Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 193 16. The voters of Lord Saint Spear always take unusual paths

"You really threw a hot potato to me. You said it was a personal request, but I didn't expect it to be this."

Back in his guest room, Diakum looked at the Guardian Staff in his hand, stroking the magic-filled silk ribbon with some helplessness, and then touched the exquisite crow head of the staff, admiring it for a moment as if appreciating a treasure, and then put it into his Augure treasure chest.

He was not a spellcaster and had no desire for the pure arcane energy contained in it, and his high moral standards did not allow him to keep it for himself.

This was what Aegwynn had just entrusted to him.

The Lady Guardian had a lot of things to do next. She couldn't carry this significant holy staff around with her. In addition, Diakum had originally planned to use the inheritance of the "Guardian of Tirisfal" to obtain reinforcements for the Storm Kingdom. His excellent character as a saint of an alien race made him the best candidate to temporarily keep Atiesh.

It's not that Aegwynn doesn't trust her two old lich friends. The fact that they were able to prepare and teleport over to help fight the dark forces within a day after being invited shows that there is true friendship between the three of them.

The main reason is that the identities of Merry Winterwind and Farondis are somewhat sensitive.

Although the former has been in seclusion for a long time and has no friendship with the current Council of Six, he is a veteran when Dalaran was founded. Whether he likes it or not, he has the label of Kirin Tor. Giving this thing to Merry basically puts him in a dilemma.

Give it to the Council of Six. The old lich himself doesn't trust those guys who are obsessed with chasing power. But if he doesn't give it to them, they are his disciples after all. He can't be so heartless.

Not to mention Farondis.

As one of the "founding fathers" of Quel'Thalas, he may be forced to make some decisions against his will in the face of the interests of the kingdom of the high elves.

To sum up, Diak'um, an outsider who has no connection with other forces in Azeroth, has become the best "custodian".

"Maybe you should call my mother back quickly!"

Garona appeared in the corner of the room, sitting on the arm of a chair, tossing a bright red apple in her hand, and she said:

"Isn't it said that whoever gets the staff will be the next Guardian of Tirisfal? You should always take care of our own people first when it comes to such good things.

I think my mother is very powerful!
She has also learned the arcane magics of the Titans from Imperator Mar'gok, and she will surely be a good guardian."

"This is not a question of strength, Garona. Lelan's personality is not suitable for being the Guardian of Tirisfal."

Diakum shook his head and explained:
"The Staff of Atiesh Guardian has its own power!
It can elevate an ordinary wizard into a powerful demigod with harmless power the moment it selects its holder. This means that for those trial-takers who are eager to try, their own strength becomes the least thing to consider.

Mind, will, ideal.
Or to use the word I use most often, morality!
This is the most important criterion for selecting a Guardian of Tirisfal. Only spellcasters like the first Guardian, Alodi, who are dedicated to the collective good, are the most suitable to hold it."

"But I heard that Alodi has a goblin lover, a very influential trade baroness. I didn't know what a 'goblin' was at first, and I thought it was a goblin like a forest elf. But when Khadgar showed me a portrait of a goblin, I was stunned."

Garona complained:

"It can be seen that the first guardian's personal morality and aesthetic taste are really a mess. He is far inferior to you. At least Archbishop Nai Li is also a first-class Draenei beauty.

Also, I don’t know if I understood it wrongly.

How come the moral principles you just described resemble so much of yourself when you were shaped by the Holy Light? Does possessing such great powers require one to abandon personal desires and become a superhuman embodiment of a certain belief?

"Yes, because the Force has its own 'justice'!"

Diakum nodded and said:
"You understood correctly. Arcane and Holy Light are both positive forces, and their modes of action are very similar. A Shaper of Holy Light tends to be a 'morally perfect person,' while an Arcane Shaper becomes a 'tyrant of order.'

When wielding this arcane artifact of the Force, the holder will be constantly tempered. This is why all guardians from the first generation to the present, including Aegwynn, have stepped down midway.

Mages are the most rational group of people in the material universe. They cannot accept the transformation they are undergoing by being shaped by the Force.

This is actually a paradox.

If a spellcaster allows the staff of Atiesh to mold them while holding it, they are no longer worthy to wield it.

