Thorum backstory, by Andrew Wade

               *~~~# A FAMILY REUNION #~~~*

               The air was crisp yet warm, [summer] was about over.  Cicadas hummed so loudly Thorum could

barely hear the dry dirt crunching beneath his boots.  It was all too familiar to him.

               "Dear Rega this place has gone to [hell]." says Thorum as he looked upon the dead and barren

farmland that was once his home.

              

               "Papa! Papa! Chase me!" yelled five year old Thorum while he ran in circles around his father

who was tending to their crops.

               "Alright!" Thorum's father belts out as he drops his tools and starts chasing after him. "I'm

gonna get you!" he yells while pretending to be a monster.  Thorum yells and lets out a giggle as his

father scoops him up and spins around.  They both laugh as they tumble into a pile of freshly harvested

wheat.

               "I love you papa!" Thorum giggles and gives his father a kiss.

               "I love you too, son." Thorum's father whispers with a smile.

              

               "OH HOW TOUCHING..." Zed whispers, interupting Thorums memory.

               "Shut up!" Thorum yells. "He wasn't always bad..." Thorum looks down as a tear starts to form.

               "UNTIL HE ZTARTED DRINKING." Zed chuckles.

              

               "I'll teach you, you ungrateful little shit!" Thorum's father screams, Drunk, tugging on Thorums

hair. "First you kill our crops!" He smacks Thorum up the side of his head. "Then you complain when we

have no food!?" Another smack, sending Thorum to the floor.

               "MMM THAT LOOKZ PAINFUL." Zed laughs.

               Thorum winces, gently touching his cheek then wiping away his tears.  He pulls out the coinpurse

filled with a thousand [gold] and clutches it close to his chest.  Half the money he has made since he

ran away, yet still enough to allow his parents to leave the farm and move to Kregola.

               "WHY ARE YOU BEING ZO GENEROUZ TO THE AZZHOLE? WE ZHOULD INZTEAD UZE IT ON MORE IMPORTANT THINGZ.

LIKE ZTRIPPERZ!" Zed chuckles.

               Thorum ignores him but begins to think maybe he's right.  Then his old home came into view and all

doubts leave his mind.  I can't believe how run-down this place has become.  First the barren farm and now

what looks like a haunted house?  Broken windows, cobwebs in every nook and cranny.  The roof probably leaks

during each rain it's in that bad of shape.  A strong feeling of guilt washes over him and his eyes start to

glaze over. He feels like crying again.

              

               At the door Thorum stops.  He can hear yelling. Great Dad's drunk like usual. Well, here goes nothing.

He knocks.

               "WHO DA FUK?!" He hears his father yell from inside.  The door wrenches wide open.

               The man standing in front of Thorum couldn't be his father. No, this man was fat and dirty. He looked

homeless. Can three years really do that much to a person?  With enough alcohol and no work I guess anything

is possible.

               "WHAT DO YEW WANT AND WHY IN REGA'S NAME ARE YEW DOIN ON MAH PROPERTEH?!" His dad blurts out.

               He doesn't recognize me yet! Maybe I can just give him the [gold] and be on my way and never have to

deal with them again!

               "OH COME NOW. WE BOTH KNOW YOU WANT HIM TO KNOW WELL WHO YOU ARE." Zed whispers.

               "I...I...I br-brought gold..." Thorum stutters with an awkward gulp and holds out the coinpurse. His

dads eyes widen.

               "OH! Here on business ehh? Why didncha just say so friend?" His father motions for Thorum to enter.

"Come in, come in."

               "N-n-no I-I shouldn't..." Thorum hesitates, reliving another bad memory. Zed giggles yet again.

               "Nonsense friend, my home is open tah anyone lookin tah buy!" His father says with a drunken grin.

               "Joseph, who's at the door?" Thorums mother calls from the kitchen

               "Not now woman! we have a customer!" Joseph yells back to her as she walks within view of the doorway.

               "Thorum!" she gasps, dropping the plate she was cleaning. Her eyes widen.

               Time seemed to stand still while only the plate slowly made its descent. Thorum, frozen in shock that

he had been recognized fearful for what may come of it.  His mother, in disbelief that her son had returned home

at last after all this time.  His father, dazed and confused not knowing what to make of the situation.

               The plate shatters into a hundred pieces and time warps back to its normal flow.

               "Shit..." Thorum mutters under his breath.

               "YEZ!!!" Zed gasps excitedly.

               "Bless Rega, Thorum!" His mom begins to tear up while running to her son, embracing him in a hug only

that which mothers know how to give to their children. "I thought the worst! I was so worried!" She was now in

tears.  Thorum drops the coinpurse he was holding and returns the hug feeling guilty again for leaving. He begins

to apologize but is cut short when his father snaps back to reality.

