Xella

Xella is a demon who takes the form of a meager imp. This imp is capable of possessing weak humans. Xella is currently occupying the body of Isabella Braxton, a young human woman from Winterspring. Xella is in a constant pursuit of power, and to that end, is a member of the Sundered unit of the alliance with her human host. Xella takes sadistic pleasure in the suffering of her victims, and as such, has been known to mutilate and torture unfortunate members of the Horde.

## Backstory

Isabella was raised in a humble cottage in the south of Winterspring, a snowy, mountainous region. Isabella was inquisitive from a young age, always exploring her area of Azeroth. Her day to day life consisted of collecting firewood and important herbs to help provide, while her brother and father would go out hunting game. In the summer, when the family had all the supplies they needed, Isabella and her sister, Sabrina would play in the snow, sledding and throwing snowballs. On one such day, Sabrina and Isabella's snowy escapades took them far from their home. Sabrina assured Isabella that she knew her way back, so they continued wandering. While throwing snowballs, they encountered a small gray creature with three horns. It seemed to be eager to join in on the fun, and when Sabrina tossed a snowball in Isabella's direction, a small ball of flame met it midair, melting it. This startled the sisters, never having seen such a creature before. Sabrina was shivering as a result of the cold and the fear, but Isabella approached the creature and knelt, asking "What are you?", "I'm a friend!" it answered in a cute, shrill voice. "Do you have a name?" asked Isabella. "Xella!" it answered. "Well, Xella," Isabella continued, "do you know how to snowball fight?" "I can fireball fight!" it answered. Suddenly, dim flames appeared in its four fingered hand. Xella extended its arm and opened it's palm, ejecting the flame towards Isabella. It came into contact with her right cheek, and she felt a slightly warm sting. "Hey!" she protested. While Xella was preparing its attack on the young girl, Sabrina was preparing one of her own. She held a tightly packed snowball, and before Xella could laugh at Isabella's displeasure, he was pelted with the cold, wet snowball. "That's c-cold!" it said, shivering. Sabrina and Isabella both laughed heartily. The three continued their snowball-fireball fight, but unbeknownst to the girls, the creature was leading them further south.

Isabella remembered their mother's warnings: "Stay away from the gorge! many a young lady has entered that pass never to come out," but this thought was fleeting, as the need to get this creature back for fireballing her took precedence. Before the girls knew it, the bright white snow transitioned to a gray, desiccated color, and the air began to stink of rotten meat. Sabrina came to the realization that they were in a dangerous location when she reached for a snowball, only for the earth to fall between her fingers like ash. "Hey Isabella?" she asked nervously, "Where are we?" Isabella had a faint idea of where they were. The gray creature that led them here was nowhere to be found. She analyzed her surroundings, and about 40 yards in the distance, she saw a brazier lit with a mysterious purple flame. She began walking towards it. "Isabella! Where are you going?" Sabrina called out. Isabella didn't know. Her body was moving on its own, despite the mind's protests. Sabrina followed her reluctantly. As the brazier became within reach, Isabella collapsed onto the ashen ground.

A deep, menacing voice rang in Isabella's head. "You are mine," it said. "What are you" Isabella meant to say, but no words escaped her mouth. "I'm a friend" it replied in an unfriendly manner. "You and I will burn this world." it continued, "I injected a piece of my essence into your soul earlier. I will overtake your mortal frame, fully realizing my destructive power." "The creature!" Isabella thought to herself, "it must have done something to me." "Yes that was me. You know me as Xella. My physical form is quite unassuming, but I am one of the most powerful beings among the Burning Legion." A twisted image of her mountainous home appeared in her mind. The sky was bloodred, infernals raining from the sky. Unthinkable demons marched through the tundra, decimating the settlements of Everlook and Starfall Village. Her home was a pile of burnt debris, as the stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed the senses. "This is the future you and I will work towards." said Xella. Isabella screamed, yet there was no sound. "I look forward to working with you, Isabella" said Xella, as its voice cackled maniacally in Xella's mind.

"Isabella!" cried a girl's voice. "Please wake up! I'm scared!" Isabella opened her eyes and saw her sister before her. "W-what happened?" asked Isabella while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "You were sleeping for so long! There was a purple fire but it disappeared! The little gray thing we were playing with disappeared too! I was all by myself Isabella!" Sabrina answered. Isabella was perplexed. She vaguely remembered the creature and the purple brazier, but that was the last she recalled. Isabella sighed, "It's late. We should go home." The girls knew where they had been, and they knew their mother would be angry with them. They returned home, just in time for dinner. "And where have you girls been? Your venison is getting cold!" their mother inquired. "We were throwing snowballs!" answered Sabrina. "I hope that's all you were doing..." her mother replied.

