This bonus chapter was posted in celebration of our reader "A Feeling Like a Boat."
Walking through the streets of Dalaran, Rex could clearly feel how different its atmosphere was from Gilneas. It was far more prosperous, and mages in robes were undoubtedly the most common sight. Mages truly were everywhere. As a kingdom of magic, it was a sacred destination every mage longed to visit.
Shop after shop sold goods related to magic. Some specialized in staves, while others sold mage robes, including the fiery red robes so beloved by fire mages.
This beautiful, magnificent city was Dalaran. Yet for all its splendor, it had endured more than its share of disasters.
Dalaran had been destroyed three times throughout its history, but its mages had always fought with a tenacious spirit, refusing to give up. Each time Dalaran was destroyed, it was rebuilt soon afterward. Three destructions, three reconstructions—like a cockroach that simply would not die, it continued to stand tall in the long history of Azeroth.
Dalaran's first destruction had come during the Second War. The Blackrock Orcs drove dragons into battle against Dalaran's powerful mages. Crestfall was ravaged and shattered into many smaller islands, bringing about Dalaran's destruction.
But the surviving mages did not lose heart. They banded together and began rebuilding. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. An artifact the mages had created to rebuild Dalaran caught Ner'zhul's attention. He needed the Eye of Dalaran to gather dark energies from twisted space and open a new Dark Portal. Thus, the Death Knight Teron Gorefiend led his followers to destroy the city while it was still being rebuilt, and Dalaran fell for the second time.
Of course, this time they had rather benefited from someone else's work, since Deathwing had already swept through.
But Dalaran, being the cockroach that would not die, naturally had to rebuild. Under Archmage Antonidas's leadership, it was rebuilt once more, southeast of Lake Lordamere—the very place Rex was visiting now. Since the orcs had been thoroughly defeated by then, Dalaran finally enjoyed another decade or so of peace. Yet the good times did not last. The Burning Legion's new lackeys—the Scourge—arrived.
Dalaran possessed something the Scourge wanted: the legendary Book of Medivh, essential for summoning Archimonde himself. Led by Arthas, who had fallen and become a Death Knight, a tide of undead once again shattered Dalaran's peace. Despite the Violet Barrier, Dalaran had virtually no standing army, and the Scourge broke through and stole the Book of Medivh. Antonidas was also killed in the battle. In the end, Archimonde destroyed the city as effortlessly as a child playing with sand.
Now the countdown to Dalaran's destruction had already begun. Rex had no interest whatsoever in saving it. Against someone as powerful as Archimonde, the Greymane Wall would be as fragile as tofu.
Rex took in Dalaran's prosperity as he walked toward his destination. He had come to Dalaran to establish trade, but specialists were handling the caravan's affairs. He knew little about such matters, so naturally he would not give arbitrary orders. Better to leave it to the professionals; he only needed the final results. His own purpose on this trip was to visit the high elf prince, that tragic fellow Kael'thas.
Kael'thas was also the ideal person for Rex to sell his Hearthstones to. The Hearthstones carried Rex's hopes, and naturally he hoped to fleece the prince for a hefty sum. He really could not bring himself to do that to Jaina, who was on such good terms with him. As for Antonidas, Rex had dismissed him outright. If the Hearthstones ended up in his hands, they might eventually reach Kel'Thuzad. They were excellent items—Rex had always intended to fleece people, and how could he lure in a sucker unless his Hearthstones were good enough? That was precisely why he did not want them falling into Kel'Thuzad's hands.
Rex had no favorable impression of Kel'Thuzad. Naturally, he would not seek out someone destined to become such a notorious bringer of disaster. Kel'Thuzad should count himself lucky that Rex was not trying to find a way to kill him.
If Rex had a protagonist's plot armor and an unstoppable power-fantasy mode, he would have killed them long ago. Unfortunately, he did not. The threat of the Bronze Dragonflight made him inclined to keep a respectful distance from all these figures. Until he figured out whether the Bronze Dragonflight posed a danger to him, he would not take the initiative to alter major historical events.
There was another important reason he had chosen Kael'thas rather than Jaina. These elves, whether High Elves or night elves, were all synonymous with wealth. They were so poor that money was all they had left.
With such a perfect sucker available, Rex felt he would be letting himself down if he did not fleece him thoroughly. After all, a tragic prince always inspired sympathy, so fleecing him once was Rex's way of expressing that sympathy.
Thus, the following day, after finding out where Kael'thas's residence was, Rex paid him a visit.
Kael'thas greeted Rex's arrival with a rather indifferent attitude, which did not surprise Rex in the slightest. High Elves were all like this, much the same as night elves. Every one of them was proud to the bone, the sort who looked at people with their nose in the air. Silvermoon City did not welcome any race other than High Elves. Only later, after Arthas had ravaged it and taught them a painful lesson, would other races appear there.
Kael'thas only received Rex because he was a prince. Had he been an ordinary human, Kael'thas would most likely have refused to see him.
From Kael'thas's perspective, though, he had every right to be proud. Even setting aside his status as a prince, he possessed surging magical power, Hero Rank strength, and a place among the Six Archmages of the Kirin Tor. That was an exceptionally rare achievement. Measured in human years, his accomplishments at his age were nothing remarkable, but by elven standards, they were equivalent to Arthas's present achievements. Still, that "thas" in their names was rather unfortunate. Both had nothing but darkness ahead of them—truly worthy members of the "Thas family."
After all, the Kirin Tor was the organization that governed the entire kingdom of Dalaran. With that status, a little arrogance only made Kael'thas more popular. His immense popularity in Dalaran was proof enough.
Among the Six Archmages of the Kirin Tor, the young and handsome Kael'thas was bound to be the most popular. Nobody cared for decrepit old men. That was a universal truth in any world.
"What brings you here, Prince Rex?" After exchanging pleasantries, Kael'thas went straight to the point. Proud though he was, his noble etiquette was absolutely impeccable.
(End of chapter)
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