Because the arcane force will not allow the walker to blindly follow other authorities.

If a spellcaster insists on being himself and does not allow his character to be shaped by the holy staff, then sooner or later he will give up the staff himself.

There will never be a permanent guardian of Tirisfal in this world! This holy staff will not have a permanent master. It is its fate to be passed back and forth between different holders, and it is also the trial of the path left by the arcane to the spellcasters.

This is the paradox and the charm of the arcane path.
Well, stop thinking about this, you are not a wizard, and thinking about this kind of philosophical speculation will burn your brain."

Diakham stopped his granddaughter from trying to figure out the complexities.

Garona is very smart, but her real age is only twelve or thirteen years old, and she is indeed not suitable to consider these issues that require rich experience to understand.

"Want to go out for a walk?"

Diakum looked at the overly luxurious bed. He was not sleepy yet, so he said to Garona:
"It's been a long time since we came to Karazhan. While we're still honored guests, we can take a look around here. This tower is one of the most famous sights in Azeroth. It's hard to come across such an interesting place in other worlds."

"But didn't Lady Aegwynn say..."

Garona was eager to try, but she also wanted to appear well-behaved in front of her grandfather. She hesitated, causing Diakum to snort. She said:
“You still care about this?
I guess you must have looked around and maybe found some 'good stuff'. I know that the 'justice' of your Shadow Way is 'a thief never leaves empty-handed'.

"Ha, you found me."

The orc assassin turned her nimble fingers, and a beautiful crystal jade dagger jumped into her hand, spinning between her fingers like a butterfly among flowers.

she says:

"There's a box backstage at the opera house not far away. It's a magic box. It seems to have been left behind by a careless actor when Medivh invited the Darkmoon Circus to perform.

I opened it and found this dagger. Although it is definitely not as powerful as the Kingslayer, I can't always fight with such a deadly weapon.

It's good to have some non-lethal weapons on hand.

But I am confused, are the circuses in Azeroth so trendy?
This magic dagger is obviously a masterpiece, how could it be in the possession of a circus member? "

"Some people are clearly shrouded in darkness yet they claim to be walkers of the Holy Light."

Diakum, leaning on the fine rosewood cane that the servant had brought to his bedside, walked out of the room like a man over 20,000 years old and warned his granddaughter:

"Just like some cultist groups that worship Void Shadows but insist on hiding the fact that they are the most famous circus in Azeroth, be careful when you encounter them in the future.

That circus, which is very lively and good at performing, is one of the most dangerous forces in the world.

If you offend them, I might not be able to save you in time."

"Is it so terrifying? How many demigods do they have?"

Garona was surprised and asked quietly. Diakum gave Garona a strange look. "What's with this strange 'unit of measurement'? Who uses the number of demigods to measure whether a force is dangerous?"

But if you think about it carefully, this standard doesn't seem too bad.

So Diakum replied casually:
"On the surface, there isn't one, but from what I've read in the prophecy, the head of the Darkmoon Circus, His Excellency Silas Darkmoon, keeps a Darkmoon rabbit as a pet. It's usually very well-behaved, but when it's hungry, it can chew on a demigod like a bone.

In short, just enjoy their performance and have fun, and don't delve too deeply into the true face beneath that disguise.

When you see their 'true colors', they will also see you.

I have always suspected that the Darkmoon Circus is likely to be composed of the followers of a certain Void Lord in Azeroth. It is even possible that the Void Lord is hiding among them, using the same trick that Sargeras hid on Medivh, and using this method to "play with the world".

This indeed seems like something the Void Force could do.

By the way, what's on at the opera tonight?"

"Aw, The Wizard of Oz."

Garona said:

"But Medivh is dead. Who are they performing for?"

"Go watch it, it's an interesting show, and I heard there will be audience interaction."

Dick waved his hand and said to his granddaughter as if coaxing a child:

"Those actors are very generous. When they give you gifts after helping them complete their performance, remember to choose the red shoes. They can save your life if you are in danger.

If you still don't want to sleep after watching the opera, ask Khadgar to take you to play chess. Medivh will give you a reward after you win.

If you're lucky, you'll be a wealthy woman after tonight.

But don't cheat!
Medivh, that lousy chess player who always likes to cheat, hates other cheaters cheating in front of him."

