Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Archie! Where are you! Archie!” Douxie screamed as loud as he could running around the battlefield searching for his dear friend and familiar.

As Douxie was running Trolls, soldiers, and Gumm-Gumms were fighting. Just as Douxie was reaching a clearing a Gumm-Gumm ran into him turning his attention to Douxie snarling at the young wizard. The Gumm-Gumm raised his spear in preparation to strike before a knight of Camelot stepped in.

“You shouldn’t be here errand boy!” The knight yelled over his shoulder as he attacked the Gumm-Gumm.

“Lancelot, I’m sorry have you seen Archie?” Douxie wasn’t bothered by being called errand boy all that mattered was finding his friend in this mess.

“Who? Your cat?” Another Gumm-Gumm attacked Lancelot while he was slightly distracted, but he managed to evade it. “I haven’t errand boy, but you should either take up arms or leave!” Lancelot dashed into battle taking on 3 more Gumm-Gumms.

A bright light shown just behind Douxie causing him and some others to turn around to face the bridge. There The Trollhunter Deya was taking the final strike against Gunmar. The sight was captivating causing many to stop fighting momentarily and relish in their soon to be victory.

Douxie however was taking this pause in conflict to search for his lost familiar. He rushed to another clearing and looked up and down for Archie. Finally he spotted him he was flying closer ot Killahead Bridge searching the crowd for Douxie no doubt.

Just as the two made eye contact the portal to The Darklands opened pulling the Gumm-Gumms and others into it’s hold.

“Archie!” Douxie yelled fighting against the pull from the Bridge, but also trying to reach his dear friend.

Archie was doing much the same however due to how close to the bridge he the pull was much stronger no matter how much he flapped his wings. “Douxie! Run!” Archie lost sight of the boy while trying to fly away, and before he knew it he was sucked into the pull from the Bridge.

“Archie!!! No!! Archie!” Douxie’s voice felt strained as he lost his friend before his eyes unable to stop it from happening. Tears fell from his eyes as he stopped fighting the pull of the portal allowing himself to lose his footing and fall towards it.

Just as he was about to be sucked in as well the portal closed. He couldn’t even join Archie in The Darklands. Douxie laid on the floor sobbing while others celebrated their victory. Soon enough Douxie felt more hallow.

After calming down some he made his way over to Merlin his master. Maybe he would have a solution to free Archie. What he found however was Merlin sleeping. A deep magical coma at that. He had lost his familiar, his sister, and now his master.

Douxie didn’t allow himself to wallow anymore as a used his magic to levitate his master to his tower. There was no way he was going to carry him all the way.

The walk was treacherous given how far the battle had been, but luckily everyone was too busy celebrating and treating their injured to bother them on their trip.

The walk up the tower felt like forever as Douxie reached his stamina limit however he couldn’t take a break as he searched Merlin’s tower for his plans. He always had a plan especially for something like a magically induced coma.

Soon enough he stumbled across some blueprints for ‘Merlin’s Tomb’ of course he wanted Douxie to build him a tomb to sleep in. Even in his sleeping state he was still having Douxie carry out his tasks.

On the last page of the blueprints was a short note that read: ‘Hisirdoux during my sleep do not interfere in any human or troll matters. Everything must go according to what I’ve foreseen lest you destroy everything. Create this tomb for me to rest and find safe storage for my items elsewhere we wouldn’t want those getting in the wrong hands.’

He was to build his tomb AND find storage for his items. Unbelievable. Douxie wouldn’t have the time to even search for Archie at this rate. Before he could overthink it he began to search Merlin's books for anything related to The Darklands.

Hours. Hours of looking and only one book. It made no sense, and it only mentioned The Darklands. Something wasn’t right. Merlin used The Darklands to hide away all the Gumm-Gumms and yet there were no books. Merlin had books on everything. Did he get rid of them to ensure that no one would free the Gumm-Gumms. Maybe. Or did he get rid of them to stop Douxie from trying to help Archie…

Douxie quickly shoved that thought away. His master was cruel and harsh, but he wouldn’t go that far it was more likely that he didn’t want someone to free the Gumm-Gumms.

But what if it was Douxie he didn’t want to free the Gumm-Gumms while trying to free Archie… Merlin did read the future, so it would make sense.

Douxie found himself hyperventilating on the floor. Everything was spinning. Nothing made any sense. Archie wasn’t there to help. He hugged his knees to his chest as he laid on the floor sobbing. There was a ringing in his ear. Maybe he failed to free his friend and Merlin was sparing him? Or maybe he only freed the Gumm-Gumms? Or maybe Archie died? Oh, please anything but that…

Douxie was in a state of panic until he passed out from exhaustion. When he awoke the next day, he refused to think about it. He went straight to work on gathering what was needed for the tomb and packing Merlin’s other belongings.

It took about 100 years to finish up Merlin’s tomb the work helped keep him mind away from The Darklands. He quickly secured a place for Merlin’s belongings.

With everything done Douxie decided to leave not only the tomb or Camelot, but Merlin. Until Douxie got Archie back he was no longer his apprentice. He would carry out Merlin’s last wishes, but his main focus was to get Archie back no matter what, and if that last wish got in the way, then he would have to ignore his old Master’s wishes.

Chapter Text

Douxie didn’t communicate his absence to anyone in Camelot. He didn’t have anyone he felt obligated to explain himself to. Not even the King himself… Not that he would listen to Merlin’s Apprentice (or errand boy, as everyone knows him)

He first looks into where he knew Merlin had been in the past year before his slumber. He did a lot more excursions during that time, which he documented in a journal. The journal was easy to find, luckily and it was not locked in anyway, but there were no notes of any kind, just locations… all across the world. It would take him years, possibly centuries, to go to each place and search for any information on The Darklands. It hurts that what took Merlin merely a year would cost Douxie much more time… However, he didn’t even have the time to worry about that, so he started his journey with haste.

The first town he went to was one he knew well, since he did many errands for Merlin here with Archie. His familiar bond felt so distant, but there was a form of clarity with it still existing, at least. He couldn’t tell what state his friend was in, but he was alive, and that’s truly all that matters. Although Archie is not with him now, he will still accomplish his goal in this town.

He made his way over to the bookstore first. It helped that he knew the owner. He searched through fiction since most magic-related literature would be misplaced. There was nothing… Not even normal magic books, which was strange. He looked through books related to herbs and nothing again. He made his way down every section over and over, and still there was nothing. All the magic books were just gone. Nothing much less a book about The Darklands.

Douxie made his way to the front desk to speak with the owner. “Pardon me, sir. I was wondering where your books about magic are located. They seemed to have been moved,” he asked while hiding his internal panic, though his voice felt shaky.

The owner looked up, looking annoyed. “Agh, all those pesky things are gone! Magic shouldn’t have even been in this store in the first place. You shouldn’t be reading them either, they are cursed things, Hisirdoux!” The owner’s voice was very rough, making him sound mad, and he probably is this time.

“Where have they gone?” Douxie was growing more panicked. “I’m a Wizard Apprentice, of course, I would want books related to magic, sir. Please tell me where I can find them…” he was practically begging at this point. There was no hiding how desperate he was.

“Gah! Their all burned! Gone forever!” Douxie’s face paled as he heard what happened to the books. “This Wizard from Camelot came here and had me get them all together for him. I thought he was gonna take them for himself, but after paying, he burned them damn things!” The owner's face lit up as he reminisced on the memory. “Probably figured out that magic was never meant to exist and wanted to destroy it. Whatever his reasoning, I’m grateful.”

“What was his name?” Douxie mumbled.

“Huh? Speak up, boy!”

“The wizard, what was his name?” Douxie was now looking right at the owner, showing how scared and desperate he was for the answer.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure he was apparently famous in some sense.” The owner was more of a recluse, so of course, he wouldn’t know the name.

“Was the wizard named Merlin?” Douxie’s voice was hollow.

“Ah, yes, that would be it!”

“No…”

“He had this staff that had this green no no that’s not quite right…. Ah, right, Emerald, that’s what he said it was. There was an emerald stone in the staff! You really couldn’t miss it!”

Douxie said nothing more as he got all the confirmation he needed and then some. Merlin destroyed any hope of him getting the magic or knowledge to free Archie. He didn’t want to believe it. So, Douxie continued. He went to 5 more places that Merlin visited in the last year before his slumber. It was all the same. ‘Merlin himself paid them a visit and took care of the demonic texts plaguing their stores.’

Douxie changes his plans. Instead of searching the towns and kingdoms Merlin visited before his slumber, he would go where he didn’t. The chances of Merlin missing a few books during his time destroying them are slim to say the least, but not impossible. He would also search for other wizards whose knowledge would help him get to The Darklands.

