#guest muse: darius thatch

[leerofthevinegaroons]

The Fool, the Worm, and the Red Knight

The air was thick with rot and decay as Darius made his way through the nest, the barnacle-like texture of the hive structures rising up the walls. Burning hatred fueled the young man as he utilized the hives own splinter rifles and his own cursed immortality to venture down deep into their lair. He had to know. He had to find a way to defeat Xivu Arath and take vengeance for his family. And he'd found one - in the form of a dying worm after he carved it from its host and froze it in crystals of stasis.

He had intended to use for his own attempt at a wizard's spell, but the filthy familiar had cried out to him through his mind, speaking in his own tongue as it sought to save its life. It promised him the knowledge he sought, and with no other leads, no other ways he could find to defeat the Hive War deity, he listened. Now, here he was, cutting down foe upon foe, laying waste to the disgusting nest before him as he made his way to the Altar of Il'Harash.

Breathing heavily, the young man slogged his way through, stepping over bodies that didn't crumble at his touch.

"Darius," came Eris's voice over his coms, "I know you're there, I know what you seek, you must turn back!"

"Eris? How did you get my comms?"

"It does not matter! Return to us before it is too late!"

'Keeper…' the worm whispered from the crystal on his back, drawing his attention, 'behold…. the Altar of Il'Harash.' Before him, glowed a broad altar with sphere gilded with soul fire. Bones of some sacrifice or ritual still rested within its curved edge.

"No, Eris," Darius said firmly, "I'm not stopping, not now that I've come this far. One more step and I'll have her, I'll finally have what I need."

"Darius, we both know following this worm will give you neither closure nor the opening you desire. You are playing into its claws. But you know this. You know this better than anyone."

Darius paused and let out a breath. "What else can I do, Eris? All other paths either lead to me abandoning it or being made into her pawn. I—I can’t find any other way. I have to do this, Eris. This is my last chance, the only path I haven't tread to find my answer."

For a moment there was a pause, and he could almost hear the lunar hunter's voice soften. "You will walk it but you will not find what you are looking for."

"And what do you think I'm looking for?"

"Catharsis. Closure. Comfort. Peace."

Darius closed his eyes, pushing down the ache of the truth in her words. "And what do you think I'll find?"

Eris's answer was brisk and simple. "Death."

The young man sighed and let his shoulders slump. "Then maybe that will be how I find my catharsis," he said and with that, he closed his comm channel as he stepped toward the altar.

“Darius, you do not know what this worm asks. Please, come back. Others are waiting for you. We are waiting for you.”

Darius felt another stab in his heart and took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry Eris,” he said softly, and switched off his comms. He took a deep, a calming breath. Regaining his footing and his nerve, Darius approached the bone-strewn altar.

"Alright worm," he said, unshouldering the pack from his shoulders. "You said I'd find my desire if I came here, so start talking."

'Patience…' the worm hissed, its voice like sand paper in his mind. 'One trial left, and all will be revealed.'

"Trial?" Darius demanded. "You didn't mention anything about a trial!"

'You ask for hive knowledge,' the worm whispered, 'to gain, one must take, do battle, and be victorious. As it is with all - strength, knowledge, life. You have taken and given the tithe of life, now you must give a tithe of strength. Prove yourself, and gain the knowledge you desire.'

Darius clenched his teeth and looked back at the carnage behind him. Yes… he had given a tithe of death hadn't he? Every life he took in a single minded quest for the Worm's knowledge…

He gave a soft growl and clenched his fist. "What do you want me to do worm?" he asked, voice dripping with venom. "How do I finish this test of yours?"

'A tithe of strength,' the worm whispered consolingly. 'Place me on the altar, speak the words I give you, and do not let go. Release me, and all will be in vaaaaain….'

Darius frowned and gazed down at the crystal-covered worm. They were devilish, disgusting creatures, full of lies and deceit. He knew this. Why was he listening to it?

"This is a trap," he said finally.

'It is… the only way.'

"You don't deny it?"

'Fear is of the unworthy,' the worm replied slowly, a hint of severity in its voice. 'The unworthy perish and receive neither strength, knowledge, nor wisdom. Tithe… or return without.'

