18 The battle near Startholme

Alleria moved forward very quickly to convey the notification to the elf king. Sylvana also left, telling me to stay here. Shrugging my shoulders at this, I decided not to act differently and just stayed to wait. I had several elven rangers with me who watched and "protected" me. I don't need them, but if they want to be around me, then sure.

The trolls continued to flee the forest with the orcs. Still, the elves were already able to resist them in an organized manner. The war flared up here to the fullest. Several times orcs with trolls came to our camp, but these were very small groups that could not pose any problems for me or elf rangers.

The rangers who were with me changed the attitude in a few days and told the news they received. I was also expecting that news since I did not want to sit here at all. I could teleport to Stratholme now, but I don't see any need for it yet. The elves told that the Horde emerged from the forests and gathered a massive fist to begin their forest attack. From these same elves, I learned that the Alliance also began to gather its forces and dig in the city. Capturing this city will be very difficult. But, something tells me that the Horde actually will not attack the city.

Alleria returned three days later with some excellent news.

"King Anasterian, ordered to gather the available forces and send some of them to help the Alliance troops," she said when we met again. "We can go to Lord Lothar."

"Okay," I nodded to her. Alleria ordered something to the elves, and they quickly disappeared into the woods. We were once again left with her alone. Striking with my staff, I teleported us to Stratholme, not forgetting to take this place's coordinates. So if I need it one day, I can move here.

When we appeared in the city, I immediately noticed that it is now completely different from what I saw quite recently. Now it was a scattered anthill, where it was almost impossible to push through from the forces. There were a lot of magicians here too. In the skies, flying griffins could sometimes be seen, saddled by their riders. Something tells me that the battle here must be very, very serious. Perhaps it will not be decisive, but it will devour a lot of strength.

Getting to the center was not easy. The city was overflowing with troops. They won't be able to stay here for a long time. I don't even know if all the Alliance warriors are here or just some part. If they were all here, then they simply would not fit in the city.

When we approached the local administration, we were immediately recognized and let through without any questions. The young warrior, dressed in simple leather armor, only looked at us with interest but did not ask anything. He quickly led us to the meeting and returned to his post.

Entering the room where the meeting was taking place, we found ourselves in the spotlight. All the main paladins were here, Khadgar, Lothar, and a few mages I didn't know from the Kirin Tor. They only nodded their heads at me but didn't say anything.

Alleria immediately reported the good news that the king of the elves would send his forces to help. This encouraged the leaders of the Alliance, as it is now clear that our chances will increase in this war. While I was "running" through the elves' forests, the warriors of the Alliance had several bloody battles with the orcs. No winner was in those battles. I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do about it.

Plans were made to defend the city. The leaders of the Alliance wanted us to defend the city by fighting not within its borders, but in an open field. This could definitely be a good opportunity for us. If we play it right, we will force the orcs to retreat. The scouts have reported that the Horde will attack with all available forces and march through the elves' forests all the way to Silvermoon.

"What do you think of this battle, Alistar?" asked me Lothar standing on a high tower and watching the orders orcs slowly fill the space where the distance from the city. "Do we have any chances?"

"Maybe," I answered him, looking at the Horde. This battle may be the last. Part of the Alliance army continues to fight the Horde at other points now, but the situation there is not critical. Uther is in command there. "Or maybe not, we don't know what plans the orcs themselves have."

Anduin just nodded at that, agreeing with my words. For several days, the tension increased. Everyone understood that the explosion would happen ... It would be very powerful and bloody. Each warrior prepared himself, sharpened his weapon, prayed, or simply thought about something. Mages of all countries, not only Dalaran, plowed with might and main, creating regeneration potions and equipping all soldiers with them. Artifactors enchanted weapons and armor for free. Everyone did their best to increase our chances of winning. Let's hope that they will increase.

The very arrival of the elves raised the morale of the Alliance soldiers. It made the orcs move a little faster. If we had information from orcs generals, we could make more realistic decisions about the battle.

