Chapter Summaries

Lanlos interrupted a stranger trying to take a Mana Spring Lynx cub and used the academy’s rules to question him. After the boy admitted he had come because others had sent him, Lanlos asked who they were.

• Lanlos used Mage Hand and Sleep Spell to stop an angry Mana Spring Lynx from attacking him.
• Lanlos caught the stranger fleeing with the lynx cub and threatened him with Shocking Grasp and expulsion.
• Lanlos accused the boy of violating Sunstrider Isle’s rules by trying to take a lynx cub and carrying an issued blade outside permitted circumstances.
• The boy insisted he had only wanted to raise the cub and had brought the blade for self-defense.
• Lanlos asked who had sent the boy, and the boy began explaining why he had come.

Lanlos learned that the boy he met on the back hill was Lirath Windrunner, then kept the Windrunner Blade he had handed over. Vereesa attacked Lanlos to recover it, but he fought her off, leaving her furious and determined to get the blade back.

• Lanlos learned that the new student was Lirath, a priest who had brought a blade to give Thalyss as a birthday present, and took the weapon from him.
• Lanlos discovered that the sheath identified the weapon as a gift from Alleria Windrunner to her little brother.
• Vereesa confronted Lirath about the missing Windrunner Blade after he returned to his dormitory.
• A hooded attacker ambushed Lanlos outside his dorm, and he fought back with magic and the Windrunner Blade.
• Lanlos threw Vereesa to the ground and drove her away, but kept a strand of her silver hair.
• Vereesa realized Lanlos had the blade and blamed him for touching her during their fight.

Lanlos learned the limits of his Fel Combustion talent and discussed his Arcane studies with Alona, who warned him to proceed cautiously. Alona hinted that Lansan could help with his mana-output problem, and Lansan suggested Lanlos visit a job at the Western Temple.

• Lanlos reviewed the Keystone's record of Fel Combustion, noting that it increased his Strength and Agility at the cost of health that would recover slowly.
• Alona noticed Lanlos seemed distracted and warned him that building a second-circle spell matrix required caution.
• Lanlos explained that Lansan was helping him with class notes because he had suggested ideas for Alona's upcoming birthday and Lansan had taken over his work.
• Alona teased Lanlos about asking another man for help with his mana-input problem, then left Lansan a knowing glance.
• Lansan offered to advise Lanlos about his mana-output limit and told him about a job at the Western Temple in a few days.

Lanlos arrived at the Western Temple to supervise apprentices clearing Arcane Aberrations while damaged Conversion Crystals were repaired. Velania revealed that a crucial Conduit Crystal had gone missing, and she and Lanlos would have to search the island for it.

• Lanlos traveled toward Silvermoon City and reflected on Quel'Thalas's size, history, and Ley Lines.
• Velania greeted Lanlos at the Western Temple and teased him before explaining the apprentices' cleanup assignment.
• Velania led Lanlos and the apprentices to the temple and explained that malfunctioning energy converters had produced Arcane Aberrations across the island.
• Lanlos learned that three Conversion Crystals were damaged and that their missing Conduit Crystal had to be found.
• Velania said she would join Lanlos in searching the island after arranging for the temple staff to maintain its magic supply.

Lanlos hunted Arcane Aberrations around the Western Temple, testing his spells and discovering how effectively Shocking Grasp worked through the Windrunner Blade. Unaware that Vereesa was following him under an enchanted cloak, he headed toward a sheltered clearing to rest while she prepared to teach him a lesson.

• Velania left Lanlos in charge of the apprentices as they split into teams to search the area for Arcane Aberrations and the missing Conduit Array.
• Lanlos easily killed an Arcane Aberration with Shocking Grasp and collected its Arcane Shard.
• Lanlos experimented with spells against the creatures and found he could channel Shocking Grasp through the Windrunner Blade to paralyze and kill them.
• Vereesa secretly watched Lanlos and grew furious as she imagined him dishonoring Alleria's name engraved on the blade.
• Lanlos sensed a strange presence, checked his dwindling mana, and went to find a sheltered place to rest.
• Vereesa emerged after Lanlos had left, concealed by an enchanted cloak, and followed him intending to teach him a lesson.

Lanlos accelerated his magical affinity training with Arcane Shards, but the resulting surge of natural magic began crystallizing his body. He used Empowered Fireballs to discharge the excess mana, then Vereesa approached while he sat motionless and triggered a hidden trap.

