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JollyDoc's Savage Tide-Updated 10/8!
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<blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 4174821" data-attributes="member: 9546"><p>Marius awoke to a nightmarish sight. He stood before a huge horned throne, decorated with demonic skulls and raised on a three-tiered dais. The figure that sat in the grotesque chair was darkly handsome, an ebon-skinned man nearly nine feet tall. His slightly pointed ears, yellow fangs, and six-fingered hands marked him clearly as the Demon Lord Graz’zt.</p><p>“Master…,” Marius croaked as he awkwardly prostrated himself. His body felt strange. It was then that he realized that he was again human, in his original body. He looked up with a mixture of confusion and gratitude.</p><p>“Consider it a token of my appreciation,” purred the Dark Prince. An almost genuine smile played around Graz’zt’s mouth. “You and your companions have accomplished that which countless demon lords could not. You have defeated the filthy beast Demogorgon, and you have saved your own world in the process…at least for now.”</p><p>“Unfortunately, you weren’t around to see the end. No matter. Charon and I already had an understanding regarding your soul. That fool Ahazu has already tried to interfere with our bargain, but I have dealt with that problem for you. Yet another reward for my loyal servant.” </p><p>Marius nodded his thanks. This time true relief overcame the warmage. He would have gone mad in the Wells of Darkness. At least his bondage to the Dark Prince had its rewards.</p><p>“It does, indeed,” mused Graz’zt, obviously reading Marius’s surface thoughts. “Tyralandi did well in bringing you to me. She will be suitably rewarded for her service.”</p><p></p><p>Marius reflected back to the day he and Mandi were struck down by Yuan-Ti assassins in Scuttlecove. He had seen the horrors that awaited him after death. Various demons had already been bidding on his soul, and an aspect of Demogorgon himself was poised to pluck the warmage’s helpless larval form for its own… when he was suddenly pulled back by Daelric’s spell. The demons cursed him and tore at his soul-stuff, ripping and shredding Marius’s very essence. Then he was back in the middle of the fight, and this time the warmage fought for his very soul, for if he were killed again, death would be the least of his worries. </p><p></p><p>He remembered Porphyry House…</p><p>Tyralandi slunk cat-like towards him, letting one of her hands casually caress his face as she moved around him. She wove her fingers into his fiery red hair and then leaned down so that her lips softly brushed his ear.</p><p>“I smell death upon you,” she whispered so that only he could hear. “I know that you are marked. Should your soul pass beyond this world as it is, it shall not be as a petitioner. No, you are meant for special things. You have drawn unwanted attention to yourself in your short, violent life, and the cost to you in the hereafter will be eternal. You have no patron to claim you from those who would profit from a soul such as yours. No one to protect you, and now you have the ire of the Prince of Demons as well. I will take what you have offered, and I shall offer you a gift in return. My Prince is powerful as well. He could use the services of one such as you, and in turn, He would guarantee your safe passage in the beyond. Think on my words long, mage.” She then plucked several hairs from his head and returned to her seat.</p><p></p><p>After abandoning his friends, he again visited Tyralandi for instruction. His first order of business was to prove his loyalty by eliminating the remnants of the Seventh Coil and the Protectorate in Scuttlecove. Lethally effective in his missions, Marius was then directed to the Court of Red Shroud on the Abyssal plane of Pazunia, to await his former companions and rejoin the fight against Demogorgon.</p><p></p><p>Graz’zt again addressed Marius’s thoughts, interrupting his reverie.</p><p> “As you can see,” the demon prince said, “ I keep my promises to those who are faithful to me. I have provided your soul safe passage. I have restored your original body. I have saved you from the clutches of the Seizer. Now it is time to honor your end of the bargain…”</p><p>“Your companions killed a certain general of mine by the name of Lillianth. I have decided that you will assume her command,” said the Dark Prince, matter-of-factly. “You will report to my son, Athux immediately for your commission and instruction.”</p><p>Marius was stunned.</p><p>“You are a warmage of epic skills; you have faced everything the Abyss has thrown at you, and yet you survive. Your flames will not aid me much against the Hell-spawned devils in the Blood War, but then, the Hells don’t concern me much anyway. No, your skills will best be used against the…” Graz’zt hesitated for a moment and then spat, “new Prince of Demons.”