Disclaimer: DL characters and Tarrant remain the respective property of those who created them (i.e: not me)
AN: PLEASE READ. Those of you who have had questions and such at my abrupt and unceremonious turn of events, I would like to say a few things. First of all, thank you one and all for your comments and criticism. Whatever you have had to say I have taken it to heart. I do realize that I have managed to tweak Raistlin and Dal probably further out of proportion than is humanly possible. I am sorry, but it was to make a point of how heartless Raistlin can be and how he uses people without a thought (Case point: Chrysania); with the Tarrant thing, it was to show how collected he usually is. Also how Par-Salian will stop at nothing to get into Raist's head (i.e.: using Dalamar).
This is why I made the 'predictable' slash attempt. A little considering on my part made it a little more believable that that sort of thing could have happened between them. If you think about it, if Raistlin hasn't had any sort of interest shown in him for years at a time, then suddenly someone comes on to him; I would think that he would cling to that gesture, in the hopes that something was there. However, upon consideration he would realize that he is clinging to something that is not based on anything. More like being in love with the idea rather than in love with the person sigh Did that make sense?
I realize that the melodrama reached unestimated levels. I apologize, but I was writing out of the experience that breakups or anything even remotely relationship-wise does become 'soap-opera-esque' (ponders: maybe that's why it's so uncomfortable to watch soap operas, because it's a chance to step back and see how silly we all act when we're emotional {albeit devoid of murders, hopefully!}).
Anyway, what's done is done and I apologize if I have betrayed you readers. I did what I thought needed to be done in order to fully show the turn-around of sorts and transformation that Raistlin is capable of. I hope from here on out I don't offend you or turn you away anymore than I already have.
Please, if you have any questions, feel free to email me. I like discussing my thoughts and ideas. It's: tryinketthotmail.com
On a lighter note, I try to answer your questions or fix anything that's wrong in subsequent chapters. Thank you all for reading, for giving me your honest opinions, and being polite about it. I truly respect you all for that. Thank you for continuing your journey with me. Damn... this AN's gonna be longer than the bloody chapter.
Note: I've tweaked a wee bit of Tarrant's history so that it fit in with my story. If you're wondering, like me, when this whole ordeal is taking place, it's quite a while after the DL Chronicles, a little ways before the whole Time of the Twins bit sets in. So, in case you couldn't guess it, not only does he enter the abyss to become a god, it is to save the magic of Krynn... what a noble, uncharacteristic gesture.
Ch 7: Oath
Raistlin woke with a headache that promised not to leave him today. It was going to be one of those kinds of days. A sigh escaped his lips as he got up. There was too much to do and take care of. Dalamar and Ariana were two people he would have preferred not to talk to for a year or two. He didn't know what he felt about either of them. True, the so-called relationship was nothing more than another form of control that he so loved. There could be an underlying theme of need there, but he dared not delve into his psychosis with a headache; it would only make the pain increase. Ever since Ariana had skipped into his life, he had begun to think about things and people more. He had begun to feel things again. Her comment about the mirror had hit a nerve that he thought he had deadened quite a while ago. He had had the sudden urge to let her know that he wasn't proud of his disturbing appearance. It was all this sudden emotional introspection that had caused him to wonder if there had been anything between him and Dalamar, rather than anything else. If anything, what was starting to grow with Ari only proved that there was no room for the proverbial door to 'swing both ways'. He slipped his robes on, fixing the buttons and buckles slowly. He cared what they thought, he realized, as he made his way up the stairs, and he hadn't done that for a long time.
Dalamar was there, waiting for him. "Shalafi-"
Raistlin cut him short with a wave of his hand. "Wait a moment. I- I was harsh to you last night. What I said, while it was true, should not have been said like that. It was inappropriate."
Dalamar arched one fine eyebrow. "Is that an apology?"
"It's as close as you're going to get."
The dark elf nodded. "Ariana and I spoke last night. She wanted to be returned to your brother's and so I took her. She wasn't comfortable here."
Raistlin's eyes narrowed. "Oh. Fine. I've got too much to do anyway. I will leave you to your studies today. I have more to talk about with that strange mage, Tarrant."
"Yes, about him," Dalamar began, "What exactly is he?"
"A mage from another planet. We seem to be getting quite a few travelers, don't you think?"
"Why did the forest not stop him? They stop even the most evil of creatures from entering."
