"Momma! Momma!" the little colt screamed, writhing in the dirt as he tried and failed to get to his hooves again and again. His mothers screams rung in the air with the clarity of a bell, reverberating throughout the dying town and mingling with other blood curtling noises. I watched this pitiful foal slowly succumb to the necrotic energies slowly sapping the life from the very earth around me, and I felt nothing. I watched as his body shuddered one last time, a faint little breathy whisper of "momma..." escaping his lips as he breathed his last.
I watched as his body sat up slowly a few scant moments later and turned unblinking and horribly vacant eyes to me, jaw hanging slack as the new little ghoul rose up to do my bidding... Rose up to help tear apart the village that until a moment ago had been home, had been safe for these ponies... Had been blessedly ignorant of the fact that there are worse things out there than Diamond Dogs, and far far worse things than death. Turning my head skyward I howled, the eerie sound echoing with the reverberating quality that marked a death knight's words and showed just a part of their unnatural existence.
I turned my attention to the axe I held in my hand, the leather grip seemed made to fit it perfectly. The dark wooden and slightly curved haft of the axe was as blood stained as the old black iron axe head that topped it, the same axe head that I could feel baying for blood... Gods help me I gave it what it wanted that day, gave it all it wanted and more. Damn me for a demon or a monster, but I enjoyed it too, the satisfaction rolling off that axe spoke right to me, resonating with some slumbering beast within... And they were made for one another.
Those memories still haunt me, that first time I truly gave in to my nature and enjoyed it to its fullest. They don't haunt me because I feel what I did was wrong, no I know it was, they haunt me because I just don't care. They stay with me because, deep down I know that I've done so much worse by the standards of the ponies, by human standards for that matter, and I still just don't care. I know why I don't have a heart beat, and its not just because I'm undead... Its because Elune dropped me here as exactly what a death knight is meant to be... A force of dark, bloody, and violent change that brings death and decay in its wake, freezes solid that which opposes it, and bathes in the blood of the innocent as it wades through the oceans of sanguine vitae it spills. This is what I am now... And I embrace that fully. Ah, but I get ahead of myself here, and jumping ahead in a story is a big no no for me, so allow me to set us back on track dear readers, back to the night after I wiped the town of Colt's Breath off the map and feed one hundred new souls to my axe. Back to the night I finally realised just how nice it is to let go of that moral highground and sink right down to the level of those who'd try and claim the darkness for their own...
When I left that town I left with my new weapon slung over my back, stuck there somehow, I honestly have no clue. I suspect biomagnets or some such bullshit. I left with tears in my eyes, dirt staining my fur and mingling with the blood into a reddish brown mud that matted down the fur of my hands something awful. I left with the knowledge that even after I'd killed them all, either with blade or by forcing their undead loved ones to tear them limb from limb, I'd at least buried the foals properly. I'd cast a glance back over my shoulder at the nine little graves in the center of town, marked with crude wooden crosses, and drew some measure of solace from that. I wasn't a complete monster, I didn't raise them intentionally... That one colt and been accidental after all.
Gah, enough of that mopey shit. I left that blighted and dead town behind and aside from that single glance, I didn't look back. I had plenty ahead of me to occupy my attention. Seems I hadn't gotten all the Diamond Dogs down in those tunnels, there were a handful of escapees and they stood at the treeline, watching as I came closer with looks of almost religious rapture plastered on their faces.
"Great demon..." they whispered as I walked past them, "Bloody handed goddess... Death bringer, Life ender, most deserving of praise..." Don't ask me where the sniveling little fucks got a thesaurus, but apparently they added some basic english skills to their repertoire of tricks over the few days since I turned their whole world upside down and lopped it off at the neck.
I stopped in my tracks, turning back to face them as the whispered increasingly elaborate titles and piled them at my feet like offerings at a temple. When I'd had enough of it I let out a low rumbling growl and let my power roll free, freezing the ground at my feet. "What do you want you little shits?" I asked them, quite nicely all things considered, I mean I coulda just killed them after all. Aren't I such a nice chick when I wanna be?
