Political turmoil in Dalaran

"Allen, Allen, where have you been? I've been looking for you for ages." Khadgar came up to Allen, so breathless and exhausted that he sat straight down in Allen's chair. "Did you need something?" Allen looked at him in puzzlement. "Allen, did you know? The supreme council, the Kirin Tor, rejected Archmage Kel'Thuzad's proposal on foreign trade."

"So? Isn't that normal?" "No, it's not normal at all. Do you know what the vote was? Ninety-six to twenty-four. That means Chief Archmage Antonidas didn't support his own apprentice at all." Allen thought it over, instinctively sensing the stench of dirty politics. Then he motioned for Khadgar to continue. After catching his breath, Khadgar told Allen, "Actually, things weren't that bad at first. Kel'Thuzad submitted his proposal last month, but his mentor kept wavering. Only recently, when Kel'Thuzad was exposed for privately appropriating the Arcane Garden's supplies, did Antonidas finally lean toward the other faction."

Allen paused, then asked, "What does that have to do with us?" Khadgar rolled his eyes at him. "It really has nothing to do with me, but you're different. Don't forget that you belong to Kel'Thuzad's faction. If Kel'Thuzad loses, you'll be in serious trouble too." Allen was baffled. "How could I possibly belong to his faction? I'm just like you, all right?"

"You're an alchemist, aren't you? I've known that for ages. Whether you belong to Kel'Thuzad's faction or not, as long as you're still in the Alchemy Association, people will think you do. Because Kel'Thuzad is the head of the Alchemy Association." After saying this, Khadgar took a drink of water and left again, leaving Allen alone in the office.

Khadgar was right. For convenience, Allen had always accepted and turned in assignments at the Association, but he had never considered these issues. It was hardly surprising that people considered him part of Kel'Thuzad's faction because of this, even though he had done nothing. Rumors had already begun circulating in Dalaran that Chief Archmage Antonidas was preparing to abandon his gifted apprentice. Although many did not believe them, it was impossible for the rumors to have spread so far without someone manipulating things behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Kel'Thuzad and his teacher had grown increasingly strained, especially after this incident. If Antonidas's failure to help his apprentice last time had already caused resentment, this time it had probably left him bitterly disappointed.

Moreover, the revelations about Kel'Thuzad had come neither earlier nor later, but at precisely such a critical moment. Someone was probably manipulating that behind the scenes too. Allen guessed that someone in the Council of Six intended to drive a wedge between master and apprentice, and it had worked very well, striking both men right where they were vulnerable.

He carefully recalled the accounts and descriptions of Kel'Thuzad and his mentor. Kel'Thuzad was a mage of common birth, while Antonidas was a mage of noble birth. Their upbringings could hardly have been more different, which naturally resulted in entirely different personalities.

Kel'Thuzad was an adaptable mage who knew how to read a situation and had climbed up from the very bottom, so he understood very well that the strong preyed on the weak and that the world was cruel.

This bore some resemblance to Allen's personality, except that Allen was more cautious and better at hiding himself. But after Kel'Thuzad joined the Council of Six and his teacher successfully advanced to a tenth-tier mage, his conduct began to grow arrogant and radical.

Kel'Thuzad was fifty at most, making him Dalaran's youngest archmage, as well as a member of the Council of Six. Pride and confidence were a certainty, perhaps with some conceit thrown in.

At the same time, having climbed up from the bottom, he was bound to be dissatisfied with Dalaran's politics. After all, Dalaran had never stopped monopolizing knowledge. Had he not had a good mentor, he probably would not have reached the rank of archmage so quickly.

All of this was completely different from his mentor's circumstances. Books described Antonidas as having come from an illustrious family of mages. From birth, he had enjoyed uniquely favorable conditions for his development and had been instilled with an aristocratic education from childhood.

Thus, there were bound to be enormous differences between his ideas and views and Kel'Thuzad's. He considered all of this reasonable and fair because he had always grown up in an illustrious mage family, where no one dared treat him unfairly. Especially with the magical talent he had displayed since childhood, he had been treated as an heir.

Finally, their age difference was another important reason. Kel'Thuzad was not yet fifty, while Antonidas was already over eighty. The generation gap between them was enormous.

Moreover, Kel'Thuzad had just been elected to the Council of Six, so his conduct was inevitably somewhat radical, and he was all the more eager to see Dalaran change. Antonidas, however, was already a veteran of the Council of Six. He was accustomed to everything in Dalaran and naturally did not want any changes. Furthermore, he had grown old, and his temperament was becoming stubborn and inflexible.

