A/N: In the episode "Vengeance" we are shown flashbacks to a time just after Darken's birth when Panis and Zedd are close friends. We also learn that Zedd played a crucial role in Darken's birth. At Panis's request, Zedd agrees to stay at the People's Palace and teach Darken the ways of magic. Of couse, in show!canon Shota's prophecy about Darken Rahl and Zedd's father's concern about that prophecy intervene in a way that leads Zedd to choose another path.
But - What if events had played out differently? What if Zedd had been part of Darken's upbringing, had been his teacher? Could the prophecy have been averted?
This is just my take on what might have happened in those circumstance.
Standard disclaimer: I own nothing and write for no profit other than my own enjoyment. All of my stories are based on show!canon and not book!canon.
Chapter 1
"My beloved subjects, I present to you Darken Rahl – future Lord of D'Hara." Lord Panis Rahl's smile was lit by both pride and triumph as he lifted the squalling infant over his head , displaying the proof of his virility to the cheering throngs below.
This birth of this child would put to rest the mutterings that had humiliated him for years – the galling rumors that despite bedding countless women, the golden-haired ruler of D'Hara was incapable of fathering an heir.
For ten years Panis had longed for a son, and now the miracle had occurred.
And indeed, Darken's birth had been a miracle, a mystery shared only with his closest friend, confidant and resident Wizard of the First Order – Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander.
Cradling the tiny bundle against his chest, Panis turned and swept back into the palace, grateful to escape the raucous din of the celebrating mob. Upon gaining the relative silence of his antechamber, the young ruler eagerly handed Darken over to the matronly nursemaid and gestured for Zedd to join him in admiring the boy.
"He's perfect, isn't he, Zedd? Everything a father could hope for in a son." Panis beamed in satisfaction. Gazing over at his friend, the king's expression grew thoughtful. "I can never repay you for what you have done for me, Zedd, what you have done for D'Hara."
When Zedd didn't respond, Lord Rahl murmured with pensive sorrow. "I'm sure my dear queen would have felt the same, if only she were still with us."
Queen Joanna, the woman who had carried the magically conceived child to term had died in childbirth after three agonizing days of labor. A gentle young woman of few opinions, at least few she had the temerity to express openly, Joanna had once shyly confided to Zedd that if she were blessed with a son, she wanted him to be named Richard, after a beloved older brother who had died as a child. But Panis had dismissed the idea with a snort of derision. Richard, he had declared, was a much too ordinary name for a child who was destined to be extraordinary in every way.
For some obscure reason known only to himself, Panis had named the child Darken. While Zedd was not a superstitious man, he was troubled by the choice, which only seemed to reflect the gathering shadow of unrest and war creeping over the land.
Zedd nodded his head in earnest agreement at his friend's assurance of Joanna's eternal gratitude, but wished Panis would change the subject. The wizard, while sharing in Panis's joy, couldn't suppress a slight twinge of discomfort at the mention of Joanna's name.
From the very day Panis had announced that he and his consort were expecting an heir, Joanna had taken to her bed with nausea, cramps and crippling fatigue.
Of course, she had been a fragile little thing. Carrying any child to term would have been difficult for her.
But this had hardly been a normal pregnancy, and Zedd sometimes wondered if the queen had ever suspected that the new life growing inside her womb was the result of powerful magic.
Since the birth, he had questioned a time or two whether the spell performed out of generosity for a friend might have been the death of her.
But the wizard refused to let himself to dwell on such unpleasant matters. This was a day for rejoicing.
"He has your eyes, my Lord," Zedd remarked, leaning over the infant, hoping that his own pride was not too evident .
At that moment Darken opened his eyes and stared directly into Zedd's own with such scrutiny, alertness, with such an unspoken plea, that the wizard was almost knocked back on his heels.
Surely it must have been his imagination, or else he had been imbibing too much celebratory wine. Although the child was a Rahl; who could know how much power lay behind that gaze?
Straightening himself up to his full height, Zedd was acutely aware that his friend's attention was fixed upon him. Panis seemed to be searching for the right words. Finally, with a dramatic flourish, the king gathered Darken up in his arms once more, and presented the child to Zedd.
"Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander", Panis Rahl intoned solemnly, "for years you have been my loyal friend. You have done more for me than any man has a right to ask." The young man's eyes burned bright with unshed tears – and ambition. "But I have one more favor to ask of you. Would you do me the great service of teaching my son the ways of magic just as your father taught me? Remain with him, not only as his instructor, but as a second father?
"Would you help me raise my son to be the great leader I know he can be?" With these words Panis gently placed the infant in Zedd's arms.
Carefully accepting the burden, Zedd tried to swallow past the boulder that seemed to have lodged in his throat. His mouth felt like cotton.
Panis Rahl had already proclaimed Zedd a Wizard of the First Order, and now he offered his friend even more bounty.
A world of wealth and luxury, filled with beautiful compliant women.
A world of learning, with every ancient scroll of magic and history housed in the great library of the People's Palace at his fingertips.
A world of power and influence as advisor and First Wizard to the current ruler of D'Hara, and as the man who would shape the future Lord Rahl.
When the time came for Darken Rahl to ascend the throne of D'Hara, Zedd's influence and power would only increase accordingly.
He had only a few seconds of relishing the vision of his glorious future before he sensed the palpable anger of the physically absent but omnipresent Carracticus Zorander crackling in the air around him.
Carracticus, Zedd's own father, the wizard who had once instructed Panis Rahl in the ways of magic before abruptly leaving the Court without explanation, had been trying to wean Zedd away from the king's side for the past year. Zedd's choice to stay at the palace had estranged him from the man who had taught him everything he knew. If he accepted the offer now put before him, Zedd knew his father would never forgive him.
But looking deep into the blue eyes of the boy still cradled awkwardly in his arms, Zedd knew he couldn't refuse. He had brought this child into the world at a terrible cost, and he now had a responsibility for Darken Rahl that went beyond personal ambition.
"I would be honored," he said quietly. There was no going back now, he could only go forward, into the future that beckoned him with limitless possibilities.
"Good! It's settled." Panis had relaxed back into easy geniality, patting Zedd on the back and motioning the nurse over to retrieve Darken. "If there is anything more I can do for you, anything at all, my friend, you have only to name it."
"There is one thing I would request, my Lord." If he was going to be a second father to his friend's child, Zedd was determined to become a better parent to his own. "I have a twelve-year old daughter, Taralynn. She has always lived with her mother, but now I would like to be able to have her with me, to let her share in my good fortune."
"A daughter, eh?" Panis winked at him, all good humor and male camaraderie. "Of course she can join you. I want to do everything in my power to make you content.
"Come now – give the child back to his nurse, my friend. It's time to celebrate and Princess Arianna is already pining for your attentions."
Although curiously reluctant to relinquish the child, Zedd brightened with anticipation of an evening of wine, laughter and Princess Arianna.
oOoOoO
"You can't do this, Zeddicus." The old wizard's voice was harsh with disapproval. The two men had been arguing for what seemed like hours.
After several months away from the family home, Zedd had returned to gather up a few of his old books. He could have slipped in and out while Carracticus was absent, but hadn't wanted to act the coward. At the very least, Zedd owed his father the respect of a personal explanation, no matter how painful it was to endure the cantankerous old man's hectoring.
"Panis Rahl is a liar and a deceiver. Now that he can't employ me to further his ends, he's duped you into believing that he's your friend." Carracticus called over his shoulder as he padded back into his cramped little kitchen to fetch the seasoning for his evening meal.
Zedd struggled to control his temper at this slur of his character, though it stung his pride. Did his father have so little trust in his son's intelligence – his judgment? Or perhaps he was jealous of Zedd's rapidly growing abilities.
Perhaps the father feared being outshone by the son.
"Rahl only wants to use you as a means to gain even more power. Why do you think I refused to continue his instruction?" Carracticus continued his rant, returning to the table with his favorite herbs and proceeding to sprinkle them into his soup. As furious as the old man always seemed to be with Zedd recently, his anger never affected his appetite.
"I don't know, father." Zedd had always been puzzled by Carracticus's sudden antipathy toward Lord Rahl. "Even if what you say is true, shouldn't we be teaching Panis how to control the power that is his heritage, rather than leaving him to his own devices? That's all I'm trying to do."
"In addition to consorting with whores and degenerates," the old man snorted in disdain, slurping his soup. "Don't think to bamboozle me with talk about your noble motives. The Rahl bloodline has produced generation after generation of tyrants and Panis is no different. Neither is his son."
Those last few words sent a jolt up Zedd's spine. Darken was only three weeks old, and he still remembered the sense of connection he had felt toward the boy when he had held him. "Panis relies on me, father. He has entrusted his son to me. I can teach both father and son to use their magic wisely and justly."
