#cunning cinders

[adarkrainbow]

Madame d'Aulnoy wrote a LOT of fairytales. 24 in totals (and her fairytales ranged from three times to nine times longer than your usual Grimm tale). So if you want to start somewhere, I can suggest to you the handful of madame d'Aulnoy's tales that were the most famous and renowned - her "best-sellers" so to speak, that were huge successes and fairy classics throughout the 18th and 19th centuries (and even up to the mid 20th century for some).

The Blue Bird (L'oiseau bleu)

The Doe in the Woods (also known as The White Doe, The Hind in the Woods, La biche au bois)

The White Cat (La chatte blanche)

The Beauty with golden hair (La belle aux cheveux d'or, also translated as "The fair one with golden hair")

The Yellow Dwarf (Le Nain Jaune)

Cunning Cinders (Finette Cendron)

This is truly just a tiny fragment of her work, 6 tales over 24, but these six remained great successes and well-known references until the early 20th century (as opposed to some of her fairytales which fell in obscurity as early as the 18th century).

[cinderflower]

12 and 7 for Lothric, 22 for oceiros!

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

People who fundamentally understand the core of Lothric's character always seem to really get him. There was (and still is) a tendency a lot of fandom had to reduce him down to a helpless, useless, sadboi character who needed Lorian's help to get anything done, which I feel does him a tremendous disservice, so I have such respect for the subset of fandom that gives him back his agency. Specifically the interpretations that allow him to still have power and authority (he was slated to be the future king after all, even if it was just intended to be brief until he linked the flame) but in a way that still acknowledges the hardships and disabilities he suffers.

Another is when people focus on the complete dehumanization of him by having him be named after his kingdom, reduced to a means to an end, not even worth giving a proper name, and the psychological trauma that must have had on him. That's the good shit

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I feel like so much of my Lothric is all headcannon at this point, 200k words of headcannon lmao. Hmm, I think I'll lean into the answer for 22 a bit, and say that I think that he has a lot of Oceiros's traits (pre-mental degradation from the dragon transformation) in how he approaches situations politically. I think he would internalize a lot of the callous politics Oceiros engaged in and fall into those same thought patterns, and while he believes his actions are nothing like his father's and not as cruel, he ultimately justifies and rationalizes the horrors his choices inflict in similar ways.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

Honestly Oceiros rarely made an appearance in the ds3 fics I read but the only interpretations I enjoy are the ones where they allow him to be politically savvy, manipulative, and cruel. The cruelty has to be purposeful though, it can't be cruelty for cruelty's sake by making him into a one-dimensional villain, because I don't think Oceiros was evil - just obsessed with the concept of legacy and creating the perfect Lord of Cinder. Also body horror with him is great stuff, both mental and physical, focusing on what the transformation has done to him is top tier.

[maskyartist]

same I hate cinder

its not even that i hate her tbh! its more like she's just kinda...bland i guess? in comparison to how she was in the first 3 volumes, she's kinda fallen off the deep end

and i get thats the point, shes drunk off her own power n hubris, but like... idk she's started a turnaround by the end of v8 i'd say. i think Watts' lil speech actually got to her, what with how she manipulated Neo and actually used her brain instead of brute force to get what she wanted by the end (in Atlas not on the bridge she was unhinged as hell there)

idk! i'm just hoping they keep this up with V10 (which desperately needs to be greenlit so keep up the convos on RWBY yall!) cause i'd love to have our sneaky mastermind Cinder back

[yandereunsolved]

What are your thoughts/headcanons for Self Aware Addam and Jacaerys? I think they are so handsome and neat, plus they seem like theyed be less of a threat, you know?

hmm...

Here's some quick thoughts on them.

Yandere self-aware Addam is less of a threat then some of the others we have covered. It also depends if we are working with his book or show counterpart (both is also an option).

