Methodius

**Methodius** (*Grecco script*: Μεθόδιος) was a hermit who defeated the first Avatar of the God Maelignos 4000 years ago. After being banished from his home, he learned to coexist with the spirits, deciding to help bring balance between them and the rest of mankind, a quest that eventually led to him becoming the first Grand Master of the Templars Order.

## History

Living in poverty, Methodius stole to survive and feed his friends. To achieve that goal, he regularly stole from the rich families However, one day, after snatching food from them, he was chased down the streets of the city by the three angry brothersfrom a noble family. He managed to outrun them at first by making his way across rooftops, though when he stopped to eat, the brothers caught up to him. He attempted to escape again, but was tripped by one of the brothers and subsequently captured. His sack of food was taken away from him, and he was thrown into a muddy pen with pigs. Methodius returned to his family's tree house, bringing ¿his siblings what little food he had managed to salvage in his tunic. He gave away his own portion to several hungry animals, lamenting their impoverished lifestyle and wishing they could live like the Nobles. During that time, however, he devised a plan to gain more power so he could change his life.

Methodius joined the group of four hunters that were preparing to leave the city and venture into the wilds to collect food for the city. Although the lead hunter was skeptical at first to let Methodius join, Methodius was allowed to accompany them since there were no other willing volunteers. As such, the young man traveled with the hunters to face the great lion, the guardian of their city, to receive the power of magic, which enabled them to defend themselves against the hostile spirits living in the wilds. Soon after the group set off, Methodius pretended to chicken out and was subsequently ordered to go back to the lion to return his newly acquired ability. However, Methodius did not return to the lion and instead returned to the city directly, keeping his magic. With it, he inspired several other poor people to disguisedly join him on a raid on the palace. Although the raid was going smoothly at first, the Nobles called in reinforcements, and Methodius was captured and unmasked. He was brought before the lion, and although the creature permitted him to keep his Magic at his request, Methodius was banished to the wilds for his crimes.

### Youth

   As he wandered the wilds, Methodius was on edge, shooting at every creature he encountered. While running away from a large frog that wanted to trample him, Methodius got eaten by a plant, though managed to save himself with his bending. He ran on until he collapsed from exhaustion on an open grassy spot. However, much to his surprise, the grass started to wrap itself around him and pulled him under. He used his magic to save himself from a certain death by suffocation and continued his journey through the wilderness. Afraid to lower his guard in the hostile environment, he remained awake the entire night.

By morning, his hunger and exhaustion prompted him to stop at what he perceived to be a fruit-carrying tree. As he tried tosink his teeth in what he thought was a fruit, the fruit turned out to be a swarm of bees hurdled together that promptly attacked Methodius for his disturbance. Methodius's desperate attempt to get away from the angered insects led him to fall off a cliff. As he landed, he found himself looking at a peaceful island-like oasis with more fruit trees. Still hungry, he made his way over toward the little island, though found his path blocked by a Djinn, who appeared out ofnowhere before him and told him he was not welcome at the oasis. Methodius tried to reason with the spirit, telling the entity that he was hungry and in need of sleep. However, when the spirit coldly told him that it was not his problem, Methodius attempted to force the spirit aside by magic at him. Enraged, the spirit met Methodius's challenge, easily evading his attack by teleporting behind him, grabbing him, and throwing him aside in the nearby bush. Methodius walked away in defeat, but when he noticed that several other spirits were granted access to the oasis, he covered himself in leaves and branches, disguising himself as "Bushy, the Bush Spirit". He briefly managed to fool the oasis guardian, but the latter was able to discover his deception through his human scent. When ordered to return home, Methodius revealed that he was banished. The other spirits took pity on him and suggested he find other lion cities, but the guardian refused to give him directions.

Methodius subsequently set out to find these mentioned cities on his own. While traveling through the wilds, he spotted a deer caught in a net. Still hungry, he approached it with the intent of eating it, though after seeing the creature up close, he climbed the tree in an attempt to free it. At that moment, however, the group of hunters he was supposed to accompany arrived and they intended to kill the deer. Methodius throw magic at the hunters and ran off, hoping the men would forget about the animal and chase him. Having discovered the dangers of the wilds for himself, he used the wilds' hazards in his advantage to get rid of two of his pursuers. Before he could free himself completely from the hunters, Methodius was knocked unconscious by a fire blast. However, before the men could do anything, the Djinn, touched by Methodius's selfless act, intervened and saved him. Methodiuswas brought back to the oasis by the spirit, where he was placed in the spirit waters, healing him. Deciding he had had enough of humans, Methodius chose to stay at the oasis and learn the ways of the spirits, which earned him the nickname "Stinky" from the Djinn spirit.

As time went by, Methodius befriended the spirits and developed his magical skills by learning the old techniques from a white dragon, training himself to the point where his magic became an extension of his own body, not just a tool. He used his abilities to protect the spirits and drive off hostile humans.

