Divergent Paths: Slip into a reality where a crucial decision you’ve made was made differently. Meet a version of yourself that made a choice at a pivotal point in your life that differs from the choice you made. What is their life like? Do they regret it? Do you wish you’d made the choice they did? Confront what might have been to slip back to reality. -- prompt created by @velerodra-valesinger
The mirror had appeared despite his best intentions to avoid every place he had heard the Countess and others mention they would appear, it had been easy enough to avoid the lines of magical power he felt with every pulse of his heartbeat, but unfortunately for Mavas the magic that controlled the strange area of Duskwatch seemed keen to have him be entertaining, and he had little time to stop himself as the cool portal had appeared and he had slid through it.
The first thing he felt was the carefully curated hum of arcane magic laced with light that always let him know he was home. Most Sin’dorei considered Silvermoon their home, and while he had wandered far and wide on Azeroth for work and his own personal journeys, there was something about returning to the hum of the magic that had birthed him that set him normally at ease.
This time, though, as he studied the crumbling structures of the ruined parts of the city, the paths that flitted with moving shadows he knew no doubt by name, fel eyes narrowed as he studied the road towards the Conclave. This was a homecoming...but what home would he be coming to? Reports from the others flitted in his mind, stories of facing choices, of seeing alternative paths and even whole new worlds came and went as he cycled through his options mentally. They all said the same though, they had faced whatever oddity that was this other world, and had returned.
His face set with determination, Mavas began to walk. One foot in front of the other, barely disturbing the dust beneath, he stood to his full height and strode straight to the heavy wooden doors that lead into the Conclave, pushing them open and letting them close behind him with a heavy thunk before he could question his sanity too closely on returning to such a place, even in an alternative world.
It was different. The darker hallways and shadows had been illuminated by wall sconces, glowing an eerie green fire that made the rooms look ghostly in their light. There were members sitting in chairs or couches, all staring at him silently as he moved through, following the deep red carpet beneath his feet, the only carpet in a sea of black marble flooring. Mav got the unsettling feeling he had interrupted something, but that strangely enough he was expected which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, fingers twitching faintly but managing to stay away from the hidden dagger hilts at his hips. His silent steps lead him through the room into a hall, two more rooms much the same as the first if only a change in furniture position, and then finally the black ornate doors that lead to where his ex-leader would hold his so called 'court'.
Mavas had always hated the heavy dark wooden feel of the room, the raised throne and the shadowy pillars on the sides that he knew contained a dozen ways to kill him when he passed each one, the oppressive knowledge that he breathed because he was permitted had made him despise being called to this room especially, the reminder of his invisible chains had always grated to his very core. As the doors open and he stepped in, fel green eyes widened.
He hated it even more. He hadn't thought it was possible.
Where there had been darkness, there was now near blinding light. The floor was no longer black but a checkerboard pattern of black and white stone spreading the illusion that the room was much larger than it was. The walls were draped in deep crimson fabric, and from each low dip hung a black chain and cauldron, the same eerie green fire burning, though it was mostly for show as the room seemed to be illuminated from bright glowing orbs in the ceiling, chasing away shadow and leaving Mavas feeling painfully exposed.
In the center of the room was a round set of three tiered steps, a massive gleaming throne upon it, either painted or pure silver with black and red velvet along the back and seat in diagonal stripes. And sitting upon it was himself. Well, perhaps seated was a misnomer, Mavas would only be able to give the position as draped, his other self had his legs up on one arm, leaning back into the side of the chair, arms crossed over his chest, burning green eyes staring at him curiously. As the doors closed quietly behind him,
Mavas stepped three more measured paces in, and then stood there, meeting his own gaze steadily, letting the silence stretch until it nearly filled the entire room.
“You. Are not what I expected." His doppelganger (or was he the doppelganger? Mavas did not think too carefully on that)
At any rate he remained silent, not moving forward or really at all, waiting.
The Mavas on the throne sighed, long legs covered in tight leather and familiar worn boots sliding from the armrest they had been on as he moved to stand, his movements fluid and near seductive. It put him on edge, but years of being in this room with another who moved much the same way had him holding still as the other approached him. As this Mavas got closer, he could see along the edges of his temples small cracks in his flesh, glowing green striping along his cheeks and his neck. Even this one's eyes were much more contaminated than his own...how much had this one fallen to his Fel madness?
Mavas stood still as the other him stopped in front of him, forcing himself not to lean back as the other leaned in to study him curiously. Finally the silence was broken once more as his other self spoke once more.
"Where did you come from?" He asked casually.
"A weakening between our two worlds. I imagine I will return swiftly now that we have met." Mavas replied, voice more clipped and sharp.
His other smiled, and Mav tensed. Smiles were not pleasant to him, not on people like him. Every friend or loved one he had let into his life in the past years seemed to get joy when Mavas smiled or even laughed, and Mavas could never explain why it was such a rare commodity, but staring at himself smiling at him, he suddenly realized what it was. To him, a smile was dangerous, it was teeth bared and an animalistic warning that he had never been quite able to see as anything but a harbinger of pain and harm.
"I think you'll return once I let you return. Tell me, what name do you go by?" His other asked, head tilting curiously.
"Mavas." He replied, there was no reason to lie, the question could only come from himself. Only he would understand what it truly meant.