Though the plan sounded good in theory, it was not possible… Merlin was a Master Wizard who had a great number of books pertaining to wizardry. Which meant finding any other wizard with knowledge that Douxie didn’t learn or have access to was difficult to say the least.

Douxie was chasing rumors of wizards in towns who were kicked out by their own families and friends. Lucky for him, he was able to use a tracking spell he learned for his search for books to find them. For tracking spells, you would usually need to know exactly what you were looking for, from what it or they looked like to their name or what its contents were, depending on what you were tracking. This new spell Douxie created allowed for more leeway when tracking anything and anyone; you only needed an idea. The spell would create multiple paths, which he could then narrow down by distance or what he needed.

After casting the spell, he quickly made his way using a levitation spell he had gotten great at during the construction of Merlin’s Tomb. What he found at the end of his tracking spell was a small group of people huddled together in a cave.

“Hello there, wizards. I’m Hisirdoux Casperan, though you may call me Douxie I have some questions.” He made sure to openly float down to them, so they knew he wasn’t going to attack them like the villagers most likely would have.

The group's eyes immediately fell on him they all looked wary even with his display of magic. Not unexpected but regretful, as it may take longer to build trust with this group and gain allies on his quest to save Archie.

A young boy, around 17, stood before him as the spokesperson of their group. “What do you want from us, wizard! We are just travelers, we’re NOT like you!”

“Oh, but you are. You all have magic in you. I can sense it. Have you all not been banished from your homes due to the use of magic?” Douxie asked, though he already knew the answer.

Someone in the back, a young girl closer to 10, stood and yelled. “So what, you're wrong! We were wronged! We just want to go home!” She began to cry as another boy comforted her.

Douxie looked at this group of wizards, actually looked at them. They were all young, definitely not 20. They had all lost everything due to something they were born with and couldn’t control. He should focus on Archie, he told himself over and over again. However, right now, he couldn’t ignore these children in need of help.

Douxie walked into the cave and joined them around the fire, whether they welcomed it or not. “I understand I once only wished for acceptance from my friends and family; however, this is the world we must live in… I can help you all stay in hiding. You won’t have your old life back, but you’ll be able to create a new one together.”

The same boy from before stood before Douxie. “Do you mean it? Could we really be safe?”

“Yes, you can. Once again, my name is Hisirdoux Casperan; you may call me Douxie. I’m a wizard in training and have yet to earn my staff. I would feel honored if you all would allow me to aid you in surviving this world where you're hated for something you cannot control.” Everyone looked up to Douxie with a newfound feeling of hope that they can walk among others in hiding.

The young 17-year-old(?) spokesperson introduced himself, “My name is Benjamin Williams, though you can call me Ben.” Douxie took in his appearance this time. Ben was wearing a brown tunic, though it was covered in ash; he was most likely chased out of his village with fire or something along those lines. He had shoulder-length brown hair and matching brown eyes. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, actually. Douxie looked at them all; none of them had shoes.

The young 10-year-old(?) came into the light, stuttering over her words. “M-my n-name is Elaina S-smith, but people call me El.” Now that she was in the light, she was fairly short with blonde hair, which was dulled due to the dirt covering her head. She had a red mark on her face, most likely from being hit; it looked recent. She was probably from the village he had come from. Douxie felt a small flame light inside him at the mere thought and wanted to burn down the village that harmed her. The only thing keeping him from doing so? Merlin’s last wishes.

The boy who was on Douxie’s left stood up. He had blonde hair that was dulling its color much like Elaina’s hair due to the dirt. He had green eyes with complemented his freckles. The boy introduced himself next. “I-I’m Henry Ranger… I don’t have another name I go by…” The boy, Henry, was clearly embarrassed that he was lacking compared to the others, as his face was tinted red and he was shuffling around.

“No shame in it, plenty of people go by just their names!” Douxie said, trying to cheer the boy up. He received a shy smile from the boy in return.

“My name is Shannon Elwood!” A girl with bright red hair and matching green eyes perked up from further away. “I don’t completely trust you yet, but I want your aid!” Her voice carried easily through the cave, showing her conviction. Her introduction brought a smile to Douxie’s face. This was rare. How long had it been since he last smiled… He didn’t know.

“My name is Julien Crawford.” The last boy's introduction was to the point. He had black hair with brown eyes, and he had freckles, much like Henry.

“Excellent, now that I know all of your names and you know mine, I want to make one thing clear: you are my students, not my apprentices. I will teach you all the spells you need to know to protect and hide, not attack.” Douxie thought for a moment about whether he should drag these children into his search… Would it be too much… “I’m searching for someone…” He needed to find Archie; that was all that mattered. “He is currently in another realm; however, all I ask of you five is that if you hear anything that could help me, you tell me that is all I ask in exchange for my teachings.”

Shannon was the one who spoke for them this time. “Is it dangerous? Will we get targeted for helping you?”

Douxie let out a sigh. “If you were to be targeted, it would not be any more than you already are.”

“Do you expect us to dedicate our lives to helping you search for this person, or the information needed to free them?” Shonnon continued her questions. Douxie was pleasantly surprised at how well thought out they were. She would make an excellent wizard in the future.

“No, I don’t. If you choose to seek out the information I’m looking for, I would be pleased; however, I won’t force you to seek it out, let alone dedicate your life to finding it.” Douxie wasn’t planning on having them swear allegiance or anything along those lines; he just wanted the information if they managed to find it. That’s all he could ask for.

“Ok then, I don’t see any problem with us helping you if we are able or so choose.” She turns to the rest of the group. They all quickly nod in agreement with her decision.

“Perfect, I’m glad that we have come to an agreement!” Douxie looked them all over again, and their states of clothes, injuries, and hygiene were all horrible. “I’m going to cast a quick spell…” Douxie mumbled the spell under his breath as he used his bracelet to channel the correct configuration. With the wave of his hand, their clothes were restored to brand new states, and their minor injuries were as if they had never occurred. They all had their hair and bodies cleaned as well, making them smell much nicer and look presentable.

Before anyone could say anything, Douxie felt someone jump up and grab onto his arm. Looking over it was young Elaina, “I want to learn that spell!” She cheered quickly, coming out of her shy state.

“In due time, but for right now can I get all of your ages? This will help me know where to start when teaching you all.” He quickly explained.

“I’m 12!” Elaina quickly said. She looked too little to be 12… She looks 10, maybe younger…

“I’m 14,” Henry said, raising his hand… He looked closer to 12.

“I’m 18,” Benjamin said, which wasn’t as far off from his guess of 17.

“I’m 16,” Julien said, which seemed about right, but he still looked too thin.

“And I’m 15,” Shannon spoke up. She also looked her age, much like Julien, but it was clear they hadn’t had proper meals in a while.

Douxie was going to have his hands full with these 5. They were all much too thin and small for their ages. First thing he’s going to have to do is fatten them up!

Chapter Text

Although Douxie cannot create food from thin air, but he can use magic on the ingredients. Another spell he learned in his time away from Merlin. Although “magic is not a shortcut to hard work” is a good lesson it doesn’t put food on the table, and it takes too much time. So, Douxie left the young wizards in the cave while he went to the village to acquire ingredients.

“Are you sure that’s all you need?” The shopkeeper asked.

“Yes this will do nicely thank you fair lady.” Douxie stored everything he bought in a satchel he enchanted, though he had to secretly store items away so no one suspected him of witchcraft.

After gathering all necessary ingredients he headed to the outskirts of the village, but didn’t return to the group quite yet. Instead he used his tracking magic to narrow down everyone in the village to who kicked out the Elaina. Sadly it was most of the village. After he narrowed it down he placed a spell on them, though it’s more like a curse. Anyone who treats such a young girl so cruelly deserves what’s coming for them. The ‘curse’ he placed made them all incapable of having children, and placed great misfortune on them as well. It might not seem as much, but it will affect them all greatly.

Douxie feels like a weight has been lifted form his shoulders. He has managed to get revenge on the villagers for what they have done to such a young child, and he has met some more wizards. Sure they aren’t skilled or knowledgeable, but that doesn’t matter what matters is that he has found some peers. They are a bright group who will surely be able to aid him in the future. Before he knows it Douxie is walking back to the cave with a smile on his face while humming. Truly something he hasn’t done in a century.

