Chapter 1: Volume 1 – Prologue

AN: My goal as an author is to write this story in a way that a reader doesn't need to know Warcraft lore to follow it. Also, the story will not religiously follow established canon, and in general, use the warcraft setting as background. Expect many zones using questlines that were not specific to the time period or didn't even exist in official lore. After all, if even Blizzard themselves can't be bothered to follow their own cannon then no one else should be forced to do so as well. As always there is a discord link in my profile for an additional chapter and other early releases.

Prologue

Corben Withers, an eighteen year old student of the Stormwind Mage Academy, sat in a chair in the lobby outside the headmaster's office, waiting for headmaster Alessio Southey to call him in, to deliver punishment. Punishment for what, Corben didn't know.

This time he honestly wasn't even aware of what supposed or actual transgression he would be punished for. Over the three years he had been a student in the academy, he had visited the headmaster's office at least a few dozen times and each visit he got various degrees of punishment. Mostly it was confinement in his small dorm room, but for some more egregious offenses, such as being caught in the girl dormitory right in the act with his fling at the time, he was forced to perform the cleaning duties for two months at a time.

The mage academy, if it could even be called that, was created four years ago, right after the third war in response to the ever-growing danger from the undead that ravaged the northern part of the continent.

The armies of the scourge, led by the traitor prince Arthas, not only destroyed the kingdom of Lordaeron, but also the Magocracy of Dalaran and the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, crippling the alliance's ability to educate the next generation of mages.

Corben nervously picked at a loose thread in his purple mage robes that had seen better days and had been worn by many before him. Aged eighteen and without parents, this worn piece of clothing was the only one he had. The academy only provided the learning materials, housing, and food, while the rest was left on the shoulders of the parents of the students, if they, of course, had parents. Those who didn't were left to earn money on their own.

Considering the constant dangers of recent times, far too many grew up orphaned.

Not that it got in the way of life that much. Blessed with sharp features, blue eyes, and lush blonde hair that was, as usual, tied in a messy tail, he had no problems socializing with and even charming the somewhat prude academy girls. He may have been on the more slender side compared to the average human, but in most cases, it only added to his charm as Corben was often mistaken for a half-elf.

'This couldn't be about me and Ollie. We used an anti-fertility potion, and I'm sure she didn't snitch on us.' Corben tried to guess what he would get heat for this time. 'Surely, no one has found my literature stash. The arcane seal is still active. Maybe it's about the herbs I 'borrowed'? Nah, it can't be. The alchemy teacher is an idiot and would not notice his own pants missing.'

The doors to the headmaster's office finally opened and one of the students he knew, Levi, came out with a scroll in his hands.

He and Levi were about the same age, but unlike him, Levi came from a wealthy family and was a bit of an uptight snob. His robe, unlike Corben's, was in pristine condition, and to flash his family's wealth even more, the boy was wearing numerous enchanted rings and a necklace.

"Hey, Levi!" he whispered to get the boy's attention.

"What do you want?" The boy replied with an annoyed tone, twisting his face as if smelling something bad.

"Well… what were you in for?" Corben asked, ignoring his reaction to being spoken to. He wasn't the only one to react to Corben's presence in such a way, so there was no reason to give him the satisfaction of being bothered by it.

"I'm graduating. All those of age are. You would know that if you weren't sleeping during class." Levi said in a condescending tone.

"Some of us know how to live a little." Corben shot back, earning a sneer from the boy who walked away at a brisk pace without looking back.

"Ah, Corben, you are here." The headmaster sounded surprised. "It's wonderful to see you arriving on time. Please come in."

Corben turned his head to come face to face with the old, balding man dressed in a white robe with intricate golden linings. He was standing in the doorway with a subtle smile on his face, motioning for Corben to come into his office.

'The old bastard is happy to get rid of me, for sure.' Corben raged inside. He quickly jumped to his feet and walked into the headmaster's office and took the offered seat.

