Unwilling Obsession

Part One
“Little gnomes shouldn’t play with such things.”

Kiori sat on her bed and seethed. “Little gnomes shouldn’t play with such things,” she muttered in as stupid an approximation of the human’s voice as she could. “Asshole humans need to keep their noses out of other people’s business,” she snarled.

Kiori reached over and grabbed the black leather grimore out of her small pack and sat the heavy book across her lap. It had taken her a good hour to find a ladder high enough for her to get it down the first time, ‘Then that insolent, too tall, sonofabitch put it back.’ Snatched it right out of her hands like she was some kind of disobedient child actually, Kiori hated the way the humans treated her. If she had known anything more than the simplest of cantrips she would have let the mage have it. But the wizened old human would have just laughed and brushed her spells aside before giving her kitchen duty or some stupid thing.

So she hated waited for him to leave the tower to go to sleep, ‘or maybe whore it up in some bar, who knows.’ Then she’d had to find the ladder, AGAIN, climb up and get the book, AGAIN, and take it back to her room without letting one of those bootlicking, sycophant, snitches see her disobeying the oh so high and mighty chief mage of Stormwind. She despised her fellow students almost as much as their teacher, and him almost at much as that shriveled up old crone who had told her she wasn’t good enough to learn the arcane with her fellow gnomes, but that the humans might be willing to accept someone of her caliber.

Pushing thoughts of the aggravations in her life aside for a moment Kiori considered the tome in her hands. The black leather cover was well worn, but in good shape overall, the red and purple stitchings on the binding and cover added a dash of color to offset the matt black finish. Of most interest to the little pink haired gnome was the lock on the front of the book, a circular affair that obviously took a star shaped key pressed into it. This lock was a good thing by Kiori’s estimation, all the best books had locks on them, she’d learned this while reading every single other book in the library. Kiori didn’t really care for the company of her fellow students. However unlike the mundane locks she was used to dealing with, and had already copied the headmaster’s key for, this lock she wasn’t sure immediately how to open.

A challenge was a challenge though and after an hour of poking and prodding at the metal contraption Kiori retrieved her tools. “Put this there… push that down… hold this spring back… insert this that way… and….,” Kiori gave her screwdrivers a twist and the locking mechanism easily rotated and popped open. Kiori giggle happily to herself and tossed the tools off to the side, eager to find out what secrets this book held, after all, no harm ever came from reading a book…

Part Two
Kiori slowly leafed through the tattered pages of the book, studying a few passages in detail and breezing over others. If the old fool had done one thing right it was having all the apprentices learn as many languages as possible, the demonic runes of the book were no more difficult to read than common to her.

For all the books imposing appearance and fel inspired lettering the contents were something Kiori was already well used to reading, it was a textbook, of a sort. There was no mention of the arcane in the book, only the nether, the first time the word had appeared she had glanced towards the door, half expecting an instructor to storm in and scold her, but no one came. Any mention of the nether, aside from condemnations of it, were more than frowned on in the academy, she knew of at least two students who had been tossed from the school for inquiring about it’s alternate route to power.

Only a few minutes of reading revealed why, it was easy. The way the doddering old fools of the academy taught magic required weeks, even months of casting the same useless cantrips over and over until your fingers bled. Then, if they were satisfied, they might teach you the next set of pointless spells. ‘Oh hurray, a spell that will open a bottle of wine without you having to touch it!’ She needed power, how the fel were they supposed to DO anything with these worthless spells? But this book, this book had nothing of those useless cantrips, no pointless parlor tricks to practices ad infinitum. No, the very first lesson in the book spoke of dipping into to the nether and pulling back enough of it to hurl at your enemy. No transmutations, no alterations, just take the power and hurl it at your enemies.

The ancient pages of the book were a blur as Kiori skimmed through it wildly. This is what she wanted, what she NEEDED, a way to make a difference, a way to be someone, and to do it before she was old and gray.

In a sudden rush of nervousness she slammed the book shut and again her eyes darted about her room. Again she saw nothing, but the little nagging feeling of doing something wrong stuck with her. Brushing it aside Kiori decided to try this book out, to see if things really were as easy as they advertised. She opened the book once more, to the back where the odd-ball, semi-useful spells were at and scanned the list. Turning to one that caught her eye she read the description.

“Now this sounds interesting.

