Midius - Beginnings
Midius - July 23, 2006
"The Moon, she hangs like a cruel portrait
Soft winds whisper the bidding of trees
As this tragedy starts with a shattered glass heart
And the Midnightmare trampling of dreams
But oh, no tears please
Fear and pain may accompany
Death But it is desire that shepherds its certainty
As we shall see..."
Two figures made their way from the cottage's light, laughing
jovially, arm in arm. As they walked away from the cottage, the
darkness of the forest fell about them. "Wasn't that a great
party Adrian?" said the young woman, looking up to the man she is
walking with.
"Yea, it was a good time wasn't it? John certainly loves being
the host, and Hallows-end gives him the perfect excuse!" said
Adrian, while lighting their lantern. "Speaking of which," he
said, fumbling on unsure footing, "I think I had a little to much
fun myself."
"Hah! you were probably the least obnoxious at the party! I had 3
drunk friends of Johann's after me all night," exclaimed the
young woman. "And you don't want to know what the dwarf said to
me."
"Haha! Well I suppose the walk home will help sober me up. It's
still quite chilly out for this time of year," said Adrian as he
pulled his coat tighter around himself. It might be cold outside,
and a long way home to walk, but Adrian had never felt better in
his whole life. Everything felt like it had fallen into place: he
had a nice home in Southshore; had started his full
apprenticeship under Master Cortis, an old and powerful mage; and
he had met Fay. He looked over at her as they made their way
quietly through the forest, her beauty was obvious even in this
darkness, he loved her so much... Suddenly Adrian stopped, his
eyes peering into the night. "What is it?" said Fay, concerned.
"Ssshh! I thought I heard footsteps and voi- there!" Said Adrian,
pointing into the forest at a now visible light coming closer to
them down the dirt path. The gruff voices of a few men could be
heard, along with heavy footsteps.
"Ho there!" One of the men shouted, seeing Adrian and Fay's
lantern light. "Who goes there?"
"Just some cold travelers, eager to get home to Southshore," said
Adrian. As the men came into view under the lantern light, Adrian
instantly new they weren't in a good position. The soldiers bore
the red and gold tabard of the scarlet crusade. Adrian knew the
scarlet crusade weren't civil to ANYONE, undead abomination,
human, or otherwise. As they approached, Adrian realized they
were heavily intoxicated as some were stumbling and chuckling
among themselves. The group of six stopped about 10 strides from
the couple and silence pervaded for a few tense moments, until
Adrian piped up "So, how goes the night, honorable crusaders?"
"Hah!" one large bearded crusader bellowed, "look what we've
found here, a couple o' troublemakers maybe? Lets find out!" A
grin split wide on the large mans face as he came closer. Adrian,
frowning and slowly pulling Fay behind him, said "Troublemakers?
I believe you are mistaken."
"Oh we ain't lad, we've heard reports about people like
yerselves, and yer necromantic doings in the forest at night."
The large man, obviously lying, looked back at his friends, who
where now all smiling. "So, were gunna have to take you two with
us for... questioning." After saying this his friends all broke
out in laughter and he started his drunken approach again.
Backing away slowly and keeping Fay behind him, Adrian tried once
more to halt the man. "I don't know what you want, but we are not
guilty of any practice of black magic. We have people waiting for
us not far from here and we cannot be late." This just drew more
laughter out of the brutes and suddenly the large one that
approached lunged for Adrian. "Run!" Adrian Shouted at Fay and
pushed her away. Ducking under the large mans grasp, Adrian
slammed the lantern post into the mans chest with all his might.
Though knocking him aside, Adrian knew his situation was
hopeless. He could only hope that Fay could make it away in time.
Seeing their comrade felled, the other five angrily charged
forward. Swinging again with all his might Adrian took another
man full in the face with the lantern stick. The others
surrounded him and bore him to the ground. Still viciously
kicking and biting, Adrian extended the struggle at least a few
moments longer in hopes that Fay could escape.
He then heard the large man's voice once again. "Fuck off, I want
him." Adrian then suddenly saw the bearded grinning face looming
above him, and then a searing flash of pain from a fist driven
right into his face. Over and over again it came in, and Adrian
felt warm blood flowing freely down his face, as well as hearing
the snapping sounds of his jaw and nose. Then the others joined
in anyways, kicking and beating Adrian in their drunken stupor.
