Chapter 4: Darkness
"You said it so well before, my love. Dane is dead; all that remains is Magus Sloe. Now, let her know her destiny." Sloe hissed, easing his grip on Ariel's hair and following her as she walked to Rhinne. The girl stood horrified at the balcony, her gaze riveted on the fight below. Pulling her eyes from the battle, Ariel brushed a few locks of her silvery hair back.
"Mother? Why are the Knights fighting?" She had never seen the terror of war, and certainly not when that war included the Knights of the Temple. She was not new to the sight of death as she remembered watching helplessly when Will was killed. But she never imagined how war could make death so much worse.
"They fight for you, my child," Ariel answered mournfully, trying to hold back her tears and keep a pleasant face.
"Why?"
"Because you are important. This man will keep you safe." Ariel answered, looking back to Sloe.
"You want me to go with the man that killed Will?" Rhinne asked, recognizing his features as Dane, her father, despite the deep shadows cast by his cloak.
"How can you trust him? He's the one that killed Will! He's the one that blew up his own Order!" Ariel sighed a ragged breath spying a sand glass on a table behind Rhinne. With understanding tears in her eyes, Ariel wrapped her arms around her and held her for a long while. Sloe stared down at them over his nose, holding out his hand, waiting for Rhinne to take it. He was so close, so very close to his goal.
"You are bound for great things, far greater than I could even imagine. Sloe may not be the one I expected, but he is the one the world needs, and for that, he needs you." She whispered.
"Mother, I don't understand…"
I know my child, I know. I'm going to miss you." Ariel cried, hugging Rhinne tightly. Sloe felt a rise in power surge through the air. Following its path, he watched the Sand Glass rise from the table and shoot over to Ariel's outstretched hand.
"Ariel! NO!" He ran reached out to stop her. Ariel teleported away in a flash of light. Sloe stumbled a bit as he caught his footing after they had gone.
"You choose to run when you should stay. Your violation of our contract will not go unpunished!" Sloe hissed, closing his eyes to feel where they had gone while whispers hung thick in the air around him.
"Introduce 1% blood solution." Instructed Dr. Long watching the monitor before him with excited anticipation.
"Increase power output to 32% and begin backing off pulse support."
"Power output increasing. Pulse support at 73% and falling."
"Dr. Long, Generator 5 is getting a little warm. The nerve connections are getting weak, Power output at 29.6% and falling." Dr. Long nodded, reaching into his shirt pocket and pulling out a key.
"I expected this. Initiating Dark Alchemic circle." Placing his hand on a large blank stone, twisting the key, and pressing the button. Long sat watching the Great Circle's bright pale glow turn darker as a set of circles, lines, symbols, and letters began to glow with purple light.
"Power output rising to 33%. Pulse support at 61% and falling."
"Stabilize pulse support at 50%. Do not let the heart's power output exceed 49% and hold for 14 seconds." Dr. Long commanded, sitting down at a monitor and watching the data stream in for the bio-mechanical heart that he, Madae, and Carl had created.
"Pulse support stabilized at 50.32%, power output stabilizing at 48% and holding."
"Good, good. Just do what you can to hold it steady. Increase blood solution to 100% over 14 seconds on my mark." Keyboards tapped quickly making the adjustments as Dr. Long watched in anticipation for the very number he was looking for: 49%
"Power output has increased to 48.74% and steadily rising."
"stand-by…"
"Power output at 49%,"
"Mark!" the scientist next to him tapped the control board; instantly, a bright red liquid began flowing through clear tubes to the mass of mechanical muscle, slowly turning it a deep crimson.
"Sir, Generator 5 is getting close to overheating."
"Decrease its output by 10% and compensate. We're almost there." Seconds passed in eternity. The cool gunmetal of the heart slowly turned crimson as the blood engorged it. On the monitor, progress bars filled as the biological and mechanical components bonded, working in synchronous harmony.
"Cut all power from the Generators, cease Pulse support. Begin circulation of Synthetic blood. Ramp up the pressure to simulate 120 over 80 and hold." Behind them, the whine of the generators descended as more tubes filled with a dark red liquid flowing through the heart. The Great Circle and the Dark Circle stopped glowing as the residual energy diffused as mist. A minute passed as the heart pulsed on its own, pumping the synthetic blood through it as a real one. Then two minutes, five, ten.
