The weeks passed by as a slow blur to Wanda. The royal knights were sent out across the kingdom to try and find Monstrox, dead or alive. So far, they hadn’t found a trace of him. Merlok was working on a way to destroy the spells contained in the charms on Monstrox’s bracelet. They had been dubbed Forbidden Powers within days of the fight in the now-petrified Brightwood Forest. While Wanda took Monstrox’s first piece of advice without hesitation, his second piece was a lot harder for her to swallow. If she let herself use the dark magic inside her, that would make her evil too… right?

Before she knew it, a month had gone by. She had barely noticed. It wasn’t until Merlok knocked upon her tower’s door that the passage of time really settled into her mind.

Upon hearing the knocking at her door, she quickly hurried to cast the illusionary spell Monstrox had taught her before running to the door. She opened it to see Merlok, holding his staff in one hand and the Forbidden Power bracelet in the other.

“Merlok!” Wanda looked at the Forbidden Power bracelet as she asked, “Have you made any progress towards destroying the Forbidden Powers?”

With a sigh, Merlok replied, “I’m afraid not. In fact, I think it might be impossible.”

“What?! How can you say that? I’m sure there must be a way, you can’t give up now!”

“I’ve tried everything I can, Wanda. I even made some new spells just to try and destroy them! But nothing has worked, and if Monstrox is still alive, he could come back at any time. We must act quickly if we want to hinder him,” Merlok explained.

“I…” Wanda glanced away as she replied, “I guess that makes sense.”

“Anyway, I’ve decided that instead of destroying the Forbidden Powers, I’ll cast them into stone tablets and hide them across the kingdom instead. I’ve invited the rest of the Wizards’ Council; would you like to come along as well?” Merlok asked.

Wanda thought for a moment. “…I would. Where do we meet up?”

“I’ve told the others to meet up in front of the once-Golden Castle,” Merlok replied. “We’ll meet them there.”

“Right. Let me get my staff.”

Wanda had left it upstairs in her hurry to get to her tower’s door as quickly as she could. She took her time going up and getting it, but quickened her pace as she headed back down. She returned to her tower’s door and joined Merlok on the walk to the once-Golden Castle.

Wanda had only heard reports of what had happened to the Golden Castle. It was only a few months ago that Monstrox had returned to it with a horde of monsters and tried to take it for himself. Apparently there was a great battle with many royal knights involved, and that Monstrox was forced to retreat. He didn’t leave without turning the castle into lead with one of his Forbidden Powers, though. Wanda quietly sighed to herself. It seemed like he was finally learning some patience, but she supposed that everyone lapsed into bad habits once in a while.

Merlok looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you alright? I heard you sigh just now.”

“Oh! I’m fine. Just… thinking about everything that’s been happening,” Wanda replied. She paused before adding, “And Monstrox.”

Merlok hummed in agreement. “It is a shame that he’s become so despicable. He had great potential.”

The once-Golden Castle appeared in the distance and slowly grew closer. As they approached, a couple of other mages waiting in front of the castle became visible. Their faces lit up with warm smiles as they saw Wanda and asked how she was. She told them she was fine.

Merlok waited for the rest of the Wizards’ Council (well, what was left of it) to arrive before getting a stack of stone tablets from behind a crumbling arch and placing it down in front of him with a basic telekinetic spell. One by one, Merlok removed the Forbidden Powers from their bracelet and cast them into the stone tablets. Each mage carried a tablet each with their magic as they began their trek across the kingdom. Merlok was the one to decide the points at which the stone tablets would be placed, and created a protective spirit known as a Rogul to guard each.

While at one of these points, one of the council’s other wizards asked, “Since when do you know how to create Roguls? There aren’t many mages who can do that anymore.”

As Merlok handed a stone tablet to the Rogul he had just created, he replied, “I’ve been learning as many new spells as I can recently. You never know what you’ll need these days.”

The Rogul settled into place, resting its hands on the top of the stone tablet. Merlok gripped his staff with both hands, charged it with a petrification spell and shot it at the Rogul. The Rogul didn’t flinch when the magic flew towards it. It simply let itself turn to stone.