"Mm...I wonder then, when you remained Mavas and I returned to Shade. Tell me, Sparrow, who is your important person?" Shade asked, and Mavas tensed...he hated that this creature knew what to ask him. It was himself, he was being interrogated, and he knew if he did not answer there would be repercussions.
"What is yours?" He replied by way of another question, knowing it would throw him off if someone questioned him, and he was glad to see it still worked in this world as his other self frowned suddenly, as if not expecting something like that. And really, who had ever questioned Mavas when he had started his gentle interrogations? To others he was merely curious, gentle pluckings of information were easily done and the target rarely realized what was happening.
"That...is certainly a question. Would you believe if I said I did not have one?" Shade replied, amusement in his tone.
The emotion in his voice made Mavas twitch internally, he could not follow where this warm tone came from, it sounded too much like his ex-leader, like his so-called Mother, like the people he had spent years getting as far away from as he could without causing outright war. He took a quick breath to calm himself, raising his chin faintly. "I would not, Gabri-"
"I slit his throat." Shade replied easily. "Name them...go forward. Thoen? Dead. The others? Dead. Not one left living in my path to dominance...Mother, Father...well they had always wanted me to return to power. After the pirate's death what was there to stop me from returning? Though I suppose they did not imagine me returning with my own army...and the power of my Behemoth at my back."
Mav was tense, stunned into silence as he found himself trying to catch up. He pushed aside the aching pain as those who had once held his heart were named dead so easily, trying to focus logically. Death..pirate's death. "Kurel." he said suddenly. "Kurel is dead?"
Shade blinked, having expected there to be more of a shock at his confession of his rampage but he suddenly smiled again. "That's what it is?" he laughed suddenly. "You brought him back!"
Mavas grimaced at the sound of the laughter, it was sharp and loud, it held an edge of insanity that made his skin crawl, that his body and himself could produce such a maddening sound.
"It was never in question." he growled, anger burning in his chest.
Shade leaned back, shaking his head. "It was...after he gored me and nearly killed me, I stared at that body so full of potential, and then at the Soulstone that had his being trapped where we had sent it. What was our single question to him, do you remember? Do you want the power or not...he responded he wanted it. Unmitigated strength fueled by me and you know what I saw when I went to his soulstone...do you know what I found? Peace." His face turned to a sneer. "Weakness, once again I had been abandoned to weakness. He would disappoint me again if I brought him back, I knew that now...with that woman, with the next woman, with a thousand betrayals he would perform over the years." he smiled then, almost in mocking as if he knew he should feel sad when he continued, "When I crushed the stone and dispersed his soul to the Maw...I felt disappointment. But then I remembered...I had my greatest creation...and now I could do whatever I wanted with it."
Mav felt his blood freeze as he listened, the words laced in malice and disgust making him feel nauseous as they flowed from his counterpart. The world from that one point slid in his mind, all of the people, the things that had been created and destroyed, had been forged and made better because of his one choice...he didn't notice he'd stepped back until the other him made a soft cooing sound, as if trying to calm his raging mind.
"Oh...I should introduce you to him." Shade said, reaching up and snapping his fingers.
From the far end of the room the sound of chains being removed and falling to the stone floor was heard, and loud steps slowly crept from the shadows as the Behemoth monster that lived beneath Kurel's skin, the beast Mav felt his connection to and helped lend his power to tamp down...he could feel it now, the same marks that glowed fel green across the creature, and he had lashed in his flesh when he had first done his binding spell burned as the power from the beastly demonic construct stopped almost docile beside the other him. Shade reached up, gently patting the beast's arm.
"This is what you could have had. This creature, power beyond imagining...the ones that started this body's transformation had little knowledge of what they were truly creating...the power latent within the pirate's form mixed with mine? He's unstoppable." Shade grinned madly. "And isn't that what you've always wanted? Power...that's what we've always wanted, truly deep down."
Mavas stared at the monster in front of him, he could feel it’s power as if it were his own, the control his Other had a thousand times stronger but he could wrest it...he could...
“No.”
Shade raised a brow, eyes gleaming as he had expected some kind of struggle. “No?” he questioned.
Mavas raised his head, tearing his eyes from the hulking monster that had been the flesh of his brother, settling his gaze upon his Other as he spoke. “I would not trade the thousand small betrayals, the loss, the destruction, and the utter frustration that is Kurel An’Diel for anything. Not for power, not for glory. His life is far more precious, and far more valuable to me, and my life, and my path, than any who have or will come. You have your creation, but you have lost more than you will even be able to fathom.”
Shade sneered, eyes flaring as he moved swiftly into Mav’s face, glaring at him nose to nose. “And what do you think you could ever have that would be worth more than my kingdom I have created?”
Mav paused, head tilting to the side, a movement mimicked by his Other. He finally smiled, a soft smile that did not show teeth, that crinkled the corners of his eyes and it pleased him at how utterly baffled and even afraid his Other looked to see such a peaceful expression on his own visage.
“I have myself, and those I would die for. I have love, which is something you will never have.” Mavas replied simply, and stepped backwards.
His back did not collide with the door, but instead into open air as the familiar scent of Duskwatch assaulted his nose. His gaze did not falter from the outraged scandalized gaze of his Other, until with a pop the mirror portal vanished into the air. He stared into nothing, before some part of him realized how ridiculous he looked out in the middle of the street, and he managed to get himself moving to his lab. Once behind safe walls Mavas could fall into his seat and process what had just happened...he just had to get there.
( @kurel-andiel for many mentions)
