"How?" Jasmine asked, shocked.
"It's a very long story, Jasmine. But I shall explain as best as I can. We used to be a very powerful mage, by the name of Alarath Moddin. We did not really follow the light or dark ways of magic, though we helped who we wished to help, and conquered who we felt needed to be conquered. But we saved more then destroyed, and that gained us a very powerful enemy, who you know as Mirage. She hated us, and tried everything to destroy us, but everything she tried crumbled. Until she found one very powerful spell, with a very high cost. She was desperate to disable us in any way; therefore she cared not for the cost....
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mirage!" he turned, black hair brushing his shoulders as he turned, searching for her in that in the black void.
"I am here, Moddin," her sneering voice came to him, then she appeared, draped in stolen finery, "And you had best be prepared for tonight you shall never be whole again!"
She began to chant before he could utter anything. As her voice shook the dark place around them, he paled, his dark brown eyes, nearly black going wide.
"Stop! You don't know what you are doing!" he yelled, his own powerful voice shacking the place, matching her tone, only to be over come by it.
The gauntlet surged on his right arm, trying to combat the spell working around it, but to no avail. She was stronger, then.
His cry for her to stop turned to a cry of pain. A feel like if he was ripping apart flooded him, turning everything else into meaningless as the pain spread.
"Nooooo!" he screamed as he felt and saw himself being pulled apart.
His soul was coming undone, light and dark were splitting, becoming individual. He wouldn't be able to survive it!
"Please!" he wept as he fell to his knees, only to hear her laughter.
He had sworn he would never beg, but it was too much.
"Alarath?" a powerful youthful voice echoed into his pained mind.
He turned, seeing a black haired youth standing in the darkness, looking at him, gray eyes gazing in fear.
"Xerses, get out of here!" he yelled, and then collapsed, whimpering as the pain grew beyond control.
The boy ran forward, his hands beginning to glow as he readied to attack the one who attacked his brother. But Mirage simply laughed, and turned one clawed hand to Xerses. The youth fell, howling with pain matching, perhaps excelling his brother.
"No!" Alarath growled, struggling to rise above the pain, and his weakness.
But her magic held him down, and the spell wound deeper into him, tearing him apart. A single tear escaped his dark eyes as he finally felt the last of the spell tear into him, and destroy Alarath. Blackness consumed him as he let out one last howl of rage and pain.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When he opened his eyes, he was aware of something wrong. First, his magic was gone, and his right hand no longer burned with power. He turned his head weakly to his left, and found another lying there. Black curled hair trailed down thin, muscled, pale back, and penetrating black eyes stared back at him. The only article of clothing upon the other was his gauntlet. But somehow it wasn't his any longer.
"Oh," he groaned, suddenly realizing what was truly wrong.
The other half of him was gone, his dark half, and most of his magic. And the one he looked at was what he was missing, and he wept softly inside. Reaching out, he grasped the other's hand, willing to be whole again. But it would not be.
"Oh," he cried, pulling away as if burned.
The other raised himself to a sitting position. He was silently, and cold. Darkness twisted itself around him, but grief was there. He felt the same as his other half. He was incomplete, as he had never been before.
Soft voice, shaken, like water running over stones, his voice but his no longer, "Hurts."
He too, sat up, and gently took the hand of the other again, while his own other hand ran through what he could feel as short bushy hair.
"I know," he whispered, his own voice lighter, softer.
"Hurts," another voice echoed them.
"Xerxes?" they both called and turned.
There upon the black ground lay a large eel, with smoky gray eyes.
"Xerxes," he murmured, leaning forward to grasp hold of the eel, then gently held him as he held on to his other half.
"She's truly done it..." he sighed, glancing between his dark half and his brother.
"So she has. We should be able to fix it," the dark half said, gently caressing the gauntlet.
"We should try, at least," he said softly, and changed his grasp to the gauntlet.
The other glared as pain entered him, but said nothing. Then he began in a low voice a reversal spell. The light half followed after, knowing the spell well. But their magic swirled slightly, and then was quickly gone.
"No!" the dark growled, fighting to sustain the spell.
He felt the pull from his dark half, and realized with horror, "Stop! You're going to kill us both!"
"So be it! I can't live like this!" he growled.
"What good will it do to kill us all if we can find a way? Come, we must see, Father, and get clothed," he added as an after thought, glancing slightly at the scattered remains of his/their robe.
The other nodded, releasing the fragments of the spell, and began another when he realized the light could not wield strong magic.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They appeared outside a simple gray stone castle. Dark leaned heavily against light, who carried Xerses in one hand. He had spent much of his energy getting them there, now light had to get them to Father.
"Father!" light cried, entering the castle.
"Alarath?" a deep voice called, and an older man stepped forth from one of the rooms.
Shock flickered over his aged face as he beheld them.
"What has happened?" their Father asked, coming closer to them.
Light explained, and when he was finished, the old wizard nodded.
"Now I know what I sensed," their Father sighed.
"Is there a way to change back?" Dark asked.
"No, there isn't. But in time, the spell will wear off and you will once again become one," he said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Those were the words of doom to us. We couldn't live like that. So we split, after taking apart our name and such. He took Xerses, because he was the more powerful of the two of us. We grew so far apart that we stopped trusting each other. But the time grows near again, and we will soon be one once more. Would you still love me after that, Jasmine?" Aladdin finished softly, finally giving voice to his thoughts.
