Dalaran Ball

The olive branch Nielas Aran extended on behalf of the Stormwind Kingdom was—

At best, Orendo could become a human grand duke, with the right to establish an independent nation. At worst, he would be a marquis of the Stormwind Kingdom, with a vast fief and two hundred thousand subjects.

It was no small temptation.

But Orendo's response to Nielas Aran was, "I'll consider it. If I truly decide to pledge myself to a kingdom, yours will definitely be my first choice."

That was right—he would consider it.

Becoming a noble of another kingdom would not actually hinder Orendo's development in Dalaran. Unless he wanted to become Dalaran's Mage Lord and enter the Council of Six, he could do whatever he wished in other kingdoms.

Though Dalaran appeared to be a kingdom as well, it did not mind nobles from other kingdoms becoming important figures within its borders. After all, Dalaran's ruling class was itself largely made up of descendants of human nobles and scholars.

From a practical standpoint, if Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Gilneas, or the Alterac Kingdom had offered such terms, Orendo might very well have accepted.

Those kingdoms were exceptionally prosperous. Even the weakest, the Alterac Kingdom, was far better off than the Stormwind Kingdom in the South.

Nielas Aran's terms might have sounded excellent, but aside from the title and the two hundred thousand subjects, which were relatively tangible, the fief was worth jack shit!

There was a saying among the northerners: "Better an acre in East Weald than a whole country from a southerner!"

That saying naturally contained some northern human disdain for southern humans and was somewhat exaggerated. Still, it showed just how poorly the Stormwind Kingdom was doing in this era.

The current Stormwind Kingdom was not yet the center of human civilization it would later become. As far as Orendo knew, at this point, the Stormwind Kingdom could only huddle in one corner of Elwynn Forest!

Only after Landen Wrynn's son, King Baratheon, took the throne and defeated the gnolls did the Stormwind Kingdom begin occupying all of Elwynn Forest, followed by a great expansion of its national strength.

It was only after King Baratheon's many years of development that King Leiden had the strength to clash head-on with the orcs. Later, when the Scourge broke out in the north and nearly all the remnants of humanity's elite fled south, King Varian gained the confidence to become High King. Later still, once humanity had settled down and reached the height of its development, youngsters like Anduin actually dared to criticize Tyrande for being immature...

Most of the northern human territories had already been developed. Going south to become a lord truly meant surviving only by carving out a domain with one's own hands.

After seeing off the somewhat disappointed Nielas Aran, night had already fallen. The ball hosted by the Lordaeron Embassy should have begun by now.

The [Severosa Fine Goods] magic shop was not far from the Lordaeron Embassy. It took only a little over ten minutes to walk there.

Orendo did not wear formal attire. Instead, he changed into a brand-new ordinary mage robe—in Dalaran, only mages were qualified to wear mage robes, a symbol of status and standing.

In Dalaran, as long as one could wear a specially made Dalaran mage robe and become a mage in the true sense, even someone so inept that they could only cast a few zero-level cantrips need not fear nobles.

Because here, mages were the ruling class. They were the masters of this place. Nobles from elsewhere were merely guests.

If a low-ranking mage clashed with some country noble, Dalaran's authorities would unquestionably side with the low-ranking mage—of course, if that country noble was also a mage, then the low-ranking mage without a noble title could only count himself unlucky.

In Dalaran, becoming a mage apprentice from an apprentice merely required having a mentor. Becoming a formal mage, however, came with certain requirements.

To become a formal mage, one first had to earn their mentor's approval. Only when the mentor deemed the apprentice qualified did they meet the first prerequisite for becoming a formal mage.

After that, mage apprentices had three paths to officially become mages.

The first was to complete certain tasks issued by Dalaran, such as going somewhere to kill a few xxx, or retrieving xxx from some location.

To some extent, this method was relatively simple, but it was also highly dangerous.

The second method was to conduct research within the Kirin Tor or publish work recognized by at least twenty mages—this was the path Orendo had taken, though his road had been especially easy and broad.

The last method was the simplest, but also the hardest. It required having connections above, at minimum an archmage with considerable influence in the Kirin Tor. The specific way to do this was to enter the Kirin Tor Higher Arcane Academy!

Unlike the Violet Academy, the Higher Arcane Academy made no distinction between mentors and students. If the Violet Academy was an elementary and middle school, then the Higher Arcane Academy was a research institute. Becoming a member automatically granted one the status of a formal mage.

To become a member of the Higher Arcane Academy, one needed at least a letter of recommendation from a Kirin Tor member of archmage rank or above, or the support of more than ten members of the Higher Arcane Academy.

In summary, these three methods meant that if one wanted to become a formal mage, a mage with privileges in Dalaran, then one either had to be exceptionally intelligent or exceptionally wealthy and powerful.

Otherwise, even if one could cast Fireball, Frostbolt, or even more advanced spells, without an official status in the Kirin Tor, one could only be considered a mage apprentice and would not enjoy the full privileges of a mage—even if one was actually stronger than some people in the Higher Arcane Academy.

Wearing a mage robe bearing the Kirin Tor insignia, Orendo walked alone toward the Lordaeron Embassy.

It was only a few minutes away.

At the embassy entrance, Orendo presented his invitation and was respectfully ushered inside by the Lordaeron guards.

When Orendo entered the embassy hall, the party had long since begun. Pleasant music mingled with the voices of countless people talking inside.

He slipped in quietly, drawing no one's attention.

By Earth's standards, the spacious hall was roughly a thousand square meters and had been decorated magnificently.

Beneath the enormous Lordaeron-style domed ceiling hung chandeliers everywhere. Each chandelier was filled with large candles, bathing the entire ball in brilliant light.

These were Dalaran's specialty magical candles. They produced no smoke, no scent, and no residue, and required no cleanup after burning out. Only great nobles and immensely wealthy families could afford such candles.

With these candles, there was no need to worry about melted wax remaining on the chandeliers or dripping down to stain and ruin the expensive formalwear of the gentlemen and ladies below.

Orendo, dressed in a mage robe, was not particularly conspicuous. Of the several dozen guests, at least ten wore Dalaran mage robes. Lordaeron had considerable prestige, and with the birth of a prince being such a joyous occasion, Dalaran had shown it proper respect.

Orendo noticed that even Antonidas had attended tonight's ball.

Just as he discreetly watched Antonidas converse with a middle-aged human noble, suddenly—

"Mage Severosa?"

A surprised voice rang out beside him.

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