Conquest of the Horde

Sozun had sent him there. He had yet to truly understand why, but Gorose sat atop the high hill obediently. “Find yourself, then come back to me,” the Shadow Ascendant had said. His shadowy arm touched the back of his head. “No, in fact, I’ll find you when you’re prepared.” So there, atop the hill, he sat. Gorose wanted to Ascend with all his being, but the Ascendant himself had questioned if his motives were true. And so there he sat. He waited, he sat, he closed his eyes. He was to not remove himself from that hill until he had found his true reasoning behind his journey.

There he perched, atop the mountain, eyes closed. He began remembering. Before his eyes flashed his past. He remembered. First, he remembered his death. He saw himself in the moments before he died. The timid young man stood in the middle of the dark city of Stratholme. The newest shipment of grain had come in, and something was wrong... People were getting sick. Within a week, the Undead were ransacking the city, and a young Gorose stood on the corner of the market street. An older, Forsaken Gorose watched from above as his younger self was disemboweled by a ghoul, a mindless zombie servant of the Lich King. The man screamed, arms shaking violently, clutching his stomach. By the time he had died, his intestines, and the contents thereof, laid in the streets, trampled over by the mobs of people and Undead.

He saw, again. He saw himself as a member of the mindless hordes. He saw himself, as he murdered a family, dismembering the father, only to stuff his Undead face full of meat. The man's wife and children sat, screaming, in the corner. They were next. The wife's throat was cut, and the children's heads, along with spines, were removed with a few rough, bloody yanks. Gorose gorged himself on their meat, as well. He watched himself as he kicked a pile of embers across the floor on accident, sparking the house. One of the children had escaped detection, but it was a goner now. He watched the house burst into flames, incinerating any within. It wasn't unique; it was happening all across the former Lordaeron kingdom. He hated it.

He saw his release from his first prison; he watched the Banshee Queen tear down the walls, letting her minions free. He saw the arrow pierce the chest of his forsaken King, and saw him flee into the night. Good riddance, was the only thing the disembodied consciousness thought, as he witnessed his past. He witnessed all the events that made him bitter in his new life, in fast-forward. He watched. and could do nothing to stop it. It enraged him beyond all possible belief, as he was so helpless when faced with the inevitable downfall of his own people.

He saw his future. Not just his, but that of all of his people. He saw their downfall, as the brain-rot set in. He saw their collapse, as they reverted to the mindless beings they had been under the Lich King. He roared in anger, frustration, almost of fear, as he looked deep into the dark abyss that was his future. But there was still hope. He saw a different future. He saw an alternative future, one of Ascendancy. One of power. Where every one of his brethren had Ascended, become something more; they had perfected their Undeath. They had achieved a perfect balance. They were whole again.

He awoke, and Sozun stood before him, expecting, knowing. ”Something has occurred, no? I can tell... You are changed.” Gorose simply nodded and stood.

He thought of the puny Humans, and their god-worship. They worship their gods, we simply become them.

The two had arrived in a small valley in the north of the Barrens earlier that day. They found a small abandoned home, along with a ramshackle cart, some crates, a rusted-out anvil and a long-dead forge. The two assumed that it had belonged to some hermit of a smith some time before, and settled in, unpacking their materials as they settled in for the day. Due to the Ascendant’s nature, travel was only truly possible after sunset, when he could be most easily hidden. Otherwise, the two relaxed and stayed hidden from prying eyes. Today was different, though.

Gorose looked around him, then at Sozun. A frown creeped across his face, as he examined the shadowy man before him, as well as his surroundings. "This is where it begins, then?" Sozun nodded at Gorose, "Today, I will continue teaching you the advanced arts..." He sat down, looking at Gorose, "Now, I remember giving you a lesson in summoning... Tell me, what other skills do you possess?"

Gorose began tugging on his fingers as he verbally recounted a series of skills. "I've trained in striking fear into my opponents, infiltrating their minds, and breaking their wills." He shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“Then we will focus today on the art of inflicting pain and death.. And if we have time before nightfall so we may travel... perhaps higher summoning.” The hollow voice of the Ascendant echoed across the small valley in which they sat.

Gorose noded curtly. "Where do we begin?"

“The Forgotten Shadow preaches that for us to become gods we must impose our will on the universe... And through shadow we learn to do just that correct? No doubt when you break a man's will, you prove that your's is greater and thus worthy of control.”

Gorose muttered lowly, "... Yes, that is correct."

