As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts ran dry
He grew to be a man, the shit hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry
_
The sea foam washed over the broken and battered rock, crashing against them as waves will. Slowly the once great cavern of Machana was sinking into the ocean. Within hours it would be entirely wiped from the island.
Beneath the rubble something stirred. There was a quaking and a build-up of energy as a pile of rubble burst, slinging hot rocks all over the place. A hand rose like a dead thing from it's grave and grappled for a handle on the surface, pulling itself up little bit little. Breathing heavily, Destaine drug himself up from the underground, growling to himself angrily. His shoulder was bleeding profusely and he grimaced, using his magic to stem the blood flow.
"Clever little Mozenrath." He said through gritted teeth as he cleaned the dust from his robes. "You always were good at getting yourself into more than you could handle." He flared his magic, blowing off steam by wrecking a little of his surroundings. "But then you never had such loyal compatriots before either." He mused. Who had the handsome youth astride the carpet been? He didn't look familiar.
"Didn't seem much like your type either." Destaine said as he looked towards the far shore. He shook his head, he would have to remind his little pupil of what it was like to be around someone with more quality.
But that might have to wait. With the chaos and destruction, he had lost hold of the crystal he had been using to track the young necromancer. It would be increasingly difficult to track him without it. Destaine summoned his will and could detect the faintest trail of Mozenrath's magical signature, but it was hours old, and he was no mukhtar. Mozenrath was sure to have gotten far away by now.
"Damn and hellfire." He growled out and kicked at one of the broken orbs. It sparked and sputtered in irritation for a moment and Destaine's eyes glinted. He hefted the pearlescent case and let his undersenses tap into it cautiously. His experience with healing magic was limited, being an evil sorcerer and all, but this was strong. The orb itself was no more than a case for the swirling, dormant powers housed inside of them.
"Of course." It seemed so obvious now a neophyte should have figured it out. He blamed himself for being so out of practice. Destaine extended his senses and was thrilled to find the air heavy with vibrant power. Such power would be an absolute shame to waste. Of course it would take him a little work to gather it properly.
Using his magic he began to locate many of the shards that littered the island. Destaine gathered them up on a rock and sat down calmly to begin his work. Slowly, patiently, he took several deep breaths and focused his will, feeling a quiver of pleasure as it responded eagerly.
With one hand extended he began to slowly gather enough of the wafting power to create a sphere before him. One could not perceive it without being a sorcerer themselves, thought they would have felt it. Destaine could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge as the power fought him briefly and lost. He made it conform until he had stabilized the magic momentarily.
With his other hand he began to fit the shards of glass to the sphere as though putting together a particularly complicated puzzle. He had to be careful. If he failed and missed even the smallest gap between the pieces, the magic would leak over time. However he still had to make it possible to force power into it. As he built the container up bit by bit he continued his work of condensing the magic in the air.
Hours passed and he did not move more than his hands and brow. As the final few shards set into the sphere his hands reached up to grasp the orb. Fire flew from his fingertips and he began to melt the glass into a perfect sphere, twisting them from side to side with all the delicacy of a professional glassblower. Sweat beaded and dripped along the lines of his face as he worked. Even now he controlled himself, slowly working more of the effervescent mana here into the structure.
When it was done, Destaine exhaled heavily, exhausted from his labor. He was pleased with his labors as the power began to flicker and then hum within its new shell. It was almost dusk and the light made his face a tapestry of fearsome shadows.
He waited until dawn before continuing his intentions. Drawing from the newly captured power of the orb, he now felt stronger than he had in ages. It was making his own powers a great deal easier to use. The responded instantly now.
He again sent out his undersenses and was pleased to find that Mozenrath's trail had not gone entirely cold. If he could get within a few miles of the boy he should be able to find him easily. Of course there was still more magic here, but he could not risk entrapping it all within this one vessel. It would implode from internal pressure. Already he could feel the magical pressure dissipating into the atmosphere. He debated his options and frowned. He would have to let the rest go.
Besides… Destaine reasoned with a smile. …I'll have plenty to play with one I find my dear pupil.
They resupplied at the town, making sure they had enough to hold out for a few weeks travel. Mozenrath had said nothing while they wandered the town and projected such an aura of displeasure that no one dared speak to him. Perhaps it had something to do with the hastily applied bandages that now made him look like a burn victim. He continued his silence as they took to the forest, looking to camp somewhere out of the way.