"To go where you lead..." they said, speaking in a creepy sort of unison, all at once kowtowing to me. It was flattering in a way to know I'd broken these dogs so badly that they looked at me as some sort of vengeful deity. Flattering enough that I took them up on their little offer after a few moments thought.
"Who is chief among you?" I asked them, watching as one dog, slightly larger than the other twelves stepped forward... Well crawled really, like a good little submissive dog that he was. It took a moment to get him to stand upright, but when he did I looked him dead in the eye and found a feverish fanatical devotion staring me back with an unwavering strength.
"Why do you want to follow me Dog?" I asked him, and his response was predictable enough I suppose. I mean, seriously, how fucking cliche can you get?
"You are strong, you are alpha of alphas... We wish to be your pack."
That's honestly how I got my real start here in this world, got headed down the path I took to where I am now, but again that's getting ahead of the story. That's also how the cult of Wulf began, with thirteen dogs supplicating themselves to something they saw as their new god. They were rewarded for it too, made into something to better spread the word among other packs, to bring more to my cause and unite them under a single banner... So to speak, I didn't have a banner then.
The moon rise that night saw thirteen new undead sent out into the world, their eyes glowing with the icy blue flames of their leader's power... Hey I can wax poetic about making some D-Dogs into pseudo death knights, so meh to you all.
To be dead honest I really just did all that because I'd had my fill of killing that day, and frankly didn't have it in me to lop off any more heads, rend any more flesh, or horrifically maim anything else. I just wanted to be alone, and if it took starting a death cult to do it, by thunder that's what I'd do.
Sighing quietly I sat my furry ass down on the earth and leaned back against a tree to watch the moon rise over the clearing in which the village sat, looking peaceful under the silver glow of Luna's celestial charge. As I watched I wondered if I really had any reason to be here than some arbitrary quest from a goddess who just wanted a pawn in a grand chess game with undefined rules. I mean seriously, what was the point in taking a gamer like me, robbing him of his dangly parts, slapping him with the great estrogen makeover, and giving him the form and power of his MMORPG character? Seriously... That about sums it up doesn't it? Either way, I was here now and I didn't know why.
....ten
What the hell?
Lis...en
Ok... Apparently I was going nuts and hearing voices in my head, joy of joys, just what I needed at the moment.
Listen to me...
Ok... Sexy voices I'll admit. If you had to be hearing voices hissing in the back of your skull, who better than Morgan Fucking Freeman's voice? Well... It sounded like him anyways.
Ah... There we are. Now then bearer mine, take me up and carve thine name into the face of this world. Drench me in the vitae of those who'd dare to stand too tall in your path, let me drink of their heartsblood. I am Pravus, I am the malevolent edge of immoral perversions... Yes that's a bit long winded, but it all boils down to this. Imma axe, now go find some shit to kill with me or I swear I'll start singing show tunes.
I take it back... No one would want Morgan Freeman's voice in their head making demands like that... Even if he can make anything sound pretty fucking amazing.
I reached up and took hold of my apparent chatter box of a killing tool and held it up to inspect it properly for the first time. It looked plain enough, black and very old iron on a wooden haft. Thing is, it was so stained with blood that I almost missed the little rune carved on the axe head, right where the blade met haft. It whispered its meaning to me, same as my old axe had, and I blinked in surprise at what it said. "Rune Wulf." My name, on an ancient and sentient weapon that felt so very right in my hands... Yeah... Creepy right? Either way it was mine. Had my name on it any everything! Not to mention I'm pretty damn sure it was soulbound. Don't ask how, but it was meant for me and me for it. Rune and Pravus, two halves of a whole. An axe and a hand to swing it.
