Salazar Demes

   

 "W ith truth, there is knowledge. With knowledge, there is power. And with power, freedom."

Salazar Demes is a high ranking member of the Kirin Tor and the Minister of the Interior in the Magus Senate of Dalaran, as well as its Director of Aberrant Magic. Salazar is a highly skilled nethermancer, having first studied as a mage at the Stormwind Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences, before pursuing the darker, Fel path. Today, he finds himself among the ranks of the Magus Senate, using his knowledge of the dark arts to aid them in whichever way he can. Recent events however have separated the Fel corruption from Salazar, the Fel energy within him being revealed to be his missing brother Gazoreth, who used him as a host to regain his strength.

Appearance
Salazar opts to wear simpler clothing, and it is evident of Salazar's darker nature through the threads that he wears. There isn't a bright feature to them, as the black and violet colors weave together into a sinister persona.

History
Salazar Demes was born in the year -1 L.C., to Bellatrix and Silicius Demes, of the House of Demes. Born a few years before the First War in Stormwind City, the House of Demes actually hails from a secluded fortress on an island off the shores of Silverpine Forest, known as Blackmoon Citadel. His parents were both Arcane academics, as well as members of the Stormwind House of Nobles. Salazar’s parents, due to their noble status and academic background, enforced a strict discipline of academics on both their sons, Salazar, and his older brother Gazoreth, having them both home schooled prior to the age of 18. Gazoreth flourished in home schooling, while Salazar constantly yearned to get out and see the world, not having been so keen on staying on Blackmoon Isle during his childhood. Throughout his entire younth, Salazar’s life revolved around carrying on the family name, which abruptly ended when he was rejected from the Antonidas Academy of Magic, heavily disappointing his parents.

At the age of 19, Salazar was admitted to the Stormwind Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences, which while an achievement in its own right, was not seen as such by his parents, who preferred the academy of Dalaran. There he poured over volumes and tomes, fascinated by the intricacies of arcane magic. However, Salazar felt as though he wasn't satisfied by the "allowed" magic afforded to him by the Academy. While he grew up around the use of Arcane magic, the sinister nature of Blackmoon Citadel inspired fantasies in Salazar of being a darker caster, one to match the facade of Blackmoon. While his parents were certainly of a darker nature when it came to Arcane magic, they were still Arcanists, and had discouraged fantasies of using more forbidden spells. However, this was not enough for Salazar, and after graduating, he set out to learn about other types of magics, specifically those that were not necessarily sanctioned by the magi of the Kirin Tor, or the Stormwind Academy.

Fel Corruption
Alas, Salazar was a young man, and eager to discover more, and carry on the torch of the House of Demes when it was his turn. The dangers of the world were not yet apparent to him, and he didn't quite understand the reasoning behind why certain types of magic were forbidden. One day, he made his way to the Altar of Storms in the Burning Steppes, in order to study the ambient energy, and discover whatever knowledge could, given they would not teach him about the magic utilized in this area to a depth he wished at the Academy. However, Salazar did not prepare himself properly in the event he needed to defend himself, coming without a suitable staff, and only wearing simple black robes. While studying the site, he was hit in the chest by a green bolt of fire, coming from a person he could not see. The fire seeped into his veins, and imbued him with the fel corruption. He accidentally discovered what he was looking for, but it would come at a terrible price.

Expedition to Outland
Salazar succumbed to the whims of his new fel corruption, and put his past behind him. Rejecting his family, and his noble bloodline, he became Salazar Felweaver. Several years later, with the opening of the Dark Portal, Salazar took the opportunity to make his way to Outland to see what opportunities awaited him there. Traveling to the land of Fel magic, he indulged himself in the dark wonders of Shadowmoon Valley. Hoping to infuse himself with the powers of Fel itself, he sought out the knowledge needed to perform the rituals that would grant him such powers. Going to the Deathforge, Salazar hoped that one of the beings there would possess such knowledge, since it was run by the Shadow-Council. Sneaking his way in, using a summoned eye to form a magic circle to teleport himself to, Salazar discovered an open text in one of the rooms that spoke of Fel infusion. According to the text, Salazar assumed it was used to induct new members into the Shadow-Council, although Salazar would find a way to change the ritual to suit his needs.

