"Seralas and I stood in awe at the crimson stream. The devastation by my hand filled me with a sense of pride. I've always feel accomplished when I introduce others into their eternal slumber. I shed them of their mortal wounds, their time-lined wants, and their ambitious devotions. Seralas feels as I do when it comes to regard the realm of the living. Death is only the beginning and, in itself, another obstacle to dominate. I am the reaper's bane. They call me a Juggernaut because I refuse to fall. I painted the lips of my newfound sister of unlife with the nectar that flows through a mortal's veins. A baptism of sanguine opportunity to march at my side. There will be more blood... and, I will bath this world in it."
“How long do you feel you can hide this key from me?” The animosity of his dark chords boomed within the halls. Rage had consumed him. It had demolished every semblance of humanity and all he felt was lividity. The caged beast continued to roam his vast prison following the small breadcrumbs and executing a system of elimination to find his escape. There were others as well. Those that had displeasure of meeting him had been broken and shattered beyond recognition.
Recently, he had taken another hostage. They had been beaten mercilessly and the Juggernaut had utilized a series of hooks and chains to latch them into the flesh of the human. It pleaded. It cried. It begged for mercy in a language that Tursidhion did not recognize. “How do I escape?” The arctic titan demanded with an authoritative tone. The dark haired human began to whimper as he tried to answer. However, without any definitive or comprehensive answer the Juggernaut took a step closer.
The chains and hooks that were attached to the face of the human led to a steel wrap around the powerful arms of the Juggernaut. The chilling stare from beneath his terrorizing helm remained locked with remorselessness. Slowly, Tursidhion began to open his arms and the skin began to stretch even wider than it had before. “You are useless to me,” he merely stated before jerking both strong arms wide and observed the flesh of the human’s face rip apart in various directions. Crimson began to flood the floor and the Juggernaut drew close to bring his hand against the fleshless skull of the human. Five large fingers pressed against the cranium before crushing it with the power of his hand.
A distant cry had caught his attention. A small space within the closet of the room had led the glacial gaze of the Juggernaut to look in that direction. Further movement and rustling drew him forth before ripping the door clear from the hinges to stare down at the young woman whose back was to him. She was counting in hopes that he would disappear. It was when she turned that she felt that very hope demolished. She began to scream hysterically. Tursidhion quickly seized her by the throat and pressed his thumb so hard into the trachea that she was silenced.
The arm that held her brought her up to find that unwavering void. As his thumb repositioned the woman quickly yelped, “Do you have no soul?!” The darkness of his eyes began to illuminate with a glacial hue. “I do now,” he said in a malicious reply. The horror in the woman’s eyes had him bringing her nearly face to face. It took a great deal of pleasure tearing her soul from within her body. The essence struggled to remain latched to the mortal being, but Tursidhion’s will was so much stronger. Eventually, the feminine physique went limp and the Juggernaut released her with unceremoniously.
The woman’s body crumbled upon the floor and Tursidhion began to wrap the newly acquired spiritual essence about his fingertips. A glance back toward the broken human had started triggering several ideas. One heavy foot step after another led him to rip the rest of the skull free from it’s useless frame. Strong hands had began to sculpt the bone into a bowl and the flowing crimson had be used to fill it before setting it to the side. The snake-like soul clung to the Juggernaut’s weaving about as if it did not have the power to wander elsewhere.
Afterwards, Tursidhion began to make cryptic markings upon the dirt floor and deep enough that he could drain more of the sanguine essence from the human body like a moat to this ritual he was looking to conduct. A lesson taught by the Warmage. Once the ring of signs was completed the blood-filled skull was taken in one hand and he returned to the body of the dead girl. She was lifted over his shoulder and taken to the center of it. The woman was spread out like a ritualistic sacrifice.
The dainty mouth of the woman had been forcibly pried open with two fingers. This provided the entrance he was about to utilize for the unholy union of the blood and soul he had confiscated. As he began to speak the obscure language the right hand was raised and smashed into the chest cavity of the femme. Five fingers had taken her heart and ripped it from it’s ivory cage. The back of his hand pushed his mask up and he took a large chunk of it between his teeth. As he devoured it partly the words of the ritual were continually spoken.
The skull in the other hand had began to turn and the soul had begun to weave itself intimately along with it. As he finished consuming the heart the body of the woman began to shake uncontrollably. The lady’s eyes had awakened and she began to roll over onto her hands and knees. “Father, you’ve been gone far too long.” The owner of the voice was none other than the Warmage Eurath.
