Manados Ravenbloom: Corruption

by Marder

Manados Ravenbloom calls in a favour, and ends up getting far more than he anticipated.

DISCLAIMER

The following story contains references to various content from the game World of Warcraft, owned by Blizzard Entertainment. I claim credit for the story, but not anything in the story that originally belonged to Blizzard Entertainment.

Rated M for mature scenes of sex, violence, and nudity.

WARNING! Contains themes of rape. If that is a trigger for you, please do not continue.

Now with that hopefully out of the way…

Manados leaned back in the chair. "Why not?"

"It's monstrous! I don't know how you could ask this of anyone, much less of me."

"I don't know what you're talking about. You dabble in void magics constantly, why is this any different?"

"You know damn well that I am extremely careful about my experiments, because I know what would happen if something goes wrong. And even if something does, the only one in danger is myself. You're asking me to deliberately expose someone to all the dangers and horrors of the void! I can't!"

"You can, and you will. You spout on about how you know the dangers, but I know what gave you so much knowledge about it. There's no way you've forgotten what happened and there's no chance at all that you forgot what I did to help you. No, you're simply choosing to ignore it."

"Of course I haven't forgotten. You know that. But I just can't do what you're asking me. I can't… I won't."

Manados stood up. "You'll have to. I will not ask anything else of you, now or ever, after you repay your debt, and this is the only way for you to do so. I know you want me out of your life, and I'm perfectly happy to oblige. As soon as your debt is paid." He walked forward slowly, until he was standing right in front of the human, towering over him, and staring straight down into his eyes. "You owe me."

"Step off, Ravenbloom."

Manados backed away.

"You're really set on this, huh?"

"Yes I am. And I have come to you for it."

"Why me?"

"You're the only one capable of this."

"No I'm not. There are others out there just as powerful as me, or more so. I'm not the only option for this."

"I don't know any of those people."

"But you know me."

"That's right."

"Unfortunately for me."

Manados didn't respond to that, simply choosing to stand there with his arms crossed and wait. Hector Alvingham didn't say anything either. He seemed to stare off at something only he could see, a blank look on his face. As if he was hearing something else that Manados couldn't. They remained like that for a long time, Manados unwilling to break the silence and Hector seemingly unaware of it.

But eventually the silence was broken when a knock on the door resounded throughout the room. Manados and Hector both snapped out of their daze and turned to watch as the door opened, and someone peaked their head through. "Sorry to interrupt… Honey, are you almost done? The pie is getting cold…"

Manados stared. Standing in the door was a beautiful high elf, with long dark blue hair framing her smooth, elegant face, out of which peered two strikingly blue eyes. She had a small, timid smile on her face as she stared at Manados and Hector. Meanwhile, Manados' growing smile was downright lecherous. Her plain dress was blue from the waist down and white everywhere else, covering her arms but sporting a long and narrow V down the middle of her chest. He had to resist licking his lips. "My my, Hector. How did you manage a catch like this one, huh?" He took a step forward.

"Ravenbloom." Manados looked backwards arrogantly.

Hector's eyes were glowing a deep, vibrant purple as swirling void magic formed in his hands. Slowly it grew, covering first his hands, then climbing to his wrists, elbows, shoulders, before covering his entire body in ominous purple. His eyes flared.

"You'll leave now."

Manados looked back at the elf. Her face was now that of complete fear, and her hands rose to cover her mouth as she screamed.

"Ravenbloom, if you don't leave within the next minute then you're not going to be leaving."

He sighed. "Oh, very well." Slowly he turned back around, keeping eye contact with the elf for as long as absolutely possible before finally turning away. "I'll be back in a week's time to pick up those earrings." He began walking towards the door, but paused next to Hector and leaned down to whisper in the human's ear. "With all the power you're demonstrating right now, I do not expect you to disappoint me." Hector whirled around, but Manados had blinked away. The highborne was gone.

The void magic faded, retreating into a ball floating in front of his right palm before collapsing in on itself and sputtering out entirely. Hector sighed quietly to himself as he stared at where Manados had been standing.

Hector grunted as the remaining elf came crashing into him, hugging him tightly as her eyes brimmed with tears. Hector said nothing, simply wrapping a comforting arm around her in return. Eventually she raised her head to look at him.

"What was that, dear?"

Hector said nothing for a long moment. "...a deal with the devil."

As the door opened it brushed against the bell just above it, sending an obnoxious clanging throughout the store. Immediately the shopkeep looked up from the counter, his large brown eyes becoming even larger through the lenses of his glasses. "Hello, good sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Manados grinned. "Not myself, no. But there is something." He reached into his pocket and brought out two gemstones. They were each about the size of his fingernail and were a deep, vibrant purple, and if one looked closely enough, the colour was frequently pulsing, although it was dim. The attendant's big brown eyes widened and he held out his hand. Manados obliged and handed them over.

The shopkeep looked up at him. "What are these?"

"You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that you're going to get a customer, a male human, either later today or tomorrow. He will ask for some earrings and you will provide him with a pair containing those gemstones. If he asks, they were mined on Draenor. You're going to sell them to him far below what they are worth." The elf reached into his other pocket and methodically piled a dozen gold coins onto the counter. Should you succeed, you'll be handsomely rewarded." He turned around, long robe swirling elegantly around his feet. "Do not fail." He blinked, and was gone.

The shopkeep stared in wonder at the pair of diminutive gemstones on his desk, although it was tampered with a healthy dose of suspicion. He started, realizing there was little time. He greedily gathered up the gold coins, hiding them in his own pocket as he delicately picked up the jewels and rushed into his back room.

The bell rang again as the door opened.

Hector looked around. It was a quaint little shop, full of glass displays filled with jewelry of all kinds. Way at the other end of the store was a countertop containing a few more displays, on the other side of which was a door. Hector frowned. The attendant should have been there.

