Shadow Trails in Azeroth

Amber Bluffs, a magical outpost established by the Kirin Tor in the Borean Tundra.

Its existence is nominally to protect the security of Reach County, the Kingdom of Lordaeron's northern colony.

After all, although the Borean Tundra is a relatively flat area on the Northrend continent and more suitable for human settlement, there are also dangerous creatures on this great plain.

For example, there are the yak people who move around, those ugly and unappetizing crocodile people, and the fat walrus people. Well, the last one is not dangerous.

In fact, the walrus people are one of the few gentle and civilized races in Northrend. They are very friendly to human colonists and will even take the initiative to provide help to those who are lost.

But their enemies are dangerous.

During the monsoon season here in the Borean Tundra, fog occasionally covers the coast, and a group of weird Vrykul raiders will rush out of the fog.

They are fearfully called "Kvaldir" by the walrus people, which means visitors from Hades.

It is said that those marauders in the mist have something to do with Hela, the Vrykul's god of death, and the wizards of the Kirin Tor are also very interested in them.

Occasionally attempts are made to capture living specimens of Kvaldir for study.

However, it has been said that the mage camp in Amber Cliff is "nominally" to protect the colony, so it must have a real mission secretly.

The mages stationed here are all the elites of the Kirin Tor. There is a team of battle mages stationed here all year round. Their main goal is to observe and study the living habits of the blue dragons.

And secretly obtain some forbidden knowledge that only the dragons know from the Demonic Nexus, the source of Azeroth's magic.

This research has been going on for more than thirty years and has never been interrupted by Dalaran. In fact, even the great war when the orcs invaded the Eastern Kingdom did not affect the research tasks of these mages.

They claim that this is an exploration of knowledge, a pursuit of magic, and a search for truth.

Unfortunately, that's not what the blue dragons said.

Early that morning, in the small town under the two mage towers in Amber Cliff, the Sparks couple woke up early from their sleep.

The two dwarf spellcasters tidied up their robes and headed to the mage tower talking and laughing, waiting for today's book borrowing. The two dwarfs are no longer young, which can be seen from Wendell Sparks' white beard.

His wife is still as lovely and beautiful as she was when she was young.

A dwarf.

They are considered immortal species. Their women are "legal lolita" until death. Well, I know many people will be ecstatic, but be calm and decent.

Dwarfs rarely intermarry with humans, which is a shame.

However, the Sparks couple are not the resident mages of Amber Cliff. Their spellcasting skills are a bit low, and they are not qualified to be sent to a secret research point like Amber Cliff.

The two dwarves came to Lordaeron on the last immigrant ship.

They earn pay as escort spellcasters in Reach County, which is a very good job that low-level mages in Dalaran can find.

Although it's a bit hard, the reward is quite generous.

The Hua Hua couple are old and shouldn't have to travel such long distances, but they need money.

Their little daughter Jindi Sparks is different from the two weak energy casters. She is a very potential little mage.

Studying in Dalaran is not cheap, so the Sparks must prepare their youngest daughter's tuition for the next semester and money to buy various magic materials.

But to be honest, with the spellcasting skills of the Sparks couple, they are actually not qualified to work as guard mages in the colony.

This is the "secret" of this cunning little dwarf couple. Their spellcasting skills can only release a few magic tricks, and they can only be regarded as apprentices in Dalaran.

But it's certainly enough to fool laymen who don't know anything.

In addition, Wendell Sparks has worked hard to practice his spell-casting manners, and his expressions and movements when he casts a lighting spell are almost the same as releasing a forbidden spell in the eyes of others.

"Today I'm going to borrow the book "Detailed Explanation of Frost Impact and Ice Ring Technique", and you can go and borrow the "Preliminary Explanation of Blizzard Model".

In front of the mage tower, old Wendell, wearing a big purple wizard hat to cover his extremely clever head, told his wife:

"We can only stay here for one day. We will work overtime today to finish copying these two magic books for little Jindi, so that she does not need to go to the library in Dalaran to borrow them.

For a little mage like her, the number of books she can borrow every month is limited. "

"It's really yours, Wendell."

Mrs. Sparks, who also wore a pointed wizard hat, covered her mouth and let out the dwarf's signature crisp laugh.

