Of Madidas
Deep in the mountains through veils of mist, under the wet tree roots, rummaging and slowly fumbling about his tunnels lived a hunched beast. He was kin to the evil things that lived in the dark woods and crept in the sewers of man, the nameless things that stole away children in the night and performed unspeakable evils. This creature had grown to be the biggest and strongest of his kind but had rebelled against them, sick with the evil he saw in them. He left them behind climbing the great mountain peaks, high amongst them he hid, under moss covered stones, drinking the golden amber sap from the white trees.
For many years he had dwelt there all alone and whether it was the sap or his own unique nature he began to change, he understood more of the things about him and learnt the speech of bird and tree. Living alone, this hermit creature built a vast subterranean lair and loved nothing more than to rummage through mud and stone. His life was not without danger, for there were other creatures of crueler nature that he shared the mountain with, the most dangerous of these were the Serpent Kindred of Mourn; long black beasts with large gaping maws and small cruel eyes. He learnt much of these creatures and saw in them the same evil that lived in the heart of his own kind. From afar Madidus learnt much of Mourn the Great Serpent King, rebel son of the old Gods.
Deep in the azure pools of the ruins of the first watchtower, he named himself *Madidus after the old tongue and took in on himself to protect the old things he had discovered living beneath the earth. Through the trees and dwindling race of birds Madidus learnt of Mourns true nature, Mourn had declared war against his father and taken his power, twisting it to his own means. Mourn had poisoned the white trees and destroyed the old races of the mountains, only one race still fought him and his serpent children. This race was man, untrusting and warlike people who Madidas viewed from afar wishing ever to join them for they shared his love of the growing creatures. But man was hardened by war and could not be trusted.
The men who fought this war were the men of Orsilin, the spear makers, sword smiths and the craftsman of the finest weapons heroes could wield. Years of war against mourns fierce black skinned children had worn their number. The great mountain cities of man had one by one fell to be replaced by serpent haunted ruins, the cities had dwindled until only Orsilin remained. Its weary besieged warriors cast in long grey cloaks stood sentry on every windswept mountain top about Orsilin, always watching the valleys below. The serpent sons of Mourn cut of Orsilin from its ore mines preventing them crafting new weapons and gathered slowly over a few years, coming closer for the kill, poisoning Orsilins water to make the inhabitants sickly and feeble. They were too few in number to protect the white trees now.
Mourns poison spread and one by one the trees and birds fell silent, the great and beautiful pools in Madidus’s home were poisoned with the venom Mourn secreted. Serpents dwelt now in his old halls, Madidus’s home was taken tunnel by tunnel forcing the creature to live in constant fear. The serpents developed their own word for Madidus which roughly translated as ‘he who builds alone’ for the serpents could smell there was just one creature in these long tunnels but even on their longest hunts never found Madidus, for he was cunning.
Madidus lived like this for many years more awaiting the rebirth of the mountains, he collected the old white tree seeds keeping them fed on fresh water, where he could find it and desperately he lived and watched man slowly fail against the rising tide of serpents. Mourn became King of the Stars and rode the starlight with his children into war against his enemies in the form of great spiders.
Madidus studied the lore of his land long and hard but the serpents haunted him ever more prominently and fresh water was becoming rarer, he began to grow ill and tired and the slower he got the closer the serpents hunts became, they saw him now turning corners in the distance, they smelt him hiding in the midst of them behind secret mud walls.
Then in the spring of a nameless year a mortal man from distant lands came and destroyed Mourn and threw down his power on the world. Broken and poisoned Madidas waited and slept, healing himself in the earth connected to the Grough, the great living energy that flowed through all that thrived and grew.
Madidus rested through the five year war. This war saw man hunt down all of Mourns children throughout the mountain realm. Without his children began to deteriorate, their bodies rotted and became weak and soft, their minds slowed and they forgot their own speech. Man sought them out showing no mercy, hunting and killing them as they were once hunted. Mourns final son was killed trying to leap from the worlds end waterfall, the highest flowing water in all the mountains. Here in a desperate leap to avoid his human hunters mourns final son was caught and killed and so ended the five year war after Mourns death and the cleansing of the land.
The mountains grew beautiful once more as Mourns poisonous hold over the world faded into memory. Sustained and healed by the Grough Madidas was born again. He walked under bright star filled skies, through the flowing rivers and visited all his favourite halls reclaiming them and clearing away the serpent filth left there. He returned to his peaceful quiet life and was happy to again walk the mountains and tell stories of the humans and their war against Mourn to the trees who had slept through the dark times.
It was through the trees madidas heard of what the humans had done to the serpents, the terrible five year revenge they had wrought upon their weakened foes. He heard of rivers running red with ancient serpent blood and nests of their young mercilessly burnt and Madidas became sad for he knew that war and suffering had only taught man to cause pain and genocide in return. The world was good again but man had became a hollow thing. He no longer loved the birds that sang nor looked after the good land that had cared for them. Madidas pondered this for a long time, how could he make man remember that there was more to the world than death.
Several years after mourns final son had fell and one year after the trees had spoke to Madidas the people of Orsilin awoke to find something incredible. In the center of their kingdom amongst the cobbled paths one brilliant white tree had began to grow. One tiny plant of a kind that man had thought extinct had returned. From far off hidden amongst the roots of a budding tree Madidas watched as the seed he had cared for all through the dark days flowered. He watched as man built up a shrine around that single white tree, he watched as they danced and sang about it remembering their old songs and he watched as man left crafting swords and spears to make instead great songs and great works of art. Madidas watched all of this happily and slunk back to his deep halls of cool stone.
*Madidus- Latin for wet, moist, soaked, drenched
© Sam Coleman 2013 If Republished please republish with link to Original work here.
