It was a bright and fierce thing, their love. Capable of such wondrous things.
But in the end, it mattered not.
The wizard lost himself on a path that those who loved him could never understand. He descended into the Dark, consumed by the temptation of a magic that should not have existed. But boundaries had been broken; barriers had been shattered. There was poison in his words, poison that was dripped into the ears of the weak of heart. Follow me, he whispered. Follow me and I will show you the way.
And the weak of heart had followed.
The brother begged him when they met in a clearing in the Dark Woods. The brother pleaded with him. Think of Randall! Think of our parents! Think of me! Gods, please, Myrin, I beg you. Think of me.
But the wizard known as Myrin did not.
The love fated by the stars was a great wizard in his own right, and did not beg. He did not plead. Instead, Randall gave an ultimatum, though it broke his heart: Turn away. Turn away and renounce your magic. End this nonsense, Myrin, and I will see to it that you are brought home.
And for a moment, it looked as if Myrin would consider it. There was a flash in his eyes, a crack of the mask. The brother saw the man that had once been before all of this. He saw his brother before him, and he thought it’d be enough. That this would end here as the Dark Woods burned around them and they wouldn’t have to go through with what they had planned.
Stone crumbled. It always did.
But Myrin did not.
I cannot do that, he said. I am too far gone to ever return.
Then so be it, Randall said. Morgan.
And Morgan said, I can’t.
The air stilled around them.
Myrin cocked his head. Second thoughts, little brother?
But Morgan only had eyes for Randall. Please. There has to be another way.
There isn’t, Randall said. You knew it would come to this.
But—
Morgan. As my pupil, I am commanding you.
Morgan hung his head.
Myrin laughed. What’s all this, then? You think you can defeat me? Oh, Randall. Love. You have no idea what I’m capable of.
And Randall looked into the eyes of his cornerstone and said, I know. I know what you’re capable of. That isn’t the problem. The problem is that you underestimated what I am capable of.
There was a crack in the sky.
A crack in the air.
A crack in the ear
th.
Randall’s hands were raised before him, palms toward Myrin.
And with a song of sorrow in his heart, Morgan did the same.
At first, Myrin laughed.
He said, This is nothing. You both are nothing. You won’t kill me. You don’t have it in you.