Skywrath Mage and Vengeful Spirit
Why Skywrath Mage loves Vengeful Spirit
Few pairs in Dota 2 have one side love so devotedly and the other answer so coolly. Skywrath Mage feels +16 towards Vengeful Spirit; she feels only +5 towards him. Behind that gap lie the court of the Skywrath, a coup, and a vow that cannot be broken.
Dragonus, a high-born mage at the Skywrath court, was from childhood the friend of the eldest princess, Shendelzare, first in line for the Nest of Thorns. He loved her warmly and unshakably, but over the years he sank deeper and deeper into aetherial magic, and so he missed the small signs of a plot. When her younger sister staged a coup, Shen was caught in an assassin's net and tore free only at the cost of her wings. The Skywrath would never accept a wingless ruler, so she gave her broken body to the goddess Scree'auk in exchange for an imperishable form of vengeful spirit.
Dragonus was trapped. By birth he is sworn to protect whoever sits in the Nest of Thorns, and the magic of the Skywrath Mage serves only that protector. So he serves the usurper he hates with all his soul, because otherwise he would lose the power with which he hopes one day to return Shen to her throne. Only Scree'auk knows his secret. And the worst torture of all for him is imagining how deeply Shen must hate him.
Their lines read like two different letters. His are one long declaration: "Ah, my heart, my wings, let us fly", and even when he kills her: "My secret love dies with you". Hers are thorny: "I have surpassed your treachery, Dragonus", "You will beg for forgiveness, Dragonus". It seems his worst fear is well founded: she takes his silence at court for betrayal.
The Crownfall event brought the resolution. It is Dragonus who brings Shen back with Scree'auk's power, and for the first time there is warmth in her voice: "You brought me back from unliving hell. What can these fools do to us?", "To battle once again, my love". In the finale Shen strikes the final blow against Imperia and takes back her throne. Yet Dragonus's own arcana leaves a shadow of doubt: "Whatever returned with Scree'auk...was not my Shen".
How Skywrath Mage feels about Vengeful Spirit
+16 love
A secret love: "ah, my heart, my wings, let us fly", "May I join you in seeking your revenge?". Even when killing her: "my secret love dies with you", "It was all I could give you, Sweet Spirit", and dying: "I die, but my love lives on". Per the lore he is her secret beloved. The Crownfall arcana shows a rift too: meeting her as an enemy, "fly away, Shen. We don't come back from this", and when killing her, "I will always protect Skywrath. Even from enemies within" and "Whatever returned with Scree'auk...was not my Shen".
confidence: high
Lines · 10
Lore · 3
Hero biography
A highly placed mage in the court of the Ghastly Eyrie, Dragonus lives a troubled existence. Sworn by birth to protect whoever sits within the Nest of Thorns, he hates the current Skywrath queen with all his soul. As a youth, high-born, he was a friend and companion to the eldest Skywrath princess, Shendelzare, first in line for the Nest. He had loved her warmly and unshakably, but as his studies took hold, his mind turned to arcane learning and the mastery of Skywrath sorcery. Obsessed with matters aetherial, he missed the mundane signs of courtly treachery that hinted at a plot against Shendelzare, and lost his chance to foil it. When the court was shaken by a swift and violent coup, he emerged from his studies to discover his oldest and dearest friend had been lost to him. The Nest of Thorns now belonged to Shendelzare's ruthless younger sister, and Dragonus could do nothing. The magic of the Skywrath Mage serves only the sworn protector of the Skywrath scion, so to act against the Nest would render him helpless. He clings to his post, believing it to be the best hope of one day restoring his true love to her rightful place. Meanwhile, his secret is known only to the goddess Scree'auk, whose magic it was transformed Shendelzare from a crippled physical creature into an embodiment of pure vengeful energy. While he dreams of restoring his beloved queen to the Ghastly Eyrie, he dreams even more desperately of restoring Shendelzare herself to a fully healed physical form. The duplicity of his role at court tortures him, for he is a noble and good-hearted creature; but the worst torture of all is imagining the hatred that Vengeful Spirit must hold in her heart for him.
How Vengeful Spirit feels about Skywrath Mage
+5 mixed feelings
Her secret lover per the lore. Her own voice is prickly: "I have surpassed your treachery, Dragonus", "you will beg for forgiveness", "how fare the Skywrath?". The Crownfall: The Resurrection of Shen arcana is tender: "to battle once again, my love", "you brought me back from unliving hell", "together we cannot fail"; killing him: "Scree'auk's magic has poisoned your mind!".
confidence: medium
Lines · 15
Lore · 2
Hero biography
A highly placed mage in the court of the Ghastly Eyrie, Dragonus lives a troubled existence. Sworn by birth to protect whoever sits within the Nest of Thorns, he hates the current Skywrath queen with all his soul. As a youth, high-born, he was a friend and companion to the eldest Skywrath princess, Shendelzare, first in line for the Nest. He had loved her warmly and unshakably, but as his studies took hold, his mind turned to arcane learning and the mastery of Skywrath sorcery. Obsessed with matters aetherial, he missed the mundane signs of courtly treachery that hinted at a plot against Shendelzare, and lost his chance to foil it. When the court was shaken by a swift and violent coup, he emerged from his studies to discover his oldest and dearest friend had been lost to him. The Nest of Thorns now belonged to Shendelzare's ruthless younger sister, and Dragonus could do nothing. The magic of the Skywrath Mage serves only the sworn protector of the Skywrath scion, so to act against the Nest would render him helpless. He clings to his post, believing it to be the best hope of one day restoring his true love to her rightful place. Meanwhile, his secret is known only to the goddess Scree'auk, whose magic it was transformed Shendelzare from a crippled physical creature into an embodiment of pure vengeful energy. While he dreams of restoring his beloved queen to the Ghastly Eyrie, he dreams even more desperately of restoring Shendelzare herself to a fully healed physical form. The duplicity of his role at court tortures him, for he is a noble and good-hearted creature; but the worst torture of all is imagining the hatred that Vengeful Spirit must hold in her heart for him.
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