"Gentlemen, we've done it! The biomechanical heart is complete!" Madae announced. Cheers and congratulations erupted through the room. Some of them even ran to the streets to exclaim their victory.
"Thank you, Master Arkarium. Without your knowledge, we would have never been able to complete this." Dr. Long exclaimed. The white-haired gentleman extended his hand and gripped Dr. Long's firmly.
"You are very welcome, doctor. I have been researching Dark Alchemy for many years now, and while my research has made great strides, this is by far the greatest." His horse-sized cobra familiar adjusted itself after resting coiled up at his feet, rearing up and spreading it hood wide while flicking its tongue in and out. Dr. Long backed away from the creature, unsure as to what was happening.
"Oh, you needn't worry about my familiar, he is under my control. But alas, as sweet as your victory is, I must return to Kritas, where my research will bring about a new age. You do have the notes I left you for my Dark Transmutation circle, correct?" Arkarium asked.
"Yes, and again, thank you so very much for your help Master Arkarium." Dr. Long emphasized. Arkarium's smile left Long feeling unnerved as he turned and walked away. No sooner had Arkarium left the building then Dane and Menodora entered, returning from their year-long journey around the world. Instantly both of them noted the lighter mood around the Great Circle.
"What's going on here, Maxus? There is a lighter atmosphere here than has been in a long while." Dane asked when he arrived.
"Dane! It's good to see you again. Come and see, we've just completed the first organ!" Maxus excitedly exclaimed, escorting both of them to the observation window. Dane silently looked on as Menodora pressed her face to the window, watching the pulsing heart in the center.
"You got it working?! It's amazing! How did you do it after all this time?" Menodora squeaked. Dane remained silent, noticing unnatural burn marks on the ground near the heart.
"Madae's student led us to a gentleman by the name of Arkarium, a master of something Anti-magic or Dark Alchemy. It allowed us to slow time in a concentrated area, and remove the excess energy keeping us from making this organ." Maxus said excitedly. Dane looked on silently as Menodora fell quiet, looking back to Dane worriedly.
"What's the matter, Dane?" Maxus asked. Dane called him over to a quiet corner of the room away from the happy celebration.
"I hope that you appreciate the enormous risk you have taken in using this Dark Alchemy. It is a dangerous and potent art that breaks down energy and magic completely."
"You mean it destroys energy? That's impossible: energy can't be destroyed. What about the theory of conservation of…"
"Dark Alchemy doesn't work within the normal boundaries of science, as I am sure you are aware. Doing so, while helpful, can be dangerous is used without extreme care." Dane interrupted.
"Alchemy by its very nature is semi-magical, albeit heavily skewed as a scientific tool. Like anything else in this world, there are fundamental laws that are followed for the world to work properly. Dark Alchemy does not follow these laws: in fact, it outright removes them from existence and relies on the inverse."
"Do you think that we shouldn't use it then?" Maxus pressed. While the use helped to advance research, there was still a nagging feeling the back of his mind that what they were doing was far too dangerous.
"Used in small amounts, Dark Alchemy can be a powerful tool. But in the amounts and intensity that you are using, it is bordering on the perilous. It could rupture the barrier created by the Great Circle with ease, causing the energy of both circles to mix. The result of which could potentially destroy all of Margata." Maxus' eyes widened as he began to understand the magnitude of the danger they had created for themselves in just performing this one experiment.
"Are there any precautions that we can take to prevent such a thing from happening?" Maxus pressed. Dane held his chin for a moment as he thought.
"Fortify the Great Circle with a Septagonic circle between the circles: a balancing circle if you will. It will provide a barrier between the two in case of failure and ensure that one does not become more powerful than the other." Dane instructed, drawing out the particular pattern for them to use. After Dane's warning and help, the scientists forged ahead, creating other organs and body parts over the next two and a half years. Dane and Menodora watched on with interest to make sure that nothing would go wrong with the circles as they were used. Their studies abroad not only revealed how the Darkness worked, but also allowed them to study magics and arts far beyond what they had learned in the past.
Periodically, the two of them would leave to help the already strained traveling bishops of the world by healing the sick with healing spells or medicines. Occasionally they would also battle off strange misshapen creatures made of nothing but shadows similar to what the Queen of Arientia had described. Despite their year-long journey and their assistance to the traveling Bishops, the Darkness felt as if it only became worse.
"Have you found anything that would tell you what the Darkness is?" Adelia asked once Dane and Menodora had come home from one of their journeys.
