Title: Book of Moon
Author: Dragonwrangler
Summary: The Puzzle has been solved and Mahado suddenly finds himself with a new student who dreams of three legendary guardian dragons.
Rating: T
Warnings: AU, mostly Original Characters and there are hints at a yaoi relationship (Dark Magician/Magician of Dark Chaos) but it is an established relationship and the most you'll get is a kiss. Also- possible spoilers for the Doma storyline eventually and several duels from the Duelist Kingdom and early Battle City story lines. (It will be quite a while before that happens though.) And I try to update my stories once a month but it can sometimes be longer than that.
Main Characters: Mahado & Coeremar (Dark Magician), Tai'ree (Dark Magician Girl), Gaighdon (Celtic Guardian), Ciorstag (Mystical Elf)
Authors notes: This is actually the first Yu-Gi-Oh story I ever started and came out of two questions- how was Dark Magician Girl able to bring Yugi and Yami into the world of the duel monsters and what happened to Mahado when he became Dark Magician if duel monsters come from another world? (At least according to the American dub.) The world I am using in this story is actually based on one I create back in 1983 (yes, 1983) just for the fun of it (and occasionally did artwork based on this world) but never had a story connected to it until I dropped Mahado into it! The story itself is pretty much a straight fantasy with occasional scenes that depict certain duels from the anime series from Mahado, Gaighdon and eventually Tai'ree's point of view.
This story is technically the 3rd book in my Mahado 'Book' series. All the other stories in this series have an M rating for content but since I am writing them to more or less stand alone I thought I would start posting this one since it is not a direct sequel to the previous two ( of which I am still working on.) The only thing that one might need to know is that the Dark Magician consists of two souls in one body. In this series of stories, when Mahado died he merged with his spirit Ka monster Coeremar, the Magus of Illusion. I have them basically like a Yami/ Hikari combination though it is Mahado who is now in control of Coeremar's body. Also, Mahado met Gaighdon and Ciorstag in Egypt before Atemu became Pharaoh.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is the property of Kazuki Takahashi with some dialog the property of 4Kids. Anything that is not covered by the Yu-Gi-Oh copyright- including place names (with the exception of the Magical Library and the Guardian Castle), character names, the Dunne- sith, and Sidhe mounts are copyrighted 1983, 2005 KJR/Dragonwrangler.
This story has been written for entertainment purposes only and I am making no money from it.
BOOK OF MOON
"May my name be given unto me in the great Double House, and may I remember my name in the House of Fire on the night of the counting of the years and of telling of the number of months. I am with the Holy One, and I sit on the Eastern side of Heaven. If any god advances unto me forthwith I proclaim my name."
-Excerpt from the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Prologue- Breaking the Seals of the Past
Deep within the Shadow Realms, the Seals wrought by Pharaoh with his own soul were shattering, the dark magic and ka monsters they had held trapped for three millennia flooding out in one crashing wave.
The Realms strained under the impact, opening ancient Crosspoints to relive the pressure that threatened to tear it apart. The fiends reached out for the worlds beyond those points, reached out for the light denied to them for three millennia - but found the Dark Magician blocking their way.
The Dark Magician had been waiting, expecting the breaking of the Seals for almost forty years, but even prepared his soul still reeled with shock. Urgently reaching out for Pharaoh, hoping once again to feel the strength and power of the bond that had been forged when the Dark Magician had been created, he found only the hollow echo of memories remained.
For a moment pain sparked through him, a pain that was swiftly buried. He had grieved for that loss long ago.
Dismissing the past from his thoughts he pulled his full attention back to the Realms. The Dark Magician felt the fiends grabbing hold, digging cold tendrils into his awareness, desperate to feed on his warmth and life. He instinctively chanted out a spell of release, pushing back the fiends, gaining room to do what needed to be done. Knowing the Seals would be beyond his ability to repair he had laid the groundwork for a spell that could capture the monsters within the Realms and contain them. The Dark Magician quickly united his ka spirit with his Sekhem form and called out the one word of power he knew would keep the swirling Shadows from spilling out into the real world.
A word that had the power to reinvent a section of the Shadow Realms.
" WEDJU"
The fabric of the Realms shifted around the Magician, forming the interior of an immense temple. Stone slabs, twice a man's height, were carved into the walls that were forming, filling every surface within. Standing on the floor of the temple, the Dark Magician watched a flat topped golden pyramid rise up in the center of the building. It rose up to the opening in the roof of the temple, and at the top were placed constantly burning flames at the corners- lighting the slabs set above. The three carved slabs that held the Ka of the God Monsters were taking shape in the wall over the dais, the power of the God Monsters radiating out to fill the open space around them. It thrummed against the Dark Magician's spell but he knew there was no danger from the great beasts. He knew they were aware but waiting, waiting for the same thing that he waited for.
Waiting for Pharaoh's return.
The Dark Magician knew the risks of forging a section of the Shadow Realms into this remembered reality, of calling the God Monsters back from the darkness. Now that a tangible reality existed within the Realms, he was now real enough to be vulnerable to a mortal blow and it reduced the power he could call upon- but it also gave him command over the fiends that were attempting to escape into the living world. The awesome silence the Dark Magician remembered filling the temple was shattered by screams echoing wildly around him as the fiends were forced back into the slabs that once held them. Some fiends resisted, half fused with the sealing stones, clawing at the stones, trying to rip themselves free.