The dwarves on their griffins were ready to march into battle and cover us. The goblins, whom Lothar contacted, refused to help, even for a large amount of money. It made him angry, but he did not do anything stupid. We don't need more goblin cartels to join the Horde. The first to attack was the Alliance.

"Ali," Lothar said in a somewhat cold tone. "I would like to give you a detachment of warriors and magicians."

"Why?" I asked him with a surprise.

"I want to create another mobile squad that can impudently attack and also quickly retreat."

"Will I be the commander?" I asked him. Lothar nodded his head.

Should I agree or not? I don't have that much experience in commanding at least some units. I watched Lothar and the other commanders and how they lead. In theory, I can command, but it can have dire consequences for my squad in practice. But ... I'd better agree.

"Okay," I told him. "I will try to do everything in the best possible way."

"Excellent," Lothar nodded contentedly. "Come on, I'll introduce you to them."

"Did you know?" I asked him. "Did you know that I would agree?"

"Haha," Lothar laughed. For a few seconds, his face became good-natured, such as I had never seen him, but then the mask of coldness and some kind of alienation returned to him.

"Pf-f-f," I just snorted at it. Well, let him ... Let him think what he wants. And I can't refuse, so I'll go to the very end. Halfway through, I asked one question that worried me: "Lothar, why didn't you offer to command Khadgar?"

"I'll need him at headquarters," the warrior replied calmly. I froze for a moment. I won't say that it was offensive, no ... It's just unexpected that he chose to keep him with him, not me. Well, if he thinks Khadgar will be a good helper for him, then so be it. And I will do something else. I don't know how it happened, but nothing can be changed now.

In the future, this will allow me to go on some other mission, leaving the Alliance in their care. Suppressing a smile, I caught up with Lothar.

Going downstairs, I found a small squad of magicians, one young paladin, whose name was unknown to me, and Alleria with two elves. In total, there were nine warriors here, not counting me. Such units have good mobility, as well as combat power.

"Detachment, here is your commander," he said, nodding at me. Alleria smiled with a wide and beautiful smile. The mages of the Kirin Tor only studied me carefully, but I did not feel any negativity there. So, just a slight interest. "Alistar Bumblebee. Well, I leave you then."

Lothar left quickly. Glancing around the mages, I noticed only one familiar face. This is Mirel, the mage with whom I went to Sargeras. Powerful archmage. I wonder how it happened that he ended up in my submission, and not me in his. It's strange.

"Good afternoon," I greeted everyone. "As you already understood, my name is Alistar. I will be your commander during this battle. I hope we can work together."

After that, everyone introduced themselves in turn. The most interesting thing was that the mages of the Kirin Tor presented themselves with numbers, and only one Mirel was named. Alleria was accompanied by two experienced rangers named Legolasiel and Tauriander. The paladin's name was Kudes, and he was a fan of very thick armor. When I noticed his armor, I almost whistled. It was a work of art. Magnificent armor that gleams with light and fills the room with a flash, warm breeze.

I have no doubt in the powers of the magicians, as well as in the abilities of the rangers. I knew nothing about this Kudes, but after asking some people, I realized that he was a worthy warrior.

We left the city at night and circled the Alliance camp in a wide arc. Our goal was a small Horde camp, a little to the side. We rode on horseback, and after that, we switched to exploring the territories on foot.

There was silence all around. Even the birds did not sing, as if they were frozen in anticipation of something that should burst out very soon. The Alliance army has already prepared for the offensive. The commanders well understood that if we did not start attacking, the Horde would simply make a detour and attack the almost undefended forces of Qel Talas.

"Gentlemen," I said when we got close enough to this parking lot. It was noisy inside her, and it was drawn by dark magic. I didn't like it, and I wanted to stop that magic from wrongdoing. "Now we need to understand what they are doing, and after that we will attack. All clear?"

"Yes," my subordinates answered calmly. I had no problems with their subordination. I don't know if they were indoctrinated or if they are really very disciplined. Of course, the elves sometimes cast condescending glances at me, but Alleria's gaze immediately shuts up these long-eared ones. I made another artifact for collecting coordinates for a teleport. It was also a ring, somewhat rough, but working.