"So, Corben, as you have heard, due to mage shortage all those of age are graduating," he said in a somewhat apologetic tone adding. "I would personally prefer to teach all of my wonderful students for a few more years to fully prepare them for the dangers of the world, but the crown demands we take more fresh students than we can accommodate without letting the older students go."

"So I heard, sir." Corben replied through his teeth. 'It always comes down to the crown and the nobles screwing people over.'

Four years was far too short of a period to properly educate mages and prepare them for the dangers of the world. Every dullard could pick up a spear or pitchfork and be sent to die by the hands of whatever danger threatened the Kingdom of Stormwind, but to prepare a battle-ready spell caster took time and dedication. Unfortunately, it seems that the leaders of the nation preferred quantity over quality.

Alessio casually picked a scroll from the drawer and unrolled it on the table. "Let's see… 'Corben Withers'; Excels in Alchemy, has a wide knowledge of herbs, high grades in combat magic, failed theory, failed arcane history..."

The list went on and on. It wasn't that he didn't know those topics but that most of the teachers were uptight bastards and didn't let him retake the exams. Life wasn't only about studies, but those lifeless husks of people didn't get that apparently.

"In conclusion, you are getting the base white diploma and unfortunately, I can't give you any recommendation letter." The headmaster finally stopped listing the extensive list of failed grades.

"Considering the few subjects you excelled in, I would recommend seeking a career in either alchemy or adventuring." Alessio said it with fake enthusiasm behind it. 'The boy is talented for sure, but his attitude… I can't recommend him as an apprentice to any of my friends. A shame, really.'

'Just great. The old fart couldn't even throw me a bone. I thought this was to send us off to do something dangerous. Turns out they are just throwing us out. Fine. Fine, it's not the first time I'm left to the wolves.'

In the end, there was nothing he could do. Just an hour later he was standing in Stormwind Park with the diploma in his hand and not much else to show for himself.

He sat down on a stone bench and looked at the people walking by. The bright sun overhead promised a pleasant day, and the park was packed full of the denizens of the magnificent city. In recent years, Stormwind had become not only the capital of human civilization but was rapidly becoming the capital city of the entire alliance.

The dwarves and gnomes were the closest allies of humanity and had a presence ever since the city was rebuilt twenty years ago, but the city also housed a sizeable population of the high elves that had fled the destroyed nation Quel'Thalas and still remained friendly to the alliance even after the rumored fallout between the alliance and elves in the north.

The latest addition were the still enigmatic night elves, who came from the recently discovered lands of the Kalimdor where all the alliance and even horde races stood against the demons and defeated one of their leaders.

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'When life tries to screw you, all you can do is prepare. Let's work on funds first.' Corben stood up and started walking around the park, scrutinizing the greenery as he passed by. He needed two types of herbs; peacebloom and silverleaf.

Luckily, most people couldn't recognize them even when they grew pretty much everywhere where the grass wasn't too flattened by the boots of the park's patrons.

About an hour later, he sat down with two linen bags full of herbs. And then came the tricky part. He took about one-tenth of each herb and carefully laid it out on the stone bench and cast a light fire spell on the herbs, instantly drying them.

With a satisfied expression, Corben rolled a cigar out of the dried herbs, lit it with a candle flame spell, and took a long puff. A mana cigar would have been better, but the health one wasn't that bad either. 'I need to find some mageroyal. Elwyn forest should have enough of the stuff. But first things first. I need funds for adventurer's registration.'

And now the boring part. He had to grind up the rest of the herbs and mix them with water from the fountain in empty potion bottles he 'borrowed' from the academy on his way out.

Now that production was a go, the only thing that remained was to sell it. The problem was that the pesky city guard would stop his enterprise the moment he started selling them without a license. A license which cost ten silver, an amount he couldn't afford. That is, of course, if the guards found him.

Knowing the perfect spot for his not-entirely-legal nascent enterprise, he left the park and once again was in the mage district. Same as the park, the district had a lot of greenery, but the place was rather cramped and mostly occupied by people that had something to do with magic and magic-related professions. The place he had in mind was a small side alley many used to reach the mage tower quickly when arriving in the mage district from the trade district of the city.

