#darius thatch

//in my new rendition of him, I’ve decided he’s going to be a not-quite-rookie-but-not-expert-yet kind of monster hunter, so he knows what he’s doing but he’s not yet skilled enough to do things as good as his father.

//He’s definitely more free-spirited than Baribus is and has a tendency to prefer friends and taverns than actual work. But when he’s actually working or committed to something, he’s stalwartly loyal, good hearted, and striving to do the very best he can. He inherited his father’s work ethic and his mother’s soft heart. Definitely has a happy, working dog-type personality.

//He would've been involved in the Deep Dives from SotD, getting his hive side reawakened through exposure and contact with Xivu and her hoards rituals. (Bc in his first timeline, he'd gone after her and ended up losing himself to his vengeance and becoming part of her hoard before he was saved by his buddy, Fastion).

//But since they got Ahsa and Sloan back, he's been dealing with nightmares and the pull of Xivu's influence on him, calling him back to his place in her armies. So, naturally, he'd go to the one person who knows more about hive than he does, Eris Morn. He hopes that she'll have an answer on how to shut Xivu up or break the connection he has with her. Not an easy feat considering what happened in his last timeline and how the only reason he's human rn is because of the Light-infused life force he accidentally absorbed from Fastion when he was last revived via Ashven's wish. (when he dies, he gets revived with the lifeforce of whatever living thing touches him first.)

//I think Eris and Darius might have a lot of really interesting conversations. But more than that, I think Eris would be the one to be able to see the imprint of his psychic self - namely the imprint of his hive knight psychic self.

Darius looked aghast. "Me? What? Lie?" he held his hands out, his golden hues trying to look as innocent as they could before the raven-haired man changed tactics.

He looked up at the ship he had eying, his hand resting on the side of its nose. If he tried to jump into the cockpit now, Fastion would have him in a vice grip before he could blink. The Black Shield was no joke and he doubted Branson would be willing to talk Fastion down from folding him in half and sitting on him until he talked.

Better play it safe.

"Alright, alright, yeah I can't lie to you. But let's be honest, that doesn't mean I have to tell you everything either. But before you ask, no it's not about Xivu Arath. Well, maybe a bit but I'm really just taking this for a fly around to get my head clear. It's bad enough I get Mathafew in my head when I have... dreams about her and what happened. I just need some sky time to breathe, okay?"

Wishbound Immortal || Pre-Ahamkara Hunt || early main verse:

Before the death of the Dragons at the Guardian's hands, Darius lived with his father Baribus, and his younger brother Mathafew, in the hidden valley of Ashven the wish dragon. Brought back to life by his father through the power of the Wish Dragon, Darius was gifted with the not-so-unique ability of being able to die and come back to life. But rather than utilizing the Light as the Guardians and their Ghosts do, the wish's magic utilizes a more immediate source of life--that of other living things. With one touch, the young man could be revived by absorbing the life force of whatever or whatever touches him first. A testy ability when one's family is within arms reach. Now he works with his father as a guard and vassal of the wish dragon, Ashven, guarding the Hidden Valley from Guardians and those too dangerous or "unworthy" of its wishes. Unfortunately... some things are not made to last.

Friends in Arms || Atl!current verse

After the loss of his home and family to the invasive forces of Xivu Arath, Darius made himself a place in the tower, finding work with the local cryptarchs and weaponsmiths. During this time, he encountered a unique guardian, a Titan named Fastion, and his ghost, Branson. The friendship was unique in that Darius had known (and inadvertently named) Branson before Fastion had been raised. The connection helped in integrating Fastion into the Tower as the innate knowledge he'd had from his past life left him wildly unprepared for modern life. With Darius's help, Fastion found a place to be while he gained his footing and Darius found a mission buddy to help him in doing fieldwork as a cryptarch and weapon supplier. Not only that, but he'd managed to learn a few things from Fastion including honed swordsmanship and meditative practices. Unfortunately, those practices didn't help much to keep Darius from taking the path of vengeance and going after Xivu Arath's forces. Utilizing his skills, Darius hunts members of Xivu's hoard, seeking to root them out and eliminate any toehold the hive god of war might have on Earth and elsewhere in the Sol system