"Not entirely. Our best guesses only give us a better understanding." Menodora answered, sipping on a cup of tea.
"And what would those guesses be?" Maxus pressed, setting down his cup and leaning over the table where they sat. Dane breathed slow and purposefully, locking eyes with his parents as he leaned forward.
"Maxus, I am only going to share this with you and Adelia because you are my parents. I do not wish for you to pursue this. Am I clear?" Dane asked, looking to both of them for confirmation that they did indeed understand.
"Darkness itself is somehow connected to one's emotional state; a collection of pain, sorrow, disappointment, and hate all gathered together in such a concentrated state that it becomes tangible and palpable. It is as if there are wounds left in a person's soul." Dane explained as Menodora continued.
"The 'light' we discovered helps with those wounds left behind in one's spirit. It's slow, but we're moving forward with our research to get rid of it." Maxus and Adelia remained silent for a long while, thinking over what they had been told when Maxus turned with a ponderous look.
"Tell me something, Dane. You said that this research would take you to some very dark places. So far, it seems that you haven't even touched on them." Dane sighed heavily, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin upon them.
"The dark places that I spoke of do exist Maxus. The Queen of Arentia is an unfortunate victim of one of these atrocities. But rather than searching for those specifically, we have decided to share and spread the 'Ultimate Light.'" Dane reached over to Menodora and gripped her hand.
"We've found that one's 'light' can be directed inward or outward. Inward facing light, while helpful in keeping one's spirit up, also tends to pull in the Darkness surrounding it very quickly. Outward light is what needs to be present to drive back one's Darkness and expose the wounds for healing and care."
"If hurt people are the ones creating this Darkness, then giving them counseling should help with it, right?" Adelia inquired, leaning forward as well in interest as Menodora shook her head and answered.
"If only that were it. Yeah, helping the People heal would be a big help. But the world is the biggest source of it. So far, it's only gotten worse since we started helping where we can, and we don't know why."
"What about this Ultimate Light you were talking about. Wouldn't that be able to help?" Adelia suggested. Dane nodded.
"It would: Ultimate Light is the outward-directed light I spoke of earlier. But it is diminished rather quickly as it is something that can only be given away to actually help. For something as large as the world, all peoples of the world would need to have all their hurts healed. Menodora and I have found that all couples produce this light to varying degrees of strength. In a few months, we going to attempt to spread this light from Azwan's Great Obelisk. I've already spoken to Vusron, and he has agreed to the experiment." Silence fell over the small group: Maxus and Adelia tried to wrap their head around what had been said until Dane spoke once more.
"That reminds me, Maxus. How's the progress of your project going? I heard you recently put the body together?" Menodora asked, instantly lifting Maxus' face into a smile.
"Yes, in fact. We are expecting partial mind transfer tests within the next week once the body has been fused. I would very much like for both of you to come." Maxus offered. Dane and Menodora both nodded, eager to see the progress and history about to be made.
Carl casually made his way to the Acaldos wing of the city with Maxus and Adelia, knocking on the door of the greasy mechanic's shop. Madae opened the door wiping his grease-covered hand on his smock.
"Yes? Oh, council members, what can I do for you?" he asked, lumbering out of his door and closing it behind him. Maxus noted that Madae's apprentice Russel was hard at work at a table further inside the building before the door closed.
"We came to you for an opinion. We believe that if Dr. Long's project is successful that he should be granted the title of Master Alchemist of Margata." Adelia explained. Tilting his head slightly, Madae rubbed his chin as the last bit of grease on his hand smeared like a dark beard.
"That does sound fair. But what of our current Master Alchemist Han? Hasn't he proven to be quite the leader?" Adelia nodded before adding her thoughts.
"Han has indeed been a competent leader for nearly a decade now. But as with alchemy, if new ideas and advancements are not made, the art becomes stagnant. So too does being Master Alchemist; we all believe it is time to let a new Master Alchemist be appointed to bring a new perspective to the city." Madae listened with intent, rubbing his chin and darkening his grease beard.
"Your argument is valid. Give me a day to consider this, and I will give you my answer." Madae answered, beginning to turn back for his shop.
"I'm sorry, Madae," Maxus interjected.
"But we really must have your answer tonight. Dr. Long has decided that his first mind-melding test will begin tomorrow night." Madae paused and sighed hard.
