Chapter Summaries

Allen survived Highlord Pelaven’s interrogation and prepared to leave the lord’s residence after receiving his reward. He returned to Dalaran alone, planning to obtain Full Mage certification so he could choose his own assignments.

• Ryan told Allen that Highlord Pelaven had allied with Archmage Kel’Thuzad, and Allen suspected the power struggle might be tied to the recent attacks.
• Pelaven questioned Allen about the mutated Man Snake and the forest’s changing magic, then pressured him over the Magic Source and his advancement; Allen denied knowing anything, and Pelaven let him go.
• After Allen left, Pelaven consulted Seank, who said Kel’Thuzad would not use such a clumsy scheme; the Magic Source then crumbled to powder.
• When the assignment ended, Ryan gave Allen his reward: an Ice Shield spellbook, which Allen studied and tested before leaving.
• Allen set out for Dalaran the next morning with Ryan and his squad seeing him off, intending to obtain Full Mage certification and gain control over his assignments.

Allen returned to Dalaran, earned Full Mage Certification, and learned that Antonidas had advanced and secured control of the Council of Six. After George offered him a place with his family, Allen considered how to fund his magic and decided to develop more spells before submitting his rune-based Wind Blade to Dalaran.

• Allen asked George and the Association how mages qualified for Full Mage Certification, then registered for the test.
• Allen passed by casting his enhanced Wind Blade and received a mage badge, robe, and staff.
• Allen brewed potions for a week and delivered them to George, who told him Antonidas had advanced and a new Council of Six member had been announced.
• George noticed Allen's new mage robe, celebrated his certification, and invited him to consider joining his family.
• Allen weighed the cost of advancing as a mage and decided to study his rune further and create related spells before submitting it to Dalaran.

Allen found little useful knowledge in Dalaran’s Library and accepted a dangerous task to find Winter Mushrooms in Silverpine Forest in exchange for Illusion Incense that could increase his mental power. After fighting Winter Wolves and venturing into the forest’s unexplored depths, he left a suspicious swamp without discovering whether the mushrooms were nearby.

• Allen found that the Library’s third floor offered few worthwhile books and realized that gaining deeper magical knowledge would require a mentor or an exchange he could not yet make.
• As the New Year approached, Allen thought of his family in Lordaeron and prepared to leave Dalaran to search Silverpine Forest for Winter Mushrooms.
• Allen accepted the task because the client promised him one finished Illusion Incense for every 3 g of mushrooms he found.
• Allen killed several Winter Wolves after leaving the city, camped overnight, and searched the forest the next day without finding any Winter Mushrooms.
• Allen marked his route as he entered the unexplored depths of Silverpine Forest, passed a battle between the Ice Frostwolf Clan and Gnolls, and left a poisonous swamp where his mental power could not probe beneath the water.

Allen discovered that the Jungle Savages’ Winter Mushroom ritual strengthened his spiritual power, then gathered more than a dozen mushrooms in Silverpine Forest. After returning to Dalaran, he turned in mission 402 and agreed to meet Rex at Clins Tavern that afternoon.

• Allen followed enormous footprints to a valley, where he watched the Jungle Savages perform a ritual with a Winter Mushroom and absorbed the smoke to strengthen his spiritual power.
• Allen observed the white savage for a week, then followed him gathering Winter Mushrooms and learned where and how to find them.
• Allen searched another part of Silverpine Forest, found his first Winter Mushroom after killing an Iron Centipede, and gathered more than a dozen specimens over the following month.
• Allen left Silverpine Forest after running low on supplies and Healing Potions, then returned to Dalaran and rested.
• Allen reported the completion of mission 402 at the Association, agreed to meet Rex at Clins Tavern that afternoon, and stopped by George the Merchant’s place.

Allen met Rex and exchanged twelve portions of Winter Mushroom for three finished doses and two alchemy formulas. After testing the doses and learning the formulas, Allen improved his Mental Power and began producing Purification Potions, then spent the following year waiting for Winter Mushroom to grow again while growing disillusioned with mage gatherings.

• George told Allen his family had raised his standing because they believed he could win Allen over, then gave Allen his new business card and promised their friendship would remain unchanged.
• Allen negotiated with Rex at Chris's Tavern and agreed to trade twelve portions of Winter Mushroom for three finished doses and formulas for a Purification Potion and a Lesser Speed Enhancement Potion.
• Rex delivered three white incense sticks a week later, and Allen found that using one greatly accelerated his cultivation and Mental Power growth.
• Allen studied both formulas, produced an inferior Purification Potion after a month, and eventually raised his success rate to about fifty percent.
• Allen used nearly all the incense, kept his remaining Winter Mushroom, and postponed returning to Silverpine Forest until the next year because the weather had warmed.
• Allen attended mage gatherings for a year, then stopped going because he found the low-rank mages focused on power and Runes rather than understanding magic.