Another door creaked open. Hector raised an eyebrow as the one who must have been the attendant peered out behind the counter, before disappearing behind it again. Hector frowned and slowly walked over.

"Excuse me… I'm here to buy a pair of earrings, are there any you would recommend?"

The man slowly came crawling back, hesitantly making eye contact. His glasses made his brown eyes look comically large, almost like that of a bug. "Oh, why… Yes, sir, we have a wide selection of those, yes we do. In particular, might I bring your attention to these?" He brought up his hand from behind the counter.

The earrings were beautiful. Small hooks protruded from the top, the body was a loop of gold, and inside of each one rested a gem. The shining rocks were a deep hue of purple, and they twinkled in the light as if winking at him.

"These were some recent acquisitions, good sir… Very receptive to magic, yes they are…"

Hector gingerly took them from the man's hand, turning them around to examine them. He sent out a wary probe of magic, and found that it was as the man said. The stones held a vast pool of unused potential, and could easily be filled with a huge amount of shadow magic, while the stones themselves could be altered to direct the magic how and where he wanted. These were perfect. He couldn't have asked for better. And the first ones he was shown, too. It was almost like—

Hector slowly looked up at the attendant. "Where did you get these?"

The man blanched. "They were mined in Draenor before being brought here to Stormwind for you good sir, yes they were."

Hector frowned. "For me specially?"

If it was possible, the man looked even more panicked. "No, not for you specifically, good sir. It was for the city in general. These two gems happened to become a pair of rings for a young happy couple. Unfortunately, misfortune befell them and they sold the rings to this shop. They got remade into these earrings you now hold."

Hector grunted, seemingly satisfied with his answer. But one more thing was bothering him. "You said these are very receptive to magic."

The shopkeep brightened. "That's right good sir, yes they are."

"How did you know I wanted something that works well with magic?"

A long, unbroken, uncomfortable silence followed. The suspicion that Hector had been harbouring grew larger, then larger still. It made sense. Everything lined up. Damn him…

"He gave you these gems, didn't he?"

The man sighed. "Yes. The elf."

"Figures…" Hector was quiet for a minute as he thought about this. He shouldn't really be surprised. After a while he spoke up again. "When was he here?"

"Yesterday, sir."

"What time?"

"Around five in the afternoon."

Directly after the elf had left his house. Of course. "Told you to come up with a story about where you got these?"

"No, sir. He gave me the story."

"Didn't trust you to come up with something passable on your own, probably. Told you to sell them to me at an affordable price?" A nod. "Did he bribe you, or threaten you?"

"Bribe, sir."

"Really? Now there's a surprise. And I'm guessing that just before he left, he told you that he was never here?"

The man shook his head. "No, sir. Nothing of the sort."

Hector stared. "An even bigger surprise. He must have forgot." Unless he wanted me to know this was his doing? "Promised an even bigger bribe if you succeeded?" The man nodded. "Well, there's something else he didn't mention. If you failed, there would be consequences. So I'm not going to tell him that you told me about this, and if you're smart you won't either." The man stared in shock, and a good dose of horror. "Calm down. Just tell him everything went exactly as planned, and do not cave to him as easily as you did to me." Hector turned around, heading for the door. "I hope for your sake you pull it off." He reached for the doorknob, and the bell clanged one last time. "Thanks for the earrings." Hector stepped outside, and the door closed behind him, leaving the clerk standing behind the counter, eyes wide as dinner plates behind his strange and annoying glasses.

The streets of Stormwind were strangely empty. Hector looked up and saw the sky was a deep orange as the sun dipped down below the ocean, bathing the city in flame. That explained it.

The water inside the canals trickled lazily along with him as he walked back home, earrings in hand.

Hector collapsed his head into his hands as he sunk further into his chair. The earrings rolled across his desk with a grinding clatter. The magic he'd been channeling into the stones was severed, and sputtered out into the air with a faint fizzle.

How had he gotten himself into this? Too much involvement with this elf was widely known to unavoidably lead to trouble, yet Hector had gone along with it anyway. "A favour," that's what Ravenbloom had called it…

"Just a small thing. No big deal. You can pay me back sometime, don't worry about it."

Hector nodded absentmindedly, but in truth he barely heard the elf at all. The only thing he noticed right now, could notice, was what he'd done. How could he have been so stupid?

He found himself taking a step forward, as if he wanted to walk up and confront this evidence of his mistake, ask it how it had the audacity to wriggle about like that cheekily, as if it had done nothing wrong. As if nothing about it was wrong. He took another step. It wriggled some more. As if it were inviting him closer. Maybe it wasn't so bad? He had brought it here after all… and he wasn't evil. He would never have brought something evil here. No, no, this was probably perfectly fine.

There was a hand on his arm and a tickling in his mind. How curious. It almost seemed as if the tentacle were trying to speak to him. Pull him closer. He opened his mind to the possibilities, and the itch was scratched. The tickle turned to a whisper.

"Hello, small human thing…"

"Hello," Hector thought. It must have heard him, for it wriggled in delight.

"What is this place you have summoned me to?"

"This is my home… My home in Stormwind. Where I live."

"Stormwind?" It dragged out the word, prolonging 'Storm' as if curious, as if it were tasting the word in wonder. "This is… the human city?"

"Yes… Yes that's right. The capital of the Alliance. The greatest nation in the world!"

It seemed to chuckle. "Oh, sweet child, no. 'The greatest nation' is hefty praise, and while I have no doubt this… Alliance… of yours is indeed great, it is not… the greatest."

Hector was puzzled. "What else could there be? The only rival it has are the Horde, and they're just a ragtag group of outcast barbarians that don't belong anywhere."

"You have seen so little in your life, little human. You have not seen the greatest of them all. The Black Empire…"

There seemed to be significance in those words, for a dull thud resounded in his mind, like a beat of a drum. "The Black Empire?" Thud. There it was again. "What's that?"

