Meitre

Meitre was a great night elf wizard from many thousands of years ago that has become famous for his research. Disappearing into quiet seclusion after the War of the Ancients, he left a collection of scrolls and spells that were researched by other wizards and came to form the basis of modern arcane magics. Meitre is presumed deceased, though as rather than give up Aluneth and the arcane after the conflict, Meitre choose to live as a hermit, his final end likely long buried by the strands of time, with his life and work a topic of heated, at times violent debate among modern mages.

Life
Meitre lived during the height of the night elf empire, and he was one of his race's most gifted sorcerers. He spent years exploring the world in search of knowledge. His extensive travels brought him into contact with an unknown blue dragon, from whom Meitre discovered the existence of the arcane being named Aluneth and the otherworldly plane where it dwelt. During the War of the Ancients, most Highborne sorcerers sided with the Burning Legion and used their powers to help the demons invade the world. Meitre did not. He joined the night elf resistance and fought to defend the world. It was during these troubling years that Meitre mastered his connection with Aluneth. The sorcerer never enslaved Aluneth--the being was far too strong and unwieldy for that. Yet, Meitre found a way to draw power from the entity, thereby using its energies to enhance his own spells. In one battle, he and a group of night elf defenders found themselves surrounded by an overwhelming force of demons. Death was imminent, but Meitre did not abandon hope. He called on Aluneth's energies and wove a mass teleportation spell that transported him and his comrades to safety.

Following their victory over the Legion, the night elves outlawed the use of arcane magic. They believed that the sorcerous arts were not safe and that wielding them would only lead to another disaster like the War of the Ancients. Meitre could not give up magic. Doing so would mean breaking his connection with Aluneth. The sorcerer quailed at the thought of losing his ability to draw on the entity's power. Perhaps he lacked confidence in his own skills. Whatever the case, Meitre retreated from society and became a recluse.

No one knows exactly what became of Meitre, but he left behind a wealth of scrolls that would form the basis of modern magic. His writings included a number of spells that the sorcerer had created himself. Even thousands of years after the War of the Ancients, high elf and human magi continued learning from Meitre's knowledge. The ability to cast spells from his scrolls was seen as an important milestone in a young apprentice's education, and a measure of a pupil's aptitude. Though many magi delved into Meitre's scrolls, no one knew of Aluneth. The entity that had played such a critical role in the sorcerer's life was forgotten until the time of Guardian Aegwynn.

Legacy
Elven mages didn't attempt to cast from Meitre's scrolls until the final year of their apprenticeships, and humans didn't even try until their apprenticeships were completed. In arcane academies, such as those in Dalaran and Silvermoon, it was established policy that apprentices not be allowed near them. The students of Scavell all read the scrolls, though only Aegwynn did so with permission, and was able to gain mastery over the spells and rituals in the scrolls in record time. The scrolls covered magical topics ranging from transmutation to advanced ward-penetration, and likely a number of other subjects. Aegwynn also used the scrolls to control Aluneth, as Meitre had long ago; but unlike Meitre, Aegwynn bound Aluneth to her will and turned it into a staff: Aluneth.

For much of Aegwynn's tenure as Guardian, the Meitre scrolls served as a sort of advanced guideline for magical theory; however, by the time that Jaina Proudmoore was training, the scrolls had been largely laid aside. The only known copies at the time were lost when the Violet Citadel was destroyed, but the ancient mage Meryl Felstorm proved to have access to at least three copies of them.