In which Doloran totally gets the girl and everything is totally fine in all four scenarios. Three are related to each other because they were written together. The fourth, while having a different plot, was included because I felt it fit the theme. That and to reduce email alert spam and lower the chapter count.
I dunno, I was seized by the urge to write something 'bwahahaha'-y.
WARNINGS FOR: Possession, probable personality/character death, cliffhanger ending
Stick to the Script and Other Stories
By Bilbo-sama
Victorious
1.
Doloran couldn't believe his luck. The ritual is going as planned. He had put it aside as a last resort until he realized that the young king of Evermore could derail everything. Hundreds of years of collecting Kingsbonds and planning falling apart in an instant all because of a naive halfling. If two thousand years of work get wasted, then it would be by Doloran's hand.
It also has the added bonus of demoralizing the boy regardless of the outcome into non-interference.
The centerpiece of the ritual laid unconscious in a circle that also contained painstakingly drawn runes and wards that activated one after another as Doloran chanted. The vessel had enchanted into a deep sleep that would be difficult to break out of. It would be better for him to dream of his greatest desires then try to fight for control of his body. Against the great power of Alisandra, Roland Crane's soul could be easily wiped out and Doloran would have to wait for at least another ten years for a soul mate who is strong enough in heart and in body to contain even merely a fraction of a Kingmaker's power.
Roland at first had denied the connection between them and attempted to become violent before he was magically restrained to calm down. Understandable, considering they have been at odds since Goldpaw. But eventually he begrudgingly accepted. He still refused to help restore Allegoria and Alisandra to their former glory despite temptation of his own family and country restored. He instead rambled about stability and peace and learning to let go of the past. He even drew out his sword again and threatened mutually assured destruction if it would 'save the world.' That was when Doloran resorted to casting his own soul mate to his current fate as Alisandra's vessel. The man clearly was in denial of his wish to join his family in death.
Doloran felt greatly disappointed. He had thought Roland truly understood him.
Doloran raised his voice and carefully pronounced words from a language older than Allegoria itself. The magical energy within the circle swirled and thrashed against the barriers. The chosen vessel rose up into the air, its arms and legs limply dangling. The tie holding the vessel's dark hair into a low ponytail became loose and slipped out, allowing the vessel's hair to fan out behind it.
And then suddenly the vessel's eyes snapped open and Roland looked around in confusion and then in horror as he realized what's happening. He screamed against the loud winds for Doloran to stop.
Doloran can't stop now. Not at this stage. It's too late.
The energy in the circle turned blue before surging within the vessel, whose shouts and struggling gradually became weaker.
"Evan…Sean…I'm sorry," whispered Roland before going unconscious once more. The link Doloran had with his soul mate screamed furiously as if betrayed before it got quieter and less painful.
A thunderstorm was happening inside the room as energy crackled and bashed against the wards in the circle.
I͢T҉̷S̨͞ ̴͏̡̕͜W̧͠Ǫ̶͝R̴̷̨͡͠K͏̷̧͟I҉͡N̸̛̕͜͡G̢͟, announced the Horned One, ͟҉̵҉̸D̶̴́Ò͡N͏̀'͞T̀̀ ̨͞S̡͘͝T̷̷͝͠O͏͢͏͟P̸̴̧̡͡ ̴͟͞͠N̵̡̛͠O̴̡̡̢͢W͘.
Encouraged, Doloran began the final stage and called forth a great power beyond its seal. His Kingsbond glowed and in response, so did the vestigal bond within the vessel. The link will guide Alisandra back into this world.
The link between his and Roland's souls didn't snap like it had done several times before with previous soul mates when they had died but instead became…muffled. Doloran took it as a good sign.
There was a crescendo of sound and color before it all crashed into the center. Doloran calmly finished the last stanza and watched as the smoke cleared.
He could faintly see a figure within the smoke groaning and slowly getting up.
"Dear heart?" it called.
"I'm here," Doloran replied, his voice scratchy from overuse. His very being began to fill up with triumph. He did it. He actually did it…!
The figure turned to the sound of Doloran's voice and walked unsteadily towards him. The smoke cleared.
The vessel stumbled into a quick run to Doloran, "Doloran, dear heart," its voice was a mixture of Alisandra's and the vessel's voices.
"Alisandra," said Doloran, "is it really you?" Please, please let it be a success...!
"Yes," confirmed Alisandra as she grabbed him by the arm with a horrified expression on her face, "but what you done, my love? What have you done?!"
2.
Doloran couldn't believe his luck. The ritual is going as planned. He had put it aside as a last resort until he realized that the young king of Evermore could derail everything. Hundreds of years of collecting Kingsbonds and planning falling apart in an instant all because of a naive halfling. If two thousand years of work get wasted, then it would be by Doloran's hand.
It also has the added bonus of demoralizing the boy regardless of the outcome into non-interference.