• Lanlos used the Energy Gathering Array and Arcane Shards to flood his body with magic and improve his magical affinity.
• The influx of natural magic began crystallizing Lanlos's skin, forcing him to activate Plan B and cast Empowered Fireballs.
• Lanlos repeatedly fired Empowered Fireballs into the woodland until the bombardment finally stopped.
• Vereesa, who had followed Lanlos and narrowly avoided his fireballs, mistook his stillness for an opportunity to capture him.
• Vereesa stepped from the shadows, triggered a magical trap, and was lifted off the ground.

Lanlos strengthened his magic and struggled against his growing craving for power before his alarm alerted him to an intruder. He captured Vereesa with Animate Rope, but she broke free and ended the chapter with her dagger aimed at his eye.

• Lanlos completed his magical breakthrough, learned Empower Spell, and gained enough power to meet the baseline for a mage.
• Lanlos resisted his craving to absorb more magic and use Fel when his magical alarm detected someone approaching.
• Lanlos bound the intruder, Vereesa, with Animate Rope and stared at her silver hair and appearance.
• Vereesa accused Lanlos of being a shameless villain after he loosened the ropes and freed her mouth.
• Vereesa cut through her bindings, knocked Lanlos down, and pointed her dagger at his eye.

Lanlos captured Vereesa after she tried twice to steal back the Windrunner Blade, then learned she was Lirath’s sister and explained that he had not meant to keep the weapon. Their argument ended with Lanlos deciding to keep the blade after Vereesa continued insulting him.

• Lanlos used Animate Rope to restrain Vereesa after she attacked him, then put her to sleep with a spell.
• When Vereesa woke, Lanlos treated her sprained wrist and confronted her with a strand of silver hair she had left behind during her first ambush.
• Vereesa admitted she was Lirath’s sister and had come to reclaim the Windrunner Blade, but kept Sarell’s assignment secret.
• Lanlos told Vereesa that Alleria had called her a stingy little sister, provoking her into a furious denial.
• Vereesa accused Lanlos of stealing the blade and said she would make him regret it if he fell into her hands, so Lanlos decided to keep it.

Lanlos freed Vereesa and left her to face a mana-corrupted Mana Spring Leopard, then killed the beast with an Empowered Arcane Blast after she wounded it. Vereesa survived the encounter despite her injured wrist, and Lanlos acknowledged her victory.

• Lanlos untied Vereesa, who picked up her blade and prepared to fight him.
• A corrupted Mana Spring Leopard charged into the clearing, and Lanlos vanished with Invisibility, leaving Vereesa to face it.
• Vereesa escaped the leopard's pounce by climbing a tree and shot an arrow that struck its eye and shoulder.
• The leopard retreated into the woods and then lunged from the undergrowth as Vereesa prepared another shot.
• Lanlos struck the leopard's head with two Empowered Arcane Blasts, killing it, then told Vereesa that she had won.

Lanlos and Vereesa tracked the corrupted Mana Spring Leopard to a cave and defeated two Mana Wraiths guarding it. A powerful Arcane Aberration emerged from the cave and struck Lanlos, leaving him facing an enemy empowered by a Ley Line connection.

• Lanlos returned the Windrunner Blade to Vereesa and tried to send her back, but she insisted on accompanying him to investigate the danger.
• Lanlos and Vereesa found a clearing with three dead Mana Spring Leopards, two Mana Wraiths, and a cave leaking powerful Arcane energy.
• Lanlos enchanted Vereesa's weapons with Magic Weapon, and she drew the Mana Wraiths away while he attacked them with the Windrunner Blade.
• Vereesa helped Lanlos defeat the Mana Wraiths with a well-timed arrow, and Lanlos secretly sacrificed their Arcane Shards to recover Mana.
• An Arcane Aberration burst from the cave and hit Lanlos with a spell, while Vereesa dodged its Mana Shock.
• Lanlos scanned the Arcane Aberration and learned that its Ley Line Connection removed its spell costs and greatly enhanced its abilities.

Lanlos fought the Arcane Aberration while Vereesa was trapped beneath a fallen tree, then used Fel Combustion and Shocking Grasp to strike through its Mana Shield. Vereesa found Lanlos buried under debris and feared he was dead, but he spoke up as she wept over him.