"Oh, you poor sweet thing… To have never seen the glory of The Black Empire!" Thud. "To go your whole existence with so limited an idea of what true greatness is!" Thud. It hadn't even been prompted that time.

"Could you show me?"

"I would be happy to show you," Thud. "small human thing." Thud. "You need only open your mind." Thud.

"My mind is open though." Thud.

Thud. "Open it more." Thud. "Let me in and I will show you what true greatness looks like!" Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud. It was ceaseless now. Incessant. "If it's really so much better than the Alliance…" Thud. Thud. "Do I get to join this… Black Empire?" THUD.

"Anything is possible, small human." Thud. "Let me in, and all things shall be yours…"

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It made sense. How could he know everything? There was nothing to disprove the existence of some greater force out there. He couldn't know. But he could… He could know now. If he wanted.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

It sounded so promising. Why should he be satisfied with living some paltry life, cowardly dabbling with the possibility of true power, because others said it was bad? What if he wanted this? Did they care? Why shouldn't he take this?

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

He took one more step forward.

THUD. THUD.

There was a flash of light. For an instant, bright pink runes appeared in the air around the wriggling tentacle, then disappeared as quickly as they arrived. The tentacle squirmed madly in obvious pain. There was an immense roar in his head. Hector fell to his knees and screamed, covering his ears desperately. It didn't help.

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud

All he could feel in that instant was overwhelming fury. There was pain, and frustration, but there was such fury. Anger he didn't know was possible. Enough wrath to burn down the world and still not be satisfied, enough to burn down every world and still not be satisfied. He collapsed onto his side on the floor and huddled into a ball. All he was capable of was screaming, and thrashing about on the floor in agony.

Another flash of light. The roar doubled and Hector's scream tripled. In the last moment, cohesion emerged once more.

"LET ME IN, HUMAN! LET ME IN!"

Hector couldn't think. Every thought he had faded instantly. In his thrashing, his hand made solid contact with the leg of his desk. Pain flared through his arm but he didn't notice. It was insignificant. It was nothing, less than nothing. The pain in his mind, that was everything. What was nothing in comparison to everything? His throat was completely raw at this point. His voice gave out. He couldn't make any sound, find any outlet for his madness.

"HUMAN!"

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD

Then, all of a sudden, it faded. There was nothing. Especially for Hector, who had passed out and was drooling on the floor.

Manados looked at him contemptuously. The glow of his hand dimmed and disappeared. The thing had taken more of a fight to put down than he'd expected, but of course it was now dead. It twitched on the floor, apparently determined to still be noticed in its death throes. Manados ignored it and knelt beside Hector. After all the effort he was about to go through to save the sanity and social status of this human, he had better live to give him something in return. Yes, he still lived. That was good. Manados stood. Without Hector being conscious to keep open the portal he'd accidentally summoned, it closed and severed off the tentacle, covering the wooden floor with purple-black blood. The tentacle twitched one final time before it began to evaporate, dissipating into the air, and soon it was gone, leaving only the splash of blood staining the floor. Manados smiled. Two relatively simple tasks. All he had to do was replace the floor (he knew blood like that didn't just wash off) and find a way to preserve the sanity of this human when he woke up. Manados poked Hector's prone body with a toe, then again, with no reaction either time. Good. Manados had plenty of time, so he turned to face the door and blinked, vanishing completely.

Hector let his head fall onto his arm, spread across his desk. He could still remember everything that happened that day, the day he nearly lost everything. Damnable void monster… Manados had saved him. It was entirely thanks to that elf he was still here.

Hector slowly raised his head and pushed back his chair, looking under the desk. There it was, that accursed stain. It had long since darkened, becoming entirely black, an asymmetrical splot across his floor. He hadn't wanted Manados to get rid of it; he needed this here, to constantly remind him of that day. As if he needed any reminders about it though…

The door to his study creaked open behind him. He didn't bother glancing over his shoulder to see who it was, he knew who it had to be. They lived here together, just the two of them, and it was far too soon for Manados to get back yet.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he smiled; that was all the confirmation he needed. He could recognize that hand anywhere in the world. She leaned down to drape both of her bare arms across his chest, and he felt a soft coo in his ear.

"Honey, I can tell you're stressed. What's going on?"

Hector raised one hand to gently run it along her arm, and felt her shiver at his touch. "You know that I wish I could tell you, dear."

"Then tell me. It must be bad for you to be in this state. I've never seen you like this."

Hector turned his head, but couldn't quite see her. "I… I can't."

"Just who is this man, that you fear him so much you can't even talk to me about what's bothering you?" Hector was silent. "Hector, please. I'm worried about you…"

He sighed. "He's someone that I should not be involved with, and under ideal circumstances I wouldn't be. But as it is, I need to. I just have to do this one thing for him, and he'll be out of our lives forever, and we never need to worry about him ever again." His hand reached her own, lifting it up and lovingly enclosing it in his. "He's a monster, but very soon he'll be gone. I promise…" He brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand. "Do you trust me, now and always?"

She giggled quietly in his ear. "Now and always, my love. You know this."

Hector chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to hear you say it again." He tried turning around again, and this time finally managed to look at her. Her small, pale lips were curved slightly in a teasing smile, as her brilliantly blue eyes shined at him. His field of vision was rather limited, especially because she was hiding behind the back of his chair, but he could see that her collarbone and shoulders were bare and he expected the rest of her was the same. She leaned down to capture his lips in a tender kiss, and he smiled as he leaned in to kiss her back. He raised his hand to come behind her head, stroking the back of her hair. She grabbed his wrist and moved it, away from the back of her head and instead to the front, making him cup her cheek in his hand, which she then leaned into with a quiet, delighted moan. Hector laughed.

"I wish we could just stay like this forever…" she muttered, eyes closed in bliss.

"I know baby. I do too."

They remained like that for a long time, content in each other's company.