The Juggernaut narrowed his icy focus as he heard Eurath speak. “Ryzilegos has played his game long enough. You know where I am, Eurath. I have been played the pawn in eradicating his enemies here and my patience has expired. Set me free…” Tursidhion declared as he stood covered in a blanket of red. “Let me loose. I’ve got a score to settle.”
The Warmage stared upon his father from the safety of his sanctum. The soul well being his visionary guide as he drew his hand along his youthful visage. Eurath considered the options and the various possibilities that could be harnessed. He had been seeking to regain his father’s trust and he felt this would be a tremendous opportunity to capitalize upon.
“Very well,” the Warmage answered.
As time passed the Juggernaut had relinquished the chains that were bound to his arms and had reclaimed his runic weapon. The ground nearby began to shake and the environment began to break away piece by piece as if someone was pulling a puzzle apart. This led the Juggernaut to grip his large blade tightly in preparation. The reanimated stood and approached Tursidhion at his side. “Your freedom awaits, father. When you emerge you’ll be transported into the Ghostlands. I request you bide your time until Malakortana or I can locate the Shepherd.”
Tursidhion canted his head lightly and pulled the armored helm over his face. Stone cold eyes locked onto the burning pair of the possessed woman. “Is this your price for my freedom, Eurath?” The woman gave an exorcist’s twist of her neck. “Yes,” was the simple reply before the Juggernaut stared at the demonic gateway. The fel-hue that spiraled within had led him forward and eventually brought him through.
The reanimated corpse had fallen lifeless and the domain of his prison had been breached. The departure point was within the stream prior to cutting off toward Deathholme. Metal boots pressed against the ground and deep into the mud as he gave a look around. The sword was replaced onto his back and gauntlet-clad hands pressed together as he left the water.
He could hear a patrol group ahead of him. The conversation about whether or not the Juggernaut was just a myth or if he was real was overheard. Snow began to fall and this had led the small band of men to stop to consider it. The crunching of his boots had resulted in them hearing him and when they turned the fright upon their faces satisfied a hunger deep within him.
By the end of the evening their screams and agonizing howls would result from his symphony of brutality. Five more soldiers would eventually be on the missing pages and their ghoulish countenances pressed deep within the lands of Deathholme. The urge to obliterate anything and everything was overwhelmingly strong. It was difficult to contain himself and the longer he thought upon it the more determined he became into stepping back into the lands of Silvermoon.
"There are four beings in existence that will keep me from shattering your bone structure and consuming your entrails like a fine soup. You are none of them. Do you feel your life is worth risking to find out?"
"Worlds within worlds. Cower beneath your illusions. I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU!" Violence reverberated within every syllable as his anger evolved into pure rage. The large blade was repeatedly sent against the second wall of his confinement. Freedom had been a deception.
"ARGH!" His anguish relinquished in a ghoulish growl before slamming the heavy blade against the wall again. The thunderous impact caused the ground to shake from his unending wrath. The lack of contact and warmth from his Sanguine Sorceress had taken it's toll. The consuming beast within his thoughts had enslaved and devoured what small bit of humanity had been within him.
"RYZILEGOS!" The absence of an answer fueled his devastation. The wrists and hands of the Juggernaut were bleeding and flesh had been torn from the repetitive nature of his behavior. A caged animal seeking freedom. He was determined to shatter each and every wall that kept him bound within his cerebral prison.
"Ha ha ha... You felt your pathetic prison could hold me? You've only postponed the inevitable. You have only succeeding in fueling my rage and in this I have become more powerful than you can imagine. I'll bring the divines to their knees and I'll start with you... Run... Run away, Ryzilegos. Run as far as you can because there is no place you can hide. The beast is out... and I'm the hunt. I'm going to take such sickening pleasure in smashing your bones to dust. I might even get off on crushing your pathetic skull between my hands. Mmm, the thought alone is so tantalizing." A dark, cynical laughter reverberates throughout the establishment along with the heavy, ominous footsteps of plate.
Anon asked: "I've been watching the story of the shepherd and the juggernaut for a while now. I'm curious as to what would happen if they were to clash head to head? Is there was a way to provide a deeper depth to the roleplay that involves the two?"