Part Three
Kiori looked back and forth from the symbol she had drawn on the floor to her book, double and triple checking it to make sure she had drawn it properly. The edge of the book dug at the bandaged gash on her hand but she ignore it, a necessary inconvenience. Her knees hurt from kneeling for more than an hour but she ignored it.

Glancing back at the book one last time she reached down and added a minor flourish to one of the demonic runes that sat between the borders of the circle that surrounded the giant seven, lopsided, star and the larger one that contained all the runes she had drawn. Satisfied that everything was as it should be she started to arrange the odd little knick-nacks the spell called for, a candle, whole at the beginning but half gone when the spell starts at the top of the circle, a lock of hair from someone in love at the right, a vial of holy water at the bottom, and the heart of a hot blooded creature on the left. The candle was easy enough, and the water had come from a bribed altar boy, but the heart had been messy, and unpleasant. The rabbit had been dead when she’d found it, but it hadn’t made cutting the poor little thing’s heart out any easier. The hair, well, those silly classmates of hers had little else to do between studying cantrips.

Satisfied that everything was in its proper position the little gnome set the black tome on the ground beside her kneeling form and started to recite the spell contained within.

''Deep within the twisting nether a pair of jade green eyes opened languidly. Pouty red lips spread wide in a yawn revealing razor sharp incisors and an unnaturally long tongue. Perfectly shaped and proportioned ears twitched as the faintest whisper of a chant reached them. A face so beautiful it could break hearts with nary a word turned and beheld the tiny blue ripple forming in the space about her. Willing herself to move the demoness drifted towards the apparition, settling down in front of it to wait.''

Kiori concentrated as she enunciated each new word, none of them would normally be difficult to speak, but it was as if reality itself was fighting her, trying to make her fail. The young gnome refused to be dissuaded though, she simply pushed harder, straining her whole body to force each word out. She turned the leaden page of the book and found the last line waiting for her, summoning up all her strength she slogged onwards, fighting a battle of wills with forces unseen. '' Nervous eyes glanced about the nether, searching for those who might try to steal this away. She looked deep into the opening rift and saw what she scarcely dared to dream of, the Prime Material. A tiny pink form looked to be crouched over the opening, but the haze still separating them washed out the details. She could see the person’s lips moving, but her words, like her form, were muddied by the thin wall that separated their realities.''

It felt as if Stormwind Keep itself was sitting on Kiori’s chest as she forced out the last word or the spell, and then suddenly the universe gave up. She had just enough time to suck in a shuddering breath and fall forward onto her hands before the summoning circle exploded around her.

The circle, so carefully drawn in her own blood burned with a white light that seared her eyes and burned directly into her mind. The regents so carefully placed melted like wax, turning to a greenish purple slime that shimmered as it flowed to cover the bloody circle. The center of the circle with its seven pointed star began to sag like wax in a flame, then the nether vomited its essence up into her face. As tendrils of gray and purple and green miasma roared up around her to bounce off the ceiling Kiori tried to pull away but her hands felt fused in place. She could only stare on in horror as ethereal, indescribably, things, howled at her like banshees, and reached up towards her through the portal. She tried to scream but her throat was already raw.

''She had to shield her eyes against the light that poured through the newly opened portal, but it was there. Ragged leathery wings beat hard as she lunged towards the opening, then wrapped around her as bounced off. ‘Too small,’ she raged, ‘too small!’ Backing up she charged it again, and again she bounced off, painfully. Snarling like a caged animal, pure hatred clouding her angelic face, she brought herself up to the opening, if she couldn’t get out, she might be able to make the one that taunted her so pay.''

Kiori’s stomach was starting to roil in her belly and ever muscle in her body was trembling. She didn’t know exactly what she had started, but she doubted she would survive it. She tried over and over to pull away from the whirlpool in front of her but nothing she did budged her body even a hair’s breadth, but even as her mind began to overload from everything it had witnessed she saw a face, a real, actual face, with all the skin and muscles still on it, materialize in the depth’s of the portal. Not even the rage filled grimace on the face dimmed Kiori’s relief at glimpsing something real.

''She was readying to unleash her spell when the face above her resolved itself. The creature who had taunted her with her freedom wasn’t some crinkled old man, or hideous orc, she looked to be nothing more than a child, yet not. Her curiosity piqued she let the hate flow from her face like water, replacing it with the seductively serene countenance she usually displayed. She let a tiny bit of her consciousness flow through the portal and touch the small girl. Gnome, came back the reply, the girl was a gnome, a young one though, old enough however. She looked at the gigantic pink pigtails and the half dozen dangling earrings in each ear and smiled as a plan formed.''

