Chương 4: Chapter 3

[You've unlocked the Body attribute!] [You've unlocked the Athletics skill!] [Your Magic attribute has increased from 1 to 2! Magic Perk point gained.] [Your Arcane skill has increased from 1 to 2! Arcane Perk point gained.] Selessa grunted.

"Happy birthday to me. I wonder if it's a coincidence both happened at the same time…" Increasing her Magic attribute had taken two years of dedication and hard work.

"Wonder if that's fast or slow?" She pondered. She could tell the difference right away, even before getting up from bed. The more obvious one was the improvement in Magic. She suddenly just knew many little tricks and shortcuts to get more out of her spells. She could also tell that the spells she'd grown used to casting would now be easier and faster to cast. The improvements in the Arcane skill also reflected that.

There was also the expected flood of information, which was almost as large as when the skill had first unlocked. Interestingly, she suddenly knew several spells she had not known before. Some she wasn't even sure Nallorath knew. Nothing ground-breaking, but still an interesting phenomenon and promising for the future. The difference in her body became obvious only after she got up from the bed and flexed her limbs to work out the kinks. The System considered her ready to be on the starting line.

To register on the spectrum of Body. That didn't sound like much, but one had to understand that it was the starting line designed for adults, not eight-year-olds. She now had the strength and speed of an adult. A very weak and feeble adult, as weak as an adult could be without disability and barely even registering as one, but an adult nonetheless. Before she even hit puberty. It also showed in her appearance. Quel'dorei were all relatively lithe as a rule.

There were exceptions, as there always would be, but overweight High Elves were a relative rarity. She ate healthy and exercised almost religiously, but she was still a growing child. There was some baby fat on her body. Or at least there had been when she'd gone to bed last night. Now, she was lean and toned. More than an eight-year-old really should be. But that was the result of the attribute unlocking so early. The Body attribute was almost entirely performance based.

The only information she received when it unlocked was how the attribute worked. As the word implied, the attribute affected the functions of her body. The most obvious effects were things like strength and speed. Less obvious was that it also improved her resistance to disease, improved her stamina and physical fortitude, reduced the effects of and slowed down aging, and improved her senses. The last one was more complicated as it apparently had something to do with another attribute that had not unlocked yet.

Still, it was a very comprehensive and useful attribute. The skill Athletics was mostly self-explanatory, covering things like fitness, and the ability to deal with physical challenges like climbing, jumping, swimming, and running. Interestingly, it also dealt with unarmed combat. That's where the bulk of the information came in. Since this was just the skill unlocking, she wasn't flooded with knowledge of martial arts or anything, but she got some basic hints. How to hit and punch without hurting herself.

How to fall without breaking her neck. That sort of thing. Things that she already knew, but now they were ingrained in her body. She also got a rather stern warning from the System that this attribute was not going to be growing for a while either. She simply didn't fulfill the physical requirements, which was to be expected. It was one thing to be at the minimum performance of an adult while in a child's body. Going above the minimum was a whole other thing.

As she walked to get some breakfast, the servants having laid it out for her, she decided to take a look at the last thing she'd just been handed. Perk points. As she queried the System, she was informed that she would gain a Perk point every two levels in every attribute and skill. Every skill had their own Perks available, and the points gained from that skill would have to be spent on the Perks associated with the skill.

Those gained from the attributes would be available to be used for any of the skills associated with the attribute. There were other ways of earning Perk points, but those would only become available when the System unlocked fully. She chewed on an apple while wishing to see the Perks available for the Arcane skill, which she had one point for anyway, and the system opened a blue transparent window in front of her. That caught her by surprise.

Though judging by the fact that the servant standing at the ready nearby hadn't reacted, only she could see the window. The window held three different patterns, similar to a tree or a constellation, one for each of the three main elements associated with Arcane magic. The windows were much larger than what she could see filled, and she could see lines going up from some of the Perks before disappearing. Apparently she could see only part of the available Perks and others would be revealed later.