With such enormous differences in their personalities, the conflicts between them would only multiply, and the rift would only widen. Now that someone was fanning the flames as well, the current situation was inevitable.

Earlier, a series of advantages had led Kel'Thuzad to see the possibility of ruling Dalaran as a dictator. But his teacher had no desire for a dictatorship. He only wanted to keep everything in balance, just as it had been before.

Clearly, however, Antonidas had overlooked just how enormous the impact of his advancement had been. This had caused their conflict to escalate. It was no longer a simple clash, but a struggle between conservatives and radicals. At present, the conservative forces seemed somewhat stronger.

Faced with such a situation, if Allen were Kel'Thuzad, he would certainly choose to stand down immediately and first repair his relationship with his mentor.

But Kel'Thuzad could not possibly do that. He was Dalaran's youngest archmage and a member of the Council of Six. He had his own pride.

Kel'Thuzad soon learned of the matter and flew into a rage the moment he returned to the Mage Tower. "Has my teacher gone mad? What gives him the right to reject my proposal? Is he still my teacher or not?" His fury sent enormous fluctuations surging through his mana.

An attendant mage beside him tried to console him. "My lord, I believe His Excellency the Speaker must have his reasons." But Kel'Thuzad was truly furious beyond measure, and the very mention of this enraged him.

"He's my teacher. Why won't he help me? Twice now! Could he have reasons both times? He's willing to fall out with me for those filthy bastards. It's not fair. No, I have to ask him why!" With that, he immediately activated his teleportation, before the mages on either side could say anything to stop him.

"You've come, my apprentice." As always, Antonidas looked expressionlessly at Kel'Thuzad as he teleported in, with only his wise blue eyes betraying displeasure. "Teacher, I've come for an explanation." Kel'Thuzad's tone was aggressive, and anger ran through every word. Normally, he would never have behaved this way, but today he was simply too furious.

"You're just as you were before, acting without considering the consequences. Don't you know that your behavior has already endangered all of Dalaran?" Though Antonidas was old, his voice still carried authority. "Teacher, Dalaran has already begun to rot. We must change all of this. Look at what those mages have become: filthy politicians, petty men who do nothing but play games with power. Every day, they lord it over others like nobles, ordering their apprentices around and even stealing their research results. A council made up of people like that actually rules Dalaran. Doesn't that need to change?" Kel'Thuzad roared his challenge.

"Kel'Thuzad!!!! Watch your words! How can you question the members of the Kirin Tor Council? Don't forget that you're one of them!" No longer sparing their bond as master and apprentice, the old mage called him directly by name.

"That's precisely why I want to change all of this. Because you'll never know how much a common-born mage like me had to sacrifice to stand here, Antonidas." Kel'Thuzad had already calmed down and looked coldly at his mentor. Just now, he had even stopped addressing him as his teacher.

"I have no intention of questioning your achievements, but there is no doubt that Dalaran made you what you are. Then why would you do such things? You've upset the balance. All of Dalaran will be thrown into turmoil because of it. Is that what you want?" Antonidas rebuked him mercilessly.

Hearing this, Kel'Thuzad finally understood completely. His teacher was not on the same path as him at all. Like those other mages, he had no desire to change anything.

He said no more, merely looking at his teacher with a complicated expression. Suddenly, he felt that his teacher truly seemed old, no longer full of passion. That face, like rotten wood, held nothing but stubbornness. After a while, he cast a teleportation spell and left without another word.

Afterward, word of Kel'Thuzad's meeting with his mentor did not spread, and Kel'Thuzad himself began keeping a low profile after returning to the Mage Tower.

A few days later, Dalaran issued a new decree concerning the share of magic herb supplies allocated to the Alchemy Association under Kel'Thuzad's control.

Many mages believed that too many magic materials were being supplied to the Alchemy Association, while too few finished potions were being produced. Thus, they all demanded a reduction in its material supplies.

Furthermore, after rejecting Kel'Thuzad's proposal, the Kirin Tor put forward a new plan. But the plan was clearly aimed at Kel'Thuzad. Still, the entire Kirin Tor Council passed it by a decisive vote, so Kel'Thuzad had no choice but to accept it.

This political turmoil in Dalaran actually had no practical effect on Allen, apart from some mages at the academy beginning to distance themselves from him.

In fact, this was largely because none of his core interests lay in Dalaran, and he had never joined any faction to obtain privileges there.