He was muscular, like most orcs, but his was a study of shadow and fel-magic, not weapons. No doubt he would seem small in stature compared with a warrior of his clan. He was content, though, to devote endless hours to the study of the Nether, of the creatures that inhabited it and the power he drew from it. Tonight, Kaal Soulreaper sat in his cluttered room deep in the bowels of the Undercity, volumes of texts spread out on top of each other on the small table that served as a desk. The orc sipped from a mug of ale, squinting in the dim light at the words on the page in front of him. His finely tailored robes were hung neatly on a peg - clad only in a pair of trousers, Kaal was not bothered by the chill that seemed to seep from the walls of grey stone.
There was a hesitant knock on the door, and the orc glanced at the pocket watch that lay open on the table beside him. Who could possibly be calling at this hour? He grunted at Salyna, and the succubus pouted slightly as she rose from her usual spot on Kaal's bed - for she knew her place well - and sauntered over to the door. Kaal glanced over his shoulder as she opened it and was surprised to see a robed and cloaked Forsaken woman on his doorstep. Raising one eyebrow, he closed the book in front of him and rose from his chair, turning to face her. She was fair, this one. Tiny. He did not care for her kind, but her timid demeanor stirred him. The orc noted with a slight shiver that her eyes had been gouged out; how she was watching his every movement now - for he felt as though her shadowy gaze was stabbing into the very heart of him - was baffling. Kaal grunted again and Salyna eyed the Forsaken woman up and down once more before moving to recline on the bed once again. He folded his arms over his broad chest and smiled at the woman as he leaned back against the table.
"Well, now. What can I do for you, my dear?"
A New Lesson by Acherontia
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Keeper Of Lore
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Re: A New Lesson by Acherontia
Acherontia swallowed hard and fought the urge to tell the orc that she had made a mistake, that there was nothing he could do for her. She had been putting off her training for far too long, having succumbed to the terror of her nightmare, the priest's invasion of her mind, her fear of the orc hunter who had chased both her and Melchisedech from the depths of Uldaman and halfway across the world - to no avail. It was an apathy with which the young warlock was all-too familiar - nothing existed except the fact that she had been, the fact that she had done, the fact that she was. What was she doing now? How was she serving the Grim? She tiptoed around herself, around the other members of the guild...even around her own power. No more.
Believing it, though, was a different matter entirely. Try as she might, she could not keep her voice from sounding as tiny as she felt. Carelessly gesturing over her shoulder with a gloved hand, she spoke softly. "They told me - they said Luther is away. He told me to come back when-...I mean, after-" She registered a flicker of amusement that she could imagine to be a raised eyebrow and flushed, bowing deeply. "I have come to learn what you would teach me."
Kaal grunted again. One of Luther's, then. That would explain the bowing. "Your mentor will be back in two more days. What is so pressing that you cannot wait?" He watched her face as she groped for the right words. "Well?" he barked, grinning to himself as she jumped, startled.
Acherontia bowed again. "Forgive me, but I do not see how my waiting can best serve the Horde." Carefully schooling her features into an unreadable mask, she tried not to think on how well she had been serving the Horde lately...keeping herself awake so she would not sleep, lest she dream...dwelling on Melchisedech's words to her outside of Orgrimmar...groping within the dark recesses of her mind for any hint of damage left unmended... Luther would be disappointed if he knew. Or would he? He was always content to take her coin and send her on her way with a few hastily scribbled parchments for her to decipher on her own later. She did not know if her mentor would even notice.
The orc nodded thoughtfully. It was the correct answer, of course. That was what bothered him - he was content to leave Luther his own students, always ready with the correct answer that came from nowhere. Kaal would rather hear a doubt from the soul than the correct answer from a shell. He had been told that he demanded too much from his protégés...he snorted absentmindedly. Perhaps that is why he had so few. He pushed himself away from the table and straightened to his full height. "What have you learned so far?"
The Forsaken bowed once more. "Teacher, I have-"
"Stop that."
Acherontia froze, at a loss for words. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a brief moment before she found her voice again. "I am sorry."
"Do you even know for what you are apologizing?"
She wrinkled her forehead, perplexed. The orc's voice was stern, but it did not match his aura at all. The thought at once gave her comfort and unnerved her. "I-...no."
"I am not Luther." Kaal stepped forward, noticing with amusement that the woman seemed to shrink from him without moving a muscle. "I do not ask my students to mouth empty respect at me; I do not demand that they express subservience with their bodies." He watched as the Forsaken seemed to absorb his words, her brow smoothing once again. "Tell me," he said, his voice softer - but only slightly. "What have you learned so far?"