"To the best of my knowledge, I would say it was because they recognized him as one of their own-an evil not touched by time, preserved through his magic. His magic happens to be the reason he sought us out. Apparently his gods left, the magic fading shortly thereafter. While his gods were not linked directly to the magic of his planet, he thinks that their disappearance could have affected it somehow. So, seeing as he cannot survive without a little help, he followed their celestial 'footprints' to Krynn. Now, if that is all, Apprentice, I have work to do, as do you."
"So what do you propose I do? Enter their realm and 'hogtie' them down? A mortal hardly has influence with the gods."
"If you keep at least one of them here, then I don't think the magic will leave as it seems prone to do. Don't you have some means of... achieving this?"
"Yes, actually. I've got a little bottle here on one of my shelves that was crafted especially to hold a god for several thousand years," Raistlin spat, rolling his eyes. "What do you take me for? I don't even know how you think I can trust you. You have given me no proof."
"I didn't kill you when we first met. How is that for proof?"
"The same could have been said of me."
There was a silence in which both men considered things. They were at an impasse, apparently. If both of them wielded enough power to kill the other, that deed could happen at anytime. It would rely, then, on mutual agreement to not kill each other. They reached this conclusion at the same time.
"Why exactly are we working together?" Raistlin asked, cautiously.
"I would like to get my planet's magic back, so I can go home and do as I please, without planet-hopping. It tends to drain a person. I cannot, unfortunately, do that without you, so I require your aide. You're interested in my proposition because you're in danger of losing your magic. Make sense?" Tarrant asked sarcastically.
The golden-eyed mage glared at him. "Perfect sense. I suppose now the next step would be to agree not to turn on one another?"
"Correct."
Raistlin rose from his stool in his laboratory and rummaged around on one of the many shelves that lined the walls. He came away with two amulets each on a black cord. They were little stone circles with small runes carved around the perimeter.
"Then we will make an oath on these to never work against one another until our deed is done. Much as a circle binds and protects, so shall our oath bind us and protect us from betrayal." With a flick of his wrist, Raistlin had a small dagger in his hand. He cut a small incision into the palm of his hand and let the blood flow over the amulets. Then, he turned the handle of the blade towards Tarrant, dropping the bloodied amulets into his upturned hand. The silver-eyed mage took the proffered items and did the same, handing one talisman back once the deed was done.
"We could have just shook hands," Tarrant reflected, fastening the amulet around his neck.
"Right," Raistlin snorted, doing the same.
AN: PLEASE READ. Those of you who have had questions and such at my abrupt and unceremonious turn of events, I would like to say a few things. First of all, thank you one and all for your comments and criticism. Whatever you have had to say I have taken it to heart. I do realize that I have managed to tweak Raistlin and Dal probably further out of proportion than is humanly possible. I am sorry, but it was to make a point of how heartless Raistlin can be and how he uses people without a thought (Case point: Chrysania); with the Tarrant thing, it was to show how collected he usually is. Also how Par-Salian will stop at nothing to get into Raist's head (i.e.: using Dalamar).
This is why I made the 'predictable' slash attempt. A little considering on my part made it a little more believable that that sort of thing could have happened between them. If you think about it, if Raistlin hasn't had any sort of interest shown in him for years at a time, then suddenly someone comes on to him; I would think that he would cling to that gesture, in the hopes that something was there. However, upon consideration he would realize that he is clinging to something that is not based on anything. More like being in love with the idea rather than in love with the person sigh Did that make sense?
I realize that the melodrama reached unestimated levels. I apologize, but I was writing out of the experience that breakups or anything even remotely relationship-wise does become 'soap-opera-esque' (ponders: maybe that's why it's so uncomfortable to watch soap operas, because it's a chance to step back and see how silly we all act when we're emotional {albeit devoid of murders, hopefully!}).
Anyway, what's done is done and I apologize if I have betrayed you readers. I did what I thought needed to be done in order to fully show the turn-around of sorts and transformation that Raistlin is capable of. I hope from here on out I don't offend you or turn you away anymore than I already have.
Please, if you have any questions, feel free to email me. I like discussing my thoughts and ideas. It's: tryinketthotmail.com
On a lighter note, I try to answer your questions or fix anything that's wrong in subsequent chapters. Thank you all for reading, for giving me your honest opinions, and being polite about it. I truly respect you all for that. Thank you for continuing your journey with me. Damn... this AN's gonna be longer than the bloody chapter.
Note: I've tweaked a wee bit of Tarrant's history so that it fit in with my story. If you're wondering, like me, when this whole ordeal is taking place, it's quite a while after the DL Chronicles, a little ways before the whole Time of the Twins bit sets in. So, in case you couldn't guess it, not only does he enter the abyss to become a god, it is to save the magic of Krynn... what a noble, uncharacteristic gesture.