As he returns to the cave the children are just as he left them huddled around their fire. Without saying anything he sets up a cauldron (summoned with magic of course another useful spell he’s learned) over the fire. The young wizards look at him in shock, but he continues his preparation for dinner as he goes through his bracelet for the correct configuration. Once found he uses levitation magic to pull ingredients from the bag effortlessly. The kids all watch in awe as he proceeds to make a soup in the cauldron. The smell filled the cave causing the young'uns stomachs to growl. Douxie snickered to himself as their faces became red.

“Alright soups ready!” Douxie announced as he started to grab bowls and spoons to serve the soup to them.

“It smells good! How did you make it so quickly?” Benjamin asked.

“Simple I used magic!” Douxie announced proudly. “Although I won’t be teaching you all much I can have you all assist with meals. That way you all can learn while I make the food.” Douxie feels proud of himself for thinking of such a good way to teach them something extra without taking away from the other lessons.

After everyone got their servings Elaina asked a question. “Sir Douxie… Who are you looking for? Who are you wanting to free so bad that you would go so far for us? Are we truly going to help you that greatly in your search?” Elaina looked scared at whatever Douxie was going to say in response.

The first thing Douxie wants to clear up is that he needs something from them. “I promise you that if I wasn’t searching for my friend I would still have helped you all.” They all look at him confused as if he had just said something unexpected. “I was once cast out of my home much like you all have… I managed to find a friend who helped me cope, but you all are children. You shouldn’t have to rely on one another in such cruel circumstances. That’s all there is to it. I do hope to gain your assistance with finding my friend, but I’d never ask any of you to focus your whole existence on such a matter.” Douxie truly did hope they would help him if they could, but this was something he would do alone.

Shannon is the one who spoke up, “Douxie I think we can all agree that we are eternally grateful. We’ll all contact you if we find anything on your friend. Though who is this friend? You haven’t really told us anything. You’re going so far for them why?”

Douxie let another smile slip onto his face at the mere thought of Archie. “Where do I even begin? Well his name is Archie and…” pause for dramatic effect, “he’s a dragon!” Everyone looks at him in utter shock.

“You’re friends with a dragon!!”

“They exist!”

“You’re a liar!”

“Now now it’s all true I promise you lot.” Douxie pulls out a locket from under his shirt opening it to show a small painting of him and Arch. He took it off and showed them. With the proof that Douxie truly befriended a dragon they all sit back down, so he can continue his story.

“Alright then… Archie is a dear friend to me as well as my familiar.” They all look confused. “A familiar is a wizards associate, though their called their assistant they truly are your equal and should be referred to as such.” They all nod along. “Archie met me when I was just a boy round Elaina’s age I would say. He was my first teacher in away. He helped me hone my magic without any proper instructions, and gave me advice for spells and plans. We traveled from town to town together never staying in one place for too long.”

“Archie sounds nice!” Henry comments.

“He really is except when you wake him up from his cat nap!” Douxie laughs to himself at the memories of Archie.

“Didn’t you say he was a dragon?” Shannon asks.

“That he is! He can shapeshift into any creature that exists his favorite one happens to be a cat!” This sparks more questions in the group which is clear from the look in their eyes. “As much as I would love to tell you all in great detail about Archie’s capabilities all you must know is he’s very dear to me. I would take on the world to get him back.”

“Where is he?” It was Julien who asked this time.

“He’s in a realm called The Darklands as it is named it is a dark realm that has decayed and died through the ages and now serves as a prison of sorts for evil trolls.” Douxie explains to them.

“If it’s a prison to evil trolls how did Archie end up there?” Shannon asked concern obvious on her face.

“He has done no harm and is not dangerous I can assure you of that much. Archie and I were at the battle in which the evil trolls were banished to The Darklands. Arch was too close to the bridge and got swept up in it’s pull…” The tone turned solemn as Douxie looked away ashamed. “I tried to reach him, but he was too far, and when he went into the portal it was already too late…”

“It was unavoidable then.” Benjamin was the one who spoke up. “There was no way for you to have changed anything, so don’t wallow in self pity.” Everyone looked shocked at his worlds.

“I think that’s a bit far Ben…” Elaina said as her eyes darted between Douxie and Ben.

“What I’m trying to say is you did all that you could. You’re still trying to save him, and I’m sure you will! We’ll all be aiding you on your quest!” Everyone in the group looked to Douxie nodding in agreement and determination.

“Well then since your all so eager to aid me on my quest how about we begin your training.” Douxie used magic to clean the area from his cooking.

“Now we’ll start with where your all at…” Douxie proceeded have them all show what they already know how to do if there is anything they know how to do.

Elaina and Henry don’t know any spells, but they can feel their magic which is promising. Julien and Ben can each do one spell. Shannon on the other hand can do 2 spells. Douxie splits them up based on their skill level Elaina and Henry then Julien and Ben with Shannon working alone.

Douxie planned to teach them all different spells, so in the future they can exchange knowledge with one another and possibly teach another generation of wizards. Though in this case he would teach 2 groups of 2 different spells and 1 person another… That sounds complicated…

Douxie turned to Julien, Ben, and Shannon. “Alright since you 3 know at least one spell practice what you know while I get the other 2 started with a basic spell.

Teaching the 3 different groups worked in rotations like this throughout their time together. They all took breaks together to eat and talk about what they were learning. They quickly found that they were all learning different materials and demanded Douxie explain himself.

“Simple I want you to all grow from one another,” they all looked confused. “You all know different sets of spells which means after I leave you 5 you all can continue to grow from one another this way you will all know more spells in the long run.” They still looked confused so Douxie explained it to them over lunch until they got a grasp of what he was planning.

Their time together passed by quickly days turned to weeks which turned to months then years and suddenly 5 years passed. They all grew up wonderfully from the starving abandoned children he met in the passed. Douxie knew it was his time to leave, but a part of him wanted to stay with this little family he helped to create, but another part of himself knew it was wrong. Archie was still out there… He wouldn’t drag them further into his quest, and he could never abandon Archie in The Darklands.

Douxie rounded up everyone after lunch before they started training which was highly unusual which caused them all to be on guard. “I will be leaving tomorrow.” Douxie announced which caused everything to erupt into chaos.

“What why did you tell us sooner?” El began to cry even at 17 her emotions were still all over the place.

“Please don’t go I’m not ready I haven’t finished learning to teleport…” Julien who was so quiet and guarded for their first year together was now clenching Douxie’s cloak begging him not to go.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell us til the day before!” Henry yelled in anger which hurt Douxie a bit.

“I’m sorry truly I didn’t plan to leave tomorrow, but things have changed. There is a Kingdom I want to visit that had some books come in from overseas,” Douxie explained.

“Why can’t we just come with you then? We’ve been traveling together for 5 years now what’s different?” Ben finally spoke up looking hurt.

“You all knew this day would come eventually… I always planned for 5 years so El could grow up to be a proper lady seeing as how Ben was 17 when we met I thought it would be fitting.” Douxie knew it wasn’t great reasoning, but it’s all he has.

“W-w-why t-tomorrow!?!?” El sobbed into Douxie’s side.

“I need to get to the Kingdom the same day the books arrive since they tend to destroy anything related to magic the moment it’s discovered.” That truly was his reasoning.

There were more and more questions than Douxie could count from all of the young children (though they’ve aged some they will forever be children to Douxie). They all skipped out on training to spend time together before Douxie left. They all treated him to dinner even refusing to let him enter the cave to help them.

Through all this one of them didn’t speak a word.. Shannon she was over by the lake just outside of the cave looking at the setting sun as Douxie joined her.

“Not going to help with dinner preparations?” Douxie asked to which she simply shook her head before turning away from him altogether. “I’m sorry. I should’ve prepared better before leaving… I just thought if I don’t leave now I might not have the heart to leave later…” Shannon looked over at Douxie; her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

“You think I don’t understand? I heard everything you said earlier I already know! I get it you have to leave, but I don’t want you to none of us do! Why did you have to come into our lives just to leave us?’ Shannon knew it was an unfair question especially with all Douxie did for them, but she was hurting.

“I’ve done everything I can for all of you… You’ll all thrive without me I promise.”

Shannon threw herself on Douxie tackling him to the ground in a hug. “I will become a powerful sorceress and track you down one day to free Archie together!” she cries into his shoulder.

“You better bring the others with you lest they hunt us both down for abandoning them,” Douxie jokes.

“Of course they’ll be there we will all train together and gather any information that could help aid you I promise! El will also be a powerful sorceress alongside me! Henry, Julien, and Ben will all team up to beat Merlin’s behind and take his title as Master Wizard.” Shannon began joking which was a good sign.

“I told them that’s not how the title works besides why just them don’t you and El want to be Master Wizards?” Douxie asks.

