Forum:Stygian Brood: Difference between revisions

{{Quote|I don’t care what happens to them. Just get them out of my turf.|[[UserWiki:Vothriks, the Lost|Vothriks, the Lost]]}}

The '''Stygian Brood''' is a heretical sect of [[Hive]] operating in the [[Tangled Shore]], identifiable with their black-colored armor with spikes. They are led by the former [[Blood of Oryx]] member, [[Forum:Viznoor, the Black|Viznoor, the Black]]. They can also be found in [[Old Chicago]], attempting to carve a realm for themselves beyond the Tangled Shore, in which they are currently locked in a territorial dispute with the [[Scorn]] and a [[Forum:Vothriks’ Faction|mysterious faction of rogue]] [[Taken]] for control over [[Forum:The Wreck|The Wreck]].  

The Stygian Brood were formerly members of the Blood of Oryx. During the [[Battle of Saturn]], the warship they were on was disabled and crashed into an asteroid on the outskirts of the [[Reef]], much like the vessel that housed [[In Anânh, Brood Queen]]. A portion of the ship’s crew had survived, although few in number and marooned, with no way of contacting for help, essentially crippling the horde. The Hive soon went into hiding in order to rebuild their numbers for the duration of the [[Taken War]].

Sometime after the formation of the Stygian Brood, Viznoor and his consort, [[Forum:Ir Azari, Will of Viznoor|Ir Azari]], began working to find ways to free themselves and their brood from the Worms. They took to practicing necromancy as a possible first step to learning how to do so, perhaps even use it as a sort of building point to their liberation from the Worms. They hand-picked several of their most loyal followers for the experiments, which they willingly chose to partake in. After some time of their guinea-pigs being continuously slaughtered and resurrected in order to find new ways to circumvent the Worm’s constant hunger. Eventually, Ir Azari developed what could be a possible solution, and began performing her own experiments with her power of necromancy. She managed to develop a new form of necromancy, which allowed Hive to be reanimated without Worms in their bodies, but still retaining their immortality and power.

Before they could subvert the Sword Logic however, they first needed to exploit it. Ir Azari and her daughters constructed a device from the remains of Hive from other broods, as well as emancipated Worms, which they named the ‘Kill Battery’, and sent numerous scouts who still had their Worms, magically transformed to appear as members of the [[Grasp of Nokris]] to the [[Hellas Basin]] of [[Mars]]. These scouts infiltrated the [[Escalation Protocol]] and would be repeatedly slain by [[Guardians]] participating in the event. The Kill Battery would draw power from the scouts’ continuous deaths, before finally being charged enough to be able to create a Throne World in the [[Ascendant Realm]]. The Kill Battery was then moved into this new throne world, so that they could begin the next phase of their plan.

=== The Daughters’ Experiments ===

Inspired by their parents’ mastery in subverting and freeing themselves from the Sword Logic entirely, the 6 Daughters of Viznoor decided to perform some experiments of their own. They gathered remains of Hive from other sects and took them to a private chamber for experimentation. Viznoor soon learned of their activities, and came to them personally to ask what they were doing. Viznoor discovered that they were resurrecting the captured Hive, and altering their forms to design new twisted morphs. They had even managed to transform [[Forum:Duzil, Daughter of Viznoor|Ir Duzral]], the youngest among them, into a form of female Knight. Impressed by their ingenuity and cunning, Viznoor appointed the Daughters to be in charge of designing new forms of Hive for the Stygian Brood to take and use to fight against their enemies. Slowly but surely, the number of new artificial morphs within the brood began to grow thanks to the Daughters’ sorcery in converting Hive.

It was also around this time when [[Forum:Zornok, Willbreaker’s Fragment|Zornok, Willbreaker’s Fragment]], a rogue Taken champion, would become active around the solar system. The Stygian Brood briefly engaged with him and his Taken before he fled to blight the [[Cosmodrome]] and other worlds within the inner system.

As the Stygian Brood continued to thrive and multiply across the Shore, they discovered a previously uncharted location, a massive abandoned shipyard known as ‘the Wreck’. Seizing the opportunity to claim new territory for his Brood, Viznoor ordered his forces to seize the Wreck, building large underground tunnels to it from Soriks’ Cut and the [[Jetsam of Saturn]]. They began to construct a large Hive nest under the new location while scouts were sent to patrol and secure the surface.

As the battle in the Wreck continued to rage, [[Forum:Avaka, Chosen by Viznoor|Avaka]] and the [[Forum:Wrath of Viznoor|Wraths of Viznoor]] would be unleashed in order to corrupt Vothriks and his men back into mindless servants. Avaka’s blight spread through the area, and they had managed to enslave one of [[Forum:Vorn, Lost to Viznoor|Vothriks’ commanders]] along with a sizable portion of the soldiers under him. Avaka was then sent deeper into Vothriks’ territory, in an [[Forum:Encroaching Blight|attempt]] to blight his main base of operations from under his [[Ketch]].

However, this attempt would be thwarted, as [[The Guardian]] would be sent to investigate the unusual behavior of the Taken in the Wreck, discovering Avaka’s activities and forcing him to retreat after a brief struggle. They would then work with Vothriks to hunt down and kill Vorn, before staging a full-on [[Forum:Dark Heresy|counterattack]], pushing into the heart of the Brood’s foothold in the Wreck and facing Viznoor’s Will, Ir Azari, along with some of his other champions. Ir Azari was slain in the battle (although not permanently due to the Brood’s practice of necromancy), forcing the Hive into a temporary retreat as Vothriks’ Taken secured their stronghold.

{{Quote|The plot to claim the Taken Kell’s army has failed, but I remain unhindered. I will form a new plot and strike again.” <br> “That will not be necessary. They are not free from our wrath yet, but for now we must set our sights elsewhere.|Ir Azari and Viznoor}}

The Guardian would be called once again to look into the Hive presence in the derelict swampland, and a [[Forum:Savagery|strike team]] was organized to eliminate Voxnath. After a hectic battle, with both Viznoor and Ir Azari taunting the intruding Lightbearers throughout the mission, Voxnath was slain, but the Stygian Brood’s necromancy allowed the Thrall to be resurrected over and over again, forcing repeated strikes to be carried out in order to suppress the Hive threat.

* [[Forum:Avaka, Chosen by Viznoor|Avaka, Chosen by Viznoor]] {{c|Leader of the [[Forum:Viznoor’s Blight|Viznoor’s Blight]] [[Taken]] faction}}

** Balrok’s Hand

** Cursed Gargoyle - Gargoyles that don’t fire fireballs, but explode on impact when they dive bomb.