Still... It made me want to throw the damn thing into the nearest lake. Last thing I wanted was a voice in my head telling me to go kill shit for fun and profit... What's that? It said nothing about profit? Well I did, so there. Murder for fun and profit as directed by Rune Wulf and the rather vocal weapon in her hands. There will be enough explosions to make Michael Bay feel like he needed more. Coming to a theatre near you sometime in the far distant future.
Bah, I've rambled enough for one sitting. I'm a busy death knight. You all can wait a bit longer for more of this story, I have an invasion to plan after all, can't put that off just to reminisce about the past with my former people now can I? Tatty-bye for now readers... I suggest you try not to clamber all over the poor fellow I've got writing all this down for me, bad enough that he wears that weird hat of his all the time. Who the fuck wears a wide brimmed hat these days?
Oot owzlander good
2961006
Eh? yes I was vaguely referencing Navi the fairy...
2961014
No just making a joke and also that axe is like the horseless headless horsemann's axe from team fortress 2
2961026
Wouldn't know. Didn't play a lot of TF2 XD
2961033
his axe only says "HEADS HEADS HEADS"
2961061
XD Nice... I'm tempted to post up the headless waltz just because.
2961074
do it.
2961078
Did it
2961098
nice song.
2961113
Gotta love Voltaire, he's deliciously funny and just shy of being dark.
2961127
Hey my family kept all of my ancestors weapons one of the biggest we have is limbseverer a 20 battleaxe that has blood still on it's heads.
2961143
Cool. I was always more of a sword and shield guy myself, but I know how to use an axe. Lots of time at a ren fair
2961182
ha you think those can compare to old limbsever it was made for my ancestor from a legion of Rome personally crafted for him. And also the blood wont come off.
2961197
History adds weight to a weapon and a burden to the one who wields it later. Ever warrior should find his own weapon and concern himself not with the honors of his forefathers. Let one's own accolades stem from their own deeds alone, not bolstered by a famous weapon.
2961220
Yes but my family bolsters our ancestors fame while using there weapons.
2961227
I'd rather honor my ancestors with a sacred grove and following the tenets of my religion. Weapons have their place, but should never be the first thing one reaches for. If I had my choice of weapons it would be a staff every time. Incapacitate, don't kill. Life is a sacred thing not to be taken before it's time is naturally done.
I turned their who world upside down and lopped it off at the neck.
whole world
"To go where you lead..." they said, speaking in a creepy sort of unison, all at once kow towing to me
Kowtow is one word
And thanks for the accreditation.
2961255
yes but when they come to kill you meet them with double the weapons.
my family is nothing more than warriors.
we fight we die.
And also that is my way of honoring my family without being called a daisy muncher
2961270 Thanks, and I hate my keyboard sometimes XD I type whole, bloody thing decided that the last two letters were not required apparently.
2961274
That's kinda what I said... Just in a bit more flowery a manner.
2961255 Iron staff any day of the week.
And by the way, put her up against some huge dragon! That'dd be awesome.
2961591
Nah, dragons are overdone, why not something people tend to ignore because it never got a lot of attention? Anypony know what a Lyndwyrm is? Well a Lyndwyrm is a long serpentine dragonkin that has two arm like limbs ending in grasping appendages. They commonly come to dwell in empty wells and were notoriously blamed for stealing children to devour. They're venomous, quick, and as feral as you please. Nasty little things.
2961605 Yeah I know what a lyndwyrm is... but those fuckers are a lot stronger than your average dragon and your character shouldn't be strong enough to, without gear armed with nothing but a Morgan Freeman axe, kill one of 'em.
What about... Hmm...
(Goes to Tibia Wiki to find some cool monster)
Plaguesmiths, here's the stats: 8250 health (Would be about 85m in current wow terms.) Hits like a truck but are slower than a turtle.
Also hurls hammers.
They are immune to earth damage and cannot be paralyzed. Moreover, they are strong against death, fire and ice damage. On the other hand, they are weak against energy and holy damage. These creatures can neither be summoned nor convinced. In addition, they are able to sense invisible creatures.
Yeah, a heck of a fight for a unholy death knight, don't you think?