Merlok huffed and puffed, the cool northern air turning his breath into fog. Even the process of creating a Rogul and turning it to stone visibly drained Merlok. The other mages could only imagine how hard it was on him to do it several times over.

The journey to find suitable hiding spots for all the stone tablets took many weeks. It led the Wizards’ Council across empty plains and perilous trails, until at last they reached their final destination: the Iron Mountains.

Merlok repeated the Rogul creation and petrification process one last time. Like the ones before it, the Rogul created to guard the last Forbidden Power simply accepted its fate as a stone statue. All the mages stared at the petrified Rogul guarding the Forbidden Power of Relentless Rust. From the looks on their faces, Wanda guessed the other mages were hoping that if Monstrox was alive, he wouldn’t find them.

After minutes of silence, one of the other mages said, “We should be heading back to civilisation now.” He looked over to Merlok as he asked him, “To our towers, or…?”

“To our towers, I think,” Merlok replied, looking up at the sky. “It will be dark by the time we get back.”

The other mages nodded, then began walking back to civilisation together. Wanda’s feet felt as if they had been frozen in place, and she could only watch the other mages leave. Merlok clearly noticed, as he walked over to her and softly asked, “Are you okay?”

Wanda blinked, then turned her head to Merlok. “Of course! I’m just a bit nervous.”

Merlok put a hand on Wanda’s shoulder as he told her, “So am I. But taking away Monstrox’s staff and his most powerful spells should make him much easier to fight now. Things are getting better.”

Wanda’s stomach sunk. She partially turned in the direction the rest of the Wizards’ Council had headed in before quietly saying, “Merlok, if my heart ever… goes dark…” She was quiet for a moment. “…No, nevermind.” She forced a smile as she told Merlok, “Come on, let’s get back to our towers.”

---

Another two months had passed. Merlok had set off on another journey across the kingdom; alone this time. Wanda wasn’t sure why, but she guessed it had something to do with Monstrox. He probably would have come to Knightonia in an instant if he knew that Monstrox had been found by the royal knights and jailed just two weeks ago.

Ever since the word was spread that Monstrox had been jailed, Wanda found herself thinking about the second piece of advice he gave to her back in Rockwood Forest more and more. Work with the dark magic. Make it your own. Between the sleepless nights and Merlok off who-knows-where, she had finally taken it. It was daunting at first, and the learning curve was steep, but she was doing it. She was finally regaining control.

She felt Monstrox would be pleased to hear an update on the things she discussed with him in the forest. There was just one problem: actually getting to him. There was no doubt in her mind that there would be guards station all around the castle, including at the doors to the royal dungeon. If she was going to get into it, she would have to break a law or two. Not that she cared anymore.

She waited until night had fallen before she set out, slinking around in the darkest of shadows. Most people were asleep, leaving very few lights on, and the new moon left the night dark. She really couldn’t have picked a better night for this.

Since her tower wasn’t too far from the capital, it didn’t take too long to get there. There was still plenty of nighttime left. She slunk around the outside walls of the royal castle, looking for a window low enough to climb into while using her magic to incapacitate any guards standing outside. She did eventually find a low window, but as expected, it was shut tight. An easily fixed issue - she simply shot a magic blast at it. She barely minded the cuts and scrapes she got climbing inside.

Her sense of direction was a bit muddled having come in through a window, but she quickly figured out she was at least near the dungeon’s entrance. It was only a short walk down the halls before reaching the corner that led to the dungeon. As expected, two guards stood in front of the door. Wanda thought about using a more discreet method of dealing with the guards, but quickly realised there wouldn’t be much point: she had already shattered a window. She would still need to be quiet, yes, but total discretion wasn’t her biggest concern anymore.

So once the guards were… dealt with via magic, Wanda made her way down into the dungeon. The chilly air and the stench hit her like a mechanical horse immediately. In the shadows she could make out two figures behind the bars of their dungeon cells - neither were Monstrox. One had been stirred awake by her entrance, and was probably watching as she cast a spell to create a small ball of light in the center of her staff to illuminate the room.

Wanda turned to the figure that had stirred. “Monstrox is down here, correct?”

Stammering, the figure replied, “Uh, y-yeah…”

“Where.”

The figure poked their arm out of their cell’s bars and pointed down the long dirt hall. “J-Just down there; last cell on the left.”