Shannon pulls away looking completely baffled, “why would we want to go by the same title as that guy? Morgana was a Master Wizard, and she was called a sorceress!”

“That makes a lot more sense… I will await you all using advanced magic to find me in the future…” Shannon gives Douxie one more hug before running off to join the others in dinner preparation.

Douxie watched the sunset from where he was. They were all sitting here watching a similar sunset together 2 years ago when he told them of Merlin. At first they were proud to have a teacher that was trained under The Merlin, but that changed when they found out about the missing books. Merlin not only stopped Douxie form reaching Archie, but also cut off knowledge for future wizards to attain. The 3 boys went to violence wanting to claim his title after defeating him which caused him to explained how it really worked though they never changed their mind.

While he was reminiscing El jumped up behind him, “Douxie foods ready!” She yelled while tackling him in another hug.

Douxie followed her to the cave and was truly amazed at the sight before him. There were embers of red light floating above them clearly the work of Shonnon. There were a stone table and chairs with great detail rivaling that of a noble house, Julien’s work. The food looked magnificent obviously made by Ben the cook among them. There was a desert table in the back with a cake which read, ‘Goodbye Teacher Douxie’ followed by ‘We’ll miss you!’ on the second layer, El’s work. The dishes which carried all the amazing dishes had great artistic designs on them clearly Henry’s magic and arts at play.

A smile warmed Douxie’s face as he joined his students at the table one last time.

Chapter Text

After leaving the young wizard’s, Douxie traveled to that kingdom and found a few magic texts, which was a rare occurrence. However, the books were all on beginner lessons, much like the ones he already had… He still chose to keep them with the hope of gifting them to those young wizards.

Douxie continued with his travels, even joining a merchant group in hopes of stealing a few magic books or artifacts from them. He was able to get some connections through this time with many bookkeepers all over the world.

Douxie also worked on expanding his knowledge of languages in order to have a wider range of communication, without the help of magic.

Through the years after leaving Merlin, Douxie was able to expand his skills with spell casting to where he no longer needed to use the chants on spells he practiced or used frequently. He was also able to use his bracelet less and less to find the right configuration as he could do it on his own… If Merlin saw him now, maybe, just maybe, he’d be proud…

While working on the merchant ship, he had to do his fair share of manual labor. No one got out of it. During this time, he spent 2 years helping to communicate with customers and scrubbing the deck ten times over in a day. As he didn’t use magic in front of others, he gained quite a bit of muscle, though it never really showed.

Just as he was restocking the shelves of the pantry, Judith and Wendel came over. “Hey Doux, did ya hear?” Judith asked.

“Hear bout what?”

“The witches? There are apparently a lot of them over in uh what’s it called?” He looked over to Wendel.

“Uh, over by Glennwood Medow!” Windel responded, obviously proud to have gotten it right.

Douxie felt his heart beating in his chest as he asked. “What about witches?”

“They found a whole group of them! In the woods!” Judith responded. “I thought we should tell you since you are always so interested in magic and witches!”

Douxie’s mouth went dry. That’s where he left them. That’s the area his students were.

Douxie couldn’t let them be hurt… not again.

It was a week's travel by boat to get there; luckily, the merchant boat was already heading over there. He would only need to speed things up a bit. He used his magic to cast a spell of swiftness on the vessel. This would allow them to arrive in 4 days.

As soon as the 4 days were up, Douxie left a note in the captain’s quarters and left. He didn’t have time for proper farewells; he had to make sure they were all alright.

Douxie immediately used his tracking magic to find them all… But something was off.

They weren’t together.

They said they would stay together when he left.

Something has happened.

Douxie didn’t hesitate as he headed to the closest person to him… Shannon.

He flew through the air as fast as he could to the nearest village. The same one that was El’s old hometown. The same one he cursed all those years ago.

When he arrived, he found the village eerily quiet. There was no one around. He headed towards where the tracking spell was leading him, barely giving the state of the village a second thought.

He was led to the town’s square, where he found Shannon. She was tied to a large log surrounded by smaller logs of wood piling up around her. There were angry townsfolk all around with torches and spikes as they piled on more wood.

They were all yelling, but it was silent to Douxie. Ever since his eyes fell on Shannon, tied up in tears, everything became silent.

Douxie acted before even having the chance to think. He flew up to Shannon, ripping the rope off of her with pure strength. How could he have let this happen? He had failed someone else!

Shannon pulled Douxie from his thoughts as she wrapped her arms around him, sobbing uncontrollably. “I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry, Douxie!”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Douxie was the one who should have been apologizing, right?

Finally, the yelling of the villagers pierced Douxie’s ears as he looked over at those humans.

“There is another one!!” screamed a lady holding a child.

“He is a man? He must be cursed into submission like those others who were with her!” an old man with a long beard yelled.

“Burn him two!” cried a young boy.

Douxie looked at those humans as he scooped Shannon into his arms and flew her just outside of town. “Can you wait here for me? I’ll take care of this quickly.” He never gave her a chance to respond as he flew back to the town.

“Where did you take that demon?” The same old man from before yelled. Though this time, Douxie did respond as he summoned a fireball. He didn’t even need to use any enchantments as he sent it flying straight for him.

Everyone began to panic as they attempted to flee, but he wouldn’t let them. He quickly did I binding spell. No one could move without his permission. Men, women, & children were all trapped.

“You humans do not deserve your lives. You have harmed an innocent, and for what, being exceptional? You deserve everything I will do to you!”

No one had time to say anything as he summoned many more fireballs, sending them down on the town around them. He destroyed their farms, stores, cattle, townhouses, streets, and everything. He made them all watch as everything they had ever known was wiped away before them.

But oh, he wasn’t done yet.

Next, he cast an illusion spell. They were all sucked into their worst nightmares. As much as he would love to have the illusions drive them all mad for all eternity, he didn’t have the time to wait for such a slow death. Douxie cast another spell on top of the illusions, making them attain physical beings and slaughter the townsfolk as painfully as possible.

Before Douxie’s eyes, villagers were torn apart by their own loved ones as they cursed their own beings. Demons of which came from children’s nightmares, walked before them, tearing one woman limb from limb in front of her own child. A man shielding his children behind him didn’t see the headless man grab his children and rip off their heads, trying to find his own.

Douxie watched all this unfold expressionless. He didn’t feel a thing. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. But it didn’t feel that way…

These people hurt his-his… students. He couldn’t let them go away harm-free. He should have killed them all when they first hurt El. It was his fault for letting them live. He’s just writing a wrong.

Douxie looked back at the nightmares he created, wreaking havoc among the people who hurt one of his own. He didn’t feel any remorse.

Douxie felt like something in him was wrong… misplaced… broken?

As the last nightmare slayed the elderly man, the screams finally ended. Douxie looked around the bodies. You wouldn’t be able to identify who was who with the number of limbs lying around. There were bodies ripped open with organs piling out…

It was gross to look at. That was all Douxie thought as he walked back over to Shannon.

Before approaching the poor girl, he disabled the silence barrier he cast on the town, and made sure there were no traces of blood on him.

Shannon was huddled in a ball, crying.

“Shannon, it’s me, Douxie,” he announced.

Before he could say anymore, she launched herself at him. She grabbed his shoulders, tears still in her eyes as she screamed. “We have to find the others! They are in danger!”

He felt his heart drop at her words. Why were they in danger? They should have been safe together.

It wasn’t Douxie, but Shannon who acted and cast a tracking spell. “Please, teacher, we have to save them.” She begged as she grabbed his arm to lead him.

Once he regained focus, Douxie snapped back, wrapping his arms around Shannon, scooping her into his arms as he levitated in the direction of the spell. He used another spell to increase his speed. In a matter of moments, they were outside a larger town, possibly a small kingdom.

Douxie set Shannon down, “Stay here.” He instructed.

Before Douxie could leave, he was pulled back. “NO!” Shannon yelled. “I’m going with you! I can’t leave them! Please!” Shannon’s begging broke Douxie’s heart as he reluctantly nodded.

He picked her up again, flying right into the town’s square once again. This time, however… Douxie was too late. The pile of wood surrounding his students was lit; all of their… bodies were tied to one large log. Douxie had failed.

“Shannon.” She looked at him, her face devoid of anything. It was like looking in a mirror. “I’ll handle this.”

Before Douxie could even move back outside the town, Shannon shook her head. “No. I want to stay. I want revenge. Please don’t deny me this.”

Her eyes looked so much like his after he lost Archie. Like when he found her.

“You may retrieve their bodies while I handle it. They deserve a proper burial at least…” At this, her eyes began to gloss over as tears formed in her eyes.