• Lanlos realized the Arcane Aberration had the Conduit Crystal and an effectively endless supply of mana, then found Vereesa pinned beneath a fallen tree with a broken leg.
• Lanlos drew the Arcane Aberration away from Vereesa and countered its Arcane Blast with a volley of Arcane Missiles.
• Lanlos blocked the creature's Arcane Missiles, reached it, and used Fel Combustion to resist Mana Burn before piercing its Mana Shield with the Windrunner Blade and striking it with Shocking Grasp.
• Vereesa freed her injured leg and ran toward the battlefield after hearing a powerful explosion, then found Lanlos buried beneath debris and believed he had died.
• Vereesa broke down in tears over Lanlos, who suddenly complained that she was hurting him.

After Lanlos defeated the Arcane Aberration, he found a blue crystal that pulled his consciousness through Azeroth’s Ley Lines to Coldarra. The disturbance awakened Malygos, who mistook it for demonic corruption and flew out to confront the mortal responsible.

• Vereesa realized Lanlos had been teasing her, angrily shoved him, and blushed when he caught her wrist.
• Lanlos recovered from the Arcane Aberration’s explosion and learned that his analysis of Mana Burn had reached 7%.
• Lanlos and Vereesa found a blue crystal hovering where the Arcane Aberration had died, and Lanlos accidentally sent his consciousness into the Ley Line when he touched it with magic.
• Lanlos’s vision passed through several Ley Line hubs before reaching Coldarra and the Nexus, where he saw the Blue Dragonflight’s home.
• Malygos awoke in a Northrend cave, sensed the disturbance, and mistook it for demonic power defiling Azeroth’s Ley Line.
• Malygos burst from the collapsing mountain and flew toward Coldarra, vowing to punish the reckless mortal.

Lanlos and Vereesa hurried back to the Western Temple after he sensed danger, encountering an Arcane Construct powered by a Conduit Crystal on the way. Velania revealed that the crystals had changed and sent Lanlos to the Eastern Temple with one, while another crystal would be taken north; as Lanlos and Vereesa set out, Velania showed a familiar emerald aura.

• Lanlos wrapped the crystal, urged Vereesa to travel through the night to the Western Temple, and they left despite her injured leg.
• Lanlos and Vereesa found an Arcane Construct destroying Mana Wraiths, then quietly withdrew after Lanlos recognized its connection to a Conduit Crystal.
• Lanlos questioned Velania about the first-ever ejection of a Conduit Crystal, and she revealed that she had found another crystal with altered structure.
• Velania asked Lanlos to take his crystal to the Eastern Temple and said she would send another to the Northern Temple with his returning students.
• Velania provided Lanlos with a robe and transportation, then watched him and Vereesa depart as an emerald light flashed in her eyes.

Lanlos brought Velania’s Conduit Crystal to Landra, where it erupted in Fel flames and got him and Vereesa arrested. Meanwhile, Velania tortured and sacrificed an elf to summon her master, Sathael, who devoured the victim’s soul with Ulthalesh.

• Lanlos and Vereesa reached the Eastern Temple, where Landra examined the Conduit Crystal Velania had sent.
• The crystal erupted in Fel flames, and Landra ordered the guards to seize Lanlos and Vereesa.
• Lanlos was locked in a cage and began to suspect Velania had set them up.
• Velania descended into a hidden chamber filled with corpses and tortured her bound apprentice.
• Velania sacrificed the elf to summon Sathael, who consumed the victim’s soul with Ulthalesh.

Velania reported that the Northern Temple’s conduits were compromised and the Eastern Temple’s Fel Crystal was not fully under control, while Sathael revealed that Lanlos was a powerful demon and the Keystone for opening a portal. Meanwhile, Lanlos and Vereesa were taken from their cell to face Landral’s questioning as suspicion shifted toward them.

• Velania told Sathael that the Northern Temple’s conduits had been seized but that Kaidenis would soon notice, while Landral’s followers had only partially secured the Eastern Temple’s Fel Crystal.
• Sathael said she had found another helper, punished Velania with Soul Lash, and revealed that Lanlos was a demon called the Keystone who could help open a portal between the Shattered Abyss and Azeroth.
• After Sathael’s projection faded, Velania used Fel fire to remove crystals from her damaged skin and vowed revenge on the elves who had helped ruin her life.
• Lanlos continued building a spell model in his cell while Vereesa worried about their imprisonment, and he predicted that Landral would come for them after dealing with the Crystal.
• Mages escorted Lanlos and Vereesa from the cage to the temple for Landral to question, and Lanlos inferred that the Eastern Temple suspected a spellcaster had tampered with the Conduit Array.