Book Addam is much quieter and cunning. He is loyal to you till the very end. He won't undercut show Addam's chances, but he is jealous. Book Addam shows his self-awareness in small ways. He'll manipulate the text to sing his praises of you — and he's willing to kill anyone he isn't a fierce ally with in his word for your support. He is a subtle yandere. You won't see the bloodshed or the aftermath. The stains will still stay on the books pages till they burn to cinder.

Show Addam is more-experienced. He is older and a more viable option. (If we are going by canon book age and not aged up Book Addam then you do not want to be catching a case.) Not to mention you are able to physically see him. Show Addam is a bit more coy. His relationship with his dragon is more estranged than Book Addam's. So Seasmoke is almost more of a yandere than Show Addam is. Seasmoke is willing to show how twisted Show Addam's love for you is. Seasmoke almost doesn't listen to his rider. They know you are real and they are in their own reality. It's just that Show Addam isn't quite sure bow to grapple with these emotions yet — his dragon is more than willing to make up for that.

Yandere self-aware Jacaerys... again it depends on if we are talking book/show/or both. In the case of both — they are willing to work together, surprisingly. They are aware of your existence and their existence. They are territorial and only trust each other to protect you.

A lot more bloody than either Addams.

I have more thoughts on yandere self-aware Jacaerys. I just don't want to spoil too much. 🤫

I'll probably do headcanons for them later. It would be an interesting add on to the premise. ʚɞ

[rachetmath]

Fuck it we going to make this short. Jaune is the Odyessus of RWBY. 

Don’t believe it. Let’s do this.

Exhibit A: Pyrrha and Athena

Both are smart. Have won tournaments. Both wield a spear and a shield as primary weapons. They both have taught someone how to fight. Even giving praise to them sometimes. Even though Atheana is immortal it still doesn’t change their similarities. 

Exhibit B: Jaune and Odyessus

Both characters do not fight well. They are cunning. They will do whatever it takes to win. Even through underhanded tactics. And they are both hated by the world. Don’t believe me.

Exhibit C

Odysseus and Jaune were trapped on an island for years. Bedding outside forces to escape.

Exhibit D

Both lost friends and allies due to the said allies not listening to them or doing their own thing. 

Oh and those underhanded tactics;

Exhibit E

Jaune cheated into Beacon despite not nearly being on anyone's level. Then we have Cinder who he…

Yeah, we know he is willing to kill this woman by any means.

Or how was willing to steal from the Atlas military?

Despite the holes in the plan it still worked out in the end.

Then when Jaune, Ren, and Yang were captured, Jaune used the war to go get Oscar and when the dust settled they got away.

And though it hurt him he still killed Penny and more lives were saved for it.

And using the leaves to separate the Cat from Neo.

Then Odysseus;

 Using Moly to fight Circe

Uses wine on Cyclops to put it to sleep and stabs its eye. 

Sacrificing his crew to save himself and others.

And finally, dress as a beggar to kill Penelope’s suitors.

And this four. Not counting the other things he’s done to win.

My point? Trust me, when I say, Jaune is the smartest character in RWBY. He is the MVP of the show. The biggest factor. He is the Oddyssus of the show.

Also, if there is going to be volume ten involving Jaune, then Gillian, Jax, and probably Tyrian are dead. Gillian’s semblance is to drain aura away from her opponents. She’s also cunning, and if she is willing to pull any tactic, she will make her dreams come true by all means. Jaune, who has amplification and has been fighting for years, not only counters her semblance but is equally as devious as her.

And then Jax's semblance involves him taking your will- Dominating your soul through suggestion in the mind. Jaune who already survived the Ever After, is one place that messes with your subconscious the most.  Has more experience at using a sword. And has a stronger will than Jax does.

And Tyrian…. Yeah, we all know I want a Jaune vs Tyrian fight. Let’s not be surprised. 

I’m not saying the fight will be easy… but I’m just saying… Jaune got it.