The pull of the thrashing monsters on his magic drained the Dark Magician, forcing him to expand more energy to eradicate the threat to the stability of the spell. He had no hope of stopping all the fiends- there were simply too many- but he could remove the few who would not be contained. Raising his wand the Dark Magician, in one swift motion, unleashed the spell of Black Burning Magic, shattering several stones and the half-formed fiends they held, banishing them forever.
Before he was able to cast the spell again the floor buckled, throwing him off-balance. His ears rang as thunder crack through the air. Down on one knee he twisted, to see a figure forming in the air.
He had miscalculated. Urgently he sent the Burning Black Magic spell flying at the figure that was slowly materializing before the dais.
It was too late. Even unformed, Zork Nechrophades effortless shrugged off the attack and countered with an almost casual wave. The spell of Catastrophe ate the light within the enclosure and split the floor; the sound of its passing shattering stone slabs throughout the Temple. The Mirror Force spell the Dark Magician managed to sketch before himself split on impact, its light sucked into the spell's dark vortex. The force of the spells intersecting tossed him through the air and he hit the rubble hard, the shards of stone ripping through his ceremonial armor to tear into skin and muscle. Blood burst into his mouth and nose, hot and metallic. The Dark Magician, opening his mouth to drag air into suddenly emptied lungs, choked on blood and the spell's darkness as it plunged down his throat, burrowing deep, greedily feeding off the energy of his Sekhem form.
The Dark Magician felt a hand grip the purple robes that wrapped his Sekhem form; heard a voice rumbling a word that forced the Dark Magician to transform into the priest he once was.
"MAHADO"
Yanked into the air, Mahado felt his ka separate fully from his partner Coeremar's body for the first time in three thousand years, and Mahado could not focus enough to stop his ka from tearing before the storm of power that swirled out of the darkness that held him.
"I remember you." Zork Nechrophades muttered, "The Pharaoh's priest and self appointed guardian."
Mahado forced his eyes open. Before him was a sight he had hoped never to see again. The form the Dark God had takenthis time was that of the undead, bleached bone seamlessly merged with muscle and skin. The eyes, set within hollow sockets, regarded Mahado dispassionately. Zork Nechrophades pushed his awareness into the spell eating away at Mahado's immortal ka and realized that here, within his grip, was passage into the real world.
"So, you still exist? I underestimated your skills, priest."
Mahado could no longer hear his partner but he sensed the ba of Coeremar failing, the mortal vessel he had shared for so long unable to withstand the destructive magic that was pouring down through the unbreakable link with Mahado's ka.
Mahado tightened his hold on his wand, the sensation giving him a focal point to gather his fading power. He ignored the dark amusement curling within him. He heard the Dark God's words echoing through his mind, searching for the crack that would shatter his defiance. "Why resist, priest? Only the Pharaoh's will had the ability to contain me. Now that he is gone and I am free to act, you have no hope of holding me here."
Before Mahado could acknowledge the despair he felt at those words, a metallic click echoed across the darkness, distracting the Dark God from his assault, followed by a young voice speaking words unfamiliar to Mahado- a voice vibrating with excitement, hope and awe.
"Yatta! Sennen- pazuru kore de yo!"
With those words, the ancient bond that tied Mahado's soul to Pharaoh's suddenly flared open, a brilliant light burning through the darkness that filled him. Zork Nechrophades roared in fury, bringing the full force of his darkness bearing down on Mahado's soul.
"I will not be denied!"
A scream ripped out of Mahado as the powers of light and dark fought for dominion within his soul. He lost awareness of everything but the pain.
A voice, long ago lost to Mahado, answered his cry, roaring through the realm, through Mahado, the will behind it clamping down once again on the darkness that was Zork Nechrophades.
SHADOW CREATURE! I COMMAND YOU! RETURN TO THE DARK REALMS FROM WHENCE YOU CAME!"
The power locked itself around Zork Nechrophades, breaking the Dark God's hold on Mahado's soul. Pushed beyond all endurance, Mahado fell away into nothingness.
Mahado slowly became aware of the power gently gathering his shattered form, of being laid down onto a hard, rough surface. The touch was familiar and Mahado willingly surrendered himself to its embrace.
Feeling a hand come to rest over his heart, Mahado dragged open his eyes, both afraid of what he might see and afraid of what he might not see.
He found Pharaoh kneeling beside him, the familiar face obscured by the golden bangs that framed it. He was dressed as Mahado remembered- white linen tunic, a golden belt securing a white and blue kilt, engraved gold bands glittering at wrist and ankle, golden wings of a crown sweeping up from behind his ears into hair that was black as night, hair tipped in red that flared out like fire. A blue cloak, held in place by an intricately woven gold and blue collar, had been pushed back behind his shoulders. On his forehead, the Horus Eye- carved into the center of Pharaoh's crown- shimmered, echoing the glow that emanated from the upside down pyramid hanging from a cord around Pharaoh's neck. Mahado could feel Pharaoh transferring energy into his wounded form, the bond that tied their souls humming with energy, its pulse echoing the pulse of light emanating from both crown and pyramid.
