*Ghostlands, early evening*
Kyliska's charger plodded along the now rarely used path, the gloom of early evening coming fast in the Ghostlands. The oddly glowing foliage and distant rustling of possibly undead creatures moving through the half-dead brush were a constant reminder that this part of Quel'Thalas was not now, and likely never would be tamed again.
Kyliska didn't care of course; that was the whole point. She was going somewhere secluded to think for a while, and if some undead slaying came her way, well that was cathartic as well in some cases. She had left behind the annoying trappings of her new role in life and even her original role in House Sunfire. Dressed in simple studded leather and taking with her little more than a pack of supplies and her trusty ax, she had even left behind the House Sunfire barding and banners that she would typically have displayed on such a trip.
The journey had taken several hours, and by now her dear Andi would be well aware of her absence. That was just as well; he would only have tried to stop her and the last thing she wanted right now as to confront the reality of the next few years. Marriage and a new life seemed like grand ideas when one looked at them from a distance, but up close they could downright cause a great deal of fear, and a ton of anxiety and she'd had enough of both for a bit.
A particularly large crackle in the nearby underbrush gave Kyliska pause, and she pulled back on the reins of her charger for a moment, the animal coming to a halt as she scanned the surrounding dead trees.
A zombie or something else crawling through the bushes, or a bat coming out of its roost and upsetting the foliage around its lair?
The Ghostlands could be a dangerous place even in daylight, and she would not walk blindly into trouble if trouble had indeed found her. She remained perfectly still, dusk falling as she sat motionless, her glowing green eyes staring intently into the darkness.
The explosion came suddenly and so unexpectedly that it startled even the alert Kyliska. One moment she was staring into darkness, the next moment a wall of explosive flame flared to life across her path. Kyliska's charger bucked at the sudden frightening crackle of flames, the animal rearing up. Although it was trained for battle, its rider's unease had settled into the beast, and it was beyond all control. Desperately Kyliska held the reins, even as the beast began to buck her off its back. She scrambled, managing to snatch a hold of her ax's pommel and one of her packs before she was hurled from the saddle.
Another wall of flames burst to life beside her, and her startled charger nearly trampled her as it turned and fled, forcing Kyliska to roll in the dirt to avoid its hooves. The foliage around her crackled and hissed with the orange flames, but she noted that the sounds of larger creatures moving through the brush could be heard under the sound. In an instant she was on her feet, ax in hand as she turned towards the source of the sounds.
The wall of flames seemed to bend as a form surged through it, the demonic visage of a felhunter appearing from the darkness. The beast reached Kyliska in three charging strides, her ax narrowly deflecting its jaws. Behind Kyliska, another wall of flames erupted, pinning her into a narrow alley of burning fire. It was clear now she was in the center of an ambush, and her warcry echoed through the forest as she brought her ax to bear on the felhunter.
A second demon lurched from the wall of fire, the newly arrived felhunter charging at her legs and forcing her back even as she scored a minor hit to the first one's head, severing one of its tentacles. The beast howled like a wounded dog, and the howl was taken up by the second felhunter.
And then howls came from at least three more from beyond the flames.
Kyliska knew she was in trouble now as a third demonic hound lurched through the wall of fire, blocking her access to the only path clear of the flames. She battered it with her ax, forcing it back and whirling to meet the attack of a second demon, the creatures attacking her almost like a pack of wolves might. Such creatures did not belong in Quel'Thalas however, and were not native to the Ghostlands. As a result, Kyliska knew she had another foe somewhere in the darkness that she couldn't see. She pointed into the forest, shouting holy words and instantly the woods burst into clear, brilliant light.
In the distance, beyond the wall of fire a figure stood within the trees, staring at her from where it had been revealed. Kyliska pointed again and again shouted out words of power, her holy judgement flying across the distance and forcing the distant figure to duck behind a tree as her power stripped the bark from the wood.
Wicked, almost delighted laughter filtered through the forest as Kyliska was again forced to defend herself as a fourth felhunter emerged from the fires, this one snapping its jaws at her legs. She swung her ax hard, the blade connecting with the beast's head and removing said head in a single stroke, the corpse flying by her and slamming into one of her other attackers.
A felhunter jumped up, its teeth clamping down on her shoulder and causing her to cry out as the pressure from the bite pinched through her lighter armor. She slapped a hand against it, holy magic pouring into the beast and causing it to Turn. It howled, fleeing in terror from her holy form even as another of the creatures jumped at her.
Kyliska whirled, her hand coming up again and this time she uttered her most powerful of holy spells. The felhunter was struck mid-air by her exorcism, the words of Light utterly obliterating it from existence and sending it back to the nether as if it had never been. A fading howl was all that remained of it as Kyliska laughed and turned to face another of the beasts.
That was when she was struck by fel magics, the chaotic bolt of pure energy surging from the forest beyond and hitting her squarely in the back. The force of the blow spun her around and dazed her, the felhunters she had been about to fight leaping towards her to take advantage of the moment. The weight of two of the demons struck her in the back of the legs and on one arm as she was bit again, and she fell beneath them, her ax flailing wildly.
In desperation, she swung again, her blow neatly beheading another of the creatures as the last one clamped down hard on her shoulder and worried at it like a dog attacking prey. A blast of cold black fel energy slammed down upon her and the night sky spun as she was dazed again, her ax finally flying from her hands.