</p><p>The Dark Prince continued passionately, “Orcus claimed the black crown of Demogorgon for himself. We must strike while he is still weak. Orcus was very nearly killed by Demogorgon. Both his armies and those of Demogorgon are decimated. Lemoriax lies in ruins, and Obox-Ob is still loose in Gaping Maw. We march in six days!”</p><p>“Yes, my Master,” said Marius R’alan, Flame of Graz’zt, General of the Argent Horde. He bowed again, then left the throne room to meet his fate.</p><p>________________________________________________________________</p><p></p><p>Watching the swirling chaos that encompassed the many layers of the Abyss, Daelric saw it through the eyes of a new emotion: confidence. Something had fundamentally changed within him when he had stared into the eyes of Demogorgon, thinking he would breath his last that day. He had finally conquered his fear. </p><p></p><p>After collecting his share of the gold, and trying fruitlessly to convince Tower Cleaver to travel with him, the young priest set out on what he knew to be the true journey of his life: to find his real master. He was no fool, and he knew that his strength lay in recruiting other, powerful beings to do his dirty work, with promises of even greater power and glory, or magical coercion when all else failed. He also knew that he would not hesitate to kill any one of them if they stood in the way of his quest. When his journey had first begun, long ago when he had journeyed with Mandi into the damnable swamps of the Isle of Dread, his own power had felt like flying across the ocean, or a stiff wind at his back, but as the road he traveled became darker and ever more morally convoluted, that feeling had faded, until one day he awoke to his morning prayers, only to find that Shaundekal no longer answered. Yet still the divine power responded to his summons, and the insane wander lust that had first brought him to the Abyss still gripped him and drove him. There was still something that he must do; he felt it in his soul. Someone out there that called to him…</p><p></p><p>He was shaken from his reverie by the sounds of combat from nearby as his latest group of minions fought for their lives yet again. Calling his favorite spell to his lips, one that would turn the blood of his enemies to thin water, he strode into the fray, the hum of his protective wards surrounding him. He smiled to himself. Sepoto and Tower Cleaver would not believe their eyes if they could only see him now. Perhaps he was finally losing his sanity. Perhaps it was only death and the lure of the Void that called to him…</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JollyDoc, post: 4174821, member: 9546"] Marius awoke to a nightmarish sight. He stood before a huge horned throne, decorated with demonic skulls and raised on a three-tiered dais. The figure that sat in the grotesque chair was darkly handsome, an ebon-skinned man nearly nine feet tall. His slightly pointed ears, yellow fangs, and six-fingered hands marked him clearly as the Demon Lord Graz’zt. “Master…,” Marius croaked as he awkwardly prostrated himself. His body felt strange. It was then that he realized that he was again human, in his original body. He looked up with a mixture of confusion and gratitude. “Consider it a token of my appreciation,” purred the Dark Prince. An almost genuine smile played around Graz’zt’s mouth. “You and your companions have accomplished that which countless demon lords could not. You have defeated the filthy beast Demogorgon, and you have saved your own world in the process…at least for now.” “Unfortunately, you weren’t around to see the end. No matter. Charon and I already had an understanding regarding your soul. That fool Ahazu has already tried to interfere with our bargain, but I have dealt with that problem for you. Yet another reward for my loyal servant.” Marius nodded his thanks. This time true relief overcame the warmage. He would have gone mad in the Wells of Darkness. At least his bondage to the Dark Prince had its rewards. “It does, indeed,” mused Graz’zt, obviously reading Marius’s surface thoughts. “Tyralandi did well in bringing you to me. She will be suitably rewarded for her service.” Marius reflected back to the day he and Mandi were struck down by Yuan-Ti assassins in Scuttlecove. He had seen the horrors that awaited him after death. Various demons had already been bidding on his soul, and an aspect of Demogorgon himself was poised to pluck the warmage’s helpless larval form for its own… when he was suddenly pulled back by Daelric’s spell. The demons cursed him and tore at his soul-stuff, ripping and shredding Marius’s very essence. Then he was back in the middle of the fight, and this time the warmage fought for his very soul, for if he were killed again, death would be the least of his worries. He remembered Porphyry House… Tyralandi slunk cat-like towards him, letting one of her hands casually caress