Death's Resolve

The stories and lives of the Grim. ((Roleplaying Stories and In Character Interactions))
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Khorvis
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Location: Lincroft, NJ

Death's Resolve

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The Undercity. Year 27 of the King's Calendar.

Khorvis sat on a barrel in the Trade District, watching a line of shackled Royal Apothecaries shamble towards the elevators. The disgraced traitors were guarded by a squad of Kor'kron, and each of the orcs were armed to the teeth. Despite having left their order a year prior, Khorvis still gave his old comrades a casual salute from his seat. He turned to a loyal Deathguard, at ease and nursing a broken elbow next to him.

"Traitors, the lot of them. To think that they would wish us ALL dead!" The warrior paused and considered his wounded comrade. The Deathguard, Stevlin he had called himself, wore the tabard of Sylvanas but maintained a Horde sigil upon the breast.

"Tell me Stevlin, what was it in you that could bring your blade to meet the apothecaries' flesh? Why did you break ranks?"

The forsaken wasted no time in his answer, as if the response was seared into his being: "There are those who would wish their fate of death upon all others, but this is a selfish request. We Forsaken loyal to the Horde know too well the crime that was inflicted upon us, and resolve to preserve our allies from such a fate."

Khorvis only stroked his beard (shorter then) and nodded at the sensible words.

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From the Desk of the Inquisition. Year 31
Khorvis, from the Grim Halls, wrote:Supplicant Bishoph,

The time has come to begin your second Trial, that of Resolve. It is now that you have proven your strength in Combat that you must be educated upon the history and workings of The Grim. You will find among those that I have assigned a common trait: undeath. Your task do be to discover the harmony between the Mandate and the grave. Seek out these four heroes and learn from them what it means to be resolved to our cause of Peace.

Lupinum the Deathless: This Dreadweaver will act as your Mentor in this trial. As a brother in the service of Light and Shadow, he will come to know you and your weaknesses. Hide nothing from him and follow his every task.

Tradire Redmourn, the Sentinel: She do be a great Harbinger of The Grim, a bloody terror in Hellfire Citadel. Mind your manners and may be bring a woolen blanket to this meeting.

Warlord Keraph Xalascent: Though not of The Grim, this forsaken warrior now commands Infection, loyal to the Dark Lady Sylvanas. He has fought many campaigns with our ranks and may hold much broader knowledge of your new fold.

Cyrus ik Cobratiis III, known as Malebrignon the Artificer: It has been some time since this Harbinger has been seen about the Grim Halls. Once he served as master of The Grim, though that time is long past in faded years. You may need to do some digging through the Archives.

Make your presence known to your new Mentor and begin the trial, Bishoph. I do expect a report upon my desk within one month's time.

High Inquisitor Bloodstar
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Bishoph
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Re: Death's Resolve

Unread post by Bishoph »

As Khorvis is taking a walk to ponder his thoughts he senses someone or something is watching him. He peers around slowly, eyeing every faint movement as his hand on his hilt...ready to strike at a moments notice. The wind is blowing slightly as a light drizzle falls from a heavy fog inches from the rooftops. The fog begins to shift on one of the rooftops as Khorvis becomes uneasy. The smoke clears as a silhouette of a bird stands at attention. The bird slowly flies to the ground and in its beak a tightly wrapped scroll falls out of the beak from what appears to be a Raven. The scroll unravels itself instantly...the Raven completely vanishes. The scroll then rises from the damp ground...the letter seemingly unfazed by the water. It stops a few inches from Khorvis as he cautiously reaches out for the letter, remembering faintly of the Supplicant Bishoph, he feels a bit easier and reads the scroll:


"High Inquisitor Khorvis Bloodstar,

I have searched throughout the many tomes that I have found from within the Grim Halls and have researched an old Grim known as Cyrus ik Cobratiis III.
“The Malebrignon”
He was a Necromancer who lived the Mandate to the core. He long served The Mandate and fought beside The Grim and then decided to join them. He moved up the ranks and played a vital part of teaching and instructing the guild’s Priests and Necromancers. He claimed the title of Artificer throughout his time in the guild as he was barely able to pass on the burden to someone named Regnanetah. Regnanetah was an extremely vital part in the overall structure of the guild early on. Cyrus had been held captive by a very powerful Elemental for the better part of a year and was one day released by his loyal Grim. Upon returning to his guild, he had found that the guild had grown and assisted in the guild functions as Inquisitor. After the Grim defeated Arthas, an unfortunate teleportation contingency left Cyrus sealed in an old workshop of mine beneath Kargathia. He was eventually released and it is suspected that even though he has been seen a few times since then, shame and perhaps solidarity seem more important to The Malebrignon."

