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| - Kiernan Alighiero had always been good kid, that is, until he reached his teenage years. After joining as a recruit for the Gilnean Army, and after having some of his first encounters with undead, Kiernan's mind slowly began to twist and change. He began reading about Necromancy, Demonology, and any other form of dark magic you could think of. His parents started to worry about him; soon enough though, Kiernan had found the girl of his dreams. Her name was Victoria Willis, and she was a Rogue in training. She and Alighiero had everything in common, including their fascination with dark magics; they were like soul mates, sick, twisted soul mates with a strange love for anything dark and demonic. At the age of 24 when the Gilnean civil war broke out, and Worgen were rampaging the streets, Kiernan and Victoria were still madly in love. They fought through the battle for Gilneas, and although unsuccessful in defending their homeland, they managed to keep each other safe. Having reached the end of the battle, and what Kiernan was hoping to be a final escape from the now Forsaken-ridden land, has was going to ask Victoria to marry him. However, before boarding the ship to Rut-theran Village, Victoria revealed that she had found a mysterious tome which spoke of an ancient item capable of imbuing the wearer with the strength of a demon, and the resilience of an undead. She also said the item resided in a crypt somewhere in the Eastern Plaguelands, watched over by a crypt keeper presumably older than time itself. Kiernan agreed to accompany Victoria to find the artifact, he wouldn't miss a chance to find something that powerful; he also wanted to protect his girl, in case anything were to happen. They took only what they needed: their weapons, food, water, a tent, and the tome to guide them. Well, the two ventured for days across northern Lordaeron in search of the so-called "Terror Talisman." On the fifth night of their journey, they had finally made it to the Eastern Plaguelands. Victoria had found a faded map in the tome, giving the relative location of the Talisman. The two searched almost the entire southern portion of the Plaguelands, and finally came upon the undisturbed crypt. Kiernan managed to get the crypt door open, and the two slowly walked down into the dim catacombs. The two weaved through the seemingly endless corridors. "Hello? Anyone here?" Victoria echoed through the crypt. "Shh.. shh, in what reality do you think that's a good idea?" Kiernan stated. Victoria giggled and told Kiernan he was just being paranoid. Soon enough, however, the crypt keeper had emerged from a dark staircase in the tomb. "Um, hello. I'm Victoria Willis, are you the watcher of this crypt?" The crypt keeper studied the girl, his eyes not visible under his hood. "Of course... I've been... expecting you." the watcher smirked as he slowly staggered out from the shadows; he turned his attention to Kiernan, and his smile turned to an aggitated frown, "And who is this...? I do not remember sending for you..." "Um, Kiernan Alighiero, sir. I'm Vickie's boyfriend." The crypt keeper grinned and pulled back his hood, revealing his old, rotting face. The keeper was clearly undead himself, but both Kiernan and Victoria kept their composure. "I see... you came along to protect your girlfriend, in case... anything were to happen to her." Victoria began to seem slightly frightened by the watcher's words, and she crept behind Kiernan. "How... noble of you... and completely futile." Suddenly, beasts from the darkest depths of Hell began to appear throughout the crypt, surrounding the three. Kiernan drew his sword and shield, just in time to shield bash one of the creatures that had lept at him from the wall. "Vickie, get behind me!" he shouted. The crypt keep held out his hand, and the creatures ceased; Kiernan eyed the rotting man, and readied himself for an attack. However, a much larger beast rushed Kiernan from the shadows; the creature's left arm was huge and covered in spikes of bone. Kiernan was frozen in fear as the monstrosity charged him. he raised his shield a ways, but it was hopeless. The beast slammed Kiernan's abdomen with the spiked club of an arm, sending Kiernan flying into a wall of coffins. One of the spikes had gone all the way through Alighiero's stomach, and tore with the strike, so he lay in a puddle of his own blood watching Victoria. Victoria screamed in terror as her love was pummeled. Her tearful eyes turned to the crypt keeper who had an evil grin on his face. He brandished a rusty skeletal sickle and uttered a command in an unfamiliar tongue, causing two of the larger beasts to snare Victoria with their barbed tenticle arms. "Yes... the prophecy has come true... the ritual can finally begin!" Victoria's eyes widened as the watcher slowly staggered toward her with the sickle in hand. "Hundreds of years