Sharguul and the Soul

[Nakobu]

Sharguul and the Soul

An sea of endless stars and twisting streaks of bright pastel coloured energies was all Nakobu could see as he opened his eyes. The orc looked around in confusion. Where was he? He was mending Zi'tani's wounds only a moment ago... but now he was in the Great Dark? The Nether? He did not know. The entire scene before him constantly spun and changed as he drifted through the space, the feeling of nausea confirming that it was him spinning rather than the stars themselves.

Try as he might, Nakobu could not stop his body from its tumbling over and over as he drifted further onwards. No amount of flailing his arms and legs or twisting his body could stop the motion that he had apparently been placed into. As he turned and turned, his movements caused his pouches to come loose from his belt, their contents flooding out all around him. His last remaining gemstones from his home world floated off into the pastel lights around him. Skint's crystal that lights up upon his touch was now dark, having sailed out of his sight. The communicator to Vin'scadrial and the radio to Zapdrill began their drift into the stars beyond.

Nakobu stared at all of his belongings as they span around and around in his vision, heading further and further away from him. Only a single thing lingered close to Nakobu, still having stayed close. It was the crystal linked to Skint's soul, a deep shade of purple and around a finger in size. Nakobu reached out desperately with his right hand, failing to grasp onto the crystal before it decided to leave him as well.

Upon his failure, Nakobu's stomach dropped as he felt himself begin to fall. No longer was he being suspended to float through space, now instead being left to begin his decent. Faster and faster did he fall, the distant stars and bright colours becoming a blur as he rushed further and further down. Eventually, Nakobu saw what looked to be some form of white, mist-like barrier, a barrier he was fast approaching. Scrunching his eyes and bracing himself for impact, Nakobu plunged through the ghostly mists.

Nakobu opened his eyes as he passed through to the other side of the misty barrier. What he saw was... not what he expected. Great fields of green grasslands, stretching from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye can see. The lands were dyed orange by the setting sun, it's glow casting the final light upon the realm. His fall began to slow as he neared the ground below him, his tumbling now stabilising. Looking up at the sky, he saw the swirling barrier of white mists at the sky's zenith, the rest of it gold and pink from the sun's rays.

Before long, Nakobu landed gently on the grasses, feet first. Looking around, it reminded him much of the Fields of Farahlon back home... Nakobu stood a moment, feeling the cool breeze move over his skin. He might have had no idea where he has ended up, but it was a nice enough place... “So. The one known as Nakobu makes his appearance.” Nakobu near jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice, spinning around to face it. Coming towards him was a massive black wolf, with eyes of ice and leaving shadows with each step. Sharguul. How did he not spot him before...?

Sharguul made his way up to Nakobu, stopping before him as he spoke. “You know who this one is. And know that I have not called on you without reason.” Sharguul motioned his nose in the direction behind Nakobu. The orc turns to look in the direction pointed to, his eyes growing wide at the sight. A spectral looking Skint floats in the air, her fluffy hair flowing outwards and her eyes looking in his direction. A portal to what appears to be Shattrath has formed behind her, waiting to be used. Below her lay her body, with some form of crystal and a scroll resting on her chest.

Nakobu begins to run towards her, before Sharguul's voice rings out. “I know of your plans to save that one. To rescue her from her fate. But are you sure you can ascertain her safety? Or will this end in the worst case imaginable?” Nakobu kept running despite Sharguul's words, dashing across the green of the grasslands. The sun finally fully set behind the horizon, plunging the realm into darkness as Nakobu stopped before Skint.

From behind her, a figure emerged. A troll with a face like a rush'kah mask and bone adorning his body. Bwonsamdi. He places his hands around Skint's soul, causing her to start fading away. Nakobu attempts to reach up and grasp her before she disappears, but... his hands find nothing but air. Bwonsamdi laughs as Skint disappears, her soul consumed. Nakobu cries out in sorrow, falling down onto his knees. His eyes welled up with tears as they begun to stream down his face, his heart rent at his failure.

Sharguul shakes his head as he speaks once again. “If one had a second chance, what would one do? Let us see, shall we?” With his words, the realm began to move in reverse. The sun rose back up from the horizon. Bwonsamdi disappeared. Skint's soul returned. And Nakobu was dragged back next to Sharguul.

Nakobu quickly sprinted up to Skint's soul, not waiting for anything, holding his hands out to her whilst speaking rapidly in Draenei. Blessing after blessing is placed upon Skint as Nakobu goes through verse after verse, the orc becoming visibly more and more worn out. Shields of power, holy runes of fortification, sanctifying barriers; anything he could think of that might keep the Loa of Death away for those few precious seconds needed.

Bwonsamdi soon makes his appearance, glancing at the holy works illuminating the area around Skint, before turning his cold gaze to Nakobu. Grinning widely, the Loa grabs a hold of the heavenly wards around her, slowly crushing them with his dark spectral powers. One by one, the barriers and fortifications crack, break and shatter, before once again Skint is consumed. With a flick of the trollish death god's hand, Nakobu is blasted back towards Sharguul, his head crashing onto the hard earth with an audible thud.

Sharguul spoke once more, this time Nakobu hearing it in his very mind as he feels himself begin to fall unconscious. “Hrm. So, one has chosen to struggle vainly against the odds... So be it. But what, this one asks, would you do if you could not even be there for your ever desperate struggle?” Once again, everything rewinds, Nakobu now back to where he was when he was mid-sprint. Ghostly chains wrap around his form, forcing him to the ground. “One cannot always account that one will be there upon the time of demise.” Nakobu writhes against the chains as he once again witnesses his failure to stop the fate befalling Skint's soul, Bwonsamdi causing her to fade away.

A spectral dagger forms above Nakobu, plunging deep into his back and through his heart. Nakobu convulses as Sharguul speaks once again. “Perhaps even, one would not be alive to see it happen. And so this one asks again. Can you ascertain her safety? No. Not alone.” The realm once again rewinds itself, back to when Nakobu was first wrapped up by the chains. This time around, Sharguul leaps forth himself to fend off the Loa of Death, before, with a flash of ghostly light, he sends Skint's soul through the portal.

Nakobu blinks from the bright light, suddenly finding himself standing before Sharguul once again. Nakobu hurriedly looks behind him, but Skint is not there. Nothing was there. Sharguul stares down at Nakobu as the orc looks back to the great wolf. “Alone, one cannot ensure the safety of her soul.” Sharguul begins pacing around Nakobu, leaving his shadowed paw prints in the grass. “Do you know of this one's role? It is to protect the pack. All of the pack. To guide them to their afterlives. You and the one known as Skint may be New Bloods of the pack now, but before long you will be oath bound same as all the rest.”

Sharguul stops his pacing, standing back in front of Nakobu. “To save her soul, you need this one. And this one, needs you. Seek out the one known as Madeye. It is with him that your path will begin.”

Nakobu woke with a start, glancing around the room of his imprisonment in a panic, his breathing heavy. A dream? An illusion? No... He felt it to be truthful... but why? Question after question go around and around in his head, the orc unable to come to a conclusion on his own. It seems he would have to seek out Madeye for answers after all...

[Okiba]

Awesome! Interesting to see how the latest clan spirit is impacting on the different Orcs!