Prometheus Bound

Welcome back, Warlocks.  I hope that the new year is finding you awash in a sea of your enemies’ blood. Last week we delved into the idea behind Destruction with an overview of the basic concept behind the spec, now we will probe the essential spells and abilities of this spec to prove that the Destruction warlock is one masochistic son of an ember.

Immolate: For the longest time, I misunderstood this word.  I often think of thought of it as meaning what the graphics show me: the mob being wrapped in fire. Dictionary.com tells us, though, that it means "to offer as a sacrifice; to destroy by fire." By this definition, the warlock's target may be engulfed by fire, but that’s not the main purpose of the spell. The word sacrifice implies a state of helplessness on the behalf of the sacrificed. Sacrifices are not typically done voluntarily when violence is involved.  If the target is helpless, and the player cast this spell, then logic dictates that the entity in power is the player.  This spell, though comes with a price (on the part of the engulfed) in that fire likes to use its fuel, and whenever a large deposit of fuel is found...

.

Boom.

Conflagrate: A derivation of the noun conflagration, this is the verb to show an "extensive, destructive fire." While the meaning and the mechanics differ, the end result is quite similar: an explosion of fire. We can interpret this as either: A. The fire around the mob (that is currently engulfed by immolate) explodes in a fireball centered on the mob OR pockets of the mob’s body explode outward (or inward). I think I like the second option, since the first seems like a flare-up, like a grease fire (ewww, the mob’s fat is burning), whereas the second option brings to mind parts of the mob’s body exploding like a water balloon filled with gasoline (gives a whole new meaning to the body part termed the ‘bladder,’ eh?).



Chaos Bolt: At first glance, this does not seem to fit within the theme of fire that has thus far pervaded the spec. Chaos is a state of utter confusion or disorder; total lack of organization or order. Fire is, by its nature, disorganized.  It follows no patterns, shows no restraints that are not imposed upon it from the outside. The warlock’s power is drawn from demonic forces, which, throughout multitudes of mythologies, represent the opposite of order and control, either passively or actively. While it is not fire, It does embody the heart of what destruction is: the opposite of creation.


Next week, we'll wrap up the query into destruction and get ready to assault the Faustian bargain.