"A waste of time," Carracticus snarled, picking up his empty bowl and trudging back to the kitchen. "You have no idea of the consequences of what you are doing." The older man's face was becoming so flushed that Zedd dreaded that one of his father's attacks was coming on. Carracticus had been plagued with chest pain and weakness for over a year, but had obstinately resisted his sons' entreaties to seek out a healer.
Just then the old man's legs gave out from under him and Zedd rushed over to help him into the nearest chair, only to be waved away with an impatient grimace as the elder wizard steadied himself against the table, all the while arguing his case. "Zeddicus, stay here where you belong. Change your mind before it's too late."
Zedd was distressed by his father's refusal to sea reason, by his determination to believe the worst, but he could be just as stubborn. "I'm sorry, father, but my place now is with Darken Rahl. I made a promise to Panis, and I won't break my word." He strode over to the door, weary of the strife and anxious now to be on his way.
His eyes hardening to stone, Carracticus glared at his son. "Then you're a fool, Zeddicus. Worse than a fool, so seduced by all the empty pleasures that Panis Rahl is offering that you will bring about unthinkable destruction."
Zedd had heard enough. It was time to leave before they both said things they would later regret, but Carracticus forestalled him before he could reach the door, clutching Zedd's arm and pulling the younger man into a rough embrace. His beard scratching against his son's cheek, the elder wizard hissed, "Panis may have charmed you into believing his lies, but I know exactly what he is, and I will do whatever it takes to put an end to the tyranny of the House of Rahl."
The air in the room seemed to grow heavier.
"What do you mean – whatever it takes?" Zedd knew his father hated Panis, but had never before heard him make an outright threat.
"The witch-woman, Shota, has come to me with a prophecy." Carracticus whispered, as if afraid that Panis might have spies lurking in the corners of the room.
Zedd started at the name. He and Shota shared a long and tangled history, sometimes reluctant allies, at other times antagonists, and, occasionally, lovers.
"Shota has received prophecies before, Father, and not all have come to pass, nor have they always unfolded in the manner she predicted."
Carractacus continued on as if his son hadn't spoken, completely enveloped in his own dark visions. "Shota has seen the future of your young prince, Zeddicus, and it would have been better for us all had he never drawn breath.
"Darken Rahl, if he lives, will become the most monstrous tyrant the world has even known."
A blast of cold wind swept through the room, despite the sunlit summer warmth outside the walls of the cottage.
Zedd stared into his father's eyes, momentarily at a loss for words, appalled at the fanaticism he saw there. Then he twisted away from the old man's grip.
"Darken Rahl is an infant! Do you really believe that his future is set in granite? Even the greatest wizards are not infallible, and Shota's ability to see into the future has failed her in times past. Don't be blinded by your hatred."
"And don't blinded by your own lust and pride," Carracticus snapped, but his son was already walking down the path, his back set rigidly against his father's parting words.
oOoOo
Within two weeks after Zedd's return to the palace, the prince fell ill with a mysterious fever that baffled the healers. Darken screamed unceasingly for days while Panis stood by grimly, and Zedd searched frantically for the precise healing spell, all the while seething at his helplessness in the face of what he knew to be the work of dark magic. He knew of only one person who possessed both the power and the stated intent to harm Darken Rahl, but couldn't bear to admit to himself that his father would deliberately inflict a child with such a deadly malady.
Finally, after endless hours of scouring the palace libraries and consulting his own scrolls and notes, Zedd found the arcane curse that had been used to sicken the child. With knowledge of the curse came knowledge of how to lift it, and within hours the fever had lifted as swiftly and silently as it had arrived, leaving Darken too weak to move, but alive.
"Tell me, Zeddicus, how is it that, out of my entire household, only my infant son was stricken with this illness? Doesn't that seem strange to you?" Panis asked, his attention carefully focused on the pale child lying in the crib.
Zedd dare not utter his deepest qualms to his friend, but was tormented by the thought that his own father might have been responsible. Yet he couldn't be sure until he confronted the man himself, and would say nothing that might endanger his father's life.
"The very young and the very old often fall prey to sudden fevers, my lord. Sometimes there is no explanation." Zedd said, trying both to comfort his friend and to put a stop to any suspicions before they could take root.
oOoOo
"Yes. I sent the fever to infect the child." Carracticus faced his older son without apology as Thaddicus looked on, ineffectual as always in the overpowering presence of his father and brother.
"How could you do this? Darken Rahl is helpless, a baby. How can you presume to know what he'll become, or what he may or may not do in the future?"
"You should have let nature take its course, Zeddicus. It would have been kinder – for the child and for the rest of the world," Carracticus said coldly. "Now you will have to finish the task."
