User:Joshmaul/Shankolin Blightpath

"What gives you the right to decide the fates of others? Your powers over time are impressive and I admit to being surprised that you'd bother to use it on a wretch like me. But let's make one thing perfectly clear, dragon: My fate is my own. And when I kill my weakling 'brother', your 'good friend' in past, present and future, you'll mourn the day you brought the Blightpath into your 'proper timeline'."
 * - Shankolin Blightpath, to Soridormi

With the Time War between the Bronze and Infinite Dragonflights causing unforseen changes, there now exists a paradox. In the reality of today, Saavedro of Stratholme was a priest of Lordaeron who had just departed Stratholme during Arthas' purge, and later became a renowned paladin, explorer and leader. However, a timeline change by the Infinite Dragonflight has led to a somewhat different turn of events that created a being who calls himself Shankolin Blightpath...and somehow, both Saavedro and Shankolin exist at the same time in the current timeline.

The Diverging Timeline
When Prince Arthas purged the city of Stratholme in order to prevent Mal'Ganis from claiming the citizenry as slaves, High Priest Saavedro was on the road from Stratholme to Tirisfal and on to Southshore. Thanks to the influence of the Infinite Dragonflight at the time of Saavedro's departure from Stratholme, Saavedro received orders that would change his life - and the timeline itself.

Sekhesmet of Stratholme, a member of the advisory council of the Church of Light in Lordaeron (Archbishop Faol had long since died and was replaced by Benedictus, who resided in Stormwind), died suddenly in his sleep, and Saavedro - despite his relative youth at only 42 - was confirmed to succeed his old master as one of Terenas' advisors. Unfortunately, that put him in Lordaeron when Arthas returned from Northrend. Instead of Sekhesmet lying on the floor of the throne room, it was Saavedro who succumbed to the plague.

Saavedro was eventually raised as a Forsaken and took the name Shankolin, which meant "forsaken" in an ancient Arathi dialect. Remaining a priest for a time, Shankolin was eventually defeated and slain again by Lor'revan Kethlir, the Deathlord of Naxxramas, who was overseeing operations in Deatholme following the assassination of Dar'Khan Drathir. The necromancer was sufficiently impressed and resurrected Shankolin again...in the halls of Acherus, the Ebon Hold. Standing before him as he awoke once more was the Lich King himself...

Intervention
Realizing that this could have a dramatic effect on the fate of Saavedro of Stratholme, the Bronze Dragonflight intervened and were forced to make a decision regarding Shankolin's fate. If the timeline continued as it was, the Saavedro they knew - the one who had come to their aid on numerous occasions - would cease to exist. However, they saw that Shankolin also had a part to play in the grand scheme of things in the world that Saavedro inhabited. Deciding to remove Shankolin from the "modified" timeline and insert him into the "real" timeline, the Bronze Dragonflight essentially created two Saavedros - one Light, one Shadow, both with a destiny ahead of them.

Shankolin took the name "Blightpath" as he and his fellows marched across Havenshire and New Avalon, destroying all in their wake. He was too late to participate in the final battle for Light's Hope, but did participate in the effort to liberate Acherus from the Scourge. After the war ended, Shankolin returned to the Horde, which the Forsaken had joined up with, and placed himself at Thrall's mercy. It didn't take long for him to discover that his "other self", Saavedro, still lived and was away in Northrend doing battle against the Scourge. To that end, Shankolin decided there could be only one of "him", and entered the Horde's dark underworld - where he met with the evil warlock Joshmaul, who he discovered was Saavedro's sworn enemy...

Destruction
During the Battle of the Court of Bones, Shankolin joined Helbrand the Wanderer, Joshmaul's vrykul apprentice, in leading an attack against the smaller combined forces of General Oren Tanis and Master Taeril'hane Ketiron in the Court of Bones before Icecrown Citadel. During the battle, while Joshmaul rained death from above onboard his flying battleship Vengeful Spirit, Shankolin entered into mortal combat with Ordevaas Portalseeker, the patriarch of the House of Whitehair, throwing all semblance of leading his troops to the wind. The Blood Knight's greater strength, fuelled by the Light and by the pain of the horrific wounds Shankolin inflicted upon him, gave him the strength to send Shankolin to oblivion, ending the tale of "Saavedro's dark side" once and for all and taking a small but vital step towards defeating Joshmaul.