The Dark Ember remains nestled deep within the putrid flesh of my dead Beast. With many of Highgate's tunnels now collapsed, we must forge another way inside. I have divined one weak point in the Beast's flank, an ancient wound wrought by that Vaalish overreacher, Doryani.
The wound was healed shut by a thick membrane but the right decoction should dissolve the tissue and allow us inside. Of course, for a cordial of such potency I shall require two ingredients of utmost rarity.
First, our viscous concoction shall require Basilisk Acid, a princely poison which drips from the caustic heart of the Basilisk, and Trarthan Powder, an explosive substance oft used in the mining of Virtue gems.
With these two bitter harvests, I shall brew something worthy of eroding the membrane of my decaying pet.
Now that I have both ingredients, I shall brew us a nice cup of what we need. There has never been a substance more corrosive than this, apart from my dear Garukhan's sarcastic wit.
Let us meet soon at the blood pools surrounding the Lesion, and from there we shall burn ourselves a pathway into the Belly of the Beast.
Within the ruins of Highgate Refinery you shall find it. Trarthan Powder, a slightly more unstable blend to the kind found within the celebratory rockets and illuminations of Trarthus, this devious mixture of crumbled chemistry was once used to blast holes through even the thickest mountainsides. It will ensure that our mixture has the brute force required.
Though one should tread carefully within the refinery, for General Adus and his elite legionnaires sought refuge there during the first moments of Malachai's Cataclysm. If they remain, they will be creatures of darkest discipline. Strong men in health and life made even stronger in corruption and death.
Basilisk Acid drips from the hearts of those venomous monsters, though I cannot blame them for their disposition.
They are tragic creatures. Theirs is a sorry tale more closely tied to my own than I care to dwell upon. Alas, the forging of my Dark Ember produced some rather unfortunate byproducts.
But we shall not see any success if I am to dwell on those past errors.
A traveler on the winds, Garukhan pridefully plundered the sky for its secrets. To her mind, wisdom could be found in the eye of a hurricane.
Please understand that Garukhan is not an evil being. She was once my friend and companion. Her beauty astonished me as her aspirations inspired me. Yet I must forgo my sentiments for the sake of humankind.
Like winds erode the sandstone, Garukhan has been warped by the same powers she enslaved. This is not my goddess that you shall slay. And if I continue to say it, I might very well come to believe it.
It shames me to know the horrors wrought by our hands, here and now. Garukhan was... complicated, but she was also stubborn and never would have thought to change her ways.
We have given her a sky burial; that is the best that we can do. Even in the old times, she was vain beyond comparison. It was her ambition that corrupted her, despite all my warning words.
Well, look now, where ambition has gotten you, my love...
I weep for my poor Garukhan. Together we experienced the loftiest moments that this world could offer.
Alas, it was my heavy heart that she could no longer bear. I knew her pride would one day be the storm that would ravage my precious humanity. In truth, it was for Garukhan that I sowed the Dark Ember within the depths of Highgate.
When love cannot be slain, it must be laid down to sleep.
In the Maraketh desert, an Oasis lies to the east, its waters shielded from prying eyes by a preternatural storm. The sand will rip the very flesh from your bones, should you be so foolish as to enter into its dark shroud. Yet, enter you must.
The goddess Shakari hides within that golden blizzard, festering with revenge as she resurrects and rebuilds her ancient army - an army that once threatened to shake the very balance of these lands.
Should she be allowed to revitalise her troops, the whole of Maraketh will finally fall under the cruelty of her selfish reign. The storm is impenetrable for now, even to the likes of me, but there must be a way in.
These Highgate locals, they have an affinity for the desert and harsh weather. One of them may know of a way to disperse the storm.
A mother's keen heart shall bleed into the dreams of her daughter. Once a beauty who held captive the hearts of men and women alike, Shakari's splendour decayed into lust... for the power possessed by her skyborn mother.
My daughter once sought out such power within the great sands of this desert. Ever determined, she found it, and it made of her the twisted creature you so mercifully dispatched.
Driven by agony and shame, she built an army out here in these sweltering lands and would have conquered the very sky had not the Beast soothed her into peaceful oblivion. A babe once more sleeping in her cradle.
