Malec Tales Series 1- The Nephilim and the Warlock- Beauty and the Beast AU

prologue: The Curse

Prologue

Once upon a time, there were three groups of people in the world. Mundanes, Shadowhunters, and Downworlders. Mundanes lived in a world of their own, separated from the other kinds. Downworlders were made up of creatures you only read about in books. Werewolves, vampires, warlocks, and so many others. Shadowhunters are a race of half angel, half human warriors who protect the mundanes from demons.

Thousands of years ago, Shadowhunters and Downworlders lived together in peace. Joined by a treaty of accords, both the species worked together to protect the mundane world. Things changed though when some of the Downworlders started stepping out of line. Even with Accords, most Downworlders did not feel like they were being treated as equals.

No matter how many meetings were held and talks of better accords were discussed, the Shadowhunters refused to give in to the Downworlders request for equality. A war ensued, one that would not end for hundreds of years.

Eventually, the Downworlders had no choice but to give in to the Shadowhunters. Many of their kind had been killed, and since most of the species couldn't reproduce, they were dwindling more and more with each battle.

By the end of the war, only a handful of Downworlders were left. New accords were signed, saying that Downworlders and Shadowhunters were to stay out of each other's way. The leader of the remaining Downworlders was a warlock, named Magnus Bane. After personally signing the accords, he conjured up a castle deep in the woods so all the remaining Downworlders could live in peace. The only deal the Downworlders struck, was that no Shadowhunter would ever step foot in their lands for any reason.

One cold night, about a hundred years later, a Shadowhunter would find himself on the steps of that very castle, wounded and freezing. Magnus Bane was the one who answered the door. The man begged him for help, asking if he could come inside for some warmth and healing. Magnus was furious. No matter the reason, he saw the man being on his land as breaking the accords.

He screamed at the man to leave, telling him that he had no right to anything Downworlders had to offer. The man begged him to reconsider, even going as far as to offer Magnus his most precious possession; a Witchlight that was given to him by his dead father.

Magus sneered at the Witchlight, asking why he would ever need something like that, and he yelled at the man to leave once again.

He expected the man to leave but was confused when the Nephilim suddenly started snickering to himself. Magnus watched in shock as the Shadowhunters turned into a man with pale skin stretched and taut over bone, coronet of barbed wire on his head. He had sharp, pointed teeth and his eyes were gold-green eyes with slit-pupiled like a cat's. Magnus put his hand over one of his eyes, thinking it looked a lot like his own.

The man introduced himself as Asmodeus, a greater demon who loved to mess with helpless souls. He told Magnus that turning away a person in need means he's as heartless and soulless as his demon father and someone so cruel wouldn't mind having their soul stolen from them.

Terrified of losing his soul to a demon, Magnus begged him to have mercy, to give him another chance to prove he has a soul. Finding his panic interesting, Asmodeus agreed to his request, but with a price.

He put a curse on Magnus and all the people in his castle. They were to be confined to the castle, never to leave again until Magnus could break the curse. He put the Witchlight in Magnus's hands, making glow in a ray of rainbow light.

He said, "I'll be generous and give you a hundred years. You must fall in love with a Shadowhunter and have them love you in return. If you cannot do that by the time the light of the Witchlight goes out, then I won't just take your soul. I'll take the soul of every person in this castle."

Magnus begged him to reconsider, knowing that it would be close to impossible to make a Shadowhunter fall in love with him. He couldn't leave the castle to meet one, and a Shadowhunter loving a Downworlder was just unheard of. He didn't want the other Downworlders to pay for his selfishness.

It was too late though, the curse was already cast, and Asmodeus vanished, his laughter fading into the night air.

Ninety-nine years passed, each day trapped behind stone walls with no sign of anyone coming to set them free. The more time passed, the more hope was lost. Magnus knew it was all hopeless. In the years since the Downworlders have been locked away, they seemed to be forgotten, wiped out of history. Now, Werewolves, Vampires, warlocks and other creatures were just stories in books.

No one knew to comesave them, and Magnus lost all hope anyone ever would.