After saying this, Diakum leaned on his cane and walked into the servants' dormitory corridor as if he was returning home. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Garona understand that her grandfather disliked her noise and sent her out to play by herself.

She shrugged her shoulders and followed her grandfather's instructions, moving through the shadows towards the opera house. She had seen opera at the Temple of Karabor before and was wondering what the difference was between human opera and Draenei opera.

——————"Found it! The legendary time rift that can see the future."

Diakum took some time to find what he wanted to "visit" in the maze of Karazhan.

The strange crack in front of him was like a broken mirror from another dimension. It was said that this thing would randomly appear somewhere in the Karazhan Tower, and anyone who approached it could see their own future in it.

The "victims" of this thing include but are not limited to Khadgar, Lothar, Reginald Windsor and others.

This thing can actually see the future, and it's 100 percent accurate.

But other than that, it won't bring any benefits to life! It's like knowing the ending of a game in advance will instantly make the enthusiastic players lose the fun.

This should also be a wonderful thing that Medivh and Sargeras came up with together. A 100% accurate prophecy of the future alone has already involved "destiny", which is an obscure path in the arcane world.

"So, let me see where my future lies."

Diakum walked forward with his cane, opened his eyes wide, and looked in front of him. The cracks in front of him were like broken mirrors, and many of himself were reflected at the same time.

For a moment, Dick clearly saw the same self wearing different professional suits and walking different career paths, but like an illusion, those images lasted less than a second, and he turned back to his current self.

This thing cannot present his future.

But this was also within Dick's guess. He shrugged his shoulders. For a time traveler, not being captured by "fate" was already a standard routine. What's more, he had been fighting against fate since he woke up.

"Then it's not too much for me to see other people's futures, right?"

Dick said to the strange crack in front of him:

"Let's see if Maraad's future changes, huh? What's going on?"

When he reached out to touch the crack, the scene in front of him suddenly changed.

As Diakum blinked, the cracked image rippled like water waves, and then the image of Maraad appeared. The Sentinel reached out his hand in surprise and spread it into the crack. The next moment, he felt dizzy, and then he saw his apprentice and adopted son from a strange "third perspective".

Maraad, wearing an elf-style marching cloak, was trudging through the endless yellow sand.

He held a shining warhammer inlaid with Kara fragments in his hand, and dragged the remains of several huge alien insects with ropes behind him. In front of him was an ancient fortress standing in the desert that had withstood the test of time for thousands of years.

Cenarion Hold!

The military camp where the Quicksand War took place a thousand years ago is also the front line of the Kaldorei Moon Kingdom for monitoring the dangerous Qiraji insects, servants of the ancient gods.

Diakum watched his disciples drag the dead giant insects back to the fortress, and then handed them over to the elves amid the elven guards' thanks.

He keenly noticed that these elven guards, who should have been strong, looked sick and kept coughing while dragging the spoils, and visible gray spots appeared on their skin, which should have been light purple.

Demonic Plague!

The Sentinel immediately narrowed his eyes, recognizing that this was the evil work of the Polluter.

Is Cenarius moving so fast?
How long had it been since it acquired the Plague in Draenor, yet it had already unleashed it upon the elves of Azeroth? Judging by the weakened state of these elven guards, they had been infected with the Plague for at least a week.

Dick's eyes continued to follow Maraad's changing perspective. He saw his great uncle walk into the inn and say a few words to Nobundo who was treating a patient. Nobundo had the Ring of the Eternal Healer in his hand, which could greatly restrain the spread of the plague, but after leaving Draenor, the power of the ring was weakened, and it could only delay the worsening of the elves' illness, but could not completely cure them.

"Maraad! Can you hear me?"

Diakum felt that something was wrong, so he asked in his mind. The next second, he saw Maraad suddenly look up and look around with confusion and vigilance.

He heard it!

After a moment, Maraad asked tentatively:
"Saint? Is that you? Are you safe? Nobundo and I were left behind in Lelan's teleportation."

"The Great Desert of Silithus! I know where you are. I am currently in a mage tower. The mysterious power here has unexpectedly activated my spiritual connection with you, the Chosen One."

Dick asked briefly:

"Tell me, where did the demonic plague on these elves come from? Has it spread?"