[opalharkness]

My favroite reoccurring theme in RWBY is victory. I think about it constantly. (By the way I'm typing out most of these quotes from memory)

"Take heed there will be no victory in strength" is said by Salem in the opening monologue of the show and it practically begs the audience to ponder the question. If victory will not be achieved through strength then what will bring victory? Every character that has tried to achieve victory through strength fail. Cinder is always defeated when she relys on her strength and not on her cunning. Ironwood failed because he was a very Might is Right type of person.

Ozpin in that same opening monologue says this "Perhaps victory is in the things that we have long forgotten, things that require a smaller more honest soul" which clues the audience to look for victory in things that aren't grand or overly complicated. That even the simpliest of things or people can achieve something special. Something that Salem agrees with in the last episode of volume 3.

This theme is also present in the songs.

"Victory is in a simple soul" - This Will Be The Day

"Strength will not bring victory" - Divide

And my personal favorite one "Victory's in trust and kindness" - This Time.

I'm sure there are other examples of this but these were just the ones I remembered. While yes this theme of Victory not being achieved through strength was the writers way of foreshadowing the fact that Salem can't be killed. Therefore traditional displays of strength are useless against her. However it is also a really good way of exploring how humanity can reach its goals and what that even means.

[neosgifs]

Can I request a Hellbirds (Raven & Cinder) board? The board you make is so romantic. Thank you so much if you making that.

"you know... i've heard so many stories about you, raven. they say you're a cunning leader. that you're strong, that you're clever... it's a shame that they're wrong."

hellbirds board for anon

♡♡♡ ♡♡♡ ♡♡♡

[asexxxualauthor]

So, my brain did not shut up at all last night, so I’m gonna go ahead and subject you to the horror I created instead of sleeping that is D&D-accurate(-ish) Ruby Rose

First things first—the caveats. What do I mean by accurate(-ish)? Well, in order to truly build Ruby to be the utter nightmare that she is, we need to accept a few…house rules.

Rule 1) All characters start with a bonus Feat. This is a carry-over from D&D2024, and is to help flesh out the character beyond their basic race and background feats.

Rule 2) All RWBY characters start with an Epic Boon. This is a stand-in for Semblances, as reading through them shows they really are just Semblances codified for D&D.

Rule 3) Weapons and Features can be adjusted for rule of cool. If something isn’t supposed to work that way by the rules as written, but it’s cool as hell, it’s now the rule.

Now, with those three little rules out of the way going forward, let’s talk about our lovely little Red Reaper~

First things first—if we’re going to make Ruby, we have to prioritize speed above all else, because speed is the name of the game with her. Because of this, we’re going to be a little cheaty and make her a Tabaxi—or at the very least, give her the Tabaxi’s Feline Agility so she can double her walking speed. Along with that, we’re going to give her the starting Feat of Mobile, so she gets a +10 to that speed, and then the Epic Boon of Speed, which gives her an additional +30.

Which means at Level 1, Ruby has a base Speed of 70ft, 140 with Feline Agility.

We can get faster, though, because that’s just the base stats—let’s talk about Classes now. After doing a bit of analyzing and planning, I came to the following build: Fighter (11), Monk (2), Rogue (2), Warlock (5). The way I argue this is Fighter/Rogue is Ruby’s base class during Beacon, before getting Warlock when she awakens her Silver Eyes, tapping into that Celestial Patron. She picks up some hand-to-hand training in Haven for Monk, some additional levels in Warlock as she learns to harness her Silver Eyes, and then everything else is Fighter.

So, now that I’ve said my piece, what does this do for Ruby? Well, by taking two levels in Monk, she can get Unarmored Movement, which adds another 10 feet to her speed. And with two in Rogue, she gets access to Cunning Action, which means she can take the Dash action as a Bonus Action on each of her turns. That means, with just those four levels, Ruby would have a base Speed of 80ft, Dash of 160ft, Double-Dash of 320ft, and FA Speed of 640ft. And if she could get her hands on some Boots of Speed? 1,280 feet traveled in only six seconds.

