Salazar Demes

"*With 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 current Chancellor of the Magus Senate of Dalaran. A highly skilled nethermancer, he first studied as a mage at the Stormwind Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences, before pursuing more liberal magical arts. 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.

## 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.

As Chancellor, however, Salazar has opted to wear colors more indicative of magi and Dalaran, mostly out of respect for the office and to not appear as off-putting to prospective members.

## History

### Early Life

Salazar Demes was born in the year -1 L.C., to Bellatrix and Silicius Demes, the newest member of the long but relatively obscure House of Demes. Born a few years before the First War in Gilneas, the House of Demes actually hails from a secluded fortress on an island a few miles off the coast of Silverpine Forest, known as Blackmoon Citadel. His parents were both members of the Gilnean peerage, as well as Arcane-trained academics. When the Greymane wall went up, however, the House of Demes declared independence, and became a small island-state with its own trading and shipping routes to keep the island going. While the wall eventually came down nearly two decades later, Blackmoon Isle has remained independent ever since.

From the age of three, both Salazar and Gazoreth were under a strict regimen of home schooling six days a week, with no reprieve from such rigorous study until the age of 18. Given the academic background of their parents, they believed that success in life could only be achieved through boundless determination and a ceaseless approach to both theoretical and practical study. From the beginning of their studies, they were drilled with arithmetic, literature, chemistry, biology, and all of the other liberal sciences prior to any sort of magical training. 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.

At the age of 12, Salazar decided he was old enough to venture outside of the Citadel on his own, without an escort, and made his way to the Silver Mountains on the far eastern reaches of the Isle to feel what it would be like to truly have an adventure. With only a knapsack carrying the most basic essentials, he traveled on foot from the Citadel without informing his parents whatsoever. At this time, Blackmoon Isle had still been largely devoid of natural life, the magic of Eliezer Demes still permeating through the soil and surrounding fauna, at least its husks. What he didn’t know, or understand, was the very land was saturated with the fel magic from generations ago, which is why no one ventured out to the uninhabited reaches of the Isle. Unfortunately for Salazar, day had quickly turned into night, and the twisting vines that curled around the barren trees that dotted the dead forest became considerably more apparent, especially in juxtaposition to the faint glow of the moon overhead. Without any skills to build a basic fire, or the foresight to carry a candle with him, Salazar couldn’t as much as see the palm of his hand directly in front of him, only the glow of the moon in the cloudless sky. He wondered if it had any relation to the Island’s name, or if it was just a quaint coincidence.

As it would be blatantly obvious to Salazar at this point, he was lost and alone, but most of all stupid. In the darkness that soon enveloped him, he decided to make a makeshift sleeping area, laying his head on a mount of dry soil as a pillow. Not a few hours into his nap, he was awoken by the sounds of repetitive and rhythmic growling, and nothing but the sight of several pairs of yellow eyes staring back at him from the distance. Getting up to defend himself, he was unable, as the feeling of a bite on the back of his neck with a loud growl was all he felt before all faded to black. Several days later, Salazar awoke in the Citadel infirmary to both of his parents standing over him, his mother in tears. He was fine, but as he discovered was attacked by some of the wild chimeras that made their home in the deadwood. Silicius Demes, his father, instead of inquiring as to how Salazar was doing, instead began to chastise him on his foolishness in undertaking such a trip by himself, with no means to protect himself. For a few moments, Salazar truly felt a family bond, the worry of a father for his son. But that all came crashing down for him when his father uttered the words, “You cannot die, the House of Demes relies on you being alive!” And it was then that the smile faded away from Salazar’s face, when he realized that what concerned his father more was Salazar carrying on the name, than whether or not he was alright.

While he could do nothing about it in his youth, Salazar’s life revolved around the family name. His father had made it a repeated lesson of the importance of carrying on the House, and establishing such a legacy. For Salazar it was more like an indoctrination, but an important lesson for his parents to ensure he learned. By the time he was 17, Gazoreth had long left Blackmoon without so much as a letter, causing everyone to believe that he was either missing or dead. For Salazar, it meant that those lessons became even more apparent, because now the legacy of the House rested on his shoulders. The following year, his home schooling ended, and his parents insisted that he apply to the Antonidas Academy of Magic in Dalaran for intensive study in the arcane arts, but the last thing that Salazar wanted was several more years of his life in rigorous study with no room to breathe, at least he so thought. He had heard about the type of study that the magi of Dalaran underwent, but yearned for freedom and to get out more and see the world. He did nevertheless apply to the Antonidas Academy at his parent’s behest, but he intentionally sabotaged his own application just to spite his parents. When his rejection letter came in, his father in particular was extremely disappointed, and talk of legacy never arose again.

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.

### Adulthood

In the time since he left the Stormwind Academy, Salazar has gone through countless trials and tribulations, mostly of his own making, which eventually led him to Dalaran to join the Kirin Tor. Once a Warlock, unknowingly corrupted by his brother, Salazar spent years in Outland and grew into his corrupted form before finally being rid of it many years later. In that time, he has joined and grew with the Kirin Tor, leaving most of his former life behind as a memory. That said, while Salazar is no longer corrupted by fel magic, his memories, impulses, and occassional thirst for his former addiction still linger. As a replacement, Salazar turned to Nethermancy, hoping to satiate the hunger left behind. Since first joining the Kirin Tor, Salazar eventually rose through the ranks to now serve as Chancellor, though pieces of his past occasionally emerge to threaten the new life he built for himself.

## 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 conversation, 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 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 settling down.

