Wayne hadn't thought much of it when he spoke those words; he was simply recalling the exotic creatures from the first two Harry Potter films. However, when he saw the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, he immediately realized why.
Whether in World of Warcraft or the world of Harry Potter, a phoenix was a unique and exceedingly rare existence.
And compared to Fawkes, whose presence in the Harry Potter world was relatively understated, a phoenix in World of Warcraft was the stuff of legends.
Just as Fawkes was the pet of the wizard Dumbledore, the phoenix "Al'ar" was the pet of the Blood Elf Prince, Kael'thas Sunstrider. It had used its miraculous powers of burning flames and rebirth to assist its master in countless actual battles.
As the only phoenix in existence, in the world Wayne came from—whether in the original WoW from a decade ago or the Classic servers of recent years—countless players had been willing to "abandon all humanity" or "rip out their P-key" (pass on loot) just to obtain a single phoenix mount.
For the casters standing before Wayne, although none of them had ever seen the true face of Al'ar, that name, along with its master Kael'thas, was legendary.
The Blood Elves—formerly known as High Elves—had traveled thousands of miles to the northernmost part of this continent to establish their magical kingdom, Quel'Thalas.
Over 2,800 years ago, in order to defeat the ancient Trolls occupying their lands, the High Elves had instructed one hundred humans in the ways of arcane magic as an exchange for an alliance.
This part of history was common knowledge among casters; in other words, the elves were the ancestral masters of human magic.
With the invasion of the Undead Scourge, Quel'Thalas was severely devastated. Their king was slain by the Death Knight Arthas, and Prince Kael'thas, who was studying magic in Dalaran at the time, found himself powerless to change anything upon returning to his homeland.
Afterward, he vanished. He disappeared along with his pet phoenix, Al'ar.
Although the High Elves—who now called themselves "Blood Elves"—had long since withdrawn from the Alliance and showed signs of moving closer to the Horde, many human casters still tried to find clues regarding Kael'thas's whereabouts out of respect for their magical mentors.
Many believed the Blood Elf Prince was hiding somewhere, practicing profound and inscrutable magic in preparation for a counterattack, or creating a new, massive source of magic to allow his people to regain their greatness.
This was why the casters were so shocked to hear the word "Phoenix."
Wayne chuckled inwardly. He hadn't expected his casual remark to make the black dragon suddenly lose its luster.
He looked down and gave Tess a meaningful glance, then walked behind the counter to sit in his exclusive chair. As he said, he intended to continue watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets today to see what other spells he could learn and which items he might unlock.
Receiving his silent command, Tess blocked Andromath and the others at the door.
"Fees, fees! Those who haven't joined the membership, join now. 5 gold for membership, 1 gold per hour."
Andromath and Marlin pulled out their money without hesitation, both handing over 7 gold to try a two-hour experience.
Anita, Zaldimar, and Raymond, who were already members, pulled out 8 gold each for a full-day pass.
Anita felt a bit disappointed, though. She had just asked Zaldimar why Jyssetta wasn't here today. Having not joined the campaign with Marshal McBride and Verdan, she had planned to spend the day at the net cafe with her fellow priest and old friend.
Zaldimar didn't know the reason either. Furthermore, Jyssetta wasn't the only one "missing"—the Warrior trainer Lyria hadn't been seen for days, not to mention the Rogue trainer Korran, who had been gone for a long time.
Sandar looked at the very last seat left in the room. He truly hadn't expected this small shop to be nearly full the moment it opened. Both of his rival mages had paid; if he were stingy now, it would make him, a leader of Warlocks, look incredibly cheap.
However, unlike the registered mages of the Wizard's Sanctum who received stipends from Stormwind, these Warlocks operating underground had to fund their expenses through mercenary work (usually acting as hired muscle) and fundraising. Sandar hesitated but eventually pulled out 7 gold—at least this amount matched Andromath.
Seeing all seven seats filled as soon as he opened, Wayne happily entered the cinematic world.
Tess put all the collected gold coins into her pouch and sat regally by the counter.
Although everyone in the room was watching movies today and she couldn't see anything on the screens, Wayne had already promised her that after business hours, he would let her catch up on the rest of Harry Potter.
As the owner, Wayne naturally had the highest level of authority. He could not only listen in on the voice channels like he did with the Westbrook quartet yesterday but also pull up the real-time visuals in front of each customer.
Interestingly, despite Sandar's internal reluctance, as a first-time moviegoer, he entered the same cinematic world as Andromath and the others.
To suck up to his guild superior, Raymond abandoned his previous progress and proactively returned to the beginning to act as their guide.
Under his introduction, the newcomers quickly realized they were experiencing an incredibly realistic "play" rather than having their souls transported to another world, as old Marlin had initially shrieked.
Sandar expressed disdain for the respect shown to wizards in the Harry Potter world. He mocked Professor McGonagall for turning into a cat and scoffed at Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts as mere "nursery spells" that were all style and no substance.
The others didn't want to bicker with him, except for old Marlin, who occasionally shot back a few remarks.
That was until they saw the Levitation Charm and the flying brooms.
On the continent of Azeroth at this time, while there were powerful mages like Andromath who could break free from the constraints of portals and teleport freely to any friendly territory or ally, no mage could achieve free flight in the sky all willy nilly.
Rumors said the legendary Guardian Medivh could do it, but like his title suggested, he had long since become a legend whose status—dead or alive—no one knew. At the very least, within the realm of confirmed observation, even Druids skilled in transforming into beasts could not simulate a flying creature's form well enough to achieve flight.
Andromath sighed, offering the same sentiment Zaldimar had expressed during his first viewing. In the eras without war, the study of magic in the human kingdoms and Dalaran was so pure and beautiful. Mages researched how to use magic to bake more delicious Conjured Bread, how to improve Slow Fall so a target became light enough to float, and how to make Arcane Intellect last longer so ordinary people could learn more profound knowledge.
But now, even someone as stubborn as old Marlin had begun researching protective magic, while other mages had long since pivoted to making Fireballs larger and Blizzards more violent.
These words also resonated with Sandar.
Each of these Warlocks had their own story. They had either lost families to war or witnessed their hometowns destroyed. When they learned that studying demonic magic allowed for faster mastery of destructive energy, they chose to walk into the shadows of the underground, enduring gazes and disdain that ordinary people couldn't understand—all for the sake of one day achieving revenge.
Regardless, within a virtual cinematic world, these casters with their vastly different pasts temporarily set aside their internal grievances. As the plot advanced, they began to relive those once-beautiful times.