"You can't be serious!" Zedd couldn't believe that his father would ask this of him, but Carracticus was inexorable.
"You have to kill Darken Rahl. It will be easy. Just return to the palace and take up your normal duties. You're around him every day. He's still weak from the fever – susceptible." The old wizard's eyes gleamed with single-minded fervor. "The life of one child is insignificant compared to the welfare of the world."
"It's cold-blooded murder." Zedd couldn't understand his father's transformation from wise teacher to fanatic. "What you are telling me to do goes against everything you once taught me. You've become the slave to a wild prophecy, and I'll have no part in it."
"Then I'll do it myself if you're too selfish to think beyond your own personal pleasure." Carracticus was panting, his face reddening as he trod toward the chamber that held his potions. "I don't care what happens to me. Darken Rahl must be destroyed. " The old man started to wheeze as he struggled to pull on his cloak.
"You're not going anywhere." Zedd 's anger turned to concern as his father suddenly staggered into the wall, slipping down to the floor. Both brothers rushed to his side, catching the elderly wizard before his head collided with the flagstones.
"Look what you've done!" Thaddicus accused shrilly. Zedd didn't bother to reply as he carried his father to his cot and settled the covers over the frail body. The old man slapped feebly at his son's hands, gasping for breath, then grabbed at his own chest, doubling over in pain.
"He's dying. What are we going to do?" Thaddicus wailed in helpless despair. Zedd wanted to throttle him.
"Go fetch the healer – and hurry." Zedd ordered. He feared that it was already too late for the healer to be of any assistance, but Thaddicus' panic was contagious, and his father needed calm.
After his brother had scrambled out the door, Zedd knelt by Carracticus, trying to ease him as best he could. As he gently settled a pillow under his fathers grizzled head, the old wizard, using his last ounce of strength in the effort, opened his eyes and glared back at him. "Will you do it?" he gasped. "Will you kill Darken Rahl before it's too late?"
Even in his last seconds of life, the only thing his father could think on was murdering a child.
"No, father, I won't," Zedd answered sadly, unable to lie, but wishing he could. "I can't."
"Then you're no son of mine," Carracticus Zorander spat with his dying breath.
oOoOo
Panis Rahl greeted Zedd with grave courtesy when the bereft man returned to the Peoples Palace, escorting him personally to his new apartments after waving away the guards.
"I'm sorry for your loss. Carracticus was a great man." Lord Rahl's mouth turned down in an expression of feigned sorrow, but the grief did not reach his eyes, which were strangely cold and watchful.
"How is your son, my Lord?" Zedd didn't want to discuss his father. Thaddicus had made it abundantly clear that Zedd would never be welcome in their home again. His only family now was a twelve-year old girl he barely knew, and an infant who might possibly be the doom of the world.
"Improving every day I'm pleased to say," Panis answered, although his eyes still did not reflect the joy that one would expect of a father whose beloved son had recently escaped death. He had started striding back and forth across the room. "I'm disturbed by these strange rumors I have been hearing about my son's destiny. "
Zedd was careful to keep his expression neutral. He felt as if he were balancing on the edge of a cliff.
Panis stopped his restless pacing and turned toward his companion, face flushed with anger. "Did Carracticus inform you of the prophecy that is now spreading throughout D'Hara, the prophecy that my son will become more powerful than I will ever be, the prophecy that Darken Rahl will become the greatest monster in the history of the world?"
The glowing fire in the hearth did nothing to dispel the chill the young king's words brought into the room.
Zedd knew it would be foolish to feign ignorance. "Yes, my friend, my father told me about the prophecy," he said wearily. He reached out a comforting hand toward Panis, only to have the gesture pointedly ignored.
"I've been informed that your father and the witch, Shota, were the source of this treasonous prophecy." Panis snarled, eyes narrowed as he glared at Zedd. "I know how much you looked up to the old man. How can I trust you around my son?"
"My Lord…Panis…my friend, I held your son in my own arms and promised to protect him. I saved his life in defiance of my father's wishes." There was no point now in hiding the fact that Caractacus had infected Darken with the fever, but surely Zedd's efforts on the child's behalf would allay the king's concerns. "I came back to fulfill my promise to you and to your son. I will prove the prophecy wrong. Darken Rahl will be the greatest ruler D'Hara has ever known."
Panis Rahl's expression clouded as Zedd realized he had just declared that Darken would be a greater ruler than his father. "Second only to his father before him, of course," he added diplomatically, trying to appease his friend's sensitive pride.
