Dream Shattered

Nathanos rushed out of the royal palace. He did not get lost; when a person's mind was blank, their sense of direction was surprisingly good. The guards saw him hurrying away and assumed he had offended some high-ranking official or bumped into some valuable sculpture.

The boy ran wildly all the way. What's so great about Rangers? he screamed inwardly, his mind filled with rage, before sorrow and despair crushed him. Back in the library, after hearing that girl's words, he finally understood why Gudul had slapped him that day and why he had burned the Bloodwood Hunting Bow blueprints. His persistence had been futile. His dream could never come true.

Elves are all proud, and being a Ranger is an honor. The Ranger-General would never share an honor that should belong to her own people with another race.

Nathanos barreled through the streets. "Ah!" Someone cried out, though it was not him. Nathanos had run into another child.

"That hurt like hell." Larein sat on the ground, his face twisted in pain.

"Nathanos?" Kasha stood nearby, staring at him in surprise. "Are you okay? Why are you here?"

"I, I... Sorry, Larein." After calming down, Nathanos answered. Without realizing it, he had run to the front of Kana's chapel. Class seemed to have just ended. If possible, Nathanos wanted to hear Kaishius describe Rangers again. This time, he hoped Kaishius would tell him that humans could become Rangers. After all, an Elf's opinion of Rangers would be more trustworthy. The chapel stood right before him, and he might have been able to find Kaishius there, but he suddenly felt utterly drained. The exhaustion in his mind left him unable to take even one step. His thoughts raced as he imagined how Kaishius would answer him—would it be the same as Gudul's answer, or different?

"What's wrong?" Larein asked as well. Nathanos's gaze kept shifting between the chapel and Larein.

"I..." The words at Nathanos's lips were forcibly swallowed back. He let out a difficult breath, but felt no relief. His heart still struggled to make a decision. If he did not ask, he could still hold onto a sliver of false hope. But the truth was cruel, and Nathanos did not have the courage to face it. He forced a smile at Larein and Kasha, his face somewhat pale. The two children looked at each other, completely unable to understand what Nathanos was doing. They had originally planned to go to the palace together to find him. Larein believed that being "Nathanos's friend" would make for a decent pass, and the soldiers would surely let them in. Yet after only walking a few steps, they had seen Nathanos charging straight toward them.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent, oppressive and heavy. Then a mocking voice shattered it all.

"Look at this little sparrow that flew out of the royal palace, coming here to show off its feathers. I bet Lord Uther scolded him." Gray approached with a sinister grin, followed by his lackeys. He had been furious when he saw Nathanos, especially after learning that he had become Uther's apprentice. And now Kasha was standing beside Nathanos, making him even angrier.

"I was wondering who it was. Isn't this the clown who wets his pants? You're wearing those pants again. Did you wash them?" Larein shot back.

Gray's expression changed. His face flushed red as he clenched his fists and glared resentfully at Larein and Nathanos.

Kasha noticed Gray's movements and stepped in front of Nathanos. "What are you trying to do, Gray? Was last time's lesson not enough?"

"Kasha, last time was an accident. I'll prove it to you!" Gray shouted, then pointed at Nathanos. "Coward, do you only know how to hide behind little girls? Dare to come out and duel me!"

Gray deliberately provoked Nathanos. He had learned more magic, and this time he was certain he could defeat Nathanos and reclaim his dignity. But Nathanos did not do as Gray wished. He walked straight past Kasha and Gray in turn, heading toward the chapel, while Gray's mocking voice rang out behind him again.

"Ha, look at that coward. Kasha, you must be standing in the wrong place."

The little girl was furious at those words. She desperately wanted to teach Gray a lesson and shouted at Nathanos, "Nathanos!" Kasha hoped the boy would turn around and accept Gray's challenge, but he did not.

"Stop calling his name. He'll be a coward for the rest of his life, a mangy stray dog that ran out of some filthy farm."

"If you don't want your father to lose his job because of you, shut your mouth right now!" Nathanos roared at him, stunning everyone present. Gray in particular was startled when he heard those words. He initially thought Nathanos was bluffing, but then remembered that he was Uther's apprentice. If Nathanos reported him to Uther, his father Garith really might be dismissed. A trace of fear rose in Gray's heart. Nathanos's eyes told him this was not a lie. It was a threat. He stopped talking, though the resentment in his heart grew even stronger.

