Chapter 3
Draenor
Manukas breath hitched in his throat as he stumbled behind the Archmages longer and urgent strides, he had known that they would be departing for Draenor within a small space of time but had no idea it would literally be straight after introductions. The young Mage hadn't even packed anything!
Eventually the three made their way into the throne room of Stormwind Keep, it would be here that they would depart for Draenor.
Manukas jade green eyes widened in awe, the throne room was truly a sight to behold; Trophies adorned every stone wall, wooden beams and pillars hung above them to support the keeps immense mass and the blue and gold banners of the Stormwind Lion drifted ever so slightly in the draft caused by the open windows.
The young Mage watched as his mentor and Kaldorei helper made their way to the front of the room, and mimicked them as they bowed graciously at the figure sat upon the enormous throne before them. King Varian Wrynn.
The king was a formidable man and a hardened warrior who had ruled the Alliance and northern kingdoms with an iron fist for many years, he was loved by his people and respected by his peers. There was no creature alive that did not know his name, and yet despite being known as a stern yet fair ruler the young mage couldn't help but freeze in place slightly. Ragged scars ran across the Kings face, his eyes pierced sharper than the most finely crafted spears. This was a man to be feared just as much as he was to be respected.
"Welcome, friends."
Manukas attention turned once again to the Archmage who was greeted warmly by the king. Khadgar had been a trusted ally to the Alliance his entire life, not to mention Variens best friend and advisor. That being said, the way they addressed one another was nothing short of professional.
"We're counting on you to get to the bottom of this..." The kings voice rumbled like thunder, the echo of the Throne room only amplifying the bass of his voice,
"...If you cannot discover who or what is behind this Iron Horde invasion then we are all lost."
Khadgars crystal blue eyes narrowed, his gaze firmly fixed on his king "The Iron Horde will not succeed, my king. This I can assure you. We will get to the bottom of this."
Varien nodded and stood up away from his Throne, his golden armour clinking as he did so. There was nothing more to be said, if they were going to stop the Iron Horde it would have to be now.
Khadgar gazed over his shoulder, gesturing his young student to come to his side, the boy, who was no older than 24, scrambled to his side and watched in awe as the master Arcanist dipped into his vast mana pool and summoned a large portal in front of himself. Manuka held his breath, had never been fond of portal travel; in his earlier days studying with the Kirin Tor he had once witnessed a young arcanist decapitate himself going through a portal that closed down half way through the process, his body had been left behind for the other initiates to deal with, as for his head, well who knows where that ended up. Perhaps still floating between worlds in teleportation space?
Giving one final courteous nod to his king and the Kaldorei consort, Khadgar stepped through the portal, his form dissipating into a mass of purple particles as he passed through to the other side. The young Mage swallowed hard and followed suit, squeezing his eyes shut as he too passed through the archmages portal.
Within an instant the air around him changed, thicker and humid, it was a shock to the system. Manukas body heaved violently as he stumbled into the back of the master arcanist. Portal travel was something every young Mage struggled with in the beginning, it warped the body within milliseconds and rebuilt it just as fast in another place, the most common side affect of this was intense nausea and vomiting. It wasn't without cure however, when it came to using any form of magic the general rule of thumb was the more one used it the more adapted the body would become to the spells and this was no different with travel magics such as blinking and portal conjuring.
Khadgar turned to face his young Mage-in-training and sighed, he had to remind himself that he too was once this youngsters age and he had gone through the exact same thing when he travelled through portals at first. Though his mentor, Medivh, was hardly as compassionate about the strain on his body.
"Compose yourself, initiate. We are here." The Archmages tone was perhaps slightly more stern than he wanted it to be as he watched the youngster scramble himself up off of the ground, wiping his mouth free of bile. He stared in awe at what was before him; a tower, reaching up to the heavens stood before them both. Surrounded by what appeared to be enormous mushrooms and fungi. Bizarre creatures flew high above them in the alien purple sky, singing out a warning of the two men's arrival. They weren't alone, all around were men and women of various races busying themselves, preparing armour, studying tomes and patrolling the grounds, all were contributing in their own way to win the war.
Manukas mossy green eyes absorbed the scene in silent wonder for a moment before turning to his teacher, "this is Draenor?"
Khadgar glanced down at his apprentice and smirked,
"Mhm. Welcome to the Zangarra Garrison, initiate, my tower over there will be our new home. Come, lets get unpacked shall we?"
The young arcanist stepped forward sheepishly, further taking in the sights around him, he couldn't believe it, he wasn't on Azeroth anymore, not even remotely close. He really was on an entirely new planet!
Manuka took a deep breath in, steadying himself.
"Draenor...wow.."
