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Two Years Before the Fall
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Today was the day Brimstone had been training for all her life, it was the reason that she had left her home and travelled hundreds of miles north through dangerous and hostile lands still under the control of the horde. It was not just the horde that had to be avoided but the numerous bandits and aggressing predators that she had avoided and in some cases slain on her long trip from Gnomeregan to Dalaran.
But even after she had reached the fabled city of magic her hardships did not end, though her teachers who had been expecting her treated her with respect, her fellow students were another matter. As soon as she met them they had looked down on her both physically and metaphorically, the snooty elves and arrogant humans sniggered and mocked her behind her back; that was until one of them made the mistake of doing so to her face.
Being a gnome Brimstone was gifted with creating mechanical marvels, but while she was tinkering a particularly snobbish elf grabbed her arclight spanner and placed it on the top shelf much to his and his friend’s amusement, they jeered and mocker her as quietly without a word or even rising from her small stool, she looked at where he had put her tool.
Suddenly she was no longer in her sitting on her stool but now sat next to her spanner on the top shelf, they fell silent as in the next moment she blinked back into her stool with no apparent effort. The smug manner with which she performed a spell which should have been far above her ability incensed the bully.
“Let’s see how you smile with a wool coat,” he snarled and began to say the words to a poly-morph spell. He got no further than the second word as with a wave of her hand she scorched his chest setting his long blonde hair on fire.
He was only on fire for a few moments before an instructor appeared and quickly threw a pot of water over him. As a result of this episode she had been put on probation, but she had been given over to more senior instructors who could teach her the more advance spells which she had shown she was clearly capable of. Another benefit of the altercation was that it had stopped the other students from talking behind her back now they looked at her with a mixture of jealously and fear.
Now she stood on the edge of the Fabled ‘Ring of Dalaran’ where the final test was about to take place. So far she and the other students in her year had been put up against golems, wild beasts and even and elemental. One by her classmates had fallen but the way side until only she and one other young mage were left, a human named Haron. Now they would face off in a duel to see which would graduate top of the class.
As individuals the two mages were complete and total opposites where Brimstone was organised and planed in everything down to the last detail, Haron’s room was mass of scrolls, tomes, dirty laundry and half eaten meals. When it came to socializing he had a close nit group of friends, who he spent most of his free time with, while she could not name one other student that she had spoken to for more than five minutes outside of the lessons. Both were extremely talented but when it came to their attitudes towards spell casting, she applied her highly organised brain to thinking out every possible out come of a spell, his approach was to go at it blind, seemly relying on his legendary luck. Finally Brimstone specialized unleashing and controlling fire magic, Haron was a master in manipulating water in both its frozen and liquid states.
“Haron, Brimstone this is your final test,” announced the headmaster of the magic school as he teleported into the centre of the ring. “It will consist of three rounds, each will test your mastery over one of our magic schools, first we will see who has more control over fire, the second revolves around your skills in summoning water elementals and finally a demonstration of you Arcane magic.”
Both mages nodded their understanding at their superior, returning the gesture he teleported back up to his balcony, suddenly the temperature in the hall dropped markedly and two large patches of ice formed in the middle of the ring. As the students watched in amazement the ice built up upon itself until it had formed two large humanoid shapes the size of two small ogres.
“Te see which of you is more skilled when it comes to wielding fire magic you will each attempt to melt these ice golems as quickly as you can,” the headmaster called out. With a small gesture he brought both of the constructs to life and slowly they began to advance on the students.
Wasting no time both young mages started to cast their spells, Haron was the first to strike as his fire ball melted away his targets left forearm and then with a quick scorch carved out a sizable hole in its torso. In the time it had taken the him to cast these spells Brimstone was still casting hers, by the time she cast it the golem coming towards her was one step away from reaching her, but that became irrelevant as soon as her spell bust into life.
A ball of fire twice the gnome mages size exploded from her fingers and shot straight towards the ice golem, it struck the construct squarely in the chest and the room was suddenly engulfed in a dense cloud of steam. There were a few outbursts of coughing before the instructors dissipated the mist and all could see the result of Brimstone’s effort and when they did everyone in the hall gasped in surprise. All that remained of her target was the two stumps which had been its legs; the rest from the knees up was gone.
