*Before we begin – two notes.
*One this is vastly different to anything I've ever done. So, stay with me anyone who reads my Grey's or Glee (or god forbid my Mighty Ducks) stuff.
*Two, this was Beta-d by the LOTR enthusiast, and lovely person - D. L. Sauron- AlmightyLOTRnerd – seriously, check out her stuff.
Fellowship of the Hazing:
The college scene is something completely different to anything you will ever experience. Your whole world changes – from the people you meet, to the person you become. Changes rush over you. You stand with your feet firmly planted amidst it. It swirls around you in the air. In the middle of this swirling tundra of change – a tradition never to be lost – lie the majestic fraternities and sororities. They are the epic and elite, Greek row.
These institutions forge their reputations, known well throughout the country. Many exist, however, their luster has been lost, but those that live on are remembered as eternal institutions. The immortal three, that value wisdom and elegance, their members being the fairest of all students. The lordly seven are the homes of the great craftsmen. And nine, nine are for the gifted, who above all else, desire power.
But these social organizations, all of them, deceived themselves, for another exists. An unground organization, all members instilled with fire, and with a culture forged by masters of the college realm. It was forged in secrecy to be the fraternal organization that would control them all. Truly meant for the elite, rigorous admission procedures – the hazing to end them all. The few that heard of it marched to their doom, fighting for their admittance. They fought valiantly but only few would endure. The hazing was anything that inflicted physical or physiological pain, humiliation or harassment. The morally degrading nature of the stunts was intentional – and the stunts themselves, were shocking, dangerous and sometimes criminal. The scavenger hunts in the middle of the night that the other organizations boasted of were like comparing a fly to a buffalo: comical, impossible and frightening. One that did survive the hazing – Isadore, later became the esteemed president of the fraternity. His presidential reign came at a time when hope was nearly lost – Isadore, who had this one chance to return the now feared fraternity to its former glory and dispel the lies and rumors that surrounded its existence. He chose to conceal its existence more than ever, and eventually the once godly institution fell into disrepair, his decision to preserve exclusivity betrayed him. Its history became legend. Legend became myth.
Eventually the only person that knew of its existence was a lowly fourth grader, Gordon, reveling in the tales he had heard from his big brother, as passed on to him from their father whose grandfather had been a member. These stories gave to Gordon an unnatural curiosity and passion to unearth the fallen fraternity. For eight years the tales consumed his mind, and in the gloom of his small town existence, he waited. Darkness crept into his life, rumor of alumni in the East, whispers of a nameless legacy pledge, and, unknown to Gordon, the last member of the fraternity perceived his time had come. He abandoned secrecy, and it was revealed that this last member was the most unlikely human being imaginable. A millionaire in the horticulture industry. William Bagwell. For soon his time would come to shape the fortunes of all Greek row…