Hector quietly groaned as he slowly, almost torturously came to awareness again.

He was naked, lying in bed, cradling a petite elven figure in his arms under the covers. He recognized his girlfriend before he even recognized his surroundings, and he smiled as he closed his eyes. She seemed to still be sleeping.

When he woke up again, she was gone. He groaned and slowly raised his head, looking around through half-lidded eyes. Seeing she wasn't in the room, he collapsed his head back onto the pillow and rolled onto his back, sighing quietly to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

A couple minutes later he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the covers fell to his waist. He tossed them aside and threw his legs over the side of the bed, standing up with a luxurious stretch. He absentmindedly grabbed his shirt from the floor, paying so little attention as he shrugged it on that he put it on backwards. He paid a little bit more attention as he stepped into his pants so as not to stumble, but slightly more than nothing still wasn't much.

The patter of his footsteps preluded him as he left their bedroom and headed toward the kitchen. As he walked in he finally found his girlfriend, standing at the counter as she spread some butter across a piece of toast. She turned around slightly when she heard him walk up, and she beamed at him lovingly. "Look who's finally awake. Good morning, sleepy-head."

Hector rolled his eyes. "Good morning, honey. What time is it?"

"Coming up on ten in the morning."

"So then I didn't sleep in that long."

"Long enough that I get to tease you about it."

"Don't you smirk at me like that, you minx."

She giggled quietly to herself as she finished buttering the toast. "Come get your food, dear." Hector grumbled discontentedly to himself, but took the food anyway and headed for the table. "Also, your shirt is on backwards."

"I know you're smirking at me again," Hector retorted as he took off his shirt with another grumble before putting it back on again immediately. She giggled from behind him, although whether it was because she enjoyed looking at him or because she enjoyed teasing him was hard to say. Probably both.

The mood shifted noticeably as he took a seat, picking up his toast and taking a bite. The crunch was obnoxiously loud, but he simply stared off into nothing. Inevitably, she noticed.

"You're worried about him again, aren't you?"

Hector nodded. "You don't know how dangerous that man is, what he can do - will do - if I fail him. Or even just disappoint him."

"I'm sure you're right. I probably don't know and can't imagine what he might do." She stood up from the table, and walked around to kneel down next to his chair. She took one of his hands and enclosed it within hers, trying to look him in the eye. "Baby, look at me." When he didn't turn his head, she reached for his chin and gently turned it for him, finally making eye contact. "But I do know some things. Do you know what those are?"

"I'm sure you're about to tell me."

She smiled. "I know that I love you. And I know that you love me. I know that there is not a single combination of words that could adequately describe just how much you love me, and I know that because it applies just as strongly to how I feel about you."

He smiled sadly at her. "Are you finished?"

"No, I'm not. Just listen. I know that no matter how dangerous this man is, your love for me is stronger, and you will do everything in your power to get him to leave us alone. Won't you?"

Hector nodded. "Yes, I will. But I worry it won't be enough."

"It will be enough. I know that too, because I know that you care too strongly to let there be any chance that it is anything otherwise. I know that you would travel to the ends of Azeroth for me, because I know that I would do that too if I had to. Do you understand?"

Hector nodded absentmindedly, but clearly lacked any true feeling behind it.

"Honey, listen. I know you feel helpless, and that you can't do anything to fix this. But you can. I know you can. I have faith in you, and I know that you are going to save us." Hector sighed quietly to himself. "If you don't believe in yourself, then believe in me, won't you?"

He looked her in the eyes again, smiling warmly at her. "Yes, I believe you. And you're completely right - I am going to do everything I possibly can to fix this." He pulled her up from the floor, standing up from the chair as well to wrap his arms around her in a tender hug. She giggled in delight. "I know what will happen if I disappoint him, and I cannot let that happen. So… I won't. I'll make him these earrings, and he'll be happy with them, and he'll leave, and we can go back to normal without ever having to worry about him every again."

She hummed in appreciation, hugging him back and laying her head on his shoulder. "I know you will, dear. I always knew."

As with the night before, they stood like that for a few minutes, needing nothing more in life than each other's embrace. Eventually, they regretfully let each other go, knowing that they couldn't remain like that forever, as much as they wanted to. Hector smiled at her, she smiled back, and he let her go to walk towards his study. She watched as the door closed, leaving her standing there alone as he sat down at his desk, picking up the earrings again and beginning to channel flowing void magics into the shining jewels.

The old hinges of Hector's study door creaked loudly as his girlfriend opened it and slowly walked in, not wanting to disturb his peace. A vain hope, since the door was a dead giveaway. Somehow though, Hector still did not notice, sitting at his desk as the steady beam of purple energy flowed from his hand to the earrings. The air around him crackled and fizzled ominously, and she held back until he was finished before distracting him. She knew better.

He kept the magic going for a few more minutes, face etched in concentration. But he couldn't keep it up forever, and eventually it sputtered out and halted completely. He gasped, sitting back in his chair. She saw her chance and finally creeped up to him, draping her hands across his chest like she had the night before and whispering in his ear. "Baby, you can't do anything more tonight. Look at yourself, you're clearly about to collapse."

"I know, dear. I know. But it's like you said, I have to. He can't be disappointed with my work, he can't be. I need to keep working."

"How much more work do you need to do, though? How much more until they're finished?"

He was silent for a few moments. "...none. They are effectively complete. I'm just putting some final touches on them, polishing them, making sure there's absolutely nothing about them he could possibly find issue with or criticize. They need to work perfectly so that he will never, ever return."

"Shh… I know you do, baby. But you can't do good work in this state. You need sleep."

"What time is it?"

"Ten in the evening."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Come to bed, honey. Please don't push yourself to collapse like you have been today, there's no need for it anymore. Come to bed."

He sighed. "Alright, soon. I just want to do a couple more things to them."

