Mana addiction

When Kael'thas first settled in Dalaran, something had been wrong with him. His mind was hazy, his limbs were weak, and he could not even cast low-level spells properly.

It took a full two weeks for Kael'thas to recover. Only then did he truly realize that the Sunwell was not merely a blessing, but a terrible burden as well.

Every elf born in Quel'Thalas could freely draw considerable amounts of mana from their surroundings to sustain themselves from childhood.

Situated at the nexus of Quel'Thalas's ley lines, the Sunwell could easily supply abundant mana to every corner of their homeland through that far-reaching network.

Spellcasters were more common among elves partly because of their rich heritage and natural talent, but the more important reason was the Sunwell, an almost inexhaustible source of magic. No human mage could match that advantage.

They enjoyed the Sunwell's blessing at every moment, wherever they went. It gave them longer lives and stronger bodies, and magic permeated every aspect of their existence.

As long as elven mages cast their spells on Quel'Thalas's soil, even apprentices could easily wield many spells normally reserved for full-fledged mages, while the spells of full-fledged mages became even more powerful.

Only a tiny minority of elves in Quel'Thalas did not regularly draw mana from the Sunwell's ley line supply-the rangers who chose to stay close to nature. Unlike mages, they did not depend on absorbing mana to strengthen themselves. Instead, they improved through combat skills and their understanding of the wilderness. Sylvanas, Lor'themar, and Halduron were among them.

Apart from these rangers, even ordinary elves in Quel'Thalas freely absorbed the Sunwell's mana. After all, this source of power would never run dry.

But when elves remained away from Quel'Thalas too long and could no longer absorb the Sunwell's high-quality mana, their minds and wills suffered unbearable torment.

Only returning to Quel'Thalas and drawing on the Sunwell's mana again could prevent this, so few native-born elves left Quel'Thalas for any length of time.

Kael'thas had read related research in the Sunstrider Court's library. Quel'dorei scholars called this condition "mana addiction."

Yet the elves paid it little mind. Who could shatter the Ban'dinoriel Barrier, break through their layers of defenses, defeat the mighty Sun King, and threaten the very foundation of their existence?

Even Kael'thas himself had once believed these effects were exaggerated. Only after spending some time in Dalaran did he discover that the accounts had not exaggerated anything-they had actually understated it!

Even an ordinary mage's control over mana far surpassed that of an average elf, yet Kael'thas, an Archmage whose strength and will were far beyond those of ordinary people, had been left weak by this strange affliction for half a month.

What would happen to ordinary elves if they remained away from the Sunwell for too long? He did not dare imagine it.

Kael'thas discovered that most elven mages needed a month to overcome this dependence on mana, with the exact time also depending on their willpower. Rangers, on the other hand, were largely unaffected. At most, they felt unwell for a day or two before returning to normal.

Only then did Kael'thas suddenly understand why Quel'Thalas, despite being dominated by magic, had rangers whose standing was almost equal to that of mages, and even a position such as Ranger-General, which commanded all military forces in the southern forests.

This was a safeguard left by the first Sun King-if anything happened to the Sunwell, Quel'Thalas would not lose all its strength overnight and become helpless prey.

For a time, mana addiction became an enormous headache for Kael'thas. His father and ancestors had disregarded the problem because the elven kingdom had been powerful enough in their day, and no other force on the continent could truly threaten Quel'Thalas.

But the war with the orcs a few years earlier had proved that they could not rest easy. This world was not without danger. With the Amani Trolls growing restless again recently, Kael'thas suddenly realized that the elves seemed to have already planted one foot over the edge of a cliff.

Throughout his studies in Dalaran, he had kept trying to find a way to cure the elves' mana addiction. Yet countless arcane researchers had failed to solve this problem in their entire lifetimes. No matter how gifted Kael'thas was, talent alone could not bridge that gap.

Then, in Dalaran, he met Arthas's-girlfriend.

Through her, he came to know Arthas. Arthas had even beaten him up at the time, but after hearing what Arthas had to say, he suddenly found Arthas more alluring than his girlfriend.