OOC:
The Shepherd was considered a dracolich and so Freddy Krueger seemed to make a very solid representation of the character. As for the Juggernaut I've utilized Jason Voorhees as a face claim given the armor he wears and the resilience he exhibits. Also, this situation seems to fit the current situation where the Ryzilegos has locked Tursidhion inside a personal prison. So, in essence I feel this video can give you a visual idea of what has been transpiring between the two entities and why Tursidhion is currently unavailable for roleplay.
Though, do not despair. The Juggernaut will be making a return soon as well as other characters. So, I hope you enjoy.
"While you are breathing and biding your time. I’m wrecking through your personal prison and every warden has become fuel for my destruction. I will bring it all down. My thirst for this chaotic dream is insatiable. I’ve been given a purpose and it will come to pass. If it takes shattering every wall, breaking every soul, and crushing the very gods themselves… I will see it happen. You’re just another hindrance and I will annihilate everything that you represent. Count your days, Shepherd. I’m coming… for you.”
"They lured me into a prison... Used the girl as bait to draw me away from my sanctuary... Now I am trapped within this labyrinth of the damned and left to roam amongst the cruelty that was once forsaken by raw brutality. I will make her pay for every moment I am trapped within this sinful paradise. I will break each and every tiny bone over, and over, again until there is nothing left. My blood stone cannot even reach my mistress and my thoughts cannot touch Serriah. They have only trapped me within this torturous, damnable place... but it can only contain me for so long."
Night had begun to settle over Eversong Woods… It was one of those celebrated evenings of Hallow’s End, and many were gathered in various parts of the woods wearing different assortments of masks and costumes.
The Commander on the other hand, was on duty, watching over the engagements of people staying out later given there was no curfew during these times.
One woman in particular took the Commander by surprise, causing her heart to race from her sudden emergence at her side.
"…You should be alone with me.”
Most times, that sort of line implied a number of interpretations, but judging from her expression in the dark - the Commander thought it was of utmost importance.
"Of course…" Slowly, she offered a plate covered hand to the priestess, who in turn led her away from Fairbreeze Village into a different quadrant of the woods.
"He asked me to retrieve you so that he could talk to you alone.." The Commander nodded, unsure who she was implying about until she spotted Tursidhion, the Juggernaut and Dread Lord.
The Commander gave a look to the priestess, but it seemed she averted her gaze, obviously guilty about something until the silence was broken by her blurting out.
"He took Creedence from me. I wanted to have faith in the light that everything would be okay, but I couldn’t… I.. I was scared."
"Priestess," Tursidhion spoke in a voice that made the dead stir in their graves. "You have done what I asked, and I always keep to my word."
With a snap of the Juggernaut’s fingers, Creedence appeared upon a hawkstrider’s back - unconscious. A horrified shriek came from the woman next to the Commander, causing her to jump slightly and shoot the Juggernaut a glare.
"Don’t look at me that way, Commander… It’s a seasonal event. I just get more in spirit than most do on Hallow’s End…"
"You will leave this Priestess and her friend alone." The Commander said, moving forward to meet the Juggernaut’s gaze. "As for keeping your word, explain yourself. Why do you constantly seek to challenge the boundaries of our agreement?"
3 (I have no idea what that heart means. You don't even have to post prompts! Anyway. *throws at*) - For Sid and Serriah
"Serriah?" The Juggernaut's chilling breath nearly suffocated the flame behind him as his heartless eyes bore a chilling stare into the other. "Have you ever considered what Death would be if it was given a pretty face? The depth of her eyes alone could freeze your very heart and stop it's beating instantly..." His lips parted briefly with an cynical amusement.
"She'll lure you in with her ethereal enchantment and like a dark goddess she'd curl her fingers around your soul and pull it free slowly. If for anything more than to watch the life leave your eyes. It goes..." The arctic titan had gripped the other and rose quickly with his abyssal stare piercing deeply into the core of the other. "...something like this."
Those final words spoken before the light was snuffed from existence and the horrifying cries and terrified screams of the soul was torn piece by beautiful piece...
"Madness... Chaos.... Insanity... It was these very elements that have sculpted me into the violent and macabre beast that I am today. My lips have tasted the sins of a mother forged in destruction and she looks to breathe further life into the creation of a world thought long dead. I am the frozen sentinel of death. I am the harbinger of the world's demise. The herald of a force unlike any other that this world has ever seen and I will bring it down limb by limb. If it takes tearing the heavens apart I will be the arms that force it to break upon the grounds of this earth so that hell can consume it and reign as it should."