That’s 145 miles an hour.

Suffice to say we’ve got the speed-side of Ruby’s design down, so what’s the rest of this for? Well, the other half of her whole shtick—killing Monsters. As a Celestial Warlock, she’d have access to spells like Sacred Flame, Guiding Bolt, Daylight, and Eldritch Blast—Thunder Step, Misty Step, and Spider Climb for mobility—and Hold Person for Cinder in particular. She would also get Invocations, such as Armor of Shadows, letting her cast Mage Armor at will whenever, so a constant 13 + Dex, and Eldritch Smite, to really pump the damage into her attacks.

But with Warlock (5), you can get an extra nasty feature—and for this, we must remember Rule 3.

Because at Level 5 Warlock, and with the Pact of the Blade, you can get Thirsting Blade, which lets you attack twice, instead of once, on your attack action. Now, according to the rules as written, Extra Attack features do not stack on each other—to which I say bullshit. If the rules didn’t want me to break the game, they shouldn’t left the window open to begin with—and besides, it’s technically not Extra Attack, but something else. Ergo, it’s allowed, at least in this hypothetical bullshit Ruby D&D build world.

So, with Thirsting Blade, you get an Extra Attack. With Fighter (11), you get two Extra Attacks. That means a total of four possible attacks on the Attack action—eight if you pump an Action Surge into it. But that’s not all, because we also have Feats! With Great Weapon Master (and with a scythe that huge of course Ruby is a great weapon master), if you crit or kill on an attack, you can use your bonus action for another Extra Attack. And as Champion, that crit potential goes up from 5% to 10% every roll. So that’s a potential of five attacks a turn—nine if you’re very lucky—and with Polearm Master, you’re guaranteed it with the butt-end attack!

All this, from a girl moving faster than a car on the freeway, and able strike and dash off without provoking any opportunity attacks at all.

And so there we have her—Ruby Rose, Level 20 Huntress. I will admit to a bit of stat fibbing on my part, but only so much as bumping up stats—it felt wrong to me for her Intelligence to be lower than a +1 considering how gifted she is, and I put Wis at 13…because that’s what you need for Multiclassing into Monk. Also, while Scythes (Glaives) use Str for attack and damage, I did go ahead and override the features so they used her Dex instead…because, honestly—tell me that doesn’t look Dexy as shit!

…I did keep her Str at 16 as an extra argument for why she’s so Dexy with a heavy weapon if need be.

But that’s Ruby! Any questions?

[howlingday]

Cinder: YOU! HAVE SEX WITH ME, ARC! MAKE ME INTO YOUR NEFARIOUS QUEEN NOW!

Jaune: (Tied up) Um... Can we start as friends first?

Cinder: ...Friends? YOU WANT TO START AS FRIENDS?!

Cinder: ...

Cinder: D-Do you mean it? You'll be my first ever friend~?

Jaune: (Looks at her flaming death sword, Looks at her sinister "too angry to die" aura) Um... Yes?

AND THUS, CINDER FALL WOULD ALWAYS AND FOREVER BE REMEMBERED AS QUEEN CINDER THE STRONG, CUNNING, AND TRUE FRIEND OF JNPR!

Cinder: ALRIGHT, FELLAS! NEXT ROUND IS ON ME!

JNPR: (Cheer) CIN-DER! CIN-DER! CIN-DER! CIN-DER! CIN-DER! CIN-DER! CIN-DER~!

Her tale is told to all the future generations of RWBY, serving as a reminder that even the most evil and sinister of hearts can be made just a bit less cringe... through the power of friendship. And sometimes, everything will work out just fine.

[bestworstcase]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the moment Cinder gets the memo as to Salem caring about her will be hilarious. Or heart rending. Also it clicking for everyone else in the cast.