Allen searched for clues about the haunting rumors in Tirisfal Glades but decided he was too weak to investigate and focused on qualifying for a higher mage rank. After developing and naming a powerful new spell, Whirlwind, he sold better potions to George, who urged him to try for full Alchemist status.

• Allen found accounts suggesting evil spirits haunted Tirisfal Glades and that the High Elves had fled the region after encountering something terrifying, but postponed investigating until he became stronger.
• Allen visited the Association to buy second-tier spells, found them too expensive, and decided to develop spells himself while studying potions and practicing the Incantation.
• Allen created Whirlwind, a spell that formed a destructive vortex with hidden wind blades, and recorded it in the Soul Book after repeated tests.
• George arrived with food and drink to collect Allen's potions, saw his Medium Purification Potion and Greater Healing Potion, and encouraged him to attempt qualification as a full Alchemist.

Allen earned his Second-Rank Mage certification and became a teaching assistant for Fundamentals of Magic Theory at the Apprentice Academy. After settling into the role and studying the academy’s library, he taught a lesson on Antonidas’s definition of magic and invited the apprentices to ask questions.

• Allen learned from George that Antonidas had become chairman of the Council of Six and that Kel'Thuzad was pursuing power in Antonidas's name, though Antonidas had reprimanded him.
• Allen passed his Second-Rank Mage certification exam with his self-created Whirlwind spell and applied for a teaching assistant position at the Apprentice Academy.
• Allen won the position after answering the interviewers’ questions, then chose to assist with Fundamentals of Magic Theory despite its lower salary.
• The deputy dean tested Allen with mental power, approved his choice, and assigned him to work with Instructor Pisimai.
• Allen spent a month assisting Pisimai and studying the academy library, then substituted for him and taught the apprentices Antonidas’s theory that magic was energy.

Allen discussed the nature of magic with Khadgar, a curious first-rank mage who shared his doubts about the archmages’ theory. As Allen developed and sold several original wind spells to fund his research, he accepted an Association mission and returned to find Khadgar approaching his office.

• Khadgar asked Allen whether magic was energy, then later invited him to discuss their doubts about Antonidas’s theory.
• Allen warned Khadgar to control his curiosity and avoid prying into people’s secrets, but Khadgar continued sharing discoveries with him over the next three months.
• Allen created several wind spells, including the Airburst Spell, Blade Swarm Spell, Freezing Spell, and Scorching Wind, and decided to sell some to cover his expenses.
• Allen sold the Association his Blade Swarm Spell and Freezing Spell, receiving payment and a share of future sales.
• Allen accepted a mission to brew ten vials of Purification Potion and returned to the academy, where he saw Khadgar approaching his office.

Allen learned that the Kirin Tor had rejected Kel'Thuzad’s foreign-trade proposal and realized that his ties to the Alchemy Association could make him a target in the factional struggle. Kel'Thuzad’s clash with Antonidas deepened their rift, and the Council later imposed new restrictions on the Association while Allen’s academy colleagues began distancing themselves from him.

• Khadgar told Allen that the Kirin Tor had rejected Kel'Thuzad’s proposal by a wide margin after Antonidas withdrew his support, and warned that Allen could be seen as part of Kel'Thuzad’s faction because he worked through the Alchemy Association.
• Allen suspected that someone on the Council of Six was exploiting the dispute and considered how the differences in background, age, and politics between Kel'Thuzad and Antonidas had widened their conflict.
• Kel'Thuzad angrily confronted Antonidas, who accused him of endangering Dalaran, and Kel'Thuzad left after realizing his mentor opposed the changes he wanted.
• Kel'Thuzad kept a low profile after returning to his Mage Tower, while the Kirin Tor passed a new plan reducing the magic herb supplies allocated to his Alchemy Association.
• Some academy mages began distancing themselves from Allen, though the political turmoil had little practical effect on him because he had no core interests or privileges tied to Dalaran.

Allen studied Kael'thas's manuscript on arcane addiction and suspected that magical power could contaminate mages' minds or souls, though he kept his theory to himself. He passed the Alchemist examination, joined the Association to gain access to more recipes, and received his identification and robe.

• Allen discussed Kael'thas's research with Khadgar and concluded that prolonged exposure to magic might bind magical power to a mage's mind or soul.
• Allen borrowed alchemy books, learned basic brewing techniques, and went to the Association to take the Alchemist examination.
• Allen brewed three kinds of potions, and Arthur, Master Keshus, and Master Baolun passed him.
• Arthur offered Allen membership in the Association, and Allen accepted so he could obtain recipes unavailable on the open market.
• Three days later, Allen received his identification and a Certified Alchemy Master's Mage Robe, then browsed the Association's wares.