I've waited... for someone such as yourself to come down here. And finally, on this glorious day, all that is good shall be eradicated from the universe, forever! All that's left to do is offer the Gods... a proper sacrifice." Kiernan watched as his blood flowed upon the floor, and with one of his last breathes he managed to scream, "V-Vickie, no!" The crypt keeper raised the sickle over his head and uttered a strange chant in the unfamiliar tongue, and with one fierce strike, he beheaded Victoria. Kiernan screamed in rage and agony as she was decapitated. The crypt remained unaffected, and the keeper pulled out his scroll to see what may have gone wrong. "Damn! The soul... is what must be sacrificed!" He turned in anger to Kiernan, then waved his hand, "Leave him here to die! His soul is already stained and would not be a sacrifice fit for Gods! I must retrieve my Soul Harvester now... Her soul will be mine." The crypt keeper disappeared back down into the black undercroft of the crypt. Kiernan held his wound with one hand, clentching his jaw as tears welled up in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry... V-Vickie." he murmed. Suddenly, a voice entered his mind, "He took your girl, Kiernan. He took your dreams. And he took your life." Kiernan peered around and remembered he had knocked open some caskets when he was thrown into them. He looked into the puddle of blood and corpse dust on the floor, seeing a tarnished talisman. The amulet was of a bladed skull, not like anything Alighiero had ever seen before. "Crypt Keeper Ahriman Severus...he took it all. Only thing you got left is your soul... and that belongs to me." Kiernan reached for the talisman and muttered, "W-Who are you...?" "Who am I? Let's just say I'm a God; your God... 'least, the only God that's listening right now." With the amulet in his grip, Alighiero held it over his face to get a better look at it, "W-What do you w-want?" "What do I want? Ah, same as any other God; a little faith... for without faith I am nothing... and without me you're f*cked. Her soul doesn't have to die. I can help you; I can heal your wounds. We can save her, if you show me some faith... if you trust me, if you put me on..." Kiernan hesitated a bit, then suddenly the pain in his wound grew far more intense; he put the talisman around his neck. The voice in Kiernan's head began to cackle as the amulet's essence was transferred into his body. Alighiero screamed as the blood rushed back into the gaping hole in his stomach. He shot up and looked at the ground below him, and at his wound as the blood flowed back into him. Kiernan squirmed wildly, and tossed and turned on the cold stone ground as his wound slowly began to close. "Ah, quit whining... did I say it was going to be fun?" The voice snickered; the Terror Talisman disintegrated into corpse dust as the essence carved itself into the flesh of Alighiero's right shoulder. As the spirit finally finshed entering Kiernan, his right shoulder had become covered in a flesh-carved tattoo, a design that was not of this world. Kiernan continued to scream as his body underwent another transformation; his muscles grew and his clothing tore. "You're going to have to learn to love pain, there's a lot more of it to come..." Kiernan's eyes glowed a dark red as he was transformed into a undead behemoth. He held his head as the voice began to laugh manically. "What have you done to me?!" Kiernan asked, his voice full of fear. He looked down at his body, at the hulking version of his former self. "What am I? WHAT AM I?!" "You're mine, Kiernan..." The voice said simply. Alighiero staggered toward Victoria's corpse and muttered, "Vickie..." The voice responded, "Until Victoria's soul is safe, you're mine..." Kiernan fell to his knees and looked over Victoria's blood-soaked body. He shook his head, "What's happened to me...?" "To us. You're wearing me, I'm inhabiting you. We're a team now. So, you help me get what I want, I help you get your girl's soul back." Kiernan stood and took a step back, a bit of Victoria's blood being drawn toward him; it was then siphoned into his body. All of a sudden, Alighiero's body began to tremble, "What the f*ck is going on?" he exclaimed. Spikes of bone tore through Kiernan's flesh, out of his back and arms. He grew a little larger; his flesh turned dark grey and pustules filled with blood and plague formed on his back. Kiernan roared in pain and anger, and the voice snickered, "Ah man, it is good to finally be free..." "Now, let's go kill something! It's been a long time, and I'm way outta' practice..." Kiernan took one last look at Victoria, and ran down one of the dark halls. Soon enough, a group of spiked ghouls and other beasts of darkness lept from the shadows. They stood before Kiernan, their hunger visible in their eyes. Alighiero cracked his neck and charged the group, effortlessly tearing them apart. "Ah, you never