Born of Wrath || Wrathborn!Darius (alt!timeline to Hive Knight!verse)

Despite his new life in the Tower, Darius still harbored terrible feelings of hatred and anger in his heart. After all, Darius had stood and fought as the Hive and Wrathborn of Xivu's hoard ravaged the Secret Valley, slaying the resident Wishdragon and his family. Only thanks to the cursed wish of life-stealing immortality did he manage to survive and escape before the collapse of the Valley's pocket dimension. Others counseled him against going out into the world to seek vengeance, but his pain and anger could not be quelled. In his quest, Darius sought to use his dragon's gift to take on Xivu Arath's forces, only to fall prey to his own obsession and the traps made to exploit it. While fighting a hoard surrounding a cryptolith, Darius begins to experience the influence of the Cryptolith. With each slain foe, his thoughts began to unravel until only his burning anger and violent fury were all that remained. By the end of the fight, Darius' had no more foes to battle and he fell to one knee at the cryptolith, its horrific hive magic leaving him as nothing but a nigh-immortal, human wrathborn. --- Post-Wrathborn -- Yet he would be missed by the two connections he still had to the tower - Fastion and Branson. As dutiful friends, the pair of them went out to find their prodigal companion and discovered him as a wrathborn within the tangled shore. Aiding the Young Wolf in their hunt of the Cryptoliths, Fastion managed to track down his wrathborn companion and, in an attempt at mercy, killed him to end his miserable servitude to Xivu Arath. What Fastion didn't expect was to activate Darius' wish curse when he went to move him for burial. The curse pulled the life right out of the titan, filling Darius with his light-infused essence. Fortunately, it did not take all of Fastion's light and Branson was able to revive him with little trouble. More than that, the pair of them watched as the light-infused life force both healed and revived their wrathborn friend, restoring his human thoughts and faculties while leaving pocked scars along his back and shoulders. With a texture like that of a Cryptolith emblazed upon his shoulders, this was an experience Darius would not soon forget.

Blade of Red || Hive Knight!Darius (alt!timeline to Wrathborn!verse)

After months of training and healing, Darius considers the one wound that won't heal; the absence of his family. With his heart aching with their loss, Darius turned to the one source that burned his belly and coaxed him out of his melancholy and into action: vengeance. But now that he'd had time to train and learn how to manage his thoughts, feelings, and skills, he acted with much more care than when he first arrived at the tower. With careful planning and precision, Darius utilized his training and transformed his curse into a boon as he sought out the lairs of Xivu's Hoard and its subordinates. While many would balk and avoid such horrible, wrenching deaths, Darius saw his deaths as his own secret weapon, the poisoned knife he honed for killing his virulent foe. Even being sundered by a death song couldn't keep him down when there were so many thralls waiting to feast on his flesh. It was this cruel and bloodied determination that attracted the eyes of the hive wizard, Ir Al'harash. Utilizing rival broods, Ir Al'harash left breadcrumbs for Darius, feeding him lessons from the Books of Sorrows and instilling the precepts of her brood's law. Soon enough, he came to the end of her trail, the road leading to a final confrontation between him and her greatest knight, Uirog, with her ritual circle as their battleground. Believing that killing the knight would stop Ir Al'harash's ritual, Darius fought with all he had, managing to kill the knight with the folded steel blade his friend had gifted him upon his completed training. To his horror, he had not stopped the ritual but completed it, with Ir Al'harash declaring his name, his rite, and his accepted tribute of blood. With that, the ritual was enacted and he was enveloped in soulfire which burned away his weak humanity and left the charred black armor of his new state as a newly-morphed hive knight. Unfortunately, he’s still himself and now he must face the consequences of his obsession and decide what he is to do to overcome this new obstacle in his life.

A Better Future || Main!Verse || Current Timeline Verse

Finally, he'd taken the Mandalorian to his own requested stop. It was a well known smuggling den, so the Corellian stuck around for a while - making sure the holocron remained in it's hiding place and that his mysterious passenger didn't try any double or triple crossing. It was a pleasant surprise when the man eventually came back, asked if Theo was open to piloting him some more in exchange for a rather generous fee.