A quick study confirmed that the Perks were gated by her level in the Arcane skill, and she could see up to skill level 6, after which everything was shrouded. It seemed to her that she could save the point to invest it later when her skill improved, but she decided against that for now. She didn't have enough information to judge the validity of such tactics. Besides, it seemed several of the higher-level Perks required lower-level Perks to be unlocked as a prerequisite.

The division into three elements was a little problematic. Especially since it seemed all three elements also had a line of Perks to specialize into that element. For example, fire had 'Burning Heart' which improved her affinity with the element, in effect making it so her fire spells would function as if her Magic attribute and Arcane skill were a level higher. The other two elements had a similar Perk for their own element. These Perks all seemed to be part of a line of Perks with compounding effects as well.

The options were simply too numerous, as there were things that increased her casting speed, the range and area of effect of her spells, and many others. However, her eyes locked on one Perk in particular, which was actually in the arcane section.

'Super-Massive Spells' gave all her spells mass when used to attack, if she wanted, and those that already had mass would have that mass increased significantly, at no additional complexity or mana required. She didn't hesitate, as she'd long been bothered by the lack of mass in her fire spells in particular. She knew she could learn how to add mass later on, but even then this Perk promised to improve that aspect without making the spells more complicated to cast.

As soon as she took the Perk, her head was filled with the necessary information to make the needed adjustments to her spells.

"Handy." She whispered. For her other Perk point, she distracted herself by taking a look at the Spellbreaker Perks. The Perks for this skill were less scattered. They all directly seemed to affect the basic skills of a Spellbreaker, but they simply aided in different ways. Some focused on stripping enemies of beneficial magic, some on countering magic directly. There were even some Perks for the martial aspects. However, her eyes were once again drawn to a particular Perk.

'Magic Sight' would allow her to see all magic, and more easily identify spells being cast. She'd be able to spot any magical items and any magical traps, diagnose magical afflictions, and any residual magic in an area, just to name some of the most obvious uses. As her skill improved, she'd also be able to more effectively analyze what she was seeing. She picked the Perk without hesitation and never looked back. The usefulness of the Perk was just too obvious, especially for a Spellbreaker.

There was a moment of pain behind her eyes, but it passed as quickly as it came, and she could suddenly notice new things in her surroundings. The broom autonomously sweeping the floor was covered in purple glow. Many of the objects in the room had a similar glow, and the servant standing nearby was clothed in attire that had a similar aura around it. As she focused on the aura around the broom specifically, she got a distinct impression of the spells cast on the object.

She didn't get any details, but she got a very rough idea about what they wanted to accomplish. Clearly the ability required some training. Good thing she had time. Her morning runs had grown longer, though her speed increased as her legs grew longer. With her new Body attribute and Athletics skill, the same run she'd done yesterday felt a lot easier, which meant she had to pick up pace even more just to get proper exercise.

Her wariness of her surroundings had not decreased in the slightest, and likely never would, but at least she wasn't jumping at every sound anymore. Still, it allowed her to detect Nallorath's approach before he was in sight.

"Whoa, you're much faster than when I first saw you." Nallorath commented, obviously caught by surprise.

"I am growing up and everything that comes with it." She laughed a bit. She'd grown quite fond of her cousin over the last couple years. Nallorath wasn't solely her teacher anymore, having gone back to his own training once again, but he visited often enough that nothing had really changed.

"Aren't you supposed to be learning under some stuffy magister about how to explode sheep or something?"

"Come now. I showed you the polymorph spell one time, and you haven't stopped joking about it since." Nallorath made a wry grin.

"It's a stupid spell." She stuck to her principles.

"Quite effective though." He countered, finally reaching her side and pulling her into a one-armed sideways hug.

"I'd rather fireball them." She grumbled, pretending not to like the brief contact. She'd never been much of a tactile person, but she found she enjoyed contact more in this life. Different body, different reactions to stimulus it seemed.

"Oh, I've noticed. You're a little pyromancer, aren't you? Time to train again." He cast the usual target spell. The floating lights now moved much more intelligently, purposefully trying to avoid her spells.

"Funny you should mention that. I've made some improvements." She tweaked the new fireball spell to add explosive force in addition to the mass that would now be present. Her casting speed was still much better than yesterday, even with the change, and soon she was flinging explosions of fire at the poor targets. She followed up with one of her other favorites, arcane missiles, as dozens and dozens of arcane projectiles shot towards the targets, homing in on whatever she wanted them to hit.

