On the run from former allies, can Sindara survive their attacks? A short story written by Zam user Poldaran.
The following story was contributed by Zam user Poldaran. If you or anyone you know is interested in writing and would like to share a story you wrote please send me (Xsarus) a pm. Also drop by our WoW general forum and check out the story thread, we'd love to hear from you.Another shadowbolt whizzed by her head, narrowly missing her ear and severing a few strands of her shoulder length black hair. "Is that all you've got?!" Sindara of Wintermoon shouted in defiance. "There are a half dozen of you, and not one of you has managed to even hit me. I suspect that your masters have just sent their most pathetic students out just to be rid of the lot of you!"
Under normal circumstances, taunting that many foes would have been unwise, but since Sindara was already past the point of no return, she figured there was nothing to lose. If their anger surged enough to make them sloppy, then it would in fact be a great gain to her. She only had to survive long enough for assistance to arrive. Since she had tricked them into following her into a park in the floating city of Dalaran, it would thankfully take little time before someone responded.
"We'll kill you, Oathbreaker!" One of the gnomes called out. "You'll pay for violating our code!"
Sindara couldn't help but laugh at his words. Within the warlock society in Stormwind, adversity had forged bonds akin to brotherhood. Through it all, they had won the tenuous acceptance of the king and the nobles. But there were those who believed that any mistake by one of its members would rekindle the mistrust and persecution that they had fought so hard to put to rest.
Each warlock had to be so far above suspicion as to avoid tainting the image of his or her brethren, so all members of the society were forced to swear an oath to obey any laws or decrees of Stormwind or the Alliance. For a time, this had been easy to follow. Then the king had decreed that Sindara's older sister, Poldaran, must be captured and executed for crimes against the Alliance.
Sindara had chosen to aid Poldaran's escape because she believed that those in power had been misinformed. Poldaran wasn't a threat, she was an ally. In the end, she was proven correct and the king even officially pardoned the warlock for her actions.
That had not mattered to the warlock community, however. She had violated her oath, and in so doing, had put them all in danger. Her sentence stood. She would be hunted down and slaughtered.
The ground shook as the two humans among her enemies completed the spell they had been casting, releasing a powerful doomguard into the world. "You cannot command me!" he roared. Unfortunately, he was right. They had not properly etched the protective spells into the ground before the summoning, so they were unable to control him. He made short work of them before turning on Sindara.
"Well that's just wonderful," she said to no one in particular. She quickly assessed the situation. There was no time to work on a spell to control the rampaging demon, not with the remaining four foes attacking her, at least. No, this was going to the have to be done the hard way. "We all have our inner demons!" she growled, growing annoyed.
Shadows enveloped the warlock, warping her form and sending writhing pain coursing through her body. When the shadows faded, she had grown several feet taller, her teeth grew into fangs, her fingers and nails had lengthened into claws and great black wings had grown out of her back. Wisps of shadow still fluttered around the horns that had grown from her head. "Impressive!" the doomguard commented.
"Let's just get this over with," Sindara responded, leaping at her foe. He caught her hands and the two were locked in a struggle for dominance. Each flared out their wings in hopes of unbalancing their foe. In the end, while she was powerful, he was physically stronger. The doomguard lifted her off the ground and hurled her through the air to slam into a tree twenty yards away. The impact splintered the tree and tore it up from its roots, toppling it onto a frightened squirrel that had tried to flee the fighting.
The demon approached the warlock's limp body and laughed in triumph. "After I kill you, I will raze this city. Kil'jaeden will reward me for my victory today!"
With blinding speed, Sindara leaped to her feet and reached out , grasping the demon's head with her clawed right hand. "The only reward you've earned today is death," she said softly. "Tell your master that if he ever comes back to this place, he will regret it." With that, she unleashed a shadowbolt at point blank range into the doomguard's face, causing his head to explode in a spray of gore the consistency of chunky salsa. Her power expended, her body began to revert to its normal form.
"It seems you've worn yourself out," the gnomish warlock she had taunted called out. "You'll die just as he did."
From behind a nearby tree came a voice. "I think that's enough of that," it said. Sindara breathed a sigh of relief as Wizard Yadier, now in charge of Dalaran's security forces, stepped into view.
"Do not interfere in our internal affairs, dog of the Kirin Tor!" the gnome growled.
