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The camp fire burned low, almost all the wood having been consumed during the long hours it had been burning since it was lit. Even at its current the state, the fire would have still been bright enough to be seen from quite a distance away, thanks to the increased elevation it enjoyed in its location. Despite this, however, the unique geological makeup of the Dragon's Maw prevented the light from escaping out into the land where prying eye's lay.
Kneeling and having just completed another session of deep prayer, Omnigalas opened his eyes and gave an empty stare to the barely lit fire that so much acted as a reflection of his own passion and belief of the power that could be obtained from it. Picking up his helmet that laid on the ground, Omnigalas placed it upon his head as he slow rose to his feet. Anger, betrayed by a new, hate-filled look in his eyes, guided his boot to the weak fire, smothering the flame.
Staring at the smoke that rose from the now distinguished fire, the red armored man began questioning everything he held close. "Kossuth...why?" Omnigalas asked himself. "This blood that courses through me, the secrets that I am entitled to, why do you fail to reveal them to me?" Omnigalas, with his fist clenched, felt unwanted tears fall along his cheeks. Nothing was more important to him than the pursuit of his draconic heritage, nothing more personal.
Kossuth is impersonal above all others of his ilk; he cares not for you.
The doubt in his own deity that assaulted Omnigalas did well to overwhelm his senses; he could clearly hear the nagging words in his mind.
"Power!" yelled Omnigalas. "That is what Kossuth would gain if one of his own devoted gained the powers of a dragon!"
The flame consumes all and everything in its wake. Compared to this, any sort of power obtainable by mortals is meager.
"The goals and intentions of the Flamelord, I could spread throughout the lands with ease", retorted Omnigalas. "With the power of Kossuth and the Red Dragons as a catalyst, I would be well equipped to have the will of Kossuth spread like wildfire throughout the land!"
You overplay your importance. The great fire that extends from Kossuth's touch needs no catalyst. The things that you chase are the stuff of dreams, you cannot succeed.
Defeated, Omnigalas picked up any equipment of his that way lying on the ground, and then strode off into the night.
***
This was not the first occurrence of this sort of questioning of his faith. It was happening with an increasing frequency, from weekly to nightly. Omnigalas had made little progress in the tapping into the latent power of his red dragon blood. Having recently been informed that no Red Dragons actually existed in the area by the Thayans, Omnigalas decided to concentrate on learning more about himself through reflection and prayer to Kossuth. This, in time, proved to be as successful as chasing around a non-existent Red Dragon.
Feeling betrayed by his own god, Omnigalas began exhibiting more of his true nature to those around him. No longer could he tolerate hiding behind the intricate layering of deception that he spent so long creating. His actions began to be driven by a cool and calculating drive for power that employed the use of cruelty and things of an even darker nature.
He began to seek his answers through methods other than meditation and prayer to his deity, his faith now having been all but extinguished. It was because of this that during one day, Omnigalas found himself at the Necropolis, engaged in an endless cycle of combat and violence with the almost infinite supply of undead that filled the place. It was this fated day, that the course of Omnigalas' life would forever be changed.
***
Thump. Thump. These were the sounds continually being made around Omnigalas as his furious sword demolished zombie after zombie. Omnigalas viewed this "exercise" as one of great fun, and soon found himself wearing an expression of joy on his face. This expression soon faded when Omnigalas turned around, to see a gnome standing behind him.
"Oi!” greeted the gnome Omnigalas recognized as Pom.
The relationship between the two was not exactly friendly, but it wasn't one of malice either. Conversing with each other, Omnigalas conveyed that he was engaging in combat with zombies outside the Necropolis merely to have some fun. The gnome plainly stated that such activities could never be considered by the gnome as fun; however, Pom offered assistance to Omnigalas. Knowing that the gnome had some power that could prove useful, he agreed.
