All that met the eye was gloom.
The dense forest seemed to be covered in a layer of greyish-black haze, like a thick, unyielding shroud of malevolent energy, turning it into a land of death, unsuitable for life.
This place wasn't originally called Duskwood; it was known as "South Elwynn Forest," a thriving land that provided a continuous supply of timber and herbs to the Stormwind Kingdom.
There were two main settlements here: Darkshire in the east and Raven Hill in the west.
The two towns, along with numerous scattered villages, were home to approximately one hundred thousand people. Although far less bustling than Elwynn Forest, they lived off the land and water, relying on abundant resources to live in peace and contentment, their lives filled with joy and laughter.
The reason it became Duskwood dates back to the Orcish Wars.
During the First War, Warchief Blackhand ordered a surprise attack on Stormwind City and then dispatched troops in all directions from Stormwind City as the center. All the villages in the area later known as Duskwood fell under the control of the Old Horde, with only Darkshire and Raven Hill still struggling to hold on. Tens of thousands of residents were either killed or forced to flee.
The once peaceful forest was now riddled with death; the few cemeteries could no longer accommodate the dead, and most bodies were left exposed in the wilderness, feeding wolves, rats, and spiders.
Later, Medivh was killed, and the complex magical energy released upon his death polluted and infiltrated all of Karazhan and Deadwind Pass, spreading to surrounding areas. Duskwood, being the closest, was particularly severely affected.
The rampant Arcane energy altered the bodies and habits of many creatures, turning a small number of ordinary beasts into magical beasts with special abilities, threatening the lives of nearby residents. It also attracted some powerful uninvited guests.
For example: a certain undead mage who had been "alive" for nearly three thousand years, a certain Shadow Priestess who was misled by the Void Precursors and embraced darkness, and a certain Druid from the continent of Kalimdor, wielding a Druid artifact.
Equally rampant, and even more powerful and terrifying, malevolent energy plunged this once orderly forest into chaos, affecting the minds of beasts and even humans, making them anxious, frenzied, or depressed and gloomy.
And the death energy generated by Medivh's death itself continuously eroded the forest, assimilating the rich natural life energy into death energy, making the living increasingly closer to death, and causing the dead to rise from their graves or the ground, bringing danger and fear to the residents here.
The already dwindling number of residents began to accelerate their exodus. The Old Horde, which had been attacking Darkshire and Raven Hill, could also no longer endure this harsh environment and left, heading north to attack Ironforge and Lordaeron.
Under the rule of Duke Elron Everlook, Darkshire formed the Night Watch, resisting attacks from outside and protecting the safety of its townspeople, thereby attracting more and more refugees and consequently growing stronger. Raven Hill, like those villages, eventually fell into ruin under the triple threat of beasts, magical beasts, and undead, becoming a veritable "ghost town."
However, no one knew that within this ghost town, which no living person dared to enter, several special residents were hidden.
"Kael'thas, Khadgar."
As the gryphon landed in Raven Hill's central plaza, Garona immediately emerged from the shadows of a civilian house: "I heard what happened in Stormwind City. You killed Deathwing's daughter?"
"How did you know? It must be a hundred kilometers from Stormwind City, and no outsiders should come here," Kael'thas asked with some curiosity.
"Naturally, a certain well-informed old fellow told me," Garona said.
Garona stared at Kael'thas, realizing that he truly couldn't stay idle; he was far more troublesome than Khadgar. How many major events had he stirred up in just one year? The number of legends who had died directly or indirectly by his hand was almost too many to count on two hands!
"Well-informed? Old fellow?" Kael'thas pondered thoughtfully.
Khadgar surveyed his surroundings and asked, "Have you been living here all these years?"
"No, I only lived here for a year before leaving. Later, I was captured by Orgrim and forced to obey his commands, scouting intelligence and assassinating, until The Battle of Lordaeron when I found an opportunity to escape."
"Speaking of which, I have Kael'thas to thank; he gave me the chance to regain my freedom."
Garona's face was calm, but her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly not wanting to bring up those painful past events. She quietly glanced in a certain direction and whispered, "Let's not talk about that. Let's go. It's still very far from Karazhan; even a gryphon would have to fly all day."
