Kelnas Alan walked down the stairs of Stormwind Castle to his study in the basement of one of the towers, shivering in his blue Magisters robes. Gesturing at the large, stonework fire place, he muttered a word of power, and the logs burst into flame, bathing him in a loving warmth, as if he had just slid into a hot bath.

Breathing a sigh of contentment, he sat down and pulled one of his dusty tomes from the shelf, gesturing for it come. It did, and he spread the musty-smelling pages before him. His master, Magister Gelden Highsun, had asked him to read this tome, and see what he could glean.

Kelnas was pleased to do so, he loved reading. He loved studying, and more over, he loved the Magister. Kelnas blue eyes lost focus as he thought about the past few years, he ruffled his black hair and thought back. He was barely 20 years old, and he had been trained by the Magister since he was 6 or 7. He had lost both his partents in the second war, and had been adopted by Kelnas and brought to Stormwind after it was rebuilt.

And now he was apprentice to one of the court Magisters. Shaking his head, he returned to the book, a study on arcane combat forms. "Ah, so that's why Master Highsun wants me to read this." He said quietly.

Gelden had always been of the opinion that Mages should help rebuild in times of peace and fight in times of war. And, the reports from Lordaeron said that war was coming again. In a new form. Shambling mockeries of life...Undead. The Scourge.

Lost in the tome, Kelnas didn't notice the passage of time, but turned around only when he heard a throat clearing behind him. Master Geldan stood there, tall and lanky. His long blond hair flowing out behind him, with a small ammount framing his glowing blue eyes. His long ears just poking through.

"Have you learned anything, young Kelnas?" He asked in his low, strong voice.

Kelnas stood, and looked at the High Elf, so like a father to him. "I think so, Master. There is much power contained in this tome."

Geldan nodded. "Yes, there is. And it's power that you have the skill to use, certainly, but do you know why I asked you study Arcane forms of attack?"

Kelnas pondered the question. His power with fire was great, almost as good as the Magisters. He had some skill in frost as well. But Arcane was something he had never used because.. "It takes more control." Kelnas said at last. "Anyone can throw fireballs, or call down a torrent of ice shards, but Arcane magics require precise control, subtlety and thought."

The Elf smiled. "Exactly. That is exactly it. You, my very young apprentice, have no trouble causing devistation on a grand scale in combat, but when it comes to fire magic, for example, you cannot simply light the wick of a candle. Instead of calling down ice, you have trouble making it snow. You lack subtlety. Which is what I hope to teach you. If you can learn control. PRECISE control, there is nothing that magic cannot do for you."

The magister raised his hand, as if in benediction, and the world distorted infront of Kelnas' eyes. When it came back into focus, Kelnas' hair was whipped up around him. The were on a precipice, high on a mountain. Below them was red, flaky rock, and a large structure far in the distance. Kelnas' looked at his master. "The Blasted Lands?"

Geldan smiled. "Yes. Do you know why?"

The air crackled around Kelnas' body as the magic energy in the air reacted with the magic in his body. "Because of the residual magics here from the Dark Portal. It feeds us, gives us more power."

Geldan nodded. "Correct! But, it's also unstable, which means you will have to try your hardest to control your spells, my apprentice. Now! Show me what you have learned!" Without warning, Geldan threw his hand out towards the young human, rings over energy poured down his arm, and shot out in an arc.

Kelnas' eyes widened, in surprise has magic filled him out of instinct, just before the spell hit him, he shot his hand forward and swept it to the side, the air shimmered infront of him as the magical blast was deflected away from him and crashed into a mountain some yards away, cracking the rock and sending it cascading down into the valley.

Sweeping his arms back, Klenas drew the multi-colored power into his mind and cast out at his master, arcane missles flying from his palms as he thrust his hands towards the elf. And so the battle began, mater against apprentice, both throwing spells at eachother.

Kelnas grinned and fired an Arcane Blast, catching the Magister in the chest. He was knocked backwards. A quick gesture from the Elf caused his body to become light, and slowly landed on his feet.

Kelnas went to fire another blast, but found it more difficult this time. "DAMN! This spell suffers from diminishing returns on my body!" He couldn't summon the same ammount of power.

This time when he cast the spell, Gelden cut the air with his hand, disappearing from view. Kelnas was hit from behind by a cold blast, knocking him flat. And there, smiling was his Master. The magister raised his hand, ice forming on his palms. Kelnas surrendered to his power fully, his eyes taking on an eerie glow. He released his power in one massive blast peeling the rock away.

Another blast caught him in the gut. Rolling to his feet, he went to move in the direction of blast, only to find his feet wreathed in ice. Frozen to the ground. Gelden trust both hands forward, just as Kelnas cut the air, and disappeared.

Reappearing, he cast another spell, and lept, the spell of Slowfall allowed him to push against gravity. Once air born he pulled all the energy his body could contain into his being, and, casting both hands skyward, giant shards of ice began to fall on his mentor, and, before the Elf could move, Kelnas changed direction, moving his hands to the sides of his body he shot them into the air, and the ground below the Elf exploded.

Landing on the precipice again, lightning flashed and sizzled around the human mage and he waited for the smoke to clear so he could see his master smiling and congradulating him on the spell work. But when it did, he saw the elf, his hands spread to the sides, a blue shield surrounding him. He moved his hands in towards eachother and slammed them together. A large thunderclap sounded, and a blue, shimmering bolt shot forwards.

Kelnas attemtped to call on his power to block the unknown spell, but the Master Mage reached out and ripped the spell from Kelnas' control to his own. Hitting the mage, the bolt lifted him into the sky, and shocked him to the core, his bones showing through his skin. He then dropped, and couldn't move. All his power had been sucked from him along with the shield. His vision shimmered again, and he was back in the study, laying infront of the fire.

Gelden reached down and help Kelnas stand. Forcing some jerky into the young mans hand, Kelnas ate, the protien helping to revitalise him. "I tried Master."

The elf blinked. "No. You did not. I asked you, no I TOLD YOU, be subtle. I wanted you to use subtle spells. But instead, you used an Arcane Blast, which, as you found out, sufferes from diminishing returns. This means that the spell is neither as stong as it was the first time, nor is the energy as easy to call upon again for a few minutes.

"Then, you used an Arcane Explsion, tearing the moutain we were on to pieces. On TOP of that, you did something as arrogent as float to cast Blizzard, which, by the way is NOT an arcane spell, and then you used Flamestrike immediately after. Because of that you were too tired to concentrate and I was able to rip your armor spell from you. That spell that hit you is a Mysitc Bolt. It's powerful, VERY powerful. I had used the lowest one I can control that still causes pain. You, my VERY young apprentice failed spectacularly."

With that, the older mage turned on his heel and began to walk back up the stairs. "I'm very disappointed, Kelnas." And that, Kelnas decided, stung more than any shouting the magister could have done. He sat there, dumbfounded and depressed.