The scroll then begins to crumble into ash...the dust from the scroll swirls into the wind and is carried away with it.
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Bishoph
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Re: Death's Resolve

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A freshly sealed scroll lay upon your ledger. The scroll is sealed with a purple wax pressed with the crest of a Raven's Skull. Upon breaking the seal, the scroll unravels itself. The inside is bare with no words except for a replica seal drawn by ink on the bottom of the page. As you run your finger across the seal, you notice words begin to appear. You recognize them to be of the Forsaken tongue. As the words come into full view, they begin to shift and change into the Horde common language. Skimming through the letter you notice that its from Supplicant Bishoph Steele. You then begin to read from the beginning.


"High Inquisitor Khorvis,
I bring news regarding the condition of my 2nd Trial. I have successfully met with each individual, as instructed. Each brought great insight to what the Mandate means to me and the Grim as a whole.
After really taking time to focus on our conversations, I began to come to the realization.

I AM the Mandate. The Mandate itself called out to me like a song in the night, beckoning me to it's embrace. Not only do I think I was physically changed by this declaration, but also spiritually. I have completely found my focus to my Faith. Through the Mandate, I channel the very Spirit of the Grim, wherever I go, whether it be to the Undercity or to the battlefield. Every time I slaughter an Alliance fool, the Mandate is pleased, and rewards me with its embrace. It is a living sacrament that I must partake each and every day. Fulfill the destiny of the Mandate. Through this body, this broken corpse...The Mandate will live, through me...alive and thriving. It is the very force that drives me. Through my faith, the Mandate is Reborn. I am Reborn. There is but only one thing I must do to fulfill complete dominance over my Faith. I must shed the Raven curse, to allow the Mandate complete control over every action I take from that point on, hence forth forever.

I have learned a lot about what the Mandate means from my fellow Grim, but I believed I learned more about what it means to be a Forsaken from Keraph. I won't go into the details of each conversation but I have come to appreciate the ones that were picked for me. It was all for a reason, and that reason was for me to find myself. I could not be more appreciative of this decision for my 2nd Trial.
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Khorvis
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Re: Death's Resolve

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The opened letter rested upon the desk of the Inquisition, its words spent and task completed. Dimly lit by flickering lanterns and a muted arcane crystal hanging in the cold hearth, the writing slowly began to shift back into Gutterspeak. Bloodstar leaned back in the sweat-stained upholstery of his winged-back chair and considered his Supplicant's discoveries.

It was a given, a constant, in the trials of the Inquisition that Khorvis crafted tasks to teach important values and histories to his charges. It was expected of him, and the old orc knew that to fail in this most important training would end in his head taken by the Harbingers. And so he diligently attended the education of his Supplicants by ferreting out their weaknesses and forcing them to confront the bloody truths of their individual realities.

What few of The Grim may have given any thought towards was the reverse - that through their trials, the Supplicants in turn instructed Khorvis of new ways to perceive the Mandate and her children. Bishoph Steele, like many of his Forsaken brethren, clung to that ancient religion devoted to the Light, and while Khorvis typically paid it no heed (a weakness held over from the Forsakens' years clothed in human flesh), this Supplicant had given the High Inquisitor pause.

"A living sacrament... Through my faith, the Mandate is Reborn." It rung true. The Mandate was an institution much as were Churches of the Light and the totemed mesas of the Tauren. And yet, it was not held in brick and mortar, or in carved wood. It lived in the flesh of The Grim...

Khorvis continued to dwell upon these aphorisms with the stupid but determined brain with which he was birthed, deep into the night. By morning, a freshly penned letter, written with customary incarnadine ink, lay ready to be sealed and delivered to Bishoph.
Supplicant Steele,

It pleases the Inquisition that through your trial, you have come to your true purpose - to completely fulfill the Mandate. Indeed, you have seen the truth of my ways - the selection of your betters did be devised to evoke the greater parts of your nature in offering to our cause.

The innards of your report speak such that I do think you must know what comes next. The third trial, that of Sacrifice, demands that you be purified of whatever barriers and imperfections prevent you from carrying out your new purpose.

You speak of the Raven and of curses. Bring your ailments before the Inquisition and let them be flayed and ousted. We will divine a ritual worthy of your destiny.

