#azj-kahet

[vspin]

Azj-Kahet 🕸️🕷️🕸️

[thalanilbloodcrest]

Itsy Bitsy Spider

His pulse thumped in his ears as he stood over the dead nerubian. Panic washed over him as he tried to recall how it all happened. The trilling noises of Azj-Kahets denizens screamed in his ears over his pulse. His hands slapped against his ears in an attempt to drown it all out, as shaking footsteps carried him back away from the body till his back came into contact with the rocky wall face he had once been trying to hide against when it all started. They had left for the night, both mother and father to whatever obligation they had entered themselves into which left himself free to slip away and make one of his many solo trips down into the depths of Azj-Kahet. It should have been like any other time. Keeping to the shadowed outskirts of Dornogal till he arrived at the tunnel that would take him to even darker shadows that would be filled with strange plants, insects and even the occasional conversation with certain Nerubians that didnt understand that he himself was not supposed to really be out in such a place alone as he was. But their lack of understanding about the soft pink fleshed thing before them was used to his advantage to mill about the suspended platforms of their cities, listening in and learning the strange and fascinating language they spoke. This alone allowed him to garner some information on where the best places to find many of the specimens of insects he had cataloged while down here.

But this time he might have wandered a bit to far, been much to engrossed in his studies that he did not realize how close he had gotten to those Nerubians settlements that did not care for the outsiders being here, intruding on their domain. And his usual brand of luck that often made his seem invisible to many threats on his sneaking abouts apparently had run out. Spotted and through the broken words he did manage to understand he knew that he was in serious trouble. The sound of spindled legs catching up to him as he pushed himself through tight, dark crevices in hopes it would deter his pursuer only to come out the other side of the crevice to be face to face with his soon to be assailant. Multiple eyes shone in the dim light taking him in as sharpened mandibles twitched and clacked. Words being spoken to fast for him to interpet them in the frantic moment of being caught. He tried to push back into the crevice once more, trying to flee back to where he should have been in the first place, bored at home and surrounded by books. Why was it that these trips meant so much, these small hours of discovery picking at his brain learning and testing himself, why were they so important?! But all those thoughts were cut short as he felt clawed fingers snag him and paw at him as he was wretched from the crevice. He yelped as he was pulled free and hoisted off the ground, legs swinging and kicking as if it mattered. His hands tore at the arms holding him in some vain attempt at freedom, terrified with tears streaming down his face, glasses long since knocked off and cast to the ether of this place. And then there was a wet squelch and the Nerubian became still, its hands still holding tight to Thal'anil but now it made these movement as if afflicted with deep hiccups that shook its body in quick jarring motions. And then he saw the tendrils that began to snake up around the creature, tightening around its body, squeezing and pushing underneath its carapace plates to protrude out of other points in its body. Blood and other wet things falling in loud moist noises to the ground it began to loose its footing and topple down to the ground. Thal'anil falling out of its grasp. And that is where he was now. This dead being in front of him. He was so sure that the trouble he would find himself in would be immeasurable but how to rectify it, how to .....and then in his panic he had been so unaware of the other person that had come along until a large meaty hand set down upon his shoulder. "Da f'ok kid" Shadow tendril lashed out at the arm attached tothe hand that touched him, squeezing and boring though it till it severed from its owner. The weight of it hung from his body as the hand still gripped him despite being severed. "Holeeh shit boy-o! Man she weren't kiddin when she said she done got rid o all dat shadah an it musta went right inta ya." the voice broke out into a cackling laughter. Thal'anil turned now as if coming to the realization that the immediate danger was paused for the moment. "Nezzok?" the question came out in more of a squeak than he would have hoped. "Ju f'okin luckeh it be boy-o. Naht dat ya couldn' da well nough on ya own from da looks o it." The gigantic troll tower over the boy as he always did, now though he reached out and took the severed arm that still clung to the boys shoulder and crammed it back against the stump, letting the limb work to reattach itself. Once satisfied he crouched down next to the boy, his words changing over to Thalassian, albeit spoken like a tourist but understandable enough. "What are ya doing out here this far from tha city?" "I got side tracked I suppose and then.." "Ya cant afford to do that ya know? Not only cause ya mother would shit cats but ya arent trained to be out here like this. Impressive as that was to watch it was only one of them. " "I know but..how did I even do that? What was even all that? And what did you mean by her getting rid of shadow, are you talking about mom?"