He was.

They did that job, then a second.

The third time, after having to swoop in to the rescue of the armored man he was rather done with the mystery and just like their first meeting the cockpit door swooshed closed and locked with a snap. Theo twisted around his chair to face the blank features of the helmet, his own stiff and closed off.

"I should charge you a rescue fee." He said. "Except, I don't know exactly where I'd send an invoice."

Darius panted heavily behind his helmet, several blaster marks scoring his armor as he dropped himself into the co-pilots seat and sank into its cushions. His body ached and his feet were still screaming at him from the abuse he'd been putting them through. He listened tiredly and gave a grunt.

He had to admit the pilot had a point. With this being the second rescue in almost as many missions, he might need to start considering hazard pay for Theo.

"I'll add hazard pay to your payment," he said and leaned his head back against the chair. He was tired. Tired and bruised and fuming. Di Delandro didn't play nice when it came to compromised packages, and he was living up to his word at making sure Darius never worked, or at least succeeded in his work, again.

The Mando sighed and rolled his shoulder.

Fastion stood from his seat then and gestured for her to intercept the crowd of medics gathered outside and took himself back to the crew quarters. "Darius." He murmured and stopped in the doorway. His friend was huddled about the body of the brother. Mathafew was just as much an adult as the rest of them, but he was small and it gave the impression of youth, and with Darius huddled about him, it also spoke of frailty.

"There's healers outside." He said pointedly and then waited a moment before adding, "They alerted this world's Baribus also. His ghost is here, and he likely is also. They're going to want him." He wasn't certain if the boy was conscious or not- rather hoped that he wasnt in case this went poorly.

Already he wasn't certain whether to encourage this attachment that Darius had or caution against it in case some catastrophe happened in this world also. But, his short piece said, the weapon moved back out of the doorway so that Darius would hopefully take the boy out to the medics otherwise they'd have to come in and take what Darius refused to hand over.

@sundanceofapache

It was a mess. The mission, their fireteam, the whole thing. Still, being the more experienced of their crew, Salem and Echo managed to calm the tide of people wanting to get in and help. So many people, so many thoughts, there was no way Mathafew was ready for so many people at once.

"Easy there! Only a few at a time! Medics only!" she shouted before spotting the grim figure of Baribus Thatch. He marched his way up, his features set like the grim reaper itself as he stepped onto the gangplank.

"Where are they?" he asked, his voice cold and forceful. "Where is my son?"

Stoat appeared beside his head, a little cloud of pixels dissipating behind him. "He wants to know where Mathafew is," he said helpfully, looking over at Echo.

Echo looked at the two and canted her head. "Which means you're probably his dad, right? Hunter, Baribus Thatch?"

"Yes," Baribus replied briskly. "Now where is my son?"

Echo looked over as Salem glanced up the gangway. "He's this way," she said, waving him along as she jogged up the gangplank. "You're not going to like what you see, but he's alive."

She led him through the ship and to the cramped crew quarters of her ship. It was lucky she'd recently gotten an upgrade or she never would've been able to transport them all. With a few taps on a wall keypad, the door to the ship's quarters opened, revealing the three figures of Fastion, Darius, and Mathafew inside.

Echo frowned and led Baribus in, glancing back at him uncertainly. "Salem did his best to fix him up... but Warlock Light can't do much for fixing things after a psychic attack..."

A chill entered the room, weighing the air heavily as Baribus stepped inside. His golden green eyes took in the scene like a hawk surveying the horizon. It seemed they had just finished talking as the Titan turned to leave and found him standing there. Baribus didn't recognize him, most likely a new light caught in the frenzy of the mission. The second he recognized, though only by his jacket and armaments, was the one who helped Mathafew bring him back.

He didn't spare a glance for either of them though, his focus drawn to Mathafew, curled up in the man's arms like a child in the throes of a night terror. His expression softened as he knelt down, reaching over to stroke his son's hair. "Oh, Mathafew," he said gently.

"He can't walk," the young man murmured softly. "We didn't know the Egregore would affect him like this..."

