#fic lore

It was a breakthrough, a path to the Other Side, an accomplishment like no other. For the first time, humans could come to the Other Side at will.

Unfortunately, it also meant that otherlings could come into the Mortal Realm just as easily. But nor Maddie, nor Jack or Vlad knew it then.

Excited at the successful experiment, the working door to the Infinite Lands, Madeline proposed to Jack then and there, and he, overwhelmed by his happiness from all sides, agreed instantly. Vlad was forced to accept it - he did not like it, but Maddie made her choice, and he could not convince her otherwise.

Just a year later, Jazz was born. And, by sheer coincidence, the second unmarked door had appeared, not in the research labs in the underground floors, but on the eighth floor, by Vortex's classroom, without anyone noticing.

It was not long until the Darkest Pariah had noticed these new paths. And, when he went through out of curiosity, what did he find? A place full of mages of all sizes and shapes. Ancients - his subjects - teaching humans of the ways of magic. And a charming maiden with hair as bright as fire and a wicked grin on her lips, with magic like no other. It must have been destiny.

Yet, when he asked, the maiden turned him down, just like she did with every other man. She claimed she was already married. Pariah did not understand - her soul was untied, which meant whatever marriage she was speaking of has not been official in his understanding. So, finding no other way to claim what he already thought of as his, he stole the love of his life and brought her to the Other Side.

She fought him. Again and again, every day, until Pariah saw no other way than to simply charm her into accepting him.

A year later, the Wandering Star was born. Maddie insisted on him having a human name as well, but Pariah never liked how 'Daniel' sounded.

Meanwhile, as Pariah was enjoying his play-pretend at a family, back in the Mortal Realm, both Jack and Vlad were going insane with worry. They kept searching and searching for Madeline, first together, then separately after a fair share of arguments between them. It was Vlad who had finally found her through many trials and dangers. In Pariah's castle. With a kid.

Long story short, he stole her away, together with Danny, and brought them both back to the Academy. The charm Pariah put Madeline under fell just as they got to the Tower, and Vlad, in his frenzied and panicked state, confessed to her at that moment. He told her he could protect her and do it better than her oaf of a husband, he would accept the half-otherling kid, he would do anything for her. He already did everything for her, he stood in the way of a burning curse that was guarding Pariah's castle...

But Maddie, overwhelmed by a sudden flood of memories that came back after Pariah's charm fell, pushed him away and ran to find Jack, leaving the heartbroken, cursed man where he stood.

In the next few years, everything seemed to go back to normal. The doors - each and every one that spawned over the Tower - were sealed and locked away. Jack and Jazz reunited with Maddie, and Danny was accepted into the Fenton family easily. Clockwork offered them to stay, to live in the Tower - if Maddie or Danny ever stepped out, they would immediately be found by Pariah. The Academy was the only place that was hidden from his gaze.

Danny grew and learned more and more. He met Tucker when he was five - the boy's family were magi-blacksmiths, and they moved to the town near the Academy to have access to its research and labs. Later, they both met Sam. She was undergoing a course of Trait control in the Tower since her familial plant powers were amplified by a blessing granted by Undergrowth. Sam bragged about a prophecy that spoke of her gaining unlimited power in the future.

Vlad, who disappeared shortly after Maddie's return - supposedly to gain control over the remains of the burning curse that were left in his body - came back when Danny was eleven. Yet, he didn't try reconnecting with Fentons, nor did he speak to Danny about anything. He buried himself in research and, slowly, merged in the background. Just another unfamiliar face in the crowd, another researcher in the Tower.

When Danny was twelve, he found one of the sealed unmarked doors. What happened next, everyone in the Academy remembered as the Time Catastrophe: when re-opened by a child that had way more power than he could control, the door did not lead him to a different place. Rather, it led him to a different time. Clockwork later explained it as a mistake caused by the fact he was personally mentoring Danny most of the time, so the boy must have unconsciously picked up a thing of two from him, from the Ancient of Time.

In any case, through that door came Dan. And it went... Not very well, but by the end of it, the older, different, wrong version of Wandering Star stayed in this dimension. After all, it was an accident that brought him here, and there was no way to send him back. Jack and Maddie offered him to join the family, of course, but the man declined. And, seeing that he was not the Child of King to the Other Side, not the one Pariah was looking for, Clockwork let him leave the Tower. He became a mercenary - a wanderer - and wasn't that ironic, given his name.

Everything came to an end two years later, when Danny turned fourteen. The Rift, a giant portal to the Other Side, opened over the Tower, and countless demons came through it. And, at the front lines of the otherling invasion, was the Darkest Pariah.

On his right side was Vlad and a girl who looked so much like Danny.

The demons, born over the years from Pariah's loss, grief, and anger, could not get through the walls of the Tower. Guarded by the oldest Ancient, it stood tall and protected by numerous shields the Ancients have created over the ages. Fentons were safe inside, but... There was no one to stop Pariah. The Ancients, bound by the Crown, could not fight the King, only defend themselves. So, in his attempt at luring the ones he desired out, Pariah sent the demons to towns and cities around, threatening to keep killing everyone they find until the Academy gives him what he wants. And he wanted Maddie.

When she heard about it, she knew she had no choice. One life over hundreds, maybe thousands of others, it was a simple decision. Yet, before she could make it, a child stood up in front of Pariah.

Danny, who cared for his mother and called Jack his father, despite knowing he was not born to him. Danny, who spent his life in the Tower, closed off from the wide world because of Pariah's obsession. Danny, with two friends by his side, an ice blade in his trembling hands and silver in his eyes that spoke of anger, of hurt, and of a burning desire to protect those he loved.

The Rift was closed only half a day after it was open.

Darkest Pariah met his end at his son's hand.

To the outside world, the Rift had been an unfortunate catastrophe caused and later handled by the mages of Academy. Only a handful of people - and the otherlings, of course - knew the truth, and none of them really wanted to share it.

Vlad, narrowly escaping death with the help of Dani, was made to stay at the Academy, where Clockwork could keep an eye on him. He never confessed it, but everyone was sure he's been the traitor who told Pariah of Maddie's and Danny's whereabouts.

Dani - Vlad's poor attempt at recreating Danny, the reasons for which he also never told another soul about - had spent nearly a year in Frostbite's care. At first, she remained loyal to Vlad as her creator, but over time, with the help of many talks with both Danny and Clockwork, she learned the whole ugly truth about everything that happened. Since then, she never spoke to Vlad and never returned to the Academy, spending her life as a free spirit and roaming the world.

Soon after the fall of Pariah, Maddie, who was now free to leave the Tower, decided that her life as a mage and researcher had come to an end and left it behind. Jack followed her, deeming his wife more important than magic. They offered both Jazz and Danny to go with them, but Danny could not leave the Tower yet - not because of someone or something keeping him there anymore, but because of the responsibility that fell on his shoulders after Pariah's defeat. He was the Heir now, the rightful Prince to the Other Side. Jazz stayed behind as well, for many reasons, starting with the fact she did not want to abandon her brother and ending with her own goals, most of which were related to magic.

Two years later, Clockwork had given Danny a scroll with a long-forgotten prophecy that tied him with one of the Gotham princes.

-------

This is the very brief run-through Danny's life before the events of Fiance to a Star. I skipped over a lot of details here, like how Sam's prophecy turned out, for example (short answer to that is pretty much 'unfortunate plant possession'). If you have any questions about other characters, feel free to ask them! Depending on how much I get, I might end up making a whole another post with answers.