Side Effects May Vary

Biara pushed through the sheer fabric curtains that walled off the entrance to the magic chamber, making her way inside. Wearing an elegant and stylish dress, she had forgone her normal array of magical artifacts and accessories in favor of simple jewelry; she was here to relax after all. The only object of power she wore was the circlet on her head, which she never parted with.

The chamber itself was a circular room that was dimly lit by magical glow orbs around its circumference. The marble floor sloped downward until the center of the room was a pit filled with lush carpets and soft silk-lined pillows. Amongst the luxurious comforts stood a few free-standing trays that contained bowls of blue-glowing crystals in them.

Biara smiled as she sank down beside one of the trays, letting her body conform to the softness of the pillows. She reached out, her fingers plucking a gem from one of the bowls and holding it up. They were not actually gems, but instead mana-crystals made from the purest sources of arcane power. The Magistrix closed her eyes and let her senses reach out, latching onto the magic within the crystal and absorbing it into her body. The little gem crumbled to dust as the magic that composed its substance was inhaled into the Sin'dorei, and Biara shuddered with bliss as she fed her addiction once more.

As she leaned her head back into the pillows behind her, her eyes drifted half-closed and her senses tingled with the magic. Around her, faintly heard and only heard within her mind a crackling sound began to grow, as if there were thunder nearby. Biara smiled to herself; she'd been waiting for it to happen, and it had only been a matter of time after all.

As if to mirror her thoughts, the temperature in the room plunged and dark magic began to flow through her. A few tiny flakes of snow settled around her as a whispering could be heard in her mind.

“Keep on absorbing the magic. Keep on feeding your need. You are so close. So very close to all the power you could ever want. You simply need to reach out and grasp it. To submit to it.”

Biara shuddered as the Lichling's voice whispered to her. It was not the first time since tapping into the power of the phylactery that the creature had tried to influence her. Each time, it's voice got louder, more insistent. This time it was all she could do not to listen to it. It was a side effect of absorbing so much scourge power that she'd come to expect. This time would be different however.

“I can sense your thoughts. I know your desires for revenge. I know what you've done. You are slowly succumbing to it anyway, why not simply reach out and grasp the power? You were meant to be a champion of the scourge. You were meant to be my servant!”

Biara felt the creature's cold will tearing at the corners of her mind, trying to overcome her. It had made great progress over the past few weeks, especially with the time she'd spent in Ashenvale, capturing and torturing priestesses of Elune to find hints of her lost beloved's location. She could sense by the power of the creature that it was finally time for a confrontation, but not of the sort it desired. She relaxed and let the creature into her mind.

She could feel the Lichling's startled reaction as her defenses fell voluntarily; it had expected her to fight it, to resist it until it broke her. At the same time, a curious burning sensation began to grow on her brow, and Biara smiled; she knew what was coming next.

Several months ago Biara had created the circlet on her head after consulting with several warlocks. The object was much more than a simple headpiece, and contained the trapped essence of a demon within it. Much like the fel crystals in the city, it was designed to be a power source, although a much more portable one than those large structures. Specifically, the jewelry contained a rather angry succubus named Sarathysssa which the Magistrix had been draining of power, and Biara could feel the creature's ire building as the circlet burned hotter. The demon's voice and thoughts penetrated the cold fog of the Lichling's will within her mind.

“The Magistrix is mine,” Sarathysssa's voice hissed. “She will answer to the legion for what she has done, and I will tolerate no other to claim her until I have flayed the flesh from her bones and set her spirit to unbearable torment!”

Biara smiled as the demoness spoke; she was such a sweet little thing.

Instantly Biara's head swam as the demoness within the circlet reached out with her power, trying to stop the Lichling from claiming the Sin'dorei's body. Biara knew it would happen; the demon wanted its revenge, and it did NOT want other demons or creatures controlling the body that wore its imprisoning circlet. The Lichling's power reeled back as fel magic flared, battling with the scourge magic that Biara had absorbed.

Slowly Biara stood as the confrontation became more violent. Within her mind, the shrieking wails of the Lichling and succubus battled to be heard over one another, and alternating waves of fel magic and scourge magic flowed through her, making her tremble. The power within the room was growing, and although Biara had calculated the physics behind the two forces precisely, she was not entirely sure of the end result of this battle.

Unfortunately, it appeared her calculations were somewhat off as a cold wind snapped into existence within the room. Snow began to fall heavily from nowhere as the Lichling tried to manifest its presence. The coldness was met by flaming felfire that expanded from around Biara's feet, instantly consuming the cushions and mana crystal stands around her. The gems consumed in the fire exploded, and bluish-purple light flared all around her as a swirling chaos of magical energy was unleashed.

Biara had time to whisper before the three conflicting forces met in the air, “Oops...”

Fire exploded from the ground and ice hurtled from the sky, meeting in mid-air in a ruinous explosion fueled by the unleashed arcane energy of the crystals. Everything in the room was burned to ash and then frozen as steam, smoke, and vapors filled the area with a choking toxic cloud. Biara shouted the words to a warding spell as flame and ice covered her, and the wails of the Lichling and succubus could be hear audibly now.

Seconds later, Biara's wards activated, and her iron will, powered by the arcane energy in the air, clamped down on the two forces she'd unleashed. The room fell silent as the flames died away to nothing, the last flakes of snow drifting to land with little hisses on the burning embers that coated the floor. Biara waved a hand in front of her face to get the smoke away and realized she couldn't even see her own limb through the thick clouds. She whispered another word of magic and a gentle breeze of cool air blew the smoke to the edge of the room. In the light of the two guttering glow orbs that remained, she surveyed her surroundings.

Everything had been destroyed. All of the furniture, the tapestries on the walls, the mana-crystals, even her clothing. She stood nude in the center of a circular room filled with the debris from the destruction, the magical wards on her body smoking with power. The only other surviving object in the room besides herself was the circlet that still sat on her head, glowing cherry red and yet not burning her. She raised an eyebrow as she took in the damage.

“Fascinating,” she whispered.

She took a few cautious steps, trying not to set her now bare feet upon the smoldering remains of the furniture as she walked towards the exit. She addressed the Lichling and the succubus as she walked, knowing the two powers could hear her even if they had been forced down into submission again.

“This is something neither of you will ever understand,” she lectured. “One of you wishes to make all life into scourge. The other wishes to bring destruction and enslavement to all life. Each of you focus on only a single source of power, a single thing of magic because that is what you are made of and all you know.”

The Magistrix paused, looking back at the destroyed room from the doorway. “The Sin'dorei are more than just one source of magic, one thing. We wield it as the tool it is. You are both my tools, my pawns, my playthings. Regardless of your desires and goals, you will serve Quel'Thalas, and me because we are the masters and heirs of magic on this world.”

With that, she turned and strolled from the room. Her guards in the hallway wisely averted their eyes from her naked form as she headed for her bedchambers. They looked at each other with puzzled expressions as they heard her muttering to herself.

“More Light next time I think. Definitely more Light to counteract the explosions...”