#destane

For the first time in a long time, Destane is appearing on this blog, or rather, my vision of his human form.

[For better quality, open the image]

Version without details:

Warning: Blood and violence

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In the shadowy recesses of the Land of the Black Sands, Mozenrath, at just fifteen, stood poised on the precipice of a transformation that would reshape the very fabric of his destiny. Mozenrath had grown under his master’s tutelage, mastering dark sorcery with an intensity that set him apart from the other apprentices. He had studied the ancient tomes, deciphered the runes, and perfected forbidden incantations that beat in time with his own ambition. In the flickering candlelight of Destane’s chamber, resentment twisted into a plan.

“Your reign of terror is over, old man,” Mozenrath spat, not with the voice of a child, but with the furious conviction of a storm.

Destane, seated upon his ornate throne that cracked like the surface of a marred jewel, regarded Mozenrath with an amused scowl. “How childish,” he sneered. “You think you can challenge me? You are nothing but a whelp. What have you learned? How to prattle and preen?”

With a gesture that crackled through the air like heat lightning, Mozenrath invoked the enchantments that danced on the edges of his fingertips. Shadows coalesced, swirling and dark, as he stepped forward, fueled by years of torture and a burning thirst for freedom.

The gauntlet—Destane’s one prized possession—gleamed ominously on the wielder’s hand. It was rumored to grant immense power to its wearer, a cruel instrument in the hands of a cruel man. But Mozenrath was clever; he had spent years observing, learning what made his master vulnerable. Distraction; it was the soul of every successful deception.

With a swift incantation, he created an illusion of himself—an ethereal copy that shimmered like a mirage. While Destane was drawn in by the flickering figure, Mozenrath darted toward the gauntlet, grabbing it with a lightning swipe. The moment the enchanted metal slipped onto his hand, power surged through him like wildfire, filling every corner of his soul with dark ecstasy.

“Fool!” Destane roared, realization dawning. His eyes widened, filled with rage and disbelief as he turned to confront the real Mozenrath. But his fury transformed into desperation as the apprentice wielded the gauntlet’s magic for the first time. The air electrified, writhing with energy as Mozenrath concentrated, cascading tendrils of shadow that lashed out like whips of night.

“Every lesson you taught me,” Mozenrath laughed bitterly, the gauntlet’s power amplifying his voice to echo through the chamber, reverberating like a death knell. “was ultimately to teach me how to be stronger than you!”

Destane fought back, summoning his own dark energies, but age had dulled his edge. The gauntlet glowed with an intensity that overwhelmed him. As the two collided, raw magic burst through the air like a storm unleashed. Shadows gathered, swirling in a furious cyclone around them. Mozenrath drew closer to victory. With a final, tremendous thrust of power, he felt the surge of energy explode forth. Destane staggered, his form cracking like ice under the heat of the gauntlet, and with a devastating incantation, Mozenrath unleashed a bolt of power from the gauntlet that struck Destane squarely in the chest. The moment was a stillness after the tempest—the palace echoed with the silence of inevitability. Destane gasped, his body crumpling under the weight of betrayal and the enormous force of abandonment. The echoes of his cries became whispers in the wind as blood sprayed across the floor, glistening darkly. It splattered onto Mozenrath’s face and robes, and for a moment, everything around him fell silent.

The chilled air hummed with the aftermath of violence, but there was no room for remorse. Mozenrath stood above his master, his heart pounding not from fear or hesitation, but triumph.

“After all,” he spoke to the silence, wiping the crimson from his cheek as it started to dry, “ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves.”

Oh man, I am a sucker for evil/alternate doppelgangers or counterparts, in case that wasn't already obvious with my ranting. I could talk about them all day if anyone let me! Had to take a few days to think about this one. 

Like you said, we have a few more “official” examples of an evil Aladdin already. Chaos's Aladdin is an jerk who beats people up for fun, and Shadow Aladdin is just evil for the sake of it.

And going off of non-Disney stuff, there's Aladdin from Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, who... yeah, that guy has issues.

As for my take on an evil Aladdin, it would obviously change depending on what kind of environment Aladdin was raised in. I love Aladdin as a character because he very clearly has flaws that make things difficult for both him and the people around him. He's athletic, intelligent and kind, but he's very insecure about how other people see him. A villainous Aladdin would probably be someone who ups the insecurities and acts out because of it, likely deciding that he was going to make people think better of him whether or not it's for a good reason. What would decide on the rest would be what influences he had growing up in his life.

While I can't remember it being made canon anywhere apart from the Broadway show and the original demos of the film, I personally headcanon that a lot of Aladdin's morality stems from his desire to make his mother happy. Whether she's alive or not, she seems to have been a major source of stability in Al's early life, so taking that away from him would have certainly twisted him in another direction.

Even then, while we see that young Aladdin still argues against Amal stealing jewels, Al does temporarily turn to stealing money as a teen/young adult when he's hired as a pickpocket by the traveling circus. He immediately relents against this, though, once he sees the grief caused by leaving people in the same state that he's in.

I think an Aladdin who grew up on the streets without a caring figure in his early life would probably be much more selfish and inconsiderate, taking without thinking to give anything in return. He may have be someone who wouldn't argue against stealing jewels and wouldn't care if his actions left people on the streets. ...Maybe it'd take a bit more to get him there, but I think it's a possibility for a villainous Aladdin.

And then there's concepts where he's had a very different upbringing, like if he were raised by his father and brought into the Forty Thieves. Cassim isn't an entirely villainous figure, but he's shown to not be the most considerate when it comes to the wellbeing of others. Perhaps a "Prince of Thieves" Aladdin would be more like his father, where he cares more his own wellbeing than for others but still heavily values the life of his family.

Your version and the version of @somethingstrangeisherehehe with the necromancer Aladdin could come out in a lot of ways, most likely from Aladdin being raised by Destane as Mozenrath was implied to have been. Considering how rough Destane was implied to have been and how Mozenrath turned out, that kind of Aladdin would not be anywhere near as kind as the Aladdin we know. That, and I imagine using the bodies of the dead as your tools probably takes a lot of compassion out of people.

(I included the pictures because the links kept deleting themselves. Sorry about that.)

@cantareincminor

"Who told you I'd give up?"

Mozenrath would like to believe, if by the cosmic event of the stars and planets aligning perfectly to facilitate the impossible circumstance of Destane being resurrected, that he would fight back. But realistically, if Destane were to resurrect himself or if another would, Mozenrath would instantly think him to be even more powerful than last time.

In "The Wind Jackels of Mozenrath", Genie disguises himself as a mamluk in order to sneak into Mozenrath's kingdom. This involves, among other things, turning his skin green, wearing the mamluk's outfit, and... sewing his mouth shut.

Looking at the other episodes, as far as I can see the mamluks never open their mouths. The only sounds they make are muffled moans, hums and grunting.

Did...