An interview with Midna - part 1 | EVE Online

An interview with Midna - part 1

2008-03-14 - By Svarthol

The other day, I had the extreme pleasure to sit down with the latest hot button of controversy in the Gallente Federation, Midna. We talked about her album, her surprising return to the top of the Egonics charts, and the rumors of her connection to the Blood Raiders. Through the entire thing, she was gracious, engaging, and completely open. The only thing she asked was that the entire interview be presented, so that no misquoting could occur. Here it is:


Kang: Hello, Ms. Lyre. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Midna: And you, Mr. Kang. And please, call me Midna.

Kang: Alright, Midna. First, I have to say thank you for allowing me this interview.

Midna: It's my pleasure. I felt that I needed to get my side of the story out and the Interstellar Correspondents have always done a top notch job of presenting fair, unbiased articles. So it was a natural choice.

Kang: "Your side of the story." Obviously, you know why everyone wants an interview with you. So we should just go right into it. Are you, Midna Lyre, a Blood Raider.

Midna: Absolutely not. I am not a Blood Raider. The Blood Raiders disgust me. They are horrible monsters, who murder, rape, and pillage. They take the faith and twist it so they can go through their perversions and justify their crimes. I'd never, ever have anything to do with them.

Kang: You say "the faith". You mean the Sani Sabik faith?

Midna: Yes, I do.

Kang: And what is your relationship with the Sani Sabik faith?

Midna: I am a follower of the Sani Sabik faith.

Kang: Now that is interesting. Aren't the Blood Raiders followers of the Sani Sabik faith?

Midna: Yes. But like I said earlier, they've taken a twisted and perverted version of the faith. They're the same faith as me the way that Amarrians are the same species as the Gallente. Both are humans, but they're are fundamental differences between the two.

Kang: And what sort of differences are those?

Midna: Between the Sani Sabik faith and the Blood Raiders?

Kang: Yes.

Midna: There are too many to count. How about I just tell you what the Sani Sabik faith is all about, really?

Kang: Very well.

Midna: The Sani Sabik faith is all about personal strength. It's about improving yourself, about being a strong individual. It's about taking responsibility for your fate, for seizing your destiny by the scruff and making it what you want, instead of the other way around. Being a Sani Sabik isn't about drinking blood and having orgies of violence, like the Blood Raiders. It's about personal growth and freedom. But not only that, it's about unity and brotherhood and friendship. It's about strengthening the bonds between people through the exchange of blood. It's about good and purity and happiness. And a strong soul is a strong body. It's healthy. It helps you live long and fuller and more healthy than anything.

Kang: You mentioned blood. Sani Sabik means "Blood Friends" in the Amarrian tongue. And as we all know, the Blood Raiders kidnap people to use for their blood rituals.

Midna: Yes, they do. That's well documented. And yes, I use blood in the rituals of the faith. But the blood is not stolen blood, taken from unwilling people. All the blood is willingly given by fellow practitioners of the faith. We willingly exchange blood. Like I said, it's about strengthening the bonds between us. Exchanging blood is a very intimate act. As intimate as any exchange of bodily fluids. Maybe even more. It brings us closer together. Not only that, it's a way to cleanse yourself.

Kang: Cleanse yourself?

Midna: Yes! Think about it. Blood is our life. It's our vital essence. Taking in the blood of someone else, it's taking part of them. Part of their essence. It adds their strengths to your own and helps rid you of your weaknesses. It's very... It's spiritual. The most spiritual thing I've ever felt. It's like touching the hand of God and having Him wash away your imperfections.

Kang: So you've become a Sani Sabik follower because you want to wash away your imperfections?

Midna: That's part of it, I guess. I feel complete in my life, since I found the faith. God is most definitely in the blood, as our scriptures say. It helped turn my life around, for sure. And a strong soul is a strong body. I feel more alive, more healthy than I ever have.

Kang: Well, let's talk about that. Your latest album, Lifeblood, has sold over 8 billion copies. But it wasn't always so good for you. It is your first album in nearly four years. And it's the first one with a chart topper in five. For a while there, people forgot your name entirely.

Midna: Yes, and deservedly so. I was a mess. I was so far gone, I don't even recognize myself from back then. Remember, when my first album was released, I was only fifteen. I was just a little girl. I didn't know what to do with my fame. One day, I was sitting outside the door of my father's apartment, singing to myself. The next day, I was performing concerts in front of thousand of people. It was terrifying but amazing at the same time. Things were fine at first. I was on top of the world.

Kang: And then?

Midna: Well, I was under a lot of pressure to succeed. And I was! Oh, my albums were still selling out all over the place. My concerts were selling out everywhere. But the pressure... It was so hard to tolerate. And there was no one there to help me out. My managers all pushed me harder, to make more money. My parents, God bless them, wanted to help, but they never could agree on anything, and their fighting over me got in the way of actually, you know, helping me. So I started using boosters.

Kang: Which ones?

Midna: Crystal Egg at first. Just to help me relax. But then that led to Nerve Sticks and then Blue Pill... Soon, those didn't work, and I was using Sooth Sayer to stay calm, then Crash to help me get through concerts. I'm just glad I never got into Mindflood, but trust me, I was tempted to more than once.

Kang: And when was this, exactly?

Midna: I started the Nerve Sticks when I was touring for my second album, Attempts of Kind. So I guess that was six years ago. The Blue Pill came during the end of that tour and while I was recording Thoughts. I started up Sooth Sayer on that tour, and I think it showed with how Love Disc turned out. By the time I was touring for that - this was back in early 106 - I was on Crash.

Kang: That was when the well publicized hologram controversy happened, correct?

Midna: Yeah. I mean, I was actually out there for most of my performances, though they had to force me out there sometimes. And people could tell, too. I was awful. For a long time, I couldn't even watch recordings of those performances, I was so strung out. My label dropped me after Love Disc bombed. I was still hooked on all those boosters. I had money, sure, but I was using it up fast.

Kang: And how did you turn it around?

Midna: It's simple. The Sani Sabik found me. Or, more accurately, Father Oliz Saudius found me. I was doing something... I don't know, probably meeting with my supplier. But Father Saudius, he spotted me first. He knew what I was there for. And he offered to help me. He was the first person to ever just sit there and say, "I want to help you as a person." Not as Midna. Not as a famous singer with lots of money. Just as a person, he wanted to help.