(Before I share this, it’s something I did on Halloween for a competition in the RotMG Discord, and it’s something I want to share and (hopefully) get it on the Fan Lore page on Realmeye becasue I’m a greedy bitch.)
Author: Fawbr
Topic: Monster Lore - The Necromancer and The Puppet Master
Have you ever entered the Puppet Master’s Theatre, and stopped for a moment to think about how truly terrifying it is? I’m willing to bet most of you haven’t, I mean, why would you? It’s not like doing so would benefit you in any way, but, for the sake of curiosity, let’s think for a moment.
Where should we start? Let’s talk about the Puppet Master himself, a deranged, psychopathic monster who murders anyone who dares to enter his theatre to help give life to his beloved creations. What drives a creature to such a state? To be so depraved as to turn anyone you meet into a soulless husk?
Oh, you don’t know about that? I guess you wouldn’t, but next time you come face to face with one of his puppets, maybe you’ll start to notice the limp, forced movements, or maybe that strange smell that seems to resemble that of a rotting corpse? Or maybe, just maybe, that rare moment when you hear a broken, defeated, desperate whisper for help from behind the armour that knight puppet wears.
This place seems so irrational, so confusing that it’s believed there’s no reason behind how and why it happens, but there’s a Tale that’s somewhat of a taboo between all of us. The story that clarifies there is meaning hidden behind the madness
Screw it, there might as well be some use to this story, so take a seat, fellow players, and listen to my story. I might as well try to testify to my sin.
It happened quite a while ago, where the Puppet Master wasn’t as well recognised as he once was. In fact, he was nothing like he is now, and was actually a rather pleasant person. He always had this desire to entertain, and what a better way to do that than through puppetry? The Puppet Master had a talent for puppetry long before he manifested into what he is now, and he was quite the entertainer.
But it was never enough for him, nobody understood his talent fully, for you see, the Puppet Master could hear what others could not, and what he heard were the soft and quiet whispers of his wondrous little puppets, but no one else could hear them, it was just him, and his own special little talent.
His skill was never enough for him, he needed more, the feeling of control was like a drug to him, the thought of being able to create and destroy characters whenever he desired filled him with glee, he was the god of his own world, but it was still never enough. He had to obtain more power, more control! The puppets kept asking for friends, and friends he must give! For he is their god and a generous one at that. He needed more for his collection.
So he turned to me, the Necromancer.
I remember that look, that crazed look on his face as he asked me for help. He asked, “In exchange for some information, what if I were to help you with some research?” He raised the deal that in return for some of his life essence, I would teach him the art of extracting it from a person. I couldn’t see the consequence of my actions at the time, so I told him the secrets to extraction of life essence. In return, I was allowed to drain him to a point where he barely even resembled a human. Freakish, I am aware, but I wasn’t going to turn down an offer to increase my own survivability.
God, why was I such a fool? He approached me a few days after, with a maniacal grin on his face, I could see the hollowness in his eyes, the sagged skin and incredibly pale skin, he had deformed into something that resembled a monster. But that isn’t what scared me, he was desperate for more power, he begged me for more “I need more power! I must please my pretties! Look, I have something to show you!” He dragged me into a long alleyway and then through a warehouse, the lights were dimmed but as he walked onto a podium, he flipped a switch and the lights turned on. What I saw next still haunts me to this day.
My friends, all of them, The Knight, the Archer, the Priest, the Rogue, the Assassin, the Paladin, the Sorcerer, the Mystic, the Trickster, the Huntress and the Mystic. They were all on display as bloodied puppets.
I heard them, the screams of terror and the cries for help. They were so broken, as if they’d screamed so much they were giving up, each one was twisting around in such a freakish fashion, each twitching and jolting as if electricity was coursing through them.
“Stop this! Stop this now!”
“Oh god the pain! Sweet merciful lord I ask why?!”
“Please… Necromancer, kill us…!”
This man had murdered almost all of my friends. I couldn’t help but picture it, to extract life essence from a body and turn the bodies into puppets. I pictured wires sticking out from my friends flesh as they screamed in endless agony, the life slowly draining from their eyes as they struggle and resist, only for their body to harden into a horrific puppet.
I couldn’t help it, I felt my knees buckle and I tried to prevent what was coming, but it all came rushing out, I heaved once, twice and vomited. My legs were shaking and my mind was a mess, then I heard him chuckle.
“Don’t like my pretties? What a shame, seeing as you’re about to become one!” I felt long shards of wire dig into my hands, tearing the flesh around it. I couldn’t help but cry out in pain, two more appeared and burrowed themselves into my ankles. My body began to move against its will and I saw the Puppet Master grin gleefully. “Yes, yes, yes! Dance for me Necromancer!” I tried to resist against his spell but my heels began to tap and I was spinning uncontrollably.
He stopped my dance suddenly, and giggled. “I’ve had fun, Necromancer, but for you to become one of my wondrous puppets, you’re going to have some space inside.” He started moving his hands and my hand lifted up, and came crashing down onto my stomach, piercing the skin and crawling into my flesh.
I cried out in pain, shouting and writhing I tried to stop it, but my body refused to react to the situation, instead it kept digging, pulling out pieces of flesh, trying to dig deeper and hollow me out from the inside. My mind was a frenzy of pain and agony, I had to stop it, I had to do something!
“Puppet Master!” I shouted, “Come closer and before I die I shall give you the true secret of extracting life essence!” His trance on me seemed to loosen, and he grinned, “Very well Necromancer, it seems you know the situation you’re in.” He walked over briskly, and leaned his head to a point where it was practically against mine, ‘Perfect’ I thought to myself as I threw my head forward in a head butt, and in the split second I made contact, I felt his life force and drained it from him. He writhed backward in pain, his magical essence lowered as well as his life force, his spell wore off and I got up, my wounds slowly healing.
I ran forward while he was distracted, and put my hand against his skull, continuously draining his essence as he tried to fight back against it, each moment he got weaker, his skin became paler and he looked even more on the verge of death than he did earlier. I felt him lose consciousness and I let go of him.
Looking about at his monstrous creation, I knew what had to be done.
The reports say it took a whole five hours until they managed to get the Puppet Master out of the burning building, nothing of importance was salvaged.
I hear he managed to find his way to Oryx, and was given back some magical ability as a jester. This was my story, the story of The Necromancer and The Puppet Master.
Any of you that have murdered that monstrous son of a bitch, I applaud you.
(Sorry, I know it’s long, but if you actually made it all this way, I congratulate you!)
keep it up(im like a loremaniac tbh xD )