"You can do them tomorrow, before he comes to pick them up. Besides… I think you deserve a reward for your dedication to protecting us from him." Hector turned his head to look at her, and she smiled back at him. "Come to bed, dear. Come to bed with me."

He stared at her. "I… Do you mean what I… think you mean?"

She pecked him lightly on the forehead. "Yes."

"I- I thought you wanted to wait until sometime special."

"This is sometime special."

"You specifically said marriage."

"Yes, I know I did. But that was before he showed up, and you had to push yourself so hard like you have today to keep him away from us. Besides… how long will it be before that previous goal actually happens?"

He was silent for a moment, before quietly responding. "I was going to go back to the jewelry store where I got these earrings right after Ravenbloom left and see if they have a ring."

Now it was her turn to be silent, too stunned to speak. She stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock. He looked back at her. "I was hoping it could be a surprise, but uh… well clearly I spoiled it." Still she said nothing. "It's not a surprise anymore, but uh…"

"Baby, what are you about to do?"

He smiled shyly at her. "I'd been wanting to do this with a ring, but uh…"

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god… Is it happening? Baby, is this happening?"

"Honey, calm down. You're not even giving me the chance to say it."

She stopped talking, staring at him excitedly. Her mouth started to curve up into a very slight smile, and she blinked rapidly as her energy tried to find any outlet before she started bouncing off the walls.

"Will you marry me?"

She squealed loudly in unrivalled delight, excitedly throwing her arms around him and hugging him as tight as she possibly could. "Oh, baby, yes! Now and always and forever, yes!"

He wheezed in mild pain. "Honey, please… you're crushing me…"

She didn't hear him, closing her eyes and smiling from ear to ear, humming to herself as she held him close, radiating pure joy. She felt a tap on her shoulder and finally let him go, staring at him and smiling with boundless happiness. He smiled back at her lovingly, and they let themselves just get lost in each other's eyes for a moment until he broke the silence.

"What was your answer again? I could barely hear over your rather… enthusiastic hug… and I just want to make sure."

She smiled at him cheekily. "I'm sure you can probably guess."

"Yeah, I can, but I want to hear you say it again anyway."

She laughed. "I said yes. Yes, you knucklehead, I will marry you."

Now it was his turn to smile at her, feeling like the luckiest man on Azeroth. "I love you, honey. So much."

"I love you too, dear. More than you could ever know or imagine."

He reached up to gently stroke her cheek, and they slowly drew closer together, connected on a level deeper than they ever had been before. They both closed their eyes as their lips finally met, and they kissed long and tenderly and lovingly, and remained like that for a couple minutes.

But eventually they started getting more passionate, and more heated, as Hector stood from his chair and wrapped her in his arms, pushing harder into the kiss. She moaned in happiness, and pushed back just as enthusiastically as he did. His mouth opened as his tongue flickered out, and immediately she did likewise as they battled each other for dominance. Hector took a step back, hoping to be aiming in the general direction of the door. She understood, and she immediately turned them both around to give him an easier time of it. He peaked one eye open to see where he was going, and upon lining them up with the door they continued.

As they walked they got more vigorous with each other, and her hands travelled his chest and entire torso, feeling every inch of muscle. Frustrated at the presence of his shirt, she went up to his neck and grabbed two fistfuls of the cloth, pulling hard. The shirt ripped easily, all the way down, and she tossed each half aside. He promptly held his arms straight downwards and the shirt fell off of his body to the floor. They reached his study door and they broke the kiss, each breathing heavily. "That was a good shirt," he gasped out as he grasped for the doorknob. Upon finding it he grabbed, twisted, and threw the door open, immediately directing them through.

"I don't care," she responded, immediately grabbing his head to kiss him again. He pulled back, looking past her to see where they were going. She grunted in annoyance, and turned around and started running through the house.

"Hey! Wait up!" He shouted after her, hurrying to catch up.

He finally reached their bedroom, just in time to see her leap through the air to land on the mattress. She looked back at him giddily, laying spread-eagle on their bed and waiting for him. He smirked and jumped after her, rocking the bed with his weight and sending her bouncing in the air. She squealed again and rolled on top of him, leaning down to kiss him again as one hand grasped desperately for the waistline of his pants to shove them down. He tried to lean back up into the kiss but met with failure, so he let his head fall back down as he accepted her dominance and helped in her efforts to finish undressing him. Within a few moments he was freed of the last vestiges of his clothing, and he kicked them off of him and off of the bed, leaving him laying under her naked. She sat up to eye his body greedily as she rushed to get her own clothes off as well, fumbling so much in her desperation that she actually wasn't able to get them off at all as her hands shook too much to be able to do anything.

Hector reached up, placing his hands over hers. They immediately stilled, and she looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry-"

"Shh, shh. Don't be. It's fine." He carefully moved her hands away, beginning to remove her clothes for her with a much more precise hand than hers. She smiled at him as his fingers danced around her body, and with his calm efficiency she was soon in the same state of dress as he was. They took a moment to admire each other - of course, they had seen each other like this plenty of times before, but something was different now, as they both knew what it meant this time.

"Are you sure about this?" Hector asked.

"More sure than I've ever been about anything," she responded, leaning down to lay against his chest.

"What about when I asked you to marry me?"

She giggled, pecking his cheek. "Ok, except that."

He smiled and rolled them over, until he was on top of her and she was laughing below him. He lowered his head, bringing it to her chest and gently putting his mouth over one of her breasts. She gasped and lay her head back down, trying to relax. He smiled to himself, and he glanced up at her, and he did everything he could think of to make her feel good and enjoy tonight. It seemed to work, as she moaned and held his head closer and cried out his name as her entire body twitched in ecstasy. He reached down one hand to feel between her legs, and it came away utterly soaked. He brought his head away and smirked at her. She smiled shyly at him, panting heavily as she tried to recover.

"What? I… I'm excited…"

He chuckled. "What are you excited for, babe?"

