- Joined
- Mar 4, 2011
- Location
- Earth
It should be stated that almost the entirety of what we know about Salem Hawthorne is speculation.
Where he came from and where he went is unknown, but we know of the things he did.
The self proclaimed King of Crows stood almost seven feet tall, wore thick woolen robes at all times, and kept a shaved head 'for his feathered friends'. He took pride in every aspect of physical prowess, he trained every day without fail, kept a strict eating schedule, and spent many hours of the day meditating. He was in peak physical condition.
Hawthorne was a Hero of Old, zai blood ran through his veins. No one knows where he appeared from, but one day his temple came to be atop a mountain above a quaint village. The villagers there journeyed up the mountain to search the strange temple that had seemingly appeared overnight. Inside, perched on his wooden throne, was the King of Crows in all his glory.
He invited the townsfolk in to join him in his mission, stating that if they did not join him they must leave his temple under penalty of death. When asked why he told them he had journeyed across the land and found the Brimstone Gate buried beneath the sands of an endless desert. It was an obsidian doorway to hell that was a gateway for all manner of hellish creature to crawl through. He took the gate and placed it atop the mountain, blocking both entrance and exit.
Some townsfolk agreed that the horrors of the nether should not walk the lands and they joined the Crow King in his temple becoming his disciples. All who entered were told the tale and and given three choices: Join, Leave, or Die. The disciples grew in number and the temple bustled with life high above the village.
However it was an ancient evil that lurked inside the Brimstone Gate. It whispered into the ears of the apprentices and monks, it wormed its way into the minds of his followers. But it could not touch Salem. He found the treachery of the evil inside the gate and slew each of the corrupted. With their blood on his hands he etched a warning in the entrance of the temple. The warning today is incomplete, we cannot read all of it, however the known inscription is as follows.
...for I am the King of Crows
And this is my temple.
All those who enter
will struck down by the might of...
From then on all who entered were slain as a warning and the temple, holding only the most dedicated disciples, fell into silence.
The ancient evil was not to be thwarted so easily though. It reached out, spread lies, promised riches beyond the wildest dreams of the wealthiest men. It told all it could reach, whispering into the ears of men and women alike leaving no one untainted. Convinced that Hawthorne was hiding more gold than they could imagine the people swarmed the mountain and stormed the temple, demanding he hand over his riches.
He told the villagers they had been deceived but they would not listen. They raised their weapons and slaughtered all the disciples, leaving only Salem Hawthorne to fight the horde alone. In a flash he took the form of a massive and magnificent raven who whirled in halls of the temple, striking down the mob. Some ran and others fought the king, only to see their doom.
The ones who escaped hired mercenaries to kill Slaem. They marched to his temple and were all defeated, but not before bringing the temple to the ground. Stone and mortar rained from the mountain as the building collapsed leaving only a shell of its former glory with but a few standing walls. And of course the Brimstone gate stood where it always had, its purple glow filling the now desolate corpse of the Temple of the Crow King.
With his temple destroyed and the people turned against him Salem Hawthorne vanished completely. His current whereabouts are unknown, but the remains of the temple stand to this day and the gate still stands alight. We cannot know if he will return or how he will be greeted, we cannot know if her was struck down after he took flight, and we cannot know if he watches us to this day. We can only wait and hope he is more kind to us than we were to him.
Where he came from and where he went is unknown, but we know of the things he did.
The self proclaimed King of Crows stood almost seven feet tall, wore thick woolen robes at all times, and kept a shaved head 'for his feathered friends'. He took pride in every aspect of physical prowess, he trained every day without fail, kept a strict eating schedule, and spent many hours of the day meditating. He was in peak physical condition.
Hawthorne was a Hero of Old, zai blood ran through his veins. No one knows where he appeared from, but one day his temple came to be atop a mountain above a quaint village. The villagers there journeyed up the mountain to search the strange temple that had seemingly appeared overnight. Inside, perched on his wooden throne, was the King of Crows in all his glory.
He invited the townsfolk in to join him in his mission, stating that if they did not join him they must leave his temple under penalty of death. When asked why he told them he had journeyed across the land and found the Brimstone Gate buried beneath the sands of an endless desert. It was an obsidian doorway to hell that was a gateway for all manner of hellish creature to crawl through. He took the gate and placed it atop the mountain, blocking both entrance and exit.
Some townsfolk agreed that the horrors of the nether should not walk the lands and they joined the Crow King in his temple becoming his disciples. All who entered were told the tale and and given three choices: Join, Leave, or Die. The disciples grew in number and the temple bustled with life high above the village.
However it was an ancient evil that lurked inside the Brimstone Gate. It whispered into the ears of the apprentices and monks, it wormed its way into the minds of his followers. But it could not touch Salem. He found the treachery of the evil inside the gate and slew each of the corrupted. With their blood on his hands he etched a warning in the entrance of the temple. The warning today is incomplete, we cannot read all of it, however the known inscription is as follows.
...for I am the King of Crows
And this is my temple.
All those who enter
will struck down by the might of...
From then on all who entered were slain as a warning and the temple, holding only the most dedicated disciples, fell into silence.
The ancient evil was not to be thwarted so easily though. It reached out, spread lies, promised riches beyond the wildest dreams of the wealthiest men. It told all it could reach, whispering into the ears of men and women alike leaving no one untainted. Convinced that Hawthorne was hiding more gold than they could imagine the people swarmed the mountain and stormed the temple, demanding he hand over his riches.
He told the villagers they had been deceived but they would not listen. They raised their weapons and slaughtered all the disciples, leaving only Salem Hawthorne to fight the horde alone. In a flash he took the form of a massive and magnificent raven who whirled in halls of the temple, striking down the mob. Some ran and others fought the king, only to see their doom.
The ones who escaped hired mercenaries to kill Slaem. They marched to his temple and were all defeated, but not before bringing the temple to the ground. Stone and mortar rained from the mountain as the building collapsed leaving only a shell of its former glory with but a few standing walls. And of course the Brimstone gate stood where it always had, its purple glow filling the now desolate corpse of the Temple of the Crow King.
With his temple destroyed and the people turned against him Salem Hawthorne vanished completely. His current whereabouts are unknown, but the remains of the temple stand to this day and the gate still stands alight. We cannot know if he will return or how he will be greeted, we cannot know if her was struck down after he took flight, and we cannot know if he watches us to this day. We can only wait and hope he is more kind to us than we were to him.
