I watched the struggling form of the San'Layn as he tried to pull himself from the vines and roots impaling him into the castle wall. He had been on the parapets when they did their work.
His eyes glowed blood red as he tried to draw on his power.
"We both know that's never going to work."
In spite of its name, an Anti magic field does not remove magic, it halts its movement and manipulation, cutting off actively manipulated energy from the caster.
You still have mana, it just cant be manipulated outwardly. It wasn't normally the kind of spell I would use.
I had spent a lot of time and effort into becoming the kind of magic user I was, and using something that cut me off from it was uncomfortable to say the least.
However my situation has changed rather recently. A dragon, even a young one was as much a monstrosity physically as it was magically.
A lich and his vampire friend? Not so much.
He snarled at me, before shaking his head. "You've beaten me. Just end it."
Sure they were both almost certainly stronger and more physically capable than most mortals, but what was a lifeless monster with the strength of three men to me?
This was over.
My blood, and the vines covered the streets in symbols I had memorized. The walls had been overtaken by roots and sharpened vines pointing inward, quickly turning a fortress into a prison.
"Do you want to live?" His brows rose as he took in the question. Scourge didn't normally receive or expect mercy.
"Of course." I growled lightly at him.
"You seem the type of individual to have more malleable loyalties than most, I could free you."
"if you became my servant."
He pretended to consider for a moment, before speaking. "Of course my lord, just release me from these bindings and I'll be happy to-"
I interrupted him."Do you think me a fool? No, I need a guarantee."
"Pledge your soul to me, and I'll grant you a place as a leader among a new order."
He hesitated, this time taking my offer seriously. "Youre strong, dragon, but the Lich king is a god in his own right, he's more than capable of overpowering you. Why should I even consider joining you?"
I tilted my head for a moment. "Because I can grant you power, and a chance at a longer life. You can die here, a servant to the blood queen."
I waited for that to sink in. "Or?"
"Or you can join me, and follow my commands and my commands alone, a king in your own right if you handle yourself correctly."
A greedy smirk fell over his face. "Deal."
I felt a soul of purest black link to my own.
My claws ground a skeleton into the dirt as I casually made my way around the place.
Cut off from their power source and the energy of their creators and they were nothing more than bones.
My head twitched to the left, and my eyes locked upon the temple were I knew Dar'Khan resided. He had himself once the effects of my spell casting had been made clear.
I could hear his movement from within. He had no heartbeat or breath, but the sound of paper scattering and muted curses were more than enough information to work with.
My form shifted as I approached, taking longer than I would have like with the considerable more constricted nature of my magic.
The process was slow, and I had a feeling it would count as a painful experience to most.
I sighed as my bones aligned properly into their place, and my scales withdrew into my body, before striding inside.
I followed the sound through darkened hallways one could compare to a crypt, before descending downward into the temple.
The halls were mostly barren, and the floors were of cold stone.
It was annoying no one in the scourge had a sense of class. I know comfort doesn't really matter considering their lifeless nature, but appearances are important too.
I'd have thought Dar'Khan would share that belief with me.
I entered a dimly lit room filled with vials and mixtures, notes were scattered about, and Dar'Khan faced away from me, looking through papers and notes.
He didn't turn to face me, but the slight stiffening of his back told me he knew I was here.
"I was on the verge of proving myself, of ruling over our people."
I smiled, maybe he was, or maybe I had accelerated the inevitable. The Elf glanced back at me. "I never would have thought some novice I failed to put down would spell my end."
"Perhaps, but you had to have known theres always a risk." It was something I had accepted before I had become Malius. It rang just as true now.
Nasty people meet nasty ends.
He gestured to the notes. "You consumed one of the Loa, taking its power for yourself."
I nodded.
He shook his head. "millennia of studying magic and I can only see a piece of the puzzle."
I took a step towards my prey as he spoke once more. "How did you ever manage to do this?"
My grin stretched just a little too wide. "Audacity."
I caught a blade coming for my throat in an instant as the lord of Deatholme whipped around, crushing his wrist and taking the knife he held.
I glanced at the weapon. A wickedly curved dagger, almost a sword.
"Who are you? I never asked when we first met."
I swung the blade across his throat, taking his head from his body. "For a long time it was difficult to tell."
I grasped at the undead elf's greyed hair, lifting him up to meet my gaze. "Malius."
"So thats the name of my killer."
I hummed at the words, before one of my fingers slowly formed into a claw.
"Not quite." I carved a symbol into the head, before I began working more inscriptions into and past the flesh, carving into the skull.
My eyes fell upon the skeleton that had probably once guarded Dar'Khan. It'll have to do.
The magisters of Silvermoon watched as the last of the necromancers died screaming, elated but confused.
They stood on the corrupted soil of the dead scar, waiting just beyond the edge of the wards.
The undead fell far before the battle should have been decided, and far too many necromancers died for it to be any kind of trap or deception.
For months they had prepared for battle against the scourge, gathering an army of stone and arcane to battle against the horde they all knew would one day come in full.
Many Fought Dar'Khan himself, sacrificing themselves so others would have a chance to overcome their foe.
Yet when the battle came the enemy collapsed almost as soon as they had arrived, the only hint at what had happend being an explosion in the distance.
It had ripped through the air not long after the battle ended.
To have it all end so easily and so suddenly marked for investigation. But who would chance crossing the boundaries into such a territory?
A trap seemed unlikely, but to many it looked to be the only possible answer.
They jumped as a voice rang out across the dead scar."Hello!"
Several rose their staffs, calling on magic as a figure in a dark cloak approached them, his hood down to reveal a handsome human face.
In one hand he held a familiar Elven head. "My name is Marcus, I came for a diplomatic mission, but I'm afraid my ship was attacked by pirates before I managed to arrive."
"I managed to make it to shore easily enough, but it was quite an adventure getting this far."
The human tossed the head of Dar'Khan Drathir at their feet. "Do you think you could escort me to Silvermoon?"
He smiled "I've got a story to tell."
