10-22-2010, 03:56 PM
Sozun's eyes finished looking over a piece of paper before folding it and sliding it back into his pocket. His gaze turned to the inside of his hood, glaring into it as his horse making light clicks on the stone path it walked through Tirisfal, with him atop it.
"Shadow Ascendants? They don't exist. You, the Cult, and all that crap the Forsaken preach about. Its all nonsense, not the true path to ascendancy."
The words stung, foreign feelings running through Sozun's bones. Those feelings were insult and pain.
"Emotion... Am I really that pathetic?"
His yellow eyes closed, attempting to calm the rage he felt. But of course, it was folly to try. Vainar's words did not cut him but instead brought a hammer to his bones and cracked them to pieces.
"Of course the boy is ignorant... The Ascendants exist just as surly as I do.. but.." A string of swears came from Sozun's mouth before he seemed to calm. A single bony finger reached to the neck of his horse and moved down it, little sounds releasing as he did, "Doubt."
Sozun's horse neared the once great city of Lordaeron, a place whose surface only exposed ruin that once was glory. The kingdom of humans that had been wiped out by all manner of cruelty and disaster. Its destruction left a terrible scar for all to glance at before turning tail and running the other way.
But Sozun knew that beneath the long festered over scar blood still flowed, and the city was born again, born a new. His home beneath the ruins, Undercity. His hand reached inside his pocket, removing a letter, seal broken. He unfolded it and glanced down at the words, as he had again and again.
I'm done here. My path is to ascension higher than that of you weaklings.
"So says you... But mine will be the true ascension. A reincarnation... Rejuvenation. Rebirth."
Heads nodded in their seats, yellow eyes all alike, all focused on the single figure standing at the alter. A man of of shadow. Body hard to make out in the lightless room, seeming to blend in with the dark. Voice like echoes, hollow and cold. He raised his wispy hands and from his mouth came the word of the Cult.
"Let us not forget. We are the children of darkness. When we ascend the shadow comes to replace our bonds to flesh and bone. Through virtue we master ourselves and reach the pinnacle of all power, shadow mastery."
Sozun's face was directed at the man, one forsaken but long since moved past that feeble physical stage. His name was Prophet Kerak, well known for his perseverance at holding the cause of the Forsaken high as well as pursuing the organization of the Cult.
"Forget prayer, forget titan power or the gods that other races flock to. Forget the Light that has forsaken you. As of now, you have already surpassed mortality, living in death. To control it, to assume its form is to ascend. Become the deity and command Azeroth to do your bidding."
Bony hands came together to clap all around the room, many standing in applause as Kerak finished his closing statements. Sozun watched for a little while as the eager came up to swarm him with additional questions.
He knows his power well... As should be expected. Because they are deities. And while humans pray to gods... we simply become them.
Sozun slid out from one of the old wooden pews, brushing himself off before stepping out of the church and down the stairs. Lightly, he muttered to himself, "There will be no talking to him right now. Unless I want to be one of the faceless masses... No, there has to be another way to attract his attention." The forsaken took a glance back through the church doors, "Before he leaves."
Sozun moved over to his skeletal horse, the creature kneeling down as he got close, making it an easy climb for the forsaken onto its back. As he pulled on the reigns of the horse it turned around slowly before starting to move forward.
We are not very different from one another... But neither is he from most forsaken. Each wanting glory for Undercity and the Dark Lady, each looking to wipe out the Alliance and human kingdoms most of all..
There is of course only one way. He must know that my power is worth investing in. That I have embraced the virtues and am worthy of mastering death.
To be an ascendant, to be the very voice of the Cult, the self-created deity of our people... My words the commandments of the faith, my speech irrefutable dogma...
It did not take long before Sozun's horse once again moved towards Undercity, following the forsaken's unspoken commands to their home. Doubt flashed again through Sozun's mind, this time quelled by unshakeable mental tenacity. Aloud, he spoke, "It is my destiny. Grim fate will push me forward, fate unrelenting and unstoppable. Ascendancy is the path that I've worked for... I will not let petty doubt stop me from achieving perfection."
"Shadow Ascendants? They don't exist. You, the Cult, and all that crap the Forsaken preach about. Its all nonsense, not the true path to ascendancy."
The words stung, foreign feelings running through Sozun's bones. Those feelings were insult and pain.
"Emotion... Am I really that pathetic?"
His yellow eyes closed, attempting to calm the rage he felt. But of course, it was folly to try. Vainar's words did not cut him but instead brought a hammer to his bones and cracked them to pieces.
"Of course the boy is ignorant... The Ascendants exist just as surly as I do.. but.." A string of swears came from Sozun's mouth before he seemed to calm. A single bony finger reached to the neck of his horse and moved down it, little sounds releasing as he did, "Doubt."
