Mana Addiction!
Robbie thought of the Draenei in Shadowmoon Valley.
Like the High Elves, the Draenei are immortal, and apart from the Prophet Velen, they rarely age. They possess a strong affinity for magic, but they should not have chosen the Holy Light.
I've never heard of Draenei having Mana Addiction.
The story goes that 25,000 years ago in Argus, the Eredar were also abusing magic, and their civilization was progressing in almost the exact same way as that of Azeroth.
Is Mana Addiction unique to Azeroth?
Robbie felt he was getting close to some of the truth.
The Elves are immortal, possess perfect appearances, and have powerful magic. By all accounts, they should be like the Eredar, becoming the masters of this planet and the main force in eradicating the Old Gods.
Eredar can do it, there's no reason why the Elves can't.
Only Mana Addiction.
Mana Addiction is like a cruel shackle, making the Elf race increasingly weak. The restrained use of magic means that magical civilization cannot develop significantly, thus rendering them powerless to fight against the Old Gods.
The secrets involved are terrifying; it's a colossal conspiracy that concerns the future of the entire planet.
Robbie and Vanessa discussed it for a long time, but because they had too little information, they couldn't come to any useful conclusions.
The two continued cautiously forward, guided by the Eye of C'Thun, avoiding dangerous areas and winding their way through the maze of passages, until they finally found Medivh's bedroom, the place where the Book of Medivh was hidden.
In Karazhan, Medivh has many bedrooms, but this one looks particularly peculiar.
With the bed as the central axis, one half of the room is incredibly luxurious, made of precious magical crystals, as beautiful as a deep starry sky, surpassing even the most extravagant nobles of Stormwind City.
Half of it was decay and desolation, made of sand, rotten wood and stones, with a few piles of dry grass serving as bedding—so simple it was chilling.
Robbie analyzed that this should be some kind of symbolism, meaning that with the passage of time, everything will turn to dust.
Vanessa, however, had a different opinion. She felt that it might be a blueprint for some kind of magical research, and the half-bedroom made of sand, gravel, and rotten wood resembled the sand sculpture that Archimon built after destroying Dalaran.
The Book of Medivh is hidden inside a mirror.
This book was large and heavy, covered with a red leather cover inlaid with gold. On the cover, a black raven with outstretched wings was meticulously engraved, and in the lower right corner were the three crooked words "Medivh," which slowly rotated in a mirror.
Vanessa leaned close to the mirror, observed herself carefully for a while, then shrugged, indicating that she was powerless to do anything about it.
Both of them realized that it was less a mirror and more an entrance to Twisting Nether. To open the entrance, a specific ritual or secret code would likely be required, and it could not be destroyed from the outside.
Consider this: after Medivh became Flesh-Eternal, even Duke Alpha, who had a special familiarity with Medivh, couldn't obtain the Book of Medivh. This shows that this mirror is not so easily broken.
What to do?
Robbie and Vanessa were at their wits' end.
A thief never leaves empty-handed.
If you can't take the Book of Medivh, you can search for other things too.
On the table to the side were a jumble of books, clearly already been flipped through. Robbie flipped through them without much hope, finding only accounts and miscellaneous books, not even a single magic book in sight.
Robbie found a bestselling book, "Tyrande and the Tiger's Untold Secrets".
Judging from the fingerprints and stains on the paper, Medivh really liked this book. It's a shame that the illustrations on the most important pages were torn out; it's infuriating!
Just as the two were about to give up, Robbie noticed a golden bell on the table.
What is this bell for?
Just as Robbie was wondering what was going on, a golden bell flew up and made a "ding-a-ling" sound.
"Oh no, this is an alarm trap."
A series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. Vanessa activated her Shadow Veil, and the two figures quickly disappeared.
A group of maids entered, carrying rags, buckets, and the like. The head housekeeper had a yellow towel tied around her head, sharp eyes, and a shrewd and capable demeanor. She stood with her hands on her hips, directing the maids to clean the room.
The housekeeper walked to the table to organize the books, picked up "Tyrande and the Tiger's Untold Secret," glanced at it carefully, frowned slightly, and then carefully put it back.
Robbie sensed something was off about the woman's gaze. Had he been discovered?
One thing is certain: the housekeeper is definitely not human, despite her human appearance.
It was obvious that these maids were Proficiency; they cleaned the room very quickly. A few minutes later, the entire room was spotless. The maids left the room one after another, leaving only the housekeeper.
"Are you here to find the Book of Medivh?" the housekeeper asked abruptly.
Robbie knew he'd been exposed; after all, he couldn't match Vanessa's expertise, having left subtle traces while flipping through the book. He could only sheepishly step forward.
"The scent of Holy Light." The housekeeper touched her nose, a hint of trust in her eyes. She walked to the mirror displaying Medivh's words and solemnly recited:
Archimonde has no hair.
The strange mirror opened its mouth, revealing the Twisting Nether within, and spat out the Book of Medivh.
The housekeeper snatched the Book of Medivh and handed it to Robbie.
This is
It's not surprising that the housekeeper, who is either Medivh's confidante or personal maid, accidentally obtained the code to open the mirror.
But Robbie didn't think he would be so lucky as to receive help for no reason.
"If you don't know the password, you can't open this book, so taking it is useless," the housekeeper said expressionlessly.
Robbie tried it and found it worked perfectly. He nodded, thinking to himself that this was more like it.
"What do you need me to do?" Robbie asked.