With a short incantation the headmaster dismissed the remaining golem, as a group of peasants rushed into the room and began to mop up the pools of water left by the constructs. This allowed both mages to take a short breather before the second round, despite his defeat Haron seem completely unperturbed as he walked over to a floating mage table and began to help himself to the food on it. In stark contrast Brimstone sat back in the seat she had occupied throughout the tests and began to meditate, mentally preparing herself for the second round. Soon everything was ready and the Headmaster rose from his chair.
“Students please take your places for the second round,” he announced, Brimstone and Haron once again took up their positions. “For the second round your powers over frost magic will be tested, both of you will summon a water elemental which you’ll use it to battle a common foe.”
The water and ice chucks which had been cleaned up by the peasants was now returned to the centre of the ring, only this time contained in two large buckets, these were placed in front of the two competing mages. Once more the room fell silent as both Brimstone and Haron began to pronounce the incantations needed to summon a water elemental, almost simultaneously the liquid within the containers began to swirl before expanding upwards rapidly.
It quickly became clear that in this round Haron had a distinctive advantage as the water from Brimstone’s bucket stopped expanding noticeably before his. However it was not just the fact that his elemental was twice the size of hers that made it clear he was more potent in frost magic but the shape and consistency as well, while had distinctive edges and appeared to be made of pure crystal clear water, hers appeared to be in a constant state of flux as parts of it increases and the shrunk, not to mention the water is was made of seemed to be dark and polluted
“Master Thorrgram,” the headmaster called to a well dressed dwarf. “Please activate the Sherman.”
“At once Headmaster,” Thorrgram replied and turned to two of his kin. “You heard him boys let The Sherman out,” he yelled, they yelled back as they pulled open two large doors, the room behind them was totally dark.
As the Headmaster and the other staff members of the school sat back with smug looks on their faces, the students on the other hand, including Brimstone and Haron strained to see just what was there. Without warning the floor shook and something in the shadows moved. Several members of the audience screamed in alarm as a huge green figure emerged from the darkness of the other room. It moved with speed that belied its size and quickly it entered the ring where it stopped before the two mages and their creations.
“Behold The Sherman,” Thorrgram announced proudly. “Built in the heart of Ironforge before the three way civil war between the clans, this ancient behemoth was crafted for a battle and has seen action in almost every conflict including that with the horde. Now let’s see if your creations are a match for the finest crafters ever to use a hammer and anvil.”
‘The Sherman’ raised both arms in an aggressive gesture as Thorrgram spoke and began to advance when he had finished. The mages instantly commanded their elementals to attack, bolts of ice struck the construct across its chest however it did not even pause mid stride. As it drew closer the two split apart Brimstone’s going left and Haron’s moving to the right.
For a moment ‘The Sherman’ paused and it seemed as if by splitting up the mages had confused it. But they both of them had made a critical mistake; by splitting up they had ordered their elementals into the reach of their ancient foe. Before either of them could react it turned and lunged at Brimstones elemental using both hands it brought them together in a powerful clap, obliterating it instantly.
While ‘The Sherman’ was so focused on Brimstone’s elemental, Haron took the opportunity to order his to attack once again. Frost bolts struck the stone golem repeatedly in its upper torso and face, but like before it seemed to cause not damage at all. Then to everyone’s amazement ‘The Shermans’ right arm fell off, it crashed to the floor with a deafening bang, for a moment the construct continued to turn but then the fact that it was now hopelessly unbalanced it began to topple over.
Once more the room was filled by gasps from the audience as they watched ‘The Sherman’ fall, as it hit the ground it finally succumbed to centuries of battle damage and broke apart into large chunks of rubble. Everyone in the room stared in shocked first at the debris and then at Haron who seemed equally as surprised as everyone else, then he merely shrugged before turning and walking over to the mage table once again.
Once again the doors opened and the peasants ran in, this time with large wheel barrows, with the help of the still shell shocked dwarfs the remains of ‘The Sherman’ were cleared away and taken from the room. Even as the servants left the chamber, the third and last pair of doors opened and in strode a dozen high elves, each wore a set of royal blue armour with long shield that covered them from head to foot. Brimstone’s eye widen as she watched them and when they stopped just outside the ring she gulped.
