Dar'Khan took a deep breath. Though the spellbreakers of the royal court didn't fully understand what the prince was saying, they heard a terrifying truth—Dar'Khan might have betrayed them. So, the spellbreakers, holding shields capable of completely blocking magical attacks, surrounded the powerful mage.
"You don't need to do this," Dar'Khan said, his voice weary, unlike his previously strong tone. He looked at King Anasterian, then at Prince Kael'thas, who was gradually approaching and preparing a spell, his tone sorrowful, "I have lived through 5467 winters, and soon I will become one of the ancestors. Your Majesty, Your Highness, I will watch over you from the stars."
The elderly high elf drew a dagger, a move that alerted the surrounding guards—but then, to everyone's astonishment, he plunged the dagger into his own heart.
The spellbreakers exchanged glances, unsure how to react.
"For… Quel…'Thalas…" Dar'Khan slowly fell.
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
Kael'thas pushed through the crowd, his fingers pressed against Dar'Khan's neck, the pulse he felt was incredibly weak, about to disappear.
As he held Dar'Khan, the old mage's voice was almost inaudible:
"Selamaashal' anore…"
Fight for the justice of the people.
Wasn't he a traitor? Why would he say such righteous words as he died!
Kael'thas's heart was filled with doubt. Was Dar'Khan deceiving him, or… was Aiden deceiving him?
Anasterian, beside himself, left the throne, stumbling down the steps. He saw the kingdom's most powerful mage die in his son's arms. What would people say about this? That their beloved prince, heeding rumors, forced the kingdom's greatest protector to commit suicide to prove his innocence?
A storm was brewing.
After dealing with the aftermath, the father and son had another conflict. Anasterian wanted to cover it up as much as possible, preventing more people from knowing about Dar'Khan's death. Kael'thas, however, wanted to thoroughly search Dar'Khan's residence and investigate everyone connected to him, hoping to find more evidence that Dar'Khan had fallen.
After a heated debate, the prince finally convinced his father. He could take people to secretly search. However, just as Kael'thas was about to reach Dar'Khan's magic tower, a sudden fire broke out there.
Kael'thas, casting a protective spell on himself, rushed into the fire like a madman. He found Dar'Khan's study, which was almost entirely filled with thick smoke and flames. He smelled kerosene—someone had deliberately set the fire!
He became even more convinced that Dar'Khan had been acting to deceive him. This mage had truly betrayed his race!
After leaving the fire, Kael'thas took out all the books and notes he had salvaged from the fire, examining them one by one. Finally, in a nearly burnt notebook, he found what he needed: a piece of paper, most of which had been burned away, with only a small part of two lines still faintly legible.
"Devote myself… to… the… cause, I will… obtain… immortal… , … at the price of… eternal life!"
Based on what Aiden had said, Kael'thas filled in the blanks: Devote myself to the Lich King's great cause, I will obtain an immortal body, for which I am willing to pay any price to exchange for eternal life!
It had to be like this. Dar'Khan's age was very old for a high elf. Kael'thas had heard that he had used many methods to extend his life. But no one could resist the laws of nature, and after exhausting all means, this powerful mage would still face death. Therefore, he dedicated himself to the Lich King, exchanging it for the opportunity to gain eternal life!
But when Kael'thas took this dirty piece of paper to his father and explained its supposed meaning, Anasterian, still furious, rebuked him: "Nonsense! How do you know that Dar'Khan didn't write 'Devote myself to the great cause of the high elves, I will establish immortal achievements, even more so than seeking illusory eternal life at a price'? Dar'Khan indeed used many methods to prolong his life, but he has always worked diligently for the high elves. Even the late King Dath'Remar was still alive when he made great contributions to the race. I will not believe that he would betray us!"
"But how do you explain the fire? Isn't that his accomplices destroying the evidence?" Kael'thas argued.
Anasterian looked at his son: "Our respected Speaker of Silvermoon City died in his magic tower while experimenting with dangerous magic. That is the cause of the fire, and that is the conclusion of the matter."
"That fire was…" Kael'thas felt as if he had been struck by lightning, he looked at his father in disbelief.
Anasterian turned away in disappointment: "Reflect on yourself, my son. How can I entrust the kingdom to you when you are like this!"
Kael'thas leaned against a pillar of the palace, as if he had lost all his strength. The evidence he had tried so hard to find had been destroyed by his own father.
