The Annals of the Vindicator Grandmasters [WIP]

Any comprehensive telling of the origin of the Vindicators must start with the story of Marius Shire, the first Vindicator and a man of enough skill, charisma, and force of will to change the world within five short years.

Marius Shire was one of three sons born to Percival Shire, of the main branch of the legendary 'Shire' family, an ancient and powerful bloodline of 'Dragonbloods', mortals who, according to the legend, were born with the nature and spirit of the Dragons. Although Marius was born to the most distinguished and strong lineage of Dragonblooded mortals, Marius himself exhibited little to none of the natural traits associated with those of the Dragonblood. This is where Marius' story should have ended. Instead, however, the young Marius' life was thrown into terror when the long-time enemy of the Shires, the infamous Warg Nero Farrek, raided the Shire's family villa 'Percival's Haven', taking the young Marius as a slave.

Spirited far away from his family, Marius spent his entire childhood under the thumb of Farrek, who took to training Marius in a wide variety of arts; ranging from magic theory, to philosophy, to swordsmanship and history. Farrek, it is said, could see the currents of history, probability, and could see unwarranted glimpses of the future. With this knowledge, Farrek took not to a passive role, but coveted a guiding hand on the helm of the future; in Marius, heir to the unparalleled Shire family, he saw a life he could shape to itself shape the entire course of history. Farrek would never know how right he was - but for all the wrong reasons.

Farrek was harsh with the boy, and inflicted corporeal punishment upon him whenever he rebuked Farrek's authority or failed in a lesson. But he was also 'kind', and attempted to reward Marius's power with pleasures of the flesh - including women. On a night that would haunt Marius well into the last days of his life, Farrek brought forth a young human woman he had taken as a slave, offering her to Marius as a sexual reward. Marius agreed. One thing above all Farrek attempted to instill upon the young Marius was the one rule of law Farrek held himself to; evil is a lie parroted by the weak. The truth is that all good things come from those who are willing to know that the world is an illusion which must be dashed, murdered, and replaced with a new one. All evils are permissible in the pursuance of great things.

Eventually, Marius was turned over at the age of 21 to one of Farrek's associates, a Lich by the name of 'Xalicar', for further magical training that Farrek himself could not provide. Thus, Marius enrolled in the elusive Guild of Necromancers, and began his advanced magical learning there - in Surna. It was there that he fostered a friendship that would shape the future; becoming close friends and allies with a mage of unparalleled talent and personal apprentice to Xalicar, Zayl Rathman. The two would work closely in their studies and fight alongside each other often as they were hunted by the Surnan Guard and the Inqusition.

Indeed, it was this friendship which lead to Marius grabbing hold of his own fate for the first time. When Zayl was captured and corrupted by the Shadowlord Lil Oloth, Marius believed he had been slain. In drunken grief, Marius sought out his master and challenged Farrek to a duel, rebuking his authority for the last time. Marius could have no hope of besting his master, however, even sober, and lost handily. Farrek, however, realized his long-time pupil would never again accept his tutelage; and once he had subdued Marius, began to bring about his final vision for the young man.

Wielding the abominable blade, the 'World Weeper', Farrek slowly cut away at the restrained Marius, each nick and cut burning horrific images into his psyche; images of the future. When he was done, Marius' body was deeply scarred. Farrek then departed, leaving the half-living Marius in a gutter. Marius would never again see his master, but his legacy lived on in his mind - having inherited 'Nazu's Blessing', or 'the Curse of Nero' - forever after suffering frenzied half-visions of the future when he slept.

For all he had lost, Marius was now free. When he recovered, he lingered around Surna somewhat aimlessly, joining in his many associates' fight against the tyrannical Prophet when he came. Though he was not present when Inarius fell, the brutal authoritarian stylings of the Prophet was the last he could stand, and the impetus for what was to come.

Disgusted by the power that one man could wield - either as a divine like the Prophet, or as a 'mere' human tyrant like Farrek - Marius left Surna, eager to travel a world he had been denied. Drawn on by memories of his family, Marius left for the north, traveling in search of his family's estate somewhere in the vast Aruyshikan Steppes. He arrived to find that Thomas Shire had seized power in the wake of Wade Shire's unexplained death. Although Thomas greeted his long lost brother warmly, Marius was no fool, and could tell that Thomas was a man who ruled by fear, and regarded Marius as a potential rival for power.