his face as she moved around him. She wove her fingers into his fiery red hair and then leaned down so that her lips softly brushed his ear. “I smell death upon you,” she whispered so that only he could hear. “I know that you are marked. Should your soul pass beyond this world as it is, it shall not be as a petitioner. No, you are meant for special things. You have drawn unwanted attention to yourself in your short, violent life, and the cost to you in the hereafter will be eternal. You have no patron to claim you from those who would profit from a soul such as yours. No one to protect you, and now you have the ire of the Prince of Demons as well. I will take what you have offered, and I shall offer you a gift in return. My Prince is powerful as well. He could use the services of one such as you, and in turn, He would guarantee your safe passage in the beyond. Think on my words long, mage.” She then plucked several hairs from his head and returned to her seat. After abandoning his friends, he again visited Tyralandi for instruction. His first order of business was to prove his loyalty by eliminating the remnants of the Seventh Coil and the Protectorate in Scuttlecove. Lethally effective in his missions, Marius was then directed to the Court of Red Shroud on the Abyssal plane of Pazunia, to await his former companions and rejoin the fight against Demogorgon. Graz’zt again addressed Marius’s thoughts, interrupting his reverie. “As you can see,” the demon prince said, “ I keep my promises to those who are faithful to me. I have provided your soul safe passage. I have restored your original body. I have saved you from the clutches of the Seizer. Now it is time to honor your end of the bargain…” “Your companions killed a certain general of mine by the name of Lillianth. I have decided that you will assume her command,” said the Dark Prince, matter-of-factly. “You will report to my son, Athux immediately for your commission and instruction.” Marius was stunned. “You are a warmage of epic skills; you have faced everything the Abyss has thrown at you, and yet you survive. Your flames will not aid me much against the Hell-spawned devils in the Blood War, but then, the Hells don’t concern me much anyway. No, your skills will best be used against the…” Graz’zt hesitated for a moment and then spat, “new Prince of Demons.” The Dark Prince continued passionately, “Orcus claimed the black crown of Demogorgon for himself. We must strike while he is still weak. Orcus was very nearly killed by Demogorgon. Both his armies and those of Demogorgon are decimated. Lemoriax lies in ruins, and Obox-Ob is still loose in Gaping Maw. We march in six days!” “Yes, my Master,” said Marius R’alan, Flame of Graz’zt, General of the Argent Horde. He bowed again, then left the throne room to meet his fate. ________________________________________________________________ Watching the swirling chaos that encompassed the many layers of the Abyss, Daelric saw it through the eyes of a new emotion: confidence. Something had fundamentally changed within him when he had stared into the eyes of Demogorgon, thinking he would breath his last that day. He had finally conquered his fear. After collecting his share of the gold, and trying fruitlessly to convince Tower Cleaver to travel with him, the young priest set out on what he knew to be the true journey of his life: to find his real master. He was no fool, and he knew that his strength lay in recruiting other, powerful beings to do his dirty work, with promises of even greater power and glory, or magical coercion when all else failed. He also knew that he would not hesitate to kill any one of them if they stood in the way of his quest. When his journey had first begun, long ago when he had journeyed with Mandi into the damnable swamps of the Isle of Dread, his own power had felt like flying across the ocean, or a stiff wind at his back, but as the road he traveled became darker and ever more morally convoluted, that feeling had faded, until one day he awoke to his morning prayers, only to find that Shaundekal no longer answered. Yet still the divine power responded to his summons, and the insane wander lust that had first brought him to the Abyss still gripped him and drove him. There was still something that he must do; he felt it in his soul. Someone out there that called to him… He was shaken from his reverie by the sounds of combat from nearby as his latest group of minions fought for their lives yet again. Calling his favorite spell to his lips, one that would turn the blood of his enemies to thin water, he strode into the fray, the hum of his protective wards surrounding him. He smiled to himself. Sepoto and Tower Cleaver would not believe their eyes if they could only see him now. Perhaps he was finally losing his sanity. Perhaps it was only death and the lure of the Void that called to him… [/QUOTE]
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