Warlock Lore
Warlock Lore
Don't be afraid. Don't try to answer, either, nobody around you can hear my voice. No, I am not a ghost come to curse you and no, you are not mad. You can hear my words, but I speak them not: you are hearing my thoughts, just as I can hear yours so easily. Stop looking around, you cannot possibly see me. If you run, I will find you. Rest assured, I could sense the patterns of your thoughts more than a league away. I say again, do not be afraid. I have not sought you out to harm you, but to show you your true potential. I've come to set you free.
Who am I? I am a Warlock, master of my mind and myself. I will not tell you my name, you must learn it for yourself. That is your first test. If you pass it, you may too walk the Path of Focus, and perhaps you shall prove yourself disciplined enough to become a Warlock yourself, and join our Order. How can you possibly guess my name, when you can't even see me? You have the ability. Since the fateful day of the Turning, some in every race have been born with The Gift, that rare combination of willpower and perception that lets a Warlock escape from the prison of Delusion, which binds the potential of almost every thinking being in the World. As each Warlock can alter the minds of others through will and Focus, so our Order works to change the World, sweeping away the errors of the past to build a new age. Now that the influence of the meddling Gods has ended, the time has come for us to claim our rightful place as masters of the World. There are typically two sorts who gain the Gift. Some are warriors who without knowing it learn to control their bodies, ignoring pain and increasing their strength by will alone, while others are scholars, magi who can intuit the answer to any question because their awareness is so finely honed. To become a Warlock you must master both talents.
If you would learn my name, you must first focus on your perceptions, and learn to master them. Another test: how many people are in the tavern with you now? You should know, you set eyes upon them all as you came in, but then you forgot it, because your mind decided the information was not important. So it is with everything: every step we take, every face we pass is forgotten, just as our minds forget that they cause our lungs to breathe and hearts to beat without our focus. Consciousness, that part of the mind that must define all it sees, moves too slowly - it is the warden of the prison of delusion. So, answer the question - how many people are within the bar? Stop trying to know and simply know. Very good. You see how will and awareness can work together, bringing you knowledge instantly. A Warlock can read the thoughts of others, project his words without speech, and predict the actions of his foes. Through will and conscious control of his body a Warlock can move faster, strike harder, and render himself immune to pain. His awareness of his foe's thoughts and intentions makes him deadly in combat, and master warlocks can even bend their will upon other minds, disrupting them with storms of random, confused thought or taking control of them altogether. The greatest Warlocks can hone their awareness to an uncanny level, and even detach their minds from their material bodies, wandering the world in an astral form no wall or obstacle can bar. All of these secrets await you, if you can but pass my test. What is my name?
Guessing will not avail you. I assure you, you know it already. You must tap into your awareness and focus your will. My voice now seems familiar? Good. Yes, you remember - you were a child two years old when I visited your father. I've been watching you a long time. Yes, my name is Hallodon, or rather, that was the name I told him. Your will and your perceptions are ready. Leave the tavern if you would learn what we can teach you. Be warned, however - the offer will come only once. Refuse it, and you deny your true potential, dooming yourself to the life of one of the simpletons around you, the limited life of the past. The future is ours.
Open your mind, and follow me if you dare.