“Hey what’s with the elves and those fancy getups of theirs?” Haron asked her quietly and she realized she had been so focused on the newcomers that she had not seen him walk up to her.
“Those as High Elf Spellbreakers,” she answered.
“Oh,” he nodded. “And what do they do when their not marching up and down in nice little rows?” he inquired, unable to believe her ears, she stared up at him.
“They are the elite bodyguard of the high elf royal family, trained and conditioned to be highly resistant to magic,” she explained.
“Really, that’s awesome,” he said giving her his trade mark laid back smile, just as he spoke two of the spellbreakers moved to the centre of the ring. “Well looks like they are ready, this is going to be fun. Good luck,” he added giving her a thumbs up and walked back to his position.
Brimstone could do nothing but look at his back with a mixture of disbelief and confusion. She just could not comprehend how some one like Haron could have managed to not only succeed in magic training but was able to rival her in skill and ability. His laid back, slacker attitude was in complete contrast to what she thought a mages should be, as soon as he reached his spot the headmaster stood up once again.
“Our final test is about to begin,” he announced. “Captain Swiftblade of the Spellbreakers has graciously agreed to take part in this bout. Now Haron, Brimstone do not worry we do not expect you to slay these veteran warriors, but the first to successfully land a polymorph spell one of them wins. Are you ready?” he asked them, the two mages nodded. “Spellbreakers are you ready?” the elves raise their shields and drew duel bladed training swords. “Very well, Begin!”
With shocking speed the two elven warriors closed on the mages, weapons raised. Instinctively both mages fell back on what they knew best Haron threw a bolt of ice, while Brimstone hurled a fireball, the spellbreakers blocked both attacks on their shields.
Now the warriors were close enough to the casters to strike with their blades, but this was where Brimstone found that she had a natural advantage rather than a magical one. While most elves were taller than the average human and gnomes barely came up to their waists, as a result the first swing passed far over her head and she was able to scorch his armoured legs causing the elf to stagger back in surprise and give her the time she needed to blink a short distance away.
Haron being human of course did not have such a size advantage and so his foes blade was about to hit him square in the chest when he suddenly encased himself in an ice block. His spell came at athe last moment and the elf could not pull his blow back, the sword hit the icy obstruction with such force that it caused the weapon to vibrate so much that the warrior himself stumbled backwards. Seizing his chance Haron broke out of his shell and like Brimstone blinked away.
It did not take long though for the Spellbreakers to recover however and they quickly were on the attack once more. Their speed however did not catch the mages off guard like before and both unleash a torrent of arcane missiles upon the warriors, forcing them to raise their shields to protect themselves. Again Brimstone and Haron fell back on their strengths Haron’s opponent suddenly found his feet encased in ice while Brimstone’s saw a dragons head appear above her which meant due to the height difference it looked him straight in the eye seconds before he was engulf bye a wave of fire. When the smoke of from the flames cleared there were two mages and two white fluffy sheep which were trotting around a baaing looking for grass.
There were numerous cheers and pats on the back for Haron as he walked over to his seat, it was clear that the popular belief among the student was that he had been the victor in this the final round. Brimstone made her way back to her chair and sat down with and exhausted sigh, she did not care that her classmates had chosen her rival their opinions matter little to her though she spotted Captain Swiftblade looking in her direction, when she made eye contact he gave her a respectful nod and turned to speak with the headmaster, waving for the two Spellbreakers who had been in the ring to join them.
For around ten minutes the celebrations around Haron continued while Brimstone pulled a magical tome from her bag and began to study its contents keenly. Though she had been working hard for this day all her life it was now over, so it was time to set a new goal and work towards it.
“Silence please,” the head master called and the students obeyed. “After discussion with members of my staff and Captain Swiftblade, my decision is that both Brimstone and Haron will jointly be recognized as the best students of this class.” At this announcement there was an uproar from the students yelling that Haron had beaten Brimstone, however when she looked at him Haron had strongly motioned for his close friends to stop and then flashing her a lazy smile he lead them from the chamber. Closing her tome she slipped off her chair and as all ways ignoring her classmates she too left.