As she herded the targets together, she finished off with a cone of frigid cold energy that froze them all. Nallorath gave a whistle.

"You weren't kidding. You could easily match most of the official apprentices of the magisters now. I suppose your father will want to pick up your training from this point once he has enough time. I was already suggesting that you were ready last week, but this only confirms it."

"Hrmm, I would not be pleased if that means you'll spend less time here." She admitted.

"I have few enough people to talk with as it is."

"Don't worry. I've rather enjoyed our discussions as well. On the positive side, once you officially do become an apprentice, you will gain better access to the library. You don't have to wait for me to hand you books one by one." Nallorath had long since realized that she was far faster when it came to reading books than anyone else he knew.

"Now let's get to train some more. I think my father was supposed to come over today as well, and I think he was planning on bringing some advisor of his as well. The advisor turned out to be a man wearing the leather armor of and cloak of a Ranger. He, much like most Quel'dorei, was a blond man with long fine hair and refined features, though he had more ruggedness to his looks than most. Likely as a result of his profession.

"Ah, good. You're both here." Anasterian nodded, satisfied.

"We're going to have to talk some strategy and there's no one I trust more on that subject than you three."

"The fact that one of us is a child is a rather bleak indictment of the rest of our people, no matter her contributions." The ranger joked with a slight smile, while tossing aside his heavy and weathered cloak. The magic on the garment shimmered, and it was clear it was one of the most magical items she'd seen so far. Anasterian burst into roaring laughter.

"No offense Talanas, but I'd rather take her advice on such matters than anyone else at court, you included. You might be the Ranger-General, but only because she's too young for the position."

"That, and I haven't even once held a bow in my hands." Selessa half-joked.

"Wouldn't make for much of a ranger."

"Well, now I am even more curious. Talanas Windrunner, the newly minted Ranger-General of Quel'thalas, as my king already mentioned." He looked Selessa straight in the eyes, with open curiosity in his own.

"And I think I can see at least some of the reason why your uncle has such faith in you. At the very least, your earlier advice has improved our current situation with the trolls. We've gone from prey to become the hunter."

"I assume that's what this little council is all about?" Nallorath asked.

"Indeed. The trolls are clearly gathering their strength. Their raids had grown bolder before our new tactics put a swift halt to them. We also managed to capture samples of the troll's enchantments. I'm ashamed to admit it but they were ahead of us in that regard. Now we've figured out our own version of their magic, something that we call Arcanums. That's going to make things easier as well. While all of this is good news, we need a plan. A strategy. Something to work towards."

Anasterian summarized the situation.

"Something is riling up the trolls, and we're not the only ones affected. As Lady Selessa suggested, we prodded them towards the humans, and that has caused the humans to take a more hostile stance against the trolls, but I'm not sure that's going to be a long-term solution by itself." Talanas explained. He looked towards Selessa.

"Since you had good ideas before, it stands to reason to get your input this time as well. At worst, we've only lost some time, and at best you might come up with something useful. Same for you Prince Nallorath." Selessa scratched her long, pointed ear a bit in thought.

"I'll need more information. I've read some things about our society and the trolls, but that's not the same as experiencing things in the field. Tell me about the trolls. Their strengths and weaknesses. I also need maps." Having expected something like that, Anasterian pulled out a large scroll and spread it out on the library table.

The scroll was a map of the northern part of the continent, stretching from Quel'thalas in the north, to the land the humans called Gilneas in the west, to a large gorge named the Thandol Valley in the south. The Valley separated the north from what Selessa assumed to be either another continent, or the southern half of the same continent.

"The trolls we're interested in are called the Amani, who rule the southern half of Eversong Woods known also known as Outer Quel'thalas, and the northern part of the continent, extending all the way from Tirisfal Glades in the west to the area the humans refer to as the Eastweald south from our current position." Anasterian jabbed a finger at a collection of pictures of stone pyramids to the south of Everson Woods.