Slowly and trying not to make noise, we moved forward. The bushes hid us, as did the trees. When it was quite a bit left to the clearing where the magic was happening, we froze, observing an interesting situation. From several human corpses and one giant ogre, a new ogre with two heads has emerged. This fire pulled a little magic. Ogre Mage. This could be a problem. There were four more ogres here, as well as a full cart of corpses. We need to stop this now.

Looking at my subordinates, I saw the determination on their faces. Their eyes burned with desire to throw themselves into battle. We went around the camp, looking for a better place to attack. We started to move forward slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. The two elves were the first to find the guards and kill them without noise or pity. We continued on our way, even deeper.

Among these creatures was one Black Knight. It seems that he was in charge of everything here. Glancing at my warriors again, I waved my hand. There was no need to repeat it twice. The mages of the Kirin Tor together fired a fiery volley, which in an instant covered the entire clearing on which these lewd practices were taking place. The screams of pain were clearly audible.

The next second, a green wave flew in our direction. This is dark magic ...

"Warlock," I confirmed. Others just looked at me. It seems that none of them have encountered warlocks yet. Although I don't think this is about Mirel. " Be very careful with them."

The flames went out, revealing a dozen charred corpses. But that wasn't what attracted attention, no. Attention was drawn to a group that consisted of the Black Knight, an orc in a black hoodie, as well as two ogre mages and one troll mage. They looked directly at us.

"Destroy them," I gave the order, and hit my staff. A wave went to the group, but it was almost instantly dispelled by the troll mage. And he's not bad. Mirel at this time entered into a fight with the Black Knight, while other magicians crushed the two-headed ogres. Flashes, explosions, and crashes began to fill the surrounding space. Alleria and the elves tried to shoot at least someone.

The Black Knight jumped back sharply and then slammed his weapon into the ground. A dozen spikes jumped out, which could pierce us. But this was not for an attack but to gain time for a retreat. At this time, other mages had already finished off the ogres, as well as that warlock. He fought back, but the archmage's blow remains the archmage's blow.

The warlock was simply torn into several dozen pieces, instantly sending him to the world of the dead. We came out of the bushes and began to look around, so as not to miss anything. But, the fire we used destroyed all the evidence before us. Although we did not need any evidence, since we destroyed the Horde, not ordinary people or gnomes or elves.

"Well done," I nodded to them. "But we need to keep going."

The detachment and I quickly began to move forward, while not forgetting to remain careful. I didn't want us to be trapped because we think we are very powerful. But we couldn't find the little Horde units to destroy. It seems that the escaped Black Knight has already managed to warn other similar camps, and they will be ready to attack.

I gave the sign to stop and thought for a few minutes. Now we need to decide what we are going to do in the future. How the battle will take place, I roughly guess, since I saw the plans. On the other hand, everything can change, and we will need to act as a safety squad just in case. Suppose the Alliance wins, and the Horde begins to flee. In that case, we will need to intercept as many of the retreating units as possible and destroy them. Suppose everything does not go according to plan for the Alliance itself. In that case, we will support ours with fire on the Horde's positions. We can unite in a circle and use heavy spells.

On the horizon, the sun was just rising. Looking into the eyes of all the warriors, I nodded to them to continue to follow me. After about an hour, we came to the edge of the forest, from which we had a view of two armies. It all looked very impressive.

"Okay, I came up with a plan of action," I said when all the members of the squad approached. "We will watch the battle from here, and when the situation changes, we will attack with magic to finish off the advantage or bring it back. Alleria, you and your rangers will watch over us as we begin to weave a spell. Do you have any suggestions or thoughts to improve the plan?

The answer was silence, and negative head nods. It would have been better, honestly. Then I could have slightly altered my plan since I probably did not think of something or missed something. It will be unpleasant if this turns into a big and painful problem.

The armies clashed in battle as soon as the sun rose fully. The mages of the Alliance and the mages of the Horde immediately placed shields on their troops to not receive any damage. At the same time, the goblins rereleased their flying boats to carry out the attack. But this time, we had dwarf riders. The griffins have become our responses to this Horde air force. The goblins were unprepared for this and lost half of their airships in the first seconds. They were inferior to the speed and maneuverability of the griffins. And even if they could carry quite heavy weapons, it does not matter if you already fall uncontrollably.

