Wennelly Winkledore concentrated on the target in front of her and began to cast Fireball for the umpteenth time that day. She completed the incantation, but the spell fizzled. For the umpteenth time that day.
The mage instructor, Babs Fizzlespark, looked on. "How odd that you should have such trouble when your sister takes to fire spells like a duck to water," said the wizened old gnome.
Wennelly peered over at her sister, Pennelly, on the other side of the room, who was having an absolute ball torching the practice targets faster than the assistant instructor could replace them.
"…Although sometimes I wish she weren't quite so enthusiastic," added Babs. "Why don't you try it one more time."
Wennelly fumed. She hated the constant comparisons to her sister, who had mastered every single one of the basic fire spells with seemingly no effort while Wennelly still struggled to produce a single Rank 1 Fireball. She began the incantation again, wanting nothing more than to see the target in flames. She devoted every ounce of concentration she had to achieving that one goal. Suddenly she felt more focused, more powerful, than she ever had before. She could feel the flames burning within her.
She completed the spell and instantly the target was engulfed in flames. Strange, though, she hadn't felt a fireball leave her hands. She thought that was what was supposed to happen.
She realized that the room had fallen silent. Babs was giving her the harshest glare she had ever seen from anybody. Suddenly shocked and afraid, Wennelly took a step back. Even Pennelly, normally anything but serious, looked deeply concerned.
"Where did you learn to do that?" demanded Babs.
"I… I don't…" Wennelly stammered.
"You must never do that again," admonished Babs. "Go home and study. And beg the priests to pray for your soul."
Wennelly stood there, dumbfounded.
"Go, child. You have no place here until you can properly master the elements."
Wennelly left the Gnomeregan mage training facility and wandered aimlessly down the street. Then she heard a voice.
"Psst. Girl."
Wennelly looked around.
"Over here." A gnome stepped out of the shadows. "I've been watching you, and I saw what happened. They call me Magnificus. Want to know why?"
Wennelly eyed him skeptically. "Why?"
Magnificus closed his eyes and began to chant something in Demonic. He had a dark aura around him, and Wennelly felt a sense of impending doom. Then a Voidwalker appeared from out of the nether. Wennelly had never seen one before, except in one of her mage textbooks — in the section on "Malevolent Creatures From The Void". The first word of advice in that chapter had been: "RUN." To Wennelly, that sounded like a fantastically good idea. But out of the corner of her eye she saw Magnificus make a gesture and then the Voidwalker grabbed her and lifted her off the ground, kicking and screaming.
"Do not be afraid," said Magnificus. "He is under my control. There is much that your mage trainer hasn't taught you. I believe you would be a worthy student."
"No!" said Wennelly, still struggling. "Let me go!"
"Very well. Take some time to think about what I've said. I'm confident I'll see you again."
The Voidwalker released Wennelly and she hit the ground running as if a Felhound were chasing her. She didn't stop — she couldn't stop for anything — until she reached the chapel in the Dwarven Center. She dove under the nearest pew and stayed there until the next morning, shaking and crying.
Several weeks passed. While Pennelly's training continued as usual, Wennelly never again set foot in the mage training center. She spent most of her time locked away in her room, studying the mage training texts and desperately trying to master the basic mage spells, with no success.
Eventually she abandoned her studies altogether and began spending her days sitting outside the mage training center, observing her sister's training. These days Pennelly was more level-headed and confident than Wennelly had ever seen her, although she did still have the tendency to get over-excited and ramble to her classmates about her imaginary friends or the ignition temperature of various materials. But whenever someone asked Pennelly about her sister, she would get uncharacteristically silent and then change the subject. Pennelly hadn't spoken to Wennelly since the day she had Immolated her practice target.
One day, Wennelly was in the Gnomeregan tavern nursing a Darkmoon Special Reserve when the city alarms went off. She stumbled outside to see the whole gnomish population in a panic. The Gnomeregan city guards were yelling, "TROGGS HAVE INVADED! DEFEND YOURSELVES!"
Wennelly ran to the mage training center to find that the students had already evacuated — all but one. Pennelly had stayed late for extra practice and was now stuck trying to hold off a pair of troggs by herself. Wennelly could tell that Pennelly had just used the last of her mana to Polymorph one of the troggs. She knew she had to do something to attract the other trogg's attention before the Polymorph wore off, or her sister would be killed.
Wennelly began to cast a spell — any spell. The trogg was about to kill her sister, and she wanted it dead first. After a few seconds, she saw a Shadowbolt leave her hands and strike the trogg, who stopped attacking Pennelly and came after Wennelly instead. Wennelly managed to produce another Shadowbolt, and the trogg lay dead at her feet. By this time the Polymorph on the first trogg had worn off, but Pennelly had been able to drink some water and she easily dispatched it.
Pennelly looked at Wennelly's dead trogg, clearly appalled at the shadow magic still lingering on the corpse. "Mekgineer Thermaplugg is going to irradiate the city," she said, not looking Wennelly in the eye. "We need to leave."
They fled the city and found Babs Fizzlespark and the rest of the mage trainees huddled just outside the entrance. "She made it!" cried a few of the students, who ran up to embrace Pennelly, but backed off when they saw Wennelly with her.
"You've been using shadow magic," accused Babs.
"She saved my life," said Pennelly.
"Pennelly, come here at once, before she corrupts you."
Pennelly reluctantly joined the group, looking back at Wennelly apologetically before they headed for Ironforge.
"Psst. Girl."
Wennelly turned around. Magnificus was standing off in the shadows with a self-satisfied look on his face.
"I see you've taken your first step toward mastery of shadow magic. Are you ready to begin your training now?"
Wennelly hesitated for a moment, looking off in the direction Pennelly and the mage training group had gone. Then she turned back.
"Teach me."
Magnificus smiled.
Three years later, Wennelly found herself standing in front of a small caravan in Coldridge Valley. One of the dwarves seemed to want something from her.
"A warlock, eh?" He looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Well, beggars cannae be choosers. If ye'll slay some o' those mangy wolves an' bring me their meat, lass, I'll give ye a pair o' these gloves in return."
"Gladly."