Shadow of the Night: The Demon Within ch.1

Lythnar wiped the sweat off of his brow with a silken cloth as he attempted to control a small spark of fire with his other hand. He smiled to himself and started to play with the spark allowing it to get to the size of a small apple.

"Enjoying yourself, are we?" purred a feminine voice.

Lythnar flinched in fright and gazed over his shoulder. The spark left flickering away as his concentration broke.

"Sorry, master Sallaria… I was having a little nostalgia over the use of these fire spells," Lythnar muttered as he turned to face her.

"You are a student of Arcane no longer," Sallaria fumed as she took a few steps closer "You are a child of Shadow and a master of demons… You use the Dark arts, not some sissy mage spell you call skill," she added.

Lythnar sighed and placed a hand over a dark violet crystal hanging from his neck,

"It's not easy changing your way of life in a heartbeat, master…" He said with a grimace.

"Curiosity killed the Springpaw, the Hunter got its prey, and now you must learn from your mistakes," Sallaria half chanted.

"I never wanted this life…" He murmured.

"Like I said, curiosity killed the Springpaw," Sallaria repeated.

******

Lythnar recklessly walked through the stream running through the Ghostlands portion of the Deadscar. He was searching for some ore samples to study the effects of Scourge taint in rocks and metals over soil.

His eye caught a glimpse of a dark gem embedded into the blackened earth. It faintly glowed in the moonlight, unlike any gem he had ever seen before. In his experience gems were bright when the light hit them, but this peculiar gem had shadow spiraling within.

"Is this some sort of Scourge crystal?" he asked himself in a low murmur.

Lythnar unearthed the gem and wrapped it in some cloth before sealing it away in an elegant gold and crimson chest. As he stood, Lythnar felt a chill run down his spine; He looked around for any signs of a stray ghoul, corpse, or abomination but didn't see anything.

Shrugging the feeling away, Lythnar conjured a portal to Silvermoon. In a flash, he appeared a room surrounded by shelves of tomes and scrolls. Chants filled his ears as fellow mages practiced with spells.

"Arcanist Lythnar," rumbled a masculine voice.

"Magister Sheor'ath," Lythnar greeted.

The magister was perched against the wall wearing cerulean and silver robes. His black bangs were shoulder length; the rest of his hair was pulled into a loose tail draped over his shoulder that reached mid chest.

"How is the research on Scourge taint going?" he asked as he pushed himself away from the wall.

"Pretty interesting, I found a strange gem down in the Dead Scar," Lythnar replied as he opened the chest "it is unlike anything I have ever seen in all my research," Lythnar added as he moved the top layer of the cloth to show the gem.

Sheor'ath gazed at the gem while stroking his chin in thought. After a few moments of silence, Sheor'ath stepped back with a look of fright,

"That is a void stone. Nothing of Scourge taint, but instead it is the very essence of demons that is crystallized. The warlocks of the Sanctum use them to test their Acolytes in some horrific trial they call survival of the fittest," Sheor'ath explained as he gained his composure.

"You should bring that to the Sanctum. It is dangerous and only the warlocks can ever have use of it," Sheor'ath offered.

Sheor'ath didn't realize this was the last time he sees Lythnar as a colleague. From that moment on, Lythnar's days as a mage was reaching its close.


Lythnar nodded and closed the chest before exiting the room and into the Court of the Sun; Silvermoon's royal quarter of the city. Lythnar felt that chill run up his spine again and instead of it disappearing, he started feeling feverish.

"Must be hot outside," Lythnar muttered tom himself as he removed his hood and cloak.

His vision began to blur as he entered Murder Row, his body grew sluggish and he lost the strength to even stand. Lythnar knelt down to attempt to regain his strength, his head started to pound causing him to feel sick to his stomach. He heard a strange guttural language in his mind,

"W-What is going on" he groaned in pain.

Lythnar lost the strength in his arms and fell almost face first to the ivory cobblestones of the alleyway. His vision spun before it went black. Before he lost full consciousness he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer.

"I'm telling you, I sensed an untamed demon nearby!" he heard before everything went silent.