When it became clear to the Alliance that none of these ships could reach them, the vanguard began to slowly advance forward. The Horde did not want to work in a "disciplined way" at all. Disciplined in the understanding of the human army. They began to approach our troops in a large wedge at high speed. At this time, the archers fired their arrows. A moment later, they began to rain down on the orcs, knocking dozens to the ground. But there could be much more if the orcs did not possess metal armor as well as shields. With the support of elves and dwarves, the human army slowly moved forward, seizing some advantage in this field. Hopefully, they can use this advantage to win the battle.

The Horde's flanks began to slowly advance, forming a semicircle around the Alliance army. I didn't like it very much, as I sensed an increasing danger. The stakes were already high. Although I cannot say what plans the commanders have for the battle since no one has initiated me into them.

The troll mages used offensive spells, but those were deflected by a shield placed by the Alliance mages. In response, no one attacked. An instant later, the sound of two armies clashing was heard. Almost immediately, the field was covered with noise. Screams, a clatter of iron, and roars created a cacophony of a battle to the death. Flashes of magic glowed on one side as well as on the other.

Another detachment of people launched a very powerful offensive, intending to sharply cut the attacking units of the Horde and close them in an encirclement to destroy them later. The cavalry accelerated and slammed into these Horde warriors with thunder. Still, if we hoped that this was the first victory, then we were deeply mistaken. The next second after part of the human cavalry slammed into the first attacking party, the entire Horde began to move. The situation for Alliance quickly changed.

"This is not good," said Mirel, who also closely watched the battle. "We need to do something.

"We'll wait," I told him. "I feel like there's more to come… The Horde must have more."

Frowning, Mirel also began to study the Horde, figuring out what he saw and if there was anything unusual or strange there. I had already seen this and understood that the situation would develop rather badly. The Horde slowly shifted, cutting off the possibility of retreating into the forest through the passes. If they can complete this maneuver, then the path will be open for them.

"It was a sacrifice to distract the troops from something more," I said. "They are going to very quickly shift their offensive against the Alliance to an offensive against Qel Talas. Create a circle.

"But they don't have enough power to attack," one of the elves said. "The Alliance will stab them in the back. Our warriors will also await attacks from Qel Talas. The Horde will find itself between a rock and a hammer."

"I understand that," I nodded back. "But orcs commander is not stupid, and he understands this for sure. This means they have some kind of trump card that we do not know about or are not familiar with in detail."

I was right. After a while, a dozen black dots appeared in the sky, which increased very quickly. The griffin dwarves had already taken their places in the air to cover the Alliance forces from the air attack.

"Dragons," Alleria breathed. She looked scared, and I understand her. They flew here quickly.

Some dwarf riders wanted to stop them, but what could they do against the dragons. They only burned or devoured them. The lightning bolts thrown by the dwarves did not harm the dragons in any way. Here comes the joker on the battlefield. Our mages cannot do anything against dragons ... They were not even ready for this.

Trumpets sounded calling for the Alliance forces to retreat. They began to move very quickly towards the forest. The Horde was already concentrating its forces there, so as not to let them inside. There were two Black Knights with several ogre mages and a fairly impressive company of orcs and trolls.

The dragons descended and began to burn the ground just behind the backs of the Alliance warriors. The mages launched spells at the dragons, but they only powerlessly reflected, without causing any harm.

"This is our way out," I said, flexing my head slightly. "Squad, we must enable the Alliance to pass through the Horde fence without loss."

"Understood," Mirel said.

The mages quickly united in a circle. I did not take part in it, since I must continue to observe the surrounding area with the elves and direct where the heavy magic blow should be done. Circles are not very popular with magicians, as they are quite difficult to perform. Also, to create a circle, you need to know how to make it and be familiar with those you will make a circle. Perhaps with Mirel, I managed to create such a tandem, but not with other magicians. They are completely unfamiliar to me.