High Inquisitor Bloodstar
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Bishoph
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Re: Death's Resolve

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The wind is howling. A strong steady rain beats down upon the headstones in the graveyard of the town named Brill. Bishoph awaits those who were chosen to witness what would be absolutely necessary for the next step in the purification and purge of this so called Raven Curse. Through the Mandate, a Grand Ritual must be performed. As he awaits his fellow Grim, he walks the grounds of the crypt, silently contemplating and pondering the proper words that must be said to successfully pull off the Trial.
What the other Grim doesn't know is that he has been scouting the grounds of what is left of the Worgen capital of Gilneas. Each night he has prowled the grounds searching for the one answer that would bring him closer to the possibility to ever overcome the control the Curse has over his soul. His findings has brought him the Chapel in the main courtyard deep inside the ruins. Surprisingly, the entire town seems vacant yet most of the buildings are left intact. While in Gilneas he discovered a incredibly weak minded Worgen, who seems to live somewhere in the ruin. He would wait until the Worgen would fall asleep, where Bishoph would send nightmares fueled with Shadow Magick. Unaware, the Worgen overtime would become unaware of the hold Bishoph now had over the creature. Luckily Bishoph learned of many types of Gilneas magic now lost to time. There was one spell, that can only be cast per lifetime, that would bind one soul to another. This spell was known as the Shadus Illuminatus. Upon much deeper research, he realized that it was of the Shadow Magick descent, so there was a chance he could pull this off. His reasoning decided if he were to successfully complete the spell and bind the Worgen's (putrid) soul to his own, the curse would split to the Worgen. After much prayer and fasting, Bishoph called upon the Mandate, declaring its living power to infiltrate his mind completely. The Mandate was pleased with his plan. If he could pull off this ritual, the Worgen would die curse completely intact with the Worgen, purging the Curse from Bishoph, replacing the void with the Mandate. The Mandate would now be manifest incarnate as Bishoph as a vessel and tool of the Mandate's Will.

The Grim arrive at Brill. Bishoph welcomes the party, then they fly off to Gilneas. Unaware of who or what could be waiting on them, they rely on the Mandate for peace and strength. They arrive at the Chapel. The rain now dimming to a slight drizzle. They walk into the chapel, and Bishoph begins the ritual. As the other Grim looks on, Bishoph instructs the Worgen to come in, terrified the Worgen stumbles in. The Worgen's face pale and its eyes glazed over as if it is in another realm. Bishoph declares to his fellow Grim about his soul link. The Mandate now thriving and alive inside of Bishoph it instructs him to seek the Dark Lady out in prayer for protection against any harm that may come to him or the other Grim. Sylvanas heeds his call and sends her devout Banshees to oversee the ceremony. Bishoph falls into a trance, allowing the Mandate complete control of his actions from this point on during the ritual. The Mandate sends a shadow beam into the Worgen that infuses the Worgen soul, draining the curse completely from Bishoph and pours it deep inside of the Worgen dog. The Mandate now declares Bishoph's declaration of hatred and revenge to ALL Gilnean Beasts forevermore. The curse shatters from Bishoph as a strange howl emits from his mouth, not of his own. The sound was tremendous and terrible. Bishoph felt the sickness leave his body. The Mandate now demanded the ritual to complete by destroying the soul of the Worgen completely. Bishoph still in a trance, sends a massive Shadow Word of Death upon the insignificant creature, obliterating the dog into a mangled mess of mutilated mush. The Mandate was well pleased as the Banshees drug the corpse into the Void with them.
Now having the Mandate now having a vessel to live in, Bishoph now heeds the call to whatever the Mandate instructs him. His faith is the Mandate. The Mandate is his mentor, his companion, his livelihood, his binding soul. Through his body, the Mandate now can perform its will in material form. All now who would oppose the Will of Bishoph now go against the Will of the Mandate. But let this be known, Bishoph will bide his time, and serve his Grim with the utmost loyalty, forever channeling his kindred spirit through perseverance and guidance of his High Inquisitor and fellow Grim. Perhaps, if the Mandate should so choose, Bishoph may be found worthy of higher rank and authority, but for now he will continue to learn and grow within the Grim.

With the Grand Ritual complete, he ushers off the Grim away from the ruins and he disappears into the night, where he now must rest.
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Khorvis
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Re: Death's Resolve

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[[ Excellent. Khorvis will hear of the ritual from Bishoph's own mouth at the next Inquisition, hopefully with testimony from a witness. ]]
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