Acherontia's gaze was black, expressionless once more. "I have trained through my fortieth season."
Kaal nodded again, running his tongue over his teeth as he thought. Immolation, yes...a less concentrated but more widespread method of fear...very effective when facing multiple enemies, but it buys her less time in which to act... Kaal was becoming enmeshed in the mechanics of fel-magic, as he was all too wont to do. "And you have been able to summon your steed?"
"Yes, Tea-...sir."
The orc stared at the tiny woman in front of him, ignoring the chill that skittered up his spine as he felt her watching him. As much as he wanted to send her away, to be rid of her black stare, it sickened him to abandon her to Luther's fumbling and pawing at the doors of the Nether. Very well. He would abide her all-seeing blindness, for now, at least. And she would have to abide him. He grunted to himself again. "Are you certain you wish to continue your training now, tonight?"
Acherontia lifted her chin, more from sheer effort than true confidence. No, she was not certain. She wanted to go back to her wagon, to sit and sew while Melchisedech read to her, to fly to Thunder Bluff and enjoy the cool, fresh air of Mulgore. She wanted to have a mug of ale in Booty Bay or in the Grim hall. No, she was not certain - but there was work to be done.
"Yes, I am certain."
Let it begin, then.
Kaal quickly closed the gap between them, noting that the Forsaken flinched but did not otherwise move. He did not touch her, though; rather, he lifted his robes from their peg by the door and draped them over his hulking form, fastening the closures with his meaty fingers. Acherontia breathed evenly, but was quaking inside. They always made her nervous.
"I will tell you once again - I am not Luther." Kaal turned away from her to dig his hearthstone out from where it lay on the table, buried beneath open books and scrolls of parchment. "Faranell," he barked into the stone. He banished Salyna with a word and she gave him a final pout as the reply scraped over the hearthstone. "What is it, Soulreaper? Keever just brought me a new batch of prisoners and I am eager to begin testing the new potion. Did you know that-"
"Save one for me."
"Kaal!" The raspy voice turned shrill. "I cannot keep wasting my specimens on you - not after last time. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch Keever scraping the melted flesh of a perfectly good body out of those cages again!"
"Leave the remains, then. There are plenty of humans to be found at the monastery, you know that. Have Keever bring in another one."
"Kaal!" Faranell shrieked again.
The orc ignored him. Brushing by Acherontia, he emerged into the cavernous stone hallway that led from his chambers to the Magic Quarter. He looked over his shoulder, expecting her to be following, but she was staring after him, confusion clearly written on her face. "What?" he barked.
Acherontia looked back into his chambers, at the shadowy shapes that made up the mass of books on the shelves, the cluttered table, the scrolls both weighted open and rolled up tightly. He had taken nothing to write with, nothing to write on. Was he not going to give her her lessons? She looked back at him, once again at a loss for words. "I-...aren't you going to..." Her voice trailed off.
Kaal Soulreaper stretched his mouth east and west in what Acherontia read as a grim smile. "Follow me." Without another word, he turned away from her and continued on.
Acherontia felt her heart drop into her boots, weighing her feet down so that she could not move. Mentally, she picked it up and anchored it in place, forced it to beat, forced herself to breathe...the young warlock hurried after the orc, noting with more than a little terror the anguished wails that began to assault her ears as mentor and student made their way through the yawning tunnels of the Undercity, drawing ever closer to the Apothecarium.
Believing it, though, was a different matter entirely. Try as she might, she could not keep her voice from sounding as tiny as she felt. Carelessly gesturing over her shoulder with a gloved hand, she spoke softly. "They told me - they said Luther is away. He told me to come back when-...I mean, after-" She registered a flicker of amusement that she could imagine to be a raised eyebrow and flushed, bowing deeply. "I have come to learn what you would teach me."
Kaal grunted again. One of Luther's, then. That would explain the bowing. "Your mentor will be back in two more days. What is so pressing that you cannot wait?" He watched her face as she groped for the right words. "Well?" he barked, grinning to himself as she jumped, startled.
Acherontia bowed again. "Forgive me, but I do not see how my waiting can best serve the Horde." Carefully schooling her features into an unreadable mask, she tried not to think on how well she had been serving the Horde lately...keeping herself awake so she would not sleep, lest she dream...dwelling on Melchisedech's words to her outside of Orgrimmar...groping within the dark recesses of her mind for any hint of damage left unmended... Luther would be disappointed if he knew. Or would he? He was always content to take her coin and send her on her way with a few hastily scribbled parchments for her to decipher on her own later. She did not know if her mentor would even notice.
