Six Great Forces

In Archmage Krasus's magical sight, Taelan Fordring was constantly absorbing the energy around him and transforming it into Holy Light within his body. His whole being radiated an aura that made people instinctively feel drawn to him. No wonder Antonidas had called him the Child of Light! His soul was also incredibly powerful—powerful enough to meet the requirements for learning magic. Once he mastered enough Occultism, he could wield the power of Holy Light as freely as a mage controlled Arcane energy.

With a few years of proper training, the boy could complete the quest to save the queen. The Archmage raised a hand, and a very thick book flew out from the bookshelf. It had a sturdy cover, with its corners reinforced by a special metal. A line of Elvish and another script Taelan didn't recognize were written across the cover.

"This is a magic book from my personal collection," Krasus said. "It's written in High Elven. When you return, start learning the High Elven language, then take your time reading this book. You can ask your father about weapons and combat techniques."

He continued, "You're still young, and you have plenty of time. Don't rush things. All great achievements come from steady accumulation, one small step at a time. Later, I'll speak with Master Antonidas about the Eye of Violet!"

Then Krasus sent Tirion to wait in the outer sitting room. There were things he wanted to discuss with his apprentice in private.

In Azeroth, there were two kinds of apprentices.

The first kind had a relationship like that between most mentors and apprentices in Dalaran. Their arrangement was like a university on the Blue Star: apprentices paid tuition, and mentors received a fee. The mentor then taught the whole class through public lessons, with the content limited to introductory knowledge and the subjects prescribed by the school's curriculum.

The second kind were apprentices taken on to pass down a system of knowledge. This was the most enduring kind of teacher-student relationship.

Noble lineages were passed down through blood, while scholars passed theirs down through knowledge. Apprentices were the formal bearers of their mentor's ideas and power systems.

Only this kind of teacher would explain the true nature of the world to an apprentice, asking questions and explaining everything in meticulous detail.

Even though Tirion Fordring and Taelan were father and son, the moment Tirion discovered that his son was a naturally gifted extraordinary being, he didn't tell Taelan about the power system or its origins. That was the responsibility of his true mentor! And because of the limits of their own knowledge, everyone divided the world's power system differently.

Krasus said, "Our world is called Azeroth. It's a very small world in the infinite universe.

"But it's different from other worlds. No one knows what happened when it was first created, but its essence is extraordinarily powerful.

"I've heard what you know about the Orcs. You should know that their world is called Draenor. Compared with Draenor, Azeroth is countless times more powerful. That's because Azeroth can generate all six forces on its own.

"What I'm about to tell you concerns ancient secrets, so you absolutely must not tell anyone. Azeroth can sustain a true god. Draenor, at most, can sustain a Demigod."

"The true powers in our universe are called forces. In the boundless universe, there are six great forces."

"They are divided into two opposing factions: life and the Void. Ancient legends say that they created the six Eternal Ones to guard their powers.

"These six forces are:

Life—Death,

Holy Light—Void,

Arcane—Fel.

"They stand opposed in pairs, each giving rise to and countering the other!"

Krasus then conjured a screen of light. It listed all six great forces, along with their associated wielders and characteristics. They were:

Arcane—Typhon—Order

Holy Light—Naaru—Assimilation

Life—Isis—Evolution

Fel—Satan—Chaos

Void—Ethereal—Void

Death—Unknown—Eternal Silence

Taelan Fordring was so stunned he didn't know what to say. In his memories, there had been no mention of the two true gods' powers at the beginning of creation—only the six great forces. Nor had the idea of the Eternal Ones corresponding to the six forces ever come up.

In Taelan Fordring's memories, Arcane did indeed represent Order. Its wielder was called the Titan—not Typhon. And Typhon was no good thing, either. But in Greek mythology, Typhon really was a Titan! He was the son of Gaia, the Earth Mother.

Legend said Typhon was born in a cave in Cilicia. He had a hundred dragon heads, a black tongue, and fire-breathing eyes. His body was taller than the sky, covered in feathers, and bore a pair of wings.

