My unofficial add on to the Book of Sorrows [b][u]Chapter 1 - My Poison, My Pride[/u][/b] [b][i]Verse 1:1 - A war of love[/i][/b] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/213621711?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1 [b][i]Verse 1:2 - This is your charge[/i][/b] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/213708637/0/0 [b][i]Verse 1:3 - From Court to Court[/i][/b] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/213842051/0/0 [b][i]Verse 1:4 - Little by Little[/i][/b] One by one the floating metallic husks silently cracked open. Purple orbs of whirling void energy, ever watchful etheric eyes, spun in place and tracked the nameless intruder through the rotting hallowed grounds of the Dreadnought. The intruder was en route to the cellars where the light of the slain, offered by the supplicants of Oryx, was stored to feed the worm of the Hive's god king. This secret journey was nothing new. The nameless one's trek to Oryx's cellars had become routine. How much time had passed since the first intrusion, since mother Savathun departed and left her child to its deceitful mission? Enough. The once nameless Thrall had grown. He was now different, powerful, changed in every conceivable way. Arrayed in savarery and spite, he was now a Hive Prince. Through mastering the ways of the Sword Logic he had shed his weakness as a Thrall to gain the strength of an Acolyte but this was not enough. In his acolyte strength he had learned to be stealthy and agile; to hide beyond the sight and senses of comrade and foe. This was not enough either. Through constant battle in Oryx's court he learned the true ways of war. By continued slaughter he fed upon the light of his prey like sweet marrow fresh from the bone. This hardened him in his cruetly and granted him Knight strength. In his Knight strength he slew his first Hive, one of his own, and devoured their vile soul. This was the beginning to the path to becoming Ascendant; to truly attaining immortality. Why had he chosen to become a Knight and not a Wizard like mother Savathun or sister Balwur? Because he had observed the Warpriest, the ever faithful servant of Oryx. When the nameless one made his first visit to the Basilica he witnessed the awesome might of Wormgods' Servant. He beheld the Oculus, the Warpriest's Oversoul, and learned the true might of an Ascendant Hive Knight. The nameless one became obsessed and mantled the Warpriest in many ways. Finally the nameless Prince arrived at the shielded doors of the Basilica. He carried in hand a battle worn Boomer that had been pried from the claws of the first Knight that he had ever slain. He knelt in the archway and offered a small portion of violence. The boomer lifted over his head as the death energy drained from it. The barrier dissipated and he entered. Through dark and winding mazes the nameless Prince soon found his way into the cellar guarded by the Ogre Golgoroth. He stared for a moment at the Tablet of Ruin that sat in the center of the cellar and shuddered. It wasn't Golgoroth he feared, but rather facing the beast before he had reached the pinnacle of Ascendant power that he desired. He knew that he would have to crush both the Warpriest and Gologoroth under his feet when he would finally launch his campaign to take Oryx's throne. Despite his great strength and cunning, the Knight was unaware of one thing, his secret was known. From the day that he first entered the High War, Ir Anuk and Ir Halak, Oryx's eldest daughters, had been charged with observing everyone of Savathun's combatants. All had proved faithful to their King but one. Through the use of Shriekers, the covens of Deathsingers and Wizards watched the nameless Thrall sneak daily into the Warpriest's grounds where it should have offered its tribute as a tithe to Oryx. From the Threshold of the Dreadnought the daughters of Oryx watched the false Prince stealing the Blight that belonged to Oryx and his gods. "Who is this traitorous thing that skulks about and feeds on the tribute of father and gods?" Asked Ir Anuk. "Why have we not seen his punishment? He has grown large in his hunger and thinks himself clever but We are more clever than he" said Ir Halak bitterly. "He is your cousin" answered Oryx. "He was sent by Savathun to tithe upon me but he has used her own trickery against her. You have watched him keep for himself the tribute that was due to his King. You have watched him in secret destroy and torture those weaker than him so that he could gain their strength. If he does not already, he will soon covet my throne. I like him! His scheming must come to an end however. It's time that I visited my dear nephew." Oryx shook out his wings and roared. A shadowy manifestation of black fire emanated from his body in his likeness. It hovered briefly in the presence of the two sisters before disappearing in a blinding flash and screech. In Golgoroth's cellar the Hive Prince drank of the blighted light that had been offered by Oryx's court and servants. It was rich and nourished his worm. "I will have a double portion today" he thought to himself. At first the Prince had been careful to only take what he needed to grow stronger but over time this became more difficult. Little by little did he rob the sacred stores of his King but his worm's hunger had grown greater than he expected. The power of the blights that he consumed accelerated his growth in terrible ways. They were laced with the Taken power. He finished his meal and stood to examine himself. He had grown large and fearsome. He thought about the transmogrification spaces, the Cauldrons, where aspiring Hive would ascend to a higher state of existence through dark ritual. He, however, would be found in no such chamber. His progression would be his own. His skin had become course and scaly with his increase in power. The armor that formed on his body had grown harder than the hadium that comprised the Dreadnought. With each bit of stolen blight his might increased and his wisdom grew. The covering that once concealed his three eyes as a Thrall had thickened was now hideous. It throbbed and pulsated. "How...impressive" he said to himself. The Prince lifted his Boomer from the ground and turned to retreat back to his quarters. His return was cut short. The runes etched into the Tablet of Ruin began to burn and the ground began to shake. "Golgoroth! No, not now. I lack the strength to kill him" the Prince cried. In front of the Tablet there was a blinding flash and howl. Oryx's echo manifested and confronted the thief. "You have been judged!" shouted the Echo. "Come now and receive your punishment." A tear opened above the Prince. It was just as the apertures that the Taken burst through as they invade and plague the material plane. The Prince felt the tear open wide and fire engulfing him. The pull was too great to resist. He felt his entire being come ablaze. He was consumed in pure elation and agony. There was a moment of complete silence and then only the voice of Oryx. "[i]Malok! Cunning Malok, sly and slippery! Savathun begat you to betray me. To poison slowly, gnaw from within. Liar Malok! You are meant to tithe upon Oryx. To feed yourself with secret blight. Your secret is two lies. You betrayed your maker, your mother. You hid yourself from Savathun. The tithing does not reach her jaws. Your Thrall strength now is Acolyte strength. Your Acolyte strength now is Knight strength. Your thieving pride is known and fed. Malok! Listen - I took you from your mother, my sister. Your shape is new. This shape is poison - the shape of secrets. I name you Malok, which means My Poison. A prize to taunt sister Savathun. Steal now for me[/i]." Malok stood once again in the Cellar but he was now alone. Every fiber of his being desired only to destroy the Light and to serve only Oryx. "Where to begin?" Malok asked himself. "I believe that I should pay mother and her court a visit..."