The black magic that flowed through his blood had distorted him into a monster something more than a man. His existence now hung on one desire: flesh and soul. He had savored the depths, and the depths now called for its payment. The pain of his corruption, the anguish of his very soul being ripped asunder, left him hungering for more. More to satiate the ravenous beast that now dwelled within him.Thus, he departed the burning rubble of his prison. The Citadel, the site of his birth and betrayal, was a thing of the past. It had no hold on him. He would etch his revenge into the very earth that had abandoned him, and the first step was to feed.He had not forgotten the most basic of ploys the art of disguise. Even in his new, monstrous body, Vosvak had not lost the power to conceal his real self. He must entice someone, someone foolish, someone who would not doubt the weakness of an old man in need of assistance.As he approached the closest village, the smell of death and rot clung t
The air itself appeared to vibrate with his words, suspended in the darkness as they weighed heavy with an electric threat of destruction. His wings extended outward, sending a wide, ominous shadow across the walls that now shuddered with fear of the destruction he was about to wreak. Those formerly unbreakable shackles which had held him captive in this doomed room now rested shattered upon the ground, shattered by his unyielding strength, by the darkness that had consumed him.Vosvak alone in the epicenter of his rebirth. The darkness that had engulfed him now a living entity alive, writhing, curling within him, driving him on, promising him in hushed tones eternal destruction. The chill stone walls of the room, formerly a cell, now a memory. He was outside of containment now. Outside of anything he had been before.With every raw gasp of breath, his body thrummed with strength the darkness churning beneath his flesh, consuming what little humanity was left within him. It had been a
"AHhhhhhhh!!" Vosvak screamed, his voice breaking the stillness of the room, a raw cry of pain that rang out through the empty stone walls. His body shook with wild convulsions, blood bursting from the deep fissures which scarred his flesh as if the very essence of his soul was being ripped asunder. His veins throbbed with a putrid black ichor, the toxin of the dark sorcery now coursing through every part of his body. His bones creaked and splintered, reforming in response to the demoniacal energy he had called upon.For an instant, he was motionless, as if the world had stopped. His breathing was labored, his chest rising and falling as if the air itself was too heavy to breathe in. And then, in earnest, the change started. The shadows, the fire and brimstone, curled around him, eating into his body, consuming his humanity in a slow, torturous process.His fists formed into claws, nails digging deep into his palms as his body started to twist, spasming with agony. His skin bubbled an
"Come to us, Vosvak…"The voice was low and guttural, like the growl of some primeval monster. It was inside his head, and outside in the air, all around him, and its presence alone made a shiver crawl down his backbone."You have given your soul… now you must accept the gift you have called for."The black smoke writhed, heavy and malignant, tendrils of night darkening and reaching out towards him like grasping fingers. Vosvak's breath froze in his lungs, and he could feel the blood running through his veins grow cold. The dark magic that he had invoked was no longer merely a concept, a shadow of something far away and taboo. It was tangible. It was present. And it was starved.His fingers quivered, unable to fight the summons. His fists clenched, the burning welts of the blood he had shed still warm on his hands, and of their own accord, the air thickened, became heavier, like something pressing against his chest. The blood on the floor started to move, swirling in impossible motion
Vosvak's eyes blazed with a hot light as he stood at the center of the room, his arms outstretched as if calling the very fabric of the universe to be forced into his command. The air seemed to throb with the naked power of the dark magic that coursed through him, its whispers now thundering, calling him forward. His heartbeat pounded with it. The chains were lost, broken apart on the floor, but it was his soul his very essence that was now chained to something much worse.He had reached the point of no return. His mind was no longer his own; it was engulfed in the blaze of sorrow and fury which was now his all-consuming aim. The death of Perfera, his sweet daughter, had broken him. And now, it was the source of his strength.With a raw snarl, Vosvak started chanting, his voice deep and primitive, a beat like an ancient pulse. The words flowed easily to him, as if the very atmosphere had been permeated with them, biding its time until that moment they would be invoked. Words unspoken
The shadow within the inner chamber appeared to suck Vosvak Spade Il'Sharak in, as if the hand of the land itself grasped to devour him. The chains that bound him against the rock walls gouged into his body, each link burdened with the weight of his anger and grief. He stood there, gasping, eyes protruding with fury, his head a maelstrom of grief and fury. His figure trembled, but not from chill. It was from the fire that burned inside of him the insatiable wrath of a bereaved father.Perfera was dead.Dead.The words echoed in his mind like a cursed refrain, unending, strangling him. His daughter, his legacy, the one he had brought up to inherit his power, to carry on his dark lineage.dead. Murdered. Erased. Taken from him in a violent act as foolish as it was vicious.His breath was lodged in his throat, his chest tightening as his heart shattered all over again."They murdered her." Vosvak snarled, his voice raw and jagged, as if the words themselves were tearing him apart. The wor