"You bootlicking lowlife," Gray muttered, but Larein heard him.

"Bootlicking? Aren't you the one doing that? I heard you kicked every chapel member out of that so-called 'Good Brothers' guild of yours, then went around recruiting rich kids instead. You'd do something like that for money, and you still have the nerve to talk about Nathanos? He earned Lord Uther's favor through his own ability, unlike you, following those people around like a dog."

"You—shut up!" Gray cursed. Larein's words had utterly humiliated him. He badly wanted to teach Larein a lesson; he had wanted to for a while. But he had learned that Larein's father was a knight whose superior was a captain, and that the two were very close, so he did not dare act rashly.

"Larein, ignore this guy. Let's go find Nathanos," Kasha said, grabbing Larein's hand and running toward the chapel.

Gray's clenched fists trembled slightly. He swore that he would teach Nathanos a lesson. He definitely would.

Meanwhile, after leaving, Nathanos found Kaishius inside the chapel. The Elf was examining a report. When he saw Nathanos, he said, "Sister Kana has already gone home." Kaishius assumed Nathanos had come looking for Kana, since he had never had any dealings with Nathanos.

"I came to see you," Nathanos said with his head lowered.

Kaishius looked at him strangely. Nathanos's face was grim, as though he had come to demand an explanation, but Kaishius did not recall offending him.

"Then state your purpose."

"Tell me," Nathanos said. "Tell me whether humans are qualified to become Rangers."

Kaishius's eyes widened. What kind of question was that? He did not understand why it mattered, and he felt Nathanos was wasting his precious time.

"Child, your question has no value. You should go do something meaningful."

Nathanos took out an object and held it out before Kaishius.

"This is?" Kaishius accepted the blue bottle. "This is magical water. How do you have this? Only mages possess things like this."

"I took it from Gray." A flicker of anger flashed through Nathanos's eyes as he said this.

"What?"

"You taught him magic. You gave him magical water. His Fireball nearly killed me!"

Kaishius was shocked. "What did you say? He..." Nathanos stared fixedly at Kaishius, making him realize the seriousness of the matter.

"Are you all right?"

"Not dead yet," Nathanos replied immediately, his tone cold.

Kaishius could see that Nathanos had come to demand an explanation, and he hurriedly apologized. "I apologize to you, Nathanos, good child. I never imagined Gray would misuse magic like that to attack others. I... I only taught Gray magic to repay his father's kindness toward me. I will not instruct him again."

"You still haven't answered my question, sir." Nathanos did not care what Kaishius would do in the future. He only wanted an answer.

"This..." Kaishius thought for a moment before finally saying, "Quel'Thalas's laws do not state that only Elves may become Rangers, but some facts do not need to be written into law. Once, King Terenas of Lordaeron proposed to the Silvermoon Council that they train several human Rangers. He promised that if the Silvermoon Council accepted his proposal, Lordaeron would reduce the tariffs on Quel'Thalas goods by half. But the Silvermoon Council and His Majesty the King rejected it without a moment's consideration. Even Ranger-General Alleria opposed granting humans the rank of Ranger."

"Why would they do that?" Nathanos's entire body trembled when he heard the answer.

Kaishius did not notice the boy's reaction. Stroking his carefully trimmed goatee, he answered, "I once asked a friend serving in the Ranger corps. He told me it was because Ranger training was a long process. It did not take one or two years, nor even a few decades, for a Ranger to emerge. The process required centuries. Humans do not have the thousands of years of lifespan that Elves possess, child. Do you know that Ranger-General Alleria has a younger sister named Vareesa? She is now nearly four hundred years old. By human standards, she would already be an elder, yet she has not passed the Ranger examination. Elves are only considered adults at two hundred and can only begin training then. Vareesa has already spent two centuries in Ranger training. In a few more decades, she will become a Ranger like her two older sisters. That is nothing to an Elf, but for humans, being a Ranger is a status beyond reach. This is not racial discrimination. It is simply a fact, Nathanos." After saying this, Kaishius looked at the expressionless boy.

By then, Nathanos's heart had turned cold to the very depths.

"Thank you." The boy turned and left, dragging his stiff body away. Kaishius felt he had done something terribly wrong, but he had only told the truth.

Author: "One update today."