let him down. This satisfied Khadgar somewhat, as he was able to show this mage that his judgments, too, are not the ultimate truth. Although he did not understand that Krasus is much older than him and has long passed the stage, he considered himself the smartest and most skillful. Khadgar didn't realize that he was just regretting what had happened.

"I wouldn't say that," said a new voice. Nevermore had already been killed by the mages ... He was not summoned with all his might, so he had to retreat. Kel' Thuzad emerged from the portal. He was dressed in a simple travel robe hung with artifacts.

"Kel' Thuzad," Krasus said to the mage. "Tell me, what is that supposed to mean?"

"I save, one of the only voices of reason in the Kirin Tor," said the mage. "By your prohibitions to study magic, you close the opportunity to move this art forward. I take Khadgar back and also announce my exit from the Kirin Tor!"

"Is it worth it?" asked Krasus coldly. He had no fear of Kel' Thuzad at all. Even if he considers himself a strong magician, and in fact he is, but he is not a battle magician but more of a researcher. He does not have that tremendous experience in conducting magical duels and magical battles. Any more or less trained fighter will roll such a magician into the ground and will not even scratch himself.

"I can now study any magic without looking around at anyone," replied one of the Council of Six, who was preparing to become a renegade. "And the resources… Resources are not limited to Dalaran."

"Then you will answer with Khadgar," Krasus said in a cold tone. The mages began to slowly circle, preparing to capture the two.

"No," Kel' Thuzad replied, nodding his head in dismissal, then tapping his staff. Darkness thickened around him, and he slowly began to dissolve in it along with Khadgar. There was a soft whisper that penetrated to the bone.

Krasus did not do anything, as he was well aware that there was nothing he could do about this spell. It looks like these two have been ready for a long time. This spell was called: World of Darkness. It was used in ancient times by a demon named Mannoroth. A lot of magical energy was used to interrupt, such volumes that Krasus does not have. Even the Aspect cannot dispel it so easily. It takes a lot of energy.

The spell hid two magicians, and they disappeared into space. The black magic simply disappeared, but there was still this putrid smell that was not going to go away at all. Exhaling Krasus turned away and waved his hand, indicating that there was no longer any danger.

The capture team sighed and began to deal with the treatment of the wounded, as well as the collection of corpses. This unsuccessful detention went very badly ... It turned out to be a failure. They lost some excellent magicians and missed two magicians who love black magic and practice it almost professionally. The loss of an archmage and a member of the Council, on the one hand, is not a very pleasant situation too. On the other hand, they found one warlock and a second one simultaneously, who was not at the lowest position in Kirin Tor society. Also, they received a hint of some kind of organization or place where black magicians can get resources for research and training. It will be necessary to give an order to the scouts to start looking for something like that.

Healers began to heal the wounded, and some magicians began to collect body parts that remained from the demons. Shaking his head, he exhaled. The situation was not very pleasant.

After giving instructions to the magician, who should be in charge, he teleported back to the Violet Tower. After that, he initiated an emergency meeting of the Council of Six. In general, any Council member could do it, but they used this right very, very rarely. But now it was different. It was necessary to convey information to other magicians about what happened.

***

A few days after my conversation at the Violet Tower, I received a notification that I was expected there now for another important conversation. Something happened. From the fact that there is no news of the warlock's capture, I can understand that the capture of Khadgar turned out to be a failure. If so, it will be forbidden to talk about it since this is a painful failure on many managers' heads. Of course, this assignment will probably be kept secret, but I don't know. When I am in the Tower, I will find out the details if they tell me, of course.

Exhaling, I put my research materials aside and hid them in my bag. Talking to Alleria about reading my studies made me happy. She just thought she could help me this way. I did not feel any lie in these words, so I decided to believe her in this matter. I don't think she started working against me. So, I stuck my suspicions deeper.

In Dalaran, as always, it was calm. People calmly went about their business, not thinking, especially about what was happening in the outside world. For them, the world was very small: Dalaran and its surroundings, that it. And all other places with problems are distant and perhaps even unreal. On the way, I met several magicians I knew, but they did not recognize me, which did not really upset me. Well, it happens, we are all human, and we can forget some things.

