Mentor

Vareesa Windrunner, the darling of the Windrunner family in Quel'Thalas. Although her two older sisters, Alleria and Sylvanas, had told her that patience was paramount for a Ranger, she disliked waiting. While elves were generally considered to possess exceptional Elf, this trait was entirely absent in a young Elf like her, who had only completed a year of Ranger training.

Just like at this moment, the young, silver-haired Female Elf stood anxiously in place, pacing with one foot, each step seemingly representing the passing of a second. At the same time, her breathing became increasingly rapid, as if she were suppressing a ball of anger with nowhere to release it.

Vareesa glanced at the human sitting motionless on a rock five meters away. She glared coldly at him; in her eyes, he was just as despicable as the person she was waiting for.

Three days ago, she arrived at the agreed-upon place. When she arrived, the person was already sitting on that rock, just as he was now. Vareesa at first and introduced herself. The human was also very friendly at first, telling Vareesa that his name was Marius and that he was her travel companion. Then... then there was little further interaction between them. Over the next three days, they spoke no more than three times, and Vareesa remembered what they had said.

The first question she asked was, "When is the remaining person coming?"

Marius shook his head in response, adding, "The mage is never punctual."

When Vareesa heard this answer, she thought it made sense, so she planned to wait a little longer, but she didn't expect to wait for three days.

The next two conversations were unpleasant, or rather, barely conversations, but the atmosphere between the two began to tense. It wasn't that Vareesa was arrogant; it was mainly that this human named Marius completely ignored Vareesa's questions. He just sat there, seemingly one with the rock beneath him. Vareesa muttered several times that if the person they were waiting for didn't arrive soon, she would leave immediately, but each time it was just talk.

This was her first mission, but it wasn't to hunt down Orcs or Troll; instead, she was tasked with escorting a mage to the eastern port leading to the Great Sea. She had been waiting for three whole days. Normally, she held humans in high regard, but now she felt nothing but anger towards the silent man before her and the latecomer.

Vareesa longed to work with her brothers and sisters to wipe out every remaining Orcs and Orcs force, but she never expected that her first task would be to act as a babysitter for an old mage who was trembling in his legs and perhaps even forgetful.

"Wait another hour," she yelled. "If they're not here in an hour, I'm not going to help them anymore!"

Her roar didn't surprise Nathanos Marius, nor did the human offer comfort to the anxiously waiting Female Elf. He remained silent, fully aware of his purpose, his thoughts drifting back to half a month ago...

"These winding corridors are really dizzying. Young man, are you sure you haven't gone the wrong way? This corner is exactly the same as the one before."

"I'm sure, Ambassador." Nathanos smiled at Muradin Bronzebeard, the Ironforge prince who had arrived in the Northern Kingdoms several months earlier and remained in Lordaeron as its Ironforge. His cheerful, amiable nature, along with his knowledge of fine beer, pastries, politics, and many other things, made him popular at the Lordaeron court. He was also a highly skilled and resourceful Warrior.

But just now, Nathanos encountered him. The Dwarf was lost; he had circled around a corner five times. Nathanos almost burst out laughing, but thankfully he managed to hold it in.

Muradin's presence here was purposeful. After Nathanos questioned him, he immediately led the way and told Muradin that they were going to see the same person.

"Tell me about the child," Muradin asked.

Nathanos slowed his pace as much as possible; it would take Muradin three steps to match one of his steps.

"I assure you, Prince Arthas is a very intelligent child. He is eleven years old this year, King Terenas believes he is old enough to learn to wield a sword. He is a quick learner, and he also..."

"Trying to get past here, you vile Orcs? You're facing the Alliance! Get out of here and never come back!"

Nathanos's introduction was interrupted by a voice from ahead, the location of the training grounds within the palace. He and Muradin stopped, but the loud voice hadn't ceased.

"It seems you're not planning to run away. I've given you a chance. So, let's fight!"

"What happened?" Muradin asked. There seemed to be a battle going on ahead, but he couldn't hear the sound of weapons clashing.

"This..." Nathanos recognized the voice, but he didn't know how to explain it, because he knew the other person was doing something stupid.

"Let's go check it out." Muradin quickened his pace, and as they turned the corner, a wooden sword suddenly flew towards them. The Dwarf's eyes widened; the sword stopped above his head and grazed his hair. Nathanos grabbed the blade to prevent it from hitting him.

But at that moment, only two words filled the air—awkwardness. Murrayan stared at the sword above his head, and only after Nathanos noticed his gaze did he remove the wooden sword.

"Are you alright, Ambassador?" Nathanos asked, giving Arthas a rather reproachful look.

Muradin shook his head, then looked closely at the blond boy who looked surprised and embarrassed. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and his cheeks were flushed. He could only try his best to hide his panic.

"He's quite imaginative, isn't he?" Muradin looked at Arthas like he was an idiot. Nathanos didn't know how to answer, and simply said, "He's not always like that."

"Um... Mr. Ambassador... I just..." Arthas struggled to find the right words to explain himself; he had never been so embarrassed in his life.

Muradin coughed, stepped forward, and continued to stare at the Prince of Lordaeron, his rough thumbs hooked around his belt, a thoughtful expression on his hard-featured face. "Boy," he finally spoke, "You shouldn't be wielding your sword like that."

Arthas felt his blood rush to his face once more. "I know, but my father..."

"Your father has a lot on his mind. You shouldn't blame him for this."

"Anyway, I want to master combat skills as soon as possible, so I..." Arthas stopped, not wanting to bring up what had just happened again.

"I know. So you need a mentor, and I can teach you if you'd like."

"You... you will teach me?" Arthas was initially incredulous, then immediately overjoyed and speechless.

Nathanos explained, "Arthas, Mr. Muradin is a renowned Warrior with a high level of skill in the art of war. King Terenas has invited him to be your swordsmanship instructor."

"Yes, that's what I came here to talk about today." Muradin nodded, but then his tone suddenly changed, and he warned seriously, "But there's one thing I need to tell you beforehand: if you can't meet my requirements, I won't accept any excuses you make, and I will punish you severely. No matter when, understand?"

"Yes, sir," Arthas said eagerly. Muradin smiled with satisfaction and extended a large, calloused hand. Arthas grasped the hand, then looked up and glanced at Nathanos. His eyes narrowed, revealing a thoughtful expression.

"Alright! I should go find your father now. Child, can you take me to see him? This horrible place has too many twists and turns."

Arthas silently pointed to the stairs to his left, then watched the Dwarf leave.

"Nathanos! You didn't see anything just now, did you?" Arthas asked urgently.

Nathanos was initially taken aback, then couldn't help but chuckle, which angered Arthas but also made him tense. "Speak!"

"Rest assured, we didn't witness the future King of Lordaeron fighting an imagined Orcs and accidentally throwing his sword across the hall," he replied half-jokingly. Arthas blushed, but before he could retort, Nathanos continued, "However, the way this wooden sword flew over shows how terrible your swordsmanship is, Prince Highness." He handed the wooden sword back to Arthas. The Prince of Lordaeron was clearly disappointed, but Nathanos was right; however, at least he now had a new mentor.