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strangevisitor7Title: 5 Lives That Methos Lived
Author:strangevisitor7
Beta:idontlikegravy and pen37
Prompt: Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hl_flashfic 5 things format
Character: Methos
Summary: Methos reflects on his life through the ages
A/N: Special "its not rubbish" thanks toidontlikegravy.
2000 BCE
In the beginning he was death on a horse. He killed. He conquered. He was Immortal and feared none but Kronos. The world cowered before him and he rode through it taking what he wanted and destroying the rest. His brothers laughed by his side and life was good.
Then one day he looked down at the blood on his hands and was disgusted by what he’d done. So he imprisoned Kronos and ran away. He sought to find more meaning in his Immortal life than senseless rage
400 BCE
He lived a long time without purpose. His longevity had become a burden that begged for meaning. Then he found Socrates whose belief in his own ignorance made him the wisest man of the Age. Methos studied at the feet of this master. Questioning everything and yet still understanding nothing. Socrates found him brilliant and that was enough to civilize the beast that he had been for so long.
Then they came for Socrates. Methos and his other students begged him to run; to live another day and share his insight. Instead he did the ‘honorable’ thing and took his own life. Methos found that choice a waste of a radiant man. He decided that life, any life, was better than death.
1800’s
Methos had reached the conclusion that trying to truly connect with mortals would only lead to pain and disappointment. Their names faded from his memory and left only the bitterness of their passing. He steeled himself against these connections. He existed in a vacuum. As the names and faces raced past him in a blur, he took pleasure wherever he found it and from whomever it was offered.
He lived a life of decadence in the company of a genius of that age. But even the companionship of an Immortal genius can grow tiresome if every day is the same and every mortal unremarkable. He felt even more disconnected from the world. He’d lived almost 5,000 years and still the purpose of his life eluded him.
1990’s
As Adam Pierson, Methos hid himself away among the mortals. He’d discovered the Watchers quite by accident. He seized the opportunity to become one of them. He spent weeks on end searching the histories of every Immortal who ever lived. In the end he was disappointed to find that they knew nothing more than he had known when he’d taken his first Immortal breath.
He realized that there were no answers to the questions he’d sought all his life. But in the Watchers he found information and a perfect hiding place. So he remained, planting misdirection in his Chronicles and compiling his own life story. As he reviewed his life, Methos wondered, not for the first time, if just existing to be a witness to history was enough.
Present
Then one day, Adam was dragged back into the world. His identity as Methos was revealed and for the first time in an age he had people he cared about. They were Immortals who had no wish to take his head, and mortals who valued his companionship.
The Highlander never questioned the meaning of his life. Duncan’s philosophy was simple: do good things, help the underdog, save the damsel in distress and only fight when backed into a corner. It was a philosophy that Methos had never embraced. He watched cynically as MacLeod helped the poor mortals find their place in the world. In the end, Methos realized that that was enough for him as well.
Author:
strangevisitor7Beta:
idontlikegravy and pen37Prompt: Written for
hl_flashfic 5 things formatCharacter: Methos
Summary: Methos reflects on his life through the ages
A/N: Special "its not rubbish" thanks to
idontlikegravy. 2000 BCE
In the beginning he was death on a horse. He killed. He conquered. He was Immortal and feared none but Kronos. The world cowered before him and he rode through it taking what he wanted and destroying the rest. His brothers laughed by his side and life was good.
Then one day he looked down at the blood on his hands and was disgusted by what he’d done. So he imprisoned Kronos and ran away. He sought to find more meaning in his Immortal life than senseless rage
400 BCE
He lived a long time without purpose. His longevity had become a burden that begged for meaning. Then he found Socrates whose belief in his own ignorance made him the wisest man of the Age. Methos studied at the feet of this master. Questioning everything and yet still understanding nothing. Socrates found him brilliant and that was enough to civilize the beast that he had been for so long.
Then they came for Socrates. Methos and his other students begged him to run; to live another day and share his insight. Instead he did the ‘honorable’ thing and took his own life. Methos found that choice a waste of a radiant man. He decided that life, any life, was better than death.
1800’s
Methos had reached the conclusion that trying to truly connect with mortals would only lead to pain and disappointment. Their names faded from his memory and left only the bitterness of their passing. He steeled himself against these connections. He existed in a vacuum. As the names and faces raced past him in a blur, he took pleasure wherever he found it and from whomever it was offered.
He lived a life of decadence in the company of a genius of that age. But even the companionship of an Immortal genius can grow tiresome if every day is the same and every mortal unremarkable. He felt even more disconnected from the world. He’d lived almost 5,000 years and still the purpose of his life eluded him.
1990’s
As Adam Pierson, Methos hid himself away among the mortals. He’d discovered the Watchers quite by accident. He seized the opportunity to become one of them. He spent weeks on end searching the histories of every Immortal who ever lived. In the end he was disappointed to find that they knew nothing more than he had known when he’d taken his first Immortal breath.
He realized that there were no answers to the questions he’d sought all his life. But in the Watchers he found information and a perfect hiding place. So he remained, planting misdirection in his Chronicles and compiling his own life story. As he reviewed his life, Methos wondered, not for the first time, if just existing to be a witness to history was enough.
Present
Then one day, Adam was dragged back into the world. His identity as Methos was revealed and for the first time in an age he had people he cared about. They were Immortals who had no wish to take his head, and mortals who valued his companionship.
The Highlander never questioned the meaning of his life. Duncan’s philosophy was simple: do good things, help the underdog, save the damsel in distress and only fight when backed into a corner. It was a philosophy that Methos had never embraced. He watched cynically as MacLeod helped the poor mortals find their place in the world. In the end, Methos realized that that was enough for him as well.