Shannon looked determined as she nodded. “They do… We will make some of the best graves for them! In the most beautiful place!” She gave him a soft smile as the tears from her green eyes fell down her cheeks.

Douxie was unable to return the smile. He went down before all of the townspeople.

“There are more of them?” a young boy yelled. “How did we miss them?”

“It’s all right, son, we will soon be rid of those demons!” a woman next to him yelled.

“You people are the demons!” Shannon yelled. Douxie quickly used a spell to stop the flames from burning the bodies any further. At this, Shannon ran up the pile and began to untie their bodies from the posts.

“Don’t let them get the bodies! Who knows what evil spells they will create!” a well-dressed man said.

“I don’t need their bodies to cast spells,” Douxie mumbled under his breath as fireballs once again rained down around the townsfolk, destroying their whole town once more.

“Agh! Don’t destroy my town, you foul demon! It’s been enough that you turned my own son into one of you demons!” The same well-dressed man yelled.

Douxie listened to him after that. “Your son?” He asked.

“Don’t ask as if you don’t know!” The man pointed at the logs behind him. “My dear son Julien was corrupted by your unsavory ways! We tried to purge him, but he ran into the woods to practice those demonic arts!”

Douxie truly had no words. Julien’s own father was the one will caused his suffering throughout his life up until his very death.

In a way, everything made sense to Douxie as Julien had opened up to him once about his old life before meeting them.

‘I was never truly accepted…’ Julien said one night.

‘Oh? Because you’re a wizard?’ Douxie asked.

‘No.’ There was a moment of silence that neither of them was quite ready to break.

They stayed there watching the stars until Julien spoke up once more. ‘I was born out of wedlock. I’m a bastard child… My mother was beheaded for bewitching my father…’

Douxie looked over at him, but he was still watching the stars. ‘That’s horrible.’

‘Don’t go getting too emotional. I never even got a chance to meet her. My father welcomed me into his home after her death. I was raised like one of his own. His wife… my other other? I can’t remember the word…’

‘Stepmother.” Douxie supplied.

‘Right that… She didn’t welcome me. Though I was raised in that place, it was never my home. We had servants, but I was to clean up otherwise…’ There was a long pause that followed. Douxie didn’t think this one would end.

‘You don’t have to tell me everything. Just tell me whatever you want to.’

‘Right… When my magic awakened, I was at the dinner table. Everyone saw it. I was practically chased out of my own home. While I was running, they said they were family, so I should s-stay…’ Douxie saw tears falling down his face. ‘I kept running and running, and when I decided to go back… All I found was all the guards surrounding the village being instructed to kill me on sight…’

Douxie didn’t say anything more as the young boy began sobbing. He simply reached over and supplied his arm to the boy. Quickly, the boy reached over, clinging to him as he moved his arm up and down the boy's back in comfort.

And now, before Douxie is the very man who chased after that poor boy. There was no way Douxie was going to give him a slow death. No one in this town would escape his wrath.

Chapter Text

Douxie had learned a great number of spells since The Battle of Killahead, possibly more than in his time with Merlin. While constructing Merlin’s Tomb, he read through all of the books Merlin had left behind. Though he never had time to practice them only memorized some and understood the theories behind them all. There were a great number of dark and twisted spells… He had planned to use those against anything in The Darklands to get Archie. However, there is a much more pressing matter where he needs to use them.

As Douxie stared at the man, he could see the resemblance to Julien. The man had the same black hair and brown eyes, though no freckles. Those he must have received from his mother. That was all. There were no other resemblances in them. The man before him was on the larger side, while his son looked like a pile of bones when they met… The man wore fancy clothing, clearly costing a pretty penny, while the boy had rags in aged condition. Clearly, the man had long since neglected the boy, even when claiming to accept him into his home.

Before doing anything else, Douxie cast another binding spell. No one could move other than Shannon and him.

After he began to create a magic circle using his feet as he walked around. “That boy was not your child, let alone your son.” The man’s eyes followed Douxie as he moved around in the pattern needed for the magic circle. Not that the man would know that, he probably thought he was dancing around.

Douxie could see the rage build on the man’s face. “He has my blood running through his veins. As much as I wish that foul demon didn’t come from me, he did. It was my duty to rid this world of him since I helped bring that demon into it. I should have known this would happen after I was bewitched.” As cruel as everything the man said was, he was kinder than most parents to wizards… He didn’t disown his own blood. Though that’s all he saw him as… his own blood.

Douxie continued dancing around the large magic circle. “For the boy to be your son, you would have had to raise him as you would your son. You failed to do that. That’s the reason you lost your son, not magic!” Douxie finished the magic circle as he stomped his foot down in the center of it. The ground began to shake.

He slowly moved away from the spell. Away from the disgrace of a father. Away from the humans. He headed towards Shannon, El, Ben, Henry, & Julien.

Shannon had finished untying them all as they all lay. It was hard to tell who was who as their bodies were deformed by the fire. However, Douxie knew. El was the smallest one with a charred necklace wrapped around her neck… a gift from Douxie on her 16th birthday. Ben was the tallest with his thick bracelet to match Douxie. Henry had larger hands and feet than the rest, along with his now charred earrings. Julien had a signature ring he refused to take off, and even in its dirtied state, it was not damaged. ‘Must have been enchanted…’ Douxie thought to himself. It was the only keepsake he had of his mother…

Behind him, the crowd was yelling as tremors began all around them, causing the ground to break slowly.

Shannon looked to Douxie in fear of what was coming. “We’re going to leave.” His gaze drifted from her to his other students… They were in horrible condition. “I cannot bring them back, but I can make them look like themselves again.” Without giving Shannon the time to react, he cast a restoration spell on them, hoping that it would work…

Blue lights floated from Douxie’s bracelet, five in total, one for each student. The lights floated over to them all. Shannon was shocked to see a light come up to her chest, though Douxie wasn’t looking at her; he was focusing on the others. Slowly, the lights broke into small blue specks before floating around the bodies and then inside them. Every one of them began to glow a brilliant blue color. The bodies floated up as the blue slowly faded away, revealing the children. They looked right. They were no longer burned up, charred, hurt children… They looked slightly older than when he left them, but those were his students' faces.

Shannon and the others floated back down to their original positions. Her face was shocked, but also hurt. Seeing them all lying there looking like they had before everything had gone wrong, so horribly wrong. It hurt. It broke something in her…

Douxie didn’t give her any more time to process as he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her towards the bodies of her friends. Behind them, loud growling could be heard and screams of terror from the people.

When she tried to turn, Douxie stopped her. “Don’t look. What I’ve summoned won’t be able to return until it has killed everyone who laid eyes on it. Trust me, we don’t want that to stay in this realm.” Shannon quickly turned away from whatever was behind her in fear of what it could be.

Douxie finished running the equations for the spell in his head as he heard the ground behind them smash open with the monster's descent. The citizens all went quiet before the beast’s loud growl was heard. Douxie quickly grabbed everyone and teleported them back. Back to the place he found them all those years ago. The cave.

As they all landed, albeit a little rough, he began to look them over carefully. They all looked like they were sleeping… Their skin was all the more pale than normal. Their eyes were all opened… They weren’t moving in any way, but someone he thought they might just wake up. Oh, how he wished that could be true!

“What was that, Douxie!” Shannon yelled, shoving him with all her strength. “Why did you summon whatever that was? Why do they,” she motioned towards the others, “look almost alive?” Tears formed in her eyes. “What did you do to me?” At this, she began to sob.

What did he do to her? “I restored you… I headed your injuries and cleaned you up some?” Douxie didn’t understand why out of all her questions that one broke her the most.

“No no no no no!” She yelled. “After that spell, I feel different! I’ve changed! Something changed!” Tears were streaming down her face. “Please, Douxie, what changed what happened? Please please please please! Please!” She fell to the ground, pressing the palms of her hands to her eyes, hysterically crying into them. She was shaking all over.

Something wasn’t right. Douxie didn’t have time yet to mourn the students he lost. He must help the student he still has first. He quickly started a spell to look at her. Really look at her. Her state was not normal. Something must have changed when he did the restoration spell.

Douxie went through spell after spell. He looked at her mental well-being, which was in disarray, though nothing irregular given the current circumstances. He looked at her physical well-being, which was all normal since the restoration spell.

While looking at Shannon, he noticed that her arms had desperately fallen over her stomach. It couldn’t be. There was no way. He quickly performed a scan just to be proven correct. Shannon had been pregnant… Not for long. The restoration spell took it away since the pregnancy occurred at the same time as the injuries.