"It's a psychic fungus that feeds on death," the hunter said darkly, "your commanders should have known better."

The other man's jaw clenched at his words but he didn't say anything. Instead, he kept his gaze on Mathafew, pointedly avoiding looking at the stony-faced hunter. Gently, Baribus slipped his hands around Mathafew, as if to pull him away, but he seemed to hold fast, pulling himself closer to Darius if possible. Perplexed, he loosened his grip.

"You must've had quite the impression on him," Baribus said, his tone soft and quiet as he too gazed at Mathafew. "I've never seen him hold onto anyone like that besides me."

"I had a little brother before I came to the tower," the young man said softly. "I guess you could say we connected over that..."

Baribus frowned and ran his thumb over Mathafew's brow. He could sense the man was dodging his statement, or the implications of it anyway. Before he could say anything, the young man leaned forward and whispered to the young psychic.

"Mathafew," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "Mathafew, it's alright. It's okay to let go."

To the hunter's astonishment, his son obeyed, his fingers slowly uncurling from the young man's clothes. In moments, Mathafew released the young man, allowing himself to be pulled into Baribus' arms. Stunned, the hunter looked down at him and then at the young man beside him. Now that he saw him properly, he couldn't help seeing the remarkable resemblances Mathafew had told him about. The narrow eyes, long nose, and contour of his cheeks. Yet there were other traits, one's so familiar yet he couldn't put a name to them.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice a low whisper.

The young man pursed his lips, his uncertainty plain on his face. "I'm..." he paused, struggling to find his words, before heaving a sigh and shaking his head. "I have so many answers to that question, so many things to say that could explain..." He closed his eyes, grimacing as he fought with the pain of his decisions. "I an anomaly. You could say I'm like the Stranger on Europa... Someone from a different timeline, who came to make sure this one didn't end up like theirs. Like mine..." The young man looked away, his expression so much like the hunter's when he brooded on thoughts he didn't want to voice. Vague, roundabout, not wanting to confront whatever it was that tied them to this supposed time traveler...

Baribus hardened his gaze. "Your name," he said sternly, drawing up the young man's gaze. "Tell me your name and if we have qualms as what I suppose we do, considering how you hedge yourself, we'll say no more of it."

The young man blinked at him as if he'd grown two heads, but quickly regained his composure.

"Darius," the young man replied hesitantly. "My name is Darius."

Baribus felt his shoulders fall.

Darius. His Darius. his young, bright-eyed lad who caught fish to show his mother. His spry, dark-haired son, who ran amongst the tide pools, kicking up water while chasing crabs and sea birds, whose long nose and blue eyes looked just like his while his cheeks, chin, and raven hair looked just like his mother's.

"Darius?" he asked, reaching for the young man, his throat strained and dry. "My Darius?"

In truth, it's the Egregore coral amplifying Mathafew's thoughts and meltdown that jars him from the grip of Xivu Arath, the flame of their familiarity doused by the flood of Darius's big brother instinct. The moment he senses Mathafew's distress, everything is thrown into the background as he seeks his little brother, knowing he's needed. He works as his brother's anchor, holding Mathafew's helmed face as Fastion helped him drag Mathafew topside while Echo and Salem217 covered their retreat.

Things are quiet now as the warlock, Salem217, flies them home and Fastion watches over them. Quiet enough for Darius's thoughts to surface again as he holds his little brother.

It was horrible. The panic Mathafew endured, the screaming hive, the mixed memories tainted by his own... How much damage had he done to Mathafew just by existing? just by being near?

It struck him then, as Mathafew balled his fists into his jacket, refusing to let him go, that each new thought of him didn't view him as the stranger he knew he was... but as the brother he used to be...

Tears leaked down Darius's cheeks as he wrapped another arm around Mathafew, two words ringing in his mind...

//Or B. He listens to said friend but succumbs to seeking vengeance anyways but does so in a way that attracts the attention of a wizard who’s like, “yo this guy’s a sharp blade. That’s hot. I bet he’d make a perfect living offering for Xivu” and lures him into completing a ceremonial ritual for Xivu that both transforms him and opens the door for him to fall completely under her influence as a knight in her hoard.