Lightning danced around the circle, showing that they were doing great magic. The hair on my body stood on end at the realization of the forces involved in this attack. It is quite difficult, but if you know how and what to do, then even such negative consequences can be neutralized.

I sensed that the spell was ready for use. It was like itching on fingertips. It is even difficult to explain ... It must be experienced.

"Destroy this unit," I ordered coldly.

In the next second, the sky darkened, blocking out the sun. The day turned into twilight. Several lightning flashed, and then thunder rang out. After that, some more lightning and more thunder and a bolt of powerful lightning struck from a small swirl in the clouds. It blinded everyone for a few seconds. A crash and a slight earthquake almost knocked me back. But fortunately, I managed to resist.

When I opened my eyes, I saw instead of the detachment that was going to block the retreat, only scorched earth remained. This gave the Alliance some time to retreat towards the forests of Qel Talas.

The dragons roared and began to try to burn the retreating Alliance forces. But, it was clear that the dragons resist this and work without any kind of desire. Only this saved people from complete destruction by these flying monsters. I wonder how it happened that they decided to support the Horde. After all, it is clear that they only bring destruction to Azeroth. This is very, very strange. Do the orcs have any knowledge of how to control dragons?

The huge Alliance army quickly retreated into the open passage and began to climb the mountains. Not even an attempt to escape was seen. Each of them understands that if they defect, they will definitely be captured by the Horde. After that, they will no longer be able to even hope for at least some kind of normal life.

A small group of orcs ran towards us and froze. It seems that they were rushing forward to somehow cross the path of the Alliance or report on their moves. But, they ran into us.

Light shone around our paladin. His sword was covered with a light snow-white light. The orcs looked at each other and rushed at us with wild shouts. And that was their mistake. The sorcerers under my command were not going to sit in a pillar and "clap their ears." A dozen spells hit all the orcs at once, turning them into corpses. It was fast and very effective.

Meryl and the other mages drank mana recovery potions. It looks like the previous attack took a lot of power from them. It's not very pleasant, but we can't do anything about it.

"So, detachment," I again turned to my people. "We will escort our army from the outside, and we will try to destroy those who come too quickly.

We began to quickly move in the same direction in which the Alliance troops were moving. Ahead, as I knew, the elves prepared a fast path for us. Lothar had discussed this with the king of the elves. In a critical situation, the human army will retreat towards Silvermoon. I do not know how it happened that the king of the elves decided to help people in this way, but this is now one of the most important ways of salvation.

Elves were already waiting for us at the pass. As soon as the Alliance's first units appeared, their mages hit the ground with their staves, and the passage was blocked by a silvery-gold wall that transmitted an image. It was a portal. The soldiers did not stop and ran inside and immediately disappeared in golden flashes.

"Very good," I said and nodded to my squad to stop. We were on a small hill and watched the Alliance troops' evacuation to the capital of Qel Talas.

Dragons flew around and burned the entire forest. From the smoke, we had to go out into the open space. Alleria looked very sad, but there was nothing to be done about it ... or was there? I can try to create rain, but will it help ... If I don't try, I won't know.

Closing my eyes, I mentally weaved a spell, and then slowly muttered it to myself. When everything was ready, I hit the ground with my staff and raised the pommel straight into the sky. It flashed with bright magic and then disappeared.

Clouds began to slowly gather over this place. The mages from my squad only looked at me and nodded their heads in displeasure. It seems that they do not think that I did this as the right decision. They may be right, or they may not. The main thing is that Alleria nodded gratefully. The other elves don't even bother me.

When we entered this passage, we found ourselves in a large and wonderful city—a vast amount of greenery, which is sometimes mixed with golden color. Various harmless and straightforward animals ran in the trees, going about their business, completely oblivious to the newcomers. The massive towers, as well as the infusion of magic, were what attracted attention. The magic around was rather strange. My soul began to slowly drain the surrounding energy, restoring the reserve, and then storing it somewhere inside itself.

"This is my home," Alleria said. My squad was still with me and followed closely behind me. We need to find Lothar and report back.

"Nice," I nodded to her, then added. "We need to find Lothar. Surely he should now communicate with your king."