Steeling his nerve, the young man placed the crystal cocooned worm on the altar and spoke the words it whispered. As he spoke, the words echoed unnaturally in the chamber and he felt something pull at his chest. Runes of poisonous green soulfire ignited across the altar and soon the stasis crystals began to burn.

'Quickly!' the worm hissed, 'reach forth, take hold, and make thy tithe!'

For a moment, Darius hesitated but once again he felt the mysterious pull, and reached out to grasp the worm.

"AAAAAAAAUUUUGH!!!" he cried, the soulfire enveloping his hand, but he couldn't seem to let go! His fingers were locked around the crystal casing, like iron trapped on an electromagnet. It burned with cold and heat, like holding a hot coal in a bucket of ice water. He let out another agonized scream and grasped his arm.

'Endure!' the worm hissed, its voice almost filled with energy. 'Endure your trial, be victorious, gain your reward!!!'

His fingers were charring black. He could feel it! But he was too far now, in too deep, he had to do this. For them! The young man howled, the soulfire, climbing up his arm.

'Persist! Endure! Tithe!'

Darius fell to his knees, his elbows shaking as he tried to keep conscious. He could taste the fire now, burning in his mouth. 'This is how I die…' he thought, pressing his cheek to the altar, 'food for a worm… and all for nothing…' A tear disgraced him and he sank against the altar as his vision faded into blackness.

Footsteps raced down the decaying corridor, boots tromping through chitin and gore. A near, inhuman howl echoed deep within, drawing almost panicked looks from the fireteam.

"Hurry! This way!"

The guardians barreled down the way, guns at the ready, their fireteam leader praying they weren't too late.

Soon enough, the arrived at a floor of mangled bodies, thrall jaws still open in frozen howls. At the center of the room was a figure barely hanging off the broad rim of the alter whose flames were only now just beginning to die down. Cautiously, the three approached the body. It was hive. A knight by the look of it, charred red, gripping something on the altar.

"There's nothing here," the hunter reported, scanning the area again. "Nothing but dead hive and a torched hive on an altar."

"An altar?" came Eris's voice across the comms. "A ceremony no doubt. Investigate. It may hold clues to finding Darius."

The trio approached cautiously, one summoning their ghost to investigate the smoldering corpse. It scanned over the body and blackened crystal in its hands.

"Uh, guys," the ghost stammered. "I… don't think this is hive."

The three looked at the body and then at the ghost. "What do you mean you don't think it's hive."

"Uhhh, this body… is registering as… human."

The warlock's shoulders dropped. "Oh no…"

"Oh you idiot!" the hunter shouted, "Oh, You FUCKING IDIOT!" She lurched forward to give the body a sharp kick when the titan swung his arm around her and hauled her back.

"Iona don't! We don't know if what happened to him can spread to you."

"I don't care!" Iona shouted, voice tight with tears. "He threw it all away! And for what!? Chasing a hive war deity for the ones he lost instead of the people he has left! Stupid idiot…"

The titan held her tighter, this time not to hold her back, but to hold her through her tears. He shared a look with the warlock and looked down at their hunter friend as Eris's voice crackled over the comms.

"I feared this would happen… Stay and secure the premises. I will be there shortly."

The tomb had been cleaned up, each corpse and piece of chitin removed as they examined the ritual site. All that was left were Darius' remains and the that of the mad fools quest he'd been sent on.

"But why?" Iona asked brokenly. "Why did he do it?"

Eris let out a breath and gazed down at the body. "Grief is a powerful force. It leads us to do things we would not under normal circumstances. He channeled that grief into vengeance instead of sharing it. I can only guess that he wanted to avenge them or join them. So much so that he even went so far as to recruit a worm whose host he killed so as to steal what knowledge he could from them. Such was his despair, and the worm knew it. Whatever they were after, healing, knowledge, or revenge, it’s at an end now."

The warlock huffed and looked over at the burnt crystal. "It’s sad though, that he got caught in this. A guy looking for vengeance, only to get tricked into enacting the worm’s vengeance instead. A sick irony.."

