Dark Origins: Cursed Retribution - Pt. 3
Setting: Centuries after the Sundering... The Maw, Zovaal's Cauldron
"This is your karma. You do not understand now, but you will understand later." - H. Raven Rose
Omnipotent. Eternal. Indomitable.
Each of these attributes became a shackle that halted his advance. But what made a soul truly complete, was that of another. Ivoriya's presence was a light that pierced the shadows that had concealed him entirely. The fire within his eyes became quelled by her essence as his fangs snapped together to dismiss his disbelief. His ethereal form now took on a shape - which he did not know he had physically developed through the consumption of anima.
He had become the Jailer's worst enemy in such a short period of time. At Zovaal's Cauldron, which was the staging area for the Jailer's army, had become littered in dark flames and weapons that had no wielders. But there was no way to know how much time had passed when those attacks stopped coming. It should have warranted some suspicion given the relentless assaults from the ground and the skies. But each and every time, Empyrian could not be overwhelmed. He was a force beyond the likes the Jailer had laid his eye upon.
However, there was always a means to bargain with death. This was something Zovaal knew as the former Arbiter and judge of all souls. Every soul catered to their own purpose, which was why he believed in reality needing remade. There was no unity, only division. And what force was made strong, was those with the same intent - that he had forged and ruled over with his own will and domination magic.
Reflecting further on this wyrm's progression against his army, Zovaal calculated the benefit of making a brood of Sin-Eaters for his own forces. The skies had been ruled primarily by the dedicated Mawsworn Kyrian - and even their strengths could not match that of a dragon's. Though he knew there would be no means to put Empyrian to use. Even with his beloved mate's soul, their joy was experienced through freedom - which wasn't a cost he could afford to provide.
"Take the Soul-Render to Perdition's Hold. Ensure he does not see the light from another soul again."
Setting: Peridition's Hold, the Maw Azeroth - The First War is now taking place
With the closing of his fist, Ivoriya's presence was snuffed from view, as the prison Empyrian found himself in was impenetrable to any means of light. The chains that shackled him held firm, ensuring that his soul was kept in suspended animation. Claws that had developed tensed against the air - seeking anything to come into contact with to express his newfound duress. He knew his mate had died. Yet her soul - he felt her aura. It brought warmth he had forgotten since his coming to the Shadowlands.
Bereft in newfound grief, his strength only continued to wane. The isolation provided no peace or comfort from the growing remorse of this curse. Every time Ivoriya was there, he fell. Had she become his weakness and greatest enemy? He wanted to love her. But it was his love for her that broke him. That got him killed.
A seed of resentment now began to grow within. Festering the shadows along his body like well stoked flames. He was so strong because that was how he was designed to be. It was an irrefutable fact, and it was so simple to understand. There was no need for reliance of another or to trust. He was his own greatest ally. He was his own strength. He would be unstoppable.
Though the matter at hand was not so easily reconciled. His surrender to the Master of the Maw had enabled him to be caged. And while he could feel the power in his body, there were precautions put in place to keep him weakened. Those chains were not just for show given the carvings of runes that lined every link. He was knowledgeable enough to understand the craft served in its purpose to keep him tethered.
Every now and then, he tried to see if there was something new, he could learn. But it appeared that his captivity had left him in the deepest cell beneath Perdition's Hold. The wardens of this prison never revisited his place of holding since he was brought there. Which left him with plenty of freedom to think, to scheme, and to undo their hold over him. And there would be no finer opportunity then when too many souls had flooded their dominion. It just required him to be ready.
Setting: Perdition's Hold Azeroth - The Second War is now underway
Yet his body would develop some changes in his captivity. Bones of corpses were cast like waste beneath him - beyond any point of use. At least, that was what those above had thought, and the feelings he felt soon dripped from the shadows. Black blood coursed freely over the bones. What had been dormant in the marrow would undergo some form of evolution in an unrefined technique of a newfound innate curse. Bones wobbled beneath him - seeking to connect and rebuild - but only the small corpses of mawrats ever took shape. Their eyes gleaming with a hunger of their host dangling above them.
The first of these mawrats, would be named Shade. He scarcely noted the mawrat upon his back as his flesh and scale were torn away from his back. How odd was it that the role of a hunter and the hunted became reversed. It should have angered him. But there was an acceptance and a wish for it to continue - that perhaps he would find some new means of freedom with less of his body.
The next to have taken shape, was Plague. A rodent infested with the twisted diseases of his kin that had never lived a full life in good health. He was the most subtle with his danger, infecting Empyrian with a blight. The acuity of the dragon's senses would lower considerably, making his ability to detect the rodents near impossible.
Grim joined by his brother, Malice - would seek to remove the flesh from Empyrian's head, polishing the surface of his great skull for all to see beneath his shroud of shadows.
But the largest of these bred curses was Apathy. This mawrat quadrupled the size of his brethren. And his appetite was conducted without any inkling of remorse. His fangs gnawed away the surface of Empyrian's chest, exposing the place where his heart would have ached. The most delectable bits of his anima were feasted on - destroying the notion of compassion, empathy, and care.