And chop another comparison up for Yang and Cinder. Raven is rather bad at being a mother but there's the untested "Only one save" rule/Raven's priorities versus Yang's life. If you're right that Salem will have to choose between the Crown and Cinder and chooses Cinder...

i want to see how far this escalates before salem manages to choke out the words honestly and without any obfuscation because within a matter of months it’s gone from telling cinder to be careful at haven, to exploding all the windows in a furious panic when she found out cinder would have to face off against ozma to get the lamp, to dropping everything to rush to atlas with a zillion grimm, to razing vale to the ground in a bid to force the vacuo coalition to attack her with the sword because having a zillion grimm in atlas did nothing to actually diminish the danger a rival maiden poses to cinder.

the closest she’s gotten to saying how she feels is “you deserve so much more than i’ve given you” and she had to torture cinder first to ensure cinder wouldn’t believe her. and cinder is going to be fighting to wring every mile she can possibly get out of the inch salem gave her. the trajectory is salem getting pushed by cinder being hurt over and over and over until she hits a breaking point and the facade shatters. and i want so much to find out what her limit is.

bc cinder is very cunning and can smell weakness like blood in the water. if she hasn’t already put together that she can squeeze concessions out of salem by endangering herself she’s bound to figure that out sooner rather than later. and what then?

[falleri-salvatore]

If Jaune actually were to go villain, he would be not be an omnicidal maniac; he would be an absurdly overpowered yet well-intentioned tyrant....

He would have the ambitious persistence of Cinder... The inhuman resilience, endurance and sheer overwhelming power of Hazel... The manipulative and vindictive cunning of Salem... The self-destructive selflessness of Ozma... The unyielding and unrelenting determination and conviction (read: stubbornness) of Ironwood...

...and to top all of the above: an undying body as well as an eternal soul that both evolved beyond humanity due to overuse of Aura Amp pretty much making them transcend into becoming superhuman. In other words, he has acquired both of Salem's (cannot die by old age or illness and instantly regenerates any damage inflicted to him and instantly regenerates any spent Aura) and Ozma's (even IF his body is somehow destroyed, his soul will still persist and, unlike Ozma, he can actually choose which vessel to possess as his next body) forms of immortality naturally and by accident instead of as a curse (because it would not be Jaune Arc if he doesn't get double the suffering than the previous Big Good and Big Bad)... He can be beaten, but not by strength, nor underhanded tactics, nor by outsmarting him, and definitely NOT by outlasting or out-stubborning him. He can only be defeated by making him acknowledge that he needs to rest and to finally trust that people under the yoke of his well-intentioned tyranny won't all suddenly die without him.

[adarkrainbow]

Here is an illustration of "Cunning Cinders": Finette bringing food to her fairy godmother.

[djdjakko]

Godrick The Blackflame Maiden

It was said that once there was a lord of no renowned, he was neither strong nor powerful with at most a minor claim to the golden lineage.

This small lord was known as nothing more than a runt of his litter. Where other demigods had blessings and cunning he had merely an ember of ambition.

With time these embers would be fed and nourished by his decrepit hands till the day when this minor spark of ambition would grow to an all consuming black flame which devoured this feeble lord in its might.

This lords castle was left in cinders with only a serpent beast guarding its gate. No trace of the lord was ever found within his castle.

For those desperate souls who have felt these flames of ambition it said that the spirit of this lowly demigod can be called upon to aid oneself.

[strqyr]

choice. destiny. worthiness. i'll take her. i will take... what is mine. and take... what is mine.

pyrrha asks cinder if she believes in destiny. cinder says yes. and despite everything that has happened since, she still does. the fall maiden. the maiden of choice.

"so... the destiny i chose for you has arrived." "you chose nothing. this... was a gift."

did cinder choose her own destiny, or was it chosen for her? it was not a gift—not a direct one, at least—, that was something else: "if ruby rose has learned to harness her gift, then you must take care to protect yours. there's only so much i can do to aid you."

"so i will take... what is mine..." gifts are not taken, they're given.