Unf from... Jule, the wildling, and very likely Zarozinnia as well. :P
"Ladies, ladies, ladies… You should be careful which side of the balance you tread upon. You never know what sort of mysteries could await you in the shadows…" ( damejule. )
Her tongue peeked from behind dark lips, to slip over the tiers idly. With a slight cant of her head, a soft echoed word was uttered. "... unf."
The Juggernaut narrowed his glacial spheres as she provoked the inner demons within. His right hand gripped her by the back of the neck violently and his mouth drew so viciously close to her own. "Umf... is all you'll be able to say when I am done with you..." The world would become blanketed by darkness...
The wildling, who had been rambling full bore the entire time, finally finished placing the last of the wildflowers into the helm of the Juggernaut, coming around to survey her work from the front with a beaming smile. She reached out, tipping one of the flowers a bit so it didn't fall, "See now that's so much better now the blood has some more colouring with it and it looks kind of like something sort of beautiful and tragic and like you and I think that's just wonderful and..." on she went.
The glacial behemoth was quiet during his state of slumber. The Little Wildling had been a victim of circumstance and through her behaviors the Juggernaut viewed her much like a child. The nature of the beast was highly protective over children as it was and he always had been. The wildflowers that were being put inside his helm had kept him stationary as he remained knelt to survey some of the surrounding area.
When he concluded his observation there was a glance toward the red head and his hand came to pick her up. She was hoisted onto one of the few flat surfaces upon his shoulder as the Juggernaut marched forward through Eversong Woods. She had been rambling non stop but it didn’t seem to phase the arctic goliath. As he drew close to Farstriders the large being had begun to stare at the challenges ahead. “You should get down now. I must rampage.”
The dead note of his chilling baritone was more than enough to indicate to Lira that he was about to enter that state she wasn’t so fond of. His hand drew behind her once again and he lowered her to the ground so that she could get a headstart on fleeing. “You may return in twenty-four hours, child.” It was all that he stated as he drew his runeblade forth and projected it toward the multitude of guardians that began to assemble.
They had said the name three times…
It was time to pay the devil his due wildflowers and all.
The Juggernaut. The term called to mind so many images, of a large unstoppable force as it barreled through fields of war. A silhouette in the smoke, standing bleak against the darkness. His claims were many and proud, they fell loudly on twitching elongated ears. What he did promise was an alignment of purpose, of goal. They shared something distinct, if their approaches varied. They knew what the future could be, should be… will be if only by their own hand.
Serriah could hear the heart beats weakened beat as she slowed. It was the sound of living blood rushing in panic through veins that had caused her to pause in her stroll through the fetid lands. It was a curious sight watching the mindless obey, watching the stained metal in the form of an elf, march over so unnerved to find his activities spied upon.
It was a tenuous truce that remained unspoken as both sets of azure orbs watched in keen awareness. He spoke in a way that pulled at something within herself, a voice she could no longer hear, a man she could only barely remember. There was something familiar with the way he paced around her in unabashed inspection.
He spoke with a grace that took her specific concentration to wade through. His words held such weight, one that the distinct impression was made, he would back up if requested. For the time though, she only nodded. Let him spin his tales of greatness, whisper his words of worship. It was something to hold on to, the ghost stories he told about himself. It was not a difficult concept, they had been perfect machines of war once. Soldiers crafted by possessed hands to rule the world. Their destiny were to be these legends. It was stolen from them and they agreed it was time to claim what was theirs.
Her eyes fell shut as he moved passed her to leave, his cold a welcomed presence that faded as his plated footfalls grew ever further away. It was his home, this point of greatness in the Scourge’s history. Where the march began, where the buildings of death still stood. It was poetic in a way she couldn’t truly fathom, the sound of his marching over such beautifully corrupted land.
She stood as an ashen statue until the sound and presence of him faded, only then lofting her sight to the freshly dug graves. Her body trembled to hear the five heartbeats cease in desperate unison. A slow swath of her tongue over her lower lip as her arms rose with sudden purpose.
Verdant mists found her fingers, delicate digits splayed as her magic was called forth with the distinct glee of one created to offer undeath. Serpents of her will slithered through the air seeking the still warm bodies, Unholy might poured into recent disturbed earth finding flesh and infecting what once was. The groans rose as a new song, a glance given to those who wandered close by and the easy order to assist.
Bodies mangled as the Juggernaut had destroyed them to be, but their eyes now shown brightly in their enchanted undeath. Five new ghouls that gurgled their loyalty to the woman who stood watching in serenity.