"Of course," the elf answered me. "Follow me."

We began to walk quickly as we saw the Alliance troops begin to settle in the city. Healers, not only humans but also elven, were engaged in the treatment of the wounded. It was necessary to get them to their feet as quickly as possible to fight the approaching Horde. I was sure that it rushed to chase us.

The Elven Rangers were responsible for guarding and watching over the warriors. If someone would start to be indignant or do something else wrong, these rangers would quickly calm them down.

We came to a large and beautiful castle, which gleamed with magical power. I don't even know what it can be compared to. Perhaps with the Violet Citadel. Although, it draws from here with magic much stronger than from the central tower of Dalaran. Several guards immediately let us inside, as they saw that we were moving with Alleria. It was she who became the pass for us inside.

The interior of this castle was perfectly matched to the entire surrounding city. The concentration of magical energy here was even higher than I could even imagine. I could just swim in it. Ordinary people probably do not feel all the spilled magic here, but we are magicians easily. Let's just say I would like to train in a place like this.

We went up to the second floor, and I began to feel stupid for dragging the whole squad with me. At the very least, we looked like a group of warriors who shouldn't have been here at all. Stopping for a second, I looked everyone in the eye.

"Gentlemen, you can be free," I told them. - Mirel, can I ask you to stay in order to keep in touch with others?

"Of course," the magician breathed. The other magicians who introduced themselves as numbers just turned around and left. The elves, after Alleria's decree, also disappeared into the passage. Only the paladin remained. He looked in slight bewilderment, not understanding what he needed to do. With a shrug, he decided to stay here.

I just kept silent and nodded to Alleria to walk us on. We quickly flew up the spiral staircases and stopped at a large door. Behind it, I sensed very powerful magicians, as well as several people without such power.

Alleria went inside, and I followed her. For a second, the whole conversation fell silent, and everyone present looked at us.

"Alistar, do you have any news for us?" asked me Lothar.

"No important news yet, Lothar," I told him. "I thought you might need some more help."

"Who is this?" in Elvish language asked Anastarian. This elf was no longer at a young age, which spoke of his considerable experience. The interesting thing was that his powers were, in many ways, superior to me. He was even stronger than Antonidas and several other archmages combined. This is what real power means.

"Alistar," Alleria replied, then added something in Elvish. I didn't really understand much, as my elvish one is still not sufficient for understanding. In addition, they spoke very quickly.

Khadgar looked at me with interest. I felt that his level of strength had somehow risen during the time that we had not seen each other. It was quite noticeable ... I wonder what techniques he used for this. But oh well, it doesn't matter, since I will continue to develop anyway, I will try not to stand still.

"Well then, you can go to rest," Lothar waved at me. "And we have to solve some issues here."

With a slight surprise, I looked at Lothar, then turned my gaze to Khadgar. He looked at me with a half-smile. His eyes were also smiling with some sort of happiness. Something I still do not understand, and it seems, missed some turning point in the Alliance's political situation, and when did it happen ...

On the other hand ... This relieves me of a huge responsibility. Now that Lothar consults with Khadgar on magical matters, I can pay much more attention to developing my own powers. It's just good, no, not even so ... Great.

Alleria and the king watched the development of this situation with interest. With a nod of my head, I turned away and left this office. If I am not needed there now, then I will not be needed in the future. Everything is very simple here. Moreover, I remember well that in my world, Khadgar accompanied Lothar all the time. Perhaps the world is back on the same tracks it should have been on.

Other members of our squad, besides Alleria, followed me. She stayed to report to the king. I'm even wondering why Lothar didn't even ask for a report. This is pretty weird. Kudes very quickly apologized and went to the other paladins who were talking about something. Only me and Mirel remained.

"Tell me, Alistar," said the magician. "Are you offended that you were so simply exiled?"

"No," I negatively nodded my head. Although it really was somewhat unpleasant for me. "If Lothar thinks Khadgar will be his best helper, then good for him."

"And you will not try to regain your place at the "throne"?" with interest asked another question Mirel.