"you can't just be deserving, you have to be worthy!" "you're not just worthy of such power. but i am." except vernal never was the spring maiden. hm.

"you can't just be strong, you have to be smart!"—you need to be both; "you know, i've heard so many stories about you, raven. they say you're a cunning leader, that you're strong, that you're clever... it's a shame that they're wrong." they weren't so wrong, though. deserving, maybe raven doesn't think that, but... maybe she's worthy of them, still.

the maiden powers... they're a gift. something to be worthy of. two for two. can they be your destiny? or is that a foolish endeavor: it's not destiny, it would be a grave mistake to think so. every choice is ours and ours alone. this hasn't all been mapped by fate, this is the future we create.

no. destiny doesn't play a role here, i think. for cinder, it's a concept centered around getting all the maiden powers, but. cinder answers pyrrha's question after she's fully the fall maiden. a choice she made, to become the maiden of choice. a future she created for herself.

a gift. being worthy. a choice. three for three.

[leothetraveler]

minor spoilers for one AC6 ending

you were warned.

so we all know that the Fires of Raven ending says the planet was declared a dead world.

it was DECLARED a dead world. not confirmed to be one.

so me and my brother thought: "what if some survived? sealed off as none dared land on the planet anymore? would they know they aren't alone?"

"and how would they remember the events centuries later?"

answer: it devolves into myth, legend, and religion.

the corps are remembered as cruel gods that fought over Rubicon. Ar'cubis, Trickster God of Cunning and Lies, with their Ves'spears. swift assassins that cut down all in their path. Ba'am, War God of Might and Power and his Redduns, who subjugated their enemies through sheer might alone.

the Xylem is remembered as a motherly goddess, who power was stolen to light the fires.

the RLF and it's forces are venerated as protectors that tried to defy the dark gods by invoking an ancient and uncontrollable power. Even sending one of their own to infiltrate and learn form the enemy, the warrior know as Rusty, who in the end gave his life trying to save them all.

the PCA's name is lost to time, but their actions are remembered as the assault of an emotionless and unyielding Lord of Order who attempted to avert fate and bring an end to the war by force.

and then, off course, there are the not so pleasantly remembered.

Hand'ler, the deceiver, who drove the dark one on the path that led to Rubicon's burning. Cinder, the betrayer, who aiding in the burning of her own world and people with her spirit familiar, Chatty. and of course, the dark one themselves. the one who's symbol is forever remembered as an ill omen of ruin and destruction.

Raven, who burned the world to ash. who slayed the gods and their legions, led on by Hand'ler with the promise of wealth and glory. who slaughtered their way to the stars, only to set them ablaze.

[n1nchawrites]

Soulscream - World Eater Short Story

It is said that when dying, you will see a light, a beacon in the desolate midnight shroud of semi-consciousness the brain lulls the body into as it falters and fails. 

For Skranak, there was no such light.

He accepted this. Ever since the Great Crusade, he had been wary of such wretched and superstitious beliefs, and believed that he would die a noble death as one of the Emperor’s War Hounds, a notion which had been warped and carried over even in his service as a World Eater, as a warmonger of Khorne, for whom he would gladly be stuck and bled dry, if only to keep the fonts of vitae flowing perpetually through his fortress. With that said, however, his outrage outshone all other aspects of thought and reason. Felled by a ‘saint’ of the Corpse-Emperor, and from behind, no less. Flanked and beheaded. The sheer disrespect that carried with it, the sheer ignobility of planting a blade or bolt in the back of an enemy, it was disgusting.

And so he screamed.

Not a scream of the throat, for he had no lungs with which he could bellow out air, nor the larynx through which he could shape this wind into biting words of hatred, but instead a scream of the soul. He raged in the Immaterium, a thrashing flare of malice and indignation. 

There was no light, and so he would forge his own.

