The mind likes to play
tricks on itself
Elucid’s fathers favorite saying
E lucid, “Cid” Merrytone was born from
an elven mother and a human father and not
surprisingly, there was always something
of a dichotomy in his life.
On the one hand, sensitive, empathetic and kind, on the other curious,
naïve and sometimes too bold. He despises fighting and bloodshed,
preferring to talk his way out from thick situations and seek for an
agreement, plus having an unusually handsome face facilitates these
attempts greatly.
Slim, not really muscular, with big green eyes, fiery hair and pointy
ears, his dualistic origin left him no other choice than to try to blend
in into society, which he became a master of. A born actor, musician
and with a knack for research, he leads a double life.
During night time, singing about and picturing with often pompous
words the wonders of life in city taverns and at local fairs. Through
the day he becomes a completely different person, locking himself up
in a poorly lit room, with a modest portion of food and a sign hanging
loosely on a door knob saying: Keep Off, unless you want the D! Yes,
he praises himself for a catchy slogans too. Locked in the room, he
satisfies his natural curiosity for art, ancient languages, dusty tomes,
psychology, philosophy and occasionally crack-cocain.
He quickly learned the power of the words,
using them to persuade and bend the will of
others, or cause intentional havoc in the minds
of people who as he likes to say it – had it coming.
“Simple words can have great power coming from the right mouth
into the right ears” – he loves to repeat like a mantra, over and over
again. But what’s even more enchanting for a bard like him, is the
power of words with a company of music. Sometimes, as he plays an
instrument, his thoughts seem to arrange in new and unique ways,
shedding new light on previously unsolvable conundrums and hard
to grasp ideas that cloud his mind. He calls these moments: My Little
Illuminations. Every time he has one, he quickly stops what he’s doing,
and rushes to tell the whole world about it – often the world being
quite, to say it politely, indifferent to his revelations.
Diagnosing others with a compulsive lack of
sensitivity, he carries himself as the beacon
of light in these dark and humane-less times.
Promising himself to always stand for the poor,
unfortunate and those in a need of help. From
time, to time, he likes to stir up digressions
and arguments about the nature of things,
which quite often escalate into regular brawls
between vicious supporters of either of
points of view – after these conversations
inevitably being shallowed to the depth of a
puddle, and widened to the horizons of the
ego of people most ferociously concerned.
One can see him often leaving entire
taverns plunged into a chaotic riot, while
quietly sneaking out with a company of
a girl or two.
O ver his adventures as a traveling scholar
and bard – being part of an actor’s troupe, he
was exposed to many cultures, ideas, artifacts
and legends that shaped and molded his view
of the world and his very personality.
From all these, one particular item has made an everlasting impression
on him, and was to change his life forever. Ever since he came
into possession of a peculiar, little dark orb amulet, glowing with
mysterious chaotic energy, he begun to think and behave – how to say
it,
a little bit strange.
The Eye of the Mind – as he likes to name it, slowly, almost unconsciously,
nudged his interest to the sphere of psychology of a mind. As a result
– he became fond of a peculiar culture and psychic prowess of the
certain humanoid aberrations, called the Illithid, commonly regarded
as Mindflayers. He begun to collect every scraps of knowledge, getting
almost obsessed about these enigmatic, telepathic, highly intelligent,
psychic creatures and their apparent home – the Underdark.
During his studies, he came to a conclusion, that The Eye must be some
sort of a catalyst to unlock the true power of words and mind of the
wearer. What’s its full potential – that remains to be found out.
Soon after this discovery – which he referst to as the awakening,
Cid aided by his natural talent for languages, quickly developed a
good knowledge of Deep Speach – the language of Mindflayers and
Beholders. He learned to mentally whisper to other creatures minds
and even – to his own amazement, read their thoughts.
For a while, everything was fine until, one cold and windy night, the
hell broke, as they say. Sleeping comfortably in the arms of a recently
acquainted, elven muse – the dreadful nightmare struck his normally
child-like dream. What were the contents of that dream, he dares not
to share, but the girl claimed: he woke up in convulsions, gasping for air
and gruesomely foaming at the mouth.
Later, he developed a strange set of mannerisms, ranging from minor
personality features like nail-biting and tapping one’s foot, to some
more concerning, like a mild aversion to natural sunlight, intolerance
for gluten-rich food and a weird habit of picking on the right ear
– because of a strange scratching-like sensations he can sometimes
feel inside of his scull.
The talisman appears to be slowly taking its
toll on his body, but more importantly on his
mind.
The sleepless nights are becoming ever more unbearable. His onenight-stands complain he’s sleep-talking in some fucking creepy
language! He can feel The Eye gradually consuming his sentient self, just
like an ever-hungry worm feeding upon a juicy puddle of protein-rich
consciousness. Being aware of all of this, Cid is bit-by-bit changing
into something... he frankly is more curious, than afraid of. My will to
know it all, is too strong to resist and I can’t help myself but to try to answer
what is the meaning of all of this – he often speaks to himself. Ow, did
I mention he speaks to himself A LOT lately? I mean A LOT.
Drawn by, the apparently unlimited power of the Eye of the Mind, the
hero will do anything to satisfy his ever-growing urge for knowledge
and answers – even if it takes him to the depths of the Underdark,
where he feels, lay all the answers for his questions and perhaps
a cure for his curse.
Perhaps the whole story about the talisman, the psychic powers, about
the Mindflayers, having a gradually corrupted mind, the sleep-talking
and ghastly convulsions in the arms of a lady is nothing more than a
well played act in the rich repertoire of Cid’s talents for story-telling
and creating drama around himself. Perhaps its just a prep work for
the next, epic gig of all times.
Or maybe, just maybe, this poor half-elf got so tangled up in his
own performance, that really can’t tell the difference between reality
and play anymore? What’s real and what’s just a figment of one’s
imagination? How to tell? How to be sure?
Regardless, for better or worse, all of this remains to be found out.
I have no beginning nor a visible end,
I’m cold as ice and have no friend,
I swallow the light and silence the screams,
I live in the dark and feast on your fears.