Before loosing consciousness Adrian heard the faint screams of
his beloved.
"No!" he tried to scream but he couldn't even move. Their
laughter continued as blackness overtook him...
...The faint sounds of the whistling wind, the rustle of leaves.
Familiar, yet hazy. Adrian's eyes cracked open and he felt scabs
rip open and new fresh blood come to the surface. He felt cold,
and could barely move. Finally completely opening his eyes he
could see it was still dark, but the moon had appeared from
behind black clouds. Leaves fell from trees in the wind that had
picked up, and the sounds of the creaking ancient wood continued
ceaselessly, slowly bringing him back to full awareness. Trying
to move his arms brought searing pain, but he could force them to
obey his commands. Slowly turning on his side, he prepared to try
to sit up, when he was greeted with a sight that nearly crushed
what was left of his humiliated and battered spirit.
"Fff-fuh-Fay..." he croaked. Her soft skin, illuminated in the
moonlight, seemed to glow through her torn dress. Her beautiful
locks of black hair spilled out on to the forest floor, and
already leaves had began to pile up next to the ravished beauty.
Immediately upon seeing her he knew she was already long gone
from this world. Dragging his broken body with his arms to where
she lay, he collapsed beside her pale, fragile body and began to
weep. Adrian then hugged her close, and thoughts of what she
endured before death nearly drove him mad with grief. Eventually
releasing her from his embrace, and kissing her forehead for the
last time, he turned from his beloved's violated body, and his
bloodshot gaze settled on an iron key trampled into the earth.
Reaching forward and examining it, and then the destructive trail
the drunks left through the forest, his sadness was replaced by
burning anger, a black smoldering hate which built quickly within
his shattered heart, until it boiled over into the rest of his
body and forced him to his feet. Letting out a tortured scream of
rage, tears flowing freely down his cheeks, Adrian stumbled into
the black forest, following the footsteps of these degenerate
crusaders. The scarlet thugs' trail was easy enough to follow,
and Adrian forced his broken body onward, even as he felt the
chill of death seeping into his bones. He could see blood
spattered on the forest floor which was flowing freely from his
many wounds, and new he didn't have much time left...
Adrian came across the encampment just as the sky was beginning
to lighten from the fast-approaching dawn. It consisted of an old
wooden church surrounded by a large and ancient iron palisade. He
could hear voices emanating from the structure, including the
large bearded one laughing happily with his comrades. Stumbling
towards the gate to the fence, he hoped with all that was left of
his being that this would be the key to his vengeance.
*Click* went the key in the lock and a delirious bloody smile
came to his lips. Before he even got through the gate he knew
what he wanted to do to them. Staggering inside the gates, he
paused to catch his breath, and then concentrating, he closed his
eyes. He had never attempted something like what he was about to
try in his magical career so far, but all thoughts of what was
deemed safe were long gone from his feverish agonized mind.
Gathering his hands together with muscles taut, he brought all
his arcane might to bear and called upon the vehement powers of
the inferno. With gritted teeth he ran through the incantations
in his mind, while new sweat mixed with blood upon his brow and
every vein in his body bulged with unnatural intensity.
A glow began to emanate from his gathered hands, which grew
brighter and brighter. Snapping open his eyes, revealing orbs
aflame with the rising sun, he let out one final scream of rage,
and hurled the magically formed embers from his hands. Flickering
and simmering through the morning mist they suddenly flashed then
erupted into a writhing missile of flame, streaking its way
towards the old wooden structure. The flaming projectile smashed
explosively into the side of the church, immediately igniting the
dry wood along with some sticks and leaves that had gathered on
the forest floor.
Adrian barely heard the shouts of surprise, as the last of his
energy had been consumed by the spell and he fell to his knees.
The crusaders' shouts quickly turned into screams of fear as the
magical flames spread to consume the whole outside of the old
church. Adrian could see his lifeblood gathering in pools around
him, and felt the chill of death making its final victorious
assault on his body as he pitched forward to the ground. He could
hear the roof of the church crack and split as it caved in, and
the crusaders' screams followed his fading from this world as his
eyes, at last, slid shut.