Allen left Dalaran for Tirisfal Glades, hoping to find materials for his research into souls and magic while visiting his family. After traveling and testing his strength on the road, he reached Kaldz War Fortress, where a young Warrior stopped him and asked for help.

• Allen prepared for a journey by selling potions, buying the Wave Spell and Wind Riding Spell, purchasing a warhorse, and taking three months of leave from the Academy.
• Khadgar told Allen he would soon become Medivh's apprentice and feared that the assignment would get him killed; Allen comforted him before leaving Dalaran.
• Allen rode through Misty Lake Shore, reviewed the Soul Book's spellcasting benefits, and killed the Gnolls who had ambushed him two years earlier.
• Allen reached Kaldz War Fortress, sold gathered monster materials to the quartermaster for eighteen gold coins, and rested at the inn.
• A young Warrior stopped Allen as he was about to leave and urgently asked for his help; Allen warned that he might not be able to provide it.

Allen investigated the poisoning of soldiers who had entered Death Valley and made a potion that temporarily revived Grete’s friend Jack. He left with Priest Abbat to investigate the poison’s source, still unsure whether Grete and Jack were brothers by blood.

• Grete brought Allen into the military camp despite Max’s objections and asked him to examine the poisoned soldiers.
• Allen found that the soldiers’ symptoms pointed to oxygen deprivation and learned that they had become ill after entering Death Valley.
• Allen prepared a potion using Blood Poison Vine and weathered crystal, explaining that it could delay death but would not cure the poison.
• Allen fashioned a syringe and injected Jack, who soon woke and thanked him with Grete.
• Allen told Grete and Jack to inject the potion if symptoms returned, then asked Priest Abbat whether they were brothers by blood.

Allen met Legion Commander Hannes and gained the legion’s support to treat the poisoned soldiers, then traveled with Hannes, Grete, and Abbat to investigate Death Valley. After hearing Grete’s account at their campsite, Allen asked whether the soldiers had charged into the fog while pursuing the enemy.

• Abbat introduced Allen to Hannes, who entrusted him with treating the poisoned soldiers despite the officers’ doubts about his explanation of their symptoms.
• Allen brewed more than twenty cauldrons of medicine, taught caregivers to administer it with syringes, and warned Hannes that they still needed to make a lasting antidote.
• Hannes volunteered to accompany Allen to Death Valley, and Grete and Abbat joined them.
• Allen and the others surveyed Death Valley from high ground, saw fog in the valley, and made camp there for the night.
• Allen questioned Grete about the soldiers’ pursuit into Death Valley and asked whether they had charged into the fog.

Allen discovered that spores in a valley had poisoned the missing Alterac soldiers and found giant pocket flowers whose pouch fluid could digest the spores. He began developing an antidote, but as the soldiers relapsed, Hannes arranged for priests to stabilize them while Allen helped Mage Rhys prepare the potion.

• Allen suspected the valley's haze was smoke containing a harmful substance, then led the group inside with wet cloths and Ice Shields.
• Allen and his companions found an old animal skeleton and the recent corpses of missing Alterac soldiers, whose bodies were covered in swellings that released white powder.
• Allen identified the powder as spores and used his mental power to locate giant pocket flowers that trapped and dissolved them.
• Allen brought a flower back to Kaltz and concluded that its acidic pouch fluid contained enzymes capable of breaking down spores, then began experimenting on an antidote.
• Hannes introduced Allen to Mage Rhys and High Priest Jels, and warned that the soldiers' condition was worsening as the Mitigating Potion lost effectiveness.
• Allen and Rhys disagreed over how to prepare the antidote, but the group decided that priests would stabilize the soldiers while Allen assisted Rhys in making it.

Allen developed an antidote that could survive in the soldiers’ bodies and began treating the poisoned men, prompting Hannes to honor him with a magic ring and family badge. At Hannes’s banquet, Allen explained his method to Mage Rhys and exchanged alchemical knowledge with him.

• Allen and Hannes discussed Mage Rhys’s magic-based approach, and Allen argued that magic was not always the best solution.
• After Rhys’s potion proved unable to clear the spores and caused side effects, Allen developed and brewed an antidote using an adapted digestive enzyme.
• Jack volunteered to test the antidote, and his breathing improved; Allen urged Hannes to treat the most severely poisoned soldiers first and burn the dead to prevent the spores from spreading.
• Hannes gave Allen a magic ring and a family badge in gratitude, and Allen gave him his perfect Healing Potion in return.
• At the banquet, Hannes publicly praised Allen as the man who had saved the soldiers, and Allen later told Rhys how he had made the antidote.
• Allen and Rhys discussed alchemy on the balcony, where Allen learned from Rhys’s greater knowledge.

