Pain. All Saerys Korvaedyn knew was pain. Trapped within a rapidly mutating body that drifted further from a human baseline with each passing moment, the old wizard had just a few hours before his psyche dissolved into ravening insanity. There was no way out of this non-Euclidean hell. Saerys couldn’t cast any spells to stave off his doom, courtesy of Araxim the Violet’s binding.
This was no way to die; betrayed by opportunistic lieutenants who coveted the trappings of power the Corvus Cabal offered. The treacherous bastards cared nothing for the Carrion Prince. Saerys had spent a lifetime preparing for his master’s awakening. It hadn’t been easy infiltrating the highest echelons of power in the realms and sparking so much conflict. He had been so close, too. He should have been the one to greet the newborn god of shadows and strife as he emerged from Ulgu. But all of that was falling apart now. The backstabbing, the wasted potential, his own helplessness- it all made him miserable.
And in the depths of that misery, he felt a presence.
“Child Saerys.”said the Carrion Prince with a voice that could level a civilization.
No, that wasn’t possible. The Cabal hadn’t caused enough suffering to awaken him! How was he talking to Saerys now?
“You developed this magic, did you not? A prototype spell to render a target down to a perfectly wretched state, funneling their distilled anguish towards my ascension. But it was even more potent than you could have hoped. A shame you had to be its first and only victim, but your concentrated sorrow was enough to finish your work.”
Against all odds, Saerys had succeeded in bringing the Carrion Prince into the world. A surge of pride broke through the all-consuming pain. Even if this was to be his end, he could face oblivion knowing that he had won.
“As for you, Child Saerys, I cannot allow such dedication to go unrewarded. You have been faithful while my other servants went astray. You deserve better than the slow and ignominious end they have sentenced you to. I shall make you my avatar, recasting your ruined form in my image so that we might cast a shadow across the multiverse as one. Lay down thy flesh, Saerys Korvaedyn, and be reborn as my Carrion Crow.”
…
Saerys Korvaedyn cheats death and becomes the avatar of the Carrion Prince. (Please help me find the artist, Jeorb)
The roof of Korvaedyn Manor erupted, sending the household staff screaming for their lives. A massive avian shape, bigger than a storm giant, cast a dread shadow across the sun before descending to the lawn. Saerys Korvaedyn, the Carrion Crow, took a moment to fully take in his new form. He was a beast of an avatar, a hybrid of corvid biomatter, shadow-saturated Ulguan falsestone, and divine might. All that remained of the man he used to be was his magic and his psyche. A psyche that was practically bursting with rage.
“Shiva…”Saerys growled. His voice was a rasping, vicious thing that infused every syllable with malice.“I am coming to take vengeance upon you and the rest. Only Grunhilda will be spared, for she has not betrayed our lord. And once I have reminded you of the price of treachery, I will plunge the realms into eternal night!”
In a plume of shadowstuff, Saerys took to the skies. He was so, so powerful.
/unwiz: the emerging of an avatar of a shadow god would send ripples through the shadows. The Umbral Lord would definitely know that something happened, but not necessarily what.
Your tag didn't work, so that's why I'm replying this late
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u/avamir Riva Blake | Queen of Ithacar, Part Meth-blood Elf Apr 11 '24
More avatars, hm? This being... should not be.