"I will then. Let me have an hour, and I will come and find one of you for my choice." The three on his doorstep nodded in acceptance and left to their various duties. Madae turned back to his door to find Russel sprawling across the floor when he opened it.
"What were you doing so close to the door, Russel?" Madae asked with an edge in his voice.
"I couldn't help wanting to hear what the council was saying. Are you truly going to appoint Dr. Long to the position of Master Alchemist?" Russel challenged, his eyebrow lifting in a devious way.
"I am currently considering the counsel's recommendation. Of course, his appointment hinges on the success of his experiment." Madae grunted, lumbering back to his desk and pulling over a machine he had been working on, drawing a matrix around it on paper.
"Why should he be the only one to be considered?" Russel asked with a hint of disdain in his tone. Madae turned back to him with a lowered brow.
"Is there someone else you can think of? If so, please tell me so that I can make a recommendation to the council." Madae pressed. Russel turned, throwing his cape aside grandly.
"Why not me? Have I not made immense strides forward in our bio-mechanical alchemy? And what of my exceptional scores within the alchemic academy? You have said that I had a vast intelligence rivaled by even the most learned minds." Madae sighed hard and stood, his face becoming blank.
"What I said of your intelligence while being true, also stated that it still needed the temperance of wisdom and time. I do not dispute your vast mind, but you are far too hasty, and your heedless regard for your fellow man is one of many reasons that you have not been granted the title of Alchemist. You have the potential to be a great Master Alchemist one day, which is why I had you learn from Carl. But you are not ready for such responsibility."
"So, you admit to holding me back while others apprenticed to you spend half the time I have and are granted the title of Alchemist?! What of my advancements? Those alone should grant me the ability, no, the right to be Master Alchemist! Isn't it MY research of life force transference Dr. Long is using?" Madae's face turned down in a mighty frown, his plump cheeks sagging nearly to his throat.
"Yes, your theory is solid and has been proven, yet you have only discovered that it could be done. While your research was a base, it had to be further researched for another two years. Our work dances within the grey of ethics at times, but I will not allow you or any of my students to lower themselves as much. There is weight to life, all life." Madae thundered, his form appearing to grow in size as he stood over Russel, pummeling him with his words.
"You have not earned the privilege to be nominated for Master Alchemist, let alone an Alchemist!" Madae barked, turning to leave with heavy steps while Russel clenched his jaw.
"What do you think we are?! We are gods walking among men! Science and Alchemy is our power! We can create that which is reserved for the divine!" Russel shouted when Madae turned back to him with a hard stomp.
"We are not gods! It is because we have an understanding of Science and Alchemy that we must be wary of how we use it!"
"I WOULD TAKE MARGATA TO NEW AND GREATER HEIGHTS! OUR POWER WOULD BE LIMITLESS! WE WOULD BE HAILED AS HEROES AND GODS!" Madae marched to Russel, striking him hard enough to throw him to the ground.
"We must have limits! If not, we are no better than animals! It is obvious to me that you haven't learned well enough about our place in the world. From this point, you are to start from the beginning in your lessons of Alchemy."
"I refuse to be brought low. You want proof of successful research, then here! Have a look!" Russel growled, running to a door leading to the back of the machine shop and threw it open. Inside were scores of machines, all in differing stages of completion resembling small bodies. As he opened the door, the smell of decay wafted in making Madae heave.
"What in the name of the Great Mother is all this?" he asked. As his voice echoed through the chamber, the machines all stopped and looked to him, beginning to rush the door with the sounds of mechanical screams and hisses. Russel slammed the door shut, bolting it as the small machines slammed against it.
"I've proven it can be done! Life can be transferred from a body into a machine! It is possible, which is why I brought it to Long in the first place. You see, without me, your Dr. Long would be nothing!"
"What did you use for your experiments?" Madae growled, his usually beady eyes wide in horror that he had been so blind all the time.
"What does it matter?! I can manipulate the human Life Force at will! Not even Haim would be able to stop me!" Madae's face cycled through shades of red, tightening his iron grip with every word spoken until he could no longer stand to see Russel in his presence.
"Gather your things and get out. You are no student of mine! I do not want to see you in this building when I return or ever again! You are barred from all future alchemy learning and from the knowledge depository!" Madae seethed, turning and leaving through the front door and slamming it shut. Russel's mind churned; why should Dr. Long be appointed to the position of Master Alchemist? Long had done many experiments heralded as a triumph where his experiments were scorned as an ethical abomination. Where was the line? Where was the difference?