## Magical Style

As a former warlock and now practicing Nethermancer, Salazar utilizes the pure and potent power of the Twisting Nether to fuel his spells in lieu of the traditional use of ley lines. As such, his magic does not wax and wane depending on his proximity to such lines, and he can demonstrate consistent magical prowess regardless of location. Because of his connection to the Nether and magic in general, there is little that Salazar does without the use of magic, believing magic to allow for a superior way of life.

When utilizing his magic, one cannot necessarily categorize his spells into one school or another, as he mixes several schools to perform his preferred style of magic - curses. Some of these include causing the victim to go blind, to believe that their allies are the enemy, causing lucid and persistent nightmares every night, cursing them such that they become invisible to everyone else, and others more dark in nature. In battle, and if the circumstances permit, Salazar prefers to inflict such curses upon his enemies, watching them go mad on the field and succumb to their own mind, just as he delivers the finishing strike.

He is otherwise highly proficient in divination-based magic, specifically enjoying the ability to read minds and project his voice into other minds just the same.

## Relationships

Salazar has no immediate family except for his brother Gazoreth, a person with whom he has not spoken since their separation. Similarly, he has no love interests, and opts to spend his time alone or among his colleagues, though not so often the latter.

Within the Senate, Salazar maintains a professional distance from most of his colleagues, opting to count only a few among his friends. He maintains a close friendship with Hellissa Brisby, despite being his boss, but they only can act that way when not in the presence of other senators. When on-duty, Brisby can tend to yell at Salazar, at least for appearances. Off-duty, they'll joke and discuss all manners of topics, recently bonding over examining a homunculus. His working relationship with the Mage-Commander, Vanidicus Alexander, however, is not necessarily so harmonious. While the two maintain a professional working relationship, Salazar's history as a former warlock, especially having joined the Senate as one, has sowed a level of skepticism in Alexander's eyes of Salazar, at least in his view. And with Alexander having disciplined Salazar in the past when he was still a warlock, there is a level of residual animosity that hasn't gone away. While it is on the path to getting better, remnants of the friction between them does tend to surface from time to time.

One of the people for whom Salazar has the utmost respect, and gratitude for being partially responsible for his advancement within the Senate, is Gehlnarine Liridian. Having first joined the Senate into Gehlnarine's *Parliament of Violet Shadow,* which all warlocks were mandated to join, Salazar grew a certain fondness for him, who within the Senate became his confidante. It was some time later when the Parliament was disbanded and Gehlnarine reworked the Ministry of Justice that he asked Salazar to be his Deputy, thereby catapulting Salazar into the upper ranks, which eventually lead to where he is today. Of course, none of this would happen without Hellissa, who defended Salazar within the Senate against those that believed he was too far down the left-hand path.

Outside of the Senate, Salazar maintains several acquaintances with whom he talks from time to time, but no one he would consider to be friends with, on a personal level. Recently he has become acquainted with Cardinal Niklos Adamant, ever since the Remnants asked for the Senate's help in a matter involving a young, disturbed, child. Since then, they run into each other from time to time, especially when it comes to matters of Stormwind politics.

While Salazar is no longer a warlock, he still remembers and maintains a line of communication with his former colleagues in the Black Harvest, namely Karthys Sorrowsong and Cladriah Felweaver. His separation from Gazoreth was confusing to some in the Harvest, with the Harvest now accepting Gazoreth in Salazar's place, but he nevertheless manages to maintain a sort of backchannel, when the circumstances call for it.

Today, Salazar maintains mostly a professional relationship with his work colleagues, rarely mixing personal feelings or conversations into an otherwise serious atmosphere. That said, he's grown fond of  Aetyleus Ardalan, even though he's not entirely sure what to make of him.

## Quotes

*"There is a time of my life I'm not very proud of.. a time when very few people saw my face and lived."*

*"Security necessarily implies that when everything is over and done with, you still have something left to protect. It's easy to be the sheriff when the only thing left are the ashes."*

*"Magic is not inherently good or evil, whether it is arcane, fel, or necromancy. It's how you use it. You find me a chaotic warlock, and I'll find you a demented priest."*

*"I've had people in my life who stood in my way, tried to diminish me and put me in chains. People who thought they were the arbiters of my freedom. Sadly, they're no longer with us."*

*"I try not to get involved in the war of the Alliance and Horde, seems rather pointless. The Alliance isn't going anywhere, and neither is the Horde. And if Dalaran taught us anything, it's that the two can co-exist without bringing a floating city crashing to the ground. When people tell me that the Horde is barbaric, I direct them to the Lion's Pride Inn. Their opinions change fairly quickly."*

*"All the fancy titles and ranks can never save a person who is monumentally dull."*

*"True power is felt and known without the slightest of whispers. Anyone who has to tell you how powerful they are, are sadly misguided."*

*"When I was young, I had to survive alone in Outland for a year with nothing but torn robes, a knapsack riddled with holes, and the meat off of dead chimeras. I think I can survive this meeting of bureaucrats."*

## Gallery

SalazarDemes2.jpgHanging somewhere in the Portrait Room, by Arcan-Anzas.SalazarWorking.jpgSalazar reviewing reports in the Minister's Suite.SalazarRune1.jpgRe-establishing Dalaran's Defense Network after the Legion assault.SalazarNethermancer.jpgOne of the few prominent and practicing Nethermancers, by Romain DurandSalazarRide1.jpgCatching a ride with ElberichBy Ayie OlaerThe Brisby Cabinet, by Ayie OlaerThe Demes CabinetSalazar as a young studentSalazar Altar 2.jpegHe may have miscalculated his odds before the corrupted started seeping in.Salazar Finds Book.jpegA time in his life kept out of the official record.Salazar Ritual.jpegThe start of his time as a true warlock.Salazar Ritual 2.jpegThe point of no return.BlackHarvestFirstMeeting.jpgThe start of his Black Harvest days, a lifetime ago.