This content was originally included in an issue of The Duelist magazine. The original article can be accessed via Internet Archive here.

---

Main Magazine Page: The Duelist #2

By Kathy Ice, Beverly Marshall Saling, & Rick Saling Marshall

Magic: The Gathering
The Dark

“Are you insane?” Mindrel couldn’t believe her ears—or rather, her ear. A magical experiment had taken off the left one years ago.

“I’m serious,” Brand said quietly. He scowled, opening and closing his right hand as if hoping to catch hold of something. “I have no choice. If I don’t use those spells I’ll lose the whole Outer Ring. We can’t all move on unchallenged planes.”

Mindrel ignored the jab almost completely, merely narrowing her dark eyes. That’s not the point, you fool. I can lend you spells, if that’s what you need—”

Ordinary spells are not what I need!” Brand shot back, grabbing Mindrel’s wrists across the well-worn table. “I’ve got to have something unexpected, some ominous, half-forgotten power that will twist their minds and make them sweat blood!”

“Something like that’ll destroy you as fast as it destroys them,” Mindrel said, pulling away from Brand’s grasp. “Why do you think the Dark spells were forbidden in the first place?”

“I can handle them.”

“It’s not worth it! Brand, there is no way you can control those Dark spells without sacrificing your own life force. It’s suicidal!”

“I told you, I can handle them. I’m not going to use the black spells. I do have some sense of self-preservation left, you know.” Brand smiled wryly.

Mindrel shook her head. “You don’t understand—it’s not just the black spells. All of the spells can turn on you, even the white ones.”

“I’m not using white either—”

“I’m telling you it doesn’t matter!” Mindrel ticked them off on her fingers. “The black ones are indeed vicious, but they’re cruel to the caster as well. The unity and defensiveness of the white spells are hideously warped into intolerance and persecution. You can’t use blue unless you can deal with your own most terrifying nightmares, the ones buried so deep you probably don’t even know what they are. And chaotic uncontrollable red breaks down natural enmities, which can get you into real trouble if you’re not careful. Even green is downright brutal, with a vicious backlash.

“If you’ve got to lose a duel, then I say make the other wizard beat you. Don’t do it to yourself by meddling in the Dark.”

Brand’s jaw was set. “Very well, you’ve given me your opinion. Now if you’ll excuse me, my Outer Ring is being challenged again, and I haven’t got time to sit here and debate the ethics of Dark magic. Stick to your cup of tea, Mindrel; I have a stronger brew to mix.” With a swirl of his cloak, Brand strode out into the waning light.

Mindrel sighed and sent herself back to her own plane. Perhaps Brand really did know what he was doing. And if not, well, perhaps she could claim the Outer Ring.

Time is a slippery concept to Planeswalkers. Even so, Mindrel reckoned it had been a while since she’d heard from Brand. She wondered if he was still upset with her.

The journey to Brand’s home plane took only an instant. The moment the ground materialized under her feet, Mindrel knew something was wrong. The glowering sky spewed a gritty wind through the dying grasses, and large chasms partially filled with a greasy, dark green liquid gaped in front of her.

Sensing the worst, Mindrel avoided the holes and headed for the home Brand had called simply his Refuge. The door hung drunkenly on one hinge; the cloth window next to it was ripped open. Inside, the room was littered with wood and debris where part of the roof had collapsed. Mindrel wondered at the faint odor of decay until she caught a glimpse of the cold, lifeless body of Brand’s familiar as it lay near the fireplace.

Mindrel suppressed a shudder. She wanted to vomit, but it wouldn’t do to show weakness. The other wizard, the one who had given Brand his final challenge, might still lurk nearby.

Wrapping her veil more securely about her face, Mindrel returned to her own plane with a new appreciation of its life and growth. She hoped Brand had done at least a little damage to his challenger before the Dark spells consumed him. She did not want to resort to such unsavory methods when she challenged for the Outer Ring. But her turn was coming soon.

Story devised by Kathy Ice, Beverly Marshall Saling, and Rick Saling Marshall