American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

Alonsus and the others hurried to the source of the plague.

A monster that was clearly dead, yet still able to move, only having lost its mind.

A Stratholme resident, listless in spirit and with a persistent high fever, lying on the ground, inching towards death.

His condition appeared to be nearing its end, but Alonsus sensed something even more terrifying about him.

"This looks like some kind of curse," Loberius also noticed something unusual about the plague victim. He offered his opinion somewhat tentatively.

"Was it the orcs who did this?" Upon hearing the word 'curse,' Alonsus immediately thought of the invading orcs.

They had their own mages! They even possessed some terrifying powers.

"I can't be sure. But this power is definitely evil," Loberius said, looking at the life that had turned into an undead creature after death.

"Let me try, teacher," Uther interjected before Alonsus could speak. He was enveloped in a dense holy light, and to Alonsus's pleasant surprise, he began to heal the dying Stratholme resident.

The dense holy light covered the person's body, and the dark power within was gradually driven out. A quarter of an hour later, after Uther's holy light dissipated, the plague victim's condition had returned to normal, and even his breathing had become steady and strong.

"Did you solve it?" Loberius asked, looking at the infected person. He had thought that such power would be quite tricky and troublesome to deal with. But the resident who had been snatched back from the Grim Reaper by Uther left him feeling somewhat bewildered.

"No, that power is difficult to dispel. Once my holy light dissipates from his body, the symptoms will reappear," Uther said, shaking his head with a grave expression. Although his treatment seemed to be very effective, he knew very well that he had not been able to eradicate the root cause.

The curse of that energy had deeply infected the person's soul, or rather, the infection of their soul had become irreversible after the symptoms manifested.

Before that, the person's condition was no different from a normal person.

He explained his conjecture. Everyone present, including Alonsus and the others, understood the seriousness of the matter.

This meant that they had no way of determining from the patients how many residents in Stratholme were infected with this plague.

If this cursed plague was spreading covertly on a large scale, then in the worst-case scenario, many of Stratholme's residents might already be infected.

Considering that Stratholme had gathered most of the troops that Lordaeron could urgently support, Alonsus couldn't help but feel a bone-chilling cold.

Once the plague completely began to erupt on a large scale, then without the attack of those orcs outside, the order of Stratholme would already begin to collapse.

"Can we find the source of this curse and eliminate it?" Alonsus looked at Archmage Loberius and his disciple Uther.

"If we investigate, perhaps we can find the source. If there is still time, we can also seek help from the dragon elves and even Dalaran.

But now, I'm afraid the plague won't give us time," Uther sighed. The joy of regaining freedom and reunion completely vanished in his heart. As a healer, he had learned from the feedback of the Holy Light that this infection had been latently present in the infected for at least ten days.

If it was a large-scale, widespread plague, then the number of infected people in Stratholme now was probably suffocating.

He could treat one, he could treat ten or a hundred, but faced with the potentially explosive increase in infected people, individual strength was weak. Unless he was the God of Holy Light.

Alonsus's face also darkened, but he still invigorated his spirit and issued a series of wartime emergency decrees.

Area isolation, Holy Light detection, food testing, water filtration, etc. Although he knew that these actions might be a drop in the bucket now, they could at least reduce some losses and buy some time.

After issuing the orders, Alonsus had no choice but to ask the elven mage Loberius to open a portal to Lordaeron to deliver this terrible news to King Terenas of Lordaeron.

Loberius also understood the seriousness of the situation. Although elves were always reluctant to interact with the outside world, the alliance between humans and elves and the threat of invaders made him not refuse.

"Teacher, we should spread the power of the Holy Light," Uther took the initiative to step forward after his teacher had arranged everything. "Since the Holy Light can suppress the power of this plague, then as long as someone masters the Holy Light, or rather, is bathed in the Holy Light, they can delay the outbreak of the plague and buy us more time."

"I also desire everyone to believe in the Holy Light and master the Holy Light, but Uther, my disciple, you must understand that not everyone can perceive the existence of the Holy Light and use it correctly like you," Alonsus said helplessly.

"In fact, there is no need to make people master it," Uther pulled out a cross he wore inside his collar. The thick holy light that swirled around it made Alonsus's eyes widen.

"Those orcs, most of them do not directly master the Holy Light, but they can use the Holy Light within a certain range. Obviously, they have a deeper understanding and perception of the Holy Light than we do. For example, we only know the Holy Light, but they have already touched the root of the Holy Light. Or rather, the master of the Holy Light, the gods!" Uther continued.

"Gods?" Alonsus looked at his disciple in surprise. Did this deviate somewhat from his teachings on the Holy Light?

"The Holy Light has a will. In the orc camp, I mastered the technique of communicating with the will of the Holy Light. I have obtained a lot of knowledge about it from the Holy Light. Using this artifact, I can establish a domain of the Holy Light in Stratholme, and the people in this domain will be protected by it," Uther said solemnly, holding up the peculiar cross with a circle around it that radiated a warm light.

"Tell me your thoughts, child," Alonsus's gaze softened. He felt that his disciple had become different from before after returning, he seemed more calm and reliable. The aura of a leader on the other person's body could no longer be concealed.

