1 Midas curse

Two millennia, before christ, In the Heavenly Realm, also called Mount Olympus.

A place where gods and godlike beings are the only living beings allowed, the Realm which ordinary mortals can only dream of visiting, the place unreachable for the majority of all things living.

A look filled with grief, glanced down upon the human world.

Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility and ecstasy asked himself, "Humanity's greed know no bounds, why did he want everything he touches to become gold, why doesn't he want to live happily anymore?"

This god meant no other man than King Midas, also called the golden King.

The reason his pen-name became golden King has to do with him always wearing golden clothes, and most of his castles interior consisting out of gold.

King Midas spoke with a god, whom granted Midas thy wish of turning everything into gold that was touched by him.

Whether that ability turns out to do Midas more harm than good, is something we will be witness of, in the near future, ourselves.

Let's backpedal a bit first so you can digest the current situation, which is transpiring right now, somewhat better.

Dionysus has a beloved friend, Silenus, who is a satyr.

This race has been greatly mistreated by gods and humans alike, for its human-/and goatlike attributes.

Essentially no being wants to claim that a satyr is part of their race and because of that, Satyrs will always be shunned as outsiders, whom will never be accepted.

Silenus has been treated with a great deal of hospitality ans respect, by King Midas.

Silenus, who got lost on his way to Mount Olympus and was greatly famished, when King Midas finally found Silenus.

King Midas took the hungry and dirty Silenus, to his palace, fed him and bathed him in his bathtub adorned by gold and jewelry.

This act of Kindness towards Silenus touched Dionysus so much, that he, a god, personally visited King Midas, a mortal, and drank some heavenly-grade-wine with him.

One should never look down on this wine, for it is wine made from Dionysus's own Legendary grape collection, which has been ripening for many eons.

Ordinary Gods wouldn't even be able to inspect one drop, let alone tasting said drop, so Dionysus drinking this brew with King Midas points out how high of a grade of sincerity Dionysus feels towards Midas.

The dead-drunk Midas looked at Dionysus and said, "Drinking this liquor, with me shouldn't be the only reason for why you are here right? If it was, you would've only needed to write me a letter, and I'd be off to one of your Churches in an instant"

Dionysus sobered up a somewhat and explained with a loud belly-laugh, "Oh yeah, nearly forgot, why I actually came here for"

Somberly he added, "As a thanks for looking out for Silenus, I will not only drink this godly spirit with you, I will also grant one of your wishes! Well...with the exception of wishing loved ones back from their grave."

Dionysus further explained with a look of contempt, "I will absolutely never ask that brute hades(Ruler of the underworld) for a favour ever again, the last time I did that,he quenched his thirst, with nearly half my wine chamber and destroyed most of my palace, after I forbid him, from getting any more of my precious wine.

Midas instantly awoke from his dead-drunk state, and fell into contemplation, "Is there anything I need to wish for? My pride, my daughter is in perfectly healthy condition and my wife's beloved rose garden is also flourishing greatly, there is no rose in this world which I am lacking. Leonidas might need some new clothes, but that's something I can buy with my wealth, no need to waste a wish for that."

Midas face contorted into one filled with grief, he shed a single tear, "Its a shame, that I can't bring my dear Damodice back. Would've been great to let my daughter see how her mother actually looked like again. Can't blame Zoe for not remembering her Mother, she was only a year old, when Damodice died"

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A memory resurfaced in Midas's mind.

A stormy night,

the afternoon prior to this somber day, was a disastrous one for the Midas household.

Damodice, the wife of Midas, and Zoe's biological mother, died of the consequences, of birthing a child, with a physique which could only be described by 'not even as strong as a dying chicken'.

Midas held the weeping Zoe in his arms, while looking at his deceased wife in her coffin, having a determined smile.

He then muttered softly, "Wife I swear to all the gods in mount Olympus, that I will never let our daughter be sad again"

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Midas suddenly gained an epiphany as he thought to himself, "Didn't my daughter like all things golden? Didn't she always smile seeing gold-made objects? Isn't that the only reason why our bathtub is made out of gold? Wasn't that the reason why I wear golden clothes all day, even though they are so heavy that I needed to consult many physicians, about that.

Wasn't ignoring all their warnings, not to wear such clothes, done just so that I can see my daughter smile and jump in Joy whenever she sees me?"

Another thought surfaced in his mind, "Wouldn't she be even happier if I could turn everything into gold with my touch? That way, whenever she feels like wanting some object being gilded, I could just touch that object and see her revel with excitement in my new power"

Midas stared with conviction up into Dionysus's eyes, who is a nearly 5 meters tall giant, and pronounced to him aloud, "I want to be able to turn everything I touch into gold"

Dionysus thought about all the negative aspects, of having such a disastrous power, and wanted Midas to rethink the way he should formulate his wish.

Dionysus glanced upon Midas, with befuddlement clearly shown upon his face, and said in a cold tone, "Are you sure that you want your wish to be granted as it is?"

Midas contemplated a bit about what Dionysus could've meant with that sentence, as it struck him, "If everything I touch becomes golden, wouldn't the earth, Me and my clothes turn fully golden as well?"

Midas changed his wish to being able to turn everything into gold, except what he walks on and his clothes and himself.

As there were still many negative aspects that may lead Midas'a life into misery, Dionysus asked him again whether he wanted to wish his wish as it is.

Midas heart wavered, as he thought about why Dionysus didn't want his wish to be granted.

He thought, and thought as it finally hit him, maybe Dionysus didn't want to grant him a wish and wanted to stall time until a flying carriage, or something like that, came and picked him up.

The future Midas probably wants to mutilate the Midas from this moment, in the face and call him many slurs.

Dionysus was a god, who had no real reason to keep his word and didn't even need a carriage to pick him up, he is a god for fucks sake, who can teleport anywhere he wishes to.

Sadly, greed had already flooded Midas's mind, and now he couldn't think rationally about anything else, except wanting to gain that ability to make his daughter happier.

He looked at Dionysus and said impatiently, "I have my reasons for why I want this ability, just grant it "

Dionysus wore a fuming look on his face, after having his goodwill being spit on, and said with great discontent, "You want to turn everything into gold, except the ground you walk on, your clothes, and yourself? FINE! I will grant your wish, just be careful about whether that wish is a blessing or a curse in disguise."

Midas didn't think much about the last part of what Dionysus said, but in retrospect he should've, there is no way in hell that something a god says would have no deeper meaning.

Alas Midas looked at a chair touched it and watched it with a look of glee, as his touch turned the table, made out of wood, into gold.

Dionysus saw Midas's action, turned incredibly sad and thought, "Maybe I should secretly watch as his life unfolds, I am not as cold-blooded as that monster Hades, if Midas were to repent, I would be so generous and revoke, this curse in wish Form, from him.

Alas if that time were to arrive, fate needs to be asked, whether that choice would the right one to make."

Dionysus, clapped twice, Poof-ed into smoke and materialized back at his estate, on Mount Olympus, inside he took out a crystalline ball, through which he saw how Midas was turning everything inside his Castle into gold.

Dionysus sighed, put the all-seeing-crystal-ball away and went to sleep for a few hours.