Climbing to the very top of the Tower, I entered the council office. There, now there were only five members. I wonder where the sixth is. If five is here, then the conversation is not very important. If there were six members here, then you could think about a conversation.

The only mage who was absent was Kel' Thuzad. I wonder where he disappeared. With a shrug, I looked at Krasus and then at Kael' thas. They looked worried. The other magicians weren't as excited as they were. They had some thoughts of their own in their heads. I wonder what the conversations were here before I came.

In general, the Council of Six now had four members known to me and one unknown magician. Notable ones included Modera, Vargoth, Krasus, and Kael' thas. The fifth member was a witch unknown to me, who does not really love me. Well, okay, I won't baptize children with her ... Although children are not baptized here.

"We summoned you for one very important reason," Krasus said first. "The thing is that our troops will begin to move forward to return the territories already occupied by the Horde to true owners."

"Of course," I agreed with them. While the troops of the Alliance stood in one place, they were able to fully recover and re-arm somewhat. "And what do they say in intelligence?"

"You don't need to know," the unknown witch from the Council answered me coldly.

And that she treats me that way. I didn't do anything bad to her. Is she really trying to play intrigue and seize as much power as possible? This is strange for magicians. The magician must deal with his own development, and only then, in the tenth order, think about other matters. Or maybe it is because I did not give her respect when we met the first time?

"Hmm," I just snorted at that. Well, I don't really care about her, so her actions do not bother me.

"Nothing interesting," Kael' thas said and shook his head. The other sorcerers did not say anything; they just kept silent. They also participate in councils, but at the same time, they do not really like to talk when there are others here. And by others, they mean Krasus, the head of the Council of Six, who acts as a voice for everyone and everyone in the Kirin Tor.

"We've lost Khadgar," Krasus said.

"I already understood that," I nodded, seeing how the other mages looked at Krasus with slight disapproval. "This is logical." I examined the magicians with a somewhat mocking look. I told them about him.

"You told me when the operation will take place. After that, I don't see any jubilation, and there are not even rumors about it. Still, capturing a man like Khadgar on the basis of doing black magic would be a great achievement."

In general, I decided not to grovel any further. There is no point in that. After that, I still listened to their conversations without participating in them. Sometimes Krasus or Kael'thas asked me for my opinion on this or that question. But nothing was interesting or important was discussed. It can be just a small test for me. I did not hesitate to call some ideas stupid ... Honestly, I felt like a hero of some too cheap action movie, in which experienced commanders, who had gone through dozens of military campaigns, ask a young man from the village what to do. It feels so stupid.

After that, I left, and an unknown witch followed me.

"Bumblebee," she called to me.

I stopped and looked at her with interest. This witch was quite young, but at the same time, she tried to hide it behind an arrogant look. She is quite strong in magical power, but at the same time weaker than me and weaker than all the other members of the Council.

"I am listening attentively…" I stammered, indicating that I did not know her name.

"Archmage Wanda," the woman said.

"So, Wanda," I began to say, but she interrupted me with a slight burst of magical energy as if it should scare me.

"Archmage Wanda," she said forcefully, her eyes sparkling. "You must treat me with respect. I am an archmage.

"Okay, Archmage Wanda," I told her with a serious expression. "So, what would you like to talk about?"

"Listen to my advice," she said calmly as if she were giving me advice that would bring me all the riches of this world. "Don't poke your nose into the Council. You will be eaten there. Several other magicians are more suitable for this place."

"Of course, of course," I said to her with a grin. That's what she's about ... She has someone who wants to become a member of the Council of Six. However, he will owe her for it. This means that she can ask that person for something, and he will fulfill it. In general, she will receive her "faction," which will support her in some issues, if not all. "I'm going to go on a trip around the world for eight years. So you don't have to worry, archmage."

"It's even better," she replied as if she thought I got it right and bent under her. And I really just don't care. I want to go to the dragons for training. After that, all these words or actions in my direction will just sidetrack me.

Exhaling, I turned away and headed towards the exit, leaving the witch behind me. Let her think she can put her man so easily in the place of the Council of Six.