Making a home for himself in Shadowmoon as a nomad, Salazar spent months tweaking the ritual to suit his needs. After all, he had to ensure that the Fel magic wouldn't take over his mind, and that he would remain in control of his powers, and his body. Alas, what he discovered he needed in order to make this work was the use of a potent font of Fel energy, and what promised to be a very painful ritual.

Empowerment
He knew what he had to do, but it was no easy climb to the top of the Hand of Gul'dan. This volcano, which according to the Earthen Ring was raised by Gul'dan himself, emanates the type of energy that Salazar needed. And so, his journey began. What started as a simple climb up the base, turned into a vicious fight for survival as he made his way to the peak. Using what magical protections he had were no match for the volcano's grueling heat and emerald lava. But as he

reached the top, the scars he had were well worth the reward he was about to reap. He began by storing his soul in a soulstone, and placing it at the base of the font. Stepping forward, Salazar began his ritual, and crossed the point of no return. Runes began to mark themselves around him, and Salazar began to float as the air turned to a musky stale. The Volcano itself felt a little more active, and it spewed its green lava in more amounts than before, but Salazar was far from over. The lava contained the Fel energy that Salazar needed, but most importantly, it was in its purest form. At the peek of his incantations, Salazar found himself floating toward the center of the font, in the path of the spewing lava. But there was no going back now. When he reached the center, the lava burst from below him, engulfing him completely. But Salazar could not completely die, for his soul was stored outside his body, albeit temporarily. Instead of being dead, when the lava subsided, Salazar was reborn. Stepping away from the volcano's center, he picked up his soulstone, and fused it back with this body. He felt the pure Fel energy course through his veins, noticing the effects as all of his fire spells had turned green. Feeling his newly infused powers, his mission was complete.

But all was not as Salazar had hoped. At the peak of Salazar's power, he lost what he had always loved, and that was the pursuit of knowledge.

Dalaran
Blinded by power, Salazar wished to return to a more scholarly life, utilizing the knowledge that he had learned of the Dark Arts. And so, after searching the world for those that would accept his dark gifts, he made a home in the place that first rejected him, the city of Dalaran, and became Salazar Demes once again.

The Blackheart Incident
Some time after joining the Senate, Salazar was making a home for himself among the violet magi that welcomed him in, despite being a warlock through and through. It took some time for him to adjust to the new environment, and no longer living in a cave was certainly something that was welcome. On one evening on October 12, 35 L.C. as he was having a stroll past the Antonidas Memorial, Salazar heard a distress call to assist with a situation by the sewers. As the closest Senator there, he went to assist in the matter, only to find Senator Mayiko being abducted by an unknown individual, though in his heart he knew it was a necromancer.

Salazar tried to assist by fighting off the necromancer, though it was ultimately fruitless as he knocked Salazar and Mayiko both out, and took them through a portal to a jail on an airship. As he would later find out, Mayiko lost a finger in that fight. He later woke up in frigid conditions a few feet away from May, with whom he tried to make sense of what happened. While the rest of the Senate was working on finding the airship, Salazar and May were paid visits by the inhabitants of the ship.

A unit—a necromancer, a soul priest, and a mageslayer, all seemingly connected but their identities unknown at the same time. Their visits, however, were not of pleasure. With each visit, each of the individuals would subject Salazar and May to physical and psychological torment. The two of them didn’t know what they wanted, but the trio keeping them captive subjected them to constant suffering, while projecting images of the Inner Council into their minds. They were to associate pain with Dalaran, and specifically the Inner Council. Images of Zanbor and Hellissa were engrained in Salazar’s mind as the perpetrators of the horrific violence against him and May, and eventually it reached the point where the two of them started to hate Dalaran entirely. To see Dalaran as the cause for their suffering. And in the process, they branded the symbol of the Kirin Tor across Salazar’s abdomen, a scar that he retains to this day.