It is not something I deign to speak of often, but this goddess, this creature, she was once the flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood. I rose into the clouds and fell into the arms of their queen, the beautiful Garukhan.
Now if you think that mortal marriages are difficult to navigate, try an immortal one. We parted ways, yet not before my young Queen of the Sands was born into this world of filth and horror.
Now you see how I must suffer for the sake of humanity, to lay mine own daughter upon the sacrificial altar.
The Dark Ember remains nestled deep within the putrid flesh of my dead Beast. With many of Highgate's tunnels now collapsed, we must forge another way inside. Before us lies a weak point in the Beast's flank. It is an ancient wound wrought by that Vaalish overreacher, Doryani.
The wound was healed shut by a thick membrane but the right decoction should dissolve the tissue and allow us inside. Of course, for a cordial of such potency I shall require two ingredients of utmost rarity.
First, our viscous concoction shall require Basilisk Acid, a princely poison which drips from the caustic heart of the Basilisk, and Trarthan Powder, an explosive substance oft used in the mining of Virtue gems.
With these two bitter harvests, I shall brew something worthy of eroding the membrane of my decaying pet.
Here we stand, amidst the coagulating remnants of my creation... Funny isn't it? Once I placed my Beast on a pedestal as my pride and joy, yet now I send you to breach the hull of my pet's fouling black core.
I have brewed for us a potion from the remnants of our harvesting hunt. I shall apply this fermentation to the weakened membrane and meet you within the black core where we shall further our agenda.
The Ember is a seed... the black core of the Beast's heart. It is the pure, undiluted essence of corruption. Everything my pet once was, all of its power, the stupefying effect it had on us gods, it all dwells within this Dark Ember.
With this we shall lay Kitava to waste. The once starved god shall fill his gut and pass on into oblivion. Kitava will fall and the Ember shall disperse into nothing more than ash dancing across the cobbled rooftops of Oriath.
Those souls we now harbor, as individuals, they cannot hope to provide the onslaught of power that birthing our Dark Ember will require.
But together... together each soul shall shift and change, they shall be knit into one creature, filled with animosity. Our unholy union will excite the Beast, and bring forth our Dark Ember from its rotten womb.
You should steel yourself, dear friend, for once the cork is plucked from the bottle, the whole world will change.
My Beast was born to be a thing of beauty. A crowning jewel to rest upon humanity's head. I... I wanted to give your kind a chance for peace, a chance to play atop the great stage. No longer pawns to a pantheon of petty, slavering gods...
It was only ever defending itself, the fault lies within the twisted hearts of those who would betray their own humanity.
Not even I could anticipate the cataclysms my pet wrought on Wraeclast. Both Vaal and Eternal. Ruins in the pages of history. And the others... trailing back across the aeons.
There is blood on my hands, exile, the innocent blood of millions, and try as I might, the stains just won't wash off.
It shames me to know the horrors wrought by our hands, here and now. Garukhan was... complicated, but she was also stubborn and never would have thought to change her ways.
We have given her a sky burial; that is the best that we can do. Even in the old times, she was vain beyond comparison. It was her ambition that corrupted her, despite all my warning words.
Well, look now, where ambition has gotten you, my love...
A mother's keen heart shall bleed into the dreams of her daughter. Once a beauty who held captive the hearts of men and women alike, Shakari's splendour decayed into lust... for the power possessed by her skyborn mother.
My daughter once sought out such power within the great sands of this desert. Ever determined, she found it, and it made of her the twisted creature you so mercifully dispatched.
Driven by agony and shame, she built an army out here in these sweltering lands and would have conquered the very sky had not the Beast soothed her into peaceful oblivion. A babe once more sleeping in her cradle.
Something doesn't seem right. Yes, it would appear our old friend Malachai has one final trick to play. A thaumaturgical wound to the hearts of my precious Beast.
This complicates things, but not perhaps so much that there is nothing we can do.
Exile, listen to me. I am about to release the souls of our unholy trinity from their decanter.
Their anger will exude more power than you have experienced ever before. You must defeat them, one by one, to fuse their remnants into something volatile enough to coax the Dark Ember from its womb.
The souls of these three continue to surprise us! Quickly now, the hearts have become doorways. Enter in, complete your mission, though I cannot say exactly what you will find on the other side.