Kiori had been relieved just to see the woman’s face, but when she smiled, Kiori felt the tension in her body melt away, not even the horns jutting from her brow or the sharp incisors in her mouth alarmed her as she stared down into the most beautiful pair of green eyes she had ever seen. '' ‘Sooo easy,’ she thought to herself, ‘Dabbling in the fel with nary a defense.’ The little girl’s mind was an open book to her, one the demoness devoured greedily. ‘You will do nicely,’ she thought as she murmured happily to her audience. '' Soft loving sounds washed over Kiori as the beautiful face’s lips moved. There were no words, just a gentle reassurance that everything would be fine.  ‘Not so different after all,’ she thought when she readily found the place in the gnome’s mind she was looking for, a quick bit of will and it was done.

“I’ll be waiting for you.” Kiori gasped as the lovely visage finally spoke, a smoky purr promising every carnal delight. A ghostly hand brushed across her face and she leaned into it, closing her eyes to focus all her being on that whispering caress. Her pleasant sigh turned into a wailing scream when she opened her eyes and beheld…

…nothing.

Part Four
The troll witch doctor fell to his knees before her. The skin on his face and chest growing taunt and decaying before her eyes, his arm reached towards her, the flesh crackling and breaking, small embers flaking off it as his finger came within a few inches of her face, and then he crumpled to the ground. The last of his life leeched away and the tendrils of shadow released him.

Kiori giggled.

She opened her hand and inspected the small purpleish pink gem that had formed in it. "Useless," she sighed. No surprise there, she didn't have nearly the strength or the experience to channel the spell as smoothly as needed to produce the flawless shards she needed. Every once in a while she managed it, but with how rarely that happened and how many she needed it was taking far too long.

The misty blue form of Zanggrave coalesced in front of her, his golden bracers the only substantial part of him at the moment. A bass rumble echoed out from where his chest would have been.

“No not you, stop being paranoid. This,” Kiori held the shard up. The crystal was marred in several places, the clear pink essence marred by dark gray haze that ruined it for her purposes. Dejectedly she dropped the purple sliver into a pouch on her hip where many others already resided. She reflected on the number of flawless soul stones that Tyyrlym had calculated she’d need to make the portal. “This is going to take forever.”

She could speed things up of course, the warlock’s skill wasn’t the only factor in determining the quality of a shard. However, slaying innocents wasn’t something she wanted to do, the authorities tended to look into that sort of thing. No, she could kill trolls and pirates all day long and be rewarded for it. Much easier and safer route.

“This is going to take forever.”

Part Five
Forever was right at three years.

‘Three years, eight months, eleven days, give or take a few hours due to localized temporal offsets. Stupid mages.’

Kiori paced around the small room, carefully inspecting her new summoning circle. The abandoned house was the same one she’d preformed the ritual in for the first time more than four years ago. She knew that it didn’t matter where she tried the summoning, so long as she knew who she was after physical location was a non-issue. Still, there was something to be said for tradition, or just limiting variables, and when trying to perform a ritual that should be far beyond you, you did any thing to make your job easier.

She knew that it was trivial to summon up just any demon out of the nether, she could do that with out even thinking about. Summoning up a particular kind of demon was tougher, but easily do-able. Summoning up a specific demon was the hardest, and summoning up a specific demon you had no connection too, well, even the masters of the dark arts found that difficult, and she couldn’t turn to them for help.

No, she’d found that teachers of the nether and teachers of the arcane were disgustingly similar, and both seemed to have vested interest in keeping their students a few steps behind them and sharing power was unheard of, in either camp. A master demonologist certainly could have gathered the shards faster, and performed the ritual easier, but the risks were too great. Shards, and the affects they produced were attuned to their creators, her demon might arrive, but only recognize the summoner as her master, or the summoner could simply take her for their own.

The risks were too great, far too great, to employ anyone else in this, and she took a perverse delight in attaining something that should be so out of reach on her own.

She continued to check and recheck the circle. The original heptagram inscribed in a pair of circles now had those circled inscribed in a triangle, this additional circles full of runes at each tip. The new summoning point was too large to have made just by bleeding herself on the spot, so one of her old cantrips had finally proven its worth. ‘Who’d have thought there was an actual use to a spell that prevents clotting?’ She plucked the jar up she had stored her essence in for several weeks and considered the pint still in it. Glancing at the circle she dropped it in the center of the heptagram, smiling when the glass shattered but the lines of fel energy contained the slick liquid.