'Guards shouldn't patrol through here for at least an hour.' Since the orphanage was often far too overcrowded, Corben had spent most of his life on the streets, learning both honest and not-so-honest trades to survive.

Just in case, he looked left and right and then started to shout. "Fresh minor health potions. Just fifty copper per bottle!"

It didn't take long to sell off his entire stock for such a low price. With an amount equal to ten silver in his pocket, the funds for his next activities were acquired. He bought a large stock of empty vials for just two silver in the local alchemist shop. After all, if there were no other ways of earning money available, he could always sell cheap potions to have at least some funds to live off. Since the only expense would be the empty vials that cost twenty copper for a five-piece set, there was no much need to worry about any investment either.

With the work-related stuff out of the way, his next stop was in the trade district in the form of a wine shop advertiser. He found the man he was looking for, standing on a crate and handing out coupons for a free bottle of wine. 'Let's see if he recognizes me this time.' Corben chuckled and cast an illusion on himself.

It was true that Renato was getting increasingly adept at recognizing Corben under his disguises and refusing to give him free coupons, but it still was worth a try.

With a cough, Corben approached the man and prepared to speak in a lower pitch than usual. "Good sir, would you be…" "oh, it's you again." Renato didn't even finish his sales pitch.

"Come on, what gave me away this time?" Corben shouted in disbelief, canceling the illusion.

"Boy, you've been wearing that robe for years. You must think of me as a fool who will fall for it every time." Renato said dismissively and waved for him to go away.

"Hey, can't you be a pal for once? Look, I finished school just today. It's a call for celebration!" Corben pleaded, flashing the otherwise worthless paper in the man's face.

"I won't give you any more free stuff. My sister and I had wasted too much good wine on you already." Renato flatly shut him down.

"How about a discount? Look, I even have money!" Corben took out the few silver coins he had mixed with copper coins out of his pocket.

"For the love of… fine." Renato silently swore as he wrote a discount note on the pamphlet, just to get rid of the boy that had swindled his family for years.

"Thanks man, you are a lifesaver." Corben flashed him a big smile and ran towards the wine shop.

Was it out of guilt, or just the desire to help out the poor boy that he wrote that discount? Renato didn't know. The boy had been a nuisance for years, but then again, Corben and many other orphans had been simply left behind to fend for themselves. And besides, the boy had not once tried to steal or rob the shop; he just used countless tricks to get free complimentary bottles of wine.

Soon, Corben left the shop with four bottles of Pinot Noir, which was the shop's specialty. With one bottle in his hand and the rest of them safely tucked away in his backpack, Corben arrived at the adventurer registration center.

'Just how many suicidal fools are here?' He mused as he stood in a long line and slowly drank wine directly from the bottle.

At least the receptionist was pretty. Dressed in a form fitting uniform, she greeted Corben with a professional smile, and once the registration fee of seven silver was paid she explained the basics.

"You can accept the quests that suit your particular talents everywhere, but we recommend starting your journey in the Northshire Abbey. This is an adventurer hearthstone. If you lose it most innkeepers can provide a replacement for a nominal fee. Good luck and please be safe out there." She gave Corben a palm-sized white stone piece with a glowing rune engraved in it.

'That's it? At least, she could have given a complimentary body bag. With this sort of preparation, I surely will need it.' Corben grimly mused. Just a small piece of paper and a hearthstone, that was all he got.

At least he knew his next destination. Within an hour he was sitting in a horse-driven cart alongside other rookie adventurers as he downed the second bottle of wine. Most of the rookies already started to form parties and talked about what great adventures they will have in the future.

'Like cattle to the slaughterhouse.' Corben chuckled at himself. The world of adventure awaited. All he had to do was survive it.

Proofreading by Sad_Smiles, Somnium Hypnos, and Kazuma.

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