Of course, this did not mean Kael'thas's tastes had suddenly changed. Rather, he had discovered something in Arthas that he himself lacked-the confidence of a king.

Was Kael'thas confident? Of course. He was the most outstanding and gifted mage Quel'Thalas had produced in centuries, the Sun King's own son, and the future Sun King. Yet he had always lacked the confidence to become Sun King. He never believed himself capable of shouldering such a great responsibility.

Arthas was different. His resolve and decisiveness reminded Kael'thas of his father's bearing in his prime.

As a fellow prince, Kael'thas simply did not measure up to Arthas. So he immediately abandoned the dispensable matter of pursuing romance and became Arthas's friend instead, hoping to learn every aspect of how Arthas viewed things and dealt with problems.

The vital information Arthas possessed was far beyond anything Kael'thas could match. At most, Kael'thas knew ancient secrets, while Arthas also knew every major turning point in this world's fate. Their judgments about the future were immediately on entirely different levels.

During Arthas's stay in Dalaran, Kael'thas learned a great deal from this friend who was younger than him by who knew how many years. Before returning to Lordaeron, Arthas had very discreetly revealed something to Kael'thas.

-He knew how to solve the mana addiction that troubled Kael'thas.

Kael'thas had almost detained Arthas on the spot to force an answer out of him. Fortunately, he restrained the impulse to act.

"Find energy pure enough to replace the Sunwell's mana. That's one way."

With that, Arthas mounted a gryphon and left, leaving Kael'thas standing alone, pondering his words. One way? Did that mean Arthas knew other ways too?

This method certainly worked. Human mages were the best example: they used the purest energy from the ley lines. Although it was difficult to draw upon, and compared to the Sunwell was like dew beside a lake, virtually no human mage had ever been heard of suffering from mana addiction.

But asking the elves to abandon the lake beside them and live on dew instead?

Kael'thas hardly needed to think to know that this was practically impossible. Besides, almost all the mana within Quel'Thalas had been influenced by the Sunwell's power. Finding pure, external ley line energy there was impossible.

Moreover, elves needed large quantities of mana every day to stave off mana addiction. The tiny amounts human mages accumulated could never meet that need.

Arthas's departure after telling him only half the story had left Kael'thas deeply frustrated. But once he calmed down, he realized that Arthas was his friend, yet had no obligation to care about every elf. That was why he had only told Kael'thas how to avoid mana addiction himself...

Viewed this way, Arthas's meaning was clear: You and I are friends, so I'll lend you a hand. But if you want to know how to free your entire race from mana addiction, you need to understand that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

And so Kael'thas, Arthas's closest friend, came to be.

Mindful of his status, the elven prince certainly would not do anything outrageous to "please" Arthas. But he knew that what Arthas needed was for him to stand on his side, because he was the Sun King's sole heir.

Today, Kael'thas had come not only to thank Arthas, but also to bind Arthas's interests to his own. If Arthas had not already had a fiancée, he would even have considered introducing an elven lady to him.

Kael'thas cast a seemingly casual glance at Sylvanas. He held this Ranger-General in great respect and gratitude, but he kept feeling that something was off about her behavior today.

Although Sylvanas did not openly display her dislike of humans, Kael'thas knew that she had little fondness for them.

Yet her manner toward this prince of Lordaeron left Kael'thas astonished. Was this really the formidable Ranger-General, and not some great family's sheltered second daughter?

Had she fallen for him outright, just like her older and younger sisters? Did the entire Windrunner family actually have a taste for humans?

Should I tell Arthas's fiancée? Or should I simply help these two get together?

Had Sylvanas known what Kael'thas was thinking, she would certainly have disregarded his princely status and taught this overly scheming elven prince a harsh lesson. I was only behaving less casually to uphold Quel'Thalas's diplomatic dignity, and you've already started plotting to sell me off?

It could be said that in this semi-secret meeting, apart from Archmage Rommath, who had no ulterior thoughts beyond carrying out his prince's assignment, the other three all had their own hidden agendas.