Thomas offered him a place at his side, but expressed his 'concern' for the third brother's soul. He explained that Wade had died in his sleep almost two years prior, but that his soul had never gone to Kelemvor's rest. Instead, it haunted the halls of the estate, wandering in half-formed bodies, leaving decayed corpses in its wake. Thomas asked Marius if he would see if he or his necromantic training could do anything for the fallen brother; and in return, Marius would reign in Percival's Keep as was befitting a Shire. Marius saw through Thomas' paper thin excuse; he knew the truth was that Thomas was too afraid that his brother's soul would exact vengeance upon him. Regardless, Marius confronted the spirit of his brother soon after.

In doing so, Marius connected with the one remnant of his half remembered family that cared for him. He learned that Wade had not died at the hands of his ruthless younger brother, but at the hands of an unknown terror - a demon - an Archfiend - known as Ossus. Although the two only possessed childhood memories of his now-deceased brother, Wade and Marius quickly grew in respect of the other, and began a friendship and tutelage that would become incredibly important to the younger brother. Soon after binding Wade's soul to himself through the skills taught to him by Xalicar, Wade guided him in the creation of an artifact capable of holding Wade's soul and even allowing him to take mortal form once more. After weeks of careful work in the smithy of Percival's Keep, Marius was successful in the creation of a so-called 'To'mire' Mask to hold Wade's soul, and allowing him to 'become' Wade when worn. Soon after, Marius departed Percival's Keep forever, without so much as a goodbye to his elder brother.

It is here that Marius truly began his transformative journey. During the days he traveled, only himself, a sack of supplies, a few gold and silver coins, and his brother Wade's heirloom, the orium blade 'So'Lustre', or 'Lackluster', generously 'gifted' from Thomas Shire's armory. During the nights he would meditate for hours at a time while wearing the mask, communing with his brother's spirit in order to learn all that had been denied him; the rightful tutelage befitting a Shire. Marius learned of the much-storied history of his family, alongside the gaps of his magical learning. Marius avoided sleep when he could, for fear of the horrific dreams granted him by the 'Curse of Nero', making these periods of meditative, learning rest a welcome companion. During these sessions, Marius learned of the ancient 'burden' the Shires possessed, their purpose for being, something that meshed well with his life's experiences and his newly forming philosophy. The Shires served as a beacon of hope, of resistance, to stand against all tyrants - those within and those without, both divine and mortals. Marius knew all too well the lash of a tyrant.

Eventually, after weeks of travel, he finally reached his destination - the ancient enclave of the Dragoons, renowned spiritual men and legendary hunters of rogue Dragons. Through Wade's influence, Marius was granted access to their Keep, where for the next 6 months, Marius would engage upon his martial training as well. Sparring with willing Dragoons, as well as Dragoons willing to wear Wade's Mask, Marius used what he had learned under Farrek to excell as he learned at the hands of some of the most distinguished bladesmen under the sun. Over time, Marius came to learn and master Wade's distinctive style - ' Unmöglich', characterised by extremely aggressive overhand swings, forward movement, and continual movement of the blade, designed specifically for use with Lackluster, enchanted as it was to increase speed as it turned in arcs. While he honed his body, Marius continued his spiritual and mystical training at night, learning as he meditated.

Marius became a force of destruction upon the battlefield, described as a rushing torrent of force and motion by his Dragoon peers. Even as he utilized Unmöglich's extremely aggressive, forward style of combat, he integrated his own magical learning, beginning to favor sudden bursts of force to knock over or stun his combatants. When facing a foe utilizing magic, Unmöglich and Lackluster would allow Marius to either cast their power aside with the aid of a built-in magical shield manifesting as a pommel-guard, or to swiftly close or dodge, nullifying the power of their magic entirely. Eventually, it became that Marius would fight groups of the Dragoons at a time and best them all. The sole swordsman that eluded his skill remained Wade.