"Worryingly for us, their capitol, Zul'Aman, is rather close to us."

"As for the trolls themselves, they're savage, bloodthirsty, and barbaric. They don't have our lifespan, but what they do have is powerful regeneration. Unless a troll is dead, it can regenerate from almost any injuries given sufficient time. They are about as strong as us, perhaps marginally stronger, but their savagery gives them an advantage in melee. Ours warriors are more agile and disciplined, but sometimes sheer savagery can trump skill.

In a fight between an average Quel'dorei warrior and a troll warrior, I'd give us a 6 in 10 chance to win. The problem is, fights aren't waged one on one, and there's a lot more trolls. They've ruled this part of the continent for over ten thousand years. Our arcane mastery is beyond theirs, but their witch doctors and casters should not be underestimated. They especially excel in cursing their opponents with their dark spells, even if they can't do the same type of direct damage with their magic."

Talanas gave his evaluation. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Our lands in the north are protected by the Ban'dinoriel, the arcane barrier that protects the gate we've built between southern and northern Eversong, but south of the gate things get tricky. We also have to consider the existence of the Loa, demigod spirits that the trolls worship, and whose power the trolls sometimes wield. They don't generally take to the field of battle, but it has happened in the past. The one good thing we have going for us is that the trolls are not a united people.

Even if their demesne is called an empire, in reality they're a collection of tribes with frequent struggles for power and dominion. We suspect their recent aggression might have something to do with their internal power struggles. That means we have time until they fully mobilize but not endlessly." Anasterian added. Selessa regarded the map for a while, considering the possibilities.

"I mentioned this before years ago, but if you want your dream of an elven empire to come into reality, the trolls need to be dealt at least a crippling, if not mortal blow Uncle Anasterian. They're gearing for war. Do you have the stomach to make it the last one?" She stared at her uncle.

"Yes." Anasterian said firmly.

"Whatever it takes."

"Good. Because it's going to take a lot." Selessa confirmed.

"First things first. The key to this war lies here." She pointed at the pass through the mountains separating the Quel'thalas peninsula from the rest of the continent.

"It is imperative that we seize and fortify the Thalassian Pass in a quick strike. I know from the histories that Dath'Remar and the magisters with him created Silvermoon with their magic. Well, it's time to see if the current magisters can do the same. That pass is something we must fortify faster than the trolls can react."

"I'm not sure the magisters will be happy." Anasterian grimaced.

"Well tough. I said it's going to take sacrifices, and I meant it. The magisters are in an elevated position because of their magic. Time for them to earn their keep. That's the easy part. This is where things get trickier. The next thing is something we absolutely need to accomplish. I must emphasize that this is a necessity, otherwise it's going to be a constant dagger in our back for thousands of years to come and will give the trolls the chance to recover. We must wipe Zul'Aman off the map.

I don't mean just hurt them, I mean we need them gone. For good. The best way to do it would be to draw the troll forces out of the city and to the south somehow, but we can't have the troll capital exist right at our doorstep no matter what it takes." Talanas nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with Lady Selessa. We cannot tolerate the existence of that city, even if taking it is going to be extremely difficult. If we manage to take Thalassian Pass, then we can cut off reinforcements from the rest of the Amani empire. I might have some ideas on how to facilitate this. The trolls have certain celebrations, and the Amani tribe also needs to negotiate with the other troll tribes. That should be enough to draw at least a big chunk of their elites away.

Even better if they happen to end up fighting another tribe or the humans while gone."

"It's going to have to be a lightning strike. Overwhelming force combined with all the magic we can muster." Selessa pointed out.

"Strike them fast and hard. We can't afford to be bogged down in a protracted siege. The longer the siege takes, the longer we'll have to keep up two fronts at the pass and at the city."

"We'll need preparations. Resources. It's not going to happen very quickly." Nallorath pointed out.

"None of this is happening quickly. We're only barely seeing the first skirmishes in a war that might be decades off." Anasterian agreed.

"We need to take the long view on this. The trolls may not have our lifespan but they've been preparing for this for a long time as well. They won't attack until ready, or until provoked."

"I may have some ideas to make things a bit easier." Selessa pointed out.

