Michael

* Ghost
* Manager

> **"Yes boss, Sorry boss"** - Michael, to himself
>
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Michael, more commonly referred to as The Merchant, was a supporting character in *A Ballad of Science and Magic*. Appearing as a supporting antagonist in both the Hyrule and Eldia SMPs and later as a minor character in Asgard, he is a strange being of unknown origin that aims to cause as much trouble as possible. He was notorious for his unsavory political views and strange aura, meaning his jobs as a Terrorist, Politician and Black Market Salesman were not second guessed. He somehow managed to survive all the world ending events by simply just not being there, however he later met his demise by getting fired from his shady retail job and throwing himself off of a cliff.

## Hyrule

Not much is known about Michael's past, and whether he was born a ghost or perhaps somebody who died, but when he arrived he made a large impact. He stumbled into Vanaheim from wherever he came and met Thorno in a cave, a King who had been overthrown for what he saw as a simple mistake. Intending to cause as much as trouble as possible, Michael agreed to help Thorno cause trouble as revenge for overthrowing him. They began some small scale acts of terrorism with not really a plan as to what they were doing, with Thorno wanting revenge and Michael wanting Chaos. However, a man named EddieEd arrived with ideas to help them take over and get Thorno to be King again. Together, they began even bigger acts of terrorism, which involved stealing Sinnohn's Horse Chad and Nova's horse, Epona, and titled themselves The West Staines Massif.

The three of them were holding Chad and Epona hostage in The Lair, Thorno's base, When Nova arrived. Thorno killed Chad and the three escaped with Epona. While EddieEd and Thorno escaped, hunted by Nova, Monocle and Herb, Michael headed back to Hyrule to act as a distraction and blow up a tower so they could get away. However, he was intercepted by Fremcy, Do1phin and Cat, who subdue him and hold him hostage until Nova arrives back. While everyone is discussing what to do, Michael manages to escape Cat by drinking a potion of invisibility and slipping away to find the others.

When he, EddieEd and Thorno reunited, they began a new town very far away in a Desert so no one could find them. They began building resources, trying to figure out their next steps. They started a secret trade deal with Do1phin, and acquired a new member, Yoloman. They made frequent visits back to the mainland to commit petty crimes, their biggest being burning down a house at Ragnarok, the town owned by Herb and Cat, and destroying their farm. With Yoloman's introduction, the group developed an actual motive and plan; Overthrow the current Government and take back control. They named themselves Outer Heaven, and all had roles in their new community. Michael was the lookout, and one day when he was on lookout duty, he spotted Fremcy and Nova hiding on a hill. He warned the others but the duo had already escaped. One night though, while they were asleep, Herb Durkle, Nova, Monocle and Sinnohn raided their town. Herb began burning all of their buildings as revenge, but the group had already escaped by the time Outer Heaven left their houses for a battle. The rebuild took a while, but with their location compromised, they decided to put their plan into action. They arrived at Castellia, Thorno's old base where Sinnohn, Do1phin and Monocle currently resided. They told Sinnohn that they killed a fake Chad and the real one would be returned to him if they handed over his crown back to Thorno, and consumed by grief, he agreed. Do1phin also agreed to join, not keen on war. However, Monocle left and instead defected to Stonehold to warn Nova and Fremcy of the change.

Michael was present on the day of Thorno and Sinnohn's wedding, becoming Thorno's bestman. It was there that Thorno actually chose EddieEd instead, and has Yoloman and Michael throw Sinnohn out. They force Nova to officiate the wedding and he does so, making Thorno and EddieEd married. A War began a few days later, Where Michael rode the supposedly real Chad to Stonehold to give them conditions of their surrender. They disagreed, and outnumbered, they lost to Outer Heaven's forces. EddieEd took over Stonehold and banished Nova. Nova, Monocle and Fremcy all left to start a new life elsewhere and Sinnohn and Do1phin, having realised their mistake, left Outer Heaven too. All was well with Outer Heaven's rule until Thorno and Michael discovered evidence that EddieEd planned to betray them and take Castellia too, causing Thorno to go to the Outcasts for help. Unsure of where he stood, Michael left Outer Heaven and escaped. However, he was caught by Herb and Cat and taken to The Colosseum where he was due to recieve judgement alongside EddieEd and Yoloman. Before a final verdict could be made, Skera of The Bloodmoon attacked and destroyed the building in a blind rage, knocking everybody unconscious.