"A sad irony," the titan remarked and watched as the body was carefully lifted from the altar and placed into a body bag.

"Perhaps," Eris said quietly. "But if he truly wished to die and this was his method, then we must allow him it and give him the rest he did not receive in life.”

“Alright…” Iona said softly. “It’s… only right that he get to rest with the family he’d been chasing. He would’ve wanted that.”

The three agreed, and with little more to say, began to clean up the alter and prepaid their friend for his final resting place.

Bagged and placed on a transport, the charred body remained immobile while something shifted within the dark crystal. Fragments of it fell away like broken ice as the slick form of the worm stretched and contracted, widening the narrow hole in the stasis crystals. Slowly, the worm slunk out, slithering along like an insidious slug. The fools around could not tell, but it could. It could feel the breath, hear the heartbeat, all stifled and hidden by its power.

'Oh, keeper,' it whispered, squeezing through the minuscule hole in its prison. 'Brave, noble, keeper, worthy of my ilk. Your tithe has made me whole. Fear not, your reward comes.'

And it would reward him. It would reward him as any worm would with a worthy host. By joining with him, sealing their bond, and welcoming him into their dark coven. Thus it would share its knowledge, wisdom, strength, and hunger. Thus it would ensure he would grow.

The knight awoke with a start, a gasp of air and pain, clutching at its chest as it turned and twisted. Fabric tore as it ripped the bodybag open, sucking in deep rasping breaths. It was blind, confused, groping about for something to give it some sense of where it was. Sounds, voices, muffled but still there, coming nearer. The knight opened its mouth almost as if to taste the voice-owners' scents on the air. It tasted... blood. Salt. Light. Life--!

The knight waited, hunger and need driving him, a feral animal in desperate need. They came closer. It heard the doors open and the voices... screamed.

Darius awoke in a circle of blood, the taste of it clinging to his mouth. His blood? He blinked and pulled his claws from a warm wet something he was holding. Cloth. Armor? Clothing. A body. A HUMAN!

Darius leapt back, scrambling away from the mutilated corpse. No. Not corpse. Corpses! He looked around. Gurney. Bag. Bodies. Three bodies and... something.. still clutched in his hand. Shards. GHOST shards!

A howl of horror tore its way from his throat as he threw the shards away from himself. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?" He yowled, not knowing who else could be at fault for this horrible act.

'I have made you whole,' answered the worm, its voice almost grandiose in strength in his mind.

Darius took in a wheezing breath. "YOU MADE ME KILL GUARDIANS! YOU MADE ME KILL GHOSTS!!!"

'No,' the worm answered easily, 'you killed them. They came to stop you and you claimed your victory, their Light, and now you are replenished.'

Darius fell to his knees, his body trembling. "This isn't what I wanted! I wanted to stop Xivu Arath! Stop her from taking any more lives! Not become her so I could take them in her place!"

'You demanded Hive knowledge,' the worm said, its voice taking almost a snarling tone. 'You agreed to the price. Only in this form have you any hope of defeating her. For we know you would not be chosen by the Light.'

Darius clenched his teeth, burying his head in his hands. 'What've I done? What have I done!?'

'You have done what was necessary,' the worm said, blanketing the stricken knight with its influence. 'Now must continue to continue to do what must be done. So rise, Duir Al'Harath, rise and go forth for only death awaits the stagnant.'

With nothing else to do, Darius stood, his claws and armor soaked in the innocent blood of his people, and ran.

[leerofthevinegaroons]

Stoat jostled his shell around anxiously as he drifted beside Mathafew’s head. Darius coming was a plus, but honestly, he’d rather have an entire fireteam come with them before setting foot on the giant torture chamber that was the Leviathan. But with Darius... both of them hardly new the guy. Even in the two weeks the Ghost had tried to talk with him, he hadn’t learned much. He knew Darius felt like he was intruding, not just on them in their home but with everyone, with the whole world, and that wasn’t normal.

“I like bonding time,” Stoat said finally, “but I like living time better. Can’t we bring someone else along? Anyone else? Noone here is a guardian and I’d feel a lot safer if we at least had someone like Salem flying with us.”