forget your first kill..." The spikes began to retract back into Kiernan's body; he roared in agony and the voice sighed, "Uh-oh... too much for ya Kiernan? Sh*t, you Worgen are so fragile." Alighiero fell to his knees, breathing heavily. "Yeah, uhh... you're still weak; we'll have to take it slower, build your strength." Kiernan stood and shook it off best he could. They turned and followed a trail of undead and demonic beasts of the shadows down further into the catacombs. As they reached a wider hallway with corpses holding torches lining the walls, Kiernan asked, "What are you? I don't know anything about you." "You set me free. I owe you. That's all you need to know." "Somehow, I don't believe you..." "And somehow I don't care." The voice chuckled, "Believe what you want... But here's one thing you probably should know: I have a thirst Kiernan-- call it a passion. See, when it comes to blood... well, I'm something of a connoisseur, y'know? So bottom line: you give me blood, I give you power, and I make you stronger. Got it...? Good." Kiernan grunted and continued downward. Upon reaching a circular room near the bottom of the crypt, Kiernan stopped and looked around. He walked toward the door on the oppisite side of the room and tried to pry it open, but was unsuccessful. "Ugh, how are we supposed to get this damn door open?" "Blood Ciphers." the voice replied. "What?" "Blood Ciphers. Ancient devices powered by blood; they're pretty rare to come by these days. You're probably the first in hundreds of years to see them. Congratulations." Just then, a large group of demons and undead were summoned into the room through black portals. "Whoa-ho! Now this is more like it..." Alighiero looked around as the group grew larger, then noticed a large piece of wood with a spiked knot on the end. He ran over and picked it up, "A 2x4, handy... let's do some f*cking carpentry." the voice snickered. Kiernan batted the creatures with the makeshift weapon, sending their limbs and entire bodies flying against the walls. Thier blood began to flow into engravings in the floor, which appeared to be linked to the Blood Ciphers. As soon as the last geist was crushed in his hands, Alighiero stood victorious in the center of the room, or so he thought. A giant bubble of blood formed before Kiernan; it grew rather large then exploded, revealing a large demonic creature with curved horns coming out the sides of its head, with a long spiked tentacle for a arm. "Hey, I think I know this guy! Yeah, we're screwed." the voice chuckled. The beast roared and without warning, it grabbed Kiernan's left arm with the spiked tenticle, pulling on it. Kiernan pulled back, but wasn't strong enough, so his arm was torn from his torso. "OH SH*T! My arm!" Alighiero clentched the large wound as blood poured from it. "Good gods Kiernan; get it together. I asked you to trust me; first sign of blood and you're cryin' like a schoolgirl..." The beast roared and began to walk toward Kiernan. He shuffled back as the demon closed in, then stepped into a puddle of blood; his arm began to regenerate. "There, y'see? I told you everything would turn out juuust fine. Now, if you don't mind- OH SH*T, LOOK OUT!" The creature whipped at Alighiero with its arm, lashing his chest. Kiernan clentched his jaw and charged, delivering a barrage of powerful blows to the creature. It stopped and body slammed Kiernan away; he rolled on the gound but returned to his feet. Alighiero picked up the spiked wooden club and charged the demon, smashing it over the creature's head. The voice whispered, "Now's your chance..." The beast stood stunned; Kiernan grabbed the spiked tenticle and wrapped it around its neck, pulling from behind. The demon tried to pull away, but decapitated itself. The corpse fell to th ground as its head popped off; Alighiero caught it, then threw it to the floor. He turned as the Blood Ciphers became full and the door opened. A scream echoed through the crypt; Kiernan's eye widened and he ran to the doorway. "Vicky! I'm coming!" He ran down the hall. "We're getting close..." the voice muttered. Kiernan hurried through the dark tomb, and as he got lower, he realized the crypt was changing. Strange symbols were carved into the walls, and corpses could be seen inbetween the cracks in the stones. The torches lining the walls no longer glowed the bright orange and yellow of normal fire, but now they glowed with dim green flames. "We're getting closer. I can smell Severus; no mistaking that tang of insanity. Ooh, and that pretty girl of yours, I can smell her too. Oooww, she smells good. Terror, confusion, panic. I like her..." "Shut up! We just need to save Vickie," Alighiero snapped. "Sure, you're being all noble and heroic to save Victoria, but I know you; I know what you really are. I can see the real you." "So what is it you think I 'really am'?" Kiernan inquired. "You're a killer..." the voice