“Shannon,” Douxie called calmly, causing her to look at him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. What you're feeling right now is the loss of a small part of yourself.” Douxie tried to explain calmly. Shannon was trying hard to focus on his words as her breathing slowly began to even out. “Before I got to you, the guards hurt you. In a lot of ways, right?” She looked terrified; her face paling at the mention of the guards. Douxie paused so she could calm down some. “One of the ways they hurt you-”

Shannon cut him off, smiling a little. “The guards all circled around me. These clothes aren’t even mine; some handmaiden gave them to me after they all finished their ‘beating’ of me… I understand now what I feel like I’m missing… Thank you, Douxie, for taking it away!” She reached out, wrapping her arms around him as she continued to cry softly in his ear. “I understand what they did to me and why I feel this way now. Sorry for how you had to explain it… Though it would have been interesting to hear.” She joked lightly as she pulled away from him.

Now Douxie finally looked at her. She still had her vibrant red hair and equally vibrant green eyes. Her facial features are more defined than when he left them. She had more of a pointed chin with a circular facial structure.

“Shall we get started? They all deserve to have a proper resting place.” Douxie said as he looked behind Shannon.

“Yes, I think I know the perfect spot!” Shannon sprang up, pulling Douxie over to the river where there was a perfect view of the sunset once again. “This place was very important to all of us. I know we all loved watching the sunset here. The way the sun reflected on the water is beautiful.”

“You’re right I think this would be the perfect resting place.” Douxie quickly used magic to summon four stones. “What do you think for shapes?” Douxie asked.

“This will be easy. A heart for El since she was always so loving!” Douxie complied right away, shaping one of the slabs into a large heart. “For Julien, I think a headstone with a half-round top with fancy swirls like those chairs he made!” Douxie quickly formed the headstone with details reminding him of Camelot. “Perfect! Ok for Henry colorful headstone like it was painted on? Is that possible?”

Douxie chuckled at this. “Anything is possible, Shannon.” The next slab was quickly changed to another with a rounded top, which was fitting since Julien and Henry grew quite close. Then a floral painted design was around it with blues and greens painting the stone like a canvas.

“It’s beautiful, Douxie, thank you… and finally Ben… I want a statue, Douxie.” He looked at her, confused. “I want him to have a state above his grave of a staff. A wizard’s staff.”

“You know what that would mean.”

“I don’t care! Ever since he learned about what a wizard staff was, it became his goal. Honestly, it was his reason for being!” Shannon looked determined. “I know that staff must be earned, but he should have had the chance to earn his. It’s not his fault his time was cut short, Douxie… Please. Every day since you left, he practiced magic more than any of us, on top of trying to take care of all of us. He carried everything on his back… When we were found, he was the one who chose a path to get us to escape using magic…”

Shannon’s breathing became more rapid. “He got hurt while we were running. We all tried to heal him, but he was poisoned, so we failed. He tried to get us to leave him, but we wouldn’t. I took the lead in his stead. It’s my fault they were caught. The way I had them go wasn’t safe enough for them, Douxie! It’s all my fault!” By the time she finished speaking, she was sobbing.

“No, it’s not your fault. Even with magic, humans find a way. That’s what’s so amazing about them and also very terrifying. No matter what path you all took, there would have been a similar ending. That is simply not something we have power over…” Shannon calmed down some, though not looking convinced. “Now I think that a wizard staff would look perfect for Ben!”

Douxie didn’t hesitate to create a staff for the boy on top of the slab. He decided to take inspiration from Merlin’s staff, seeing as how he wanted to defeat him to take his place as master wizard. The framework was the same; however, his staff was of a wooden base with a peridot jewel in the center, one that Douxie had found during his travels.

Shannon looked at all the graves. “They look perfect. This will allow them to rest peacefully.” She looked over at Douxie. “You’ll visit them, won’t you?”

“No matter what. They deserve to have someone clean their graves. Now to add their names.” Using his magic, he produced two chisels out of thin air. “Let’s carve them ourselves.”

They sat there carving out their names and their stories:

‘Elaina Smith, Heart of Gold’

‘Julien Crawford, Skilled Craftsman

‘Henry Ranger, Profound Artist

‘Benjamin Williams, Future Master Wizard’

Merlin would be rolling around in his tomb if he saw this. Someone who never even made it to the level of ‘Master Wizard’ having it written on their grave… But Douxie didn’t care. Ben deserved it. Merlin was no longer his master, so he no longer cared how he felt.

Douxie looked back where the bodies lay ready to be put to rest.

Shannon walked over to them, whispering some goodbyes. She had a smile on her face masking her growing sadness. “I’m ready Douxie… They’re ready…” Douxie nodded as he began to levitate them.

Their bodies slowly drifted towards their designated graves. As he used magic to split the ground and lower their bodies into them. At the bottom of each grave laid a bed of flowers for their bodies to rest upon.

Before closing the graves, Douxie said a few words. “Elaina was a kind and loving girl, as you know,” he looked to Shannon, who held her head low, listening to his words. “She would always brighten everyone's day with her smile, even if she never knew how much it meant to us. She truly was a kind girl born in this cruel world…”

“She was so happy when she turned 19. Since she was the same age as you looked. She would always talk about how she would go searching for you… her (our) big brother…”

Douxie didn’t say anything. They were his students, nothing more. However, he couldn’t deny that he acted like a big brother to her (them)...

“Julien,” Douxie continued, “he was a bright boy who, while closed off, would have the most fascinating conversations with you. He was able to remember information easily and used what he knew of you to direct a conversation to topics he knew you would love to talk about.”

“He also grew so close to dear Henry. They would have been together all hours of the day if they could. Truly brothers at heart…” Shannon looked at Douxie, but he avoided eye contact.

“Henry really did love the arts. Put a brush in his hand and he would paint the walls as though they were a canvas. He truly was a creative spirit, always finding great ways to combine and change spells, though they ended in disaster at times.” Douxie chuckled to himself at the memory.

“Truly amazing how many times he was able to turn the whole cave blue!” She laughed a truly genuine, happy laugh.

“Ben. He was always ready to fight for you all, even before I came along. He was able to find his love for cooking throughout the years, allowing him to grow into a fine man. Though he had a many hobbies, his first priority was achieving the goal of being a Master Wizard. I honestly believe he would have made it there before even me…” Douxie looked at the statue happily. He was glad he could give his student a staff even if it was too late…

“You know Ben always talked about how you would come see them with your staff. That he would defeat Merlin, then fight you… He wanted you to be the one to give him his staff more than anything…” Shannon also looked towards the statue. “And now you have in a way…”

At this Douxie felt tears roll down his cheeks silently. He shouldn’t have left them alone. He should have taken them with him on his quest for Archie. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Douxie turned to Shannon, reaching out his hand to her. “Shannon, please come with me. Help me search for Archie. I can’t lose anyone else. I should have asked you all to come with me in the first place. I was just too much of a coward…”

There was no hesitation as she took his hand. “I would love to help you search for Archie! He doesn’t deserve to be alone in a cruel place… no one does. Besides, I have to tell him of your travels to find him. I think he would love to know all about your students!” Shannon’s eyes were all puffy and red, but her grin easily overpowered it as it stretched from ear to ear.

“You’re right, he wouldn’t even believe that I had students if you weren’t there! I can’t wait for him to meet you all, I’m sure he’s gonna love you lot!”

“If he’s anything like I’ve heard, I think he would. Though if I’m being honest, he would get along with Julien best, they're both quite knowledgeable and sassy!” Shannon laughed as they slowly walked back to the cave.

Once they arrived back at the cave, Douxie turned to Shannon. “Shannon, through our travels, please be careful. Don’t trust humans. Please.”

“Don’t worry I won’t. I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone other than you for a long time…” Shannon led Douxie over to their old beds. “We never got rid of your bed in case you ever came to visit. We set one up for you in every cave we stayed in…”

Douxie looked at the bed. “Thank you. You lot are truly the best students a wizard could hope for.” He hopped into the bed next to Shannon’s as he watched her chest rise and fall til it steadied out, showing she was asleep.

He was not going to allow anyone to hurt her again.

Chapter Text

Douxie started to question things when he first took on students. They all aged in the years he trained them. He himself awake his magic around the age of 10 yet he continued to age til 19… Douxie looked next to him where Shannon walked looking 22 years old. She was a very talented mage and yet she still aged.

“Douxie where are we going?” Shannon broke his train of thought at the question.

“We are going to search for Charlemagne The Devourer.”

“What did he do to deserve such a title?”