With the passing of the winter of 585, the Master of the Dragoons declared that they had nothing left to teach him. In honor of this exemplary pupil, the Dragoons bestowed upon him the most legendary blade in their armory - the blade of living Dorifium dubbed 'The Equalizer'. Though Wade counciled against it, warning Marius of its potentially destructive parasitic influence, Marius accepted without hesitation. He knew from his tutelage under Farrek that the only good in the world comes from men of vision doing what must be done. Following this, Marius addressed the full assemblage of the Dragoons, revealing the burning passion that had been building up in this time. He declared his intention to continue the legacy of the Shires - the act as a beacon to all the world against tyrants - by the creation of a singular order of brothers, a band of warriors dedicated to the freedom of all men, from chains both spiritual and physical. Having garnered the respect of many in the Dragoons, on the spot 300 Dragoons proclaimed an oath of brotherhood and loyalty to Marius's vision. The Vindicators had been born.

With the end of winter, Marius departed once again, this time with a small band of Dragoons at his side. He traveled south, down through the Aryushykan steppes and through the mountain pass, into the burning sands of Sida. Here, he said, the Vindicators would begin their work, by casting down the slave-holders of Sida. What he did not say was that he had other designs upon the sands of Sida.

He and his newly sworn Vindicators arrived in the outskirts of Nasii, where they encamped, outside of the city. When night came, Marius left the group and journeyed into the desert, coming upon the legendary Black Pyramid, which Marius knew to be the focal point of the Weave. With Wade's instruction, Marius used the Equalizer to sever a significant chunk of the matrix of the Weave from the Architect - without permission - and briefly bound it up within his form. Using this brief glimpse into immeasurable power, Marius turned away from it at Wade's insistance and instead used it to forge the Runed Necklace directly from the stolen part of the Weave, embodied in a chunk of 'obsidian', raw, solidified magic, taken from the Pyramid. He bound together the major strands of this stolen Weave into this object, making it the focal point of the entire system. This act and its effects would haunt Marius in the last days of his life. His hasty, illegal assault upon the Weave would cause the flow of magic on Aeria to distort severely, erupting magical storms all across Aeria. Though at the time Marius disregarded the effects, still believing the ends to justify the means, Marius would later mourn those lost as a result of his decision.

Marius returned to the camp, Runed Necklace in hand, explaining it only as 'the future of the Vindicators.' That night, he declared his intent for the Vindicators in Sida - to disrupt or destroy the hated slave trade forever. The next day, Marius and the Vindicators led a raid upon the city, targeting the slave market, slaughtering slave traders and freeing slaves. From these freed slaves would come some of the next generation of Vindicators, with those both willing and possessing of potential taken under the Vindicator's tutelage. Over the next few months, these first Vindicators would lead a war of freedom upon the Nasii and Torah slave trade, raiding caravans, annihilating raiding parties, all while attempting to shield the people from the 'war'. Marius would eventually depart, ever restless, seeking more who would be willing to join the Vindicators.

The next three and a half years were spent traveling the world, searching out suitable candidates for inclusion within the Vindicators. Within the Ever-Rain Isles, he found a mage of incredible power, named Nomi, whom he would fall in love with and marry. Nomi, Marcus, and Wade would combine their abilities in 587 to truly give birth to the Surge as a unique entity - drawing in the meandering, destructive tendrils which gave birth to the Arcane Tempests, and binding all existing Vindicators to its power. Nomi and Marius also oversaw the first 'Surge abilities', granted to all Vindicators through the power of Surge, including the integration of Marius's favored blast of force.

Finally, after 5 years of absense, Marius returned to where he had began this journey - Surna. These he reunited with his old friend Zayl Rathman, along with new associates such as the Waymaker Kain Redwell, or the soon-to-be legendary Alyssa Munroe. Marius learned that Zayl had embarked upon a similiar journey these last 5 years, as he battled against the Talibarian government and the elusive Vitamantia while searching for his wife. The two spoke of their similiar ideals, their desire to give mortalkind a weapon against the incredible power of the divine. During this time, Marius also inducted Alyssa into the Vindicators and had similiar discussions with the Waymaker - all the while, he began to draw more and more upon the power of the Equalizer, which began to infest his body.

