This is a short story I wrote off of one of Richard’s ideas. This is the Richard from Shijin Studios and Dancing Edge. We’ve been looking for an idea for a while. This is our first possibility, I just finished writing up the Prologue to a quite possible long term story/comic. Please tell me what you think everyone :)

Just as a note Mithraism is a dead religion, but there is scientific proof and findings that it did exist. No one knows however what happened to it after the Edict in 394 banned forms of paganism. Well, without further delay here is the story.

He sped across the Rhineland. Claudius was aboard a horse. The constant gallop was starting to put him to sleep. It was a late cold night in 5th century Germany. As he came over a hill a temple was visible on the edge of a village. ‘I’m sure they will let a Roman Soldier take refuge there.’

His horse slowed as Claudius entered the outskirts of the village. He tied his horse up in front of the temple as someone came to greet him. “May I sleep here this evening?” He asked.

“Of course, good sir, welcome to the Temple of Artemis.” Was the jovial response.

Twenty minutes later Claudius was in the guest room this temple held. He felt unwelcome. He did not believe what most Romans did. Proud of his life underground he considered himself a Mithran through and through. He gave Christianity the necessary lip-service after the edict in 394 banned all forms of Paganism. The Edict pushed his religion even further underground. Mithrans were never very well accepted pagans, but now in a land where Christianity was growing by leaps and bounds he was even less liked. He thought about what his leader, the Pater, said about the development. ‘Now is our time! There is a possibility we may not exist when Christianity fails, which it will eventually. Our job is to hide, pretend to be Christan and destroy all other forms of Paganism!’

Claudius cringed at these memories. He didn’t feel right actively plotting to destroy other pagans. On that day five years ago he wondered if his religion would survive, but it seem to be. Some other Mithrans have even started poisoning other known Pagans and destroying temples. ‘Disgusting’ he thought.

Claudius was awoken in the early morning hours by screaming. A fire had broken out in the temple, he ran as fast as he could to the exit but got blocked by fire in the foyer. He felt it before he saw it. Spinning around he forced his eyes to refocus. The adjustment took over a minute and he couldn’t believe what he saw… A ghost. Well not quite, it was an ethereal being, just barely visible. The moment he and the being made eye contact his mind was flooded with thoughts and images. Claudius screamed with a searing pain arching though his head. He collapsed and heard and echo though his consciousness ‘This is the truth about your religion’. Claudius passed out completely expecting to die.

An hour later he awoke lying in the mud next to a still smoldering Temple of Artemis. ‘What was all that?’ he wondered. ‘All the information you need to save your religion,’ echoed though his head. The ethereal being was standing in front of him. It started walking away slowly Claudius was still sprawled out on the ground but too weak to move. His mind was screaming questions at the being leaving him behind. ‘What should I do? What will happen to Mithraism? What did you teach me? Anything?’ He knew mentally shouting was pointless. It’s hard to converse with something that doesn’t want to talk to you, and is walking away. It went out of site a couple seconds later. ‘What kind of danger is my religion in,’ he wondered idly.

Claudius’ subconscious mind had the answer for him when he went to bed the next night. He had a dream, a vision, of a world ruled be a solitary religion. Christianity. He saw a world that was out of control and religion was made a science instead of a belief. Claudius awoke in a cold sweat in a tent he pitched. The answer rang though his mind, ‘I need to start a crusade to fix this religion.’ There was no sleeping after this revelation. The rest of the hours in darkness were spending thinking about all the information that got put into his mind. Inside his mind now was a complete history of his faith. The truth of the deities they warship ans where the people in the faith went wrong. ‘As I thought if Pagans fight with each other we will all lose to Christianity.’

Claudius at first had trouble finding his fellow Mithrans because of their underground nature. After a while they became easier to find and he quickly spread his message. Every time he found a new congregation of Mithrans he recounted his story about the ethereal being and everything it taught him. After talking to every group of Mithrans he could find only two had listened. The rest continued on this idea of destroy all other Pagans.

Claudius sighed while leaving his last group of Mithrans. He brought up his head only to see where he was going, but he saw the ethereal being again with one major change: The ethereal being looked solid. It looked almost like a regular human.

Only one line echoed though his head this time, he was given no futher revalations. Just a pronouncment: ‘Your religion is at an end.’ As Claudius comprehended this and went to ask a question a Roman Soldier with the Christan Cross on his sholder rushed forward though the etheral being. That was the last thing Claudius ever saw.