"We can use the Cathedral of the Holy Light in Stratholme as the domain. As a sanctuary for residents who believe in the Holy Light to come and pray, it can greatly soothe their fearful hearts and bring them courage and tranquility. We only need to arrange for people from different areas to come and pray for a certain period of time every day to receive the baptism of the Holy Light, and we can extend the time of the plague's outbreak as much as possible. As long as we can find a way to solve the problem before the plague breaks out on a large scale, then we can achieve the final victory," Uther said with unwavering conviction.

Alonsus first nodded to affirm his disciple's suggestion, but then said with some worry: "Are you sure this cross can last until we find a solution? Although it is a Holy Light artifact, and the Holy Light power contained within is so strong that even I am surprised…"

"It can replenish the Holy Light! As long as the people who believe in the Holy Light pray in the church every day, it can replenish the power of the Holy Light for it. If we promote it well, and the people's belief in the Holy Light is more devout and strong, perhaps there will be no loss at all?

If someone can receive a response from the Holy Light during devout prayer and obtain the power of the Holy Light, then it means that we have another fellow believer. If we can form a large number of Holy Light Knight Orders, then the power of both Lordaeron and the Human Alliance will increase as a result," Uther said.

Alonsus smiled slightly at his disciple's somewhat whimsical words. Once upon a time, he had also made similar promises in Dalaran. Looking at Uther, he was momentarily transported back to his former self.

"Priests and paladins are not so easy to cultivate. In addition to having a firm belief, they also need to adhere to and implement those rules in their daily lives," Alonsus patted his disciple's shoulder.

"Those are the official knights who truly practice the way of the Holy Light. But if there is a Holy Light Cross, through some techniques, the soldiers in its covered area, all those who believe in the Holy Light, will receive the protection of the Holy Light. This is more like a buffing magic," Uther stroked the Holy Light Cross. From the Holy Light, he had obtained a lot of knowledge and skills about the Holy Light, including techniques similar to making orc totems.

Uther reproduced it, but it may not be a totem, it can also be a flag, and it can be built as a Holy Light reserve and a mobile Holy Light domain to create his Holy Light Knight Order.

Like the orcs, they are not staunch believers in the Holy Light, but they can still use the power of the Holy Light with permission.

As long as he grasps the source and recruits some staunch believers in the Holy Light, Uther believes that under the guidance of the Holy Light, this force will become the strongest shield and spear for humanity when facing invaders.

...

Time passed quickly.

Although rumors of the plague in Stratholme had spread, Alonsus's measures meant that order in Stratholme had not yet collapsed.

Especially after Alonsus announced that as long as they believed in the Holy Light and came to the church to pray every day, they could suppress the outbreak of the plague, the faith and piety of all the people of Stratholme towards the Holy Light were elevated to an incredible level in a short period of time.

The Stratholme Cathedral of the Holy Light underwent a transformation. According to Uther's requirements, with the help of the court mages, some fine lines and a tall six-winged human statue were added to the church.

Before Alonsus and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, bad news followed one after another. Loberius brought back even worse news, that is, this plague had also begun to sprout in Lordaeron behind them. Although King Terenas dealt with it in a timely manner, there was no doubt that huge hidden dangers had begun to surge.

According to King Terenas's request, he hoped that Alonsus could send one of his disciples who had the power of the Holy Light to take charge of the plague incident in Lordaeron.

After pondering for a long time, Alonsus sent his disciple Tirion. When Tirion set off, he also took away a thick stack of knowledge and skills about the Holy Light that Uther had given him.

What Alonsus and the others did not know was that Dalaran, the human magic sanctuary, was also in a state of great panic and chaos at this moment.

Magic had failed!

Or rather, high-level and profound magic had changed, and they were no longer being controlled and released by the mages. During this period, some mages had even suffered strong backlash when studying to release certain profound magic.

In this situation, the Tirisgarde Council had no intention of paying attention to Lordaeron's request for help. If they could not solve this sudden big trouble, the entire Dalaran might be in danger.

After verification by the archmages, many low-level magics could be used smoothly as before, but once certain profound magics were used, all kinds of problems would always occur.

It was as if someone had tampered with the release incantations of those high-level magics.

But the entire mage group was unwilling to believe this. There was a problem with the foundation!

If magic was rigorous, like mathematics. Mages used a certain magic theory [mathematical formula] to connect with energy, and then used the corresponding magic.

The elven kingdom and Dalaran, through the study of arcane magic, had summarized and mastered its regular characteristics, and regarded these experiences and rules as an unbreakable foundation.

But now the foundation was shaken.

The incantations were fine, the magic was fine, but the experience and research they regarded as the truth seemed to be replaced by a more accurate and correct formula.

The mages were more willing to believe that someone had tampered with the origin of the mages, the energy of magic. And they already had a suspected candidate.

Aegwynn!

The most knowledgeable human being and the former Guardian mage who was most likely to do such a thing!

After the other party stepped down as Guardian, she did not return to Dalaran, but built her own mage tower in an unknown place. It is said that the magic books inside were even more than the library of Dalaran. The recorded high-level magic techniques and magic knowledge far surpassed Dalaran, the so-called human magic sanctuary.

The other party had been living in seclusion until now, and it was said that she had been studying more profound magic knowledge.

In the eyes of the mages of Dalaran, if someone could do such a thing, it must be inseparable from Aegwynn. Even if it was not the other party, Aegwynn should also have corresponding information.

What's more, if she didn't do it, then she could also join the investigation. It was believed that she could not turn a blind eye to this.