A hollow laugh was freed from Empyrian's maw as he felt delight in such a gathering of obedient hosts. He shifted a claw experimentally while the 5 rats sat with their fill and gave him company he had long since forgotten. Gruesome as he looked and felt now, he could not help but revel in his evolution. There was a sense of immaculate pride that could not be undone.
Not only had his blood given reanimated the dead, but it also cursed the earth. A single black rose grew beneath him and blossomed in the wake of his sins. The display alone showcased what even the most polarizing efforts of ill-intended good could create. Confinement was just another means to breed his contempt and hatred for all things.
Displeasure swelled now as rat kin grew restless in the bones of the deceased. How long would they know of this isolation? Would there be a point in escape? Teetering in the labyrinth of his growing insanity, he made a sport of hitting the bones below with the end of his tail. It was the only appendage outside his neck that could shift so freely. His head turned and snapped at the mawrats from time to time, making the creatures keep to their respective homes away from him now.
Setting: Perdition's Hold Azeroth Time - Events of the Third War have come to pass, and those souls lost to the Scourge that did not serve - have come to the Maw.
But as one's imagination grew tired of fabricating scenarios, the unexpected took place. Light slipped into the room somehow. His red eyes squinted to shield his vision from burning in discomfort. But the rose he had grown now was embraced by this light, altering the physiology of his black rose and making it something else entirely.
"Nature will always be beautiful, no matter how it chooses to exist."
A woman's voice filled his cell, followed by the thundering of steps outside his prison. This was no trick of his mind, but his head lowered towards the anima filled flower for closer inspection. There was an ephemeral peace that was inhaled into his senses, before the primal machinations of his darkness took root. His maw gaped over the flower, before fangs clasped down on the remnant soul and drew it back into his throat, fusing her essence with his own greedily. The cavity in his chest, that had been left open by Apathy's hunger - now filled with a new soulkeeper. The chains that had held him began to glow - hoping to siphon the strength he ingested for its bindings to reinforce his captivity.
But the dragon's anger surfaced in full as hell erupted causing his shadows to grow thick and expand in his domain. The steel walls that were braced around him were blown apart by supernatural force as the forces of the Jailer were left to behold his reemergence into the Maw.
Rationalizing the futile attempts made by the Jailer's underlings had never been this amusing to Empyrian. Or maybe it had been, it was a long time since he could recall. And the weird thing about the Maw, was that time did not pass in the way it had on Azeroth. It all felt like it blurred together at this point as the sky never changed. Nor did undeath ever truly stop moving. Which was odd considering how it was viewed in the living.
Details he had forgotten resurfaced, and he found himself pointedly reevaluating his thoughts. Why? An anchor that had been removed was replaced with another. Remorse reared its ugly head yet again, as the soul he devoured pleaded with him over something left unsaid. He didn't understand the reasoning; he just knew their motive was on par with his own to escape. A shake of his skull was made as he ignored the soul's pleas within.
He had refined his allegiance to himself and thus would not be so easily swayed into bargaining with another. Ivoriya's absence was the lesson in that, and he would only rise, no longer would he fall.
(( OOC Acknowledgements: I want to give a shout out to the following individuals for helping me to aspire and write this narrative out. Note: This is not the last part in Empyrian's story. I will continue to add to it as the ideas flow
@sanguinesorceress - Mala, you are an inspiration to the good and bad in all of us. And writing has become a creative outlet for me and so many others again. You were sorely missed, and your return has breathed life into so many people's stories. We've made new friends, discovered new avenues to write our posts, and supported each other so that people could learn of each other's characters. Never forget the blessing you are to us.
@safrona-shadowsun - Saffy, you have given us so much through your art and writing - bringing imagination into shape and giving a meaning not so easily defined by words. Your reputation of good only continues carry into this generation and the next. Never stop being that great person to all! And thank you so much for being the eye in the brainstorm - your ideas are amazing!
@grumpyoldfker - Dirt water is gross, but I'm glad it gives you the energy to deal with me. I know that things have been made hard for all of us, but you have always wanted to be a part of the fold. You stuck with it when life didn't always give you the luxury to do so. And it carries now in the way your characters speak, the adventures you want to embark on, and the relationships you forge. Don't ever be afraid to take the next step - because you have family with you now!
@duraxxor - Patience has never taught someone so well to abide to the feelings of others like it has with you. So many years ago - I met you and we still shoot the shit and splurge on our passions throughout writing. Some days are harder than others, but you still have the means to keep your head held high. Reliable and dependable for your rp partners - you still spin these insane stories of the monsters we could end up becoming - but reflect on the traits that had once made individuals good.
I have plenty more people I want to show my gratitude towards. Though, I think I need to reorganize my thoughts or find a tissue cause there isn't more left in me to add. <3 Have a wonderful New Years all and thanks again for embarking on this journey in the Shadowlands again. I know it's not a desirable place to revisit, but I think justice is going to be found again for some through this retelling of the events there. I just hope you stay with me every step of the way! ))