The Exchange

[Khamballa]

...shortly after the bloodrage...http://altisonus.org/v-web/gallery/Blizzard-Banned-Me/batrider2?full=1

Upon the bat, Khamballa whipped in and out of the clouds – deeper and deeper into the heavens until a great blackness swept over him. In the midst of his rage he had become free… his fleshy body tattered into bloody ribbons that twirled and rained down back to the earth so far bellow. His spirit drifted upon the winds until he awoke in the Kingdom of Shakha. There flowed like water in gigantic fountains, blood, blood of those who had been either sacrificed to the Blood God or blood of those that had fallen to the spears, blades and arrows of the Horde. There, great warriors did battle days on end until it was time to rest. After battling the warriors feasted a great feast and drank from the blood of the fountains.

There Khamballa grew smarter in the ways of battle – not strength, not technique, not tactics but a force far greater than all of these aspects of combat. He learned to find the root of a Troll’s blood crazed rage, an insurmountable power locked down inside the warrior, a rage, a hatred, a love and a hunger that coursed through muscle violently enough to snap bones.

Peering down upon the vast lands of Aezeroth he grew anxious. He had left the realm just before the war had broken fully. He had seen the early skirmishes that lead to war, but he had never tasted the flesh of a mounted warrior – or had the pleasure of being struck by an airborne attack. He had yet to hear the scream of a thousand trolls assaulting his homeland of stranglethorn as he landed in Booty Bay. He had not yet cut off the ears of night elves and burned their idols to the ground. He had not seen to it that the Forsaken would be a safe ally for the Horde. He truly needed to return, he knew this. But he knew not how. Shakha was more than willing to let him return to Aezeroth – but to return, Khamballa needed to have a sacrifice made to him, not a sacrifice of blood, but a sacrifice of an entire body – he would need a vessel to return.

The vessel would need to be new, cleansed and accepting a trade that would determine the fate of their very soul. Shakha and this willing troll would need to be at an agreement – Shakha exchanges Khamballa for the soul of the willing body. Khamballa would have a new body, and the vessel’s soul would be granted into the Kingdom of Shakha. This would be easy enough. However, that would take the works of a very dark magician, the kind of magician that raised bodies that had died of the dreaded plague. It would take a magician that could create a forsaken, a magic that was not trusted. Shakha looked to Legba. Legba decided to make the exchange so long as he would be granted the gift of The Fallen Sight – a gift that granted powerful mages and warlocks the slight ability to glimpse at an entire fallen soldier’s life so long as the soldier’s blood could still be tasted and was still fresh. Legba, having been granted this gift decided he would carry out Shakha’s request.

Legba set out to find a perfect vessel and it was not long until he succeeded. He had discovered a young worshiper of Shakha in Durotar. He had heard the legend of Khamballa and had been named in honor of him. His name was Xhamballah. Legba, in front of a small congregation of Darkspear initiated the cosmic exchange under the sheathe of night. Drizzling the blood of night elf upon the body of Xhamballa, Legba let out a speech barely audible to the average troll – it was the language spoken in the times of the two kingdoms. From a distance the sound of a squeeling bat could be heard, the dying screams of alliance could also be heard. Xhamballa began to spasm; he flipped and churned until the squealing became terrifying.

it went silent.

Xhamballa, now on his chest, pushed down upon the ground and rocked himself onto his feet and remained in the squatting position. His hair and eyes now burned a bright red, looking side to side he observed the group of Darkspear with familiar looking, snake like movements. The exchange had been a success.

”I be like de snake, I slitha on da bottom, brudda”

It was him. He had returned. He was weak – but that would pass in time.

[zilog]

Nice, I especially like the snake analogies and the bat screeches. Your return Khamballa, is a benefit to us.

[Rhoach]

Ditto