Kael'thas was currently closing his eyes, releasing his spirit, and sensing three subtle yet powerful energy fluctuations, one of which was very familiar. He smiled brightly and said, "You're already at the doorstep of home; aren't you going in to see? You're not a very good mother."
"Not at the doorstep, still some distance away—what did you say?"
Garona tensed up, instantly entering a combat stance, dual-wielding poisoned daggers, her eyes fixed on Kael'thas: "How did you know? What else do you know?"
Khadgar, standing by, caught the crucial information. He seemed to be petrified by Medusa, looking at Garona in disbelief, and cried out in astonishment, "Mother? Garona, you have a child?"
Why didn't I know about this?
He recalled what Garona had just said: "You said you lived here for a year, was it to have a child? Wait!"
He thought of a possibility, his voice changing pitch in surprise: "Is the child's father Medivh?"
He couldn't think of any other possibility!
Four years ago, he was still an apprentice at Karazhan. Garona had arrived at Karazhan then and was not pregnant. When they jointly killed Medivh, Garona's abdomen was still flat, with no signs of pregnancy. After that battle, he and Lothar couldn't find Garona anywhere.
Garona lived here for a year, then was captured by Orgrim, and only regained her freedom a few months ago during The Battle of Lordaeron. During that time, she was constantly gathering intelligence and assassinating high-ranking Alliance officials, making it impossible for her to become pregnant and give birth.
Her child could only have been born before she was captured by Orgrim!
Garona was a legendary assassin; it was unlikely she would casually have a child with an ordinary person. Her man must not be simple. And before that, Garona had always stayed at Karazhan.
At that time, there were only three living people in Karazhan. It wasn't him, it wasn't the old and frail Moroes, so it could only be Medivh!
At this moment, Khadgar looked at Garona with an incredibly strange expression.
It wasn't difficult to understand Garona's attraction to Medivh. She had been enslaved and manipulated by powerful individuals since childhood, perhaps she had grown accustomed to it, and a strong admiration for power was normal. However, that strange old man Medivh, could he actually be with Garona?
"Don't look at me like that. Medivh had no feelings for me, and neither did I. It was an accident," Garona said indifferently.
"An accident? I know you've always admired Medivh. You said he was the first person you met who was kind to you, that you felt warmth from him, and that he answered all your questions truthfully."
Khadgar, of course, didn't believe it. He had spent several months with Garona and Medivh, and the increasingly familiar and intimate relationship between the two had not escaped his notice.
"I said, it was an accident."
Seeing that Khadgar still didn't believe her, Garona had no choice but to explain: "He knew I was sent by Gul'dan, so he wanted to control me and use me against Gul'dan."
"But I had too much dark magic placed on me by Gul'dan, so much so that even he found it difficult to directly control me with magic. He thought of a method: injecting a part of his body into mine."
"And so—he forced himself on me."
She wasn't lying. It was indeed forced, even though she didn't resist.
Khadgar was completely dumbfounded: "No, injecting a part of his body into yours? What kind of control method is that? You believe that?"
Are you, Garona, easy to fool, or am I, Khadgar, easy to fool? Is Medivh treating you like an idiot, or are you treating me like an idiot?
This is clearly the excuse of a scoundrel, a lie!
"I believe it, because at the time I was indeed controlled and told him everything I knew," Garona said.
Khadgar was speechless: "He is the Guardian of Tirisfal! He is an Archmage! He has the soul of the Dark Titan Sargeras within him! How could it not be simple for him to control you? Garona, you've been deceived!"
"Uh—Garona might not have been completely deceived."
Kael'thas suddenly said: "Medivh's soul was constantly fighting Sargeras for control of his body. At the time, he couldn't use much power. Gul'dan was, after all, a demigod, and had the Shadow Council behind him. It's normal that Medivh couldn't directly use magic to gain control."
Khadgar was silent for a few seconds, then said: "But Medivh's method of control—it's too unbelievable, isn't it?"
"You're thinking the wrong way."