It did not take long for the group to make it to the actual entrance to the Necropolis itself. At first, all appeared to be normal to the group; however, they began to hear a commotion originating from one of the balconies that protruded from the second level of the Necropolis.
Lo and behold, two familiar heads emerged from the darkness of the Necropolis. Hano and Tamryn, holy paladins of Torm whose presence did much to disgust the otherwise intrepid Omnigalas, stepped out onto the balcony. From here Hano pleased for assistance, stating that the forces that called the Necropolis home were holding his brother hostage.
Fortunately for the paladins, Pom had already shifted into a shape of a giant tree, in order to aid in the combat against the zombies. The paladins saw this as an opportunity to climb down to the rest of the group, and thusly acted upon it. Once they were on the ground, the paladins again pleaded Omnigalas and the others for assistance.
At first, hesitation gripped Omnigalas. The intense auras that radiated the paladins did much to nauseate him, and he could only tolerate their presence for a short time. Once this passed, however, Omnigalas stated that he would provide his assistance for some time for the sake of mere amusement.
With looks of suspicion ever falling upon Omnigalas, the group soon entered the Necropolis and began a long struggle and climb to the top of the complex.
***
Hours had passed, and many battles had been fought. Many of the forces that acted as agents of this dark place had fallen to the might of the group. After some particularly fierce battles, Omnigalas found himself in a large room that radiated much power and malevolence. It was here, in this room of bloodstained walls and corpses littered on the ground, that Omnigalas first glanced upon the one known as Mestra Ill'Koresh.
Hungry eyes greeted the group, and an intense aura of power was felt by all. Whereas the paladins felt this power as a thing to be feared and destroyed, Omnigalas felt it as a new and invigorating sensation, one that dripped with opportunity for his own self.
Demands were soon made for the safe release of the brother of Hano; the response for these demands was a sinister laughter that could be heard from Mestra Ill'Koresh. This sort of exchange occurred between the two groups for some time, until Mestra looked upon Omnigalas with interest.
Omnigalas could feel her peering into his soul. He knew that his initial feelings that he had when first entering the room would be betrayed at this moment. As he expected the one known as Mestra bellowed, "Where is that you stand? Do you wish to die along with your friends?"
As if knowing that this event would come to pass, Omnigalas could already feel the anger building in Hano as Omnigalas announced, "No! I do not! For a long time, I have been burdened with protecting myself from these foul, foul creatures through deception and lies. So long, have I put up with their mind-numbing idiocy and nature."
Omnigalas could clearly see the rage that was now consuming Hano. Continuing, Omnigalas further said, "You do not know your smell, your awful, awful odor. Since the time I have arrived in this valley, your mere presence has represented everything that I am not. Just looking upon you offends me greatly, and does well to cause me an unimaginable amount of pain."
With that, Omnigalas left the group that was now ready to cut him apart, and strode over to take his place besides the Ill'Koresh. This was something he had been waiting for, for a long time. He had finally found some sort of organization that held enough power to merit his betrayal of his most hated enemies. Upon reaching Mestra, he was greeted with hungry eyes of approval and power.
After this act, the brother of Hano's was released to the group. Omnigalas could see in their eyes that they would have no hope in actually defeating this powerful woman, and thus they slowly trudged off. Victory was not completely lost for them, as they gained back what they had sought, the brother of Hano; however, they now had a new enemy that had announced itself, one who they may have considered to be at least a harmless acquaintance: Omnigalas.
And as they left the room, the world that Omnigalas knew went completely black...
***
Omnigalas awoke in a start to find himself in an entirely different location, a citadel that radiated power and malevolence. After a brief amount of time was spent recomposing himself, Omnigalas turned to notice Mestra standing by his side.
He saw in her eyes much approval for his actions, but there was something about those eyes that still caused a small amount of fear to surface within Omnigalas. "You did well in making the right decisions back there", said Mestra. "You appear to be a man whose power would be most useful for our own efforts."