Sozun's horse neared the once great city of Lordaeron, a place whose surface only exposed ruin that once was glory. The kingdom of humans that had been wiped out by all manner of cruelty and disaster. Its destruction left a terrible scar for all to glance at before turning tail and running the other way.
But Sozun knew that beneath the long festered over scar blood still flowed, and the city was born again, born a new. His home beneath the ruins, Undercity. His hand reached inside his pocket, removing a letter, seal broken. He unfolded it and glanced down at the words, as he had again and again.
Spoiler:
Dark Priest Sozun Croz,
It is important that you return to Tirisfal for a momentous event. One of the Ascendants will be coming to deliver a sermon to the people and Cult in Deathknell. I'm sure I don't have to say much more to convince you to show up and listen...
It is important that you return to Tirisfal for a momentous event. One of the Ascendants will be coming to deliver a sermon to the people and Cult in Deathknell. I'm sure I don't have to say much more to convince you to show up and listen...
I'm done here. My path is to ascension higher than that of you weaklings.
"So says you... But mine will be the true ascension. A reincarnation... Rejuvenation. Rebirth."
Path of the Wicked
"There is a simple truth that I hope you all leave here with today. There is no road to ascension, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of steep paths have the chance of gaining the luminous summits."
"There is a simple truth that I hope you all leave here with today. There is no road to ascension, and only those who do not dread the fatiguing climb of steep paths have the chance of gaining the luminous summits."
Heads nodded in their seats, yellow eyes all alike, all focused on the single figure standing at the alter. A man of of shadow. Body hard to make out in the lightless room, seeming to blend in with the dark. Voice like echoes, hollow and cold. He raised his wispy hands and from his mouth came the word of the Cult.
"Let us not forget. We are the children of darkness. When we ascend the shadow comes to replace our bonds to flesh and bone. Through virtue we master ourselves and reach the pinnacle of all power, shadow mastery."
Sozun's face was directed at the man, one forsaken but long since moved past that feeble physical stage. His name was Prophet Kerak, well known for his perseverance at holding the cause of the Forsaken high as well as pursuing the organization of the Cult.
"Forget prayer, forget titan power or the gods that other races flock to. Forget the Light that has forsaken you. As of now, you have already surpassed mortality, living in death. To control it, to assume its form is to ascend. Become the deity and command Azeroth to do your bidding."
Bony hands came together to clap all around the room, many standing in applause as Kerak finished his closing statements. Sozun watched for a little while as the eager came up to swarm him with additional questions.
He knows his power well... As should be expected. Because they are deities. And while humans pray to gods... we simply become them.
Sozun slid out from one of the old wooden pews, brushing himself off before stepping out of the church and down the stairs. Lightly, he muttered to himself, "There will be no talking to him right now. Unless I want to be one of the faceless masses... No, there has to be another way to attract his attention." The forsaken took a glance back through the church doors, "Before he leaves."
Sozun moved over to his skeletal horse, the creature kneeling down as he got close, making it an easy climb for the forsaken onto its back. As he pulled on the reigns of the horse it turned around slowly before starting to move forward.
Spoiler:
... You've only got a week. Afterwards he will continue on his way to Silverpine, and then, who knows where. Be quick if you want to convince him, and clever too. Gods do not live to fulfill the wishes of mortals, only their own goals and needs.
Shadows Hide You,
Apothecary Larz
Shadows Hide You,
Apothecary Larz
We are not very different from one another... But neither is he from most forsaken. Each wanting glory for Undercity and the Dark Lady, each looking to wipe out the Alliance and human kingdoms most of all..
There is of course only one way. He must know that my power is worth investing in. That I have embraced the virtues and am worthy of mastering death.
To be an ascendant, to be the very voice of the Cult, the self-created deity of our people... My words the commandments of the faith, my speech irrefutable dogma...
It did not take long before Sozun's horse once again moved towards Undercity, following the forsaken's unspoken commands to their home. Doubt flashed again through Sozun's mind, this time quelled by unshakeable mental tenacity. Aloud, he spoke, "It is my destiny. Grim fate will push me forward, fate unrelenting and unstoppable. Ascendancy is the path that I've worked for... I will not let petty doubt stop me from achieving perfection."
Spoiler:
Lokmagrosh,
I hope the clan is well. I will see that I join you all when I can... But for now, fate calls to me and I must answer. I spoke to you once about the path of a Dark Priest. Now I go off to find one who can help me fulfill that destiny. When next I return, I hope to be more powerful than ever...
Shadows Hide You,
Sozun Croz
I hope the clan is well. I will see that I join you all when I can... But for now, fate calls to me and I must answer. I spoke to you once about the path of a Dark Priest. Now I go off to find one who can help me fulfill that destiny. When next I return, I hope to be more powerful than ever...
Shadows Hide You,
Sozun Croz