The cold dirt made the walk down to the cell Wanda had been pointed to all the more tense. But, just as the figure had said, Monstrox was there. His yellow eyes shone in the darkness and his red, slitted pupils were cast to the floor. He sat cross-legged on the floor, a steel ball and chain locked to an ankle and his eyelids drooping with sleeplessness. He perked up a bit upon seeing Wanda.

“Well well well, if it isn’t Wanda Moorington,” Monstrox commented. “What’s brought you to me this time?”

“I just wanted to tell you how things were going with the advice you gave me back in Rockwood Forest,” Wanda told him.

“Rockwood… Oh! Right. So you broke into the castle in the middle of the night just to visit me in the dungeon? I’m impressed,” he replied.

“I doubt anyone was going to let me see you if I politely asked,” Wanda scoffed. “As I was saying. I put my son in magical stasis on the same night we met in Rockwood.”

Monstrox nodded, “Good, good.”

“I do have some bad news, though: Merlok sealed your Forbidden Powers in stone tablets and hid them all across the kingdom,” Wanda added.

With a click of his tongue, Monstrox muttered, “Damnit. No wonder I couldn’t find ‘em. Did he take my staff, too?”

Wanda nodded. “Although I’m not sure what he’s done with it.”

Monstrox frowned deepened. He sat in silence for a moment before asking, “I told you to work with your dark magic; how’s that goin’?”

“I’ve been working on it.”

A wide, sinister grin spread across Monstrox’s face. “Good.” He stood up, the quiet clinking of the chain attached to his ankle following him. “Now, I need your help. Without my staff, I can barely do anythin’ to get myself out of here. But you’re strong. I reckon you could bring down the entire castle if you put your mind to it! Help me break outta here, Wanda.”

Wanda tensed upon hearing her name. Choosing to ignore it for now, she tightened her grip on her staff as she thought. She glared at Monstrox as she said, “Only if you tell me what you did to Count Dragov.”

At first, Monstrox raised an eyebrow in confusion, but quickly shifted into a frown. “Don’t tell me. That goody-two-shoes Merlok told you he’s been sick and unable to come to the council meetings, and you immediately thought to blame me for that.”

“If he really was sick, his first contact would have been Merlok, not you. You’re not as sly as you think you are, Monstrox,” Wanda growled.

“Well, it’s like everyone says, things are differe-”

Wanda’s staff flared with blindingly bright magic as she pointed it at Monstrox. “Tell me what you did or I’ll kill you where you stand.”

Monstrox immediately put his hands up. His widened eyes told Wanda all they needed to as he replied, “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you!”

The magic in Wanda’s staff returned the small ball of light that had been there before as she went back to holding it upright. The glare she sent Monstrox’s way was stone cold.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Monstrox told her, “Count Dragov ain’t sick, but he’s not dead either. I drained him - and his kids - of their magical power and turned them into vampires.”

Wanda could barely believe what she was hearing. “…Why… Why would you do that?!”

“If I didn’t do somethin’, he would have turned those technomancy ideas of his into reality and used them to stop me and protect the kingdom!” Monstrox’s voice lowered to a growl as he added, “And what worth is this kingdom if it chose to ignore the power and talent that got us into the Wizards’ Council, huh? And why bother bein’ remembered for somethin’ out of your control, if anythin’ at all?”

A silent moment passed. “Right, you’ve gotten your answer. Now get me outta this miserable place,” Monstrox said.

Wanda held her staff in front of her with both hands. The ball of light in the center of the staff dissipated, and a purple haze took its place. A spiral of electricity soon manifested in the mist, which shot a single bolt at Monstrox’s cell door. The outline of a clock appeared in front of the bars. The hands rapidly spun clockwise as the door aged, rust enveloping it. Before long, time had passed by so quickly for the metal bars that they had turned to dust.

With the door destroyed, Monstrox pointed an open palm at the chain connecting the steel ball to his ankle. Magical sparks flickered from his palm before a small blast shot out of it. The blast broke the chain in half as Monstrox hissed in pain and shook out his hand.

Holding her staff at her side in one hand and holding up her dress with the other, Wanda said, “Let’s go.”

