Post by Akuyim on Apr 12, 2009 23:50:31 GMT -5
I sit here staring at the Black King. I wonder even as I write these words, if my plan succeeded or should I chalk it up to a failure. Clearly with all his talk about being able to speak to whales to divine the future, he had already lost what little sense he had.
Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t have risked it all and put him out of his misery that day back in the inn during our chess game. I had gone there with the expressed intent of turning him back to what he was, who he should be, but the fates conspired against me that day. The inn was littered with the shattered remains of people who think I wronged them in one form or another. I was barely able to get a word in edgewise, before one of the pathetic miscreants would vomit forth some nugget of despair. How can one concentrate on the simple task of destroying the very essence of person when everyone else was so convinced that I was the source of all of their problems.
I digress, I am drifting onto a tangent. Low and behold, I feigned poor play, and conceded the game to Danzy. I took the Black King with me. It was a reminder, that while he may have “won” the game, I would still be waiting. And wait I did.
Months ago, I received word from Danzy wishing to speak with me. Ah what luck I thought. A chance to have a second go with him, and tear him apart from the inside. This time, I wanted to make sure things were different, that he was on my terms, my battlefield.
He met me alone in Hammerfall, as per our agreement. My apprentice Abuna, was waiting nearby, she would play a pivotal, yet mostly silent role much later.
We bantered wittily. Then came the serious topic of the new plague, the role of certain individuals in the Undercity (myself included), and his accepting the role of some sort of investigator or some such thing, I didn’t pay attention to that minute detail, when there was something so much bigger lurking before me.
He offered me a truce, not only that, a chance to work side by side, like we did in the first days. I nearly bit at that, but oh no. I would not be blamed by proxy for the fall of Danzy. If Danzy were to fall and become twisted and corrupted, I would have to willingly force my hand. Working side by side, if he fell, of course I would be blamed. No, I needed something far more insidious.
I refused. I cant tell if it was pain or relief that flashed across his face at that very moment. My plan would have to be put to task. I confided in him what I knew and if he wanted to know more, he would have to follow me. Part of me wondered if he would buy it, but as I heard the footsteps behind me, I already knew.
It would simply take one push to drive him over the edge, I had seen it and heard it in his words. All that concern for the things he laughingly calls a family and girlfriend or whatever term he uses. His fall would be glorious, and my apprentice, needed to witness it. She needed to see that, one as holy and faithful as Danzy could be tempted, swayed and consumed by the Darkness.
We rode out of Hammerfall, speaking of things that had been kept mostly secret about the new plague, who was ultimately responsible, what the fall of the Undercity actually meant to the brave men and women who slaved for years concocting the brew, the betrayals and the utter chaos all this invoked in the wake. Even I had not foreseen the war with the alliance in Northrend, but I am more then happy for its presence.
I digress, once more, this tangent business must stop. We slowed to a stop where my apprentice was waiting, she rode up next to me. She smiled brightly and spoke.
“Hello Master.” she bowed her head.
I could feel Danzy tense and glared at me a moment, before turning his gaze between the two of us. I turned my horse to face him. “Was ist die Bedeutung von dies?”
I sighed at him as he spoke Gutterspeak. “You do know it is very rude to speak our tongue, in the presence of a woman. Anything that you can say to me, can be said in front of her. I am very disappointed in you Danzy, I had thought you were better than that.”
I turned part way away from him. I had hoped that would work and it did. I could play Danzy like I used to play my violin.
He spoke. “I am very sorry Miss, I wasn’t thinking. Please forgive me.”
She simply nodded. I urged all of us on. It was only a little further. It was then I would know if he could be pushed or if I would have to destroy him outright.
He did not realize all that I had in store for him. If he did, he would have fled as fast as his wolf would carry him. We pulled up in front of Stromgarde. The birthplace of myself, and the grave of the one simply known as “The Butcher”.
I glanced at Danzy out of the corner of my eye. He was frozen in terror, his mind reeling. It is so hard to believe that the thing I see before me now was the dreaded “Butcher” of Stromgarde.
