Daelin's Ambition

Everyone had ambition; it just varied in size. Even wanting a peaceful, uneventful life was a kind of ambition.

Ambition was like a weed. Once given the chance to grow, it spread wildly until it consumed a person's entire heart. In the end, all it took was the tiniest spark to turn it into a raging blaze.

The Seven Kingdoms of humanity could be divided into three tiers. The Kingdom of Stormwind, Lordaeron, and Gilneas belonged to the upper tier. Though they differed in strength, none of them could swallow up another kingdom. Below them were Kul Tiras, known as the "Carriage of the Sea," and Stromgarde, known as the "Watchdog."

Though Kul Tiras was a maritime power, it couldn't compete with the three great kingdoms on land. Since trade was the kingdom's primary means of development, it had earned the title of "Carriage of the Sea." Stromgarde, meanwhile, was called the "Watchdog" because it controlled the Dwarven Bridge. The bridge was like a gate standing between the north and south of the Eastern Kingdoms Continent: to advance was to go north, and to retreat was to go south.

Among the Seven Kingdoms, Dalaran held a special status. Though it counted as a kingdom and enjoyed considerable political standing, that status rested on the strength of the mages in Dalaran City. No one wanted to offend them, and their territory was small, with no ambition to expand. So Dalaran didn't belong to any of the three tiers. Of those tiers, one kingdom stood alone at the bottom: the mountainous kingdom of Alterac. Not only did the other six kingdoms look down on it, but Alterac itself knew that, though it was nominally a kingdom, it was little more than a large fief. That was why Alterac had always clung tightly