"The trolls rely on their regeneration. Their savagery would turn from an asset to a liability if that regeneration stopped working. I'm not well-versed in enchanting, but I believe there are enchantments that could stop regeneration, right?"

"There are." Nallorath said carefully.

"They're not very common, but we've used them against the trolls in the past. Small numbers, but we have."

"Good. Enchant everything with that. And I mean everything. Arrows, blades, spears, everything." Selessa stated confidently.

"That would be hideously expensive." Anasterian pointed out. Selessa lifted an eyebrow.

"We're fighting for the existence of our race. Surely our enchanters can be motivated to do their part for the cause. On that note, I'd like to introduce you to a concept called war economy…"

Anasterian slumped on the chair, clearly exhausted.

"Well, it took convincing, but the Convocation went for it. As you suggested, they were rather receptive to the argument that sacrificing a couple decades to focused war preparations now would be worth it if it manages to buy us potentially centuries of prosperity later. Most of our artisans will dedicate their efforts to preparing everything needed for the war, while most of our able people will be trained in the use of weapons or battle magic."

"Well done father. I know it was difficult, but they'll remember you in the future for this legacy." Nallorath reassured Anasterian, laying a hand on his father's shoulder. A gesture rarely seen between the two.

"Truth be told, most of our people have grown lazy and complacent. Maybe this is just what we need to become more than we are." Talanas suggested carefully, not really sure if he believed what he was saying. He had hope though. He'd always dreamed of a greater Thalassian Empire.

"There's going to be death and losses, but if we do win this, we'll be all the greater for it. That said, we do need time. Our people can't turn into warriors overnight."

"Well, you said the troll tribes are fractured. What we need to avoid the most is a single unifying figure. A warlord that can bring the tribes fully together. I suspect the best way to buy time is to try and get the tribes to fight each other, and to take out anyone strong enough to unify them. In other words, subterfuge and assassination. Even the strongest berserker warrior can't do much to defend themselves when they're asleep. Just don't fail and get caught, because that's the fastest way to unify them."

Selessa suggested. Anasterian leaned forward.

"You know, I never asked. And I still don't think I should. But we all know you're pulling from experience and knowledge you didn't get from books." His words were rather suggestive. Selessa considered for a moment, but she had never really intended to hide her previous life. Maybe it would make things simpler if these three at least knew the basics.

"How about I tell you all a story." Talanas was about to make a confused question, clearly not understanding the implications, but Anasterian waved him down. He understood this story was Selessa's way of revealing things.

"This story is about a certain race of people. This race was outwardly much like ours. There were slight differences in appearance, but they were generally very similar. This race of people was created by a power older than anyone can understand for a single purpose. War. They did not have magic, but they had a somewhat similar power of the mind, and they were created to be especially gifted at using this power.

After a long and arduous war, lasting longer than anyone here can comprehend, they gained victory of sorts. The power that created them had been wiped out, but the enemy they were made to fight against was defeated as well. Now comes a problem. What happens to a people that is created for war and knows only war that suddenly finds itself out of enemies to fight?" Selessa's voice was both beautiful and haunting as she recounted the story.

"The old problem of a war veteran that knows nothing but fighting." Talanas nodded, having read of such people.

"Except race-wide."

"Exactly. These people found themselves undisputed rulers of this new reality, and their new demesne spanned worlds too many to count. They also had another problem. As part of their breeding for war, their senses were sharper than they should be. Their emotions heightened. Everything they felt, both physical and mental was amplified. This is important for later. These people got bored. They sought new ways to entertain themselves. To stave off boredom, and to satisfy their powerful senses.

Lack of drive bred stagnation, stagnation bred boredom, and boredom bred debauchery. It started innocently enough, but as time passed, things that would've been abhorrent before became commonplace. Debauchery spread on unimaginable scale through their domain, and it kept growing worse and more twisted." The others could easily imagine how something like she was describing could happen. They had seen traces of something similar in their own people.

Idle hands always found trouble and the Quel'dorei had also stagnated as a people.