“You have nothing to fear Danzy. You are over what you were, right? I mean if you are truly changed, you have nothing to fear.”
My words abate his terror. I am lying through my teeth, but it prompts him to move forward, he has so much more to fear by moving forward. Again, I simply told him what he needed to hear, that he was a changed man, he isn’t, he will never be. He moved forward, prompted by the chance to show me how changed he was and that there was hope for my own salvation. So utterly predictable, I may as well been writing a silver piece novel.
Three riders move out from Stromgarde to intercept us. I have no time for such games. I quickly dismount. Even before they have time to close the gap, I harness the power of my Darkness. Lances of dark hate erupt from the ground impaling man and beast alike, carrying them several feet in the air. I leave them there for several moments before willing the Darkness to subside, haphazardly they crash to the ground. All of them quite dead.
I look at him. He knows in that very instant, that I have powers equal to or surpass his own in the Light. “Was that really necessary?” he asks as we march past their mutilated corpses.
“Yes.” I reply with a slight shrug.
We make it past the gate. We pause in the entrance way. He stops and fidgets slightly, his mind is already reliving events from the past.
“You know Danzy, we can never change who we are. We are the Forsaken, we are eternal. Our lots are chosen in life and we are made for great things. You were forged into greatness by ‘The Butcher’, you will always be ‘The Butcher’, you are not, nor have you ever truly been the self-proclaimed ‘Mouth of Peace’. At best, you have managed to bury the essence of what made you, you. Perhaps it is time you learned to harness ‘The Butcher’ again. He would be of use to you in these dark times.”
I turn to face him, waiting to see if he calls me on my faulty logic. He could easily turn the argument against me. He knew what I was like before this. Although, I would have said I did not change, but evolved. I am hoping he would have called me on that technicality as well. I did not need to worry. He was too far lost in his own head to realize the difference. My words, squirming and rifling through his head, were already blazing a trail for his corruption and fall.
I saw a thief approaching us. With a thought a set him on fire and then let him explode, collapsing to the ground in a charred heap. Danzy shook his head and looked at me, the man’s final scream piercing what was left of Danzy’s skull.
A second thief was approaching behind me from the shadows, I knew he was there. I made a subtle gesture to my apprentice, letting her know, she was not to interfere and “rescue” me from my fate. I twisted my head to one side and began to speak to Danzy, but my words were lost to him. He was for all intents and purposes too far gone.
With a quick movement, magic flared from his fingers, striking the thief behind me dead. I don’t know what it was Danzy saw, was it the thief or was it simply a child or a woman or man that he had killed once before. The bloodlust overtook him though, he gleefully killed a dozen more of these vagabonds, cackling as he went. Until he stopped...
I think he finally realized that the maniacal laughter that had been ringing in his ears was his own and not mine. He looked at me, almost like a frightened child, he knew he had fallen, he knew he was not the ‘Mouth of Peace’ anymore, he was something else.
“Even you are not immune to the corrupting power of the Darkness Danzy. You are not the ‘Mouth of Peace’, you are something else, an amalgamation of what you were and what you think you are. You deserve a new name befitting your status.”
He began to back away from me, staring blankly at his hands, as if they would simply undo all the death he had ever caused.
“I dub thee, the ‘Butcher of Peace’”
I began to cackle loudly. I am sure it pressed hard against his skull, vibrating the very bone. He had to leave. In his usually flare for the dramatics, he summoned forth a pillar of light, perhaps something he could take comfort in, im sure it failed. He vanished in the blink of an eye.
It has been months since that very day. I have not heard nor seen anything of Danzy. Surely, I would have heard something by now if he had remained ‘The Butcher’, he would have surely slaughtered something by now. Likewise, had he managed to gain control of the ‘Mouth of Peace’, he would have at least sent word exclaiming my gambit was well played but in the end a failure. I have simply heard nothing...
I wonder if he has finally perished. That somber thought staggers me a moment, as much as I hate all things and want to see this world burn at my feet, I would miss Danzy. Danzy, my greatest friend.
