[Chance]

Rumors are mixed in the aftermath of the attempted ascension of Lord Lyseroth, but the dark demigod's downfall is known throughout Meranthe. It was a spectacle that his father, Misfortune, was present for: eye witness accounts of the primordial outside of his realm, quite literally turning to dust from the strain of it, despite Sheol's close proximity to the Tower of Aetius. Additionally, they say that the Death Mage Lydia Dominic was slain by the former Emperor Jokul, but what really happened on that night?




"They would tell you I am evil, and by Amier, wouldn't they be right," Misfortune spoke, alone in an empty castle that floated on the edge of the abyss. Who was he speaking to? Himself, as usual. "After all, I murdered my own beloved to witness the ascension of my son; only for it to come to nothing in the end. Because he was to be the one to kill me, to offer that sweet release so I may finally join my Faithful of ages past in the underworld."

As he sits upon that throne of broken dreams and false promises, the dark god thought back to that recent, unfortunate night. It began with the toll of a bell, and his son, in all of his grand brilliance, making a mockery of the greatest magi of Meranthe. Their heroes were nothing in the face of the anointed one, the all consuming glutton that would bright about a great void and finally deliver vengeance to the this cursed reality in all of its subservience, foolishness, and arrogance. To dethrone the Ten. 

And most importantly: undo the seal of Joseph Aetius that bound Misfortune to an eternity of a phantom's existence.

Or so it seemed. Lyseroth's army may have been small, but his closest Faithful were formidable, and within the Maw his power was intensified tenfold. The likes of Ustrea and Xarxes flanked his son and protected him, but he needed to only let loose before hundreds of marching knights were petrified by the ghastly magical power of the primordial-to-be alone. It was beautiful, and it brought a rare smile to Misfortune's lips.

But then he was drawn away from the show when he felt his beloved in danger; at the hands of the former Emperor, Jokul, a rival of the Death mage perhaps. Misfortune had heard of the giant's exploits, but he recognized him as someone else, a legend that had set the foundations of Vdalion itself. It seemed the soul of that old brute had found a worthy vessel, finally. Jokul tossed Lydia at the feet of Misfortune, perhaps not wanting to risk the ire of the primordial when his main priority was Lyseroth, and further delay preventing the coming disaster...

To their surprise, that 'mercy' was revoked when Misfortune ended Lydia's life on the spot. She was embraced and her aether was claimed, repurposed by the primordial to desperately extend his presence, temporarily. Her exit was not graceful or peaceful: she left betrayed and confused in those cold, hollow moments of selfishness.

All it did was grant him an extra hour or two beyond the reaches of his realm, as he was fading, and would dematerialize and reform as a ghost there, like all the other times he had 'died'. So he made that choice to take her magic and life, to bare witness to see his son climb the black steps and meet the Five Marquis. It would not be that way. Lyseroth was defeated by the combined efforts of the heroes of the day, every battle and death ultimately wearing the demigod down until his last breaths, and final moments, where the Maw itself needed to be beaten to intercept the coming apocalypse...

On that night, Misfortune lost his wife, and he lost his son.
On that night, Misfortune was denied the opportunity of death.
On that night, Misfortune got what he deserved.

"I wonder, do they hate me for this? Or do they understand the lengths I would go to to receive what mortals scorn and take for granted? I do not deserve your forgiveness.. Lyseroth, Lydia. You will never be forgotten by men greater than I."
"Just know that eventually I will find my death, and I will meet you again, be it in love or in hatred. My family."