She wrapped her arms around him, bringing him back up from her chest to look her straight in the eye. "I'm excited for you to show me how much you love me."

"Oh, I'm afraid I could never adequately show you that."

"Then I want you to try."

He glanced down and saw that he was lined up almost perfectly with her dripping entrance, waiting for him. He looked at her one more time, just to make extra sure she was ready. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and wrapped her legs around his waist in response, pulling him closer. He took that as confirmation, and he pushed inside.

They both moaned in unison and held each other closer. He slowly pushed in further, and further still, until she hissed quietly in his ear. "Honey, wait…"

He stopped immediately, raising his head to look at her in concern. "What is it?"

"I just… I need a moment."

He obligingly waited, holding himself in place and doing his best to remain absolutely still. A minute passed like that, until he broke the silence.

"Do you want to keep going, or no? We can stop if you wa-"

"No, baby, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. It just hurts a little…"

That did nothing to reassure him. "What?! I don't want to do this if it hurts you, dear. I could never do that to you."

"Shh, shh. It's fine, I'm fine. I just…"

"Do you want to try a different way, so you can have more control?"

"...yes, I think that might work better."

She unwrapped her legs from his waist and he slowly, carefully pulled out. She whimpered quietly, but not quietly enough to escape his notice. He glanced at her again, but she only smiled at him as he rolled them both over once more.

"You know I still love you, right?"

"Baby, of course I know that. Never any question about it."

She threw one leg over his lap to straddle him, carefully lining herself up. She looked at him again and bit her lip in anticipation. He smiled at her, and she carefully lowered herself onto him. They both moaned again, and she slowly kept going, until she reached the same point from before and she stopped. She sighed in frustration, and saw that Hector was looking at her worriedly again. He didn't say it, but she knew that she was free to stop if she wanted. Instead, she gathered herself and let herself drop onto him fully.

She sucked in a breath as he filled her entirely and she was forced to adjust to him. She remained like that for a few moments, but eventually began to move again, bouncing up and down on his lap. Slowly at first, then with increasing speed and energy, as she put her hands on his chest to steady herself and his moans grew louder and louder to match her own. She gasped and shuddered in ecstasy, and collapsed onto his chest. She felt his hand rubbing her arm, and she hummed in delight. "I love you."

"Do I even need to say it anymore?"

She giggled. "No, but I want you to. Hearing it makes me happy."

"Well then, I love you too dear."

She hummed again, and began rolling her hips around every which way, and she moaned, and he moaned, and their sounds of happiness coalesced into one, rose and fell and crescendoed long into the night as they enjoyed each other and celebrated in their mutual love for as long as they could, before they finally fell asleep in each other's arms, tired and sweaty and exhausted, but the happiest either of them had ever been in their lives.

Hector didn't allow himself to say anything, or even have any outward reaction, that might betray his nervousness as Manados turned the earrings around in his hand, eyeing them from every angle. "There are certain points on the jewel that are susceptible to magical input, and have been designed to react in different ways. If you want the magic in the jewels to have more or less control, then you direct magic here, or here respectively." Hector pointed out the specific spots on each jewel to Manados. "This spot will have the earrings override any rebellious thoughts your victim may be having," he didn't even bother to try and hide the malice in his voice, for he knew he couldn't even if he wanted to - although Manados had no reaction to it anyway, "and right here will reset the earrings, and whoever is wearing them, back to normal."

"Why would I ever want to do that?"

"Because you'll have to if you ever want to take them off."

"Why would I ever want to do that?"

"I don't know. But I put the option in there for if you ever do need to do it for whatever reason."

The elf grunted. "Here, here, here, and here, you said? Those specific spots?"

"Yes, that's right. Respective of the order I told you about them."

"I see. That's everything?"

"Yes, that's everything."

"Well then, I must say…" He waited in bated anticipation. "Wonderful job, Hector!" He released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Manados clapped him on the back, and he stumbled in surprise. The elf was in a good mood today. "These are just fantastic. You did good work for me, really you did. I'm very pleased." Hector smiled weakly. "If you ever want to do anything else for me, I have enough money to make it worth your while…"

"No." Hector's answer was firm and immediate. That was one thing he knew without a doubt. He could never again in his life make anything like those earrings, never ever again. He looked at the pieces of jewelry in Manados' hand. The dark purple gemstones twinkled at him, almost as if they knew what he was thinking and were openly mocking him. He frowned. He'd been forcing himself not to think about it while he was working on them, he couldn't let himself think about what he was doing, what he was making. But now, he was finally done, and now that Manados had the earrings and obviously had no complaints, he could move on with his life. He could buy a ring and start planning a wedding. Neither Manados or the earrings would ever come back to bother him.

But they would be out there. Somewhere.

Those earrings would be out there, and in the hands of a monster. Who knew what Manados would do with those? Wait, no. He knew. He knew perfectly well what the earrings would do to anyone who wore them - he should know, he designed everything about them. And he knew enough about Manados to know that the elf would not restrain himself. Hector shuddered to himself. He barely heard Manados' exuberant laughter, as he stared at the gemstones, got lost in their deep purple hue.

Could he really move on with his life, knowing what he'd done?

"Well then, if you're sure buddy. If you ever change your mind, you come talk to me, ok?"

No. No, he couldn't. There was just no way.

"Thanks for the earrings, pal. I don't think I'll be seeing you again, since I'll stick to my word and leave you alone. But even so, I hope we meet again."

The void was always pestering him, constant and ceaseless in its whispers and its power. The whispers seemed to be especially loud right now, as if they were trying to tell him something. But they were always trying to tell him something and it was almost always a lie, so he ignored it. Its power, though… That he had more interest in right now.

"Say hi to your girlfriend for me, would ya?"

Hector accepted the gift that the void was constantly offering, taking in its magic. The power was intoxicating. His eyes took on a purple glow, along with his right hand. He knew he couldn't win an actual fight, Manados was much more powerful than him. But if he caught the elf by surprise, he could stand a chance. It was the only way.

