Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that belong to Wizards of the Coast.
A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoy my first steps into the genre of horror. I promise, though it may look like this at first, this is not just a summary of Raistlin's life. I bet some of you may even guess where this is going after only a couple of dream segments! Sorry I haven't written anything in so long. An explanation will be given in the next chapter of Shades of Grey, I promise. Please review, and don't be afraid of giving criticism where needed!
Dally
What Dreams Are Made Of
Raistlin stood on the brink of the Abyss, watching as the portal closed. Following the logic of his twin, he was going to sacrifice himself to the Dark Queen for the good of all Krynn. As he stood, waiting for the inevitable, he saw his life flash before his eyes...
...Raistlin was eight years old. He was quaking in his bed, trying to wake up from his nightmare. Finally with a violent jolt and a scream, he sat bolt upright. He looked over into the shadows of his bedroom to his twin's bed, a couple of feet away. The bigger boy's form was barely discernable in the early morning gloom as he too sat up.
As his twin was saying it, Raistlin chanted to himself. "Don't worry, Raist. It's just a bad dream. Look! Bunnies!" Mimicking his brother, Raistlin raised his own hand and watched the shadowy creatures dance across the dimly lit room. He felt better as his brother's love swept over him like a warm blanket on a cold day. He was so lucky to have a brother like Caramon to chase away the demons...
... Raistlin was in his late teens, and had recently joined the local school for magic. It was during that time of his life when he met Miranda. She was beautiful, kind, liked him for himself, and best of all, didn't even seem to notice his handsome twin. He went to her house one night to speak with her when he heard a sound coming from the storage shed. Fearing a robbery of the cloth that was Miranda's family's livelihood, he ran to investigate and peered into the shadowy shed.
Among the rugs and bolts of cloth, he saw Miranda, unclothed, with a long, bronzed arm wrapped about her. Raistlin was so full of dread he felt as though he was going to throw up. There was only one person in the world he could imagine who could've taken his first love from him. Caramon, the charismatic, strong, handsome one. Raistlin shook his head bitterly as he ran home in shame...
...Raistlin had arrived in the Tower of High Sorcery at Wayreth for his Test, brother in tow. He went through the Test as he felt was right, making some kind of pact with a shadowy being to save his life from the Dark Elves that were assailing him. He finally escaped both the elves and the lich with whom he'd bargained.
As he walked away from the place that had looked so much like Lemuel's shop, he sensed one of the elves had survived his frantic assault on them. Luckily, he dodged the knife speeding towards his spinal column so it only hit him in the ribs. Suddenly, he saw his brother in his mind, and that image lent him strength, as well as an idea for how to fight the last Dark Elf. After several minutes of agonizing hand-to-hand combat, Raistlin overcame his foe, only to find himself fainting with what seemed to be poison from the dagger that had torn his skin.
However, he soon regained consciousness, and saw his brother, his dear, strong brother, coming towards him. His relief soon turned to fear when he realized that his twin was going to interrupt his test. When an image of the lich Fistandantilus appeared, Caramon set his brother down gently and attacked the specter. Raistlin's fear then turned to horror as he realized that his twin was using magic, something that had always been Raistlin's alone.
After the lich was defeated, Caramon turned back to his brother, who asked him why he was able to do magic. To Raistlin's horror, Caramon's answer was "I've always been able to do it." He went on to say that he usually didn't need it, so he wouldn't be stealing Raistlin's special talent. However, Raistlin heard very little of this through the red haze that was beginning to cloud his vision.
Before he could control his feelings, Raistlin felt the magic grow within himself. Fire flared out of Raistlin's fingers at his twin. As the flames consumed his twin, Raistlin yelled in denial: "I have no brother!" Raistlin passed out on the floor...
... Raistlin came to a few hours after the test. He could hear the three Heads of the Orders speaking at his bedside. "I'm wondering if we were a bit too harsh on the young man." Raistlin, realizing they were talking about him, didn't open his eyes at the voice of Justarius.
"We had to make him understand." That was Ladonna, head of the Black Robes.
"And," continued Par-Salian, the head of the Conclave, as well as Solinari's White Robes, "it seemed to have worked. A small deception to play for his own sake. And you heard him in the test chamber." Raistlin faded once more into unconsciousness...
... Raistlin once more became aware of the wizards at his bedside. Once more, Par-Salian was speaking. "Hopefully, as well as gaining compassion, he will be able to discern the difference between what is real and what is not. I know it's hard, but these eyes will be the best way to show him." Not wanting to find out what they were talking about, Raiatlin fell asleep again. His last thought was for his brother...
... It was several years later, and Raistlin had become the Master of the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas. He'd spent the last few years with his brother in an army as a warmage. Now, he knew that Par-Salian and the rest of the Conclave were plotting against him. He was scrying on the Conclave in his underground pool, watching very intently.
They were preparing a young Dark Elf for his apprenticeship with Raistlin, and were telling him everything they knew about him. Raistlin grimaced as so much of him was revealed to this young stranger. Though he could easily blast all of them through the scrying pool, he decided not to. He would wait to show them how much power he really did have, and listen to this briefing.
The Conclave was now telling the elf, Dalamar, about Raistlin's childhood. Raistlin wondered why so little was being said about his twin. Then, Par-Salian stated the thing that would drive Raistlin over the brink to insanity.
"You see, Dalamar, the family could never understand why it was Raistlin who lived when his healthier, stronger twin Caramon died soon after they emerged from the womb of their mother."...
... Raistlin sighed as he sank into an eternity of sleep in the Abyss. An eternity to spend with his brother.