It wasn’t hard to see how nervous, or more accurately, terrified the ghost was going back to the Leviathan. He knew he had to do it, he knew he had to do it to save Baribus - but what if Calus trapped them again? What if they ended up in the exact same position he and Baribus were in that caused all this in the first place? He shivered and hovered closer to Mathafew.

“I don’t know much about Darius other than he seems to be a pretty good and chill guy when he isn’t drunk. But that he also has something to do with Ashven and Baribus and I wouldn’t doubt it if Ashven pulled another one over on him or us that led to this point.” He paused and looked at Mathafew. “I’m worried, Mathafew. Baribus doesn’t know this guy, we don’t know this guy, no really. And even if he is the little boy, Darius, Baribus lost when he was young, how do we know he’s going to help us and not make it worse?”

“Because you’re going to tell me everything about what happened, what he did, and what you did to make sure we don’t.”

Stoat spun around and stopped at the sight of the tall young man decked out in what looked like a patchwork of armor pieces, mostly hunter garb from the looks of it, with a warlock’s cowl instead of a hood. From a quick scan, the armor was in pretty good shape, all good stats with a uniform shader. But how? This guy wasn’t a guardian and he certainly wasn’t a civilian but...

Darius stepped forward, the visor of his mask glowing an amber orange as he closed the door. He’d calmed down but in place of wrath a stern discipline had taken hold, a hard focus on the problem at hand - Baribus and how they were going to get him back.

Happy Dawning?

@mando-of-esverr @leerofthevinegaroons

[mando-of-esverr]

“   something  tells  me  you’re  not  satisfied .   ”

Baribus Thatch narrowed his gold and olive eyes until they were pale golden slits behind his leather visor.

"Indeed," he said tersely. "With all due respect, Master Kenobi, this whole war, namely the use and creation of Republic's very own clone army, has been so divisive that for the first time in two Esverran centuries, a factional split has emerged on Esverr. Two hundred years of unity sir, split because of the underhanded dealings of the Republic members."

Baribus took a breath and regained his composure. He was a tall, lean, man with dark hair and an ornate uniform of dark blue with pale gold accents. Though cut in a more archaic naval style, the colors and embroidery marked him as the liaison of a Noble Esverran Household, namely the Heraldy Household, a lower Viscount but powerful merchant family of Esverr.

The man took another breath and leveled his gaze with the jedi.

"Our people have been friends of the Jedi for longer than our world has been in the Republic. However, if the Republic cannot rectify this situation with the clones, I fear the divide may worsen and lead to factional alliances with the Republic and the Separatists. Their Royal Majesties have already issued petitions to both sides for a peaceful resolution. But if the conflict continues..." He frowned deeply, making his long face seem longer. "I fear Esverr will become bloodied with a deadlier siste-civil-war to the one you are fighting now."

[mando-of-esverr]

“   i  know  it’s  not  much ,   but ,   it’s  the  best  i  can  do .   ” - Alden.

Darius looked up at his father, as the tall, dark-haired man nodded, a hint of gratitude in his stern features. Well, what features could be seen, anyway. As was Esverran custom, all Videre and their apprentices wore a unique uniform bearing the colors of the noble families they served. With it came stylized leather masks used like native winter goggles to protect their augmented eyes.

Darius thought they looked more like things that belonged in a gala or masquerade, but he didn't complain. They were nice to wear and they made him feel important!

"House Heraldy thanks your lordship, Count Ros, for your aid,” the older Videre said with a bow, his voice a low baritone. "Anything helps in the relief effort. Between Republic clones and Separatist droids, Master Heraldy and other Esverran Nobles have their hands full with injured refugees. But his lordship will see you reimbursed when the war is over."

The war... Darius hadn't seen war before but he'd heard from listening in on his father's conversations that it was bad - like a bad Derrasaur hunt except they were hunting people.

"Darius?" his father said, startling the boy out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yes sir?" Darius said, looking up at the two men.

"Are you going to thank his lordship, Count Ros, for his help?"

The boy looked up at Count Very and gave a proper bow. "Thank you for your contribution, my lord! You're going to help a lot of people!"

He felt his father squint at the impropriety of his speech but nodded in otherwise approval at his son's response.