Allen returned to Hill Village and learned that soldiers had taken all its men for forced labor under Lord Andre’s orders. He confronted Andre at the lord’s residence, where he fought the third-rank Warrior Nawei and prepared to strike him with Airburst Spell.

• Allen examined Hannes’s ring, brewed antidotes with Mage Rhys, and advised Hannes to seal off Death Valley rather than disturb its spores.
• After treating the soldiers and leaving Kaltz, Allen traveled home through Darend, Morien Castle, and Shante City before reaching Hill Village.
• Allen learned from Eva that soldiers had taken the village’s men for forced labor, including his father and Old Jack, and showed her Hannes’s Darend Family token to reassure her.
• Allen stormed Andre’s residence, overwhelmed the guards with Whirlwind, and confronted Andre over the forced labor.
• Nawei attacked Allen to repay a favor to Andre, but Allen slowed him with spells and set up an Airburst Spell strike.

Allen forced Andre to free Hill Village’s villagers, then rescued the injured Old Jack and brought him to a church for treatment. He left Andre alive but killed the guards, and Old Jack woke believing the villagers had died.

• Allen defeated Andre’s last fighter, used the Darend Family’s token and the threat of the Noble Tribunal to make Andre release Hill Village’s villagers, and took Andre’s gold notes and hidden magic necklace as payment.
• Allen secretly placed a potent virility pill beneath Andre’s bed before leaving the lord’s residence.
• At the city gate, Allen reunited with the freed villagers and learned from Jason that Old Jack was gravely injured, so he gave him a Healing Potion and took him to Priest Orlando for treatment.
• Jason explained that Andre had ordered guards to beat Old Jack after the villagers resisted capture, strengthening Allen’s resolve to kill Andre.
• Allen returned to the city lord’s residence and killed all of Andre’s guards, then left Andre alive and went back to the church.
• Old Jack woke beside Allen and Jason, still believing that the villagers had died and apologizing for letting Allen leave.

Allen reunited with his parents and Old Jack in Hill Village, then took charge of the village’s recovery by compensating families, helping the injured, and treating Hans’s broken leg. After learning Andre’s soldiers had known about the village before attacking, Allen suspected someone had recently informed them.

• Allen thanked Priest Orlando for saving Old Jack and brought the rescued villagers back to Hill Village, where he reunited with his family and listened to Old Jack celebrate his becoming a mage.
• Allen assumed responsibility for the village, listed the seven villagers who had died, and gave their families compensation from his own money.
• Allen asked Pakin about the villagers’ injuries and went with him to examine Hans, whose leg had been broken by Andre’s guards.
• Allen reset Hans’s displaced bone and gave Mary Healing Potion, then entrusted Pakin with money for the bereaved families and medicine for the injured.
• Allen asked Pakin how Andre’s soldiers had discovered the village, and Pakin recalled that they had arrived knowing about it beforehand.
• Allen suspected that someone, perhaps a noble, had only recently revealed the village’s location to Andre.

Allen joined the caravan bound for Brill, accepted Eland’s mercenary company as his followers, and reorganized the struggling group into guards. When a Shadow Wolf began preying on the caravan at night, Allen killed it at great personal risk and claimed its valuable materials.

• Allen agreed to travel to Brill with the caravan and learned the journey would take up to a week.
• Allen accepted Eland’s allegiance after hearing the mercenary company had suffered heavy losses and was nearly bankrupt.
• Allen paid the company’s shortfall, provided Healing Potions, disbanded it as a knight company, and established new guard squads, pay, and rules.
• People began disappearing from the caravan at night, and Allen identified a Shadow Wolf as the attacker.
• Allen lured the Shadow Wolf into revealing itself and killed it, suffering three claw wounds while Eland helped hold it off.
• Allen claimed the Shadow Wolf’s materials, which he estimated were worth at least eight hundred gold coins.

Allen reached Brill and sought a craftsman to make a Cloak of Shadows, but instead met Kuks, a High Elf researching the dangers of Arcane Addiction. After discussing Kuks’s findings and arranging for him to craft the item, Allen returned to his lodgings and planned to equip his mercenaries.

• Allen arrived in Brill with the caravan, declined the Salen Family’s invitation, and learned that the Mograine Family was recruiting mercenaries after magical beasts attacked nearby estates.
• Allen searched Brill for someone who could make a Cloak of Shadows and followed a shopkeeper’s advice to a High Elf enchanter’s warded home.
• Allen dismantled the ward and met Kuks, who questioned him about Arcane Addiction before explaining his research into mana’s effects on souls and personality.
• Allen discussed Kuks’s findings, agreed with the dangers he described, and secured Kuks’s agreement to craft the magic item.
• Allen returned to his lodgings, asked Ailand about the mercenaries’ equipment needs, and decided to buy them iron swords, chain mail, clothing, and supplies.