Darkness...
A void of swirling black and a torrent of broken images...
A howling moon, a key, and a gate of fire and smoke...
A pale ghostly figure looked at him-
(Fay?)
He asked. She did not answer, only stared, the fires of revenge
burning bright in her eyes...
Then came the horrid whispers of a place, a location in death, in
life, or in-between? (Midiaaannn...) Then yet another image, this
one clearer. A cyclopean bastion of infernal glory, a forever
afterlife. He saw himself there with her, that ghost of beauty
and retribution. He could see the men of the cross in the flames,
pleading with him, but his merciless shattered heart had no room
for them as he drank from the morphing glass of infinitude and
sat in his cruel throne of rancor. He saw himself there, basking
in blissful immortality...
The power he had seen, flashed then faded... and again darkness-
(Midiusss...)
The voice whispered again to him.
"Midius?"
...Coldness, the chill of death, the familiar sensation of fear,
all these feelings crept in like a disease, interrupting what
seemed like an age of comatose dreams. Sight was coming back,
dim, damp stone walls slowly faded into view, along with smell,
yes that had returned as well, the smell of rot and death. Adrian
shifted himself onto his side. Where was he? What had happened?
It felt like he had taken a long journey, so long that he had
forgotten who he was, or what he had set out to do. Trembling, he
pulled himself to his knees, he tried to stand, but fell,
splashing, into a puddle of stagnant water. It was then that he
saw himself. In the dim rippling reflection, a monster stared
back. An eyeless, pale, rotting face looked at him from the
depths of the swirling mirror. He screamed, but in the place of
his voice came an unearthly wail, a cry that traveled from the
dimension of the dead. Gazing upon the rest of his body, he was
greeted with more of the same rotting grotesque flesh, with
bleached bone exposed. How was it possible to see? Talk? Feel? He
was an abomination!
"I am damned" he thought, "what else could this be but the black
abyss itself?" He reeled on the edge of insanity, and with this a
sudden feeling of familiarity came to him, like his mind had been
on this razor's edge before ...
And then just as suddenly as he had awoken, that night came back
to his memory. The memories flooded in and hit Adrian like a
hammerblow. He could barely keep his trembling body out of the
puddle as he remembered Fay, the party, the crusaders, what they
had done to Fay, his love, and what he had done to them. A
familiar change then came over him, that reckless emotional
metamorphosis from loss to rage. Out of his black eyeless sockets
now seethed a poisonous hatred. A hatred that again speared
outward from his broken heart, filling his body with its
unnatural energy. As he pulled himself up from the floor, that
voice again appeared in his mind. (Midius...)
"Midiusss!" he echoed. He splashed through the puddle towards the
nearest exit, an ancient stairwell situated across the room. As
he walked away, the rippling puddle showed a jumbled, fading
image of the creature that had, a whole life ago, called himself
Adrian.
It took some time for him to come to terms with his new
situation, just like many others of the new forsaken. "Midius"
was the only word he uttered for the first few days after getting
out of the crypt in Deathknell. He stumbled around the graveyard
under the watchful eye of undertaker Mordo, in case he turned out
to be another one of the mindless. The undertaker took Midius for
his name as that was all he seemed to respond to. Soon he started
talking coherently and was willing to learn all he could about
how he came to be, as well as who he now served. Midius was more
than willing to serve however, as all that remained in his black
soul was his hatred for the light and its allies, as well as his
new and insatiable appetite for power. Both were temporarily
satisfied as he started his new training in the arcane, and
participated in small attacks on Scarlet Crusade forces. Midius
embraced his new name fully, as it represented his one final goal
seen in those deathly dreams.
After leaving Deathknell, Midius realized he wasn't going to be
led by a bunch of Forsaken soldiers anymore, and that his path
was now for himself to decide. He knew his thirst for power and
vengeance was far from satisfied. He also had many questions,
like how his corpse ever came to be in death knell, or if he was
ever a thrall of the Lich King, or what Midius truly meant.
Questions that he wasn't finding answers for among the Forsaken.
So, Midius set out into the world of Azeroth, seeking greater
power and battle at every turn. Bringing his hate in tow, he will
let none stand between him and his dark goals.