Kael'thas explained: "What Medivh injected into Garona to control her was not what you're thinking, but the power of the Guardian of Tirisfal, a part of his own mana. Controlling Garona from within with mana is much easier than controlling her from outside."
Khadgar's old face flushed, and after a few more seconds of silence, he said: "Then couldn't he have just injected mana directly into Garona's body? Why did he have to—ah?"
He and Kael'thas exchanged glances, and he understood.
Garona was still deceived; Medivh was just lusting after Garona's body!
"Wait—that's not right!"
Khadgar thought of something else: "Since you were controlled by Medivh, why would you participate in assassinating him with us? I know! This was Medivh's plan all along. He wanted to control you to assassinate him, thereby destroying Sargeras's soul and breaking free from his control!"
"No, I was only controlled for a few days."
Garona's expression was peculiar: "Medivh seemed to have miscalculated. He didn't expect me to become pregnant after just one time, and the power he left in my body—it transferred into the fetus. He was controlling the fetus, not me."
"Ah?" Khadgar was dumbfounded again. That's possible?
"You believe this?"
Kael'thas shook his head: "It's normal for Garona not to understand magic, but you, a Mage, actually believe this? Is it difficult to make the power within the fetus return to the mother's body? You could even do it."
Khadgar was confused again. So what exactly was the situation?
"It's simple; this is also part of the plan."
Kael'thas said: "Medivh had prepared from the beginning to use your hands to kill himself and perish with Sargeras's soul, but he didn't want the Guardian of Tirisfal's lineage to end with him. So he emulated his mother."
Khadgar: "—"
What could he say? What else could he say?
It was said that Lady Aegwynn, in order to pass on the Guardian of Tirisfal's power outside the control of the Tirisgarde Council, seduced Archmage Nielas Aran and forced herself on him, giving birth to Medivh and passing the Guardian's power to him.
Medivh followed suit, also seducing Garona and forcing himself on her? It was just that time didn't allow, so he could only inject the Guardian's power into the fetus prematurely? The so-called control of Garona was just a deceptive facade, deceiving Sargeras!
Sargeras had once deceived Aegwynn, his soul lurking within her body, and then during childbirth, it lurked within Medivh's body. Medivh was inspired by this and used the same trick, but instead of a lurking soul, it was the Guardian's power?
"I get it!"
"Two great Mages fighting, and Garona and I are both tools!"
Khadgar was speechless, helpless.
Garona, however, remained as calm as ever. None of this could stir any ripples within her. Being controlled, being deceived—she had long grown accustomed to it. She only hoped her child would live well now.
"Garona, are you leaving your child and not living together because you're afraid of being controlled by the Shadow Council again?" Khadgar asked.
"There's another reason. I'm afraid he'll be like Medivh, unable to control the powerful forces within him, causing irreparable harm, or even killing himself."
Garona said: "I don't understand magic, and I can't help him. The only thing I can do is find a sufficiently excellent and reliable Mage to be his teacher and ask him to help care for my child."
Khadgar asked: "Did you find one?"
Garona nodded: "After leaving Karazhan, I found myself pregnant. At the time, it was inconvenient to move, so I stayed nearby in Raven Hill. Duskwood was in chaos then, and Raven Hill had become a ghost town. There weren't many people, so naturally no one bothered me, a half-orc. It was very suitable."
Khadgar said: "Is that where you found a teacher for your child?"
Garona said: "He is very strong, extremely strong, so strong that he discovered me as soon as I arrived here. Like Medivh, he didn't harm me, and after learning my story, he showed me sympathy and agreed to my request."
Khadgar was a little curious: "Someone who can make you feel very strong must be a Legendary Mage, right? Who is he?"
Legendary Mages are not ordinary beings; an entire generation in the human world might not produce even one, and every single one is famous in history.
"He is—"
Garona was about to answer when she suddenly sensed something and looked in a certain direction. Khadgar also quickly looked over. Kael'thas was faster than them.
He looked at the tall figure slowly approaching in the distance, a joyful smile on his face, and waved, saying: "Uncle Thoradin, long time no see!"