Lanlos defended himself against Landra’s accusation that he had corrupted the Conduit Crystal and argued that Velania might be responsible. Landra ordered him detained, but Vereesa offered to investigate the Northern Temple, leaving Lanlos’s fate unresolved.

• Vereesa defended Lanlos, and he explained that Velania had assigned him to bring the Conduit Crystal to the Eastern Temple.
• Landra suspected Lanlos of demonic ties because he had survived the attack on Golden Branch Village and demanded an examination of his magical energy, which he refused.
• Lanlos accused Velania of tampering with the crystal and warned that demonic magic could threaten the temples and Azeroth, but Landra ordered the guards to imprison him.
• Vereesa argued that the crystal’s power had taken too long to suppress for Lanlos to have caused the disturbance, and Lanlos urged Landra to question Velania’s qualifications and contact the Northern Temple.
• After learning that Wind Message had failed to reach the other temples, Vereesa volunteered to go to the Northern Temple and vowed to hold Landra accountable if Lanlos was innocent.

Lanlos was sent from house arrest to reinforce the Farstrider Enclave after Landral burned Alona’s appeal letter. At the camp, he met Ranger Captain Lor'themar and recognized him as the pilot of the Tree Hollow King, the Ashbringer.

• Lanlos reflected on Quel'Thalas’s values and resolved to survive and grow stronger while he remained under house arrest.
• Landral burned Alona’s letter of appeal and assigned Lanlos to reinforce the Farstrider Enclave, which was under attack by Trolls.
• Lanlos suspected the Troll raid was connected to the Darkpine Trolls’ alliance with the Burning Legion and considered escaping amid the battle.
• A Ranger captain asserted command over Lanlos and the other young mages at the enclave.
• Lanlos introduced himself to the captain, Lor'themar, and recognized him as the pilot of the Tree Hollow King, the Ashbringer.

Lanlos joined Lor'themar and Halduron on a covert mission to scout the Trolls’ movements and locate their hidden camp in the eastern hills. After making the two rangers invisible to slip through the Troll blockade, Lanlos headed into the woods alone.

• Lor'themar briefed the mages on the organized Trolls and planned a dawn attack, then chose Lanlos to join his scouting party when the others refused.
• Verien resented Lanlos and hoped the dangerous scouting mission would get him killed.
• Lor'themar introduced Lanlos to his deputy, Halduron, and the two agreed to work together.
• The Farstriders left the enclave at night, and Lor'themar sent most of the party to mark targets for the recruits.
• Lanlos cast Invisibility on himself, Lor'themar, and Halduron, then the two rangers crossed the Troll blockade while Lanlos moved toward the woods alone.

Lanlos and Halduron infiltrated a Troll patrol route while searching for Lor'themar, and Lanlos suspected the Trolls had gathered at Tor'watha for a reason. After Halduron left to find Lor'themar, Lanlos killed a sleeping Troll and harvested its soul, gaining Troll Language and new abilities.

• Lanlos identified the stealthy Troll patrol and suspected the Troll camp was at Tor'watha.
• A Troll approached Lanlos, but Halduron killed it before it could discover him.
• Lanlos and Halduron ambushed two more Trolls, using a Sleep Spell on one and killing the other.
• Lanlos told Halduron he sensed an unknown presence watching them, then sent him to find Lor'themar.
• Lanlos used shadow energy to kill the sleeping Troll and harvest its soul, updating his database with Troll Language, Soul Harvest, and Basic Regeneration.

Lor'themar scouted the Troll camp at Tor'watha but was captured, while Halduron and Lanlos escaped and learned the Eastern Temple was in danger. Lanlos chose to send word about cutting off the Trolls' escape route before rescuing Lor'themar, leaving the rescue plan unresolved.

• Lor'themar found the Troll camp in the valley and approached it to assess its forces, but the Trolls captured him and used his bow to signal a retreat.
• Halduron followed the retreat signal to the camp and spotted Lor'themar hanging upside down among the Troll guards.
• Lanlos appeared and pulled Halduron away from the camp before the Trolls could catch them.
• Lanlos told Halduron that the camp was a decoy and that the Eastern Temple was in serious danger.
• Lanlos used Wind Message to send word about cutting off Tor'watha and the Trolls' escape route before they rescued Lor'themar.