Typhon and his wife, Echidna, gave birth to many fearsome monsters, including Ladon, the hundred-headed dragon; Hydra, the nine-headed serpent; Cerberus, the three-headed hound of the underworld; Orthrus, the two-headed dog; the Nemean Lion; the Chimera, with a lion's head and a goat's body; the Sphinx, with a lion's body and a human head; and the sea monster Scylla.

Thinking about it carefully, the Titans and this Typhon really did have something in common.

The stranger thing was that the representative of the Void wasn't the Void Lords. Of course, it was possible that people simply didn't know about those famous ultimate villains yet.

The representative of Death should have been the Jailer, but Krasus had said that no one knew who ruled Death.

Then Taelan suddenly thought of the Titans associated with each class in Hearthstone. The Titan of the Death Knight, which represented Death, was the Primus! Now that was interesting.

There were plenty of other things Taelan Fordring had never known before. They all needed to be verified, little by little. Didn't his legendary quest include something about the beginning of creation? When he had time, he could investigate and confirm it all.

Krasus watched Taelan commit everything about the six great forces to memory, then said, "Now I'll explain the power rankings in Azeroth."

"Azeroth's power levels are divided into three ranks: Extraordinary, Hero, and Legendary."

"Actually, at the very top of the world, there are ranks beyond Legendary: Demigod, Eternal One, and true god!

"In our faction, we call the Eternal Ones false gods."

Then came the ranks of mortals. They were divided into ten tiers, with ten levels per tier. Within the realm of false gods, the highest rank was Tier Ten—that is, level one hundred.

Your level was based on your class. The known combat classes included the basic classes of Warrior, Priest, Mage, Hunter, Druid, and Rogue. Classes gained through advancement from a basic class were called advanced classes. Examples included Paladin, Ranger, and Monk.

Just as there were combat classes, there were also non-combat classes, such as Farmer, Engineer, Blacksmith, and Tailor. They all had their own level caps! Everyone had a primary class. Other classes could only reach half the level of the primary one.

The total of your combat-class levels and your profession levels determined your overall rank.

However, all known perception magic could only detect the level of someone's primary class. This was why a Tier One creature could defeat a Tier Three creature.

Some classes didn't provide combat abilities at all, such as Scribe.

Take you, for example. Everyone thinks you're a Paladin, but I know your first combat class was actually Priest. Paladin was a class you gained when your bloodline awakened. In other words, you have two basic classes.

You're also a level-three defensive Warrior, as well as a Gourmet of unknown level.

You're currently a Tier One creature, but your power rank is Tier Two.

Also, only your primary class can learn all of that class's skills. For other classes, you can only choose one branch of skills to learn."

Taelan Fordring felt that this really did explain some of the strange outcomes of battles.

Thanks to Krasus's explanation, Taelan finally understood this world's power system and had a direction to work toward.

After the lesson, Tirion Fordring led his son away from Krasus's mage tower and reassured him, "Don't worry. I'll find a way. Now we need to find someone who can teach you High Elven."

There was no shortage of High Elves in Dalaran. Its welcoming atmosphere let them study and use magic freely, and made it easy to exchange insights and spellcasting techniques. For the younger generation of High Elves, it was far more appealing than conservative Quel'Thalas.

But it was hard to find a High Elf willing to leave Dalaran and go to Hearthglen to teach a human child their language. Taelan even wondered whether he should ask Jaina to teach him Elvish. But the Grand Admiral would never allow it, and the changes caused by taking Jaina away would be more than Taelan could bear.

When the two returned to the inn, Tirion Fordring planned to ask a few old friends in Dalaran for help. But instead, he spotted Daelin standing in the lobby of the Hero's Inn with a helpless look on his face. As soon as the little girl Jaina saw Taelan Fordring come in with Tirion, she jumped up and waved at them. Daelin said, "You're finally back! My daughter got up early this morning and insisted on coming to find Taelan."

Tirion Fordring said, "You two can go out after lunch."

Daelin Proudmoore saw Tirion's expression and realized something was on his mind. "Tirion, what happened? Taelan went to visit his mentor, didn't he? Did it go well?"

