His stomach lurched. No. This couldn't be happening.
Three months ago. Everything was perfect. Metholae walked with a spring in his step. His breath left a glistening mist cloud in the mid-morning sun. Despite the bitter cold Metholae wouldn't change anything. Metholae spun around as the leaves nearby rustled. A half-concealed creature behind a large leaf. It was a cat. Metholae kneels down next to it, 'What brings you here?' He lifts the cat up and strokes its gentle fur, 'Hmm, your breed doesn't come from this part... let's see, if my memory serves me right you come from Dalven. So, what brings you here?'
The cat mewed softly. 'Good answer.' Metholae sighed. 'Well, you can come home with me, I'm sure Jilae will like you.' The thought of his wife brought him to an image of her emerald green eyes, accompanied by her golden-blonde hair. Her pearl-white teeth locked in her wonderful smile.
Metholae was a renowned mage, he specialized in herbs that could be mixed together to heal and find new cures for diseases. He had also been taught in the ways of poison-making, so he could futher understand diseases, in theory anyway, he hadn't found much use it thus far.
Metholae and Jilae lived several miles away from Evylee, in an old Elven ranger's outpost. It was nothing spectacular, two living rooms, a small, but cozy kitchen, a study for Metholae. Two simple bedrooms lay at the far end of the hallway. Several rooms dedicated animals of many varieties. Jilae looked after stray and wounded animals, as well as several of her pets.
Jilae smiled, humming a tune to herself as she passed through the kitchen into the living room. A fire cackled gently, releasing a refreshing warmth into the room. She added a small log and smiled at the result. She moved slowly into one of the animal's rooms. A small fox trotted up to her. 'Hello, hello, time for you meal already?' Jilae grinned. The fox looked up at her innocently.
'You didn't think that would work, did you?' She asked, 'You had your meal barely an hour ago...' As she crossed to a pen to check in on a calf a door creaked. She spun around and looked out through the animal door into the hallway, 'Metholae?' She called. Silence. 'Dosmet then.'
A tiny halfling appeared at the doorway grinning, 'Guilty as charged m'lady.' His chocolate-brown eyes sparked with mischief. His half-smile was the catalyst of his mischievous image. He lived with the two elves, he would run to the town and gather supplies, and always come back with more than he was asked for, or given money for. The two elves dismissed this each time with a grin and a chuckle.
The life was a simple one, but pleasant. A few weeks later Metholae was out with the cat he had found. Dosmet had gone to town to collect some vegetables, he intended cooking some grand meal later that night. Another elf had joined them, his name was Cayeil Saw?asel, he visited from another ranger outpost, one that is still in use, he and Jilae spent many hours tending to the animals.
Metholae turned to face a small tree. He reached up and tore one of the fruits off. He sniffed it before holding it before the cat, 'What do you think?' The cat mewed playfully and swung at the fruit with its paw. 'Exactly what I thought, should be useful, they look nearly identical to that of those clump of trees we found a week ago... I'll take a few samples for testing.'
Metholae returned to the camp quickly and quietly. Strangely, he wanted to taste Dosmet's meal, it could be a new poison to experiment with, Metholae chuckled to himself. He reached the front door, but stopped himself. He smiled, he'd surprise Jilae by going in the animal-room-door. He crossed around and poked the door gently to make sure she wasn't looking. What was that? She was standing there, not looking near Metholae, but something was different. Cayeil was there. That wasn't strange. He stood up and turned towards Jilae. Metholae closed the door slightly. Cayeil brushed some hair from Jilae's face and swooped down and kissed her.
His stomach lurched. No. This couldn't be happening. He fell backwards onto the grass beneath him. He clawed away from the building. No. There had to be an explanation. Of course, but the thought of Cayeil and Jilae filled him with a blinding rage. Metholae gritted his teeth. He wouldn't accept this. He would have his revenge. He stood up and dusted himself off. His cat mewed softly. He cast a glance at it, the cat stopped still. Metholae crossed to the front door and slammed it open, 'Hello Jilae!' He called to the corridor. Jilae rushed into the hallway, flushed. Metholae pretended not to notice. 'Greetings sweetheart.' She smiled to him. Metholae could have exploded into a frenzy of insults and attacks, but he controlled himself for the time being. Cayeil came out of the room.
'Oh Cayeil, I didn't know you were here.' Metholae lied. An uncomfortable silence settled on the building. To Metholae's relief Dosmet burst in. The hafling was burden with fruits ranging from carrots to something Metholae didn't recognize.
'Here I am, folks and folkettes.' The halfling grinned. Metholae nodded to him as Dosmet moved into the kitchen.
The aroma of cooking food filled the building a hour later as Dosmet finished off the meal. Metholae had set the table in silence as Jilae and Cayeil sat in the corner next to the fire talking and chuckling. Each cackle burning into Metholae's soul. The meal began, continued and finished in silence. The food was quite edible, but he had a lot more important things on his mind. He made up some reason to leave and disappeared into his study and lab. He locked the door before noticing that his cat had snuck in. He took his mortar and pestle and began collecting materials. He set the fruits, he collected from the tree earlier in the day, down on a book. The cat jumped about on the desk and onto a shelf. Metholae grew slowly more irrtated with the cat's pouncing. He began recieting the item list, 'Eel's bane...' He stopped for a moment, 'Broke my heart, did you? Thought you could get away with it, did you? Now you will know what it is like to have your heart broke!' He set down the mortar and pestle hitting into a book with the fruit on it. He slumped down on his chair and rubbed his head with his hand. The cat crept towards Metholae, it noticed the fruit on the book. It dug into it with its claw and twisted with it a little, the cat ended spilling the liquid from the fruit into the mixture in the mortar and pestle. Metholae spun around and shooed the cat away. He picked up the mortar and pestle and ground the last few ingredients together, unaware of the cat's unwitting sabotage.
Metholae sat down on the floor of the study, cross-legged. He put the mixture (poured into a small blue, clay bowl) in front of him. Beside him were several candles, flint and tinder, a glass of bronze powder and a small portrait of Jilae. He began chanting as he poured the bronze powder around the bowl. Next he lit all of his candles. He took one and placed it on the mixture, instantly flames claimed it. Finally he took the portrait of Jilae and placed it on the flames while saying, 'Goddess Warhajair, I beseech thee. May those who have harmed feel their harm. May those who have wronged suffer their wrongs. Take this image and find this being. May no future love find her. May nothing make her forget the pain and wrong she has inflicted. Goddess Warhajair, I command thee: Inflict onto her what she has inflicted onto me.'
The bronze power glowed slightly. The fire in the bowl cackled and ignited the powder. It flashed blue and hissed at Metholae. Suddenly, all the flames went out. The study was engulfed by darkness. Silence. Something shrill pierced the night. A solitary female scream. Metholae rushed from his study to find Dosmet and Cayeil standing over Jilae. Her face, once beautiful, was contorted in pain, confusion and horror. Her heart was broken. Quite literally. Metholae stumbled backwards into a chair. How? How had this happened? The spell was meant to inflict the feelings of it, not actually break someone's heart. What had he done?
Many years later two mages uncovered Metholae's work and created a spell, Metholae's Revenge, which inflicted the pain Metholae originally intended. As to this day Methoelae's Revenge remains one of the most 'evil' spells one can inflict on another living creature.
--> Stories