The housekeeper's dark pupils dilated rapidly until all the whites of her eyes disappeared, and her gaze became somewhat frightening.
"Rescue my people! The Forsaken have stormed Karazhan, Karazhan prison is under Guards. This is our only chance. Whoever wins, my people will suffer the consequences."
Robbie hesitated for a moment, then Vanessa, who was invisible, tugged at his sleeve. Robbie understood immediately:
I'll do my best.
The female steward led the way, walking briskly. She was very familiar with Karazhan, explaining as they walked:
"We are the Ethereal of the Twisting Nether. My people have been captured by the Demons Aegwynn and taken to Karazhan for hundreds of years. That madman used us to conduct all sorts of dangerous experiments. Back then, this place was still a city."
"A city?" Robbie asked in surprise. "How can Karazhan be a city?"
Gul'dan deceived Sylvanas by disguising Karazhan as a city. Robbie thought it was a lie, but considering the architecture of the illusionary city and its various strange otherworldly styles, it did seem a bit odd.
The housekeeper, with a calm expression, explained:
"This place used to be the territory of House of Lothar. House of Lothar is of Arathi blood. On the advice of the Guardian Aegwynn, House of Lothar led his people south and established a city in Karazhan. Everyone believed that the city should be extremely safe under the protection of the Guardian, so they rushed to move in."
"Indeed, that was the case. The city, named Karazhan, had a good atmosphere; doors were left unlocked at night, and lost items were not picked up. It gradually became the commercial and civilized center of the southern continent. Aegwynn, with her knowledge of the heavens as Star Mage, meticulously planned every building in the city. Unfortunately, people were unaware that it was all a conspiracy, until the end of the world."
At this point, Robbie followed the housekeeper to an underground prison.
Robbie kept observing his surroundings with the Eye of C'Thun the entire time, never daring to let his guard down.
Because of the Forsaken invasion, there were only two Guards at the prison gate, both of whom were Constructs, Robbie easily defeated them.
The housekeeper glanced at Robbie in surprise; clearly, Robbie was stronger than she had estimated.
"It seems I didn't choose the wrong person," the housekeeper said with a smile.
"I'd like to know about the apocalypse of Karazhan," Robbie suggested.
The housekeeper paused, shook her head regretfully, and said:
"That's a history that's been erased. I don't know much about it, just some rumors. Aegwynn wanted to summon an evil god, offering the lives and souls of an entire city as sacrifices to lure the god down, then imprison him and gain his power. This evil god devoured the entire city of Karazhan, along with its surrounding space, but managed to escape."
"Look, my people are locked up in the cells over there."
Robbie followed the sound and saw a huge cage containing a group of mummy-like creatures.
The Karazhan counterattack was extremely fierce, forcing the Forsaken to withdraw from Karazhan.
The Forsaken suffered heavy losses, Sylvanas was most heartbroken by the large number of Vrykul had perished. She glared fiercely at Gul'dan, and especially at the traitor Cairne Bloodhoof, her hatred so intense that she could never forgive him.
Gul'dan led his forces from Karazhan back to the second-floor balcony.
"Heh heh! Sylvanas, you've failed. The Forsaken should learn a lesson today; after all, you're not the true Lich King." Gul'dan said smugly.
Sylvanas looked down at the Karazhan troops on the second floor. Although there were no dead, almost everyone was wounded.
The Karazhan side suffered the most severe losses, with the Servants who served as soldiers almost entirely wiped out, Servant in the hundreds.
"Gul'dan, if I summon another wave of Undead, what will you use to defend against them? With these poor wounded?" Sylvanas asked tentatively.
"Heh! Sylvanas, you don't understand true power at all. Do you know why Demons can return to the Twisting Nether to resurrect? It's because extreme Fel, like the Holy Light, possesses the ability to resurrect and heal."
Sylvanas exclaimed in surprise, "That's impossible!"
"If I hadn't witnessed the terrifying power of Fel energy, how could I have willingly led the Orcs to join the Burning Legion? Now I'll show you the power the Legion has bestowed upon me. Karazhan is now like the Twisting Nether."
Gul'dan raised his staff and shouted:
"Rise, my warriors!"
Beneath Karazhan, in a pool of Fel accumulated over decades, a powerful surge of Fel shot straight into the sky, raining down upon the surroundings and seeping into the bodies of every fallen warrior.
Those Karazhan servants who had died, even those torn apart by the Vrykul, were repaired by Fel, picked up their weapons, and stood up.
Only those Construct that remain inactive and require repair to be revived.
The mass resurrection power of Fel greatly shocked Sylvanas, and she turned to look at Antonidas.
Antonidas shook his head. "I don't know if Fel could have this kind of power either."
Gul'dan appeared relaxed, but inwardly he was incredibly anxious. This resurrection spell, while seemingly spectacular and astonishing, had actually consumed a third of Karazhan's Fel reserves. He wouldn't be able to do it twice more.
Even so, Gul'dan showed no fear, grinning maliciously, "Sylvanas, you're just a native. Do you think you can look down on Karazhan just because you know a little Death Magic? Fel is full of mysteries."
Sylvanas took a step back, and then a wicked smile spread across her decaying face.
"Gul'dan, the power of Fel surprises me. I admit that Undercity alone cannot conquer Karazhan, but you should know the Evil this land has committed in the past."
A coffin was carried to Sylvanas.
Gul'dan stared at the coffin, seemingly anticipating something, his right hand gripping his staff trembling uncontrollably.