"Hypocrites, all of them." Pulling himself from the floor, Russel gathered up his belongings and sluggishly left the building. But it wasn't out of resistance to go; no, it was out of putrid madness. If Dr. Long would be appointed for his success, then he would only need to fail! And that would leave the door open for him to sweep in as the hero to condemn such ill-fated experiments. Yes! It was perfect.
Dane and Menodora both watched with anticipation as Dr. Long was strapped into the chair behind his Bio Mechanical body dubbed Humanoid Type-A. The partial mind transfer test a few months earlier was a resounding success. After which preparations for the complete mind and life force transfer had been started. But in the time leading up to the grand event, parts, equations and equipment would be found in a state of minor disrepair that delayed it by weeks. Only after increasing security around the Great Circle where the transfer was to take place did the sabotage stop.
"Now you're sure that you've written the Alchemy Matrix out correctly? There are no mistakes?" Dr. Long asked, wincing as a blood I.V. was put into his arm.
"Yes, doctor. Everything has been checked." Replied a scientist.
"What about the Dark Alchemy circle? There are no smudges? And what of the Balancing Matrix? There must be no mistakes…"
"Darling, please. You and those working with you have checked and re-checked everything. You will succeed. Have faith in those around you." Felicia, Long's wife, urged with a smile in her voice. Keni, his daughter, also walked over to him and grabbed his hand.
"You can do it, daddy. I know you can." She smiled, kissing his cheek.
"Mathias, I love you always," Felicia said, kissing his lips one last time before walking into the observation lounge where Dane and Menodora waited. When the last of the heart monitors were set and the final vile of a liquid injected, the attending scientist patted his arm and nodded. Dr. Long sighed nervously and nodded in return as a large metallic helmet lowered over his head.
"Activate Great Circle!" Long called. Light hummed to life around him with a blinding blue-white color. A dome shape shimmered to life as machines in the background spun up.
"Increase the output of generators 1-4 by 10% over 12 seconds." The lead commended.
"Power increase complete. All vitals normal."
"Begin mind connection, 1.86% per second over 40 seconds. Increase all generators to full over the same amount of time on my mark. Ready activation of Dark Circle. Mark"
"Mind connection at 20.46% and climbing. Generators at 79% full power and climbing. All vitals normal."
"Prepare defibrillator shock for Humanoid A, 55-joule pulse on my mark; activate dark circle." The light surrounding Dr. Long became darker as purple light surrounded him.
"Mind connection at 39.06% and climbing. Generators at 100% and holding. Capacitors at full, ready for pulse."
"Ready Pulse."
"Mind connection at 50.22%."
"Mark!" A pulse of electricity shot through the biomechanical body, making it jump from the table. At the same time, Dr. Long also tensed his body.
"Humanoid-A body showing a steady pulse, all vitals normal. Dr. Long showing signs of elevated adrenalin, but within tolerances."
"Increase Mind Connection to 5.58% over 20 seconds, mark! Hold generator power. Dump capacitors 1-3 on my mark and ready capacitors 4-6. Mark! Recharge 1-3, dump 4-6 on my mark. Mark! Recharge!" The pattern would repeat many times over as Dr. Long could be heard grunting within the circle, both bodies wriggling on their respective tables.
Dane and Menodora noted the light but tense air around them all, thick with anticipation for its success. As the power within the Great Circle was reaching its zenith, Dane felt a mass of Darkness permeating the air. Menodora noticed the change as well, looking around the lounge for anyone that could be producing such a massive amount of intense Darkness. But there was no one within the room they could see. Maxus took note of their panic and went to them.
"What's wrong?" Dane leaned close to his ear.
"There is someone here in this area giving off a massive amount of Darkness, but I can't see where they would be. There is so much of it that I can't tell where it is coming from." Maxus nodded as he, Adelia, Menodora, and Dane all went searching the area for anyone suspicious.
"Take care if you find this person. They are most likely taken by madness." Dane warned before they split up. As he searched, Dane wondered why he hadn't felt this mass of Darkness before. Something like this should have at least had an effect on the town as a whole. His only theory was that it had something to do with the reactions taking place within the Great Circle. Menodora was the one to find someone kneeling down just outside the flickers of light shimmering from the Great Circle like a reflection of water.