The two of them sprinted out of the dungeon and into the castle halls. It didn’t take long at all for them to reach the window Wanda had climbed in through. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the pair of knights that had been summoned to stop her. While one knight glanced at their peer with panic, the other stood their ground.

“Wanda Moorington - if that is you, breaking into the castle and assisting in the jailbreak of the kingdom’s number one enemy are major crimes punishable by death if His Majesty the King chooses,” the brave knight told her. “Drop your staff and surrender peacefully, or I will not hesitate to engage combat.”

“It’s Ruina Stoneheart, and you’d be foolish to try.” She charged her staff with dark magic, then released it as a enormous blast that blew a large hole in the wall behind her. The knights went flying as the opposite wall was destroyed, and Monstrox was barely able to catch part of the broken wall behind him and hold onto it.

The brief second of quiet that accompanied the settling of dust was almost overwhelming. Monstrox carefully let go of the broken wall he had clung onto, then immediately looked over his shoulder. Sitting a few hundred meters away from the castle were two of his monsters’ vehicles and a horde of those very same monsters behind them. At the front of the pack was General Magmar’s siege machine. Monstrox tapped the back of his hand against Ruina’s shoulder, pointed to the horde of monsters, then ran over to them. Ruina followed at a slower pace.

As Monstrox climbed onto the siege machine, General Magmar said, “Lord Monstrox! We came as soon as we heard that you had been jailed! It’s good to see you unharmed.”

“And it’s good to be outta that stinky hole of a dungeon,” Monstrox replied. Once he climbed to the top of the siege machine, he called out to Ruina, “Well, Wa- Ruina? Are you coming?”

Ruina stared up at Monstrox for a few moments, her brow furrowed with consideration, before looking away as she said, “…I think I’ll stay here.”

Monstrox’s eyes narrowed into a bitter glare. “Oh. I see how it is,” he murmured to himself. He raised his voice again as he told Ruina, “Well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” He turned to face his monsters and gave the order to return to the Lavalands.

---

At first, Monstrox’s jailbreak and his immediate threat to the kingdom greatly overshadowed the one Ruina posed. It bought her some discretion and privacy to delve deeper into her dark magic. Soon, she and her darkness grew more and more powerful, until one month later…

…She couldn’t be ignored.

The word spread like wildfire. Even some of Monstrox’s monsters heard. They saw, too. When they failed to find a Forbidden Power, they would report back to Monstrox about what Ruina was doing instead. Who the people once called Merlok’s talented younger sister was now a threat to Knighton. No matter who or how old they were, no one was safe from her evil sorcery.

There was no way the citizens of Knighton could stop her. With the power she held, even other mages were afraid to stand up to her. They needed Merlok, and it was a good thing he was found so quickly.

A greengrocer who had fled all the way to Castle Murkhouse, located to the south-east of the dark forest, was the one to find Merlok. It wasn’t the greengrocer’s intention to find him, though - whoever the greengrocer was hoping to find, they weren’t there.

“Merlok? What are you doing all the way out here?” the greengrocer asked.

“I was just passing through,” Merlok replied. “I was thinking about going through Bookingham next.”

The greengrocer gasped. “You haven’t heard the news, have you? Bookingham’s in trouble right now! It’s under attack!”

Merlok tightened his grip on his staff. “Monsters, no doubt.”

“It’s worse. It’s… your sister!”

Merlok gasped, his pupils shrinking.

The greengrocer continued, “She’s been going from town to town and leaving death and destruction in her path. The royal knights haven’t been able to stop her. Please, Merlok, we need your help.”

Merlok simply gave the greengrocer a determined nod before heading off to Bookingham as quickly as possible. It felt like an eternity until he arrived there. Houses had been destroyed and the town’s mage tower had been turned into rubble. The townsfolk were running and hiding. Standing in the middle of it all, reveling in the destruction she was causing, was his sister.

“Wanda!” Merlok called out. His sister and the townsfolk both turned their eyes to him.

His sister narrowed her eyes at him, causing the black blotches and jagged red streaks around her pure yellow eyes to crease. “Haven’t you heard the news, Merlok? I’m Ruina Stoneheart now.”

Merlok flinched. “No matter what your name is now, you’re still my family. Please… Ruina, stop this madness. This isn’t you.”