He seemed to be entirely insular as they set up camp and ate their dinner until he actually moved to feed his portion to Xerxes. He ate nothing himself but drank copious amounts of water.
Tired of the moping, Aladdin spoke up. "You've got to eat something sooner or later Mozenrath." He tried to keep his tone gentle but firm, not wanting to upset the man further.
"I can't." Mozenrath said simply.
"Why not?" Aladdin said out of curiosity.
"Why do you think? My body is deteriorating Aladdin. I can't digest normally anymore. There's no guarantee what I put in my mouth won't just slip out through the rib cage." He indicated his chest with a hand. "I'm taking enough of a risk just drinking."
"Oh." Aladdin decided not to comment further.
Silence settled back in for a time until suddenly Mozenrath stood up. Everyone jumped as though they were about to be attacked and the sorcerer rolled his eyes. "I have to go."
"Go?" Aladdin started. "What do you mean go? You're just going to leave?"
"What? No." Mozenrath jerked a thumb at the trees. "Go."
Aladdin winced as he realized what he meant. "Oh. Okay just don't go too far."
"Yes mother." Mozenrath snipped sarcastically as he moved into the forest, Xerxes floating after him. "You'd think a man could take a piss without twenty questions"
Aladdin waited until the lean figure was out of sight before looking at his friends. "Does that strike anyone else as odd?"
"You mean the fact that he took the eel with him for a bathroom break?" Genie offered.
"Exactly." Aladdin took the sword and stuck it in his belt. "I'm going to follow him. You guys stay here just in case." He headed off in the same general direction Mozenrath had gone, stay low and quiet as he got into the woods. He was well aware that he was likely being paranoid, but his distrust of the sorcerer went far enough to be wary of any schemes the man might be concocting. Beyond that, there was always the potential that Destaine was closer than they thought.
If the worst that came of this was that he caught Mozenrath relieving himself he could live with that.
His suspicions seemed confirmed when he caught up with the sorcerer five minutes later. He was sitting by the lake side on a rock, head down as Xerxes swam worriedly around the crouched figure.
"Master alright?" the little eel croaked out.
"What do you think?" Mozenrath raised his head enough to shoot an angry glare at his familiar.
And enough for Aladdin to see the tears streaking his face.
"Master cry…" Xerxes said carefully. "Xerxes not see master cry for long time."
Mozenrath blanched and hurriedly wiped the water from his face, holding his sleeve to his eyes a moment longer. His chest rose and fell raggedly as he sobbed once more.
The little eel swam back and forth in the air with extreme agitation. "Not cry since master Destaine hurt him…" the eel seemed to be thinking to itself, an act which surely strained the creature. In a display of touching affection, the grey eel nuzzled his master's black curls gently. In an even more amazing display, Mozenrath did not wave him off, instead pulled the strange thing into his lap softly.
"Xerxes…" he said in a soft, level voice. "I-I cannot afford to be without power when Destaine next finds me." There was a purposeful tone to his voice that kept Aladdin listening closely. "I can't let him catch me defenseless like this." He stroked the eels spinal fin with a tender touch. "Do you understand?"
Xerxes looked up through mismatched, trusting eyes. "Xerxes not understand." If the eel felt any fear he did not betray it.
Mozenrath's expression was blank. His eyes were like two dark coals in the night as he looked at the loyal familiar. "Xerxes, you're going to have to go away for a while." He placed his bandaged hand on Xerxes back, a soft bluish red glow covering the eel like a blanket. "I'll bring you back…when things are safe." He promised.
"Xerxes go away." The familiar responded sleepily, his eyes closing as his figure began to dissipate.
Aladdin watched as Mozenrath absorbed the power, flexing his skeletal digits. A few seconds more and the eel was gone, Mozenrath's hands still holding the place where he had been. When it was done he saw Mozenrath's lips move and could have sworn he heard the softest of words.
I'm sorry.
He swallowed hard and suddenly became aware of what he had intruded upon. Feeling more guilty than words could explain, Aladdin began to slowly back away from the scene.
Snap!
Mozenrath's head shot up and Aladdin froze. He was back among the trees, but he didn't know how well hidden when the sorcerer stood and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. There was a moment where he was certain he'd been spotted, but Mozenrath must have decided it was nothing as he began to wander off.