"Hello? Is there something I can help you with?" Menodora called. The man turned to her, his eyes filled with rage, and his face stained with tears that had long since run dry.
"What are you doing here?" Menodora asked gently, slowly approaching him.
"It will be mine! It was stolen from me, and I will make it mine!" he grunted, reaching into his pocket and producing a small notebook. From it, he began copying a matrix onto the ground.
"What do you mean? What was taken from you?" Menodora asked, quietly stepping closer when she saw Dane approaching from the other side. Menodora slowly waved her hands, palms down as she approached.
"All of it, heh… heh… it will be mine again. I am the only choice. I should be the one, but no. Apparently, he has it all, and I don't. That will soon change once they see him for the monster he really is!" he muttered, still copying down the matrix. When Menodora was close enough, she knelt next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, noticing that the matrix was poorly copied and would probably cause more harm than whatever he intended.
"Why don't you come with me. I can take you somewhere, and I'll listen. Let me hear what has scarred you so badly." The man stopped moving, setting down the chalk he was using. Dane noticed that his hand opposite Menodora was reaching under his coat for something. Whispering a spell, Dane readied to cast it at the man and began to step closer. The man dropped his head slightly then smiled widely back at Menodora.
"I guess I should. But I've come too far to stop now." He growled, pulling out his hand from behind him. The flash of steel glinted in the dark as the man drew a knife. Dane cast his spell, energy hurling towards Menodora to cover her in a protective light. But the spell missed when the man pulled her down and thrust the dagger into her gut, twisting it hard.
"NO!" Dane screeched. The man looked back, drawing a pistol from his belt and firing. The iron ball ricocheted from a barrier Dane cast before himself as he teleported to Menodora, catching her as she fell to the ground. The man swung his dagger once again, catching Dane in the arm when he tried to defend himself, backing away with Menodora bleeding in his arms. The man clenched his jaw, and he turned back to the matrix slamming his hand down.
"IT WILL ALL BE MINE!" he screamed. Energy was drawn to the matrix as a crack appeared in the rock, snaking its way to the Great Circle. Dane was about to attack when the crack reached the Great Circle. The stone floor shifted, opening a hole for a mass of energy to rush out, smashing into the man's face in a jet. Within seconds, Dane watched as the rocks the Circle was drawn on shifted. More of the contained energy escaped with increasing velocity.
The heat made the rocks crack further, reaching into the balancing matrix, destroying it. Once the balance matrix was gone, the Dark Circle began to overpower the Great Circle. Dane reached his hand forward, speaking as quickly as he could to cast a powerful shield spell. The heat of the escaping energy washed against his palm burning away his skin, but he had to remain else it destroyed him and Menodora.
The Dark Circle's size grew until it rubbed against Great Circle. The contact disintegrated the Great Circle's containment dome releasing all the energy within it in a flash of blinding white light. For miles around, everyone could feel the ground quake as a cloud of dust plumed high into the air. Many more beyond that could hear the low blast over the many dunes of sand.
Ariel, The Goddess of Time, felt the mass of energy erupt. She rushed to the railing of her home, The Temple of Time, and looked down at the world below. Never had she felt such power coming from Usoria in eons, not since the Great Beginning. What had happened? Had these humans created something so terrible that even she, a goddess, would fear it?
Extending her vision, she focused on the point from which it came. Ariel's consciousness flew past the Dancing Light Ribbons around her temple, past the stars, past the clouds, and down to a dimly lit crater. Smoke and dust obscured everything. People were scattered about: some of them dead, mauled by flames beyond recognition. Others missed limbs or parts of their bodies, and still more were trapped under mountains of rubble in explosions of blood. She was horrified.
So much death and despair in such a small area nearly overwhelmed her. Those that desperately tried to lift the rubble away she touched, giving them extra strength while giving her power to others to heal wounds as they were tended.
In the farthest part of the cave, she could hear someone in agony. Moving closer, she could see a man with long white hair upon his crown, holding a burnt hand forward. Around him were the charred marks of fires that had billowed towards him, deflected by a protection spell he had conjured. He clutched a woman she guessed to be his love to his chest. She was about to touch him when the woman stirred.
"Dane, you're alright. Thank goodness." The woman whispered.
"Menodora, please, don't speak. I'll get a doctor here right now to…"
"No, don't, please stay." She insisted. The man held his hand out and waved it over her as a healing spell simmered to life. Just as he was to touch her with it, the spell collapsed. The man tried again, this time using more power, but still, the spell failed.
