Lost

"By the way, I think I saw Lord Alexandros on my way here today!" Larein suddenly said.

"What? Lord Mograine? Here?" Bigal looked at him in surprise. Nathanos, having known beforehand, showed no change in expression.

"Yes, Lord Mograine! But he seems to be carrying a wooden box and riding quickly south."

"He seems to be a very busy man."

Larein nodded in agreement. "That's really a strange thing."

"Aren't there enough strange things already?" The Dwarf peeled an almond apart with his hand, popped it into his mouth, and ate it. "Have you heard the rumors of the dead coming back to life?"

Nathanos's face immediately darkened upon hearing his words. The Dwarf's words sounded alarmist, but they were true, for recently, Undead had suddenly appeared within Lordaeron. Nathanos remembered last hearing the term during the war, when the Alliance was abuzz with discussions about the Horde's Death Knight. Only after the Horde's complete defeat and the extermination of these Death Knights did the talk of the resurrection subside. However, now, clearly, something had brought the topic back to the forefront. As someone close to Arthas, Nathanos had also learned that some people within Lordaeron were indeed researching this evil sorcery. The mages of Dalaran were conducting the investigation, but it seemed they had made little progress.

Dalaran

Jaina Proudmoore strolled down a street, a magic logbook in her hand. She had lived here for five years, yet she was still filled with wonder at the city. Everything here exuded magical energy. Magic was like a scent, something everyone here could sense. She smiled and took another deep breath.

Of course, this included the fragrance of real flowers in full bloom. The gardens of Dalaran, like everything else here, were permeated with magical power. Jaina had never seen flowers healthier, more vibrantly colored, or more beautiful. But what captivated her most was the sheer amount of knowledge she had gained here! Jaina felt she had learned more in the past five years than she could in a lifetime. And most of this knowledge had come from her mentor Antonidas. Generally speaking, she felt nothing was more delightful than curling up under a clear sky, with a cold drink and a stack of magical scrolls beside her. The second best thing for her was sitting in the Dalaran library, wearing gloves to protect the fragile pages, carefully and meticulously studying texts so ancient she could hardly comprehend them.

But now, all she wanted was to stroll in the garden, feel the vibrant earth beneath her feet, and soak in the magical atmosphere. When she felt hungry, she reached out and picked a ripe, sun-warmed golden apple, enjoying its crisp, sweet flesh.

Suddenly feeling a bit bored, she pointed to a squirrel perched high on a branch, munching on an apple, and whispered a spell. The squirrel instantly transformed into a sheep, its face displaying a comical expression of surprise. The branch beneath it quickly snapped and fell to the ground. Jaina immediately stretched out another hand, and the squirrel-sheep stopped in mid-air. The girl giggled...

"This damned road is more complicated than the palace in Lordaeron." Nathanos stood at an intersection, looking around at the surrounding buildings, feeling that every shop and every spire looked exactly the same. He even suspected that he had been going in circles.

A few days ago, Arthas received Terenas's approval to visit Dalaran. Of course, he also had his own mission. He was now an adult, and more importantly, he needed to learn how to handle some state affairs. The young Prince, also quite ambitious, decided to visit Antonidas, the leader of Dalaran, to learn some diplomatic methods. Nathanos was also asked to come along. And then...

... He got lost!

Nathanos never imagined he would end up like Muradin, which is why he had never entered the city of Dalaran. Fortunately, he and Arthas had both donned the city's unique violet mage robes, which, though somewhat awkward, prevented him from looking like a fool as he wandered around.

"Hmm?" He heard a sheep bleating, a sound that felt familiar. Who brought a pet outside? And such a unique one at that?

Jaina gently placed the sheep on the ground. The little creature bleated at her, its ears twitching incessantly. After a while, it transformed back into a squirrel, still looking bewildered. The squirrel crouched down, squeaked angrily at Jaina a few times, flicked its large, fluffy tail, and hopped back into the tree.

"You'll definitely never see this squirrel again; it'll definitely avoid you."