[leerofthevinegaroons]

Darius looked from Mathafew to Stoat who seemed to stare at him just as incredulously as his brother; His brother who didn't know or recognize him. The dark-haired man put a hand to his mouth as he tried to process what he was seeing and hearing enough to give a response.

"So.. that isn't your ghost?" he ventured, gesturing to Stoat.

The little ghost flared his shell and whisked over to them. "I'm not his but he's certainly mine!" Stoat snaped, gyrating his shell as he swooped up to the stranger's face. "And you're trespassing! So you better answer those questions before I call security!"

Darius took a step back, holding a hand up to keep from getting poked by the agitated ghost. "Security? Trespassing?? But I live here! This is my key! This is my apartment!" He gestured furiously to the key inside the door and then to the apartment, his cheeks flushed with frustration. "And you're my brother! Or you were before you and Dad were killed!"

Stoat was taken aback. Killed? Mathafew hadn't been killed. Baribus had but not Mathafew.

"Uhh I think you've got the wrong place, my guy," Stoat said looking from him to Mathafew and back. "The only ones who live here are me, Mathafew, and my guardian Baribus. Nobody else lives here or has lived here besides us."

Darius stopped and stared at the ghost. "What?" he asked quietly and looked at Mathafew. "Father's a risen? But then... how are you here? You both died I watched you!"

"Whoa, easy there big guy," Stoat said, backing up as the young man's distress grew. "Look, I'll just call the folks downstairs and they can sort this all out okay? You look like you need some help so I'll just get a med team up here to help you out."

"I don't need a med team!" Darious snapped, "I need to know what's going on! Why my dead family members are suddenly alive again but I'm the one forgotten!"

Then he stopped as he heard Mathafew's quip and questions and frustratedly pressed his hands to his face.

"That's the point!" Darius exclaimed, gesturing to the young man. "You wouldn't know me! No guardian knows their friends or family from before they died and were brought back! Not even their own brothers!" He then looked at Mathafew, an almost pleading expression on his face. "I'm your brother! Darius Thatch, who's been with you since before the guardians came to kill the wish dragons! I can't BELIEVE Ashven brought you back and you don't even remember me!"

Mathafew had found every possible excuse to avoid returning to their apartment at the Tower. He had tried to help service the ship, had pestered both the pilot and Salem, found someone to issue a report to, checked his father’s mail - everything he could think of. Eventually there had been nothing else to do except return to the empty home.

Nothing had been moved of course but it felt massive and empty and he felt like a small child again. Kept as a hostage against his father’s return. The nightmare specter was always at the back of his mind and Mathafew eventually found something strong to help him sleep and numb his mind.

He was woken by someone else coming into the apartment. The young man’s head was full of static still, and he rubbed his blurry eyes trying to see who had come in. A threat of some sort? Mathafew looked at the tall shape with pale long features. Did he know this man? Something in the thin face was familiar… Where was Stoat? The boy looked around the room and then back to the man who was staring at him just as intently.

“Dad?” Had his father found his way home somehow? Was that where Stoat had gone, to fetch him back? No…no something wasn’t right and Mathafew suddenly wished he could think properly, he rubbed at his face trying to wake up properly.

@sundanceofapache

Darius’s head hung low as he stood at his door in the tower, his heart and mind as raw as road rash from a crashed sparrow. He didn’t want to go in and see his and his brother’s things in there. He didn’t want to see his jacket and knives and trophies, all waiting as if his brother would still come home. He wanted to go out and drink, or fight or something to make the pain stop… but nothing had helped and now he was not only coming home, but he was coming home with a wrecking hangover.

Darius crewed his eyes shut as he pushed the key into the lock and opened the door. There it was. The apartment. Cold and miserable and… wait. Had Mathafew’s jacket been moved?

Furrowing his brow, the dark-haired man stepped inside and moved to pick up the favored jacket when he saw something that made his heart stop. There, on the couch under the jacket was the same messy, short hair, same mud-caked boots on the couch arm… Darius chest clenched as he looked down at his living brother. He swallowed fighting for his voice as he gazed down at the young man.

“M-Mathafew?”