Noticing something amiss Kiori bent down and straightened out one of the soul shards, ensuring that it would smoothly focus the force about to be slammed through it. The thick viscous pull of her drying blood kept the shard in place when she was done and she stood back up admiring her handy work.

Everything was in place, everything was perfect. Her body was practically buzzing in anticipation as she knelt at the proper place and began to intone the spell she had been preparing for for years.

This time it was the soul shards that glowed and melted, coating her blood in a thick purple glaze as the ritual circle was burned into the essence of two realities, and began to merge them.

''A presence in the Nether slowly opened jade green eyes. ‘Finally.’''

The floor sagged and melted again like hot wax, the floorboards dissolving into the gray mist between realities. Unlike the first time, Kiori was well prepared for all this, the howling spirits that came pouring out elicited only a chuckle from her, she knew now that they were meer ghosts, bits of souls trapped between the Prime Material and the Twisting Nether. They could do little but make floorboards creak in the night, and she grinned when their wailing cut off a few feet behind her.

''She moved closer to the portal, expecting to see it, but barely believing it. Hundreds of years trapped in the Nether were on the verge of ending. She drifted in front of the portal and looked through it, none of the cloudiness of the last one, this one was large, and reinforced; a crystal clear passage from this world to the next. She could see the grinning face of the gnome at the other end, and she lunged into the passage.''

‘So predictable,’ Kiori thought with a grin, the beautiful face of the demon came rushing up the portal, wasting no time in vacating the Nether for the Prime Material. She emerged from the portal in a burst of black light, purple and gray wisps of the Nether still clinging to her exquisite frame.

Even though she was prepared for the arrival of the demoness and who knew what she was capable of, the sudden appearance of her in the room took Kiori’s breath away. The room seemed smaller, the air warmer, she could smell sweet perfumes in the air and hear melodious giggles in the distance. She stretched her arms out above her head, displaying every fel-crafted curve and letting loose a whimpering moan rarely heard outside of a bedroom.

She violently shook her head to clear it, she couldn’t afford to be taken in by the display, there was work to do.

''She could feel the gnome’s anticipation, her lust, and she grinned. Mortals were such easy marks. She flexed her muscles, both physical and mental and frowned, the trip from the Nether to the Prime Material had left her drained, weak. That wouldn’t do. She looked down at the gnome, pouring all her allure into her gaze. As she had always planned, the little creature would be her first meal, and with her strength returned… well, she had the whole Prime Material and all eternity to enjoy it.''

Kiori smiled dumbly up at the demoness, grinning from ear to ear as she approached. When she was only a few feet away the welcoming smile on the demoness’ face dissolved into a snarl, and she lunged at Kiori.

Part Six
‘Sooo predictable.’

“Zanggrave.”

Kiori shivered as the murky mist of Zanggrave’s body swept over her, the voidwalker moving through her. The look on the demoness’ face when Zanggrave grabbed her by her throat and one wrist and slammed her against the nearest wall, pining her wrists in place with his hands. Kiori giggled uproariously as she spat and howled, whipped her hooves and tail too and fro but only found insubstantial vapor to strike.

She strolled confidently up beside her blue companion and grinned up at the captive demon. “Not too hard Zang, I don’t want her permanently damaged. Succubi aren’t nearly as resilent as you are. Isn’t that right Domriel?”

The stream of curses that tore out of the captive succubus’ mouth sounded vile, and when translated to common would have made a pirate blanch. No one was supposed to know her name, and certainly not do this to her.

Kiori swatted at Zanggrave’s side, finding cool blue flesh where the succubus’ hooves had found only vapor. “Down,” was all she said. The succubus howled in rage as Zanggrave’s powerful arms drove her down to her knees and even lower, bringing her face to face with Kiori. The curses stopped though when she saw the gentle smile on Kiori’s face.

Kiori’s hand lashed out, bringing the back of her hand to the succubus’ face with a viscious slap that echo’d through the room. The two heavy rings that she wore on her right hand left a pair of nasty cuts across her perfect cheek. The ugly red slashes brought a smile back to Kiori’s face.

“Shut up you bitch, if the next words out of your mouth don’t begin with Mistress, and end in the sweetest nothings you know I’ll mark your other cheek.” Kiori knew she was in a dangerous place. Weakened though she was, Domriel would eventually get her strength back, and when that happened she would be more than a match for Zanggrave, and more than a match for her. She had a lot to do, and not nearly enough time to do it.