Ever since that day, Isabella was not the same person. To her family, she was despondent, unenthusiastic, and a less energetic person. She no longer played with her sister, opting instead to go for long walks in the pine forests alone. To Isabella, an internal war was being fought. Voices in her head urging her to do profane things, negative emotions flooding her disposition. For her 15th birthday, her brother gifted her a pocket knife with her initials. On that same day, Sabrina was sitting on a stump behind the cottage, with an albino squirrel in her lap. "Hi Isabella!" she said. Isabella ignored her greeting, and knelt before her sister, gazing at the squirrel. "Give it here!" she commanded. Sabrina complied, albeit confused. Isabella held the squirrel in the palms of her hands, as it scurried in every direction. "It's white on the outside... Let's see what it is on the inside." Isabella released the squirrel to the ground, and it attempted to run away. She grabbed the squirrel by it's back and held it to the ground. She took out her new pocket knife and swiftly struck the neck of the helpless animal, cleaving its head from its body. Blood streamed forth. "Red" Isabella stated calmly.

Sabrina screamed in terror, traumatized. She ran far away to escape her sister. Isabella tossed the beheaded squirrel away to dispose of it. This was the first of many displays of psychopathy that Isabella exhibited. Similar urges had occupied her mind, but she was able to suppress them. She knew why she performed such a morbid act. Xella wanted her to. Sabrina told her parents what had occurred. "Xella made me do it." Isabella explained. "He makes me do things I don't want to." The familiar voice rang through her head. "But you did want to, Isabella. You enjoyed its last moments of helplessness before its life ended." Isabella sighed. "I'm going to bed." she declared. Isabella could hear her mother and father arguing as she lay in bed. Her father wanted to abandon her. Have her find work in Everlook. Her mother was afraid that something would happen if they didn't help her. Isabella sobbed as she knew the hopelessness of her situation.

Isabella continued taking long walks in the pine forests. She would spend her time terrorizing the wildlife of Winterspring, similar to how she beheaded the squirrel. She flayed doe alive, gouged the eyes out of birds, using the animals to appease the sadistic master that occupied her psyche. On one such excursion, while she was clipping the wings of a baby owl, Xella spoke. "This is boring. You need to have more tools at your disposal." Suddenly, Isabella's right arm became engulfed in a foul green flame. The pain was excruciating, and she cried out. The owl she was torturing looked on in horror. Eventually, the pain subsided, and the flame faded. "There." said Xella. "I've given you some rudimentary command of Fel magic. Have some fun." Isabella touched the owl with her palm and concentrated slightly. The owl became engulfed in flames. It collapsed, hooting out of desperation. An eternity seemed to have passed, as the owl cried out in pain.

As time passed, Isabella spiralled further into madness as Xella dominated her psyche. She continued to torture animals, if only to appease him. Xella's hunger for agony only grew as Isabella served him. He wanted to hear the screams of humans. Especially those who were close to Isabella. One cold winter's night, Xella's thirst reached a climax. Sabrina was lying in her bed reading a book about the First War. Isabella stood at her doorway. "I'm cold." she said. "Can I lie with you tonight?" Sabrina looked at her for a moment, then slowly nodded. Isabella climbed into bed with her, put on the covers, and closed her eyes. Sabrina sighed. "Sister..." she asked. "Who are you?" an uneasy silence followed. "I am a friend" answered Isabella with a smile on her face, eyes still closed. Isabella grabbed her sister's arm, clenching tightly. "Sister you're hurting me! Stop!" she exclaimed. Isabella held tightly. Sabrina felt a faint warmth on Isabella's palm. The warmth grew to a searing heat, until Isabella's entire hand was cloaked in flame. The skin of Sabrina's arm charred, and as the flames grew, they ignited her sleeves, which then spread to her clothes and to the bed. Isabella opened her eyes and stood up. Sabrina rolled throughout the bed, screaming in agony as the flames spread across her body and the bed. She crashed to the floor, the wood of which began to burn as well. Isabella could not see her sister's face, only the dark silhouette of a human, screaming impotently as her and her surroundings caught fire. Isabella left her sister's room, and left the cottage through the front door. She closed it, and used a nearby rocking chair to barricade the door. She walked north away from her home, the screams of her family echoing through the harsh winter night, the bright light of her burning home shining behind her.

Xella had overtaken the girl who lived in a Winterspring cottage. Through Xella, she learned the powers of a warlock, and how to command demons of the burning legion. This was her new identity, and Isabella was no more. Like most demons, Xella sought power. To this end, Xella and the host joined the Alliance. Xella was able to grow in power as she fought and tortured members of the Horde. In order to make connections in the civilized Alliance society, Xella was able to invoke the Winterspring girl, rather than the murderous, sadistic demon that she was. Xella met Hejong Mithrilheart, who saw value in her pursuit of power and lust for violence, and invited her to join the Sundered unit as it fought both the Horde and the forces of Blackrock Mountain.