When the trio left, Salazar began to look around the room to see what he could work with, for he was after all a trained engineer. May was also apt at the craft herself, and together she and Sal devised a plan that would destroy the Senators that tried to come for them, for they knew that they were the ones causing them this pain, at least they think they were. And so they set several traps in an attempt to lure the Senators in and kill them.

And then they heard the thud, the Senators had landed on the airship and had begun to take the top deck. Sal and May prepared themselves, and as the Senators came down, they were at the ready for them. Unfortunately, the Senators were more ready than anticipated. Chief Enforcer Icestrider had summarily disabled all the traps that Salazar and May had set, being skilled himself in such matters. What they did not expect was that Salazar would unleash his fel magic upon them, and try to escape. After all, Sal and May hated the Senate.. they hated the Inner Council, and they most of all hated Dalaran. But it didn’t matter, and while Salazar tried to make his grand escape, he was instead bound in ice, and sent to the Violet Hold with May.

The two of them were treated for their injuries in the Hold, and had undergone psychological evaluations by Lysabet Halliwell. They were deemed safe to let to, though for the time being were under a watchful eye.

Fringe Office
Salazar enjoys an established career within the Magus Senate, with his first responsibility being as the Director of the Fringe Office. Under Salazar’s oversight, this branch of the Academics Ministry explored new forms of magic and technology, and the fusion of the two. As one example, Salazar designed and constructed the Saraphix Aurum Generator, which utilizes a universal magical core (Saraphix), made up of pure Light, Nature, and Arcane. This generator then speeds up the magical recovery time of those in proximity to it, allowing for more magical endurance in the field.

Ministry of Eclectic Wizardry
After some time, he was approached by Gehlnarine Liridian, with an offer to become his Deputy Minister in the newly established Ministry of Eclectic Wizardry, which researched aberrant forms of magic, and had a division dedicated to tracking down dark and rogue spellcasters. After Liridian retired from his post as Minister, the Ministry was disbanded and reformed as the Department of Aberrant Magic under the Ministry of Academics, run by Hellissa Brisby, now the Chancellor of the Magus Senate. Nevertheless, Salazar had become its newest Director, a position he still holds today.

Hand of the Black Harvest
Unbeknownst to most in the Senate, Salazar was also part of a group that formed the Order of the Black Harvest, under the direction of the reformed Council. Playing a dual role as a Magister in the Senate and as Hand of the Harvest, he was torn between two allegiances, one which would be in direct conflict with the other, despite the Kirin Tor’s stance on the Harvest as a necessary evil. And so on July 17, 37 L.C., Salazar secretly met with the founders of this new Order, Karthys Sorrowsong, Astoreth Duskflame, Cladriah Felweaver, and Fastril Bloodwing to create the Order of the Black Harvest. Shortly afterward, Salazar sent a message by imp to all known warlocks via the Twisting Nether to alert them to the newly founded Order that would function under the existing Council, and so they responded en masse. On July 17, 37 L.C. it had its first meeting at 9 bells, undergoing the first Induction ceremony, thereby binding themselves to the Order as brothers and sisters.

Soul Split
A few months later, in November of 37 L.C., Salazar led a Senate expedition to Stormheim to research the vampirism among the undead north of Greywatch, specifically to find the artifact that caused such a unique form of vampirism among them. But in doing so, the team was led to a tomb carved into the side of the mountain. At the bottom of a basin, revealed by drawing blood, lay the Eye of the Blood King, a scarlet amulet, akin to a philosopher's stone. The only way to the amulet was to drink from the basin, inducing fear, weakness, extreme thirst, delirium, and hallucinations. And it was at this moment of utter weakness, that the Fel was ripped from him, in the form of his long thought dead brother, Gazoreth.