Sozun paused before continuing, "The arts of pain and death are no different.... Imposing your will on that person... But instead of forcing them to become subservient... You force them to suffer." He motioned to one of the Zhevra walking among the plains, "For example... To a creature, whose will is weak... whose mind can be broken." Sozun's eyes focused and suddenly the Zhevra began to tremble and whine, falling to the ground. “You must only touch their mind in a similar way... And then force that feeling of physical pain within them. Go on and try for yourself.”

Gorose turned to witness the collapse of the Zhevra behind him. His brow furrowed as he contemplated what Sozun did to the creature. He focused on a second Zhreva some distance further than the first. He connected himself to it, just as he would if he were attempting to control its mind. Instead, he forced upon it a feeling of hatred and pain, and watched it shudder and scream.

Sozun didn’t even seem to awknowledge Gorose's sucess, continuing on, "Now, there are two kinds of pain. What we have both inflicted is a physical pain that flows through the body.... But there is also mental anguish, which works very similarly to fear." He paused, before continuing. “For the sentinet being.... a painful memory or experience rising to the surface of their mind can be one thousand times more effective than any physical torture.”

Gorose turned to face the Ascendant once more. "I assume you wish me to practice that?"

The Ascendant merely stated, “Yes. With such simple minded creatures you can just tear through their minds until you've found the appropriate memory. Perhaps an encounter with a hunter, something of the like. Then make that memory resonate through the creature's being.”

Gorose nodded, turning to face a young Plainstrider. He cracked his knuckles and proceeded to drill into the Plainstrider's mind, ripping it asunder for a memory. During this time, Sozun waited patiently. Gorose growled lowly, having found nothing. In a matter of moments, he caused the Plainstrider to fall to the ground, kicking and screaming, before falling limp. "Nothing of note... Too young to have encountered the world." He proceeded to target another. “Try again,” was the Ascendant’s chosen remark. Gorose smirked as his mind came across an older, fully-grown Strider. He proceeded to delve into its mind, until he found what he wanted. Suddenly, the poor little being began wailing, wallowing in the dirt beneath itself, as he began to force upon it a scene of its young being devoured by plains lions.

Sozun glanced from Gorose to the plain strider before speaking, "Now. There is a problem with this skill. Can you guess what it is?" The young Priest turned back to the Ascendant, shaking his head slowly. "I only assume it deals with my inability to act otherwise..."

Sozun shaked his head. “A sentinet being has a will of their own, far stronger than that of a Barrens Strider. You can be resisted or shut out completely from just tearing through the mind of another... Against another priest you may even put yourself in danger.” He stopped a moment, before continuing his speech. “Finding a painful memory is not an easy thing... Our fear spells normally call upon the fear of someone else without the caster actually learning that fear themself... This improved pain spell does not give you that luxary. Be wary of using it.” Sozun looked at Gorose directly, "But once you have such a memory.... The power you hold over that person is immense."

Gorose hung his head slightly, it bobbing up and down in thought. "Obtaining the information is difficult, but the knowledge itself... Invaluable, I assume, is what you are saying?" Sozun noded. “Exactly. Now. If you are ready, we will discuss death.” This elicited a curt and obedient nod from the pupi.l "I am prepared." Sozun began to speak in his low, echoing tone, "To cause Death by an exertion of personal will on a sentient being may be far too advanced. Such a spell truly leaves you at danger of your own magic if not strong enough." The student’s meek response came forth: "So, there is a way around that, I assume...?"

Sozun grunted. “Yes. There is always a way around. Two ways, actually. Choose those who you cast this spell on wisely... Or become strong enough that you're certain none has will greater than your own.” Gorose turned around, facing the area around them. He noticed the Plainstrider from before dragging itself to its feet, and pointed at it. "Shall we use that one as an example?"

Sozun looked to the creature, eyes lighting up with a dim purple outline before suddenly the strider let out a final cry as shadow rushed through its body and it fell dead. Sozun turned back to Gorose, seeming to finally awknowledge him somewhat positively, "Very good. Whether you recognized it or not when you chose that strider, you picked a prime target. The weak barely have the power to resist your will." Gorose stepped forward and prodded the creature with his foot. "Amazing... Now, how do I do this?" He noticed the praise and smiled inwardly.

The Ascendant’s voice came hollow and dark. “To cause death... You must once again touch the mind and then, force your will. Some focus these sort of spells through rites... Others through words of dark binding. But at its most basic root you force death upon your opponent and the Shadow you command does so.” Simultaneously, the two, mentor and pupil, looked above to see the sun setting over the hills. Silently, they performed the same ritual they had over the past several nights: packing up from camp and moving further northward through the Barrens.