Cold. Hunger. Desperation.
Those were the only things she felt at that moment. She tried to bury her face deeper into the thick furs of her coat, but even that was not enough to shield her from the icy winds. She was by no means underdressed. She had prepared to move through the frozen plains of Northrend, dressed in a thick fur coat and fur laced boots. But even that was not enough to shield her from the snowstorm that had struck her swiftly and mercilessly. She had been too late to find shelter, and for the last hour she was left to wander the frozen abyss in search of a place to hide from the freezing cold. She could barely see, for whenever she tried the wind would ruthlessly slash at her face, making her cower into the little cover she had. Even if she was able to see, the blizzard was so thick that she could barely see a few feet.
By all means, she should have succumbed to hypothermia by now. Only her natural affinity to frost magic kept her alive, albeit barely. Her vision was faltering, black spots swimming across her vision. She knew she could not hold on for much longer. As if to confirm this fact, her legs gave out and with a gasp she fell into the unforgiving snow. She wanted to die right there, if only to end this torture. Her hood had been flung from her head by a strong gust, exposing her face to the slicing wind. She wanted to grasp the hood again, but her hands would not listen. She looked at her gloved hands, feeling frostbite come along them. She clutched them to her chest, closing her eyes tightly. ''Please...'' a final act of desperation. ''I don't want to die...''
A sudden searing hot pain flared in her chest. A dominant and loud voice within her screamed ''NO''. She gasped and tried to scream in fear at the excruciating pain, but her throat was raw and it only succeeded in adding to her pain. Instead she could only stare ahead, eyes wide as saucers. But wait... What was that? Was that a light in the distance? Sudden hope flared in her chest, dulling the pain. With astounding effort she pulled herself back up on her feet and stumbled towards the light. She slipped and nearly fell occasionally, but a newfound determination kept her from falling to the floor again. But again, exhaustion overtook her. She could no longer see the light. She had been tricked. Her own mind had tricked her in pushing on just a little bit more. Sorrow consumed her once more and she felt no more need to go on further, no more will. She let herself fall forward, no longer caring where she fell.
But then, she did not. Her fall was stopped by something hard and... warm. She placed her hand against it and braced herself. It was a door. A wooden door. Which meant a house... and shelter.
Still fearing that her mind was playing tricks on her she was hesitant to open it. It was hard to turn the doorknob, for her fingers would not wrap around it. When she finally managed it, a jiggle proved that the door was locked. A white hot rage welled up inside of her. She had finally found salvation, and she would not let anything stop her until she got into that house. With a roar of fury she released a frostbolt on the lock and it exploded with a satisfying boom. She ripped the door open and fell inside, only to fall to the floor, unconscious.
When she woke next she felt a lot warmer than before. She raised her head to find that the fire place had been lit, making the room warm and cozy. She sat up slowly, searching for anyone else that could be in the room. When she found nobody she rose up fully. She no longer felt exhausted, though she still felt slightly weary. The room was evidently a living room. There was the fireplace that she could sense was lit by magic. There was a single comfortable looking chair in front of the fireplace, along with a little table. Looking further around she found that there was one door and a staircase. Most of the walls were covered in bookcases, of course, filled with innumerable books. You could almost compare it to a small library. She could see that several of those books were placed on a little table next to a the chair. Deciding it was good to rest some more she sat in the chair, not thinking at all about invading someone else's home. Curiously she picked up a few of the books that lay next to it.
'The human body', 'The arcane arts', 'decomposition'. But the one that really caught attention was named 'the beauty of undeath'. She opened the first few pages and was instantly captivated. 'Death is something that we mortals fear the most. Life is filled with choices and possibilities, but death is the one inescapable truth. We all die. We have no choice in the matter, that is why most of us fear it. Those who do not are foolish.'
'But there is a way to defy this certainty. Undeath. Many would lead you to believe that undeath is an abomination on mankind, that you should not practice it for it is 'unnatural' and 'against nature'. but there is no such thing. If it is possible how can it be unnatural? They are simply deluded. Scared of the unknown. They are not strong enough delve deeper into this mostly unexplored form of magic. 'In this book I will show and teach you the art of undeath and necromancy'.
She could not take away her eyes. She read. She kept reading until she had finished the thick book. But she wanted more. her curiosity was not yet sated. She picked up one book after the other, all about the undead or necromancy. She was fascinated by the subject. Like the author of the first book had said, it was an unexplored form of magic, and she wanted to be the first to truly discover it's possibilities. She had always been ambitious, and it was what led her to travel the world. It was what led her into that blizzard and then, into this house. Suddenly something clicked. Surely this was not a coincidence. Something had led her here. Something that wanted her to learn necromancy.
Suddenly she could hear whispers. They were unintelligible, but they still scared her. Trying to distract herself she dove back into the book she was reading.