******

Lythnar woke up to a cold feeling on his forehead. His eyes slowly adjusted to gossamer crimson curtains. He let out a groggy groan and struggled to sit up.

"Don't you dare get up from that bed!" snapped a female voice.

"Wha- W-Who are you?" Lythnar asked as he turned his gaze to a female Blood elf with white-blonde hair pulled into a loose tail. She worse a single shoulder piece with long spikes decorated in skulls. He upper forearms were bare but maroon sleeves covered the rest of her thin arms. Her skin was the color a cream that made her fel-tainted eyes brighter.

"You were unconscious outside the Sanctum and caused one of my acolytes to interrupt my lesson. Obviously you aren't the demon she sensed, but the gem you held was," she explained in a harsh voice.

"I was only going to return it to you," Lythnar assured.

"But did you touch the gem?" she asked.

"Only with a cloth, I thought it was something left by the Scourge. I am part of the research team that studies the taint…" Lythnar answered.

"Very foolish, the essence of the demon trapped inside the gem can't be stopped by a cloth; the reason why we at the Sanctum sends young Warlocks because they are immune to the Demon's power. You harbor a demon within you…" she replied.

"Nothing I can't abolish," Lythnar said smugly.

He attempted to locate the words of said spell and cast it, but nothing came to mind. His head pounded in response,

"Can't cast your mage spells?" the She-elf half teased.

"What did you do…?" Lythnar asked through the pain of his head.

The she-elf took a few steps closer and dropped a crystal in Lythnar's lap. It was connected to a chain as if it were meant to be a necklace.

"I didn't do anything, I think your friend here is the cause of your suffering…" she eased.

Lythnar looked at the crystal and realized it was the very gem he had found in the Dead Scar. The shadow that spiraled within when he had found it was gone. The gem was almost transparent and he could only see his faint reflection.

"Master Sallaria, we need you out in the crystal room. One of the acolytes fainted after life-tapping," interrupted a new voice.

Lythnar didn't even gaze up. He was still in shock from what he had learned. The demon had invaded his mind and took his knowledge as a mage away from him. He felt like an apprentice again, not knowing a single spell to save his life.

Sallaria returned a few hours later with a female demon following her. The demon wore hardly anything and carried only a whip; she turned her gaze towards Lythnar and gave him a sultry look.

"Hesvina, don't you dare think about seducing him!" Sallaria snapped as she poured a crimson liquid into a plain goblet.

She sighed softly before taking a long sip. The she-demon pouted and walked over to a pile of silken pillows and lounged on them, her tail flicking in the air. Sallaria cleared her throat to gain Lythnar's attention. She held out a goblet for him,

"We need to talk about your future…" she muttered as he took the goblet.

Lythnar eyed her with confusion written across his face. He took a sip from the goblet and felt some of the pain from his pounding head vanish.

"You are no longer a mage. The demon inside that gem took that away to cure his hunger, over time he grow more powerful and soon you will become his puppet," Sallaria said calmly. She took another sip from her goblet before placing it on a desk next to her.

"You will have to become a warlock. It is the only way for this demon to remain a powerless slave. In time you will learn to summon it from your mind but you will take his form, we call this the demon form…" Sallaria explained.

"I have to get back to Sheor'ath… m-maybe he can help me, he is a magister…" Lythnar stuttered.

Sallaria sighed and got a few inches away from his face. Her eyes radiated annoyance as she pressed her sharp fingernail onto his nose,

"Not even your fellow mages can help you! Say good bye to your simple life of arcane magic and welcome the life of Fel-magic, for you are now a Warlock from this day on. I will train you myself, from dawn 'til dusk until you can summon your first demon. From there it will get harder!" Sallaria snapped.

Lythnar gulped and felt a cold sweat run over his face. Sallaria pulled away and took up her goblet. She heaved a sharp sigh before drowning the rest of her goblet and slamming it back down on the desk.
"Get to bed, we start early tomorrow," Sallaria commanded as he sat in a plush chair and began scrawling something on some parchment.