Soon, a Knight of Kerodil named Jacob Aurelus who had been living in Surna begged Marius and some of the other 'heroes' of Surna to come to the Free Kingdoms' aid in a devastating war against the Empire of Inferia and another unknown force descending from the north. Marius agreed, and departed by boat to the distant Western Isle of Kerodil. There, as he battled Inferia soldiers alongside a small contingent of Surnan soldiers and sell-swords, he fostered a relationship of mutual respect and friendship between himself and the Sentinels, a native order of spell-swords whose ideals closely matched Marius' own. Unknown to Marius, this friendship would prove more invaluable than he could have ever realized - as his departure to Kerodil had been taken as a chance by his enemies to strike.

The Emperor's paranoia had finally grown too much. Fearful of the revolutionary character of the Vindicators, and their growing power within his own borders, the Emperor Lucius Verus, sovereign of Talibar, secretly ordered the Vitualamen, the honed, genetically altered assassins created by the Vitamantia, to dissolve the entire order by force. The Purge of the Vindicators had begun. In the months while Marius was away, the Vitualamen, spread throughout the world, struck down known Vindicators one by one from the shadows. Hundreds died, including Marius' wife, Nomi. Those that survived could do nothing but go into hiding, not knowing from where the next strike would come. In the end, the Vindicators had been reduced from 1,000 members to barely 200, lower than their original numbers when Marius departed from the tutelage of the Dragoons.

Marius felt them die, one by one, in the Surge; and in grief, sent the order to the remaining Vindicators to abandon their pursuits and flee for Kerodil to seek the hospitality and protection of the Sentinels, far from the reach of the Emperor of Talibar. Marius himself would return to Talibar in defiance of the Emperor, daring him to send his best against him. For the rest of his life, Marius would speak of a hatred for Talibar, lumping together the entire land into the actions of its disturbed sovereign, speaking of it as 'damned' and 'deserving of the fate which will find it'.

For all his anger and grief, however, Marius was still open to suggestion. In his talks with the Waymaker Kain Redwell upon his return to Talibar, he lamented his mistake with his taking of the Equalizer, as now the parasitic Dorifium inhabited his body heavily and altered his senses, making him more prone to rash, violent decisions. Even before Kerodil, the parasite had begun to alter his thinking and body. At first, he had ignored it for the power he gained - incredible casting potential, unlimited defense from magic - but in the wake of the Vindicator Purge, he had to reevaluate his thinking. Perhaps blaming the Dorifium for his failure to protect the Vindicators, he allowed the Waymaker to help remove the parasite from his body. After a long, arduous trial, they succeeded, extricating the parasite and destroying the blade for good. The Waymaker then took the parasite into his possession, locking it away.

His freedom did not come without a price, however. The parasite had been devouring his life force and altering his body; now removed of its power, his body fell under a wasting decay. He appeared prematurely aged, his blonde hair now grayed. Although he was no older than 27, he appeared far older than his colleagues of equal or greater age. The parasite had affected his very soul, diminishing his previous casting potential. Much of the incredible skill and excellence he had exhibited in previous years was now gone, wasted away by the parasite.

It was also during this period that the final step of his vision of the Surge would come to fruition. Perhaps mindful of all those that had fallen, and desperately wishing to cement his legacy and the continuance of his dream, he finally destroyed the mask he had created 5 years prior and released his brother's soul, only to bind it up within the Surge. Together, from the confines of Wade's soul, a new realm was born in the void, with Wade departing from his previous identity forever to become the 'Arbiter', the anchor soul of Surge. With Wade's apotheosis, the Surge was completed, with all of the fallen Vindicators being taken by Kelemvor's servants to the Arbiter's Realm. Now, not only could mortal souls escape being slaves in the afterlife to the divine, but rare people would be born with an innate connection to the Surge based upon bloodlines and random chance.

In the end, Marius' grief filled prophecies of doom would come to fruition. The 'Northern Force' of Kerodil, now revealed to be an army of abominations and cultists under Shar's baleful influence, manifested themselves in the Heartlands of Talibar and laid a devastating siege upon the capital of Imperia in what would later be known as the infamous Sack of Imperia, remembered as a tragedy thereafter for generations. What most do not know is that Marius was there that night. He was not there to heroically stop the invasion, however. No - revenge was on his mind.