Hearing someone speak behind her, the girl immediately turned around. Just as she was about to ask who it was, she realized she recognized the person and instinctively called out their name, "Nathanos?"

"You know me?" He looked at the girl with some surprise. He had been thinking about how to talk to her and ask her for the correct route to the Dalaran embassy.

Jaina's expression froze. "You... don't recognize me? You even took me to the prisoner-of-war camp to see the Orcs."

"Jaina?" Nathanos was somewhat surprised, and at the same time felt ashamed of his words and actions. He had almost forgotten that this girl from the sea kingdom was studying magic in Dalaran. "I'm so sorry, the change in you is really..." He pondered what reason to give for his mistake. But he really didn't recognize her. Apart from her golden hair and bright, sparkling eyes, Jaina was no longer the little girl she once was, neither in height nor in clothing.

"I understand, at least you still remember my name." Jaina smiled sweetly. She was also surprised that Nathanos would appear here, but it was clear that he wasn't here to see her.

"Thank you. It seems your magic is quite proficient. Polymorph, that's a spell that some mages can't master no matter how long they study."

"Your praise is truly flattering," Jaina said, her face flushing slightly. "Actually, I'm not particularly gifted; I'm just more familiar with frost magic. When I first Dalaran, I accidentally burned a scroll while using fire magic. At the time, that scroll was still with my mentor. For the next few months, he insisted that I practice fire magic by the pond surrounding the prison. It was truly embarrassing." She twirled a strand of hair in her hand, and for some reason, she recalled that incident.

"Is that so?" Nathanos chuckled twice. It wasn't mockery; every beginner makes mistakes, it's no big deal. "After hearing your story, I'm somewhat relieved. Council Master Antonidas only punished you by making you practice magic; he didn't expel you from Dalaran. He must be a very easy person to talk to."

"Indeed!" Jaina laughed, then said eagerly, "I've also heard about Grim Batol, it's incredible."

'Really!'

Nathanos's smile froze. This was why he hadn't asked the local guards for directions after getting lost; they would have asked who he was, and after learning his name, they would have asked him about what had happened in Grim Batol. Every mage wanted to know the details, so Nathanos just wanted to ask a random passerby, at least that person wouldn't ask who he was, only that he was a lost person. But in the end, he met Jaina.

He didn't want to bring it up. In fact, before Dalaran, he had considered how he should speak to Antonidas or any other person of high status. The best course of action was to remain silent, but Nathanos didn't believe the mages would let him off the hook. Five years had passed, yet the Kirin Tor Dragons no sign of letting up on their investigation of the Demon Soul. Mages always loved to delve into the past!

The girl's eyes revealed doubt and anticipation for an answer, which put Nathanos in a difficult position.

"That happened five years ago, it's long gone."

Jaina nodded thoughtfully; it seemed Nathanos didn't want to discuss the topic. "I haven't asked you what you're doing here yet? And..." She suddenly covered her mouth to suppress a laugh, glancing at Nathanos's attire. "Your clothes... suit you very well."

"Like a ridiculous clown?"

"No... actually, don't mind." Her smile confirmed Nathanos' question and negated the first word she had uttered.

"It's alright," Nathanos said nonchalantly, and began to answer Jaina's question earlier, "I came here with Prince Arthas. Prince Highness wanted to experience the pleasures of diplomacy."

"Prince Arthas? Yes! I... I haven't congratulated him on becoming a Paladin yet." Jaina seemed reluctant to mention Arthas, and the natural smile on her face slowly turned insincere.

"You'll have your chance. He'll be attending the return banquet for the Elf Prince Kael'thas today. You can..."

"No! No! I don't want to see him." Jaina shook her head hastily. "I still have so much to learn." She said, troubled, then turned and ran away in a hurry, completely unaffected by her skirt.

Nathanos called out a few times until the girl disappeared around the street corner. "What's going on?" he wondered, not wanting to see Arthas? When Jaina said that, Nathanos noticed a flash of anger in her eyes.

"What happened?" This time he couldn't help but want to know the reason, but suddenly he realized a more serious mistake— Jaina hadn't told him how to get to the Dalaran embassy.