The orc nodded thoughtfully. It was the correct answer, of course. That was what bothered him - he was content to leave Luther his own students, always ready with the correct answer that came from nowhere. Kaal would rather hear a doubt from the soul than the correct answer from a shell. He had been told that he demanded too much from his protégés...he snorted absentmindedly. Perhaps that is why he had so few. He pushed himself away from the table and straightened to his full height. "What have you learned so far?"
The Forsaken bowed once more. "Teacher, I have-"
"Stop that."
Acherontia froze, at a loss for words. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a brief moment before she found her voice again. "I am sorry."
"Do you even know for what you are apologizing?"
She wrinkled her forehead, perplexed. The orc's voice was stern, but it did not match his aura at all. The thought at once gave her comfort and unnerved her. "I-...no."
"I am not Luther." Kaal stepped forward, noticing with amusement that the woman seemed to shrink from him without moving a muscle. "I do not ask my students to mouth empty respect at me; I do not demand that they express subservience with their bodies." He watched as the Forsaken seemed to absorb his words, her brow smoothing once again. "Tell me," he said, his voice softer - but only slightly. "What have you learned so far?"
Acherontia's gaze was black, expressionless once more. "I have trained through my fortieth season."
Kaal nodded again, running his tongue over his teeth as he thought. Immolation, yes...a less concentrated but more widespread method of fear...very effective when facing multiple enemies, but it buys her less time in which to act... Kaal was becoming enmeshed in the mechanics of fel-magic, as he was all too wont to do. "And you have been able to summon your steed?"
"Yes, Tea-...sir."
The orc stared at the tiny woman in front of him, ignoring the chill that skittered up his spine as he felt her watching him. As much as he wanted to send her away, to be rid of her black stare, it sickened him to abandon her to Luther's fumbling and pawing at the doors of the Nether. Very well. He would abide her all-seeing blindness, for now, at least. And she would have to abide him. He grunted to himself again. "Are you certain you wish to continue your training now, tonight?"
Acherontia lifted her chin, more from sheer effort than true confidence. No, she was not certain. She wanted to go back to her wagon, to sit and sew while Melchisedech read to her, to fly to Thunder Bluff and enjoy the cool, fresh air of Mulgore. She wanted to have a mug of ale in Booty Bay or in the Grim hall. No, she was not certain - but there was work to be done.
"Yes, I am certain."
Let it begin, then.
Kaal quickly closed the gap between them, noting that the Forsaken flinched but did not otherwise move. He did not touch her, though; rather, he lifted his robes from their peg by the door and draped them over his hulking form, fastening the closures with his meaty fingers. Acherontia breathed evenly, but was quaking inside. They always made her nervous.
"I will tell you once again - I am not Luther." Kaal turned away from her to dig his hearthstone out from where it lay on the table, buried beneath open books and scrolls of parchment. "Faranell," he barked into the stone. He banished Salyna with a word and she gave him a final pout as the reply scraped over the hearthstone. "What is it, Soulreaper? Keever just brought me a new batch of prisoners and I am eager to begin testing the new potion. Did you know that-"
"Save one for me."
"Kaal!" The raspy voice turned shrill. "I cannot keep wasting my specimens on you - not after last time. I'll be damned if I'm going to watch Keever scraping the melted flesh of a perfectly good body out of those cages again!"
"Leave the remains, then. There are plenty of humans to be found at the monastery, you know that. Have Keever bring in another one."
"Kaal!" Faranell shrieked again.
The orc ignored him. Brushing by Acherontia, he emerged into the cavernous stone hallway that led from his chambers to the Magic Quarter. He looked over his shoulder, expecting her to be following, but she was staring after him, confusion clearly written on her face. "What?" he barked.
Acherontia looked back into his chambers, at the shadowy shapes that made up the mass of books on the shelves, the cluttered table, the scrolls both weighted open and rolled up tightly. He had taken nothing to write with, nothing to write on. Was he not going to give her her lessons? She looked back at him, once again at a loss for words. "I-...aren't you going to..." Her voice trailed off.
Kaal Soulreaper stretched his mouth east and west in what Acherontia read as a grim smile. "Follow me." Without another word, he turned away from her and continued on.
Acherontia felt her heart drop into her boots, weighing her feet down so that she could not move. Mentally, she picked it up and anchored it in place, forced it to beat, forced herself to breathe...the young warlock hurried after the orc, noting with more than a little terror the anguished wails that began to assault her ears as mentor and student made their way through the yawning tunnels of the Undercity, drawing ever closer to the Apothecarium.