Moreso they can create puddles of dangerous acid.
They run when they drop below 1000 health.
They're some nasty bastards to be put up against, this could be a good time to form a bond between another character that you might introduce, who knows? I just know that if you put up this monster for a fight, there's a lot of pain to come.
For more information about possible monsters see here.
If you wounder where she could possibly meet such a monster, they often reside deep underground (Close or below bedrock.) More dreaded than demons and slower than a turtle.
Or for a easier fight you could put a behemoth, 4k health less immune and stuff.
2961630 Don't know what lyndwyrms you're thinking of, but they don't get THAT big. Seriously, they're basically over sized snakes with arms. They're dragon-kin not dragons of any sort. No intelligence, just instinct. and a blind need to feed itself. Besides, theres very little that could bother a dragon in almost any lore you look at, usually takes some massive undertaking to kill one of the older ones, or a extremely pissed off guy who wound up blue balled because the scaley bugger stole his lady fair. I'm slightly cagey about using things from video games like that. Don't get me wrong, borrowing from established lores is a pretty good way to get your feet wet in a literary sense, but I'd much prefer to set up my own monsters and challenges for Rune. Thank you for the suggestion though, and rest assured she will be put down a couple pegs in the next chapter. As I said in the note at the end, its already written, just waiting to edit it as I did this half. Tonight I want to relax for awhile and read, maybe play some NeverWinter Nights 2 (great old game by the way) and just be a total cabbage for a bit.
2961657 Yeah I believe I were thinking about another thing when you mentioned 'Lyndwyrm'.
Your main character is his character from a game, that used the games weapons, armor and abilities? xD
Anyways, if you need a lil' kick in the butt I find tibia monsters to be the best in that regard, it's not a big game so maybe 1 or 2 of the people that reads this story will actually recognize them, I just thought it'dd be nice to have some solid ground.
2961667
Blink hounds, that is all.
2961677 repost.eu/files/01/brilliant.jpg
2961679
I am both horrified and amused by that man's face... Dear gods above and below, abandon thread!
2961683 whinybaby.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/mind-blown.jpg
2961691
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw101_130063323965.jpg
2961698 images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100814160837/valve/es/images/2/27/G-man_heart_to_heart_headshot.jpg
2961701
He's a bit walleyed, and I have no real comeback to that so... to you.
2961704 "Grabs you by the neck" OH YOU AIN'T GETTING AWAY!
i1.ytimg.com/vi/DYAEq1INZGw/mqdefault.jpg
2961707
I suggest letting go or I'll begin posting up some beiber music and no one wants that.
2961712 Fine, you win.
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120509010632/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/f/ff/Not_bad.jpg
2961722
Bieber, only useful as the interwebs equivalent of a nuclear deterrent.
2961727
2961734
Well shit... We'll call it a draw.
2961736 Agreed, shake hands?
wackypedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:621px-Neutral-feel-like-a-sir-clean-l.png
You were a worthy oponent.
2961738
Pfft, we have hooves here sir.
/) You may brohoof in return.
2961745 (\
Woops, seems like you caught me...
'Puts sunglasses on'
REDHOOFED!
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
2961747
2961751 <(<¤>_<¤>)> I'm watching you clop.
2961752
Only clopping I do comes from tap dancing! -Dances a sharp little jig to prove point.- Now then, off to bed with me
2961761 Go to sleep...
OR I'LL EAT YOU ALIVE!
2961761 Also, I like the 'Hard Reset' reference in this story, I believe that's my top 3 favorite story of all time :)
2961767
Mmk Jeff, give Slendy my regards and remind him about that c-note he owes me. Last time I pay for a new cumber bun thats for sure.
2961771 Sure, but i'm not jeff, i'm just a guy that tells people to go to sleep.
Also, I'll tell slender.
Oh geez, now I won't be able to read anything the axe says in anything but Morgan Freeman's voice.
...not that that's a bad thing!
For some reason this song comes to mind when I read this: