Once again Magnus did not escape peacefully into his draconic meditation. How could he? The next morning he would begin training Katharina for the Adventurer's Guild, part of the elite team in Lord Staufen's new spy ring. And the training needed to be cruel. 

Right from the start.

By the end Katharina would hate him. But Magnus would have done his job and produced a loyal wizard worthy of the title 'Master'.

For hours Katharina would work in the drawing room adjacent to his study. Somehow Magnus would have to remain objective. He would put her under great stress. He would give her orders that fostered the security of Minningen even if that meant putting her welfare second. 

Not to mention his. Magnus would have to feel nothing. He could treat her no differently than any other candidate he had trained. 

Impossible! That woman has haunted my Dreamscape for six years.

In that ethereal realm—which humans could hardly remember and dragons experienced as clear as the physical realm with all six of their senses—Magnus could find no rest. It gave him no reprieve. His tortured mind vacillated between his war guilt and the regret of unfulfilled dreams.

Magnus tossed and turned in the darkness of his chambers. He needed rest. Finally his eyelids fluttered shut. But his relentless Dreamscape betrayed him, recreating that one pivotal battle with eidetic precision. The one he desperately wanted to forget.

***

The putrid stench of burning hair and flesh choked Magnus.

Clouds of green poison billowed like smoke while fire dragons burned warriors alive with flames of death. Shadow dragons spewed pools of caustic acid onto their enemies, who screamed in agony. The congealed mass of yellowish goop melted any flesh that it touched.

Ice spikes fell from the sky, spearing elves and dwarves alike. But even Magnus' fearsome kin could not turn the tide of the battle.

His fellow dragon comrades screeched in pain. Warriors of the Light bellowed orders to each other, using ropes and metal chains to imprison their war captives. Magnus wanted to help. But the Queen had given him strict orders to hunt down the mole who had betrayed them.

It was Erik, his beloved mentor.

Now he must die.

With eyes as dark as the Teufelwalder forest, Erik observed his former student as he entered the secluded cave. "Come with me, Magnus. You have always questioned the way of the Shadow. It's time to follow the Light."

"That was before I realized the Light killed innocent children." Magnus brandished his sword and switched from Common to Shadowspeak. "You have brought nothing but ruin!"

"We accept all who turn to the Light."

"Your people force us to choose betrayal or death."

The two foes circled one another like lynxes ready to pounce. Erik's scales glowed bright red in the Teufelwalder sunset even though they were as gray as storm clouds.

"I'm surprised you didn't shift," said Erik. "Your ice breath could defeat me easily."

"Unlike the Light, we do not prey on the helpless," sneered Magnus. "We will fight fairly. As equals. And you will still lose."

"So certain?"

Magnus bared his fangs. "You taught me well."

The young dragon raced toward his enemy and attacked. His mentor parried the half-hearted blows easily before they began to circle once more.

"You also told me to love family above all," said Magnus. "What brought you to this?"

"The Great Balance is all that matters," replied Erik, "and the Shadow Queen has grown too powerful."

"Politics!" Magnus scoffed. "Tell me the truth. What made you turn?"

Erik met his gaze but held his tongue.

That drove Magnus to attack once more. This time their swords clashed in quick, precise binds until Erik thrust him back. His enemy used such force that Magnus hit the wall of the cave.

It knocked the air from his lungs.

With a groan the young dragon stumbled to his feet. Why does Erik not attack? What has turned him into such a pathetic little wyrm?

"Was it love?" Magnus spat in Common before continuing in their native tongue. "Do you think ramming one human female justifies this carnage?"

Magnus gestured around the battlefield as he slowly pressed forward, forcing Erik to step backward out of the cave.

Across the basalt caldera lay great piles of draconic corpses. Severed heads had been gathered as trophies of war. Among them laid one of Erik's close kin. A mighty general.

"Both sides must survive," insisted Erik amid crashing fireballs. "Without the Light, there is no Shadow. Without the Shadow, there is no Light. This battle will restore the balance."

"Minningen has stolen what is rightfully ours!"

"No, the Queen has lied to us. To keep herself in power."

"Blasphemy!" Magnus extended his sword, pointing it at his enemy. The wind from the beating of draconic wings teased his dark waves. "How could you betray her? How could you betray us?"

How could you betray me? You were my family.

"What you feel for her...isn't love." Erik drew a step closer. "It's affection twisted into obsession."

Erik's words burned the ice dragon's heart. His blood boiled like the red-hot lava inside of Mount Balaam. Magnus' breaths came in short, angry bursts as he brandished his blade.

You will die slowly. I will eke out every last drop of your pain.

"The Queen will use you for her own pleasure only as long as you're valuable," said Erik in a calm tone. "Then she'll cast you away."

"You know nothing." Magnus hissed in derision. "You're jealous."

"No, I know it's true because she did it to me." Erik shook his head. "And to many, many others."

Silence fell like a pall.

"Only when I moved to Minningen did I meet my true family," he added.

Those words broke him.

A bass rumble reverberated from Magnus, making the caldera tremble. Erik took a defensive stance, but this time it would not suffice.

Their swords clashed with manic fury. Each wild swing from the young warrior came with a furious roar, for he had loved Erik more than his own father. His callous words had pierced his heart better than a flaming sword.

My true family.

Aware of his mentor's weaknesses, Magnus knew how to secure victory. His mentor had taught him all too well. Erik's strength began to wane, exhausted from the previous hours of endless battle. With each swing the old dragon's resolve failed him more and more.