Eschewing his traditional use of Lackluster, he infiltrated the falling city with the aid of a pair of Demon Hunter Warblades - dual blades of legendary mithril craftsmanship, renowned for their ability to produce an 'anti-magic' field - in reality, a sort of magical 'white noise' capable of disrupting nearly all forms of spellcraft. With the help of this function, these blades gifted to Marius by the Waymaker, himself a former Demon Hunter, Marius was able to move through the battlefield unharmed by the mass displays of magic, toxins, while relying upon his own keen senses to avoid physical battle. He managed to reach his destination in time - the Palace of the Emperor. Catching the Emperor's envoy off guard - in the middle of attempting to flee the city - Marius managed to cut down several Crepidonis - elite royal infantry - and even one of the First Royals, the legendary defender of Talibar's many dynasties. In the end, Marius ignored the dying innocents all around him, opting instead for revenge. He cut down the Emperor of Talibar in cold vengeance for his wife and his order, and then fled the city to let it burn.

Marius returned to Surna and remained there for the next several months, as Talibar fell apart around him. Marius would aid his fellows, including Zayl Rathman, Alyssa Munroe, and Thorn Razel as they attempted to battle the abomination of Shar's hordes, but in many ways he was never the same in the wake of all that had happened. In the end, his lack of action and hatred of the people of Talibar would lead to his death. He was confronted with one of the Shadowlords, first lieutenants of Shar, and though he slew the shadowed abomination, he was severely injured and cursed. Only a week later, he was dead.

Immediately before his death, Marius called his long friend Zayl to his side. There, he explained all of his hopes for the future, as well as his many regrets. He warned Zayl of an unearthly power he had come to know during his time using the Equalizer, and from his visions of a scattered future; the Abyss. He then elected Zayl to carry on the Runed Necklace, and become the second Grandmaster of the Vindicator order; placing upon him the hopes and dreams of his entire life, leaving Zayl to try to preserve what had been made, and move into the future, despite the mistakes he had made. And on his deathbed, he spoke the words that would later become the unofficial creed of the Vindicators.

"Vindicators exist to tell all mortals everywhere that our souls are home in the crystal sphere, and our bodies are the inhabitants of Aeria. When any being wants to take your life and world away from you, you unite the people, you bring them together, you plant your feet firm on the ground, and when the gods tell you to move, you say; No, you move."

Marius' legacy is one of the highest heights of triumph and the deepest depths of failure. Within only a few short years he managed to grow from a mere slave to one of the most daring and skilled swordsmen and casters of an entire era. By the sheer force of will, magnetic charisma, and vision, he brought together innumerable people of disparate origins to form a single order based upon a revolutionary creed. Within his lifetime, he managed to create an entire weave of magic and a new realm to bolster this order. But for all his triumphs, he never truly emerged from Farrek's shadow. Brash and forceful, he cared little for the cost of the creation of the Surge. He allowed a parasite to cloud his mind for years, wasting his body away bit by bit. And in the moment when he should have been defending the innocent from the acts of a divine, he instead gave in to revenge.

Marius' actions were controversial enough within the ranks of the Vindicators itself that when he arrived in the Arbiter's Realm, he was spiritually 'imprisoned' and put to trial. In the months following his death, with the reemergence of Ossus, the creation of the Blight from the Surge, and the revelation about the truth of the Equalizer, it was necessary to determine whether or not the entire creation of the Vindicators themselves had not been a plot by the Abyss - or Nero Farrek - to bring the world closer to the end. In the end, Marius was cleared of that accusation, though not of the guilt of his failures.

Marius' life was short, but burned brightly. When he died, he did so with the body of an older man, burdened by his mistakes, and having left behind a broken, scattered, and winnowed order. It was very possible that what he had created would die with him, if it were not for his choice of successor. Marius was brilliant, skilled, and charismatic, but forceful, brash to the point of ignorance, and often times arrogant. For all that can be said about Marius Shire, the First Vindicator, all of his facets - his faults, his brilliance, and his failures - must be taken as a whole.