## Eldia

Michael woke up alongside all of the others in Midgard, a different Realm and without memory of their previous lives. He built his house in a small valley on the border of Hytopia, land owned by Nova. He didn't really attend any events, however, he became affiliated with EddieEd and Thorno again, who were selling drugs and various performance enhancing potions and came to his door. Upon trying the products, he liked them and decided to invest in their business, becoming a 'Drug Runner' for them when Sinnohn and Monocle banned the use of Potions. He was sent through various underground tunnels to sell potions to people such as Do1phin and Herb, and his services were so appreciated, he was appointed to be the Minister of Transport when EddieEd and Thorno won the next election. Michael discovered that PedroPompey, a resident of Eldia, was trying to overthrow the Government for losing the election. Michael threw Pedro in prison and forgot about him, accidentally leaving him to die behind bars. He later also discovered the existence of a rising revolutionary group, The Sons of Ra, and decided to escape so he wasn't affected by the revolution and didn't have to kill any more people.

At some point afterwards, he discovered a strange ability that he was able to traverse Realms without the need of a Divine Item. He traveled the Nine Realms, selling things he had collected from other Realms to the very sparse locals. He spent a year alone, and began developing his own personalities in order to give himself some company.

## Asgard

When he had a shop set up in Asgard, he was approached by Fremcy, who was looking for help and support while on the run. He offered her a position in his business; Selling a particular potion named Health Juice in exchange for Apples of Idunn, he collected from Alfheim. Signing a form of confidentiality, Fremcy only referred to him as The Merchant, which became his name afterwards. He was later introduced to Do1phin again, who realised straight away who he was, meaning The Merchant had to leave and hide in a village. His time in the village ended quickly though, as he began to attempt to overthrow their religion and cause great trouble in the community. He was later banned, and lived in a tent on the outskirts of the village.

He was approached later on by Fremcy, this time alongside Nova, who also recognised him. They needed Idunn Apples, but he had no Health Juice, so only agreed to help if they did a collection of tasks for him in the village. They retrieved some belongings he had left him behind there, hunted food for him and even gave up one of their horses, Peter, but refused to help when his next request was to kidnap a villager as ransom. Fremcy decided to distract him with a cover of Juice by Lizzo. While she was singing, Nova snuck into the tent and stole an Apple of Idunn. The Villagers then began coming after The Merchant, allowing Nova and Fremcy to escape with the apple.

Michael later travelled back home to Eldia, Midgard, to discover it had been destroyed. He set up a new shop in the ruins of Gotham, EddieEd's old home, and was discovered yet again by Fremcy, this time with Sinnohn, who needed help getting back to Asgard. Michael told them that he did a free service of Realm Travel, but would only help them if they did tasks for him because Fremcy and Nova betrayed him. He sent them to retrieve an Autograph from Rapper Ice Spice and a copy of 'Heartbroken', a song written by PedroPompey in prison. They did so, and Michael still determined that wasn't enough. Sinnohn then put on a Dragon Head, posing as The Manager, and told Michael to help them, to which he agreed. He was taken back to meet the others again at The Edge, a cliff above a Void. Still being difficult to help, Sinnohn - still posing as The Manager - threatened to fire him, causing Michael to panic and throw himself into The Void to escape, unaware it was full of snow due to Filmbulwinter. He hit the ground and supposedly died, leaving The Asgardians stranded in a decaying world. When Herb checked the Void though, no body was present, so he was either vapourised by the fall or escaped before impact.