-Alexis Lycan, 18 years old-
Alexis awakens in his room, completely covered in sweat once again. His body feels heavy and tender to the touch. He groggily glances at his nearly naked body, still half asleep. To his shock, an intricate black tattoo covers most of his body. The sight wipes away any remaining sleep left in his system. He sits up from the bed and runs his hand across the design absentmindedly. He remembers what he did with Arabella during the night and grows flustered at the memory. He shakes his head, trying not to dwell on it, lest he grow lustful again.
Alexis walks towards the mirror and studies his reflection. To his shock, his hair is now hanging past his shoulders. It had grown an incredible amount in his sleep. Probably a result of the contract he made, the same as the tattoo. He grabs his clothes and pulls them on hurriedly. It's a simple white long-sleeved shirt and khaki-colored pants, old but well cared for. The clothes are the perfect length to cover the designs on his body, shielding them from sight. His body is also fuller and more muscular. He is quite surprised by the extremely attractive young man looking back at him in the mirror. It is hard to believe that it is him for just yesterday he looked fairly unhealthy and malnourished.
Alexis steps away from the mirror, putting off worrying about his changed appearance for later. Last night, after he formed the contract with Arabella, a massive amount of valuable knowledge flooded into his mind. Most of it was instructions on how to control and use his newfound power. He is impatient to try out his new abilities. He had accepted the contract for that very reason after all.
He scoops up and dons his threadbare cloak before silently exiting the house. Alexis expertly dodges Sabrina as he makes his exit. She will no doubt give him an earful about leaving so early in the morning, and without informing her as well. The thought amuses Alexis, he enjoys her fretting after him.
-
In the wilds surrounding Starfall lived a great many monsters of various breeds. From the small horned rabbits and slimes to the truly fearsome iron-bears or cockatrices. To this day no one knows where the monsters first spawned from. They had suddenly appeared all over the world one day without so much as a warning. In response, massive armies were raised to combat the growing hordes, but almost all were wiped out. In the face of such large-scale defeat, most countries were forced to abandon the lands that were most densely populated by the monsters.
Years later, adventurers are regularly dispatched to such areas though, as the slain monsters left a mysterious orb behind when killed. These orbs contain an arcane energy that is used to power new inventions and armaments. As such, killing monsters and looting these orbs became extremely lucrative.
-
Alexis is stalking through the woods looking for said monsters. He decided that he needs something to test his new powers on. A human opponent was out of the question for it would be too dangerous. Without knowing the limits or strength of his abilities, he might accidently hurt or kill his sparring partners.
Alexis stops when he hears twigs snapping in front of him. He cautiously peers out from behind a massive oak tree to see a goblin foresting in the area. He draws the sword he had strapped to his waist, one which he had snagged from a storeroom, and grips the hilt tightly. The early morning light glints off the blade, throwing the reflection off into the woods. He curses to himself; afraid the goblin would notice the light before he is ready to strike. So, he focuses on the blade and instinctively calls forth the surrounding shadows. They respond to his call and cling to the blade, turning the once gleaming metal, pitch black.
He found he was able to command the surrounding shadows to do whatever he wanted. He just had to concentrate deeply and will the shadows to do his bidding. This feat is only possible due to the knowledge that had been bestowed directly into his mind by Arabella.
Alexis smiles at the black blade and lowers himself to the ground. With one foot placed in front of the other, the stance makes it easier to dash out of the shadows at maximum speed. He leans his body forward and pushes off. He launches forward, seemingly running faster than he had ever before reaches his target in only a few steps. Though speed stuns him, he is still able to swing his blade at the small creature in front of him.
The goblin barely has time to react before the blade cleaves through its defenseless body, rending it in two. There is no resistance or sound. The blade is deathly sharp, like a honed razor. It seems the shadows whetted the blade when it adhered to it. Alexis chuckles as he admires the sword and its handiwork.
'Thank you, Arabella.' He thinks in his head. And as if responding to words, a tendril of smoke rises from the ground and caresses his face. He grins at the action before he sets off. Looking for more prey.
-
Two hours later, Alexis stumbles into the front door of his house. His clothes are disheveled and covered in dirt. Exhaustion is plainly written on his face, and he uses his borrowed sword to prop himself up. He wants nothing more than to crawl into bed, but a firm voice stops him in his tracks.
"Welcome back, my Lord." The voice says icily. Alexis winces slightly and turns to look at the speaker. Sabrina is standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. Her expression is blank.
"Sabrina. Good morning." Alexis says, walking further into the room. He is trying not to look into her searching eyes.
She scans his body, looking for any injuries or problems that she could see. She frowns when her eyes land on his changed hair and body but doesn't comment. For now.
"Where have you been, my Lord?" Sabrina asks. Her tone is still cold as ice. "Your lowly maid was worried about you."
Alexis freezes and turns to look at the woman. Her breath catches when she sees his face properly for the first time that morning. He is even more exceedingly handsome and charming, a fact that causes her to blush slightly. His lengthened hair is especially beautiful to her.
"I was testing out something in the forest." Alexis replies while giving an apologetic smile. One with a hint of teasing, he noticed the effect his appearance has on her. "I didn't want to wake you."
Sabrina's face gets redder at his smile. She marvels at his face for a few moments before turning to the side and huffing. "Hmph. You could have left a note, my Lord." The sight of her pouting face makes him laugh out loud. The coldness in her voice thaws a bit when she hears his laughter. "I was truly worried, my Lord."
"I am sorry, Sabrina. It won't happen again." He replies soothingly. She stares at him for a while, not replying to his words.
"What happened to your face? To your body?" She blurts out suddenly. Alexis' eyes widen at the outburst before he chuckles again. He loves seeing her flustered like this.
"Remember that dream I had a few weeks ago?" He eventually replies.
Sabrina nods, thinking back. "Yes."
"Well, I dreamt of the same place last night, and when I awoke, I was like this." Alexis says while gesturing to his body. He naturally omitted the contract he made. No one would know of it. "And I gained a new magic as well." He continues, letting smoke flow from his body once again. "So, I can control it now."
Sabrina gasps softly when the smoke glides across the floor and circles around her feet. She giggles at the playful manner in which it curls around her legs
Sabrina looks at her Lord and asks him a question while distracted by the tendrils. "What do you want to call this new magic?"
Alexis smiles and answers immediately, "Shadow Magic."