She hammered her husband on the shoulder, looked around intelligently, said hello to several apprentices passing by, and asked in a low voice:

"How do you know that you can borrow these magic books unlimitedly from the library in Amber Cliff?"

"Hey, I heard what Milhouse said when I was drinking with him last month."

Old Wendell proudly touched his mage badge and said to his wife:

"Milhouse told me that the Kirin Tor vanguard camps like Amber Bluff are all high-level spellcasters. They don't care about their apprentices borrowing low-level magic books, and there is no Dalaran library. limit.

He also said that if we are lucky, we can borrow some high-level magic manuscripts from the mage tower here.

I came to Northrend specifically this time, partly for money, and partly to copy these magic books for our Jindi, who will definitely need them in the future. "

"Milhouse? The one from the Mana Storm family?"

Old Wendell's wife was concerned about another aspect. She said in a startled tone unique to the dwarf:

"Why do you associate with him? Don't hang out with him again! Milhouse is a terrible bastard. He sent his wife to the Violet Prison, and the news spread throughout Gnomeregan.

Everyone said he was a madman and a heartless man. "

"Ha, isn't this because Milhouse's wife wants to kill him? His wife is the real madman. She even threw the mechanical squirrel on his bed."

Old Wendell complained in a low voice.

As a result, he was hit on the head by his wife, and he immediately stopped talking.

However, while waiting for the wizard tower to open, the Sparks couple's attention was quickly attracted by the commotion at the entrance of Amber Cliff Town. Two little dwarf mages climbed onto the wine barrels piled nearby and looked over there.

They soon saw a strange sight.

In the early morning coastal fog of Amber Cliff, three huge metal monsters that looked like centaurs were walking towards the Kirin Tor camp with heavy steps.

These metal monsters, which are over six meters tall, are covered in armor, but between the connections between the armor plates, one can clearly see the bound and flowing arcane magic, like lightning flowing in their veins.

"It's a golem! A metal golem!"

Old Wendell exclaimed:

"I've seen something similar in Milhouse's workshop, but it's too big! It's at least twice as tall as the golem in Dalaran."

"There's someone on the golem!"

Mrs. Sparks has sharper eyes.

Of course, it might be due to the mechanical telescope in her hand. Through the fog, she clearly saw three strange people sitting on the saddle of the metal golem walking forward like a giant beast.

Much like the legendary elf.

Behind them, there were more than a dozen purple-skinned elven spellcasters wearing gorgeous robes, as well as powerful antlered tauren holding several flags.

It was painted with a symbol that Mrs. Sparks had never seen before.

The battle mages in the town were also alerted. Under the leadership of their captain, battle mage Ansim, they gathered at the entrance of the town.

Unlike low-level mages like the Sparks couple, this elite battle mage clearly felt the arcane fluctuations of the uninvited group of elf spellcasters in front of him.

The most exaggerated thing is the female mage sitting on the saddle of the metal golem in the front.

The staff in her hand is constantly spreading out shocking arcane brilliance, and the beating violet arc represents the pure arcane energy tumbling.

Can't go wrong.

Such a majestic flow of magic power is undoubtedly a legendary caster!

But this group of elves.

Where did they come from?

This is completely different from the high elves in Quel'Thalas. Looking at their skin and long ears, you can tell that they are a group of strange elves with few records.

"Wow"

In the sharp neighing sound that sounded like a war horse or a crow, the beautiful and brave hippogryph king descended from the sky. This brave wind vulture flapped its huge wings and swept away the surrounding fog.

The smoke slowly fell to the ground, right in front of this group of vigilant Kirin Tor battle mages.

Black, who was sitting behind the hippogryph, specially put on his Corruptor robe today, which represented that he was acting as a spellcaster today.

However, the appearance of this set of robes is really too dark and ferocious.

Especially the orc-style skull spikes on both sides of the shoulders and the black chain decoration on the neck made Blake really not look like a good guy when he appeared on the stage.

Some vigilant battle mages even drew their magic swords or raised their battle staffs.

"Wow"

The pirates ignored these ignorant guys.

