Hey everybody! Glad to have ya here. Well, as you can guess from the synopsis, this is kind of like a sequel to the episode "Spellbound" that takes place a while after. I'm having a ton of fun writing it, so I think you'll really enjoy reading it as well.

Let's see... As far as romance goes, there probably won't be much in this one. I may occasionally mention RxS because it takes place after Tokyo and they're supposed to be a couple, but not much. Due to some of the fanfictions that will be connected to this one, I might also hint at RavenxRorek later on... but that's about it.

Erm, do I really have to do this disclaimer on a fanfiction website? *shrugs* Oh well... Disclaimer: I am not a creator/owner/whatever of TT. I also did not create Super Smash Brothers or any of the other random cool things that might be referenced in this fiction.


Chapter One: A Legend Retold

But it did seem the power of Malchior was greater than my magics could defeat. And as the fell beast struck, I summoned the forces of my enchanted book.

"Aldruon Enlenthra Nalthos Sola Narisnor!"

And with a curse more ancient than foul Malchior himself, I strove to trap the dragon within the tome…

Raven sighed. And just why am I bothering to read this again? She wondered. I already know how it ends – the spell works, the dragon gets spellbound into the book, which Rorek apparently decides to recount his story on, so on and so forth. Heck, I even know what happens afterward – Malchior switches the names and claims to be the good wizard, I somehow get the book and he tricks me into releasing him, only to be trapped again when I recount the curse. How charming. Shaking her head slightly, she closed the volume, placed it beside her, and leaned back against the wall of her room.

True, it had been a slow day. No attempted robberies or take-over-the-city schemes to speak of, and as far as the Titans knew, there weren't any villains plotting anything major at the time.

Tonight would be relatively quiet, too. Emphasis on the word, "relatively", the mage reflected. Cyborg and Beast Boy had finally gotten the newest Super Smash Brothers game, and would probably be playing it all night, experimenting with the new characters, stages, and whatever else the thing had to offer. Robin and Starfire, meanwhile, had gone out for the night and probably wouldn't be back for a few more hours. Raven supposed that this all meant she would have a free night, with nothing to do and no one to bother her. Maybe that was why she had unlocked that old chest and taken out the book to reread.

Except that there had been plenty of "quiet nights" in the past in which she had occupied herself reading other books, meditating or practicing spells. Not to mention that she had never wanted to see the cover of that enchanted tome again… not after the way Malchior had deceived her.

Raven let out a long breath and stole a sideways glance at the hardback – rather plain-looking, yet at the same time ancient and mysterious – that now lay unceremoniously on the floor. She scowled. "What is up with you?" she muttered, half to the book and half to herself. Part of her expected the object to answer her, as it had many months ago, but she knew that it wouldn't – she recalled that the Brotherhood of Evil had somehow managed to free Malchior back when they had launched an attack on the Titans and all of their allies, and that the dragon had ended up sucked into Herald's parallel dimension.

After a long moment, she stood up and stretched. "I'm wasting my time," she grumbled to herself. "I'll just go read something else." With that she turned and began to leave the room, until a voice made her freeze in her tracks.

"But, you haven't yet finished the story…"

* * * * *

Every muscle in Raven's body tensed at the sound of that voice. "Malchior," she growled; her voice calm but cold as ice. "You found your way back."

"Well… Yes and no," the book replied evenly as its violet-eyed owner turned back around. "The spell that released Malchior the second time was too weak, and only lasted temporarily; though you sent him to another dimension, he was soon returned to his prison here. However, I am not he. I am Rorek, the wizard who fought Malchior, only to become trapped along with him."

Raven scowled. "Just what makes you think I'm going to believe that story? Rorek used a curse to imprison you, not to get both of you stuck in that book."

By now, the tome had opened itself to a picture Rorek shown from the waist up – evidently the appearance that the speaker had chosen to take. Rorek was a young wizard, perhaps seventeen, and wore a silver and black outfit with a black scarf over his mouth and a jagged mark that looked like the letter, "M" embroidered on the front of his shirt. As Raven studied the picture, the voice spoke again. "I had a feeling that you wouldn't believe me," it lamented. "Malchior is very cunning; I am not surprised to know that he has deceived you once already. But please, just read the rest of the story, and then maybe you will understand."

Raven eyed the tome suspiciously, but moved forward. I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look, she thought to herself.

As the Azarathean approached, the book flipped through a hundred or so pages, finally coming to rest open to the same page that she had been reading earlier. She picked it up gingerly and began to read.

I strove to trap the dragon within the tome. It was a daring choice, to be made only as a last resort; but Malchior was so powerful and cruel a monster that there were no alternatives.

The effect of the curse was as magnificent as I had been told. No sooner had I uttered the words than ensnaring tendrils of magic shot out of the book and wound around the dragon snout and claw. The beast was trapped – I could feel it in the power of the book's enchantment and the hopelessness of Malchior's struggles to break free.

"No!" the dragon bellowed, turning his crimson eyes to me. "If I must be prisoner, than you will as well!" And with those words, he shot me with a final curse.

I had no time to evade the spell. Even as Malchior disappeared within the book, I dropped it under the impact of the curse. Dark magic coursed through my body, and I felt myself growing, my form shifting. When the transformation was complete, I looked at myself to see dark scales where clothing and human flesh should have been. The curse had transformed me into a dragon, in the very likeness of Malchior himself.

Before I could wonder why it was that the dark dragon had chosen this as his final revenge, the enchanted book became active again. Its curse now confused me with Malchior, and the curse had been instructed to imprison Malchior. Within a moment the tendrils of magic ensnared me; within another moment, I too was trapped inside the tome.

For a thousand years this has been the case. The dread dragon Malchior is defeated, now a prisoner within this very book. But I, Rorek of Nol, remain prisoner as well.

"You can stop there," the voice suddenly broke in, a sad note perceptible in its tone.

Raven blinked in confusion. Sure, it was the end of the chapter, and it certainly sounded like the end of the book, but there were still many pages left. "But I thought you wanted me to read to the end," she replied.

The voice chuckled. "I asked you to read to the end of my story, not necessarily the end of the entire book. You see, one of the more unusual and amusing aspects of enchanted books is that when one is used, the tale behind its use is recorded within the pages automatically, told from the wielder's point of view."

Raven nodded slowly. "I guess that makes sense," she muttered. "Otherwise, this one would have been blank because you weren't there to write out the story yourself."

"Precisely," the voice responded. "You will understand, then, why I already knew about Malchior's more recent antics, as well as what lies beyond that page: Because you too have used this book's magic, your tale is now recorded here."

Curious and still a little suspicious, Raven turned through the pages to see for herself. Sure enough, a second story began a page or two after where the last one had ended – telling about how she had befriended, been tricked by, freed, and finally resealed Malchior – as if she had written them herself. Pictures even accompanied the story, as if taken by a black-and-white camera as the events unfolded. Creepy.

Her curiosity satisfied, Raven finally turned back to the picture of Rorek that the voice had been using to "look" at her. "All right," she started, though she had a strong feeling that she already knew the answer to her next question. "Just why are you so intent on showing me all of this?"

"Because, Raven," the book replied coolly. "I need you – to finally set me free."


Hope you like it so far! Please review so I know you care, and I'll add the next chapter as soon as I can. Ciao for now!