"Not everyone fell to this…predation. Some saw the degenerate species they were becoming and decided to leave. To go to the edges of their empire to find themselves anew. However, for the most, it was too late. This hedonism and debauchery grew and expanded, until one day a new dark god was born. And the birth cries of this dark god devoured 95% of all members of the people, their souls eaten by this dark being, while demons devoured their bodies." She gave a shudder at the thought, and the others grew quiet.

"Sai'lantresh, She Who Thirsts, the Dark Prince, Lord of Pleasure, the Master of Unspeakable Excess. The bane of the people had many names. The only ones to survive were those that had left to find a better way. Notably, at the same time, other threats had arisen. New races that the people had ignored or even enslaved in their hedonism. Old enemies arisen from slumber. Old allies now turned enemies.

Be that as it may, now that the power of the people had suddenly disappeared, these new threats suddenly found new space to expand and grow vague threats into real threats, and the few survivors were in no position to stop them. As enough time passed, these survivors were forced back into eternal war, though this time just to cling to what amounted to mere survival." She rather glibly skipped over some things like the Drukhari or the Exodites.

"Survival wasn't that easy though, as the fundamental problem with their senses and emotions had not been fixed, and the dark shadow of Sai'lantresh loomed over them, always ready to snatch the souls of anyone who succumbed to far. The people had to find ways to focus their senses and emotions. They created what would later be called the Paths. Every member of the people would dedicate their existence to the pursuit of single-minded mastery of a Path of their choosing.

The Path could be that of a warrior, an artist, a seer, a craftsman, a commander, a servant, a farmer, a healer, anything you'd imagine. Whatever the Path, they'd spend decades, if not centuries to master that path. And once they did, they would change into a different Path. Going through a cycle until the day of their death. Some couldn't change. Those people were considered to be lost on their Path.

Sometimes they became the greatest of the people, but more often than not, they found quick death as their obsession drove them too far, and eventually into the waiting arms of Sai'lantresh. No matter what Path though, they all served the survival of the people in their eternal war. They were in a constant state of not just war economy, as I explained the concept before, but that of total war. Everything was dedicated to survival." She painted a rather dim picture with her words.

"That…explains a few things." Nallorath was the first to speak.

"I notice you didn't mention anything personal though. And for you, that story is obviously over." She smiled sadly.

"I served my people, and in the end, I was glad to give my life to save my people. To free them from the clutches of Sai'lantresh." That got a few raised eyebrows.

"You're saying you struck down a god." Talanas was rather direct in his observation.

"That's not exactly correct. It's more accurate to say I was the conduit for a greater power to do it through me." She didn't want to take the credit for something she hadn't done.

"I was not the first to try, simply the first to succeed. Or so I hope. I was not around to see the aftermath. I just hope that my people got some relief from my sacrifice." Nallorath smacked his lips in exasperation.

"This explains your dedication to training. Although it also seems a little dissimilar, as you train in many things. Doesn't exactly shout dedication to a single Path."

"Ah, but I am no longer what I was. I no longer need the same focus on a single goal. Even if old habits die hard." She shrugged in response.

"How long?" Anasterian asked quietly.

"For how long, did you know nothing but war and struggle?" His voice was thick with suppressed emotion. He'd really grown fond of his niece.

"All my life. Or, I should say all my previous life. And you know it's impolite to ask a lady her age. Let's just say my life would not be considered short by…well, any standards." She avoided giving a direct answer, unwilling to go into such detail.

"No wonder you seem to be jumping at shadows." Anasterian muttered sadly.

"On the bright side, there's probably no one here who knows war better than you." Talanas pointed out.

"No surprise you have so many ideas." She smiled a bit.

"Just keep in mind that the wars I'm used to fighting are quite different from the one we're about to. So, you'll need to reign me in if my suggestions go too far. I'm used to doing everything for my people. Anything and everything, no matter how heinous, how atrocious, as all that mattered was survival." Her words sent a slight chill down their backs.

"You mentioned a Path of Command. Did you partake in that path?" Talanas asked, seemingly driving for some point. Likely the same point he'd aimed at with his previous comment.

"Autarch, yes. It's something of a prerequisite for walking the Path of a Seer, which is where I finally ended up." She admitted.