"What's wrong?" The woman asked weakly.
"My healing spell won't work! It keeps failing!" the man put up a barrier and tried to heal her again. It did work for a short time, but the barrier quickly dissolved, instantly making the healing spell collapse.
A realization came across his face as he found what Ariel already knew. She was going to die, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Something was surrounding them, causing Dane's magic to fail instantly. Ariel looked around to the others that she had touched, noting the power she had freely given was gone entirely. If her influence was removed so quickly, she wouldn't be able to stop this woman's death.
"I'm going to try and move you away from the city. I think there is a mass of Anti-magic that is…"
"There'd be no point," Menodora muttered weakly.
"Don't say that! I have to get you away from…"
"Dane, don't." Dane looked around franticly, putting a hand to her wound and pressing just hard enough to keep the bleeding to a minimum.
"Help! Anyone! Are there any medical alchemists nearby!" Dane called, but no answer came as he realized that they Anti-Magic would make all alchemy useless, just like his magic.
"No…" He had a basic understanding of human anatomy, but not enough to perform actual surgery without the aid of Alchemy or Magic. Had he come to rely on this powerful art so much that he was now powerless to do anything when he needed it most? Menodora's breath began to become labored as he pressed on the wound, making her wince, realizing that he had been steadily applying more pressure without noticing.
"Do you remember the day we first met?" Menodora asked quietly, reaching for his hand, which he took in earnest.
"Yes. You were wearing that blue checkered dress."
"And remember how disinterested you were? I thought for sure that I could break that icy exterior you put up if I just kept at it. And wouldn't you know it, I did." Menodora coughed, blood spilling onto her cheeks.
"Stop talking. You'll be fine! Just stay awake..." Menodora gripped Dane's hand with what little strength she had left.
"We both know that's a lie, Dane."
"No, it's not! Just stay with me. I'll find a doctor to get you all healed." Dane moved to set her down when Menodora gripped his hand, her eyes welling with tears.
"Please, just stay here. I'm scared." Dane gripped her hand as hard as he dared, setting her down on the rocks and leaning over her to hear every last one of her breaths. Ariel felt tears sting her eyes, reaching out her hand and slowing time around them to almost a standstill. She wanted their last few moments to last as long as possible, though the anti-magic as it was called made it challenging to do so. Even with her help, the end came all too soon. Menodora's breath steadily came in lighter and shallower wheezes. Ariel thought of helping since this woman obviously meant a great deal to Dane. But she would have to use a substantial amount of power to overcome the anti-magic in the air, and Menodora's life force, weak as it was, might not withstand her power.
"Dane? Dane, are you there? Dane? I can't see you!" Menodora asked in quiet desperation, waving her hand after Dane had let it go to balance himself.
"I'm here, Menodora. Right here, I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, softly kissing her lips and taking her hand once again. Menodora grinned, turning her head to where she guessed Dane was sitting.
"Don't let the light we created… die… with me. Promise me…"
"Menodora, I…"
"Promise me... Please." Dane stared for a long while into her pleading, empty eyes once so full of bright life. Before he could give an answer, she gasped for her last few breaths before falling still.
"Menodora? Menodora? No, no, not yet. Please, Menodora, say something!" He begged, flashes of her smiling face whipped through his mind as a mocking reminder. His light was gone. His light was gone, and it was all that man's fault! After tenderly setting Menodora down, Dane stumbled over to him and hauled him from the ground. Half the man's face had been burned away, bleeding profusely. Wrath surging through his entire being, Dane shook him violently.
"WHY! WHY DID YOU TAKE MENODORA AWAY FROM ME! WHY! WHY ARE YOU ALIVE, AND SHE IS GONE! TELL ME!" But the man only wheezed and chuckled, unable to say anything as he was continuously shaken. Dane threw the man to the ground, holding his hand back were a swirl of flames came roaring to life. Ariel went to him, setting a hand on his shoulder and telling him to stop.
Moments crawled by as he dissipated the flame, dropping his hands and looking down at them, seeing Menodora's blood covering them. He began to shake, sob, and laugh all at the same time as great heaves of sorrow wracked his body. Ariel put her arms around him as he curled to the ground and sobbed. Ariel only wanted to comfort this man in any way that she could in his time of immense pain.