As she stared up, the figure she had seen earlier loomed over her, the felhunter on her shoulder sitting as the person uttered a command, its weight pinning down her entire right arm and shoulder. The figure kneeled down, putting weight on Kyliska's chest with one of her legs as she loomed close in the glow of the fire.
Kyliska found herselt staring up at a human woman with long, jet black hair. The woman grinned at her, her pock-marked face disturbing with the half-illumination coming from the inferno in the woods, "Greetings Kyliska Sunfire. A mutual acquaintance wishes to impart a message to you. It is something you will absolutely love to see I'm sure."
"I don't know any human scum, so I seriously doubt that you know anyone that I also know, bitch," Kyliska responded with a snarl. She brought a hand up, grabbing the woman's leg and shoving her off as she struggled to get the demon off her, its teeth clamping down harder and drawing blood now.
The woman grinned, her hand coming out and back-handing the prone elf, one of her plain traveler's boots coming down and firmly stepping on Kyliska's free arm, pinning it as she bent close again, "Oh, but we do, Lady Sunfire. You simply don't know who it is, that is all. Also, how very rude of me; I have not introduced myself. Given that you and I will be traveling together for a short time, it is only proper that I observe the formalities, wouldn't you say?" She grinned and laughed as Kyliska attempted to wrest her arm free from the demon's jaws.
"Your name doesn't matter, human. I'm going to tear you to pieces in about three seconds. I could put your name on whatever grave marker I make for you though," Kyliska growled, still struggling.
The woman frowned, shaking her head, "You bore me, Lady Sunfire. I had expected more wit from one such as you. Regardless, I am Serephel Delange and I will guide you to the place where you will receive your little message. You can go peacefully or not. I care little either way."
Kyliska grinned and spat up at the woman, her spittle hitting the human right in the face. The woman who had called herself Serephel frowned, bringing a hand up to wipe the spit from her face before shaking her head, "You are fortunate our mutual friend wishes you alive and well, or I would literally tear your heart from your chest you skinny little bitch. As it is, now this is going to hurt far more than necessary."
"Do your worst, bitch!" Kyliska snarled. Light flared in her hand and the felhunter whined as it was wounded.
Serephel lurched forward suddenly, a grin on her face and a sacrificial dagger in her hand. She held it against Kyliska's throat, pressing it close and forcing the other into immobility, "Oh I shall, Kyliska. I shall. And you will regret very much every word you have spoken here."
Kyliska opened her mouth to say something more, but Serephel suddenly reversed the dagger and brought the pommel of the weapon down hard on Kyliska's forehead. The blow dulled her senses, the strike hard enough to make the world spin around her. She saw Serephel looming over her, the human grinning as she brought the dagger up and hit Kyliska again.
And again, and again.
Probably by the ninth time she could have stopped, but Serephel was having fun after all. Besides, bruises weren't likely to be fatal, and the little bitch deserved what she got. After a time she grew tired and bored, and put her dagger away, signaling to the felhunter to release its victim. She stared down at the unconscious blood elf and grinned, uttering the words to a spell and opening a demonic gateway that glowed with foul green light.
With a sigh, Serephel bent down and grabbed Kyliska's legs, beginning the process of dragging her victim to her destination beyond the gate.
********************************************
Hours later, Kyliska would wake up with a throbbing headache in a dusty room dimly lit by a small fire in a nearby hearth. After her vision stopped spinning and she had assessed her aches, she could see in the minimal light that the room contained a dirty old bedroll upon which she was sitting, a table with an iron key atop it, and a pile of sacks in the corner that looked to contain some food and wineskins judging by what was sticking from the top.
Kyliska groaned and went to rise, the movement arrested by the rattle of a chain. She looked down, eyes wide as she saw her shoes had been stolen and that around one leg was a dark iron manacle that chained her by the ankle to the floor of whatever dilapidated old building she was imprisoned in.
Even as she discovered this, a shadow moved in the doorway and a female figure entered the room, the nearly naked succubus grinning at her captive and smiling, "Oh! You're awake! That's perfect as the show is about to begin soon. Please, Lady Sunfire, let me know if you need anything. I would love to serve you."
With that the demoness moved further into the room, setting a small orb down on the floor. Kyliska recoiled at being so close to a demon, and she began to utter the words to another exorcism spell. Pain shot through her like an electric shock as she began, and she looked down in horror to see glowing fel green runes along the manacle on her ankle, interrupting her spellcasting.
"Oh Lady Sunfire!" the demoness scolded. "No magic in here please! You're here to watch a few things and I'm here to tend to your every need!"
The demoness giggled and stepped away from the orb, gesturing at her, "This will show you exactly what you need to see! I'll be in the next room, so just call me if you need me 'kay? I'd love to help!"
With that the foul creature practically pranced from the room, leaving the glowing orb where it sat. Kyliska looked at it for a moment and then her mouth opened in shock as it glowed more brightly and began projecting a magical image into the air in front of her, the orb clearly having been linked to a scrying spell.
A spell that showed Kyliska's own bedroom at Sunfire Estate.
She felt her stomach dropped as she realized the orb was about to show her something horrible, and her mind raced as she tried to think about who could have done this, or who that Serephel woman knew. She curled up as best she could against the wall, her knees pressed against her chest as she watched the glowing image, waiting to see what new horror would be inflicted upon her next.
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