New Minister
When Hellissa Brisby-Pyrestaff ascended to the position of Chancellor, she offered Salazar a Ministerial position which he accepted, and became the Minister of the Interior. After reorganizing the Ministry of Justice, and various elements of former departments, the new Ministry of the Interior would oversee policing and security in Dalaran, as well as other duties. In this position, Salazar has overseen the development of the Arcandome, which secures teleportation in and out of Dalaran, as well as upgraded the Violet Hold to make it more humane for prisoners of lesser crimes. In keeping with his duties, however, Salazar also developed the Darksight Protocol which utilizes ley lines to enhance scrying, thus keeping a watchful eye on dark magi all across Azeroth. With this program, and the Department of Magical Defense, Salazar sends agents across the world to apprehend or eliminate anyone who promises to be a magical threat to the Magocracy of Dalaran.

The Arcandome
Thrust into his new duties as the Minister of the Interior, and thus responsible for the welfare and security of Dalaran, the City’s new position at the front made the position largely unforgiving. As the Legion assault on the Broken Isles began, so too did the ceaseless attacks on Dalaran. But it wasn’t just the Legion that grasped his attention. After providing an orientation to the Senators on the new structure of the Interior Ministry, Salazar approached Tuera Ashama and requested that she return the Eye of the Blood King, which she had pocketed and made a copy of some time ago in Stormheim. Unfortunately the meeting did not go as planned, and as Salazar summoned the guards to have her arrested, she managed to vanish from the City to not be found again.

This deeply troubled him, as it exposed a crippling vulnerability in the City’s defenses that allowed someone to teleport out without being stopped. It was as such that he immediately he tasked the Interior Ministry with developing a method of controlling who could teleport in and out of Dalaran, which later came to be known as the Arcandome. A step in the right direction, it would prevent any teleportation in and out of the City that wasn’t transmitted through the Violet Gate. At least for now, Dalaran was secure from attacks via this method.

Shadows of Menethil
On January 2, 38 L.C., several months after the Cryptex containing a map purporting to lead to Kel’Thuzad’s phylactery went missing from the Department of Magical Defense, strange necromantic activity has been picked up coming from Menethil Harbor. Salazar led the Senators on an investigation of the area at Menethil, which revealed that an unknown source of necromantic energy has weakened the barrier between the Shadowlands and material plane, causing souls of the dead to slip into the material world. And as some discovered, that broken veil was the water itself, for as Senators went across the partially flooded harbor, they saw that not all of them had reflections, and some reflections did things on their own, such as taunt them and wave back.

As they started to realize what was going on, aided by the dead residents of the harbor who were stuck in a loop, they began to close in around the Senators who were then pulled into the water by hands that came out of it. It is then that they found themselves in a Shadowlands version of Menethil, with the dilapidated keep all repaired, and with a visible, and heavy, necromantic aura. Making their way in, they dispatched visions of their loved ones who had been sent to stop them, making their way to the top where powerful necromancers forced them back into the material plane, but not before the Senators could see them huddled over a sort of incubator, within which was the essence of a Lich. And as the Senators returned to the material world, they would see the necro-crystals at the top level that weakened the veil, shattering them once and for all, thus returning Menethil to its rightful state.

Unfortunately, they also discovered a horrible truth, in that the Cryptex could very well have been telling the truth, and that Kel’Thuzad was regaining his strength for a return one day as well.

Personality
From his early childhood, Salazar was taught about the way noblemen should behave and speak, and his early teachings have in many cases stayed with Salazar over the years. However, due to this departure from the noble life-style, and for many years as a nomadic one, he's attained a more blunt approach to speaking, even when it is not the most diplomatic. Despite his rough youth in Outland, he has since returned to his love of literature, and has made it an art of delivering poignant sarcastic remarks whenever it suits the most, if generally to his own amusement. However, when it comes to work, Salazar approaches it with an endless zeal, constantly trying to think of new and more efficient ways to accomplish whatever task is at hand, whether it involves magical research, engineering, or Dalaran's security. As such, he has a great loyalty to his work, and while may joke around and appear loose when it comes to relaxation, he is a force to be reckoned with should you get between him and the task at hand.

On a personal level, Salazar has never had a relationship, and never desires to have one, publicly admitting that he has no desire for children, ever. To him, a family is a liability, and he could not compromise the security of his responsibilities because of personal matters. And so while Salazar has friends, he strongly opposes the idea of having a family.