replied. "No! I'm doing this for Vickie!" "Oh, come on; it's not just what you do, it's who you are. You've always been a killer - In another life. You've always known it, felt that urge; you just tried to bury it. You've been wearing a mask your whole life. It's time to embrace it; this is who you really are..." "You're wrong." Alighiero said angrily. "...Am I?" The voice grunted, "Well, we'll see." The screams that echoed through the darkened corridors became much more audible; they were very close. Another few groups of demons and undead appeared from the blackness, and Alighiero quickly dispatched them. Upon entering a large square room of the labyrinth, Kiernan slowed his pace, knowing something bad was going to happen. Sure enough, he was right. As he reached the center of the room, it lit up orange with blazing flames. Alighiero noticed the floor was not complete, and saw a lake of blood beneath them; it reflected shimmers of the flames back up at him. "...I have a bad feeling about this," the voice muttered. The doors slammed shut and were sealed with a flash of green light. Just then, a hulking monstrosity dropped from the celing, its left arm huge and covered in spiked of bone. "Hey, this looks like the bastard that almost killed you!" Kiernan studied the beast, and glared, knowing it was the same one. "Haha, let's have at it then! Round one... FIGHT!" the voice said jokingly. The beast lumbered toward Kieran and took several swings at him with the blugeon of an arm. Dodging every one of the strikes easily, Alighiero snickered. "Heh, not the most compitent of these guys, huh?" "It's an Abhore, a blood demon; what they lack in speed, they more than make up for in the ability to beat your ass to a pulp." The Abhore jumped at Kiernan, knocking him to the ground. It stood over him and attempted to stomp on his chest; Alighiero grabbed the demon's foot and tried to force it away as the Abhore put all its force on it. Kiernan finally found the strenght the throw the beast to the ground. He jumped to his feet and ran to the downed demon, punching it hard in the stomach and leaping over it to the head. He grabbed its jaw and pulled. The Abhore roared in pain, and was promptly beheaded. Alighiero tossed the head into the lake of boiling blood below them, and the door opened slowly. The voice admired his brutality. "Getting kinda' good at this now, Kiernan. The sound of bodies bursting, the feel of flesh tearing in your hands. Admit it; the power, the strength - You like it, don't ya?" "Yeah- no! Quit it, you're confusing me. ...I can't think." "You don't need to think, Kiernan. That's what you've got me for, buddy..." Now, hearing a strange chant reverberating through the catacombs, they knew Severus wasn't far. Kiernan made a few more decents down the stone stairways and soon enough came into the doorway of the Crypt Keeper's sacrifice room. He remained silient for a moment, watching and listening to the madman; Severus spoke in his strange tongue once more, chanting something. Alighiero finally noticed a soul, seeming to be fastened to the altar by a brace of bones. Severus held his Soul Harvester behind him; the weapon glowed a dark purple and looked like the blade of a scythe attatced to a hilt of bone. "Get in there, Kiernan!" the voice ordered. He hesitated a bit as the Crypt Keeper finished his chanter and exclaimed, "Gods! Please look favorably upon this sacrifice..." He rose the Soul Harvester over his head and the soul, obiously that of a young woman scream and squirmed in the brace. Severus struck down hard but his arm was stopped. At first he seemed puzzled, but as soon as he heard a crack and the sound of blood spurting he peered to his right; Kiernan stood with the Crypt Keeper's arm in hand and glared. "Get your hands..." he flipped the arm around so he was holding the wrist and the shoulder end was somewhat of a blugeon. "...off my girl," Kiernan said sternly. Severus began to cower but Alighiero gave him no such pleasure; he delivered a powerful smack with the man's own arm, sending him flying into one of the green-glowing braziers in the corner of the room. Kiernan dropped the arm and ripped the brace off the altar. "We did it right? We saved her, didn't we?" Alighiero turned and finally noticed a huge symbol engraved on the floor. It glowed and the crypt began to rumble. "Oh no... something's still trying to break through!" Kiernan stepped back as a massive undead behemoth tore through the floor and stood in the center of the room. Suddenly, the corpses of all Kiernan had slain were drawn toward the beast, adding more to its mass. The ending result was an immense monstrosity, comprised of corpses of both undead and demon. "I want the Truaillithe to pay for causing me an eternity of agony... to do that, I gotta let 'em out..." the said with a hint of hatred. (( Work in Progress :P ))
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