### Meeting Lucero

Two years after his banishment, Methodius wanted to travel the world to find the other lion cities. During his journey, he was disturbed by a stampede of fleeing spirits, who ran away from the raging fight between the "all-powerful spirits". He went to investigate, as the battle risked wiping out the entire valley. Concerned about the destruction of the environment, Methodius approached the two raging spirits, oblivious to their identity, and ordered them to stop. The white spirit, Lucero, told him off, saying that the fight did not concern him. However, when he objected, telling her that it was his concern when the lives of spirits and animals were at stake, the dark spirit, Maelignos, begged him for help. Upon hearing that the dark entity had been tortured by his counterpart for ten thousand years, Methodius used his magic to break the hold Lucero had on Maelignos. It was only after Maelignos had already fled that Methodius learned the error of his actions, as Lucero explained who she was and what her purpose was.

Feeling bad about his mistake, Methodius offered to help Lucero track down Maelignos, but was told to stay out of the conflict. After the light spirit flew away, he resumed his goal of finding the other lion cities. Along the way, he came across harvesters with the ability to control the air, and followed them to their city, which was built atop a flying turtle. Having no ability to naturally ascend to the flying turtle city, Methodius constructed a catapult from a living tree to fling himself toward the creature. While conversing with the people living there, Maelignos arrived and his presence turned the peaceful spirits living in the town into raging dark entities. Methodius used his Magical ability to protect the people until Lucero showed up and knocked Maelignos down. After Maelignos left, Methodius noticed that Lucero was growing weaker. To rectify his previous mistake, he promised to help Lucero despite her disdain for him. In order to do so, Methodius requested the airbending turtle to grant him the ability to control air. Although no human had ever held two elements before, Methodius insisted that he was unlike other humans and could learn to do so. The turtle decided to give him the power of air; however, Lucero would have to hold the power for him until he mastered it. Together, the two set out to train. Eventually, Lucero gave the element of air to Methodius by passing through his body and combining their energies. Although a dangerous undertaking, Methodius survived the ordeal, and the small alliance set out to find the waterbending and earthbending turtles to receive the last two elements.

Over the course of a year, Methodius and Lucero worked together, training to master the four elements in order to be ready to face and defeat Maelignos. As the event drew near, Methodius and Lucero came across a village in the Wilds near the lion that was inhabited by Methodius's former friends. However, the hostile attitude of the settlers fomented the ever-increasing discontent between mankind and the spirits. When a gathering of spirits led by the Djinn spirit approached the village, Methodius attempted to resolve the conflict peacefully. However, Maelignos avatar's arrival caused the spirits to turn dark and the conflict escalated, prompting Methodius and Lucero to intervene. In order to be powerful enough to control the four elements simultaneously, Methodius and Lucero merged their energies, but this strained Methodius's body, one that he could not keep up with, and he passed out. When he woke, he found the village destroyed, and the avatar of Maelignos informed him that all the humans had been killed. As that creature left, Methodius found a severely weakened Lucero behind a rock. He gently picked her up, placed her in his teapot for easy transportation, and set out toward the Southern regions.

The dark avatar challenged Lucero, but Methodius stepped forward to defend her. Using his magic, Methodius attacked the Dark Avatar, though the spirit easily evaded his blasts and retaliated with his tendrils and energy beams. Realizing he was no match for the Dark avatar, he called upon Lucero to help him by merging their energies. Although the merge put him in mortal danger, Methodius refused to give up and kept fighting The Dark avatar. However, the spirit managed to knock him down and pin him to the ground near the dimensional door. When the sealing ritual began, Methodius placed his hand on the deimensional portal, permanently bonding his spirit with Lucero's.
With his newfound strength from the fusion, Methodius managed to trap Maelignos in a dimensional cage and imprisoned him in the hollow of the Membran in another dimension.

As time passed, Methodius tried to maintain the balance in the world, urging the different groups of people to coexist peacefully. However, this proved to be a daunting task, one that he would work at his entire lifetime without ever seeing it come to an end. Years later, an armored and elderly Methodius lay resting in the aftermath of a battlefield. Before passing away, Methodius apologized to Lucero for failing to bring peace to the world.

## Personality

Methodius was initially reckless and quick to anger when he felt that he or those close to him were being treated unjustly, although he preferred to use trickery to get what he wanted as opposed to violence. He kept an open mind though, not afraid to envision things being different and going against the advice of others in pursuit of doing what he felt was right or necessary. Nonetheless, when he did make mistakes, he felt remorseful, even to the point where he willingly risked his life to make things right. Though initially not concerned with the outside world, he developed a curiosity and a desire to learn about nature, spirits, and other human cities. Although he trained to be one of the most powerful humans of his time, he was humble, learning the ways of the spirits despite their early disdain for him, and establishing the position of the Avatar in an act of duty rather than to assert his own will over others.

In his later life, Methodius was much less impulsive, and though willing to fight for peace, he preferred to settle disputes between different groups through diplomacy, believing that people needed to learn to live together in peace. He spent his whole life trying to maintain balance in the world, showing himself to be a compassionate, optimistic, and courageous individual who primarily put the needs and safety of others; spirits, humans, and animals above his own.