"You're pathetic!" Magnus hurled a new insult with each bind. "Less agile! Totally predictable! Weakened by pastoral life!"

"At least I have found love," retorted Erik. "Like me, you shall never find it until you earn your redemption."

"Then may my redemption begin today."

The young warrior knocked his enemy's feet from under him and pierced his stomach.

Erik groaned.

It would not be a quick death. Oh, no. This one would take its time. An ignominious end for any dragon, one that might take days or even weeks.

"Finish it," Erik gasped.

"No."

Erik grasped his arm and pulled him nearer. "Finish...it! Send me to Elysium!"

"You are not going to Elysium," sneered Magnus, shrugging away from his grasp. "Your armies killed and enslaved our people. Our children. None of you deserve mercy."

"I have...never...killed a child."

"But your betrayal allowed it to happen."

Erik squeezed his eyes shut.

"What made you so weak?" Magnus narrowed his gaze. "You gave up your wings. Your power. Your soul. And for what?"

Silence.

"You could have been the greatest Shadow general in Teufelwald!" Magnus said. "Now look at you! A human body with useless scales. Neither dragon nor human."

"That's right." Erik gave him a sad smile. "Balance."

"No!" Magnus roared. "I deserve the truth. You betrayed me. You betrayed your comrades. You betrayed your Queen. Tell me why!"

The last word fell as a furious accusation as Magnus leaned on his sword, digging deeper into Erik's flesh. A pained gurgle came from the dying dragon's throat.

"I will not ask you again. If you want mercy, you shall answer." Magnus bent down until his face was a mere digit away from that of his mentor. A derisive hiss slipped from his lips. "Why?"

Erik's body convulsed as he spat up blood. He reached to his throat and yanked a metal chain from his neck. Magnus took a step back and stared at his mentor, incredulous.

With a trembling hand the dying dragon opened a locket with two tiny paintings inside. Both human. On one side stood a beautiful older woman with onyx hair, brilliant blue eyes, and skin as pale as the moon.

On the other side was the woman's younger doppelganger. But then Magnus realized the truth. Her eyes were not blue. They were as dark as the Teufelwalder forest. 

My true family.

At once the young dragon knew who had turned Erik.

The sunset faded as the eternal star dipped below the horizon, painting the caldera in Shadow.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Magnus twisted the blade.

Erik opened his mouth, though no scream fell from his lips. His breath came quick and shallow as he spoke his final words. "Thank you..."

Mercy. Sometimes it mattered more than revenge.

Erik's hand fell lifeless to the basalt plain. The open locket lay tangled in his thin fingers. Magnus snatched the trinket and draped it around his neck. He marched away, his dark cloak billowing behind him.

But the elder Magnus felt none of the self-righteous fervor of his younger self. Instead, he knelt before Erik on bended knee.

"Forgive me, Father." Magnus clutched his raven waves until he almost ripped them from the roots. "You were right."

Before the Tower guard could rise, a flaming blade stabbed his back and exited through his chest. It was the only weapon that could pierce through the scales of an ice dragon.

Hiss!

The nauseating stench of burning flesh came before the pain.

Soft lips grazed his ear. A feminine voice fell softly, gentle as a feather's kiss. "There can be no forgiveness."

Then it came. Ten thousand red-hot needles all at once. Magnus couldn't breathe. Couldn't roar. Could only pant. Squeezing his eyes shut, he exhaled an agonized groan.

Somehow he gathered the strength to say the words. "Finish it!"

A woman circled him with slow, deliberate steps that echoed louder than the ear-shattering fireballs. Her sapphire blue robes billowed in the fiery wind. Her black leather ankle boots clacked on the basalt plain until she stood before him.

Tilting his head back until his gaze met hers, Katharina glared at him with her father's brilliant eyes. The young wizard did not say a word. She did not need to.

Her scornful glare laid bare a thousand tomes, all rendering the same verdict.

No, you deserve the pain.

***

Magnus awoke with a gasp, clutching his chest.

Even in the physical plane, her blade had injured him. Magnus lifted his linen shirt to find a vibrant red bruise where Katharina's weapon had pierced his chest. Slowly the mark faded.

But the pain remained constant.

Stumbling from his bed, Magnus groaned and rubbed his aching chest. After unlocking the top drawer, he found Erik's locket, no longer covered in blood.

There she was. Erik's daughter, Katharina. The woman who had tended to him through a fate worse than death. The woman with whom he had bonded despite his every attempt to shut down his heart. The woman who could never love him after what he had done.

Eric's words resounded in his mind. You will never find love until you earn your redemption.

On this day Katharina would begin working with him. Closely. Too close. Magnus would have to lock away all his feelings for her. All his guilt. All his remorse.

Katharina must never know.

She must never care for a monster like me, or we'll both fall together.

Though Magnus had repented for his crimes with weeks of unspeakable pain after the Great Split, it would never suffice. Nothing would cleanse his soul. Not really. Any sacrifice had been negated the moment Fate had made Katharina his nurse.

Magnus picked up the silver mask—the one that hid away all emotion. He pressed it against his face until it melded with his living flesh. It turned all his passion, all his guilt, and all his loneliness into a guise of complete neutrality.

With this mask the Tower guard could begin to reconstruct a heart of pure ice. A clever and necessary tactic to put his feelings aside and win the war.

I cannot simply wear the mask. I must become the mask.

___

Word count: 1,973
Total word count: 10,772/20,000