Mural

Meryl ran up the stairs two steps at a time, muttering the name of the Witherer. Stairs were probably nonexistent in other parts of the Forsaken, but they were present in the ruins of Alterac, especially in this main castle. Meryl reminded herself that she must advise Nathanos not to add stairs when he remodeled this place.

Nathanos saw a crown bearing an eagle emblem on a table in the main hall and walked straight towards it. It appeared to have been found by some Forsaken cleaning up a battlefield from an Ogre's corpse. Looking at the crown, the Witherer 'Alterac betrayal during World War II; so many years later, the highest symbol of royal power had become Ogre's collectible—how ironic.

A small thought began to emerge in his mind: Why don't I put it on myself? This kingdom is already mine.

Nathanos couldn't help but smile. It wasn't the right time, and he didn't need a crown. A true king doesn't need gold and crystal to adorn himself. If Arthas had understood this back then, if he had known how to conceal it and hadn't so quickly donned his father's crown, he wouldn't have been betrayed later.

"Nathanos!" Meryl's voice came from outside. Judging from the sound, the mage was rushing in, then stopped abruptly in front of him, saying in a panic, "You must understand!"

"What happened?"

Meryl finally regained her composure and continued, "I found... the pattern."

Nathanos tried to be polite, but couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Of course mages can find strange things." He nodded to the two guards standing at the door, gesturing for them to leave.

"No, wait, you don't understand." The mage said, pulling out a rolled-up document as he continued speaking rapidly, as if afraid of being interrupted before he could finish. "There's not much time left. You'd better see everything I've written down for yourself. You sent me to Quel'Thalas, so I went to the Sunwell while I was there. This map shows what I saw."

Nathanos remained puzzled, but the mage's words piqued his interest. He sat down on a nearby chest and picked up the document Meryl had waved at him. The mage sat down beside him. Just as Meryl had said, it was a painting of the Sunwell. Although Nathanos had never seen the Sunwell, the depiction of the shimmering light in the center of the painting allowed him to identify it. The Sunwell was as large as his palm, and the people around it were all very small, but one person was flying above the Sunwell. He glanced at Khadgar, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Meryl leaned closer. "That's not the point. Look at the back." He held out his hand. "Look." He traced an arc on the drawing with his fingertip, a subtle magic emanating from it that illuminated the entire sheet. "Do you see it?"

Nathanos's neck hair stood on end. Behind the tiny figure suspended in mid-air, a mural was clearly visible: a distorted form, glaring angrily. Meryl's depiction of the mural was so clear that it made him look... like a demon. Compared to the crowd surrounding him below, he appeared incredibly tall.

Nathanos tried to keep his voice calm. "What do you think this image means?"

"Kael'thas is back. He has murdered the Blood Elf soldiers guarding Isle of Quel'Danas. He has gone mad!" The mage's eyes burned with certainty—and fear. "He has taken over Quel'Danas and has had the Sunwell Plateau completely rebuilt."

Nathanos glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their unsettling conversation. "And then a demon mural appeared in the hall of the Blood Elf Sanctuary?" he said slowly, a chill running down his spine.

How could this be? What kind of demon could Kael'thas have his portrait engraved on the most exalted spot of the Blood Elf? No, the Blood Elf Prince is loyal to only one demon, as everyone can imagine.

Nathanos acknowledged the great usefulness of Meryl's discovery. Kael'thas had indeed gone mad; he made no attempt to conceal his servitude as Kil'jaeden's lackey. But how was he going to do it? He intended to bring the Deceiver to Azeroth, just as Kel'Thuzad had summoned Archimonde. This ritual undoubtedly required immense energy, and with the Sunwell destroyed, how could Kael'thas possibly meet that demand? The fog before them thickened. Nathanos's gaze then fell upon the small figure suspended in mid-air on the blueprints, and after a long pause, he asked, "What's the deal with this person?"

Meryl looked at him with an inquiring gaze, feeling a sense of relief at the prospect of someone being teachable, but his worries were in no way lessened by Nathanos's words. "That's the key," Meryl nodded, "It wasn't a human, but the essence of the Sunwell. When Kael'thas destroyed the Sunwell, someone gathered the scattered energy into a humanoid form..."

Nathanos raised his hand to interrupt Meryl, looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said to him, "Go and tell Belmont about this again. He knows what to do."

Meryl was puzzled by Nathanos's expression, but he was used to the Witherer's deception. Watching the mage leave, the smile quickly vanished from Nathanos's face.

At the door, Lilian Voss ran into Meryl. After they nodded to each other in greeting, the female thief focused her attention on the cold-faced the Witherer. She was certain that Meryl must have said something bad.

"You wanted to see me, Master."

Have you heard of the Argent Dawn?

"Of course, Master. Their leader is Maxwell Thales."

Do you have any dealings with their people?

Nathanos's sudden question made Lilian's heart skip a beat. "Not at all, Master."

"This is a very important matter, and I hope you will not hide anything from me."

"I will never hide anything, Master." Lilian never looked up, but Nathanos could hear the struggle in her heart. "However, I did see a few members of the Argent Dawn, but only from a distance. I did not have any contact with them."

Who are they? Where did we meet them?

"A Night Elf in the Plaguewood north of Darrowshire, and a Tauren whose whereabouts are unknown."

Nathanos nodded with slight satisfaction. "Good, at least you know where one of them is." He looked up at the doorway; the other two people he had summoned were already there. "Come in."

Lilian glanced sideways and saw two ordinary Forsaken walk up to her and bow to Nathanos.

"Tell me your names."

"Rupert, master."

"My name is Rennid Basalome, Lord of the Witherer."