Omnigalas, barely keeping his arrogance in check, was inclined to nod in agreement. Seeing this, Mestra continued, "But there is one more for you to make, will you join us, and share in our power? Will you forsake Kossuth, and swear devotion to Bane?"
Kneeling and having just completed another session of deep prayer, Omnigalas opened his eyes and gave an empty stare to the barely lit fire that so much acted as a reflection of his own passion and belief of the power that could be obtained from it. Picking up his helmet that laid on the ground, Omnigalas placed it upon his head as he slow rose to his feet. Anger, betrayed by a new, hate-filled look in his eyes, guided his boot to the weak fire, smothering the flame.
Staring at the smoke that rose from the now distinguished fire, the red armored man began questioning everything he held close. "Kossuth...why?" Omnigalas asked himself. "This blood that courses through me, the secrets that I am entitled to, why do you fail to reveal them to me?" Omnigalas, with his fist clenched, felt unwanted tears fall along his cheeks. Nothing was more important to him than the pursuit of his draconic heritage, nothing more personal.
Kossuth is impersonal above all others of his ilk; he cares not for you.
The doubt in his own deity that assaulted Omnigalas did well to overwhelm his senses; he could clearly hear the nagging words in his mind.
"Power!" yelled Omnigalas. "That is what Kossuth would gain if one of his own devoted gained the powers of a dragon!"
The flame consumes all and everything in its wake. Compared to this, any sort of power obtainable by mortals is meager.
"The goals and intentions of the Flamelord, I could spread throughout the lands with ease", retorted Omnigalas. "With the power of Kossuth and the Red Dragons as a catalyst, I would be well equipped to have the will of Kossuth spread like wildfire throughout the land!"
You overplay your importance. The great fire that extends from Kossuth's touch needs no catalyst. The things that you chase are the stuff of dreams, you cannot succeed.
Defeated, Omnigalas picked up any equipment of his that way lying on the ground, and then strode off into the night.
***
This was not the first occurrence of this sort of questioning of his faith. It was happening with an increasing frequency, from weekly to nightly. Omnigalas had made little progress in the tapping into the latent power of his red dragon blood. Having recently been informed that no Red Dragons actually existed in the area by the Thayans, Omnigalas decided to concentrate on learning more about himself through reflection and prayer to Kossuth. This, in time, proved to be as successful as chasing around a non-existent Red Dragon.
Feeling betrayed by his own god, Omnigalas began exhibiting more of his true nature to those around him. No longer could he tolerate hiding behind the intricate layering of deception that he spent so long creating. His actions began to be driven by a cool and calculating drive for power that employed the use of cruelty and things of an even darker nature.
He began to seek his answers through methods other than meditation and prayer to his deity, his faith now having been all but extinguished. It was because of this that during one day, Omnigalas found himself at the Necropolis, engaged in an endless cycle of combat and violence with the almost infinite supply of undead that filled the place. It was this fated day, that the course of Omnigalas' life would forever be changed.
***
Thump. Thump. These were the sounds continually being made around Omnigalas as his furious sword demolished zombie after zombie. Omnigalas viewed this "exercise" as one of great fun, and soon found himself wearing an expression of joy on his face. This expression soon faded when Omnigalas turned around, to see a gnome standing behind him.
"Oi!” greeted the gnome Omnigalas recognized as Pom.
The relationship between the two was not exactly friendly, but it wasn't one of malice either. Conversing with each other, Omnigalas conveyed that he was engaging in combat with zombies outside the Necropolis merely to have some fun. The gnome plainly stated that such activities could never be considered by the gnome as fun; however, Pom offered assistance to Omnigalas. Knowing that the gnome had some power that could prove useful, he agreed.
It did not take long for the group to make it to the actual entrance to the Necropolis itself. At first, all appeared to be normal to the group; however, they began to hear a commotion originating from one of the balconies that protruded from the second level of the Necropolis.