               "Wait on Rega-damned second!" Joseph yells pulling her off Thorum and throwing her to the ground.

Squinting he looks Thorum over. "BOY?!" He shoves Thorum backwards to the front yard. "HOW DARE YOU!" He yells

with another shove. "HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE BACK HERE! RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT! LEAVING US HERE TO STARVE AND

GROW OLD WITH NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF US! HOW DARE YOU! BOY!" Another hard shove.

               "Show him what we can do!" Zed giggles

               "NO!" Thorum screams at Zed's taunt.

               "NO?!" his father looked confused but kept up. "YOU LEFT YOUR MOTHER HERE TO CRY AND MOURNE OVER YOU EVERY

NIGHT WHILE YOU WERE PROBABLY OUT PLAYING 'HERO' WITH SOME DIRY KYOKI WHORE I BET!" He shoves Thorum hard sending him

spralling in the dirt.

               "DO EET DO EET!" Zed sounds ecstatic.

               "NO!" Thorum yells. Scared. "She's not a whore! And I AM a Hero!" Getting back to his feet.

               "NO. You're nothing. I always knew you would never amount to anything!" Thorums father yells.

               "He's right, until you show him he will never know what we are capable of..." Zed chuckles.

               "And to come back here expecting us to welcome you home with praise and open arms!?" Thorums father opens his

arms. "Well I've got an open arm for you, Boy!" He winds back and smacks Thorum across the face.

               Thorums world goes dark briefly, then a reel begins of every time his father had hit him growing up.

               Zed giggles.

               Thorum's eyes flick open, now completely black. "Never again." He mumbles under his breath.  His father

ends a fist straight for his jaw but Thorum concentrates and turns his cheek to stone for one short moment. 

The bones in his dads hand shatter on contact and he screams in pain grasping his broken hand.

               "WHAT THE FUCK!? YOU LITTLE FREAK!" His father swears, nursing his hand. Thorum stands tall, looking

through his father.

               "Yes. Father. I may be a freak. But you're wrong about one thing. I have become something, something

that Torega hasn't seen since the rise of the Adepts."

               "THATZ MY BOY!" Zed laughs hysterically.

               The ground around Thorum beings to tremble and shake.

               Thorum screams as he shoots his knee up and a clod of dirt breaks free from the ground below his father and smashes

into his chin sending him reeling backwards.  Thorum follows it up by slamming his foot down bringing his body with him which

sends a shockwave splitting the earth on its way to his father, sending him spiraling into the air. Thorum punches

his fist into the earth which creates a fist shaped pillar to protrude from the ground below his father, crashing into him and

keeping him airborne. Thorum juggles him by punching the ground with his other hand. And in a final swift motion, Thorum

rips both hands out of the earth and points at his father and throws his hands down. At the same time two thick vines shot out

of the ground, latched onto Thorums father, and slammed him into the ground.

               Joseph's limp body slumps over twitching, almost every bone broken or fractured, bleeding profusely.  Some bones

sticking out of his skin. He coughs up blood and gasps for air.  Thorum calmly raises up and straights his body. He walks over

to his father's body and looks him dead in the eyes hoping he is still conscious enough to see his son one last time.

               "Goodbye Father." Thorum whispers as he snaps his fingers. A sharp stone spike punctures through his dad's back and out

his chest then crumbles into dirt.

               Thorum's mother, still awestruck and gazing on in horror finally snaps out of it. She screams and runs over to her husband's

lifeless corpse. "What have you done?!" she cries, then stands up and looks at Thorum disgusted. "What are you?! You're  a monster?! What have

you done with my sweet, sweet little boy?!" she begins to weep on Thorums shoulder, flailing her hands at his chest.

               "Hardened him..." Zed whispers through Thorum.

               She freezes in fear.  Thorum calmly walks over to where he had dropped the coinpurse, picks it up, and walks back to his mom.

               "Mother, all I really came to do was give you both enough money to move into the city and never go hungry againn." Thorum

says cooly.  She looks at him still frozen with fear, tears streaming down her face. Thorum holds her hand out and places the pouch of gold in it.

"But since you never seemed to be able to raise your voice or lift a finger in my defense, so shall you never have to." And with that Thorum

embraces her one last time, softly kissing her forehead.

               From that contact on her forehead her skin slowly begins to petrify until all that is left is a stone statue that used to be his mother.

Still clutching the bag of gold and frozen tears stil streaming down her face.

              

               Back on the road to camp to meet up with Aime, Thorum's black eyes return to their normal clear hazel, the beautiful green and purple hue of

sunset gleaming off them.  And he can't help but feel an odd sense of calm ease.

               The Reunion with his parents went better than he had hoped.