Chapter 11: The Dark Apprentice
9493 BC - The Underworld
Hades arrives at the shore of the River of Lost Souls. Anyone (except for himself or an Original Power) who touched the River would be forever trapped in the river, as a lost soul. He generally threw souls that made trouble for him in the river, although the occasional lost soul would fall in. A living person that had for whatever reason showed up in his realm could also lose themselves in the river. However, he could also retrieve someone from the River. They would no longer be themselves, they would look different, act different, and have no memory of their previous life… and they could return to the surface, and unlike him, they could actually take lives…
He knows the two perfect Lost Souls to use. The first, the fool who tried to steal fire from him. The second, his old girlfriend, from before he was banished here. She came to the Underworld to try and bring him back to the light, or some nonsense like that, and when she would not leave him alone, he tossed her into the River. He draws the two out of the River and watches as they take on their new forms
"Welcome back, Persephone and Prometheus" Hades said
"That is not our names, Lord Hades" the being formerly known as Persephone said "I am now Bansheera" and she turns the being formerly known as Prometheus, who gives his name
"I am Dark Specter"
9492 BC - Camelot - Fairy Tale Realm
Nimue watches from the shadows as Merlin leaves his tower. She waits an hour or so and then glamours herself to look and sound like him and she enters his tower. She must find the Dark One's Dagger and Merlin's hat
"You're back already?" A voice asked and she turned to see the Apprentice
"Yes, my boy" Nimue said "I ran into Nimue, she's attacking a village, I need the Dagger and the hat to control her"
"They're right here" the Apprentice said and he grabs the Dagger and the box with the Hat. He hands her the box and when she grabs it, she's blasted back by magic
"Nice try, Dark One" the Apprentice said and she returns to her true form "there's an enchantment cast by the Sorcerer himself."
"How did you know?" Nimue asked
"The Sorcerer only ever refers to you as the Dark One now, not Nimue. It's easier on him if he thinks of you as two separate people" the Apprentice said
"Merlin may have placed an enchantment on the box, but he would not be able to place an enchantment on the Dagger that could keep me out, not if it's tethered to me"
"That is correct Dark One" the Apprentice said, putting the Dagger in his robes and pulling out his wand "but you'll have to kill me to take it"
"If you insist" Nimue said and she sends a blast of magic his way, which he deflects with his wand. He then sends another blast of magic back, which she manages to deflect
"I may not be able to beat you" the Apprentice said "but I can hold you off until Merlin gets back. Now begone, Dark One" and Nimue realizes he is right, so she twirls her hand and teleports away in black smoke
Myra - Enchanted Forest - Fairy Tale Realm
Nimue was fuming, how dare that mere boy stop her. However, the advantage of dating Merlin for five years is that she knows his secrets, including where he got his Apprentice. And she knew just like there was a child with a powerful potential for magic with a heart of gold, there is another child with a powerful potential for magic with a heart of darkness. And she knows just who that child is
"Hello, Arius" Nimue said as she appears behind him, disguising her voice to sound like a man's
"Vort… Vort… Vortigan" Arius said
"Ah so, you think you know who I am" Nimue said
"Everyone knows that mask" Arius said
"Indeed they do" Nimue said "perhaps I'll tell you how wrong you are later, but for now, I need you"
"What do you want with me?" Arius asked
"I need an apprentice" Nimue said "someone who has a powerful potential for magic and yet is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants"
"Why do you think that's me?" Arius asked
"Oh, Arius" Nimue said "I just have a way of telling"
"While learning magic sounds good… what's in it for me?" Arius asked "Why should I learn it from you specifically
Nimue's anger builds "Calm yourself down" Nimue thought to herself "he does not realize there isn't anyone better to teach him Dark Magic than you. And we want him because he's ambitious, let's not squash that"
"Because my rival, the Sorcerer is the man who humiliated you in front of your friends all those years ago" Nimue said "and because his Apprentice is your rival, Nicholas"
"Wait" Arius said "little ole' Nicky actually learned magic, I figured Merlin just wanted a servant boy"
"Oh yes" Nimue said "and he's become a very powerful user of magic, I know firsthand. But I foresee you becoming even more powerful" She didn't, unfortunately the Darkness has squashed the Holy Grail gift of foresight, but Arius didn't need to know that
"If that little pipsqueak can do it, so can I" Arius said "you've got yourself an apprentice, let's go…"
"…You don't want to say goodbye to anyone?" Nimue asked "you don't have any family or friends that would worry about you?"