“There are many stories they all end in death of thousands, however he is a dragon much like Archie… He may have some knowledge to help us.”

Shannon looked shaken. “I understand you would do anything for Archie wouldn’t you?”

“Yes anything. Getting him back is all that really matters. I failed him, so I have to make it right.” Shannon looked slightly defeated, but he did nothing to correct what he said… he couldn’t put anything or anyone above Archie.

“D-do you think we could find him using tracking magic?” Shannon tried to change topics.

“Sadly I’ve already tried… Wherever he is there are spells that deflect tracking magic. I’ve altered the spell over and over even layering magic to try and break through, but I cannot.”

Shannon puts her hand to her chin looking to be in deep thought as they walk aimlessly in silence. “What if you track the spells?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well the spells defending from tracking magic are hiding either the location or him not the spell itself… if you change your target to high level concealing spells surely you’d find something right?”

Douxie thought for a moment. “It’s worth a shot.” She quickly casted the tracking spell with a new target… the spell itself. Soon enough there were 3 paths to choose from.

“Wow that worked!” Shannon jumped up hugging Douxie. “Which one do we take their all going in very different directions.”

“That one to the left is going towards Merlin’s Tomb… Which of the other two do you want? It was your idea for the spell, so I think it’s fair you choose where we go.”

“The middle one then! I’m curious to see where it goes since the ocean is that way! I’ve never been in a boat before!” Shannon’s face was lit up as she took Douxie’s hand leading him towards the chosen path.

Their travels were very adventurous as Douxie taught her a great number of spells in order to construct their own boat. Shannon had always been a quick learner. Working with someone else was refreshing. On the boat Shannon was able to cast a great number of swiftening spells allowing her to grow her stamina.

“Douxie look!” Shannon called from where Douxie was napping. He got up and looked over the boat to where she was pointing. There was a great number of jellyfish around their boat. It looked magical. “I never knew such a creature existed when are they called?”

Douxie let out a small laugh. “They are jellyfish.”

“They’re lovely! They remind me of El she would’ve loved them.”

“Then we should tell her of them the next time we visit her.”

“I agree she would love to hear about it!”

The journey at sea ended soon after as they reached land.

“Looks like we’re almost there.” A large kingdom laid before them as they docked the ship at the harbour.

“Ello good sir welcome to Camelot!”

What? That’s not possible. This is far off on where Camelot was before.

“This is Camelot?” Shannon asked.

“Indeed, it is m’lady.”

“I thought it was in a different location?” Douxie asked.

“Camelot has always been here sir.” That was wrong and Douxie knew it.

“I see we’ll be sure to look around. Let’s go Douxie.” Shannon led Douxie away before he could say anything else.

“This isn’t right it doesn’t even look the same!” The castle while grand was a darker color and the whole structure was wrong. Everything was wrong.

“Maybe the Kingdom fell and they rebuilt?”

“No way. The man before would have just told us that. Something is wrong.” Douxie looked for the path given by the tracking spell and it led straight to the castle. “I knew it!”

“What is it?”

“The castle it’s something there that I cannot track something is going on here.”

“Whatever it is will have to wait it’s getting late.” She was right the sky was darkening. They’d been sailing all day.

“Fine let’s find an inn…” Shannon led the way to the inn.

“Hello there travelers looking for a place to stay?” As they entered they were greeted by a young man with pale skin, brown hair, and blue eyes.

Shannon walked over to the counter leaning over it. “Yes we are! Can we have either 2 rooms or 1 room with 2 beds?”

The man’s face turned red. “I um yes yes you may! I will give you 2 of our finest rooms!” Shannon smiled at the man’s awkwardness. “May I get your name m’lady? F-for your rooms of course!”

Shannon let out a laugh. “Of course my name is Shannon Elwood.” Douxie watched this interaction closely.

“Shannon a lovely name! I will get those rooms right away for you.”

“You know it’s quite rude to ask for my name and not give yours?”

“Of-of course my name is Zachery Ashldir, m’lady.”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Zachery Ashldir. We’ll take those rooms now.” She could feel Douxie growing in annoyance behind her.

“Here you go your rooms will be just down that hall and to the right.” He handed her the keys though his eyes never left her as she walked away.

“What was that?” Douxie asked.

“Me getting what we needed? Notice how we didn’t have to pay?” Shannon pointed out playfully. “I know full well that you flirted with the women running the stalls in all the towns you go to!”

“I do not that is just being nice!”

“Then I was just being nice.”

“You need to be careful! You have no clue what he could want with us!”

“What he wants from us? I know he wants to get to know me, but he doesn’t want anything with you!”

“I won’t let him ‘get to know you’ because that could lead to worse things!”

“Douxie I’m 22 I can make my own choices! He seems nice… I won’t just trust him, but I can’t just live without talking to people!” Shannon was mad now.

“All humans are the same!” Douxie yelled. “I’ve seen it before in Camelot and I saw it a few months ago nothing has changed…”

“I know… I believe that there must be some who aren’t all bad. Arthur changed once. Please let me believe it.” Shannon looked despersate.

“I thought you agreed with me after everything.”

“No I only said I would be more careful I’m still going to give them a chance… I don’t know if I can ever trust anyone, but it wouldn’t be fair to not give them a chance!”

“I see. Do whatever you think is best for yourself.” Douxie left without another word. Leaving her alone.

Instead of going to his own room he quickly left a note under the door of his room and teleported outside the castle. It was important to find out what was going on.

After casting an invisibility spell over himself he teleported inside the castle. It was eerily silent not a worker in sight. Which was strange at any hour.

The first place he went was the dungeon. He could sense magic coming from there. As he crept down the stairs he heard someone groaning in pain. Getting closer he saw an elderly man in a cell with a guard. The elder was using magic his hands glowing an orange color. Douxie quietly knocked out the guard.

“Who’s there?” The elder asked in a hoarse voice.

Douxie lifted his invisibility spell. “My name is Douxie I’m a wizard. You don’t need to use the spells anymore. I will help you escape.”

“You look so young, but given your magic signature you must be older than me.” The man’s hands lowered releasing the spells. As soon as he did he began to cough up blood.

Douxie rushed over to aid the man. “I’ve got you.” Douxie helped lower than man, so that he was lying down. “Let me check your wounds.”

“No don’t. There is nothing that can be done. I’ve used up everything for the false king… I’m sorry. This Kingdom was much smaller when they found me. I was forced to create this far larger Kingdom using the victories of Camelot, but once I pass on everything will go back to what it once was…” The man strained his hoarse voice just to speak. Douxie handed the man a cup of water he summoned.

“I see. It was very smart of you to plan ahead like that given the circumstances… Might I have your name?”

The man finished drinking the water. “Yes my name is Demitrius Ashldir. If you could make sure my family hears of my death I would be grateful.” The old man gave a sad gentle smile to Douxie.

Douxie is no fool he recognized the last name instantly, but that didn’t matter now. “I will make sure they hear of your passing. Do you want me to get revenge on this Kingdom?”

“Haha what a silly mage you are. I don’t need revenge as when I pass they will all get what is coming to them. Before I cast all those spells the man was greatly hated by his people, so I’m sure there will be a mutiny from the people!” The old man’s smile looked intense as he laughed at his own cleverness.

“I see you truly think ahead. Why don’t you tell me about your family?” Douxie asked.

“Of course. My wife was a graceful lady who hit me the first time we met. Truly a powerful women! I can’t wait to see her soon… Then there was my sons Eckle and Erickson. Eckle was a mage like me though he was killed the day I was captured… Erickson now owns an inn with his wife and 3 kids though one passed years go… Zachary I heard is doing well to take over the Inn! As for-” Suddenly the old man started to cough violently.

Douxie supported the man as he continued to cough.

“It seems that my time is up. Is there anything I could aid you with in my final moments?”

“Do you know anything of The Darklands?”

“All I know of that cruel place is that it is a realm of darkness.” He coughed some more. “However, I would ask the trolls as there have been rumors of spies sent from the Darklands.” Douxie’s eyes lit up at this new piece of information.

“How did they get spied out of The Darklands?”

He coughed some more. “Sadly I do not know… I only heard it from an old troll friend of mine who passed recently…Deya…” Douxie watched as the man’s eyes darkened. He had passed on.

Douxie could feel as all the magic the man had casted came undone and Douxie made his was back to the Inn. As soon as he entered Zachary was looking into space.

“Demitrius wanted me to let you know he passed on.” Douxie said snapping Zachary out of his haze. “He was a good man and a fine wizard.”

