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.”
Master Dagg stood back from the table to give Banin some space to move. He watched the arrogant Dragon-slayer expectantly, waiting for him to finally take leave of his cave.
Ironically, Banin cringed in fear, perhaps for the first time in his life.
“Fear is not received well by many, is it, Banin?” he jeered with a smirk, “Your own fears are now melded within your very soul.”
“I fear you out of respect,” Banin admitted, “It is something not easily earned from a Hunter. You are a worthy opponent, Dragon. But this – this is preposterous!”
Banin continued to watch him, as though he were anticipating the Dragon to suddenly lash out. I envied Master Dagg for what he stood for. He had sacrificed himself and all that he knew to prove a simple point. In the end, he got what he wanted – and Banin got what he deserved.
I was also reborn anew. I had clung to Master Dagg ever since that fateful day he saved me from death. Now, however, I felt as though I had died and been reconstructed into a new being of his liking. I felt neither alive nor dead. I was a fresh host for the new life he had prepared for me. I was his prized apprentice.
Banin eventually dragged out of the cave with slow, cautious steps. The path to the exit was easily laid out for him, but it was obvious that fear had continued flooding his mind as he made his way out. Not feeling any further inclination to take in his surroundings, Banin finally fled the swamps, shrouded in evening's shadow. After he had left, the cave fell to a deathly silence.
Master Dagg took a moment to scan his laboratory, which had been disheveled from recent use. He sighed deeply in exhaustion then collapsed against the table.
I remained where I sat and continued watching the cave exit in fear of Banin returning to finish the deed now that Master Dagg revealed himself in such a weak state; but, to my relief, there was no further sight of the slayer.
“Master Dagg?” I looked over to him, concerned. “Are you all right?”
He managed a weak smile. “I've never been better.”
I briefly glanced towards the exit again then returned my attention back to him. “You let him escape. Aren't you worried that he might return with reinforcements?”
A hint of a chuckle escaped his lips. “Hardly, my dear. He is no longer ... a Dragon-slayer. He is the very man they will consider a traitor and outcast to their cause. He will be the new prey ... soon enough.”
I began to smile at the thought. I would have loved to see the tides turn with my own eyes. The smile suddenly faded, however, when Master Dagg's form slumped further over the table.
“This body is ... too weak to maintain any further,” he murmured tiredly then looked at me with heavy eyes. “I've given you ... the last part of me. Always keep it c
lose to your heart. Protect it ... with your very life.”
I tilted my head curiously. “With my life? But I am dead, aren't I?”
He shook his head and with his shaky fingers, picked up the similar-looking phylactery which hung around my neck.
Slowly, I cupped my hand around the glass charm and felt its warmth. It was made of pure magic, but it also felt as though something was actually living inside.
“Achieving Life Preservation does not come without a price ...” Master Dagg continued. “I have sacrificed much; but, at least I will be able to fulfill my desires and explore the many, hidden treasures of the world.” He gestured to the remainder of his beloved laboratory. “This, Jasmine ... All of this is yours. I've taught you the foundations of the Art of death and undeath. It is up to you to master it on your own, just as I have....”
I opened my mouth to protest, but I was rendered speechless. He sounded as though I would never see him again. Frowning from the thought, I got up from the examining table and walked over to him. I knelt down beside him and embraced his weak form, resting my head upon his shoulder and closing my burning, tearless eyes.
“Master Dagg ...” I shuddered, “Are you leaving me?”
His voice shifted between a low, growling tone and his own human voice as he spoke. “I am leaving to never return. Perhaps, in another life – or death, we will meet again.” He suddenly gasped and his body shook as it started to transform.
I held him tighter in an attempt to suppress the process. “What ... What is happening to you?” I asked worriedly.
“It is ... my punishment for having challenged the work of the gods,” he said. “It is a curse of my own form ... the result of many years as an arcanist – my life preserved....”
I could no longer hold him when his skin hardened and his form grew larger, nearly encompassing the entire laboratory.
He let out a terrifying howl as he broke free of his tattered robes and his body molded into the shape of a Dragon once more. The ebony scales which were once beautiful and majestic had now rotted away into pieces of flesh. His bones, yellowed with age, poked through the shoddy skin effortlessly. Much of his face had rotted away until there was but half of a skull still exposed, with the scaly skin around the other half eroded, torn and barely clinging to the bone. While his human eyes faded away, his draconic eyes never appeared in their place. Instead, the two empty sockets contained green orbs of glowing light that pulsed with a new type of life within. His wings were reduced to bony frames, with the webbed membranes merely rotting pieces of torn and hanging flesh.
Overall, Master Dagg looked like another undead creature. He had all the features as one; yet, I somehow felt a sense of life still left in him. All I could do was gaze at him in awe when his frightening transformation was finally complete.
“Master Dagg! Can you still hear me?” I called up to the grotesque form. “Are you still a Dragon? Are you still alive?!”
The Dragon's green eyes stared at me intently. I had feared Master Dagg would no longer remember who I was and perhaps attack me out of instinct; but, I tried to remain calm.
“I am as much of a Dragon as I will ever be,” he spoke in a ghastly tone, though his voice was still recognizable to my ears. “I have shed my draconic skin of the past in order to embrace the new unlife that awaits me. Ironically, I feel very much alive in this new body as I did the last.”
He turned and started for the cave entrance. Despite his frightful form, he walked normally as any Dragon would. His bony tail slithered along behind him, revealing the last of his once-beautiful, obsidian scales that hadn't yet rotted away. I watched for a few moments before chasing after him out of the cave.
Master Dagg stood in the midst of his beloved swamps among a heap of corpses of men and rotting harpy alike and gazed at the sky. He extended his bony wings to test the winds.
I was skeptical about him being able to fly, but the magical aura that encompassed him seemed to render it possible.
“Goodbye, Jasmine and thank you.” His hollow voice was morbid, yet gentle.
I couldn't form the words to speak. The phylactery around my neck pulsated in random intervals, reflecting the pain my heart was feeling.
After saying his goodbyes, Master Dagg took off in a single leap towards the cloudy, night sky and the stars beyond. The sound of his wings flapping and the air rushing through his skeletal form was heard, then grew faint as he drew further away.
I fell to my knees in the cold, murky waters of the swamps, my head still tilted towards the sky. Pleasant memories of Master Dagg's company flooded my mind and I couldn't help but smile. He had truly helped me – and I, in turn, helped him.
Perhaps I am not dead, after all. I thought. Perhaps, this is only the beginning of a renewed life.
When Master Dagg's great form had finally disappeared, I clutched the phylactery once more, closed my eyes and for the first time, felt a single tear roll down my cheek.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.M. Prioleau is a game designer and artist by day and a dangerous writer by night. Since childhood, she's continued discovering new ways to expand her skills and creativity as she delves into the realm of literary abandon. R.M. has been active in various writing communities, including NaNoWriMo (since 2009) and GothNoWriMo (since 2010). The Necromancer's Apprentice is R.M.'s first printed novel, written during the 2010 GothNoWriMo competition.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
About the Author
The Necromancer's Apprentice Page 8