The shadow magic spread throughout his body, flowing into him almost faster than he could keep up. He couldn't remember the last time he'd taken so much power at once. The glow of his eyes flared, and he knew that this was his single best chance. He thrust his palm forward, and a beam of void magic erupted forth, hurtling towards Manados. The air crackled and fizzled. The whispers grew louder.

There was a blip of arcane magic, and Manados disappeared. Hector looked around, and saw the elf standing behind him. Manados' face had lost its cheerful expression, and was instead etched in disappointment. Damn that elf… Damn him! Hector blasted towards him again, but Manados disappeared. Hector whirled and saw him again, standing behind him.

"Hector, don't do i-" Hector sent forth a third blast of magic. Manados disappeared. Hector looked around, and his eyes widened when he saw that the elf was standing directly beside him.

Manados slammed his own palms into the human's chest. There was an explosion of arcane, and Hector was sent flying back, colliding hard with the floor. He gasped in pain, all the breath driven from his lungs. He looked at his chest and saw that the entire front of his shirt was gone, and his body was covered with the deep purple of the void. Doubtless that was what had saved him. He glared at Manados again. The whispers were even louder now.

A massive orb of writhing arcane magic was hurtling towards him. Hector immediately rolled to the side, and the attack hit the floor hard and erupted in another explosion. Hector raised both arms to shield himself, and the raw arcane power washed over him in a torrent. He snarled in pain as the flow finally ceased, and he saw that his forearms were completely raw and bloody. Yet, he felt no pain. He leapt to his feet immediately and waved his hand through the air, sending his own wave of magic flying towards Manados. The elf rapidly started backing up. Hector grinned - until Manados blinked again, reappearing right back where he was, as Hector's attack kept travelling far past him. The elf held out his hand, and a twisting spiral of arcane emerged from his palm, heading for the human. Hector ducked beneath it as it hit the wall behind him and burrowed through, leaving a massive hole behind it before sputtering out of existence. Hector reached out towards the elf physically as his magic burrowed into his foe's mind, ripping it apart into shreds and tatters. Hector blinked, and stared in shock - suddenly there was no longer one Manados, there were five. Hector continued with his attack on his original target, and flayed the elf's mind into complete insanity. It instantly vanished. Hector snarled; wrong one. The whispers were deafening. He wished they would just shut up.

The four remaining elves held out their hands, which began glowing faintly with magic. Hector panicked and reached for another, hoping and praying it was the right one this time. But that one vanished too with no success. And before the human could attack a third, the remaining three finished their attack, and from their hands flew long, glowing ropes of magic. They immediately aimed straight at Hector, who turned around and tried to run. But standing right behind him was a fourth Manados - the real one, grinning wickedly at him. The ropes reached him, promptly wrapping tightly around his elbows, wrists, and ankles, completely restraining any movement. Hector struggled, and fought valiantly, but it was no use. He glared and tried to reach into Manados' mind again, but found that the ropes were preventing his magic too. This was it… he'd lost.

Manados calmly placed his hand flat on Hector's chest. In that last moment, Hector understood what the whispers had been saying. They had been constantly repeating the same three words that Manados had said: don't do it.

Hector closed his eyes; he didn't want to look at Manados anymore. Tears sprung to his face and he didn't even bother to try and fight them back. He opened his mouth and quietly muttered to himself, so quietly that even Manados, standing directly in front of him, couldn't hear. "I'm sorry…"

He knew she couldn't hear him, but he hoped she would know.

Bright pink runes formed in dozens around Hector before quickly blinking out of being as fast as they had appeared.

Hector's heart exploded. He died instantly.

The ropes around the human vanished into nothing, and the corpse fell to the floor. Manados sighed to himself. He hadn't wanted this, but Hector had forced his hand. Blasted fool…

Manados looked around. The room bore plain evidence of their battle, if one could even call it that. He frowned. If the body was found, especially in a place like this, it could lead back to him. There was no way he could let that happen. He formed an orb of magic between his hands, then changed it into fire before letting it erupt, bathing the entire room in flames and immediately covering every square inch with dancing, writhing fires coloured red and orange. Fire magic definitely wasn't his preferred, but this would do. It would burn the evidence of a fight, and hopefully it would burn Hector. If people found his body, they might see how he died, and would know that the fire had nothing to do with it. Manados turned and blinked, reappearing outside as the house burned to cinders behind him.

Manados weaved an invisibility spell around himself as Hector's neighbours rushed outside, watching his house burn to the ground and fill the sky with billowing clouds of smoke. It wouldn't do at all to be seen here, now. The canal trickled along leisurely, a stark contrast to the roaring flames coming from the house directly next to the lazy water.

He heard a scream towards the side of the house. His curiosity aroused, he blinked over to investigate.

That female elf that had been living with Hector was stumbling away from the house, tears streaming from her face. He glanced upwards and saw that the window had been smashed. Looking at her more closely, he saw that her clothes and skin were covered in small cuts. She fumbled to a safe distance from the fire, looked back, fell to her knees, and screamed again. Manados winced; it was not exactly quiet. She wasn't done either, as she fell to the ground and huddled into a ball, sobbing and crying with everything she had. Manados slowly started grinning; she was far enough away from the main crowd that even with how loud she was being, they wouldn't be able to hear her. The grin widened and he blinked next to her. As an extra precaution, he extended his invisibility spell to cover her as well, hiding her completely from sight.

Now that they were both under the same spell, they could see each other perfectly fine. He knelt down next to her, taking the earrings from his pocket. There was a certain poetic irony in this, he thought. He reached toward her ears.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she saw Manados - the man that Hector had been terrified of, the one that Hector had warned her about, who apparently could and would do terrible things to their lives if he wasn't pleased. And she realized then that this was his doing.