Nezzok laughed "Ya probably did that cause like lotsa ya kind ya have some magical ability, especially given who ya parents are. Secondly it looked to be some sort of shadow magic and the last part is not my part to say cause I dont want to listen to ya mother screech in my ear for forty days and nights. " He put a meaty hand back on the kids shoulder this time not having to worry about it being severed in a state of panic. "Look, for what ever reasons ya mother and my brother wish to let ya an ya siblings live like normal people. And as much as I'd love to see ya raised into killing machines I will not piss ya pops off. Ya mom I could care less bout if shes mad or not but ya pops I do care." "We're gonna get ya home, where ya gonna stay besides school an if ya folks take ya out. "

Thal'anil began to protest this but was stopped before he could really start. "For ya own good. Now, I will speak to ya parents and should they be agreeable ya can come ta Zul'Mashar for a while and I will have someone to help ya get a grip on what ya got going on. Plus ya can do some work with Tamaku and tend ta da Mindless Cousins. Plus Im sure ya aint took any time ta come see what we got festering in the Plaguelands so far as bugs be concerned now have ya?" Thal'anil thought for a moment, his gaze going between Nezzok and the dead Nerubian a few times. "Okay." he answered. That was all Nezzok needed to hear before he stood up and pulled a knife from his side and sliced through the air causing a rift to tear open, something Thal'anil was accustomed to at this point given how long Nezzok had been in his life. "Um...Nezzok?" "Hm?" "Is there any way...would it be weird if I asked to..to take the head back with us. Purely to study!" Nezzok laughed, his response falling back into that broken orcish that had him sounding like he had a mouthful of rocks "Aye, aye. Ya a creepy lil bastard Ah give ya dat but Ah like dat kiddo." He went over and in a smooth twist popped the head off the body and carried it with him back to the rift. "C'mon, b'fer long dere will beh othahs come long...dere deaths attract othahs ta come collect da bodehs." He ushered Thal'anil through the rift and it closed up behind them.

[eluviannaa]

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉... 𝑨𝒏𝒅, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑.

Azj-Kahet Hearthstone charms! ✨ Collab with Ashenmoth

[xylaes]

Read Part 1 Here!

Part 2 TW: Needles

Whether it had been his immunity to magic or the strange, widely unexplored magic provided by his replanted arm, Xylaes had been one of the lucky ones. While the paralytic draught had been effective in his capture, the lasting effects seemed to be flushed from his system rather quickly. The first time he gained control of his functions, he immediately lashed out only to be met with a blow to the back of his head and a needle piercing his neck, freezing him in place once again. Stupid, next time he would be smarter about it - if there were a next time. 

Being completely aware but having no command over his own body was probably the worst feeling in the world, and all he could do was glare angrily as his captors folded him and shoved him into a small cage in the corner of the room. He wasn’t alone, either. From his periphery, he could see others caged nearby wearing Kirin Tor colors, and a couple frozen into strange positions near what appeared to be a workbench.

Sharp eyes darted around to take in what he could see in the dark room, coming to the conclusion that this was some kind of macabre workshop. This was proven later when a tall and slender, what he could only assume was some type of nerubian, entered the room and began adjusting the position of a human female. He pricked her with a series of needles, adjusting her limbs into a more elegant looking position before inserting a longer syringe into her neck with that terrible orange liquid that froze her completely in place; the only movement coming from her were the tears tumbling down her cheeks.

And all he could do was watch in horror. 

His mind immediately brought him right back to the time he spent within the House of the Constructs in Maldraxxus and how all of this felt too familiar. At least here they didn’t seem to be removing limbs, but instead turning these people into…living puppets? The thought made him shudder, sending a tingling sensation down that replanted left arm. Wide eyes darted down towards his fingers, concentrating hard before giving them the faintest wiggle. It had only been a couple of hours, but the paralyzing toxin seemed to be working its way out of his system already. This time he wouldn’t fuck it up, and would wait. Surely at some point this…thing would leave its workshop. Nobody else in here was moving and likely wouldn’t be ever again, but just maybe he could help.