Mahado stared at the pyramid in wonder. It was complete and intact.
The Millennium Puzzle, the prison Pharaoh had allowed his soul to be placed into to seal away the Dark God, the puzzle that had been shattered to place the darkness held by the God beyond the reach of mortal men, had been solved.
Pharaoh's soul had been freed to return into the world of the living.
Mahado opened his mouth to greet his Pharaoh, to call out his name, when the awful truth rushed through him.
Pharaoh's name had not returned.
Eyes closing, Mahado tried not to move, tried to hide from Pharaoh the sorrow that followed the passage of knowledge through him when Pharaoh spoke.
"I know, my friend."
The words were simple, spoken in soft but strong voice.
Mahado meet Pharaoh's gaze. The crimson eyes were harder than Mahado remembered, revealing the iron will that had contained Zork Nechrophades for three millennia. The face leaner and stripped of any innocence it had once held.
Mahado gathered his emotions and schooled his features to hide his heartache.
"My Pharaoh." Mahado said in an even tone. Pharaoh nodded, a slight softening in the eyes the only acknowledgment of Mahado's reaction. Mahado struggled to sit up but found himself softly reprimanded.
"You're not going to protest my help again are you?"
Startled, Mahado looked back into Pharaoh's eyes.
"You remember."
"I remember telling you we are no different from one another, that the heart that beats within you is no less than the heart that beats within me. That your blood is no less sacred than my own." Pharaoh scowled, though a spark of humor lit the depths of his eyes. "I also remember you arguing with me about it when you could not afford to." He smiled slightly then sighed, shaking his head. "But the memory is slipping away from me." He looked up. Following his gaze Mahado found that he was now somewhere other than the part of the Shadow Realm he had cast his spell. Stone steps snaked up into the impenetrable shadows far above them, meeting doors set into walls that jutted out at odd angles. An almost unimaginable number of doors.
"I have been asleep in this darkness a long time,' Pharaoh said absently, 'wandering this maze in my dreams, opening doors, searching for answers, but finding only traps and empty rooms." He paused, a look of curiosity crossing his features, "But I have sensed another soul brushing against my own, pulling me out of the dark, leading me through the maze, drawing me here." He looked back at Mahado and said, "I believe this is the time before awakening, when you realize you're still asleep but are unable to wake. I know the little left I do remember will be gone when I awaken." He reached out and rested a hand on Mahado's shoulder. "But do not grieve. This was my choice to make. I only regret that you were trapped with me." He dropped his gaze to look to the floor. "Your sacrifice was beyond any I could have asked, beyond any I can repay."
Mahado smiled slightly. "It was my choice to make." he said, purposely echoing his Pharaoh's words. He had hoped otherwise but he knew, had always known, that the spell that had wiped Pharaoh's name from history could only be broken by the power within Pharaoh himself. All Mahado could do was guard him until he was truly free.
"I have no regrets." Feeling a small shiver of guilt Mahado added, "And I have not been trapped as you have. I've managed to become somewhat of a legend in the Otherworld."
A smile tugged at Pharaoh's lips, forgiving without words. "Have you?" His expression suddenly became intense. "Wait, the world Gaighdon spoke of?"
"Yes."
Pharaoh's expression became eager, "You mean..." His voice trailed off as his gaze suddenly turned inward. He removed his hand from Mahado's shoulder, bringing it down to curl around the Millennium Puzzle. A warm fresh breeze caressed Mahado's face and stirred Pharaoh's hair. Mahado watched, fascinated, as Pharaoh's crimson irises shifted color, slowly changing to a deep shade of violet. Pharaoh's attire also shifted, becoming more form fitting, the gold and white replaced by blue, black and silver. A black collar that was held in place by a silver buckle slowly replaced the gold bands that had covered Pharaoh's throat.
A rumble pulled Mahado's gaze away from Pharaoh to a spot off to the left. A door was slowly forming within a wall that contained an image of Maat, the goddess of balance and justice, painted upon it: a door that had the Eye of Horus carved deep into its surface. He realized the breeze was coming from there.
Pharaoh, the change apparently complete, stared for a moment at the door, a mix of yearning and apprehension flashing across his face. He focused back on Mahado and reaching out, laid his hand once more over Mahado's heart.
"It is time. "
The realm faded out of Mahado's awareness, replaced by the heavy sensation of his ka settling back into the mortal world. Awakening, he found himself back in Coeremar's body and though there was no true pain, the memory of it was still strong enough to send his heart beating frantically. He breathed deep, slowly bringing his heartbeat under control.
Sitting up in the narrow bed Mahado opened his mind and found the bond still hummed, a low vibration at the edge of awareness. He bowed his head, exhausted, but comforted by the knowledge that he would know when Pharaoh needed him, whether Pharaoh remembered him or not.
Yatta! Sennen- pazuru kore de yo! - I did it! I solved the millennium puzzle!
Book of the Dead excerpt based on a translation by E. A. Wallis Budge