I was rewatching Keeper of the Spire randomly the other day, and I had an idea.
What if Hector broke Varian out of jail? What if Varian trained with Hector and then tailed Rapunzel's group until they were attacked by the Kirlok at the Spire? (Calli...
(It took me a few days to work up enough motivation to start working on this chapter... I'm still deciding whether to have Varian have his own adventure, or for him to accompany Eugene and Max.)
(Chapter warnings: Nightmare, harm/ near suffocation in said nightmare.)
Varian stood on the edge of the roof of the temple of Torb, his hair blowing in the wind of the growing thunderstorm. The statue that had caused him and the others so much trouble lay shattered on the altar.
"Hello?" A voice suddenly rang out from behind him. He whirled to see a small girl, her features hazy so he couldn't quite make out her face. She seemed almost... transparent? The girl caught sight of him and gave what seemed to be a smile. "Ah, hello, little moon beam." Varian took a step backward, his eyes narrowing.
"Who are you?" He asked suspiciously.
"You will learn, in time," she replied vaguely. She stepped forward and looked up at him. "But I'm here to help you. You have so much, mmm... untapped potential. Magical potential." Varian gave her a frustrated look.
"No I don't. I'm not magic, I'm just a regular kid from Old Corona. I'm not like Rapunzel or anything," he protested.
"Aren't you?" The girl asked. "Then how do you explain what happened with the statue?"
"What about it?" Varian questioned.
"How it didn't affect you. Instead, your hair glowed. That was your magic, protecting you from the magic of the statue," she explained. "Sadly, your magic is weak and underdeveloped, and after a while it was overpowered by the statue. That's why your hair stopped glowing and you suddenly could be affected by the statue." Varian shook his head vigorously.
"I don't believe you," he declared, looking away from the girl.
"Very well," she said ominously. Suddenly, black rocks shot out of the ground and wrapped around Varian, squeezing his arms to his sides and making it difficult to breathe.
"What-" he gasped, struggling to draw enough air into his lungs. The girl stared at him creepily, her eyes becoming visible. They lit up a strange ghostly blue and Varian could somehow feel his eyes lighting up the same haunting color. "Ah!" He exclaimed as pain seared through his head. His hair stripe lit up a blinding electric blue as the girl chuckled.
"You will, in time," the girl said, floating up to Varian's eye level. She gently stroked the side of his face. "See you soon, little moon beam."
"Ah!" Varian yelled as he sat straight up in his bed. He pressed one of his hands to his head, still feeling a whisper of the pain from his nightmare. He gently pulled down his hair stripe. It was still its natural blue. He released it and dropped his head into his hands.
What is happening to me?
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The next day, Varian stood with the others on a dock. Next to him, Shorty attempted to eat a boat figurine out of a bottle. Cassandra, who was walking by, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and began dragging him towards the boat.