"From what I'm understanding, we have an experienced and trained general in you then. Something we don't really have in anyone else. The best I've led are raids against the trolls. The only issue being that you're so young." Talanas finally got to what he was aiming at. Anasterian and Nallorath looked up at him sharply, before their expressions turned contemplative.

"That's not such a bad idea actually." Nallorath finally pointed out.

"We could easily play it as me or you commanding troops, and her just being an adviser." Anasterian added.

"Would skip over the authority issue."

"If you have any real intention of going through with this plan, I'm going to need a lot more dedicated lessons on our people, their capabilities, and the resources we have at our disposal. And like I said, I'm used to fighting a very different kind of war." She insisted firmly.

"You've been busy the last weeks, haven't you?" Thelion said with a displeased tone.

"I hope you haven't been slacking in your training."

"I've done my very best in physical training." Selessa reassured him.

"The Ranger-General and my uncle have seen fit to include me in their strategy discussions as a teaching tool." She offered the pre-prepared excuse.

"Hmm. I suppose that is understandable. Not many people get such opportunities, and hopefully we won't be in such situations very often." He allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

"Your uncle really threw the Convocation into tizzy with his plans. Very bold and decisive, I must say. Good for him." As one of the dedicated guards of the king, he was naturally privy to many of the discussions. She looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"You're of House Salonar, aren't you? One of the Houses in the Convocation. I would imagine that's going to make things a little complicated for you as well." The King and the Convocation were often at odds.

"My loyalty is to my king, but it does lend itself for certain kinds of looks at the family dinner table, yes." Thelion laughed.

"Now, I have something interesting prepared for you today. Another opportunity that doesn't come very often. To utilize it though, we must leave the Sunstrider isle and travel to the Sunwell Plateau, or Quel'Danas as the island is also known as."

"Hmm, I've never actually been there." Selessa admitted.

"This should be interesting." They quickly made their way to the docks, where a small cutter was waiting for them. It was the same one that had likely brought Thelion here in the first place. There was a large and graceful white bridge leading from the Sunstrider isle straight into the heart of Silvermoon city near the docks. The city was a sight to behold even for her. Countless tall spires of white stone topped with gold and decorated with red, dotted by a lot of nature and greenery.

A shining city would've been a very apt description. The presence of magic was also very obvious with floating buildings and architecture that would've been impossible without reinforcing magic. She could also see the docks filled with trade ships and the stylistically very graceful elven destroyers. The cutter brought them north from Silvermoon, across a relatively narrow body of water, and to an island dominated by a fort of similar architecture to Silvermoon itself.

Only here, the number of platforms floating seemingly on their own power seemed to multiply. The almost artistic white walls were clearly not designed for battle, even though they could likely serve in one if necessary. The air was thick with magic and grew increasingly so as they approached the island. Selessa noticed Thelion was keeping an even sharper eye on her than usual.

"What?" She asked finally.

"I'm just checking. Some of our kind tend to grow drunk on power when approaching the Sunwell. I'm keeping an eye on any signs." Thelion didn't hide what he was doing. He was always quite direct, something she appreciated quite a bit.

"In that case, you're wasting your effort. I'm not drawing on the power of the Sunwell. It helps in meditation, but other than that, I only use my own power." She waved his concern away. Besides, she'd drawn on the Warp before, a much larger and much more dangerous source of power. The Sunwell in comparison was barely a puddle. He frowned a bit.

"All the magisters use the power of the Sunwell in their spells." He insisted.

"I'm not a magister, am I? I'm only just learning. And the whole point of learning is to understand and know how to perform spells using your own power. My teacher, the crown prince, is rather insistent on me not casting spells outside his supervision, so…" She shrugged.

"So, you're telling me you've never used the power of the Sunwell?" Thelion obviously had trouble believing that.

"I didn't say that. The power of the Sunwell suffuses through all of us in our daily lives, and I draw on the power during meditation for the best results. But I don't cast spells with the power, no. I don't really need to. I have sufficient mana on my own. The presence of so much magic tends to empower my spells, but that's something that happens to everyone and I'm not really tapping into the power." She explained. He nodded, finally accepting her explanation.