Lo and behold, two familiar heads emerged from the darkness of the Necropolis. Hano and Tamryn, holy paladins of Torm whose presence did much to disgust the otherwise intrepid Omnigalas, stepped out onto the balcony. From here Hano pleased for assistance, stating that the forces that called the Necropolis home were holding his brother hostage.
Fortunately for the paladins, Pom had already shifted into a shape of a giant tree, in order to aid in the combat against the zombies. The paladins saw this as an opportunity to climb down to the rest of the group, and thusly acted upon it. Once they were on the ground, the paladins again pleaded Omnigalas and the others for assistance.
At first, hesitation gripped Omnigalas. The intense auras that radiated the paladins did much to nauseate him, and he could only tolerate their presence for a short time. Once this passed, however, Omnigalas stated that he would provide his assistance for some time for the sake of mere amusement.
With looks of suspicion ever falling upon Omnigalas, the group soon entered the Necropolis and began a long struggle and climb to the top of the complex.
***
Hours had passed, and many battles had been fought. Many of the forces that acted as agents of this dark place had fallen to the might of the group. After some particularly fierce battles, Omnigalas found himself in a large room that radiated much power and malevolence. It was here, in this room of bloodstained walls and corpses littered on the ground, that Omnigalas first glanced upon the one known as Mestra Ill'Koresh.
Hungry eyes greeted the group, and an intense aura of power was felt by all. Whereas the paladins felt this power as a thing to be feared and destroyed, Omnigalas felt it as a new and invigorating sensation, one that dripped with opportunity for his own self.
Demands were soon made for the safe release of the brother of Hano; the response for these demands was a sinister laughter that could be heard from Mestra Ill'Koresh. This sort of exchange occurred between the two groups for some time, until Mestra looked upon Omnigalas with interest.
Omnigalas could feel her peering into his soul. He knew that his initial feelings that he had when first entering the room would be betrayed at this moment. As he expected the one known as Mestra bellowed, "Where is that you stand? Do you wish to die along with your friends?"
As if knowing that this event would come to pass, Omnigalas could already feel the anger building in Hano as Omnigalas announced, "No! I do not! For a long time, I have been burdened with protecting myself from these foul, foul creatures through deception and lies. So long, have I put up with their mind-numbing idiocy and nature."
Omnigalas could clearly see the rage that was now consuming Hano. Continuing, Omnigalas further said, "You do not know your smell, your awful, awful odor. Since the time I have arrived in this valley, your mere presence has represented everything that I am not. Just looking upon you offends me greatly, and does well to cause me an unimaginable amount of pain."
With that, Omnigalas left the group that was now ready to cut him apart, and strode over to take his place besides the Ill'Koresh. This was something he had been waiting for, for a long time. He had finally found some sort of organization that held enough power to merit his betrayal of his most hated enemies. Upon reaching Mestra, he was greeted with hungry eyes of approval and power.
After this act, the brother of Hano's was released to the group. Omnigalas could see in their eyes that they would have no hope in actually defeating this powerful woman, and thus they slowly trudged off. Victory was not completely lost for them, as they gained back what they had sought, the brother of Hano; however, they now had a new enemy that had announced itself, one who they may have considered to be at least a harmless acquaintance: Omnigalas.
And as they left the room, the world that Omnigalas knew went completely black...
***
Omnigalas awoke in a start to find himself in an entirely different location, a citadel that radiated power and malevolence. After a brief amount of time was spent recomposing himself, Omnigalas turned to notice Mestra standing by his side.
He saw in her eyes much approval for his actions, but there was something about those eyes that still caused a small amount of fear to surface within Omnigalas. "You did well in making the right decisions back there", said Mestra. "You appear to be a man whose power would be most useful for our own efforts."
Omnigalas, barely keeping his arrogance in check, was inclined to nod in agreement. Seeing this, Mestra continued, "But there is one more for you to make, will you join us, and share in our power? Will you forsake Kossuth, and swear devotion to Bane?"
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