User:Joshmaul/Avatar of Joshmaul

"'This one must be perfect. This time, there must be no foulups.'"
 * - Joshmaul the Corruptor, to Shankolin Blightpath

The Avatar of Joshmaul is the result of the foul experiments of a deluded madman, seeking more power for himself. After the destruction of the first, a new one was created to fill his place.

Creating a Death Knight from a Warlock's Magic
Joshmaul the Warlock had long been a student of magic, both in the human form he possessed in another dimension, and the orc form he holds now. Though a very powerful warlock, Joshmaul's mastery of necromancy was less than ideal for his needs. Unable to practice these powers himself, Joshmaul suddenly got an idea: What if he could take a portion of his own essence, place it within a suitable host, and have him trained in the arts that the warlock required?

To that end, Joshmaul sent Ordevaas Portalseeker, his chief lieutenant, to Chillwind Point in the Alterac Mountains, right along the border of the Western Plaguelands. There, he was to deliver a missive to General Settra, a death knight who had broken from the Scourge and lived in exile since Sylvanas Windrunner claimed dominion over the ruins of Lordaeron. Joshmaul's missive requested that Settra meet him on the outskirts of Shattrath City - since what he had to discuss might not bode well with the naaru.

Settra agreed and travelled onboard the Purple Princess, the zeppelin connecting Tirisfal to Grom'gol Base Camp in Stranglethorn, and rode from there through Duskwood, Deadwind Pass and the Swamp of Sorrows to the Blasted Lands, where he would then cross over into Outland. From there, he travelled on across Hellfire Peninsula and through the tangled thorns on the border of Terokkar. He met Joshmaul outside of Cenarion Thicket, where the warlock began to discuss his plan. He wanted to create an orcish death knight from his own magic, and imbue it with a portion of his essence, making him an extension of his own will. To that end, Joshmaul required an orc who had been freshly slain, and with that body the two men could perform the ritual of resurrection. To do so, the warlock and the death knight both agreed that the only suitable altar would be one in the Plaguelands itself...the sarcophagus of King Terenas. But where to find an orc corpse to complete the ritual?

Betrayal in the Family
Before the Second War, Urgan was proud to father a son, whom he named Noggra. When Urgan was possessed by Joshmaul and his soul ripped from his body, Noggra swore vengeance against him, and had tried to track down the warlock for years...but Sylvanas' security forces stymied Noggra's efforts at every turn. Joshmaul knew full well that he was being hunted - and knew that Noggra was the best and most readily available means of creating his necromantic avatar. So Joshmaul sent a missive to Noggra from Shattrath, requesting that they meet in the throne room of Lordaeron, above the Undercity. Not realizing Joshmaul's intentions, Noggra accepted. But when he entered the throne room, he found that not only had Joshmaul been awaiting him, but so had his new ally - and realized that he had walked into a trap only when Settra's runeblade pierced through his heart.

With Noggra freshly slain, Joshmaul gestured to two Deathstalkers who had accompanied him to carry the corpse onto the sarcophagus. There, Joshmaul and Settra began their ritual, invoking the powers they both wielded. Joshmaul slit open the palm of his hand and placed it on Noggra's forehead, while Settra spoke the black incantation that would destroy the younger orc's soul and leave the body free for Joshmaul to take possession...

Destruction
During the war in Northrend, Joshmaul and the Avatar encountered a Blood Knight Master named Taeril'hane Ketiron, who had been trained by the erstwhile servant of the Corruptor, Master Ordevaas Portalseeker. The encounter with the Avatar had so seriously wounded Ketiron that it took two paladins - Ordevaas, and Joshmaul's mortal enemy Saavedro of Stratholme - combined with the man's own will to maintain his life.

Seeking revenge, Ketiron tracked Joshmaul to the Howling Fjord where he spread plague at the behest of the Forsaken. Facing the warlock and the Avatar on even footing, Ketiron gained the upper hand and spoke a word of Exorcism against the Avatar - freeing the weakened, trapped spirit of Noggra within. After receiving the blessing of the elements for freeing one of their lost sons, Ketiron decapitated the Avatar before turning his Light-raged gaze towards Joshmaul. The warlock, in a rare display of fear, transformed into his demonic form and flew away, escaping from the vengeful paladin and leaving the body of his creation to be incinerated.

The Head of the Avatar
Noggra's head, which had rolled out of sight after Ketiron cut it from the Avatar's shoulders, still contained the essence of the Corruptor, the essence he had given to bring the Avatar to life. Shankolin Blightpath, the incarnation of Saavedro from an alternate reality brought to the "true present" by the Bronze Dragonflight, searched through the Howling Fjord and managed to locate the head, untouched and intact, at the bottom of the cliffs overlooking Vengeance Landing. He knew that Joshmaul would eventually be killed (which he was, during the battle for the Undercity) and that this essence would return him to life. Meeting Joshmaul's blood elf apprentice in the Lordaeron throne room after the Corruptor's death, Shankolin explained that the head served as a "living soulstone", which would allow the Corruptor to be resurrected. There was enough essence contained within the head to bring Joshmaul back an additional three times, but only if the energy was used within two days of the Corruptor's death.

A New Avatar
With Shankolin's assistance, Joshmaul began a second experiment into the creation of a death knight "in his own image", one who would be trained by the Blightpath in its arts. To his good fortune, there was an orc with no name that had recently been liberated from the Scourge, one who was the spitting image of the Corruptor. Shankolin kidnapped him and Joshmaul, aided by his apprentices, began their transformation process. Unlike Noggra, who proved to be somewhat more difficult to turn, this new Avatar proved relatively easy to transform - and thus, Joshmaul had a new death knight Avatar...and no one else knew it yet.