Chapter 23: Do Not Let Hatred Blind You

Jaina Proudmoore: Princess of Kul Tiras, fiancée of Arthas, student of Archmage Antonidas—the leader of the Kirin Tor—and a prodigy in frost and arcane magic. She was the youngest mage in Dalaran in decades with the potential to earn the title of Archmage by the age of twenty.

Jaina’s list of accolades was perhaps even longer than that of Arthas himself. Despite being only eighteen, she already possessed strength comparable to an Archmage; all that stood between her and the title was the formal recognition of her seniority. Even setting all of this aside, Jaina’s grace and beauty were enough to make any young nobleman see her as the woman of his dreams.

Unfortunately, she was already spoken for. Her engagement to Arthas had been arranged by their fathers, and given that they had known each other for over a decade, few dared to interfere in such a relationship.

Yet, when Arthas himself first learned of the engagement, he felt only alarm, not joy. While it was true they were childhood sweethearts, he knew they should never have been betrothed at this particular moment in time. For the six months following the news from his father, the King, Arthas had not slept well—not out of excitement, but out of deep anxiety.

He feared that this engagement, which never existed in the original history of Azeroth, might cause the Bronze Dragons to suddenly "pop out of the woodwork" and "reset" him. In the true history of the world, they were lovers, but they were never betrothed!

Fortunately, his fears never materialized. The world he inhabited seemed to be completely unmonitored. If he hadn't learned of the four Dragon Aspects surrounding Deathwing, he might have even suspected that Nozdormu, the Bronze Aspect, had been killed. This realization eventually led Arthas to understand that he could loosen his grip and begin acting in ways that deviated from the "correct" history.

Sure enough, the Bronze Dragons never appeared. Nevertheless, Arthas did not let his guard down; he still viewed them as one of his most urgent threats, even though these "Time Keepers" seemed to have vanished from his timeline. He believed the King of Time must have discovered this unusual timeline long ago, but why no dragons were sent to correct it, Arthas could not fathom. The mysterious motivations of the god-like dragon aspects were impossible to guess. In his eyes, they were all problem children whose way of thinking was entirely alien to that of a normal person.

Jaina, of course, was oblivious to these advanced thoughts. When she first saw how the prince she admired reacted to the engagement, she feared that he detested her and had no intention of fulfilling the contract. The Kul Tiran princess was heartbroken for a long time. Just as she resigned herself to receiving news of a broken engagement from Lordaeron, Arthas himself arrived in Dalaran. Using "advanced studies" as an excuse, he stayed by her side for nearly a year.

The heavy weight on Jaina’s heart finally lifted: Arthas did not fear their union.

Those days were among the most cherished in Jaina’s memory. Arthas was not only witty and knowledgeable but also deeply profound. During their time studying together in Dalaran, Jaina felt her burdens ease, and she learned much from him about the nature of the world. She still remembered the time she asked Arthas for his opinion on the orcs kept in the internment camps.

"Arthas, don't you think those orcs are rather pitiful?"

The orcs in the camps, weakened by the side effects of demon blood and broken by their defeat, had become dejected and spiritless. They were no longer the Red Tide that had swept across the continent, but a group of wretches plagued by illness and frailty.

Arthas did not immediately shatter Jaina’s compassion, nor did he answer her directly. Instead, he countered, "And do you hate them?"

"I... I should. They brought catastrophe to this land, and my brother sacrificed his life in that war..."

Jaina’s brother, the eldest prince of Kul Tiras, had vanished into the abyss along with his warship during a naval battle; his body was never recovered. His death gave Jaina her first taste of the grief of losing a loved one, fueling her longing for peace. She began to study the orcs and discovered they were not the savages most imagined; they, too, had families and loved ones. Her upbringing made her loathe to inflict the suffering she had endured upon others, even her enemies. When they had already been defeated, was it truly necessary to torture them without mercy?