"Who cares about them?" Arius asked "like you said I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want and what I want is power, not family or friends"
"… Very well, you're training begins now, my Dark Apprentice" Nimue said and she teleports them away to a place she found to train him, nowhere near her vault, she's not letting him know her secrets yet… if ever
"He's definitely the right person… but I must be careful" Nimue thought to herself "he would not hesitate to turn on me if it served his own purposes. Thankfully, there aren't a ton of ways to kill her and he doesn't realize that… yet. If he tries to kill her via ordinary means, she'll survive no problem and will kill him instead"
9491 BC - The Underworld
"You've learned much in these past two years" Hades said to Bansheera and Dark Specter "you are now able to wield magic that is far more powerful than the mortals have and you've gathered the ingredients we need to create our own artifacts. Hades, Bansheera, and Dark Specter pour their magic into a cup that contained other various ingredients they gathered and it transforms into a black version of the Holy Grail
"The Unholy Grail is complete, Lord Hades" Dark Specter said
"Only one more artifact to create" Hades said and they poured their magic into a gem that Hades had dipped into the River Souls and it transformed
"The Gem of Souls is complete" Bansheera said
"Excellent" Hades said "with the Gem, you should be able to communicate with me when you're in the Overworld far more efficiently than you do now. And with the Unholy Grail, we should be able to corner the Original Powers one by one and drain them of their magic"
"When do we start?" Dark Specter asked
"Have patience" Hades said "we must set this up perfectly. If they discover what we're up to and they're prepared for us, we'll never get the chance to use the Grail
9490 BC - Camelot - Fairy Tale Realm
Arius watches as Merlin leaves. This was his chance to show Vortigan he was ready to learn more. He thought about trying a glamour spell like Nimue, but Nicholas would see through it quickly. His best bet was to go in, use his Dark Magic to kill him and then take the box and the dagger Vortigan was concerned about. Vortigan wouldn't tell him why they were important, just that they were. Arius enters the house and discovers that Nicholas is sleeping
"Sleeping on the job, eh Nicky?" Arius thought "perhaps you're not as perfect as Merlin thinks" and Arius sees the box Vortigan described and goes to grab it and was blasted back by magic
"I see the Dark One finally decided to send whoever she's been training to fall into our trap… Arius?" the Apprentice asked
"That's right Nicholas" Arius said "I have been training with Vortigan for two years and now I'm more powerful than you. I knew this was going to be easy, but it might be easier than I thought, Vortigan is a man, dummy, you clearly haven't been paying attention"
"You think the Dark One is Vortigan…" the Apprentice began "… you know what, not my secret to tell. Regardless of who's smarter or more powerful, that doesn't change the truth, the Sorcerer, not I, cast the enchantment, and no one, who has succumbed to the darkness in their heart can ever break it"
"Then give me the Dagger or I'll kill you" Arius said
"You'll kill me either way, or rather you will try" the Apprentice said and he blasted Arius with his wand. Arius through up a shield with his magic and it became clear that the Apprentice's magic was fading and then it goes out
"You're such a fool, Nicholas" Arius said "you wasted all your magic trying to get my shield and now, it'll be easy to kill you" and he channeled all of his anger, all of his rage, all of his hatred, into a blast of magic at Nicholas, who caught it on the wand and absorbed it
"Thank you, Arius" the Apprentice said
"What?!" Arius shrieked
"This wand was forged by Light and Dark Magic, it needs both to work" the Apprentice explained "I can supply the Light Magic myself, but the Dark Magic is harder to come by and I was running low. You just charged the wand up with enough Dark Magic for it to function for years, if not decades. Now I suggest you leave, you're very low on magic and I'm fully charged" Arius was seething but decided he better not stick around and with a twirl of his hand, he teleported away in smoke
Fairy Tale Realm
"How could you fail, you stupid, weak…" Nimue screamed at Arius
"It's not my fault" Arius said "the enchantment on the box wasn't just to keep you out, it was to keep anyone who's given into the darkness in their heart out"
"… I suppose that can't be helped, I'll have to think on that" Nimue asked "now what's your excuse for the Dagger?"
"Couldn't we just take the heart of someone who is pure and force them to steal it?" Arius asked
"No" Nimue said "the enchantment specifically looks for a pure heart, if they don't have a heart, the enchantment won't detect a pure one and will blast the person back. Now don't change the subject, what about the Dagger?"
"Nicholas tricked me into recharging his wand" Arius said "I was low on magic, he was fully charged, I wouldn't have been able to beat him" and he waited for Vortigan to kill him, or at the very least, hurt him "… you're not mad?"
"I'm furious" Nimue said "but I'm not going to hurt you for something I didn't even know or something I didn't tell you… perhaps I've been keeping too many secrets from you"
"Nicholas referred to you as a she" Arius said "I thought he was just being stupid, but…"
"I suppose it's time you know who I really am" Nimue said and she takes Vortigan's mask off her face
"My name is Nimue"
9489 BC - Land of Magic
Dark Specter has the Unholy Grail and is finally ready to drain Merlin's magic and kill him.
"Yeah, that's not going to work" Merlin said "come out, Dark Specter, I can see the future, remember"
"Not even you can stop me now" Dark Specter said
"Try it, go ahead, I'll give you a free shot" Merlin said and he turned his back. Dark Specter is hesitant, but decides Merlin could be bluffing and he releases the Unholy Grail and it… does nothing "Despite what Hades thinks, a washed up god and a couple of lackeys can't fully replicate the Holy Grail. It will probably work on mortals, and perhaps even gods, but on the Original Powers… you're out of luck"
"Then why did you let me follow you for all this time?" Dark Specter asked "you apparently knew I was here the whole time"
"To set a trap" Merlin said
"What?!" Dark Specter explained and the rest of the Original Powers appeared around him. They all blasted him their magic "what are you doing to me?"
"Sending you into a rift outside time and space" Merlin said "have fun" and Dark Specter vanished, leaving only the Unholy Grail and Gem of Souls behind "we should do this more often"
"No" Ruel said "we cannot make a habit of interfering. We only did so because of the danger the Unholy Grail presented"
"Besides" Simultaneous said "if we open that rift again, Dark Specter could escape"
The Underworld
"We failed!" Hades said, watching the outcome of Dark Specter's attempt to drain to Merlin's magic via the Gem of Souls "we had an Original Power right there and we failed! Bansheera, get out there and get the Unholy Grail back! I don't want to see you in the Underworld again until you do"
"But sire" Bansheera said "it didn't do what we wanted to"
"It can still drain magic, which makes it very useful" Hades said
"But I can't find it on my own" Bansheera said
"Fine" Hades said "minor correction. Go to the Overworld, find yourself a bunch of minions and bring them back here alive and toss them in the River of Souls. I will fish them out for you and you can take your demon army and search for them. But once you have your army, if I see you back here without the Unholy Grail, I will toss you back into the River of Souls!"