"Unfortunately for you, this became my affair as well the moment you set foot in Dalaran." He smiled at his friend. "You see, Sindara here is the oldest biological offspring of the late Lord Wintermoon. As such, she is technically the Lady Wintermoon. Here in Dalaran, we may be a Mageocracy, but we still have strict laws about attacking any of our nobles. That leaves you with two choices. Either you can call this a misunderstanding and leave this city at once, or I can have the two dozen battle mages surrounding this place take you into custody and you can explain to your masters how you chose to cause a major diplomatic incident." He smiled beatifically at the gnome. "The choice is yours, though I really would recommend you choose to leave."
Rage burned in the gnomes eyes as he glared at Sindara. "We'll leave, but do not think this is over, Oathbreaker. You'll have to leave this city sometime." He and the surviving warlocks departed.
Sindara smiled wanly at her friend. "Thanks, Yad. I don't think I would have survived much longer."
"Think nothing of it. Just doing my job." He gave her a strange look. "Hey, Sin, you have something on your forehead."
She reached up, worried by his statement. He fears were confirmed when she felt small horns, no longer than an inch, protruding from her skull. With some concentration, she was finally able to get the horns to recede. "Thanks. Would have likely gotten some funny looks walking through town with those," she said with a halfhearted chuckle.
It seemed that she did not share her half sister's immunity to the corrupting influence of magic. If she kept using that spell, she would one day find herself locked as a demon.
It would only be a matter of time.
"Well that's just wonderful," she said to no one in particular. She quickly assessed the situation. There was no time to work on a spell to control the rampaging demon, not with the remaining four foes attacking her, at least. No, this was going to the have to be done the hard way. "We all have our inner demons!" she growled, growing annoyed.
Shadows enveloped the warlock, warping her form and sending writhing pain coursing through her body. When the shadows faded, she had grown several feet taller, her teeth grew into fangs, her fingers and nails had lengthened into claws and great black wings had grown out of her back. Wisps of shadow still fluttered around the horns that had grown from her head. "Impressive!" the doomguard commented.
"Let's just get this over with," Sindara responded, leaping at her foe. He caught her hands and the two were locked in a struggle for dominance. Each flared out their wings in hopes of unbalancing their foe. In the end, while she was powerful, he was physically stronger. The doomguard lifted her off the ground and hurled her through the air to slam into a tree twenty yards away. The impact splintered the tree and tore it up from its roots, toppling it onto a frightened squirrel that had tried to flee the fighting.
The demon approached the warlock's limp body and laughed in triumph. "After I kill you, I will raze this city. Kil'jaeden will reward me for my victory today!"
With blinding speed, Sindara leaped to her feet and reached out , grasping the demon's head with her clawed right hand. "The only reward you've earned today is death," she said softly. "Tell your master that if he ever comes back to this place, he will regret it." With that, she unleashed a shadowbolt at point blank range into the doomguard's face, causing his head to explode in a spray of gore the consistency of chunky salsa. Her power expended, her body began to revert to its normal form.
"It seems you've worn yourself out," the gnomish warlock she had taunted called out. "You'll die just as he did."
From behind a nearby tree came a voice. "I think that's enough of that," it said. Sindara breathed a sigh of relief as Wizard Yadier, now in charge of Dalaran's security forces, stepped into view.
"Do not interfere in our internal affairs, dog of the Kirin Tor!" the gnome growled.
"Unfortunately for you, this became my affair as well the moment you set foot in Dalaran." He smiled at his friend. "You see, Sindara here is the oldest biological offspring of the late Lord Wintermoon. As such, she is technically the Lady Wintermoon. Here in Dalaran, we may be a Mageocracy, but we still have strict laws about attacking any of our nobles. That leaves you with two choices. Either you can call this a misunderstanding and leave this city at once, or I can have the two dozen battle mages surrounding this place take you into custody and you can explain to your masters how you chose to cause a major diplomatic incident." He smiled beatifically at the gnome. "The choice is yours, though I really would recommend you choose to leave."
Rage burned in the gnomes eyes as he glared at Sindara. "We'll leave, but do not think this is over, Oathbreaker. You'll have to leave this city sometime." He and the surviving warlocks departed.
Sindara smiled wanly at her friend. "Thanks, Yad. I don't think I would have survived much longer."
"Think nothing of it. Just doing my job." He gave her a strange look. "Hey, Sin, you have something on your forehead."
She reached up, worried by his statement. He fears were confirmed when she felt small horns, no longer than an inch, protruding from her skull. With some concentration, she was finally able to get the horns to recede. "Thanks. Would have likely gotten some funny looks walking through town with those," she said with a halfhearted chuckle.
It seemed that she did not share her half sister's immunity to the corrupting influence of magic. If she kept using that spell, she would one day find herself locked as a demon.
It would only be a matter of time.
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