"No, Nobundo's timely intervention prevented the spread of the plague. Moreover, Silithus is a closed area, and the commander here, General Valstann Staghelm, also responded promptly!"

My great uncle replied:

"After learning of the plague from us, he immediately sealed off the fortress and severed all ties with other elven cities. But the bad news is that the goblin employees of the Steamwheedle Consortium who were delivering supplies to the fortress were also unfortunately infected with the plague.

Those 'little greenskins' don't have the same strong physical fitness as the elves.

Even though Nobundo tried his best to treat them, goblins continued to lose their wisdom and turn into confused zombies in the past few days.

As for where the plague came from, I have been investigating, but as I said, this is a closed area and the elves don't come here often."

"The Holy Light has revealed the truth to me. A Nathrezim Lord is hidden in the thousand-year-old sands of Silithus!"

Diakum thought for a moment and reminded:
"It should be called 'Sorennor', nicknamed 'The Slaughterer'. It will appear in the form of a gentle dwarf doctor, claiming to be the best at treating finger cysts. Its alias is 'Nelson'."

"Yes! There is this person!"

Maraad quickly ran to communicate with the elven quartermaster, who replied:

"The quartermaster told me that the last time the noisy gnome doctor appeared in the fortress coincided with the outbreak of the plague. He has now gone to the goblin city of Gadgetzan in Tanaris. That's not good!

Those goblins are causing trouble! I'm heading out right now to take care of that damn demon!"

"Don't go alone."

Diakum warned:
"Sorennor is a dangerous dreadlord. It will be dangerous for a legend to face it. Bring the bravest people you can find with you.

As for the Demon Plague
The forest elves told me before that the cleansing of fel energy by holy light can curb the effectiveness of the plague, and that the healing ring of Nobundo may make them feel better, but this thing is a test of the power of life, so the elves still need to have a firm will. If they can get through it on their own, they will be blessed with life.

Maraad, I've been busy with the orc invasion of the human kingdom recently, so I may not have time to pick you up, so..."

"You have nothing to worry about, Saint."

My great uncle replied:

"The Holy Light sent Nobundo and me here for a purpose!

Besides, I don't feel comfortable leaving the infected elves here to die. They have been guarding against dangerous alien insects for their country and the whole world for a thousand years. They are all warriors worthy of respect.

I will definitely be here to help them until they recover.

You should probably be more concerned with Yrel than me; I'm worried her fanaticism might get her into trouble."

"Well, I'm pleased to learn that you and Nobundo are practicing your principles. Then wait a little longer! You just mentioned the name of the general of Cenarion Hold."

Diakum belatedly asked a question, and Maraad replied:

"General Valstann Staghelm! He is a war hero of the Kaldorei Kingdom of the Moon God. He is nicknamed 'Hand of the Earth'. This is a nickname given to him by the insects because they fear him. It is as glorious as your 'Holy Light Butcher'.

He lost an arm.

It is said that he almost died at the hands of an insect general a thousand years ago, but fortunately received timely assistance from the Moon Guards under the Black Crow King, which enabled him to kill the ferocious monster in a critical moment. His sword was made from the remains of that monster and was named "Qiraj Slayer".

General Deer Helmet is very strong.

Although he was also infected with the demonic plague, he did not lose his judgment."

"So, is his father still alive?"

Dick's tone grew more peculiar, and he added:

"I've heard of the name 'Staghelm' from Arantien before. It's said that he was one of the first elven druids."

"Oh, I heard General Staghelm mention this during our previous conversation. His father was the Archdruid of the Cenarion Order and a direct disciple of Lord Malfurion the Emerald Heart. He was the most famous 'good guy' in the Elven Empire and was deeply revered by the elves.

However, his father's violent temper gave General Deer Helmet a headache.

After General Staghelm's daughter and son were born, his archdruid wife was busy with her duties, so his old father was in semi-retirement, taking care of the family in a place called 'Ashvale'.

This elf general has a happy family, which is truly enviable."

Maraad sighed, and Diakum was silent for a moment before he said with emotion:

"Indeed, it's a blessing for this world that Old Staghelm can retire peacefully. As for the Fire Druid, forget it. It's not a force for happiness anyway."

(End of this chapter)