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One month later
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Rain, she always hated the rain, and here in the Wetlands it seemed to be eternally raining. Such weather did little to improve her mood which had been dark now since she had left Dalaran and those small minded bigots that had all but thrown her out. Her final conversation with the head master had not gone well as her explained why she must leave the city.
They had talked in the library while the graduation party that she had chosen not to attend had been going on, he informed her that the ruling mages had spoke to him about her specifically. Like him they had been watching her progress closely and had been impressed by her skills in wielding magic, but they agreed with him that her ambition combined with her apparent disregard for all those around her worried her.
It had been the decision of the cities leaders that she should return home in the hope that she could reconnect with her own people; they hoped that if she did so it would temper her hunger for power which according to them was as dangerous as berserk, axe wielding orc. Such attitudes to her were weak and pathetic, still here she was heading back to a city that she felt she had outgrown, there was only one mage who she felt came even close to her power, however like Haron, he specialized in frost magic.
“You know for one so small you should not let your mind wander when travelling in a place as dangerous as this,” a gruff voice commented. Spinning round Brimstone sought to find who had spoken, but the rain hid them from her sight. “I have been watching you young gnome,” the voice spoke again. “You are truly gifted in the magic arts more so than even you know.”
“Who are you?!” Brimstone called into the rain. “Show yourself!” she yelled, moments later a large hooded figure emerged from the downpour, without realising it she took a step away from the stranger. He was huge, and had he been standing upright, not bent slightly and leaning on a staff he would have easily stood talker than any human or elf she had ever met.
“You wanted to know who I am,” he chuckled, and leant closer still. “Well then take a look,” he added Brimstone found herself staring into the face of a gaunt, battle scared, dark green skinned face of an orc, and he was smiling at her.
Spell incantations began to tumble from her mouth as she began to cast a spell at the monster, but with a bemused wave of his hand Brimstone found herself speaking in a tongue that she had never heard before. Each sound burned into her mind causing her to grimace in pain disrupting her casting, patiently the orc before her stood and waited.
“I mean you know harm young one,” he assured her. “In fact I’m here to offer you a chance at power beyond anything you can even dream about,” he added giving her a large broken toothed grin, she gave up trying to cast her spell and looked expectantly at him. “Clever girl,” he complemented her then he looked over his shoulder. “Minions show yourselves,” he called out into the rain, moments later they were joined by four creatures the likes of which she had never seen before.
One appeared to be made entirely of a dark magical energy; it was round in shape with two powerful arms and a small head which housed to glowing sinister eyes. Another seemed to be a scaled dog of some kind, long black tentacles ran along the length of its back and two even stood up right seemingly reaching for Brimstone the creatures head appeared to be made out of bone with rows and rows of sharp pointy teeth.
Turning she looked at the other two who were no less strange, one seemed incapable of standing still even for a moment, it constantly moved its ting grey skinned body this way and even going to far as to perform a perfect standing back flip. Though it stood no taller than Brimstone herself, there was an aura of danger and mischievousness about it that the little gnome found very intriguing. The last of the newcomers appeared to be on first glance the most attractive human female that Brimstone had ever seen, with long cascading black hair, flawless skin, not to mention a bust which seemed barley contained within the leather corset which she wore. But then she noticed two horns, a pair of wings, a long tail, the fact that the leg joints bent the wrong way and that there were hooves instead of feet. Never the less she found that she found that she could not look away from this female figure.
“What are they?” Brimstone managed to ask.
“Demons my young friend,” the orc stated waving his arms wide “All of them are demons,” he laughed as she gasped in shock.
“But that would make you a…” she stuttered.
“Yes, a warlock,” he finished for her; she could only nodded in a mixture of fear and awe. “What’s more I am a warlock, in need of an apprentice.”
“Huh,” she replied as her mind went blank, he shook his head in amusement clearly he had been expecting such a reaction.
“You are a powerful mage young one, but this is not enough for you, is it now,” he stated rather than asked. “Become my apprentice and you’ll achieve more than you could ever dream of as a mere mage,” he commented as he held out his hand to her, she looked at him for a moment, she had heard stories of warlocks from the first war and the power that they wielded and now here was one offering that to her, how could she refuse.
“Alright,” she said accepting his hand. “Let’s see what you got,” she added and with that took her first steps into her future…