Inheritance 2

"Duke, I'm begging you too." Unable to hold back the torrent of emotion any longer, Lothar spoke, his eyes red-rimmed and pleading.

Duke gazed at the rapidly fading Medivh, and then at Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth, who was practically on the verge of tears right in front of him.

In his memory, Anduin Lothar was a hero of boundless loyalty and unwavering courage. Even when his homeland was reduced to rubble, when two childhood friends passed away one after another, and when his own son fell on the battlefield, he never once showed a crack in his iron resolve. He always stood tall, leading the Stormwind Kingdom, the seven human kingdoms, and eventually the entire Alliance to victory, a living banner of hope.

Lothar was a hero with an iron will that simply refused to quit!

However, the Lothar standing before him now no longer possessed that unyielding, almost mythical image from history. Instead, he radiated a raw, vulnerable humanity that made him feel more real to Duke.

Yes! This was the true Medivh and Lothar, this was the real Stormwind Kingdom, this was the Azeroth where countless heroes forged epic legends with their very blood and fire.

Duke nodded slightly, a silent promise in his eyes.

"No need to say another word."

"I will fulfill your wish."

"Your will, it's mine now."

"I once told His Majesty Wrynn, 'If the destruction of Stormwind is an inevitable fate, then I'll be the one to rewrite it. I'll show you.'"

"Now, even though I haven't fully achieved it, I believe that with our combined efforts, the kingdom's future of destruction has already begun to shift. The dominoes are falling in a new direction."

"If it is my destiny to inherit your strength and wisdom, and to fight for the survival and hope of all mankind..."

"Then my choice is to accept it! Bring it on!"

When Duke finished his declaration in one breath, both Lothar and Medivh trembled as if they'd been hit by a lightning bolt.

Medivh gently pressed Duke's hand, a faint smile gracing his lips. "Duke, as the new master of Karazhan, would you be so kind as to invite a few old friends in? I can still hold on for a little while longer."

Feeling the temporary magic circuit within Medivh's body, Duke noted that while the circulation of magic power was indeed growing weaker by the second, Medivh's words seemed to hold true. He still had a few minutes left in the tank.

Duke decisively took over some of the authority Medivh was transferring, and with a mental command, the shimmering barrier of the mage tower, still humming with ancient power, opened wide.

Medivh's magically amplified voice, weak but clear, echoed outside the tower.

"Mother, and some old friends outside, would you please do me the honor of stepping inside for a moment?"

The powerful figures who had been nervously watching the unfolding drama from outside the Mage Tower exchanged bewildered glances. The Red Dragon Queen, Alexstrasza, flapped her colossal wings and, without a moment's hesitation, scooped up Aegwynn and Tyrande, carrying them swiftly towards the tower.

A few minutes later, not only the three of them, but also Windsor and some of the remaining, battle-weary troops arrived at Medivh's side, crowding around him like anxious family members.

Aegwynn sank to her knees, a guttural cry of pain escaping her lips, cradling her son's head in her lap. Even though eight hundred years of life had forged her into a figure of immense strength and resolve, at this moment, she was simply a mother, indistinguishable from thousands of mothers across the world, heartbroken and grieving.

Ignoring his mother's tears, Medivh spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"I, Medivh, former Guardian of Azeroth and Chief Archmage of the Stormwind Kingdom court, declare before all the esteemed gentlemen and ladies present: My last wish is to pass on the Karazhan Mage Tower and everything within it to Sir Edmund Duke."

Next to him, Lothar, supported by Windsor, spoke, his voice thick with emotion: "I – Anduin Lothar, the seventh leader of the Iron Horse Brotherhood, the Knight of Stormwind Kingdom, and the Master of the Royal Knights of Stormwind Kingdom, hereby confirm Medivh's last wish. I will convey his final request to His Majesty King Llane Wrynn. Once His Majesty confirms it, Karazhan will officially complete the transfer ceremony."

This moment was destined to be forever etched into the memory of all who witnessed it.

Time would fly, and when they grew old, many of them would repeatedly recall what transpired in that very instant, the echoes of a profound shift.

The death of Medivh, the most powerful mage and Guardian of Azeroth, symbolized the end of an era, a closing chapter in a grand, tumultuous saga.

Edmund Duke's inheritance of Karazhan, however, symbolized the beginning of a new era, a fresh page in the cosmic history book.

With so many powerful beings as witnesses, Medivh used his weak, trembling fingers to draw an unknown, intricate symbol on Duke's palm.

Duke felt an overwhelming surge of endless knowledge pouring into his spiritual world like a tsunami. Perhaps he was unable to fully digest this vast ocean of information at that very moment, but Medivh had already thoughtfully helped him package, classify, and seal it away.

Unless Duke reached the corresponding magical level, these arcane secrets, which would be too heavy a burden for Duke in his current, less-than-godlike state, would remain locked, waiting for his power to grow.

And then there was Karazhan itself.

Likewise, a strange, ethereal light shone around the entire Karazhan tower. The massive structure began to become transparent, then illusory, shimmering like a mirage. Medivh had activated a powerful magical device that was still functioning, and it began to pull the entire Karazhan into a hidden void, whisking it away from the physical world.

Time flowed quietly, a gentle river carrying away the last moments, and everyone in the workshop watched in solemn silence as this great wizard walked towards the inevitable end of his life.

Even though every being present now knew that Medivh was the unwitting culprit who had opened the Dark Portal and unleashed the orcs upon Azeroth, they simply couldn't bring themselves to hate this Guardian who, in his final moments, had poured every ounce of his remaining strength into dragging Sargeras back into the abyss.

Without too much pain or lingering regrets, Medivh, a man in his forties, was held gently in his mother's arms, and as Aegwynn hummed an unknown, ancient lullaby, he quietly closed his eyes.

After dozens of seconds, the very last magic circuit in Medivh's body flickered and died.

The great god of magic, Medivh, passed away, a faint, peaceful smile gracing his lips.

After more than ten seconds, after confirming Medivh's death, Lothar and Duke simultaneously saluted all the spectators, a shared gesture of respect and finality.

Duke spoke, his voice clear and resonant: "Thank you for bearing witness. Please, leave now. In five minutes, Karazhan will temporarily vanish from the world of Azeroth. We won't be back anytime soon."

The Red Dragon Queen, Alexstrasza, and Tyrande were the first to depart. These two powerful figures nodded their understanding and left without delay.

Alexstrasza leaped out of the workshop, and in the blink of an eye, a flash of brilliant red light erupted. She transformed from a sexy female warrior in bikini armor into a colossal dragon, tens of meters long, spreading her magnificent wings and soaring into the sky. With a single powerful flap, she was gone, a red streak against the bruised sky.

Tyrande let out a sharp whistle, and a huge white tiger, defying all known laws of gravity, sprang into action, running along the almost vertical outer wall of Karazhan's Mage Tower as if it were flat ground, without a single protective shield. Tyrande gracefully sat sideways on its back, and then the majestic white tiger let out a long, echoing roar and bounded down the vertical Mage Tower in the same utterly unscientific manner, disappearing into the distance.

Lothar and Windsor were the second group to leave, a more somber departure.

Lothar turned to Duke: "You seem to be sticking around in Karazhan for a while. Anything you want to tell me before we go?"

Duke paused, considering his words. "Stormwind City can hold out for a good long time, assuming nothing completely off-the-wall happens. But if it really comes down to the wire, then we should fall back to Alterac or Stromgarde. I've got everything prepared, just in case. Consider it Plan B, C, and D, all rolled into one."