Now, besides the Lich King, no one could prove his innocence.
After this incident, Anasterian, who already had little affinity for humans, became even more resentful of their interference in Quel'Thalas. While "cleaning up" after his son, he ordered the high elves of the Ghostlands to cut off contact with humans. As for Vereesa and the volunteer army she brought, he didn't plan to care about them anymore.
Anasterian held a grand funeral for the highly respected Speaker, and the high elves had to accept this sad fact. Their beloved Speaker, the powerful mage Dar'Khan, had died in a fire.
But the ornate coffin did not contain a charred corpse.
…
Aiden was unaware of the changes taking place in Silvermoon City. He rushed back to Durnholde, where his Night Hunter and the Wings of Demacia were waiting to report.
"Tell me, where did you find Kel'Thuzad?" He scanned the pair of Demacian exemplars.
Vayne unfolded the map, pointing to a place: "Here."
Aiden looked at the place she pointed to, a location in the Alterac Mountains called the Ruins of Alterac.
Quinn said, "After learning that this guy had contacted Syndicate thieves in the town of Strahnbrad, we began to focus our search on the nearby areas. Just yesterday, Valor (Quinn's giant eagle's name) told me that there were more than a dozen ogres fighting there. At first, I didn't pay attention to this information, but through Valor's observation, I saw that the ogres were clearly divided into two factions, and strangely, the larger faction was at a disadvantage. We approached for observation and discovered that the smaller faction was all undead ogres!"
"Only the Scourge can create undead," Aiden immediately understood. "So you caught this clue and used it to find Kel'Thuzad?"
"Yes," Vayne nodded.
And Quinn added: "After the undead ogres eliminated the living ogres, we saw a human death knight appear and use a runeblade to transform the dead ogres into undead. We secretly tracked him and found the Scourge's hidden location. They are hiding in some caves here!" She pointed to some areas on the map.
"No wonder I couldn't find them at first."
Aiden stroked his chin and muttered to himself: "It seems it's time to convene a mobilization meeting."
When he previously discovered the Syndicate collecting herbs for Kel'Thuzad, Aiden had notified Mograine in Southshore and the archmages of Dalaran. Now that the conflict between the orcs and the Kingdom of Stromgarde had been resolved, and the traces of the Scourge had been discovered, it was a good opportunity to convene a meeting to discuss the matter of eliminating this evil lich.
"Then, Jaina, would you please take a trip to Dalaran?" Aiden said to the princess of Kul Tiras.
"Gladly," Jaina nodded. Here, she was not a princess, but an envoy representing Dalaran.
"As for Southshore, Ophiel, you go there. Highlord Mograine knows you," Aiden instructed Kayle's right-hand man.
"Yes, Commander!"
A task like besieging Kel'Thuzad should also be notified to Lordaeron. Considering that Tirion Fordring, the Alliance envoy, was currently in Stromgarde and would definitely return to Durnholde after the matter, Aiden did not specifically send an envoy to Lordaeron. He could just inform Fordring when the time came.
After more than forty days of effort, most of the buildings around the Durnholde Keep had been completed. There was no need to worry that everyone would see a ruin when they arrived. Other places would also be completed within a month, and everyone would be able to see a brand new Durnholde—Aiden's Durnholde.
When the time came, he planned to rename the new city. But he hadn't decided which name to use yet.
After dealing with these matters, the Deathsinger Karthus suddenly found Aiden, saying mysteriously: "Summoner, I have something to talk to you about alone."
The only person by Aiden's side at this time was Kayle, and he asked strangely: "Can't even Kayle hear?"
Kayle also stared at the lich she hated with a scrutinizing gaze.
"It's not that. But—forget it, I'll just say it." Karthus's human face looked only about thirty years old, he showed a strange expression, "About the skull you used to summon me. It's called the 'Skull of Gul'dan', right?"
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
"Yes!" Karthus said, "After I was summoned, I felt that there were some memories in my mind that did not belong to me. It was very vague, and I couldn't understand it at all."
Hearing Deathsinger say this, Aiden probably had already guessed something: "You mean…"
"Yes, it wasn't until today that I completely digested these memories that I learned the secret. This part of the memory comes entirely from Gul'dan."
Karthus's expression was like he was smiling, and also like he was mocking: "It mentioned a place called the 'Tomb of Sargeras'."