“I’ve lost four years of my life because of you,” she snapped, “four years because of that stupid gaes you put on me!”

Domriel’s pretty green eyes went wide.

“That’s right, I found it! I had that thing in my head for two and a half years before I realized it and had it removed!” Kiori reached up and grabbed one of Domriel’s horns, dragging her face closer. “And even after I had it removed the damn compulsion was still there! But you screwed up didn’t you? You just made me want you back, you forgot to make me stand still while you ate my soul.”

Kiori knew the self-satisfied smirk on her face went from ear to ear, and she loved every minute of it as realization dawned on Domriel’s pretty face. A face she wanted to take a carving knife too, and spend all night kissing, at the same time.

“That’s right. You. Fucked. Up.”

Kiori’s heart ached when Domriel looked even more downcast, her head hanging in acknowledgement of her fate.

“Don’t worry sweetie,” Kiori said in a soothing voice, “I don’t plan on killing you…”

Domriel looked up, astonished that a reprieve was coming.

Kiori savored her hope, this was turning out better than she could have possibly hope.

“Bizfip.”

Out of the darkness a small imp dashed and climbed up Zanggrave to his head. Kiori released Domriel’s horn and grinned as Bizfip grabbed both of them, shoving Domriel’s head back to the wall. While Zanggrave was able to hold her in place easily, even in this weakened form it took all of Bizfip’s strength to hold her head still. The curses began to spew forth from her mouth again and Kiori had to suppress a squeal of delight as her hand connected with Domriel’s other cheek, giving her another set of stripes.

While the three demons stayed in a grunting pile Kiori reached into a silken bag hanging from her belt and pulled out the final piece of the puzzle. The collar was made of black arcanite rods woven together to look like flames, with their tips made of truesilver, and none of the hard or sharp edges filed down. On the inside of the flame weave every joint had a cruel truesilver barb affixed to the interior, harmless if the collar was left alone, but that would dig in visciously if someone tried to remove it. Kiori hummed happily as she held the collar in front of her for Domriel to see. The succubus paniced, trying to throw her head from side to side but the weakness of changing realities and a small imp attached to her head held her still. Kiori chuckled as she approached, spending a long moment just staring unabashedly at Domriel’s long slender neck. Kiori leaned forward and placed one small kiss right on the front of her regal throat, the brought the collar up and clamped it around Domriel’s neck.

Domriel hissed in pain as the collar slammed tight about her neck, suddenly the weight of the other demons was gone and she shrieked, reaching up to claw at the hideous thing about her neck but bringing her fingers back bloody and burned where the cruel truesilver tips had dug into them, she tossed her head about and screamed as the sharp tips of the collar pierced the underside of her throat and the top of her collar bone. She felt something in the middle of her throat sizzling against her skin and her desire to run away from this horrid little gnome and her creature came to naught. With a whimper she collapsed forward onto her hands and knees. “What have you done to me?”

Kiori watched Domriel’s dark purple blood stain the silver tips of her collar and sighed, “Perfect,” she said quietly. A few trickles made it far enough to fill in a few of the lines that were carved onto the surface of the single perfect soul stone that sat in the center of Domriel’s throat now, suspended in the collar.

“Payback, bitch. You screwed with my head, so now I own you.” Kiori kicked a small shard of mirrored glass she had found in the house towards Domriel.

For the first time Domriel saw the collar about her neck. She made to tear it off, but screeched in agony when the barbs on the inside bit into her neck, their truesilver construction amplifying an annoying sting to pure agony. Panting she released the item of her torment and considered herself in the mirror. A small critical corner of her mind had to admit that not only was the craftsman ship exquisite, but that it did look quite lovely on her.

“That’s my soul shard on your neck, mine. It almost killed me to make it, but so long as you wear that collar you belong to me. Don’t bother trying to take it off, the barbs are just the start.”

Domriel started to reach for it again, but as soon as Kiori said not to she could feel a gentle pressure in her mind to do as she was told. Her eyes snapped to Kiori’s and she snarled.

“Heh, oh, thinking of doing something naughty to me? Don’t worry, so long as you don’t act on those impulses, you won’t feel that at all. I’ll enjoy it more if you’re the same and hating it for the next century or two than if I brainwash you into loving it.” She giggled at the look on Domriel’s face. “Oh yes, you planned to end my life, so your punishment is going to last just as long.”

.