"Well spoken, my friend." Panis's smile finally spread to his eyes, and the tension between the two men dissipated. "We'll talk no more about it. You will join me tonight at dinner and together we will make plans for your daughter to join you in her new home."
oOoOo
Erilyn watched the retreating backs of her daughter and her one-time lover as they rode away into their new lives. She would miss Taralynn, but at twelve years of age, the girl was already a handful, and her beauty was starting to turn men's eyes.
Not that she was petty enough to be jealous of her own child.
Besides, Jeffery, the local squire had made it very clear that although he found Erilyn much to his liking, he had not the slightest interest in playing father to the girl. He hadn't yet proposed marriage, but with Taralynn out of the way, he just might.
While it was true that Taralynn barely knew her father, Erilyn assured herself that her daughter would have a much better life with him than she would if she remained in this backwater village.
Her daughter would soon possess all the fripperies and baubles her heart desired. She could even be educated if her father was still so bent on that folly. He had urged Erilyn to see to the girl's learning, and had certainly provided the funds. But Erilyn herself could barely read or write and had seen little need for her daughter to learn those skills.
It was regrettable that the girl was not Gifted. If that had been the case, Erilyn suspected that Zedd would have taken her under his wing years ago. She suppressed the surge of bitterness that rose in her throat at the memory of his disappointment when she had given birth to a daughter instead of a son, and, even worse, a daughter without magic.
At least he was starting to take an interest in his child, and better late than never.
Taralynn had always been a quick study in how to make the most of her appearance, and possessed a shrewd intelligence of her own. She had no need of the tedious writings of old men to show her the way to advancement.
In a few years, her daughter would be the wife of a great lord, a person of importance, in a position to provide her mother with every material advantage. The future was looking very rosy for Erilyn as she tried on her newest dress. Jeffrey liked her in blue. He said it matched her eyes, and she always strived to please.
oOoOo
"Is this where we're going to live, father?" Taralynn squealed in delight, running through the connecting chambers of the lavish apartments Lord Rahl had granted them. "It's like a palace inside a palace."
"Yes, dear one. This is our home. Do you approve?" He smiled down at her from his great height, enjoying her excitement. She was a pretty little thing - all shining brown hair, liquid doe eyes and long skinny legs.
Zedd had been somewhat startled at the ease with which Erilyn had relinquished Taralynn over to his care. He had worried that she would insist on accompanying them, and was grateful that she had accepted the increase in her allowance without assaulting him with her usual list of grievances.
Erilyn had been the romance of a summer, nothing more, a pallid substitute for the lightning attraction that he had once shared with Shota. There had been no challenge in the sexual conquest. Zedd had been bored, Erilyn had signaled her willingness, and he had been careless during their moonlight encounters.
He had never promised her marriage or fidelity, and hadn't bothered to hide his dismay when she had announced she was with child. Still, once he had accepted the inevitable, Zedd had seen to her care, and when the child had arrived, had provided for them both. As his worldly status improved, so had theirs.
Zedd still felt quite awkward around Taralynn. After a few minutes of coddling and telling her how pretty she was, there seemed to be nothing left to say.
The girl's lack of formal education was an embarrassment, a poor reflection on his own intelligence and learning. It was a deficiency Zedd would take pains to correct once he had settled her into their new life.
Panis Rahl had charmed Taralynn from the moment she first dipped into her rehearsed curtsy, and she was unabashed in her admiration of the young king. Despite her father's instructions on how to comport herself with royalty, Taralynn flirted girlishly with his friend, alternately blushing and stammering in confusion, then gushing about the wonders surrounding her. As jaded as he was with women, Panis basked like a lazy cat in the sun of her adoration.
"He has golden hair, Father, just like the princes in the stories mother used to tell me," she babbled, tearing through all the silks, satins and finery that Panis had ordered to be delivered to her rooms. There had been a puppy awaiting her arrival, a small terrier she had immediately titled Rahlsie, much to Zedd's annoyance and Lord Rahl's amusement.
"I have golden hair, too, darling." Zedd retorted, hurt that his daughter didn't think he was the most handsome man in the world. Weren't daughters supposed to idolize their fathers?
"Don't be silly, you're not a king. It's different." Seeing the woebegone expression on his face, she ran across the room, flinging herself into his arms. "Thank you for bringing me here, Father. We're going to be so happy and spend so much time together, aren't we?"
"Of course we are, dear one," Zedd promised, planting a kiss on the crown of her head. "I'm going to make up for all the years I wasn't with you."
It was the least he could do.