I just nodded my head. The magician exhaled and put his hand on my back with the words:

"You shouldn't take everything so personally. I'll tell you in confidence that the Council of Six itself is somewhat stormy now too."

"Why?" I asked.

"The sixth member has not yet been chosen, the head is always looking for something, and he was nervous lately."

I only looked closely at the magician but did not say anything. Yes, the death of one of the archmages and a member of the Council of Six, should have alerted other magicians who want to gain power.

Mirel turned away and quickly left somewhere, leaving me alone among these corridors. And what should I do? I don't even know where my tent is and where I can stay. Well, damn it. And what the hell started happening in my life. From Lothar's "advisers," I was fired, I can't find my own tent, and the war continues to rage around. This causes slight anger in me, and the desire to rip it off on someone.

"And where should I go?" I quietly asked myself. I need to find a quartermaster or someone else who might know where my tent is or where I can get a tent to check-in.

Going down to the first floor, I nodded to the elves and went out into the street. There was a clamor here that Silvermoon had never seen before. Above the city itself, a golden barrier shimmered, which painted the surrounding nature in golden colors. And all because the light tended to be distorted. Rubbing my staff, I wandered towards the commanders. It's good that I have most of the necessary things with me. As the saying goes: "Everything that is mine should always be with me."

I don't understand what drives Lothar to do such things. Was Khadgar a better mage than me? If so, then I have no questions ... But he can't even teleport. What else can I say ... Maybe he has some great talents in creating a strategy of combat operations, also excellent tactical skills? Something like that I did not notice in him before, although everything can be possible. Or maybe Lothar finds Khadgar more suitable than me. Oh, well, whatever.

Mentally waving my hand, I relaxed somewhat. Let it be what will be. And if they don't want me to be there, then I won't be there.

"Hey, so why are you standing like that?" Alleria's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. Turning to her, I smiled.

"Well, I think where I will spend the night today."

"Oh, why should you worry," she waved her hand. "You can stay at my house for these few nights."

"Wouldn't your parents mind?" I asked her.

"No, no," she nodded and straightened her hair. "And the sisters won't mind either. On the contrary, they would like to meet you!"

Refuse or not? No ... Why should I refuse such an offer. It's better to sleep on a bed than on some kind of couch or somewhere on the floor. But I thought about it for a while and then nodded my head.

"Well, lead me then."

Alleria smiled and quickly began to lead me towards her home. We walked through short but lovely trails. Here and there, beautiful statues of ancient and perhaps not very elven warriors and magicians came across. The city resembled a military camp. Everyone understood this, but the elven inhabitants who were here could not help but accept the Alliance's soldiers because they will need to fight here.

***

Khadgar looked at Alistar Bumblebee with barely concealed superiority. He managed to find out that he could have gone to study with the legendary Medivh. Why the Council of Six made such a decision, Khadgar did not understand. And this caused him a wave of slight anger, because all the glory that this Alistair received could belong to him. He was a born wizard from Dalaran, not some vagrant from a small village. It was he who needed to be trusted and promoted.

And now, inside, he was glad that he had such an opportunity to stand while managing the most powerful military formation in the history of mankind for the last thousand years. With his words, he managed to convince Anduin Lothar that he did not need this Alistar's help. On the contrary, he needs the help of Khadgar, one of the most well-read people of Dalaran. He thought really good about himself. The fact that the Council ordered him to follow Alistair only gave him even more opportunities, and that is why he began this assignment with all his determination.

Clenching his fist, Khadgar looked at the elven king, pondering how he could gain access here, as well as how he could get elven teachers. This would be a great addition for him in the future because rarely anyone can learn from the elves. For many wizards, this is an unattainable dream.

But Khadgar himself did not see and did not feel that he completely determined his future by such actions. The king of the elves clearly saw that this human magician was not at all worth the time. He had nothing special. This Khadgar was blinded by his envy. All this Anasterian understood from the brief conversation between Lothar and Alistar, as well as the glances that Khadgar throws at Alistar.

So this Khadgar won't get anything from him. Not a single page from the library and not a single word with magicians. And let him continue to hope that he can get some profit from his stay here.