Aladdin held his position a moment longer until he heard the footsteps fade away. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to head back to camp. That had been…disturbing on a lot of levels. Despite his constant abuse of the eel, Aladdin had always suspected a lingering affection for the creature. It was the only thing Mozenrath had ever displayed any tolerance to. Obviously there was a backstory there, but getting Mozenrath to elaborate on it (especially now) would be pointless.
But that wasn't' all of it. It had been bad enough watching the sorcerer destroy the only thing outside of himself and his gauntlet that held any meaning to him, but to see such a torrent of emotions in such a short amount of time.
He's afraid. Aladdin realized. He's afraid of dying. He's afraid of losing everything he's fought for. He's afraid of Destaine finding him and…
And what? That question had been lingering in his mind since the start. Was Mozenrath simply afraid of losing his free will again? Did he fear being under someone else's power so badly?
Then again if Destaine was anything like the other evil sorcerers I've met. Aladdin considered. Evil men tended to do evil things. And he didn't want to think about what it might have been like being raised by someone like Destaine. Completely alone in that dark, depressing Citadel. Surrounded by death and arcane powers since…
Aladdin realized he had no idea how long Mozenrath had been under Destaine's influence. If the man was half as bad as Iago he'd once suggested it would go a long way to explaining why Mozenrath was the way he was. If he had never known anything else…
Not that he was making excuses for the man. Aladdin hadn't exactly had an easy life growing up alone in the streets of Agrabah. It would have been all too easy to become a cutthroat or join up with a group of bandits. But he'd always worked hard to make the right decisions. To be a good person despite what he'd had to do for survival.
But then again I had a family…at least for a little while. He could still clearly remember his mother's face. Her kindness and love. She had taught him that it was okay to be clever and how not to get caught. She had taught him how to pick locks and pockets but it hadn't changed who she was as a person. Other women had called her names and talked behind her back about how she was raising her son wrong.
She wasn't raising me wrong. She was raising me to survive. Aladdin knew now. But she had still raised him herself until the day she died. Had Mozenrath ever been given that privilege? Who had been there for him before Destaine? Did he have a mother? A father? Anyone?
Had he been an orphan?
Aladdin sighed and wondered why he was questioning this. It wasn't like Mozenrath was going to spill his life story to anyone. That brief moment in the cave where he had given the hint of a smile was the closest he had ever seen the sorcerer to looking normal. And just now, the way he had handled Xerxes with a sort of tenderness. It was awkward enough just knowing that the sorcerer was capable of anything other than the contempt he showed others.
Besides, Aladdin wasn't sure he wanted his questions answered.
The camp fire met his eyes and Aladdin smiled as he came out of the forest. His friends looked at him a little awkwardly and Aladdin turned to see Mozenrath watching him with a ferocious gaze.
"You should be careful wandering the woods at night Aladdin." His voice was deadly calm. "You never know what trouble you might get into."
Instead of trepidation, Aladdin felt a burning anger in his gut. "I'll keep that in mind." He said with equal calm.
Genie picked that exact moment to interrupt. "Say, has anybody seen Xerxes?"
So it has begun.
Oh yes. The boy has been shown beneath the mask our Mozenrath holds so dear.
Ah but it will it have any effect on him? Or has the sorcerer pushed too far for too long?
Only time will tell. Fell powers are at work here. And we may only interfere so far in these affairs.
But we promised Mirage we would help. It has been eons since one of the Incarnations came to us for a favor. Our kind and theirs do not mix.
And we shall help. We have already sent Fasir to aid them in their quest.
That may have been a mistake. His presence alerted the Others to our work. He might have avoided their notice a while longer had we not taken such bold action.
But not long enough. Fasir was a necessary risk. There are things they must begin to question if all is to end well.
And actions they must take if they are to be proven worthy. *a sense of pity* I fell sorrow for the sorcerer. For how he has suffered…
And how he will suffer still. But the scales must be made even. He must be made to pay for his actions. If it is not in this life, then it will be in the next. And all is for naught.
And Aladdin? How will he react when the inevitable occurs?
That is a different matter altogether. We are here to salvage the wizard, if we can. If Aladdin's actions are not favorable… *a pregnant pause* We shall think of something else. We always do.
Yes. But we do not always succeed either.