I salute you my brother. However, if you still lurk out there in the periphery like a cowardly dog, your tail between your legs, you are better then that. I will put you out of your misery.
((My entry in Danzy's competition.))
Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t have risked it all and put him out of his misery that day back in the inn during our chess game. I had gone there with the expressed intent of turning him back to what he was, who he should be, but the fates conspired against me that day. The inn was littered with the shattered remains of people who think I wronged them in one form or another. I was barely able to get a word in edgewise, before one of the pathetic miscreants would vomit forth some nugget of despair. How can one concentrate on the simple task of destroying the very essence of person when everyone else was so convinced that I was the source of all of their problems.
I digress, I am drifting onto a tangent. Low and behold, I feigned poor play, and conceded the game to Danzy. I took the Black King with me. It was a reminder, that while he may have “won” the game, I would still be waiting. And wait I did.
Months ago, I received word from Danzy wishing to speak with me. Ah what luck I thought. A chance to have a second go with him, and tear him apart from the inside. This time, I wanted to make sure things were different, that he was on my terms, my battlefield.
He met me alone in Hammerfall, as per our agreement. My apprentice Abuna, was waiting nearby, she would play a pivotal, yet mostly silent role much later.
We bantered wittily. Then came the serious topic of the new plague, the role of certain individuals in the Undercity (myself included), and his accepting the role of some sort of investigator or some such thing, I didn’t pay attention to that minute detail, when there was something so much bigger lurking before me.
He offered me a truce, not only that, a chance to work side by side, like we did in the first days. I nearly bit at that, but oh no. I would not be blamed by proxy for the fall of Danzy. If Danzy were to fall and become twisted and corrupted, I would have to willingly force my hand. Working side by side, if he fell, of course I would be blamed. No, I needed something far more insidious.
I refused. I cant tell if it was pain or relief that flashed across his face at that very moment. My plan would have to be put to task. I confided in him what I knew and if he wanted to know more, he would have to follow me. Part of me wondered if he would buy it, but as I heard the footsteps behind me, I already knew.
It would simply take one push to drive him over the edge, I had seen it and heard it in his words. All that concern for the things he laughingly calls a family and girlfriend or whatever term he uses. His fall would be glorious, and my apprentice, needed to witness it. She needed to see that, one as holy and faithful as Danzy could be tempted, swayed and consumed by the Darkness.
We rode out of Hammerfall, speaking of things that had been kept mostly secret about the new plague, who was ultimately responsible, what the fall of the Undercity actually meant to the brave men and women who slaved for years concocting the brew, the betrayals and the utter chaos all this invoked in the wake. Even I had not foreseen the war with the alliance in Northrend, but I am more then happy for its presence.
I digress, once more, this tangent business must stop. We slowed to a stop where my apprentice was waiting, she rode up next to me. She smiled brightly and spoke.
“Hello Master.” she bowed her head.
I could feel Danzy tense and glared at me a moment, before turning his gaze between the two of us. I turned my horse to face him. “Was ist die Bedeutung von dies?”
I sighed at him as he spoke Gutterspeak. “You do know it is very rude to speak our tongue, in the presence of a woman. Anything that you can say to me, can be said in front of her. I am very disappointed in you Danzy, I had thought you were better than that.”
I turned part way away from him. I had hoped that would work and it did. I could play Danzy like I used to play my violin.
He spoke. “I am very sorry Miss, I wasn’t thinking. Please forgive me.”
She simply nodded. I urged all of us on. It was only a little further. It was then I would know if he could be pushed or if I would have to destroy him outright.
He did not realize all that I had in store for him. If he did, he would have fled as fast as his wolf would carry him. We pulled up in front of Stromgarde. The birthplace of myself, and the grave of the one simply known as “The Butcher”.
I glanced at Danzy out of the corner of my eye. He was frozen in terror, his mind reeling. It is so hard to believe that the thing I see before me now was the dreaded “Butcher” of Stromgarde.
“You have nothing to fear Danzy. You are over what you were, right? I mean if you are truly changed, you have nothing to fear.”