This led to a rift between her and her father. She could not accept his extreme stance, and he could not understand why his daughter felt sympathy for the orcs. To the Lord Admiral Daelin Proudmoore, Jaina’s perspective was naive and foolish. His philosophy was simple: the only good orc is a dead orc.

"Jaina, hatred is not a healthy emotion. It blinds you and leads you to make grave mistakes," Arthas said—perhaps the person most qualified to say so. "We can suppress our hatred, but we must never abandon it entirely."

"Why?"

"Because hatred also represents remembrance. If we completely discard a hatred, it means we have forgotten history and the past. Then, we will commit new errors, generate new hatreds, and continue the cycle, over and over again." Arthas took Jaina’s hand and spoke gently, "The orcs destroyed countless lives and brought pain and sorrow to many. Even if they were forced into it, they must pay for their tangible sins."

"We do not have to inherit the hatred and rage of our fathers, but we must remember the history and the lessons, otherwise we are doomed to repeat them."

"You are the kindest girl I have ever known, but please remember, Jaina: do not let your kindness and mercy be used by others to harm everything you hold dear."

"The orcs may one day regain their freedom, but it must be based on the premise that they no longer harm Azeroth or our people."

Under Arthas’s tutelage, Jaina stopped avoiding the issue. She began to face the hatred of history with an objective attitude, shedding unnecessary naivety. Her fate was quietly rewritten.

Her change in perspective delighted Daelin. He loved his daughter dearly but had been deeply frustrated with her. Now, having calmed down, he began to listen to her, and his own extreme views gradually softened. Although he remained the staunchest hardliner among the Alliance leaders, he no longer acted on the instinct to slaughter every orc he saw to avenge his son. Much of this was due to Arthas, who, after a routine Alliance meeting, had spoken privately to Daelin, turning his blind rage into a more shrewd, strategic view of the orc problem.

Because of this, the entire Proudmoore family favored Arthas. Even before the marriage, Daelin already treated him like a son.

...

However, Jaina arrived at the banquet a little late.

When she stepped out of the portal, her pretty face betrayed clear impatience. She had intended to reach Stormwind that morning, but an emergency had occurred just as she was about to depart!

A magical array project she was overseeing, which had been perfectly fine the night before, suddenly malfunctioned. She had spent hours in emergency repairs to ensure months of hard work wouldn't be in vain. The lost time, however, could not be recovered. By the time she finished, the hands of the magical clock had already shifted.

She had certainly missed the midday banquet. Her teacher had only given her a week of leave, and she had wasted half a day before even setting off—how could she not be frustrated?

Fortunately, she would still make it to the private evening banquet. However, she had no time to select a gown from her mage tower. She tossed a few items into her spatial pouch, quickly retouched her makeup, donned her mage robes, gripped her staff, and dove into the portal.

By the time she descended from the mage tower, the sun over Stormwind was already setting. Jaina rushed into a carriage, hurrying toward Stormwind Keep. It was fortunate she was attending in a private capacity to represent Kul Tiras and Dalaran in offering blessings to Varian and his son; had she brought a retinue of attendants, she would have been even slower.

When her carriage pulled up to the Keep, she saw most of the nobility already leaving the palace—the evening banquet was a private affair hosted by Varian, with only a select few invited.

Though impatient, Jaina did not lose her poise. Led by a royal page, she hurried to Queen Tiffin, hoping to borrow a room to change and freshen up.

"Jaina? You’ve finally arrived. Varian and I were worried something had gone wrong with your portal—"

"I am so sorry, Lady Tiffin. There was an accident in my mage tower that I couldn't step away from," Jaina replied apologetically. "Could I borrow a room to freshen up?"

Tiffin looked at Jaina, still in her mage robes, and said, "There is no need to rush, Jaina. The banquet doesn't start for a while. I’ll have a maid take you to my dressing room. Tell me, do you need a gown? Shall I help you pick one out?"

"Thank you, Lady Tiffin, but that won’t be necessary. I brought my own."

Jaina calmed her racing heart, regaining her usual dignified, ladylike composure.