The Sun Temple stood at the westernmost edge of Quel'Thalas!
It was the place with the greatest concentration of Holy Light in the northern Eastern Kingdoms, and the church of High Priest Vondelor!
Far to the north, a radiance brighter than the sun shot into the sky... That was the Isle of Quel'Danas, and the radiance came from the Sunwell!
High Priest Vondelor gazed at the radiance of the Sunwell, something he always liked to do in his spare time. As an elder, an elf who had lived for more than three thousand years, no one understood its importance to the high elves better than he did.
The Sunwell had made Quel'Thalas what it was, and had done the same for the high elves! It was beneath its radiance that the Quel'dorei had gained an inexhaustible source of mana and a future of endless splendor... Yet the Sunwell shone as brightly as ever, while his own life had entered its twilight.
Vondelor knew very well that he had only a few hundred years left to live. That was not long for a high elf... Still, it was enough. At least he could watch her grow into adulthood!
The crystal ball on the table trembled gently...
This was the defensive spell Vondelor's best friend had set up for him in the Sun Temple. There was probably no one in all of Quel'Thalas who could break it! Of course, it would not bar the Sun Temple's other master from entering!
"Teacher..." Liadrin hurried into the hall and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I'm late!"
"Did you bring those two little lynxes back with you?" Vondelor asked teasingly.
"No... I didn't!" Liadrin shook her head. "I let them go!"
"I told you that you could bring them back!"
"No, I couldn't!" Liadrin shook her head stubbornly.
At the young priestess's determined expression, Vondelor could not help chuckling... She had worn that same expression when he rescued her from the trolls decades ago. It had never changed in all those years.
Vondelor decided not to dwell on the matter. "Was your journey back all right?"
"Yes, it went smoothly... Lord Thalorian of the Farstriders escorted me back. We didn't run into any trouble!" Liadrin answered honestly.
"That boy from the Thalon Family? Lor-something?"
"Yes, Mr. Lor'themar!"
"Right, right, Lor'themar!" Vondelor nodded repeatedly. Perhaps it was his age, but he could never remember that elf's name.
To cover his embarrassment over his failing memory, Vondelor gave a deliberate cough. "I remember that Lor'themar. He's a fine young man, very responsible and quite hardworking!"
Once he started talking, Vondelor could not stop. "Really, Liadrin, you're not so young anymore. You're no longer a child! I think it's time you found someone to settle down with... Your teacher has spent his whole life alone, dedicating it to the Holy Light. Now, all I hope is that you can find a like-minded companion..."
"Enough!" The usually gentle priestess's eyes suddenly reddened. "Mr. Vondelor, please don't say any more!"
With tears in her eyes, she rushed out.
Vondelor was left standing there in bewilderment, with no idea what he had said wrong!
Liadrin ran to a corner of the courtyard and crouched down, her tears falling steadily into the potted plant before her!
She did not know why she was upset, or why she had become so angry with Mr. Vondelor. She simply wanted to cry...
Standing on an upper floor of the temple, Vondelor watched the figure curled into a ball below. His brow furrowed, and he was at a loss for what to do. This was the first time in all these years that Liadrin had been angry with him... After thinking for a long while, he went over to the table and tapped the crystal ball.
"Ah!" Liadrin cried, scrambling several steps backward from her huddled position.
The emerald-green potted plant before her suddenly turned into an adorable black cat. It trotted up to her and rubbed affectionately against her.
"Sweet little Liadrin, why are you so sad today?" a gentle voice asked from behind her.
"L-Lady Biluo Hua!" Liadrin hurried to her feet.
She was a mage, with no trace of the passing years on her face, nor any of the oppressive presence peculiar to high-ranking mages... And her mage's robes were white!
The black cat licked Liadrin's shoes, then leaped into the white-robed mage's arms.
"Has Vondelor been bullying you? Shall I teach him a lesson for you?" the mage Biluo Hua asked with a smile.
"No, no... It wasn't my teacher!" Liadrin hastily denied it.
"Or is our little Liadrin pining for some sweetheart?"
At that, Liadrin blushed scarlet and lowered her head. "H-how could you say that!"
"There, there!" The mage flicked a finger gently, sweeping the tears from Liadrin's face and instantly soothing her red, swollen eyes. "No more sadness now!"
"Lady Biluo Hua... I'm sorry for being rude!" Liadrin managed a strained smile. "I'll go prepare some tea for you!"
Biluo Hua entered the Sun Temple's hall. Vondelor, who had been hiding inside all this time, hurried out and asked quietly, "How is she?"
"She's fine, of course!" Biluo Hua rolled her eyes at her old friend. "I really don't know what you said to hurt her so badly!"
"Ah!" Vondelor sighed. "All I did was urge her to find someone to settle down with soon. Why did she get so angry?"
"You!" Biluo Hua gave her hopeless old friend an exasperated look, at a loss for words.
Fortunately, Liadrin's arrival eased Vondelor's embarrassment somewhat... She brought a cup of freshly brewed tea and handed it to the mage Biluo Hua.
The two old friends took the opportunity to sit down.
"Has anything new been happening in Silvermoon City lately?" Vondelor asked.
"What could possibly be new...? His Majesty still pays no attention to affairs, the great families bicker in the council every day over trifles, and poor Kael'thas is already preparing to take his people away from here to study in Silvermoon City!" Biluo Hua complained. "The only thing worth mentioning is that a youngster from the Sunfury Family developed a very useful second-circle spell!"
"Second circle? Would you really take an interest in such a low-level spell?" Vondelor sounded puzzled.
"When Kane first told me, I thought exactly as you do... But after studying it carefully, I discovered that this second-circle spell is extremely effective at countering the trolls' Regeneration. It fully deserves to be called 'Troll Slayer'!"
"It counters trolls? That's wonderful!" Vondelor said excitedly. "What's that youngster's name?"
"Karin, I think?"
"Karin!" The sound of a cup shattering suddenly came from beside the fireplace.