R. Prioleau - The Necromancer's apprentice

The Dragon's muscles stiffened as he stood in a defensive stance. “That was all I needed to hear uttered from your wicked tongue, Banin,” he growled.

As Master Dagg lowered his body to the ground, I felt the scales of his underbelly brush against my face. He was low enough to protect me from incoming blows, but not enough to crush my small, feeble body. I felt the muscles near his front legs jerk as he swung his massive claws at the armored warrior.

I wanted to turn my head to watch the battle, but Master Dagg's body obstructed my view. My ears perked when I finally heard the first screams of pain from Banin; followed by the sounds of claws ripping through steel; and finally, the tearing of flesh.

As Master Dagg roared in anger, he lifted his body off of me and pinned Banin's broken body down with one of his claws.

Injured, weaponless and completely helpless at this point, Banin stared up at the Dragon with nearly terrified, but determined eyes.

“I could kill you,” Master Dagg began, looking rather amused at the sight. “In fact, I feel very inclined to do so, but I will not. I can think of a far better punishment for the likes of you.”

Banin said nothing and his eyes began to glaze over. From under his body, blood slowly oozed out, tinting the murky swamp waters a dark crimson.

When I attempted to stand again, the numbness in my left side returned. My body fell limp and I watched helplessly as Master Dagg picked up the near-unconscious Dragon-slayer in his claws and carried him back to the cave.

Having been left alone in the swamps amidst a heap of armored corpses with faces burned away to the bone, I suddenly felt a deep sleep come over me. My body fell backwards in the shallow water, the back of my head hitting against a small rock lodged in the ground. My head throbbed from the small concussion and my eyes felt heavy the longer I stared up at the cloudy, grey voids above until they eventually closed and my subconscious entered the realm of darkness, unsure of when it would ever awaken.

Darkness shrouded me for what seemed like hours. This place was peaceful, yet lonely. The realm of death was beautiful in its own right. Part of me wanted to remain here indefinitely and not have to face whatever pains lie in the land of the living. There was something so familiar with this place — like a sanctuary of a previous life I once knew, now forgotten.

The darkness soon lifted, revealing the hazy, grey skies above, which swirled in an unknown magical sense as my subconscious walked the lands of unknown solace. The silence was suddenly broken with the sounds of two voices which seemed to come from the sky, echoing over the area gently. The voices sounded distant, yet familiar to my ears.

I stopped my endless trek and averted my eyes up towards the unknown voids.

“To suffer is to learn the pains of another.”

“No! What are you doing?! Stop!”

“You never knew what it meant to suffer. You never truly felt pity over those people.”

“You know nothing of my past, Dragon! Release me, this instant!”

I fell to my knees immediately after hearing Banin's terrifying screams that followed. My head pulsed as his voice rang through and I quickly covered my ears to drown out the piercing sounds. I felt a stinging pain in my chest where my heart was and my body began shaking uncontrollably as a result. Looking down, I saw faint spots of blood beneath the tattered remains of my once-elegant dress. Banin's cries resounded through my head again and I suddenly felt myself awaken from the nightmare….

My eyes and ears slowly opened to the sights and sounds of Master Dagg's laboratory. I felt disoriented for a moment as I struggled to gain my bearings. I was still unsure as to how or why I was here. I gazed lazily up at the stalactites of the cave in silence then realized my body was laying outstretched on one of the examining tables with my hands and arms secured in shackles. Next to me, I noticed Banin's body lying lifelessly.

He was stripped almost nude, with the exception of his simple undergarments covering his lower essentials. Blood covered his chest which was ridden with an array of black tattoos.

Master Dagg suddenly walked by, noticing my awakening and gave me a faint smile. He had assumed his human form once more but looked weaker and frailer than before. His skin was sickly and colorless; I thought he was going to simply fall over dead at any moment.

“Just in time, My Dear,” he said in a gentle tone as he stroked my cheek. “It is done.”

I noticed the subtle relief in his eyes, which made me curious.

He guided his hand over my chest where it had been stitched closed.

“The severed edges of your broken ribs had punctured parts of your heart,” he began. “I tried to repair it, but … your heart is very sensitive to my touch. Half of your heart lost its function and rotted away upon my contact, but I managed to bring life back into it. Part of my blood is transfused into you and links to the phylactery you now wear. The power of the charm will assist the other half of your heart so that it may function as normal as possible.” He stopped and looked at me closely to see if I comprehended his words.

In all of the disorientation of just awakening from a terrible nightmare, I still looked confused. My eyes glazed over the glass phylactery which swirled with a mysterious, blue magic within the charm. It glowed faintly, pulsating in the same manner that I felt my own heart beat. “Have I … died? ” I whispered.

Master Dagg smiled and shook his head briefly. “Not quite, Jasmine. However, you have come dangerously close. Part of you has died, but I have reanimated it through arcanic means. Essentially, you have managed to step between life, death and the undeath — and as a result, you have allowed me to achieve my greatest goal.”

His eyes looked very tired as his smile faded. After releasing me from the shackles, he wandered over to where Banin lay and leaned against the table weakly.

Slowly, I sat up, wincing from the pain of the stitches in my chest and feeling weak as the new blood began pumping through my veins for the first time. I watched in silence as Banin slowly awoke from his coma, his chest stitched up in the same manner, as well. Surprised, I wondered what could have happened while I slept.

It took Banin a few moments to realize where he was before he finally rested his eyes on Master Dagg and asked in a terrified voice, “Why … Why am I still here?! What did you do to me?!”

“I have made you suffer,” Master Dagg rasped weakly. “I have made you become your worst enemy. I have made you embrace your fears and your own ignorance. I have given you life again.”

Banin's eyes widened in horror. “What?!”

“Your heart was so blackened with hatred and ignorance that I had no choice but to remove it. I have given you mine, instead.”

Banin gasped and struggled against the restraints in a frantic rage. “N-No. NO! I will not believe your lies!”

Master Dagg watched him for a moment then proceeded to remove the restraints. “Then, don't,” he replied. “You will soon find out the truth on your own.”

When Banin was free, he simply lay there, staring up at the stalactites in disbelief. His breathing faltered to the point I thought he was going to cry. “W-Why did you do this?” his voice quivered. “Why did you turn me into one of your … experiments?!”

Master Dagg raised a brow slightly. “You are hardly an ‘experiment,’ Banin. You are going to be a living example of what it means to suffer. For all the years you've spread lies and tormented me, you will soon know the very same. See the world through my eyes. Feel the pains I've felt. Learn to understand me and my kind as you've failed to do so in your past life.”