Several days had passed. She guessed that the house was either uninhabited or abandoned in a hurry, so she claimed it as her own. She would stay inside the house, occupying her time by reading books and occasionally going out hunting. The house was well stocked with dried fruits and meats, but she mostly wanted to leave those for emergencies. She had mostly explored the house, but there was one door that was locked and sealed by magic. Obviously something of import was down there, and so far she had not been bothered to break the seal. After a week however, her curiosity could no longer be sated by just reading the books. She had to practice the things she learned. Her hands itched to perform the complex magic spells that she had thus far only read about. She needed a place to practice, and she had a feeling that place was behind the sealed door.
She was a skilled mage, despite her age. Although it was a very complex spell that sealed the door, she managed to figure it out in three days. What she found inside was not unexpected. Something that resembled a laboratory, though with a very dark and foul stench. Not surprising considering the books she found in the house. It was dark, with only several candles that could provide light. With a flick of her hand the candles were lit and she could see more clearly. What she found would make anyone scream in terror, but not her.
Rats, both living and dead, were trapped in cages. Obviously they were used to experiment on. There were also several mice laying around, in various stages of decay. A curious looking wooden box sitting on a desk caught her attention. She opened it slowly. With a gasp and a sound of disgust she covered her mouth. Rats, half decomposed, lay in the box. To most it looked like a grotesque show of horror. To her, it looked like a failed experiment of necromancy. Next to the box she found a book. Flipping it open she found that it was a journal. Obviously whoever was conducting these experiments was documenting them thoroughly. This would come in handy, she thought. Looking back at the rats, who by now sat quietly in their cages, she smirked. Time to perfect what the last person could not.
Another week passed. A week filled with reading, performing necromancy and hunting. Of course her first few experiments of necromancy had failed miserably, and she wasn't making a lot of progress in such a short amount of time. So far the raised rats would survive for only an hour, sometimes even less than that. But as she tried more and more it became better.
on the 11th day she was in the laboratory, a cup of tea in hand and a book on the table in front of her. She had been trying to find out one recurring problem in her spells. Whenever the rats would truly die, their bellies would rip open and spill their guts on the floor. While this should not have been a problem, since they were dead anyway, it did spark her curiosity.
She was halfway through the book when she could hear rumbling in the living room. She froze up, trying to determine if what she heard was her mind playing tricks on her or it was actually someone breaking into the house. When she heard nothing she sighed in relief and returned to her work.
But then the door to the laboratory slammed open and a icy wind came in. A trail of ice, almost faster than she could see, slithered along the floor towards her and as soon as it touched her it enveloped her entire body in ice. She could not move. She could barely breathe. A man stepped into the room. He looked to be about his late 30's, a little older than her. he had faded black hair, and a beard growing on his chin. He was also wearing mage robes in the colors of Dalaran. He also didn't look very happy.
''So the Kirin Tor finally decided to send someone to snoop around my little home, have they?'' he said, obviously amused. ''Seems I have caught them in their little act. I hope you have feasted your eyes on the wonders here, for they are the last you will ever see'' he had a wicked grin on his face. The woman was terrified. Never had she thought that the owner of this house would return, and that he would be this hostile. Then again, she had invaded his home. She was glad when the man's attention shifted to the table that she had been working on. A rat that she had raised from the dead just before he came in was still sitting on the tabletop, waiting for an order.
The man hummed in thought before he turned to the journal beside the creature. He flipped it open to the last few written pages. ''This is not my hand writing...'' he mumbled to himself, rubbing his beard in thought. In the book were written observations after attempted necromancy, much like he did whenever he experimented on the rats. Again he hummed. ''What is your name?'' he asked, a lot more gentle this time. The ice around her mouth disappeared, allowing her to talk properly. ''Lilith'' she answered, not daring to say more. This man was obviously above her skill level. ''Why are you here?'' he asked.
She swallowed. There's nothing better than the truth. ''I sought shelter after having been hit by a blizzard. I found this... your house and since nobody was here I thought it was abandoned. I became... fascinated by the books here and... decided to practice what I had learnt from the books'' she paused occasionally to think, choosing her words carefully. ''Yes I can see that'' he said as he poked the rat. ''Are you from the Kirin Tor? And don't even think about lying to me. I will know when you do'' he threatened. Lilith swallowed. ''I am not. I am a simple traveler''. The man chuckled again. ''A simple traveler who managed to break my complex seal on my laboratory door? Please. I'm not stupid''.
Lilith became frustrated. ''Fine. I'm a traveling mage looking for more knowledge on the arcane arts, happy?'' She flinched, expecting a backlash from him for talking so rudely. But she was surprised to see him grin brightly at her. ''Oh yes. Very happy'' with a flick of his finger the ice covering her body melted and she was able to move again. She stretched her muscles. The man started examining the rat and many of her other failed experiments she had dumped in a bucket. He was muttering things to himself, completely ignoring her. ''May I ask your name?'' she finally asked softly.
The man turned to her, as if having forgotten she was still there. ''Kel'Thuzad. Pleased to make your acquaintance, my dear'' He held out his hand for her to take, which she did. A firm handshake. She liked that. They stared at each other, Kel'Thuzad slightly bent forward to be eye level with her. ''Can you teach me?'' she finally asked firmly. A twinkle appeared in his eye. ''I most certainly can, my dear''