"It's a very long story, Jasmine. But I shall explain as best as I can. We used to be a very powerful mage, by the name of Alarath Moddin. We did not really follow the light or dark ways of magic, though we helped who we wished to help, and conquered who we felt needed to be conquered. But we saved more then destroyed, and that gained us a very powerful enemy, who you know as Mirage. She hated us, and tried everything to destroy us, but everything she tried crumbled. Until she found one very powerful spell, with a very high cost. She was desperate to disable us in any way; therefore she cared not for the cost....
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mirage!" he turned, black hair brushing his shoulders as he turned, searching for her in that in the black void.
"I am here, Moddin," her sneering voice came to him, then she appeared, draped in stolen finery, "And you had best be prepared for tonight you shall never be whole again!"
She began to chant before he could utter anything. As her voice shook the dark place around them, he paled, his dark brown eyes, nearly black going wide.
"Stop! You don't know what you are doing!" he yelled, his own powerful voice shacking the place, matching her tone, only to be over come by it.
The gauntlet surged on his right arm, trying to combat the spell working around it, but to no avail. She was stronger, then.
His cry for her to stop turned to a cry of pain. A feel like if he was ripping apart flooded him, turning everything else into meaningless as the pain spread.
"Nooooo!" he screamed as he felt and saw himself being pulled apart.
His soul was coming undone, light and dark were splitting, becoming individual. He wouldn't be able to survive it!
"Please!" he wept as he fell to his knees, only to hear her laughter.
He had sworn he would never beg, but it was too much.
"Alarath?" a powerful youthful voice echoed into his pained mind.
He turned, seeing a black haired youth standing in the darkness, looking at him, gray eyes gazing in fear.
"Xerses, get out of here!" he yelled, and then collapsed, whimpering as the pain grew beyond control.
The boy ran forward, his hands beginning to glow as he readied to attack the one who attacked his brother. But Mirage simply laughed, and turned one clawed hand to Xerses. The youth fell, howling with pain matching, perhaps excelling his brother.
"No!" Alarath growled, struggling to rise above the pain, and his weakness.
But her magic held him down, and the spell wound deeper into him, tearing him apart. A single tear escaped his dark eyes as he finally felt the last of the spell tear into him, and destroy Alarath. Blackness consumed him as he let out one last howl of rage and pain.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When he opened his eyes, he was aware of something wrong. First, his magic was gone, and his right hand no longer burned with power. He turned his head weakly to his left, and found another lying there. Black curled hair trailed down thin, muscled, pale back, and penetrating black eyes stared back at him. The only article of clothing upon the other was his gauntlet. But somehow it wasn't his any longer.
"Oh," he groaned, suddenly realizing what was truly wrong.
The other half of him was gone, his dark half, and most of his magic. And the one he looked at was what he was missing, and he wept softly inside. Reaching out, he grasped the other's hand, willing to be whole again. But it would not be.
"Oh," he cried, pulling away as if burned.
The other raised himself to a sitting position. He was silently, and cold. Darkness twisted itself around him, but grief was there. He felt the same as his other half. He was incomplete, as he had never been before.
Soft voice, shaken, like water running over stones, his voice but his no longer, "Hurts."
He too, sat up, and gently took the hand of the other again, while his own other hand ran through what he could feel as short bushy hair.
"I know," he whispered, his own voice lighter, softer.
"Hurts," another voice echoed them.
"Xerxes?" they both called and turned.
There upon the black ground lay a large eel, with smoky gray eyes.
"Xerxes," he murmured, leaning forward to grasp hold of the eel, then gently held him as he held on to his other half.
"She's truly done it..." he sighed, glancing between his dark half and his brother.
"So she has. We should be able to fix it," the dark half said, gently caressing the gauntlet.
"We should try, at least," he said softly, and changed his grasp to the gauntlet.
The other glared as pain entered him, but said nothing. Then he began in a low voice a reversal spell. The light half followed after, knowing the spell well. But their magic swirled slightly, and then was quickly gone.
"No!" the dark growled, fighting to sustain the spell.
He felt the pull from his dark half, and realized with horror, "Stop! You're going to kill us both!"
"So be it! I can't live like this!" he growled.
"What good will it do to kill us all if we can find a way? Come, we must see, Father, and get clothed," he added as an after thought, glancing slightly at the scattered remains of his/their robe.
The other nodded, releasing the fragments of the spell, and began another when he realized the light could not wield strong magic.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They appeared outside a simple gray stone castle. Dark leaned heavily against light, who carried Xerses in one hand. He had spent much of his energy getting them there, now light had to get them to Father.
"Father!" light cried, entering the castle.
"Alarath?" a deep voice called, and an older man stepped forth from one of the rooms.
Shock flickered over his aged face as he beheld them.
"What has happened?" their Father asked, coming closer to them.
Light explained, and when he was finished, the old wizard nodded.
"Now I know what I sensed," their Father sighed.
"Is there a way to change back?" Dark asked.
"No, there isn't. But in time, the spell will wear off and you will once again become one," he said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Those were the words of doom to us. We couldn't live like that. So we split, after taking apart our name and such. He took Xerses, because he was the more powerful of the two of us. We grew so far apart that we stopped trusting each other. But the time grows near again, and we will soon be one once more. Would you still love me after that, Jasmine?" Aladdin finished softly, finally giving voice to his thoughts.