Ch 7: Oath
Raistlin woke with a headache that promised not to leave him today. It was going to be one of those kinds of days. A sigh escaped his lips as he got up. There was too much to do and take care of. Dalamar and Ariana were two people he would have preferred not to talk to for a year or two. He didn't know what he felt about either of them. True, the so-called relationship was nothing more than another form of control that he so loved. There could be an underlying theme of need there, but he dared not delve into his psychosis with a headache; it would only make the pain increase. Ever since Ariana had skipped into his life, he had begun to think about things and people more. He had begun to feel things again. Her comment about the mirror had hit a nerve that he thought he had deadened quite a while ago. He had had the sudden urge to let her know that he wasn't proud of his disturbing appearance. It was all this sudden emotional introspection that had caused him to wonder if there had been anything between him and Dalamar, rather than anything else. If anything, what was starting to grow with Ari only proved that there was no room for the proverbial door to 'swing both ways'. He slipped his robes on, fixing the buttons and buckles slowly. He cared what they thought, he realized, as he made his way up the stairs, and he hadn't done that for a long time.
Dalamar was there, waiting for him. "Shalafi-"
Raistlin cut him short with a wave of his hand. "Wait a moment. I- I was harsh to you last night. What I said, while it was true, should not have been said like that. It was inappropriate."
Dalamar arched one fine eyebrow. "Is that an apology?"
"It's as close as you're going to get."
The dark elf nodded. "Ariana and I spoke last night. She wanted to be returned to your brother's and so I took her. She wasn't comfortable here."
Raistlin's eyes narrowed. "Oh. Fine. I've got too much to do anyway. I will leave you to your studies today. I have more to talk about with that strange mage, Tarrant."
"Yes, about him," Dalamar began, "What exactly is he?"
"A mage from another planet. We seem to be getting quite a few travelers, don't you think?"
"Why did the forest not stop him? They stop even the most evil of creatures from entering."
"To the best of my knowledge, I would say it was because they recognized him as one of their own-an evil not touched by time, preserved through his magic. His magic happens to be the reason he sought us out. Apparently his gods left, the magic fading shortly thereafter. While his gods were not linked directly to the magic of his planet, he thinks that their disappearance could have affected it somehow. So, seeing as he cannot survive without a little help, he followed their celestial 'footprints' to Krynn. Now, if that is all, Apprentice, I have work to do, as do you."
"So what do you propose I do? Enter their realm and 'hogtie' them down? A mortal hardly has influence with the gods."
"If you keep at least one of them here, then I don't think the magic will leave as it seems prone to do. Don't you have some means of... achieving this?"
"Yes, actually. I've got a little bottle here on one of my shelves that was crafted especially to hold a god for several thousand years," Raistlin spat, rolling his eyes. "What do you take me for? I don't even know how you think I can trust you. You have given me no proof."
"I didn't kill you when we first met. How is that for proof?"
"The same could have been said of me."
There was a silence in which both men considered things. They were at an impasse, apparently. If both of them wielded enough power to kill the other, that deed could happen at anytime. It would rely, then, on mutual agreement to not kill each other. They reached this conclusion at the same time.
"Why exactly are we working together?" Raistlin asked, cautiously.
"I would like to get my planet's magic back, so I can go home and do as I please, without planet-hopping. It tends to drain a person. I cannot, unfortunately, do that without you, so I require your aide. You're interested in my proposition because you're in danger of losing your magic. Make sense?" Tarrant asked sarcastically.
The golden-eyed mage glared at him. "Perfect sense. I suppose now the next step would be to agree not to turn on one another?"
"Correct."
Raistlin rose from his stool in his laboratory and rummaged around on one of the many shelves that lined the walls. He came away with two amulets each on a black cord. They were little stone circles with small runes carved around the perimeter.
"Then we will make an oath on these to never work against one another until our deed is done. Much as a circle binds and protects, so shall our oath bind us and protect us from betrayal." With a flick of his wrist, Raistlin had a small dagger in his hand. He cut a small incision into the palm of his hand and let the blood flow over the amulets. Then, he turned the handle of the blade towards Tarrant, dropping the bloodied amulets into his upturned hand. The silver-eyed mage took the proffered items and did the same, handing one talisman back once the deed was done.
"We could have just shook hands," Tarrant reflected, fastening the amulet around his neck.
"Right," Raistlin snorted, doing the same.