Manados reacted quickly. Before she could escape he spread his palm above her, pressing it down through the air. Immediately she was flattened as a heavy layer of magic smothered her against the ground. She gasped and opened her mouth to scream, but Manados clenched his fist and her jaw slammed shut, and was held too tight for her to open. She tried to scream anyway, but had no success, for it was too muffled to reach any acceptable volume. She squirmed desperately, trying to get away as the tears continued to stream down her face. Manados kneeled next to her, keeping the magic in place to hold her down, as he held both earrings and reached for her ear.

"I never did learn your name."

Manados and his newly acquired slave walked casually along the Stormwind canal, leisurely and relaxed. The water, as ever, splashed half-heartedly against the edge. She hugged his arm, a radiant smile across her face. Manados kept up the invisibility spell, concealing them both from view as people ran past them, heading for the blazing fire still clearly visible in the sky behind them.

"Sharine, my master. Sharine Solarheart."

"Sharine? Such a pretty name…" She smiled. "But I don't like it. Do you have any other options?"

Sharine frowned. "I- I'm sorry? I don't understa-"

Manados lifted his other arm, extending one finger toward the closest of her earrings. A tiny trickle of arcane magic bolted from his finger to a specific spot on the jewelry, and Sharine's protest stopped immediately, replaced by her dumb smile. "I have a sister named Relinthiri, my master."

"Relinthiri! Yes, that's a much better name. Your name is Relinthiri now."

"As you wish, my master."

"And that other name, it won't do either. What did you say it was?"

"Solarheart, my master."

"Yeah, no. Hard no. Any other suggestions?" Relinthiri made no comment, only clinging to his arm, still smiling. Manados scoffed. "Yeah, figures. How about…" He thought for a minute before suddenly getting an idea. "Blackbound! Yes, that fits. Fits nicely."

"Is that my name now, my master?"

"Yes, it is. Relinthiri Blackbound." Manados cackled to himself. "Yes, that works beautifully."

Manados paused in their stroll, and she looked at him questioningly. He was waving his hand complicatedly through the air, quietly muttering a long and equally complex incantation. Eventually, a portal emerged from thin air. From it, she could hear the hustle and bustle of Ironforge, and see a door.

"Well? Go through. Now." She started, and hurried to pass through. Manados took one look at the city, before following her with a grin and closing the portal behind him.

Rel looked around, gazing at the dwarven metropolis in wonder. Manados stepped around her quickly, dispelling the magical enchantments around his door before opening it. She made to go inside, but he stopped her. "Take off those clothes first." Rel immediately set to undoing the various buttons and knots. Manados snarled. "Just rip them off." Her attitude changed instantly, and she grabbed two fistfuls of cloth and pulled, ripping the dress off viciously without even blinking. Her facial expression remained lax the entire time as she savagely ripped her clothes apart; first her dress, then her bra, then her panties, all torn to tatters. Once she was done, she looked at him imploringly, completely naked. Manados saw a dwarf on the other side of the street stop and stare; he even dared to whistle. The portal must have stripped them of the invisibility spell. Manados frowned and gestured to her to come inside. She hurried past him, and he thrust out his palm at the pile of shredded clothing on the ground outside the house. A blast of flame erupted forth, incinerating the cloth instantly. Within seconds, it was a pile of ash. Manados turned around and walked inside, closing the door.

The ceaseless shouting and hammering of the rest of the city quieted immediately as Manados' many wards took effect again with the closing of the door, for purposes of security and privacy both. He looked at Relinthiri, who was standing there doing nothing, not having been directed otherwise or given a task to do. He frowned. "Go to the bed."

"Where is the bed, my master?"

"In the house. Find it." She scurried off. Manados, confident she would be able to find it eventually, busied himself with making sure the house was still operating as it should, and that nothing had gone wrong in his absence.

Relinthiri screamed as Manados thrust into her, again and again, as hard as he liked. He was grasping both of her arms in his hands, using them to hold her body up as he plowed her. He had no care for her own enjoyment of this; he knew she would probably hate it if she could. He also knew that no matter what, the earrings would force her to enjoy this.

Which, of course, he was completely right about. They pulsed repeatedly, forcing her mind to submit and accept it. Her eyes glowed as her mouth slacked open, her tongue lolling out. Her breasts bounced wildly with every slam, and she could barely form any coherent thoughts. The only things she could think, much less say, were things he wanted to hear.

"Oh, fuck yes, master! Fuck me harder! Fuck me until I break! Oh, oh yes! Yes! More! Give me more, I need it!"

He barely heard it anymore, it was so constant. He merely continued to use her as he pleased, as she screamed in forced exuberance.

He continued like that until he finally reached his release, slamming into her one last time as he erupted inside her. She moaned, long and loud, as he filled her up, before he let go of her arms. She immediately fell forward, collapsing face first onto the bed, her legs spread behind her as his seed dripped out of her. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth again, as her deep blue eyes stared off into nothing. She whimpered weakly, which Manados ignored.

He had already climbed off of the bed, standing up straight and stretching luxuriantly. He glanced at her once, sparingly, at her collapsed body, used and discarded. She was panting quietly, as her body tried to rest and recover. That part was certainly unideal, he allowed, but she would adapt eventually to be able to have more stamina. He smiled; he felt the best he'd felt in weeks. Free of stress, completely sexually relieved, and most of all, satisfied with himself at how well his plan had worked. Admittedly, killing Hector and burning his house and taking his girlfriend had not been part of that plan, but maybe it should have been. It certainly worked out well enough, and left far fewer loose ends. Manados grinned. Yes, today had gone wonderfully.

He blinked to the other side of the bed, throwing aside the covers and climbing in to sleep. Relinthiri was still laying on top of the sheets, and looked like she lacked the energy to move at all, so he left her. He closed his eyes, the smile persisting on his face as he drifted peacefully off to sleep. He had big plans for her…