The Fall of Necrucifer

Background

I know that it has been long since I have risen and served in the marble halls that Necrucifer willed out of the desert by his holy power - and thus my words will not carry political weight in the structured order which lies within Storm Keep. I see now from my cave of solitude from which I stare out over Algoron that truly, our Lord is fallen, and with it hope that our Prophesy will ever be fulfilled.

“Assist Necrucifer return so that He will rule Algoron.”

We stand at a crossroads of purpose, and it is right that our Dark Council make the decisions required to define that purpose once more, if that be its Will.

I pen this to add my perspective, which I submit to the Dark Council as an options paper from the decaying mind of a dream that once meant that Shadow would ride at Necrucifer's right hand, as his trusted mortal lieutenants, subjugating all organisations and races and impose a New World Order on Algoron. Enlightenment. Unification. The end of Anarchy. The end of Chaos. The end of balance.

For those who know me, know my motivations for joining Storm Keep. I don't give a damn about honour. I saw the power of the Prophesy. I knew what the rewards would be should we deliver Algoron to Necrucifer. For this I have gambled my whole life in His service to Higher Evil - and it has all been for nothing - I have lost. Some of these options seek to deliver this divine reward, others seek to deliver the reward in mortal and lesser terms. Should all options fail, then vengeance remains available.

So with this view in mind I pen what I see are potential options for the future of Storm Keep. I offer these to the Dark Council for consideration as a work of academic value, with no option above the other.

Ibiza le Toad

Options

The resurrection of our Lord

The creation of Storm Keep is testament to the fact that anything is possible upon Algoron given enough time. Time we have waited long, but Death is Patient. We know that long ago according to the Divine Doctrine, "the blood of Necrucifer tainted the rivers and oceans, its very essence permeated everywhere in the land, spawning evil creatures and beings alike." If there were some way that could be explored to return our Lord to us, then all would not be lost if we were to quest successfully. After all, the birth of Shadowmagic was instigated from the life that spring forth from Necrucifer's legacy to Algoron. If this could be rekindled from what he has left behind, we have new hope.

A redefined purpose

Those who know me well know that I never had time for racial purity. To me it was just a limiting factor in our Singularity of delivering Algoron to Necrucifer. I wrote many papers on Purism to argue this fact, yet Shadow's dogmatic philosophy allowed little room for reform, and for this I hold no malice towards my past political opponents. I am too old to hold a grudge. Shadow is born from the roots of San Gohdam, and Targetter - true heroes of Evil. Targetter is the closest any of Necrucifer's kind came to world domination. The Eclipse that is rising above it's ashes also has this goal.

For Storm Keep, success would mean that we could still enforce our New World Order should we succeed, but it will be a lesser mortal overlordship, rather than the divine under Necrucifer. We would be forced to merge or align ourselves with the Eclipse whose goal this is, meaning that we would not share absolute power ourselves, lest we seek to absorb this new following.

Vengeance

Drakkara has a lot to answer for in the slaying of Necrucifer. Should the Dark Council consider that all is lost with the fall of God, then a plot to bring down His slayer would be our final offering of revenge out of loyalty to him.

See also Dragoth / Fatale - "A new Patron"

A new Patron

Storm Keep had a total dedication to Necrucifer. It raised him over the rest, we demanded our magic came from him rather than Drakkara, our shadowmagic comes from His blood. But he is gone.

We could still gain the glory and divine power of a New World Order if another god came and offered it up to us then the Dark Council need to consider if it is palatable to previously do the unthinkable and follow another.

    Drakkara

She slew our Lord for her own gain, and that this cannot be forgiven lightly. however, if she were to ursurp His position and inherit His power, and if it were Her inclination, then she could deliver to us what we were promised under Necrucifer.

    Devion

Whilst historically, Devion has been the trickster and Lord of Deceit, if Storm Keep were to ally to Him to bring about the downfall of Nadrik then this would be an option. Consider further if the outcome was that Nadrik was not destroyed, but turned, corrupted and twisted into a new Necrucifer. It is acknowledged that this would require a significant change.

    Dragoth/Fatale

Should all hope be lost, there is always vengeance upon Algoron. If we are not able to rule Algoron as Necrucifer's lieutenants, then we may wish to damn Algoron to destruction. If we can't have it then no one can. Be this by disease and decay or murder would mean little difference.

    Malachive

Long ago, we pledged ourselves to protect the Son of Necrucifer. We paid the price and gained little. But Malachive now offers freedom from the Gods so that mortals may follow their own destinies. This is in direct contradiction to the New World Order we seek to impose. I do not see how this might come to pass, unless Malachive has darker plans than the naive who believe he offers "freedom for those of Algoron".

Disbanding

This eminates from a selfish desire to gain at the expense of others. With Higher Evil no longer deliverable through Necrucifer, Lower Evil is the only path. Yet I do not believe this will be the outcome for this Keep, because of the inherent order an structure that we have come to abide by to become common bandits. A tired few, those who are weak, may choose this path now that Necrucifer's divine reward is no longer possible.

Conclusion

Storm Keep is the Prophesy, and the Prophesy is Storm Keep. Of all the options, Necrucifer's resurrection is perhaps the nearest to seeing our purpose done according to the Singularity and Finality. Of Unity and Brotherhood.

However, should this not be possible, the Dark Council of Storm Keep have several options to consider in this paper, and no doubt positions of their own they would debate together before deciding upon the fate of the Shadowknights of Necrucifer.