My words abate his terror. I am lying through my teeth, but it prompts him to move forward, he has so much more to fear by moving forward. Again, I simply told him what he needed to hear, that he was a changed man, he isn’t, he will never be. He moved forward, prompted by the chance to show me how changed he was and that there was hope for my own salvation. So utterly predictable, I may as well been writing a silver piece novel.
Three riders move out from Stromgarde to intercept us. I have no time for such games. I quickly dismount. Even before they have time to close the gap, I harness the power of my Darkness. Lances of dark hate erupt from the ground impaling man and beast alike, carrying them several feet in the air. I leave them there for several moments before willing the Darkness to subside, haphazardly they crash to the ground. All of them quite dead.
I look at him. He knows in that very instant, that I have powers equal to or surpass his own in the Light. “Was that really necessary?” he asks as we march past their mutilated corpses.
“Yes.” I reply with a slight shrug.
We make it past the gate. We pause in the entrance way. He stops and fidgets slightly, his mind is already reliving events from the past.
“You know Danzy, we can never change who we are. We are the Forsaken, we are eternal. Our lots are chosen in life and we are made for great things. You were forged into greatness by ‘The Butcher’, you will always be ‘The Butcher’, you are not, nor have you ever truly been the self-proclaimed ‘Mouth of Peace’. At best, you have managed to bury the essence of what made you, you. Perhaps it is time you learned to harness ‘The Butcher’ again. He would be of use to you in these dark times.”
I turn to face him, waiting to see if he calls me on my faulty logic. He could easily turn the argument against me. He knew what I was like before this. Although, I would have said I did not change, but evolved. I am hoping he would have called me on that technicality as well. I did not need to worry. He was too far lost in his own head to realize the difference. My words, squirming and rifling through his head, were already blazing a trail for his corruption and fall.
I saw a thief approaching us. With a thought a set him on fire and then let him explode, collapsing to the ground in a charred heap. Danzy shook his head and looked at me, the man’s final scream piercing what was left of Danzy’s skull.
A second thief was approaching behind me from the shadows, I knew he was there. I made a subtle gesture to my apprentice, letting her know, she was not to interfere and “rescue” me from my fate. I twisted my head to one side and began to speak to Danzy, but my words were lost to him. He was for all intents and purposes too far gone.
With a quick movement, magic flared from his fingers, striking the thief behind me dead. I don’t know what it was Danzy saw, was it the thief or was it simply a child or a woman or man that he had killed once before. The bloodlust overtook him though, he gleefully killed a dozen more of these vagabonds, cackling as he went. Until he stopped...
I think he finally realized that the maniacal laughter that had been ringing in his ears was his own and not mine. He looked at me, almost like a frightened child, he knew he had fallen, he knew he was not the ‘Mouth of Peace’ anymore, he was something else.
“Even you are not immune to the corrupting power of the Darkness Danzy. You are not the ‘Mouth of Peace’, you are something else, an amalgamation of what you were and what you think you are. You deserve a new name befitting your status.”
He began to back away from me, staring blankly at his hands, as if they would simply undo all the death he had ever caused.
“I dub thee, the ‘Butcher of Peace’”
I began to cackle loudly. I am sure it pressed hard against his skull, vibrating the very bone. He had to leave. In his usually flare for the dramatics, he summoned forth a pillar of light, perhaps something he could take comfort in, im sure it failed. He vanished in the blink of an eye.
It has been months since that very day. I have not heard nor seen anything of Danzy. Surely, I would have heard something by now if he had remained ‘The Butcher’, he would have surely slaughtered something by now. Likewise, had he managed to gain control of the ‘Mouth of Peace’, he would have at least sent word exclaiming my gambit was well played but in the end a failure. I have simply heard nothing...
I wonder if he has finally perished. That somber thought staggers me a moment, as much as I hate all things and want to see this world burn at my feet, I would miss Danzy. Danzy, my greatest friend.
I salute you my brother. However, if you still lurk out there in the periphery like a cowardly dog, your tail between your legs, you are better then that. I will put you out of your misery.
((My entry in Danzy's competition.))