He held in his hand the Nathalas Academy flag made by the Nightborne pirates overnight and unfolded it like a flag gun. As the flag was fluttering, he lengthened his voice and announced in a very unbeatable tone:

"Kirin Tor spellcasters, feel honored!"

"Today, Elya Blue Moon, the most superior magical institution in the Elf Empire, an ancient academy that has been passed down for thousands of years, the orthodox successor to Supreme Mage Maitri, the glorious and glorious director of Narthalas Magic Academy, Miss.

With the Elven Empire's Archon Faronar, Queen's Advisor, and Prince of Magic Faroldis.

Together with His Excellency Nielas Ellan, the Royal Archmage of the Kingdom of Stormwind, the Companion of the Guardians, and the Father of the Astral Mage, we will come to your boring and dilapidated camp to visit the Kirin Tor spellcasters and perform friendly magic. comminicate.

What are you still doing here?

Go and ask the person in charge of your small camp to come over to welcome the arrival of the noble one! There is no need for carpets or anything else, and there is no need to prepare for the banquet. We are here for knowledge and truth.

I understand that there is not much wisdom left in this place, so you will only stay for a while and then leave. "

Faced with Blake's unceremonious and obviously provocative words, Battle Mage Captain Ansim's first reaction was not to feel humiliated.

He froze there, thinking about another thing.

Boy, what a ridiculous string of titles!

What kind of queen, what kind of prince, it makes people’s heads hurt hearing this, and what’s going on with that “Supreme Mage”? It has been many years since I became a high-level mage. Why have I never heard of Master Maitri, the founder of modern magic, having such an exaggerated title?

Didn’t everyone call him a hermit?

but

Nathalas Academy, where have you heard this name before?

"It's really them! God, I always thought it was just a legend."

Behind Ansme, a high elf battle mage looked at the flag in Black's hand. After a few seconds, he let out an exclamation. He whispered a few words about the high elf's records about Narthalas Academy to his captain.

Ansim nodded and asked the battle mage to quickly inform the manager of Amber Cliff, Ms. Avanoor, and the high-level mage Amy Marin who is currently stationed here.

Then he adjusted his robe again, stepped forward and said to Blake without being humble or arrogant:

"Although I have heard no rumors about the Academy of Nar'thalas, if you are here for the discussion of truth and wisdom, then we in the Kirin Tor will welcome you.

Just put down your weapons before entering the town.

Also, you said before that one of the companions was His Excellency Nielas Ellan? This seems unlikely. Even the rats in the sewers of Dalaran know that the Archmage of Elan has already "

"Idiots always think that what they see is the whole world, and every word they say because of their ignorance makes people laugh."

Black sneered and sneered. He drove his Hippogryph to get out of the way, and one of the three Nightborne Golems behind him slowly stepped forward.

Battle Mage Ansim walked over and clearly saw Lord Elan sitting on the saddle of the golem, holding an elf tome in his hand. He was immediately shocked.

He hurriedly gave Elan the courtesy of a low-level mage to a high-level mage.

Ellan acted very calmly, just waved his hand casually and said:

"I have gained hope after the misfortune of death. Now I am no longer the archmage of Dalaran and Stormwind City. I am just an ordinary arcane school instructor at Narthalas College.

But I can guarantee on my reputation that today's magical exchanges are completely in line with etiquette and tradition.

In fact, I also have a formal letter here that I would like you to forward to His Excellency Antonidas. "

Elan handed a letter with his emblem printed on it to the battle mage Ansim, and he said in a gentle tone:

"In a few months, the senior officials and disciples of Narthalas Academy will pay a formal visit to Dalaran, and I hope that the six-person council can prepare in advance.

In addition, my elven friends, take the true meaning of magic very seriously, and hope that the high wizards of the Kirin Tor will not disappoint the dean and the prince.

Otherwise, the glory of the magical city of mankind will dim from today on. "

Elan's words made the battle mage captain look serious.

He looked back at the other golem. Prince Farodis, who was sitting on it, looked at the human-style mage tower in front of him and asked Ansim in Salas:

"Human spellcasters, I heard that you call your city the 'Magic Holy Land'? This title is indeed a bit too arrogant in my opinion.

I have seen the real magical holy land with my own eyes countless times. I hope your knowledge and wisdom are worthy of your ambition. "