The Black Lotus and The Shabender
Part 1: The Failure and The Promise
Sami stood quivering with white hot rage as she took in the destruction around her. In the last 48 hours, the peace they had just finished fighting tooth and paw for was laid in ruins. The Serpent’s Spine, her beloved monument to the order she dedicated her life to was but a pile of rubble; The Klaxxi now acting as enforcers for the New Black Empire ruling the continent.
Gymer said nothing, which in itself was a sign of his despair and agony. He too had seen his entire way of life laid in a grave in the last two days; because that way of life was not enough to save them. He stood a few paces back from Sami, taking in the wider surroundings and just how desolate they were. The region once known as The Dread Wastes now stretched over almost half the continent, The Klaxxi and Sha now just pawns in a grander game, servants of an Empire that came to their unholy rule on The Celestials’ watch.
“There is almost nothing left of it.” Sami said forlornly. “My last hope for this place was to see the wall still standing, but even it now lies in ruins.” As she said this her sadness refired into the rage she had internalised before she spoke. Gymer could see her shaking, he could see even the calm, confident and calculated Sami Ren succumb to her emotions. She was Shado-Pan, she had specific training to resist this kind of reaction, and yet she could not help herself; how was he supposed to?
“I have lost everything.” Gymer said, out loud but almost to himself. “My apprentice is dead, my son…” He choked, took a deep breath and began again. “My son is missing, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to find him. Everything I have ever loved is gone, except for you.” That brought Sami’s head around. She approached him sliding back her hat to rest on the back of her head and placing her paws into his, her palms down his up.
“I know.” She whispered. “I loved them too. I hope Kayenier makes her way to safety, but I fear with her corruption to the Void, we may end up having to face her as an enemy rather than an ally.” She felt a great sadness at mentioning Kayenier, Sami loved her like a sister, a daughter even. To Sami, Kayenier’s capture was the first casualty of this war, and the beginning of the end for them. “We are all alone.”
Gymer pulled away, he had not felt this way in a long time. All of his training, his communion with the Celestials, it begged him not to fall to anger, hatred and revenge, but the thought of Ninzao and his words made Gymer’s blood boil. “Trust in the Way of The Monk” he had said, “Trust in the process, and peace will be won.” Gymer said this last quote out loud, the disdain for his god filling his voice.
“I believed in them, the Celestials, their guidance, their wisdom and their way.” He said, breaking almost into a yell. He sliced the air with his hand, “No longer. I am done with their prophecies, their way of life. All it ever did for me was force me to train up an innocent boy for his slaughter, telling him every step of the way that his sacrifice was the only way, and that it would mean something; anything!” He was enraged, and it felt good, better than any other feeling of the past few days. “But no longer, I am done. The Way of The Monk is flawed.”
Sami had been staring at her beloved, and saw in him exactly how she felt. She truly believed in the prophecy, that Thalrian would have to die to save them all, and she had prepared for that day. When it came, and only plunged the world into further chaos, she realised that she truly loved him, and that he didn’t deserve to die for nothing.
“Maybe it is.” She said quietly. That brought Gymer’s head up. “Maybe it is flawed, maybe the suppression of our emotions, of our rage, hatred and anger has held us back. Pandaria has fallen and we are the only ones left who can do anything about it. I once built us weapons and armour, for the philosophy of defence and preservation; we must rearm for vengeance and survival. Our people’s freedom depends on it.”
Gymer calmed, the affirmation of how he felt by his beloved sated his rage for just a moment. “This is a truly dark path we are walking, we stray from The Way of The Monk, we are open to manipulation by the Sha.” He smiled grimly, “Perhaps if we get their attention, we could use them for our own ends.”
Metal clashed against metal, the forge working day and night for three suns, Sami forging new armour and weapons for the couple, now signed into a life of war to liberate their homeland at any and all costs. These were not the implements of the monk, or even the tools of a Shado-Pan spy, these were weapons of pure unmeasured death and destruction. Black sha susceptible metals moulded into a full suit for Gymer, encrusted with sha-corrupted jewels now abundant around the abandoned shrines and temples of Pandaria. A spear was also crafted, not a bo staff as he was accustomed, this weapon could impale up to six Klaxxi in one strike, it was made for killing. For Sami, Gymer hunted Sha corrupted beasts in the southern Jade Forest, skinning them and manipulating their hides into armour fit for The Black Lotus herself. Sami emblazoned her Katana with the void corrupted fires of her forge, creating a weapon of pure vengeance; pure malice.
They were ready, geared up for an all out guerilla war on The Black Empire, using their powers of corruption against them. In both sets of armour, Sami and Gymer felt their emotions heighten, instead of being suppressed by the serenity of the Celestials. This unlocked a pure undying pool of anger, hatred, passion and fear. The weapons of a soldier in this new time.
Gymer, holding his helm in his paws, looked up at Sami who was holding hers. “If this breaks us, I want you to know that I love you, and I regret nothing. This is for Thalrian, and to find my son. I will give everything, and do whatever it takes.”
“I love you too. For Thalrian… For Ru.”
Forging a New Path
Maps
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Map of Pandaria
Gymer
Sami Ren
Kayenier Sinderveil
Thalrian Guilderglade