So Tirion told Daelin that Archmage Krasus wanted Taelan to learn High Elven. To his surprise, Daelin laughed and said, "Isn't that easy? I have a friend named Gina Goldsword. I'll visit her in a bit and ask her to contact Prince Kael'thas of Quel'Thalas. I'll tell him that the Highlord of Hearthglen is willing to let his private trading company establish a business in Hearthglen, selling High Elven magical goods and Quel'Thalas specialties. But he'll have to meet one small request: we need a private tutor."

Taelan Fordring couldn't help admiring the Grand Admiral. No wonder he was a king. He knew how to put every resource to use.

The High Elves didn't have many trading partners. If they opened a shop in Hearthglen, they could indirectly gain access to the Andorhal market, where they could get necessities—grain and all kinds of agricultural produce.

This deal would bring the Prince personal prestige in Quel'Thalas and money, while also bringing new industries and some tax revenue to Lordaeron. Hiring a private tutor was a trivial matter by comparison.

Taelan had been planning to ask the system whether it could provide language fluency.

But he was told there was insufficient data to analyze! It seemed the system wasn't omnipotent after all. It wasn't some kind of god that could control the entire world and its host. Still, the Grand Admiral's words had given Tirion Fordring a new idea. Daelin was also able to leave his daughter behind and visit the mysterious Gina Goldsword.

Tirion then took the two children to the commercial district and bought gifts for Karandra and some friends. That evening, Daelin returned with good news, plainly having had a few drinks. Prince Kael'thas had invited Tirion Fordring to meet him at his mage tower the next day.

Tirion had been hanging his head in thought, but as soon as he heard the news, he brightened. He quickly called for the inn's staff to prepare a lavish meal and invited Daelin to drink with him.

Taelan Fordring, meanwhile, took out the book Krasus had given him and prepared to look it over carefully.

"Ding! Magic item discovered: Dragon Codex!

"This massive tome is part of the Red Dragon Laxus's collection, accumulated over thousands of years! Written in Elvish and Draconic, it contains a vast amount of Occultism and several unique spells! Study it carefully, and you'll learn a wealth of spellcasting techniques and invaluable knowledge."

Dragon Codex

Codex, bound

Quality: Epic

Equip: Increases all spell damage, healing effects, and attack power by 2%

Equip: Increases your chance to critically strike with attacks by 2%.

Equip: Increases your Occultism skill by 1 level (Sealed. Open-book exam! Too bad you can't read!)

This was Red Dragon Krasus's most precious collection, and he had given it to you! He must have paid a steep price. Clearly, he shouldn't have expected too much from an illiterate.

System, enough already! Everyone else's system comes with language fluency. You're just trying to save money...

When Jaina saw Taelan Fordring take a thick book with a metal cover and a strap out of his bag, she immediately came over and leaned her head against his. A pleasant fragrance drifted into Taelan's nose.

She touched the Elvish writing on the cover and recited a beautiful sentence that he couldn't understand at all.

Taelan Fordring...

She really had already learned Thalassian. I really am illiterate!

Taelan Fordring immediately asked Jaina to read the book to him. Looking very proud, Jaina reached for the heavy metal-bound book. It was not only encased in metal but also set with several magical gems, and it was extremely thick. Jaina couldn't lift it, so Taelan helped her open it. She read carefully, translating it into Common Tongue for him one word at a time. The book really was called the Dragon Codex. It began with an explanation of the world's system of magic, followed by a long discourse on Occultism. The later sections covered meditation techniques and many spells.

Jaina only helped Taelan translate the section at the beginning about the system of magic. She very politely didn't look through the magical formulae and meditation techniques in the later sections. Then she solemnly told him that she was benefiting from his generosity. Books like this were usually part of an Archmage's personal collection. They would never be given away except to an apprentice they were fond of. Outsiders weren't allowed to study a mage's personally collected spells, either, because a mage's most precious wealth wasn't gold and silver, rare magical gems, or even a mage tower—it was knowledge!

Nations relied on bloodlines to pass things down; mages relied on knowledge. Knowledge was power!

This chapter is a bit long. Thanks, everyone! Please vote for it!

Penglai wishes you all a happy first day of the new year!