"That works, I suppose. Look, we're coming ashore." The cutter pulled up to the docks. Long piers made of the ever-present white stone jutted out from the shore, with vessels of various sizes docked alongside. She could see a nesting place for dragonhawks near the shore as well, likely to be used for urgent messages.

The path towards the fort in the middle was lined with buildings of various sizes, though Selessa noted that the Quel'dorei really liked their round buildings as that style was present in almost all their structures. The presence of Spellbreakers was heavy on the island for obvious reasons.

"We're not going far." Thelion explained, leading her into one of the larger buildings with multiple beds laid out with many Quel'dorei occupying the beds. It was not hard to note that this was a hospital of sorts. There were many magical potions and tinctures on shelves lining the walls. Some of the patients were wounded, some were rolling around in agony, while others just seemed old. She hadn't even realized the Quel'dorei got old.

"Can you guess why you're here?" He asked.

"You've brought me here to see if I can determine which patients are suffering from magical maladies, likely curses from the trolls, and remove them if possible." She guessed.

"Quite right. All severe enough patients are brought here because the power of the Sunwell can strengthen our people and stave off death and illness even where our medicines and potions fail. Get to it. I'll be monitoring you the entire time." He instructed her. She walked to the middle of the room and allowed her new Magic Sight to sweep over everyone.

It wasn't quite as simple as just spotting magic, as many of the patients had been fed magical potions to help heal them and their people had been bathed in the power of the Sunwell since birth. She had to analyze what she was seeing, and 'taste' the magic affecting them, for a lack of a better word. She also followed Thelion's teachings about allowing her other senses to do the same, feeling at the magic in the air.

"That one, that one, that one, and that one." She pointed at four patients.

"The first three are cursed, while the fourth one is suffering from some sort of magical backlash. Likely the result of an experiment gone wrong."

"Well spotted. I didn't think you'd get the last one. Now for the hard part." He gently pushed her towards the first of the four patients. Spotting malicious magic was the easy part. Removing it was whole another thing, but that was what the discipline of spell breaking was all about. She felt around the magic afflicting the patient, looking for how it was attached to the patient, looking for weak spots. And once she found them, she grasped and twisted, tearing away the dark magic afflicting the man.

At this point, she could've thrown the magic on a new target, but seeing as she was in a hospital, she quashed it instead. She could've quashed it before pulling it out of the patient, which would've been simpler, but she wanted to show Thelion she could do it. That was the purpose of the exercise after all.

The same repeated with the other two patients, although the last one was quite a struggle as the dark magic really tried to grasp on to its victim and pulling the magic out without hurting the patient was a chore that took time and had her sweating by the end of it.

"That one was really difficult. Almost too much." She admitted. He nodded.

"You succeeded despite my expectations. That one was likely cast by a skilled troll witch doctor. What about the magical accident?" She observed the magic, and the way it seemed to infest the man's very being seemed impossible to just separate. She just shook her head.

"This is beyond my abilities." She admitted. He smiled genuinely and patted her on the head proudly.

"Very good. If you had tried, I would've had to stop you anyway. It's not a shame to admit when you can't do something. And at this point, I wasn't even expecting you to succeed with the previous patient. Spell accidents like this are something only expert Spellbreakers can deal with. Allow your senses to observe." The way he handled the magic was so delicate yet so masterful.

It seemed like the magic turned into liquid threads that he slowly drained from the patient and then spun into safe containment while he worked on another thread, separating the malignant magic one delicate piece at a time instead of trying to pull everything off at once. Finally, he seemed to be done, and the magic was quashed.

"Did you learn anything?" He asked gently.

"I did. Though I don't think I will be able to replicate it anytime soon." She admitted, shaking her head.

"And I wouldn't expect you to. We'll be returning here regularly to work on such patients. As the encounters with the trolls increase, so do the number of patients we can practice on. This is something all Spellbreaker trainees have to go through, but you held up well." He patted her on the head again. She was just the right height for it.

"Now let's give it a bit of time in case some new patients show up. I'd prefer you to stay here for a lot longer, but the king will likely require your presence elsewhere soon enough."