For now he focused on his surroundings: Eyeing the simple lock on his weathered cage, trying to spot weapons to use later, and where the antiparalytic serum was being kept. Being in a strange, unknown place was something to worry about after freeing himself. If anything, he could help some of these others and they could fight their way out. Better to die fighting than to succumb to whatever was going on here.

It wasn’t until hours later that the lanky nerubian departed, locking the door and leaving the workshop in darkness. By this time, he had gained control of most of his faculties, but had spent those hours remaining still and silent. Everything in his body tingled with painful pins and needles when he finally shifted his frame, and spent a few minutes shaking out his arms until the clumsy motions went away.

Leaning against the back of the small cage and bracing his hands on the bars, he brought his feet in front of him and started kicking at the door. These cages seemed old and possibly brittle in places, and while it made quite a bit of noise, he had no other choice in escaping. They had taken his pack and weapons and nothing in the immediate area would have made for good lockpicking. After about ten minutes of on and off blunt force, combined with a spike of adrenaline, the hinges of the cage door eventually snapped and he was free!

He remained still for a moment, listening quietly for any movement outside of the building before he crept out of his prison. He could feel the pleading eyes on him from the other captives, quietly assuring them he would help. First, he needed to arm himself. A pile of packs and weapons had been carelessly discarded off to the side, assuming it belonged to those imprisoned here. With much relief, he was able to locate his own belongings and immediately went for the canteen of water and some jerky he had packed away. It had been nearing about three days since he had eaten or drank anything, and the adrenaline would soon fade and remind him that he was indeed just a mortal being. 

He chewed and sipped on the water as he made his way towards the main workbench, picking up a vial of green liquid that he assumed to be the antiparalytic serum. There was only one way to find out. Filling up a syringe, he locked eyes with the nearby human female. Her gaze intensified, as if saying ‘do it’. The serum was injected into her neck and after a few moments her head lolled to the side before arms collapsed from their frozen, upright position. Xylaes grabbed her before she could fall, and lowered her to the ground as she regained the feeling in her body. 

He left her with his canteen and some food before swiftly moving on to the next captive. One by one, cages were opened and the serum was administered. As more and more regained their faculties, they silently helped each other by offering food and water from their discarded packs before retrieving weapons and readying themselves.

Xylaes stood by the front door, taking a deep breath and turned to look around at the determined gazes of those he had rescued now fully focused on him. “We’re with you.” The human female tightened her grasp around her sword, giving him an encouraging nod.

He wasn’t sure what to expect from the other side of this door, but at least now they had a fighting chance.

@themercenaries

[eluvianna-ooc]

Had someone turn this into a necklace! People are so creative, I love this so much.

Custom maille collab with Ashenmoth—the rings are handmade, too.

[dinthoqaf]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Have you ever found beauty in a strange or unusual place? If so, tell me about that time.

"I know a great many who will claim Suramar, same as myself, but I feel a great many have bothered to venture deep into the earth below its surface to find much else to appreciate more than the nexus of Arcane Mana Crystals that grow beneath it alongside Starlight Roses and Mana Lilies (as I've come to call them). The Rays Warp Rays flying well above are aggressive if approached, but when familiar enough with a trespasser, they will leave you well enough alone. It gives one time to walk among the crystallizing mana, to run one's fingers through the dust so fine it appears as budding stars across the night sky."

"If I had to call a place beautiful, it would be one such as this."

"Another location for me though is The Maddening Deeps, a place some of you may find as no real surprise. It's not due to the presence of the Black Blood, though it is responsible for its creation. But if you find the time to observe, without losing your sanity that is, you'll find that everything here lives and breathes. It has a life of its own and given time, the very vegetation is growing to become something else. What once were branches and bark grows to become scales and chitin. Tree fibers grow upwards and outwards to become tendrils, tentacles, and vines to help ensnare something else and even the very boughs of these greet trees have split and reach upward exhaling bright gases. The beauty here comes in the form of the unknown potential that this place could become and later birth if left to it... though I doubt it will come to pass."

( Thanks for the ask Anon! Really enjoyed this one as it made me go out to grab screenshots just for it! Don't know if the first counts as 'unusual' but it's a place I very rarely ever seem to hear anyone bring up when Suramar does come up. )

[iamgodkingskovald]

[longveil]