Ruina pointed her staff at Merlok. “What do you know about me?” she spat. “You didn’t even notice how pathetic my excuse for being in Rockwood Forest was.”

“Please, put your staff down. We don’t have to fight,” Merlok told her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ll admit there was a time where I would have agreed,” Ruina replied, “but things change, Merlok. Things…” -she grasped her staff with both hands as she charged dark magic into it, then released a magic blast- “…change!”

Merlok barely managed to hop out of the way of the blast. It ended up burning through a house. Merlok cast a magical shield in front of him, which only caused Ruina to attack quicker. Three smaller magical blasts shot out of her staff, all of which dissolved upon contact with Merlok’s magic shield. Merlok scanned the town. There had to be some way to protect what remained of Bookingham.

Ruina raised her staff into the air as lightning crackled from its head’s center. Multiple bolts shot out of it, striking many houses and a couple of people as well. Merlok had to hop backwards just to avoid the lightning bolts. Then he realised something: he wasn’t that far away from the edge of town. If he could lure Ruina out of Bookingham, he wouldn’t have to worry about the townsfolk getting hurt.

Ruina kept bombarding Merlok with magical attack after magical attack. The anger and determination in her eyes didn’t fade, even as she called out, “Fight back, would you?!”

But Merlok did not. He deflected and redirected Ruina’s attacks as he slowly walked backwards out of Bookingham. Eventually, he reached the edge of the dark forest, and Ruina had followed him as she continued her onslaught. He slid into the shadows of the trees, only for them to shift with each of Ruina’s magical attacks. A particularly fast lightning bolt struck Merlok’s magic shield in an instant. It cracked.

Merlok’s legs were starting to ache with how much dodging he was doing. He knew he had to do something now - he had done as much as he could for Bookingham, now he had to do something for his sister. He had to save her. He had been working on a spell to drive dark magic out of its target, but it was untested. Not only that, but it would take a lot of power to cast it at all. It was risky… but it had to be done.

Pointing his staff at Ruina, he charged it with his magic. Ruina paused, an eyebrow raised. As he said the magic words, Merlok raised his staff over his head before swinging it downwards and launching the orange blast at Ruina. Ruina held her arms in front of her as the blast hit, tearing down the forest trees as it carried her away. In just two seconds the magic blast was fading into the distance. Merlok ran after it and Ruina.

He found her laying face-down on the ground. Merlok knelt down beside her on one knee and reached out to turn her over. Just as his hand touched her side, Ruina slowly raised staff. As Merlok gently turned her over, Ruina shot a bolt of lightning out of her staff that bounced off the ground and into Merlok’s side. A wicked smirk appeared on her face as Merlok let out a cry of pain. He collapsed onto the ground, his magic shield disappearing, while Ruina rose to her feet.

“Well, you tried,” Ruina said, “but it wasn’t enough. And you’re too drained to try that spell again, aren’t you?” She laughed as Merlok attempted to get to his feet. “Don’t bother getting up, Merlok. You’ve already lost.”

Merlok gripped his staff and slowly, shakily raised it. As it slowly charged with magic, he choked out, “B…Brick…elo… Ogel.”

A thin beam shot out of Merlok’s staff and at Ruina’s feet. Her skin, her dress and even her staff began to turn to stone.

Immediately, Ruina gasped, “What?! H-How? I thought you had no power left! You… You shouldn’t!”

The petrification climbed up to her neck. Merlok could only watch with remorseful eyes.

Ruina forced her petrified hand onto her hip as she told Merlok, “Don’t think this is over. I know you’ll-” She completely turned to stone.

Merlok laid on the ground for a few moments more in the agonizing silence that followed. Once the pain in his side had subsided, he pushed himself onto his feet. Placing a hand on the petrified Ruina’s shoulder, he murmured, “I’m sorry, but I had to do it. It was the only way to save myself and the innocent people of Knighton. I promise you I’ll find a way to reverse this and get rid of the dark magic inside of you.”

Merlok looked up at the treetops. There was no light filtering through the leaves, making it impossible to tell what time it was. Regardless, he knew what he had to do next.

He sighed. “Let’s find you a more private place to wait.”