Tears formed in Zachary’s eyes. “He truly was. I wanted to be a wizard like him, but I didn’t have the gift… I can only guess that the King is the one who took him from his family…”

“You would be correct. You know you should talk to Shannon. I think that you would both be able to help each other right now.” Douxie didn’t like to support a relationship between a human and a wizard however that would make him just like humans. And Zachary didn’t seem so bad. “She lost some important people in her life recently.”

Zachary’s eyes were digging into his soul. “I see. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, we’ll be staying here for 2 months. That should give you both plenty of time to get to know one another… Just don’t hurt her. If she decides that things don’t work out you accept that.”

“Of course I wouldn’t dream of anything different.” He looked to be telling the truth.

Douxie went towards Shannon’s room knocking on the door softly. She opened the door immediately.

“You left me behind.” Was all she said as she pulled him into her room.

“I know I just needed to clear my head, and I’m glad I did.” Shannon nodded along silently. “I think we’ll stay here for 2 months there will be a lot of changes in this town I want to be here for. Maybe just maybe you were right about not all humans.”

Shannon smiled happily at that. “Thank you Douxie. I know that humans have frail minds and don’t always know everything, but still I want to give them a chance.”

“You know Zachary…” Shannon perked up at the mention of him. “His grandfather is the wizards behind what happened in this Kingdom. He was used and manipulated by a human. I think that you two might be able to get along after all…”

Shannon’s smile fell, but she didn’t look mad just upset. “I’ll go talk to him.” At that she left and Douxie didn’t see her for the rest of the day.

The 2 months there passed by quickly as the citizens of The Kingdom overthrew the old dictator and instead placed their on leader on the throne. It was surprising to Douxie how everything happenead so smoothly. The new King was a nice man who worked well to grow the Kingdom further.

Shannon and Zachary got closer with him learning that she is a wizard. He didn’t run or anything he accepted her easily. They truly were great together. Douxie spent his time making sure that the Kingdom was safe and investigating anything or anyone that could cause trouble.

Soon enough there was nothing more for Douxie to do in this Kingdom. All that was left was to say his goodbyes.

“Shannon can I talk to you for a moment.” She got up and followed him without saying a word.

As they arrived at the harbor she spoke first. “This is goodbye isn’t it?”

“Yes. You have found a new life here I couldn’t take that away from you.”

“Thank you Douxie. As much as I would love to go with you I know this is what needs to happen now…”

“Listen I have made sure that this is a safe Kingdom, however, please stay safe. Zachary should protect you well enough.”

“Ugh Douxie! Call him Zach he’s said it thousands of times over already!”

“I’m not that close to him…”

“You have everyone call you Douxie what’s the difference.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“You’re impossible… You know Douxie I’ve always seen you as my big brother. Ever since you came into our lives Ben gave up that title to you. I know that you’ll never admit it, but I know you saw us as younger siblings.” Shannon grabbed both of Douxie’s hands. “Listen about Archie… maybe you need a break? Don’t get me wrong you don’t have to give up on him I know you never would, but maybe you could stay here longer?”

“I can’t. I’ve already had plenty of breaks like when I trained the five of you or these 2 months here.”

“No those weren’t breaks. Even during those times you constantly tracked different things and stopped harm from coming to those around you.”

Douxie shook his head. “I can’t from now on til I find him I won’t have any more distractions. Thanks to you I may have a lead to finding Charlemagne The Devourer! I also found another lead with The Trollls, so I should be fine.” He gave her a smile.

Shannon let out a deep sigh. “Fine just be safe out there and if you need anything please ask me. I owe you more than you will ever know.”

Douxie nodded as he readied his boat and set sail.

Chapter Text

Traveling was becoming more exhausting.

Douxie lost his one of his leads with Charlemagne The Devourer when he changed the spell, so that the spell itself was untraceable as well.

His second lead was also of no use since Deya passed the trolls became more closed off. Douxie used a spell to blend in with the trolls, however, any mention of these changlelings made the trolls angry. They didn’t want to believe that there could be enemies in the daylight…

So, Douxie continued his travels this time making sure there were no lasting connections. Everywhere he went he simply kept to himself and stuck to straight forward interactions. There were no personal connections. Not anymore.

Douxie made a point to visit Shannon throughout the years, however, he found that she was growing older each visit. She was not granted the gift of immortality like he or Merlin had. Shannon said she was happy to have a shorter life since she could live and die along with the love of her life.

Eventually one of his visits he was not met with Shannon or Zachary, however, their child. She handed Douxie an urn.

“She wanted to be buried with her family. I don’t know where they are Uncle Douxie… Can you take her to them. Please.” The young lady pleaded with Douxie. He had only met her once before he refused to meet Shannon in town after he saw their child, scared of anymore connections to mortal beings.

“She should be buried with her husband…”

“She wanted to be with her siblings.” She began to cry as she held out the urn. “Please Douxie I’ve only met you a few times, but I’ve heard so much about you. Please understand where she is coming from.”

Douxie took the urn and turned away from the girl and the small kingdom without saying another word. He couldn’t say anything. He didn’t deserve to take her to her final resting place. He couldn’t even shed a tear for her or the others.

The burial was short as he added her own stone along with the others. There was a crescent moon on top of the stone, and under that he carved, ‘Shannon Elwood, Skilled Sorceress’

Douxie left as quickly as he came without looking back, but if he had looked back, he would have seen red roses grow around Shannon’s grave.

Douxie’s knowledge of magic grew greatly throughout the years as he sent multiple creatures into limbo to keep the balance of the magical world and the mortal world. Though in reality Douxie was attempting to get passed limbo and create a portal into The Darklands. Though it never worked…

Douxie’s years of growing his strength felt useless as he still couldn’t save Archie.

Archie his friend who helped him get away from the guards whenever he was caught using magic. Archie who would comfort him whenever he messed up, which he did oh so much back then. Archie who would take him into town to meet people. Archie who he loved so dearly and failed so greatly. Archie who’s familiar bond felt so weak, but was still there… the only comfort Douxie has anymore.

Douxie reached out through the bond multiple times, however, there was never any response. Archie was either too weak to reply or too far… perhaps both.

Soon enough the wars began Douxie never participated in any or helped at all. He couldn’t. That was the last wish he left behind. He didn’t do anything. Oh how he wanted to help or stop it. Seeing everyone suffer. Hearing everyone suffer. He couldn’t handel it most nights. No matter where he went it felt like their souls were screaming for him to do something.

Douxie never did do a lot of magic related to the soul, but after looking for a way to The Darklands he found that the soul was a powerful thing. He even looked into souls that couldn’t rest, but found that it was hopeless. There was no way he could connect with those souls without a connection to The Shadow Realm. Douxie didn’t have any talent for shadow magic… He tried oh how he tried, but he was unable to even make a shadow move.

The souls though he could hear them. Ironic the one magic he needed to use he couldn’t, but he had some connection to souls if he hears them so so much.

Years and years and years of suffering. Even after the wars calm and there is more peace he still hears the voices in his head yelling at him for not helping them when he could have. Oh how he should have. Why did he treasure his last wish to Merlin?

Time flowed so fast and slow at the same time.

Before he knew it he had entered the digital era. Kingdoms fell and developed into cities. There were phones, computers, planes, and so much more. With all this legal systems were put into place that tracked people. You needed a record to even exist. Magic really was helpful for this as Douxie could create a footprint for himself thorughout the years. Though he had to move even more as a simple search could have him associated with many people of history.

Magic was practically extinct at this point. The only wizards in existence were hedge mages who were decedents of the students Shannon taught all those years ago.

Douxie didn’t associate with them. They were far behind him and there was no benefit.

Douxie switched his priorities since magic was so rare. He searched for lingering magic on the land. The places where trollmarkets typically were. This led him to a small town called Arcadia Oaks. This was more ideal then where the other trollmarkets were since it was a more secluded town. This allowed him to start over easily.

The second Douxie stepped in the town he felt it. There was magic, so much magic. He felt closer than ever to getting what he wanted, a way to The Darklands. The magic was familiar, but that didn’t matter if it helped him get to his friend.

He didn’t hesitate as he went into town and looked around. There was a school and some small businesses. It was a cozy little place. Everyone looked at him weirdly. The town was quite small, so they mustn’t get many visitors.

Suddenly a voice called to him. “Douxie…”

He turned around and found no one.

“...Douxie…” It called again. “...Douxie…”

Douxie looked around using magic to enhance his eyesight, and he spotted hit. It was faint, but it was there a golden magical trace. A very familiar magical trace at that.

“Morgana?” Douxie asked.

“...Douxie!” Suddenly the golden mist surrounded him and pulled him in.