The first batch of goods Kael'thas promised arrived quickly because he was carrying ten bottles of Sunwell water; as the Prince of Quel'Thalas, it was necessary for him to carry some of the water for emergencies.
When a mage's magical level reaches a certain point, the Sunwell water is not merely an energy source; a qualified Archmage can perform many tricks with this precious material.
However, Kael'thas had been staying in Dalaran recently and wouldn't worry about supplies, and he had never encountered a situation where he needed to use Sunwell water himself, so he generously handed over all his reserves to Arthas.
Nevertheless, Kael'thas personally traveled to Lordaeron to deliver the ten bottles of Sunwell water as the first installment of the deposit to Arthas.
Arthas's promise was that he would share the potential wealth and knowledge within Eldre'Thalas with the High Elf.
After consulting his father, Kael'thas acted with great confidence, and Quel'Thalas's final offer was incredibly sincere.
For these Elves, who had almost no material burdens, recovering their ancient lost knowledge and holy relics was far more important than the magical items, gold, and jewels accumulating dust in their treasury.
However, in Arthas's eyes, the value of that gold, those jewels, and expensive magical tools was far less than these ten bottles of Sunwell water.
The Sunwell was a weakened version of the Well of Eternity created by Dath'Remar using the water from the Well of Eternity and ancient magic; although its water could no longer be used to create another Sunwell, it still had countless uses.
Even pouring a bottle of Sunwell water into an ordinary spring could create a temporary magical spring, capable of supplying dozens of mages with mana.
This power, which turns decay into wonder, was merely an echo, weakened countless times over, of the fantastical Arcane source, the Well of Eternity, from ancient times.
After obtaining the necessary materials, Arthas, carrying the well water, tore open a shadow passage to Northrend.
"Alex."
The Lich King's soul voice quickly reached the mind of the Elf phantom, Archmage Alex; he hastily put down his research and replied, "Your Majesty, is there anything you need?"
"Come to the ritual hall, it's time to prepare the Lich's transformation ritual." Arthas stood alone in the ritual hall, throwing the black iron box containing Kel'Thuzad's skull into the center of the magic circle.
This skull bound Kel'Thuzad's soul, which was sufficient for the ritual's needs, as a Lich's body is not transformed from his former physical body.
Alex's figure quickly appeared in the ritual hall; he bowed to Arthas, "Your Majesty, the materials are ready."
As soon as the Elf Mage finished speaking, a Wyrmling skeleton appeared in the center of the magic circle, and Necromancers appeared in the surrounding auxiliary magic circles, activating and enhancing more detailed materials in their hands with magic.
This Wyrmling skeleton was one of the bone Wyrms Arthas had shot down when he ascended Icecrown Glacier.
Its injuries were too severe, making it difficult even to reshape its soul fire, so it was simply turned into material for shaping the Archlich's body.
Although it was only a Wyrmling, its dragon bones were magically enhanced by Alex and his subordinate mages, and having been cleansed by soul flames when resurrected as a bone Wyrm, the strength and toughness of these skeletons were no less than those of adult dragons.
With everything ready, Arthas took out several crystal bottles filled with Sunwell water; the golden liquid flowing in the clear bottles emanated rich Arcane energy.
Alex's expression became somewhat excited—after the destruction of the Well of Eternity, how long had it been since he had seen such a pure, such a concentrated source of Arcane?
"This! The quality of this well water is even higher than I imagined; perhaps only two or three bottles will be enough for me to complete this ritual!" Alex took the crystal bottle from Arthas's hand and examined it as if it were a treasure.
"Only two or three bottles?" Arthas was also somewhat surprised; he immediately thought that perhaps this well water could indeed replicate a new energy source?
Arthas asked Alex, "Then, with this well water, can a permanent magic spring be created?"
The expression on Alex's transparent face froze; he seemed to be contemplating the feasibility of this plan. After about a few minutes, the Archmage shook his head with a slight hint of regret.
"Although the purity of the energy contained in this well water is not much worse than that of the Well of Eternity, it seems to have lost the characteristic of assimilating other water sources. It's basically impossible to create a new Well of Eternity using the old methods."
Alex's fingers pinched the neck of the bottle, raising the crystal bottle and staring intently at the golden liquid. "And the magic of these High Elf has also affected the well water… Alas… It's still the same; if I had the water from the Well of Eternity, perhaps I could decipher the true principle of this phenomenon."
Hearing Archmage Alex's complaint, Arthas asked again, "If there were another spring, also transformed from the Well of Eternity's water, as a sample, could you get a result?"
"Another 'Well of Eternity'?" Alex's expression became quite peculiar. "There are so many wells?! Elune above, what on earth happened in the time after I died!"
After a burst of emotion, Alex also realized his impropriety; he coughed twice and said seriously:
"Ahem, I apologize, Your Majesty, I mean, if there really is another source of magic also created from the original well water, then perhaps creating a mana source is not impossible."
"After all, this indicates that the Sunwell is not an anomaly, but an experiment that can be repeated."
"First, use these few bottles of well water to complete the ritual. The other well certainly exists, but obtaining its water… is more troublesome."
Arthas handed Alex the well water he needed; there was no point discussing the details of this matter now, as the other well was under the strict guard of the Night Elves.
But Arthas was not content with merely obtaining some secondarily produced Well of Eternity water; he knew where he might be able to get the original, most fundamental true stuff.
While he was thinking, Alex had already poured the well water in his hand into the magical patterns inscribed on the ground; the golden liquid, carrying a massive amount of magic, flowed through the magic circle, quickly filling the patterns.
Alex quickly seized the opportunity to activate the power of the magic circle, chanting complex incantations; the Necromancers standing in the other auxiliary magic circles also followed Alex's movements, strictly performing their duties.
Under Alex's guidance, the vast torrents of magic formed faint golden shockwaves, and under the Necromancers' transformation, these golden magical energies were tinged with evil black or green light.
The color of the well water became increasingly faint, gradually turning into transparent ordinary spring water. Through the well water, one could clearly see green patterns spreading from the magic circle beneath the dragon bones, quickly illuminating the entire magic circle.
A violent magical storm began to intertwine with the cold wind and snow of Icecrown Glacier and the lost souls, gathering in the center of the ritual hall.
The wailing of souls and the howling of the wind and snow intermingled, composing an eerie soul concerto, and the original position of the dragon bones was obscured by a giant snow tornado.
Cracking and grinding sounds gradually arose, and a point of ethereal blue light flashed in the wind and snow.
Sharp, snow-white finger bones pierced through the barrier of wind and snow, and several pitch-black chains formed a circle, beginning to rotate slowly.