The centerpiece of the ritual laid unconscious in a circle that also contained painstakingly drawn runes and wards that activated one after another as Doloran chanted. The vessel had enchanted into a deep sleep that would be difficult to break out of. It would be better for her to dream of her greatest desires then try to fight for control of her body. Against the great power of Alisandra, Rachel Crane's soul could be easily wiped out and Doloran would have to wait for at least another ten years for a soul mate who is strong enough in heart and in body to contain even merely a fraction of a Kingmaker's power.
Very rarely is Doloran's soul mate reborn as female. And in the past year, Rachel has proven to be strong in heart and in body. She is the perfect vessel for Alisandra.
Rachel at first had denied the connection between them and attempted to become violent before she was magically restrained to calm down. Understandable, considering they have been at odds since Goldpaw. But eventually she begrudgingly accepted. She still refused to help restore Allegoria and Alisandra to their former glory despite temptation of her own family and country restored. She instead rambled about stability and peace and learning to let go of the past. She even drew out his sword again and threatened mutually assured destruction if it would 'save the world.' That was when Doloran resorted to casting his own soul mate to her current fate as Alisandra's vessel. The woman clearly was in denial of her wish to join her family in death.
Doloran felt greatly disappointed. He had thought she truly understood him.
Outside of Rachel briefly waking up and futilely demanding Doloran to stop, the transfer of Alisandra's essence into the vessel was a success.
Alisandra floated before Doloran. Her smile had an edge to it as she descended to her lover.
"Thank you, dear heart," she said as black veins lined across her cheeks. Her eyes flashed red.
"My love?" Doloran carefully grasped her hand.
"You brought me back into this world," the Horned One ran a finger down his robed chest, "you shall be rewarded with what you desire."
"I..."
"Now come," the Horned One walked to the altar where fragments of Kingsbonds collected over the centuries were held, "Let us bring back Allegoria to its former glory."
She grinned maliciously, "Let us sound the horns of war."
3.
There was a crescendo of sound and color before it all crashed into the center. Doloran calmly finished the last stanza and watched as the smoke cleared.
He could faintly see a figure within the smoke slowly getting up and laughing in triumph.
The smoke cleared and in the center of the circle, The Horned One examined its new form. It turned to look at the sorcerer.
"We have succeeded," the Horned One smirked. Its voice sounded nearly like Roland's but there was malevolence behind the words.
Outside of the now spent circle, the Horned One grinned underneath its mask, "We have indeed."
There was no stopping the heralds of Blackheart now.
The Winnower shall return.
4.
The light faded and all gasped as a woman in a white gown appeared in the room. She had white hair, light blue skin and draconic features. She gave off an angelic aura.
"Alisandra," Doloran whispered as though his beloved Kingmaker will vanish if he ever blinks.
"It...it worked," said Leander, who felt both fascinated and disbelief at this turn of events, "you freed her."
Evan's ears picked up Roland's quiet shocked, "She looks like..." as Evan frowned. Something's not right here but he wasn't sure what. Judging from the unease he's feeling from the Kingsbond, Lofty felt the same way.
"Dear heart," smiled Alisandra as she approached Doloran and lovingly cupped the sides of his face in her clawed hands, "thank you. You ś̡ą̕v̸̢͘e̶̵̶͝d̀ me."
"My love," Doloran sounded as though he was near tears. Tani sighed dreamily at the romantic scene before her. Batu and Bracken meanwhile seemed skeptical but wisely kept quiet as they waited for the other shoe to drop.
"You ̡͘͝n̷͢e̡͝͏͡v̶̴̡e̵̕҉͝r̶̀͠͞͏ gave up on me," said Alisandra, "I'm so ̡͟h͠a҉p҉̕͟͠͝p̡̛͘͞y̨͠͠."
Roland made a noise that sounded like a hitched breath. Doloran seemed to remember his soul mate was still there. He turned to him and noted how the other man struggled to contain his feelings of grief and hope.
"Roland, if this miracle can happen," he pointed out, "then it stands to reason that your country can be brought back." Roland hesitantly nodded.
"My wife, too?" Roland inquired, "my son?"
"Yes."
"Roland, lad," started Batu as Roland started walking towards the triumphant Allegorian king, "What are ye up to?"
"If he can defy fate and get his happy ending," said Roland with great resolve, "then so can I."
He approached Doloran and quietly dropped down to one knee, "How may I serve you, Your Majesty?"
*Clears throat* Bwahahaha.
To be honest, I do have a solution to Surprise Treason Ending but I like how it ended here. Besides, Alisandra is totally fine you guys. :D
Rachel is my go to name for whenever I get the urge to write for a lady!Roland AU.
The Possession Trio was something I got the urge to write about in October but I lacked the drive for it at the time and then I forgot about it for a while. I wasn't expecting it to increasingly become more Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies in each variation though.