The light swelled and bulged like a pus-filled blister, burning brighter in the maelstrom and catching the eyes of countless unknowable beings. His raw rage was a white hot globe in the Immaterium, and soon enough his hellish wails were heard by the God of Gore and Carnage himself. He was impressed, watching the mass expand and distend, seemingly consuming all that it touched in a baleful act of phagocytosis.

Skranak was not finished.

His death-keen only became louder, deafening the beasts of the Warp that dared venture too close in curiosity or cunning, seeking to consume the raw mass of energy before being sundered from the very plane, adding to the kindling of his burning soul.

The Gore Lord snapped, and there was silence.

Skranak was kneeling before a great throne of bone and obsidian. The air was thick with iron and ash, similar to that of Isstvan V’s great smothering blanket of battle-smog in the wake of the massacre. Fond memories. His mind wandered too far - the tight pain of the Nails, he noted, seemed strangely absent - and he was brought back to the present by a great clang of a pommel on stone. The beast seated on the throne was encased in a set of infernal plate armour, the cracks glowing a rich crimson and the helmet twisted into a scowling abstract rendition of the skull of a great horned animal unknown to the World Eater. It wielded a greatsword forged of the same material as the throne and armour - lined with jagged black rock and the bones of countless foes.

“Your soul.” The monster boomed, its voice a deep enough timbre to rumble through the veteran’s very bones, “Your essence belongs to me. Only now has its strength truly been revealed to myself. Your death-howl was strong. Strong enough to burn a hole in the fabric of the Immaterium. Your rage is satisfying to me, to know that a man in my ranks can be so outraged by such a deceitful death at the hands of a cowardly foe venerated by the Slaves of the Anathema. This will not be your final demise, World Eater. Rise in my name, and I will see you returned with a hatred burning in your heart as it would your mind. Your strength will be enhanced tenfold, and you will be known as the harbinger of the end.”

The Lord of Battle hammered his sword’s pommel into the ground once again, and Skranak’s face began to burn. He felt his choler rise dramatically, and he fell to his hands as he roared in agony and wrath. He felt scorches forming on his flesh, smoking and cindering before turning into licking flames of anguish. The God of Blood looked on impassively as the man’s face melted, his screams turning into the savage roars of a blistering inferno. Once he was fully transmogrified, all that remained of his visage was a bleak, black skull shrouded in smoke and flame. 

The God took the blade into a one-handed reverse grip and lanced the tip into the ground, fracturing it, forming a very tear in the fabric of reality. Skranak looked into the baleful eyes of his patron Lord and nodded, standing to his full height before charging headlong into the rift. He fell through centuries and planes of existence, the madness consuming him wholly as he glimpsed pasts that never were and futures which shifted hypnotically as a tide on a shoal might  - whilst he had some control over the bloodlust that the Nails wrought, this was a different lunacy all together, brought on by visions of total galactic annihilation and the paths through which conquest could be assured - this was a malady of the very soul, a madness spurred on by the reassurance that he could guarantee domination over every foe in every theatre of war. This was the plight of a man who was destined to destroy the universe.

He was returned to his mortal body, his head bursting into a great ball of fire and blazing with the fury of a forge upon which the very winds of hell had been bellowed. Skranak - a name which had sloughed away with his very countenance - charged at the saint, their presence an unmistakable glow in the haze of ash and fire. He tackled them, roaring as he bore his fists down in a mighty rage. Blow after blow, their skull shattered and broke, their screams of confusion and abhorrence quickly transforming into those of terror and excruciation. They were gargling on their own blood and meat when he pulled them back up to their feet.

He dragged the barely alive saint atop a hill, presenting them to the carnage that reigned below - to all that would watch this final act of desecration, he martyred the man in a callously swift act of brutality, tearing their disfigured head from their twitching body before throwing both into the field of battle to be ground into gobbets and gore beneath the grinding advance of the forces of Khorne, howling a furious warcry all the while, one which shook the very souls of his foes.

Today he had not seen the light, but the future, and by Khorne’s Teeth, it was bound to be bloody.