Zael and Tulkus.

Tulkus strolled through his garden. He knelt to look at a flower, a white one that had garnered the attention of several bees. It had taken a lot of work to ensure that wildlife could exist here. Bees, flowers, birds, so many things. People, too.
Detair. The flying city. HIS flying city, kept in the air by his power, the power of a Void Gate. Tulkus rather liked the term. A gate was something strong, it wasn't a weak doorway or window.
Today was the first day after his recovery. The process of giving flight to the land had taken an enormous toll on him, and he had been unable to even walk for months. Andellic had been in turmoil with the magic flowing through him, but the Vadiant came through in the end. Now was the time for both of them to rest easy. Well, until the true work began.
The work of beginning his Empire.
That would have to wait for now, of course. He had felt earlier the arrival of a powerful magic presence, in his own house no less. This was a meeting he had long been expecting, and he was rather glad that it had been postponed until he had recovered.
He walked into his house. His attendant (he didn't like the terms servant or butler) came up to him, trying to explain something while holding a half-peeled apple. Tulkus thanked him, told him that he had been expecting company, and inquired about what food was being made.
The attendant stood staring down the hall as Tulkus walked away, then shrugged and went back to work. His job was strange enough serving a tall, winged, Elf-looking Mage with seemingly godlike powers. Strangers appearing in the middle of the house was probably going to be a common occurrence.
Tulkas' thoughts ran quickly. He wasn't nervous, but he was unsure of what to say- it's been so long! Or you look like you haven't aged a day! Or something inane like that.
It didn't go as he was expecting. The man who was waiting for him in his dinner room was not quite the man he had been expecting. It was, but at the same time wasn't- the same person, but nearly unrecognizable.
"Zael," he said with a nod.
"Tulkus," the other replied, "or should I address you as Your Highness? Your Majesty?"
Tulkus closed his eyes and sighed. He had longed to meet his old friend for years. They had gone their separate paths, but Tulkus still cared deeply for him. This was not the Zael Talen he had known.
His once blond hair that he had been so proud of was now pitch black and cut short. His eyes, too- the vibrant green eyes that had seemed so full of life were stained pure black, and seemed to exude darkness. The body he had been so proud of, the muscled arms and torso, wrapped in black rags. Everything about him seemed to be aimed at making him darkness incarnate.
"Tulkus is my name. Why should my brother call me anything but that?" Tulkus said. "And you of all people should know, my aim is not to rule-"
"It is to save." Zael finished his sentence. "To ensure that no other child is driven out and abandoned for their gifts, to allow all those who can use magic a place of safety to practice and learn."
Tulkus sighed. "Yes, Zael. That is my goal. Not all of those driven out will have my fortune, meeting a family like yours who will take them in. I aim to change that."
Zael raised an eyebrow. "With your own kingdom, no less. As the Magic Emperor."
"You can't-" Tulkus' face became flushed. "How can you-"
"You are not the only one who has gained power," Zael said quietly. "I can discern many things that are hidden from mortals."
"And you consider yourself no longer mortal?"
"Do you?"
"I have paid for my power!" Tulkus nearly lost his temper. "My soul itself was torn apart! I bathed in the Eternal Spring, I consumed the energy of the Deep Heart! If I am no longer an ordinary mortal, it is by my own effort!"
Zael looked out the window. "You know nothing of my efforts, dear brother. The darkness I endured to catch up to you. And now, you deign to become a ruler, a tyrant."
Tulkus sat down across from Zael. The silver in his eyes dimmed for a moment as doubt crept into his heart. "I have to lead," he said, "for nobody else can."
"Perhaps nobody should. Come, do not take this path. Let us walk together as we did long ago. Let us find new worlds and new ways to pursue magical knowledge. I, myself, have found innumerable things to learn from. Come back to the ground-"
"No!" Tulkus slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. "After what I have done to get this land up above? You would have me give this up? This is the hope of mankind!"
"It is the bastion of an Empire to be that will one day enslave all below," Zael growled. "All men are equal. All of the Highborn are equal. You would set some above others."
"Perhaps some should be above others!"
"You are far more mad than I had thought. If the you from back then had heard these words!"
Tulkus struggled for a moment to maintain his composure. He had known that it would be like this, Zael Talen had long since disapproved of his methods. But he could not give up. Not when he was so close to changing the world, all worlds, for the better.
"You have always been my brother," Tulkus said quietly, "and always will be. Rather than have me cast this destiny down, will you not rise up to it with me?"
Now it was Zael's turn to be silent for a moment. "The thought of you asking this had seemed unlikely from the start," he said, "and I know that I could do great good by joining you."
"Then do so!"
"But I also know of the great evil that would befall all those not chosen by Magic."
"Just because those with gifts are given aid does not mean those without will be forgotten!"
Zael laughed. "I heard a young man say once: 'How can one without magic understand me? There is more to me. I am different!' I think this man would disagree with you."
Tulkus turned away. "That was a different time," he said, "and I have changed since then. This land in the sky will be a boon to all people."
Zael laughed again. "Indeed? It was a land, as I recall, 'to allow all those who can use magic a place of safety to practice and learn.' And I saw no mention of those without."
"Then you could keep me on the right path. Keep mindful of those not chosen by magic. Those untouched by the Void."
"I will keep you from this path," Zael said as he stood up, "though it will not be beside you."
Tulkus looked back at his old friend, the one who had been closer than a brother. He could feel the animosity from him. Andellic flared up within him and Judgement appeared in his hand unbidden.
"Ah, there it is. The being you defiled your soul with." Zael spat on the ground. "Perhaps you will make this a requirement for your airborne paradise? One must ruin their soul to join you?"
"You will not stop me, Zael Talen," Tulkus growled, "This is the hope of mankind. It will exist, even if I must fight you to keep it."
Zael shrugged. "You must. But it will not be here, and it will not be now. I will have to take my leave."
"I won't let you!" There was a flash of light, and Zael was surrounded by bars of Holy magic. "You managed to bring yourself to me through the Void. I will not allow you the space to-"
"Allow me to demonstrate one of the many things I have learned through my study of the Shroud," Zael said. "I call this a 'Shroudstep'. Try to copy me if you can."
There was a sudden movement from Zael, a swirling of shadows, and in an instant he was gone.
Tulkus did not move for a long time. Judgement fell from his hand and vanished, but he stayed staring at where Zael had disappeared. The prison of Holy magic burnt itself out without his continued putting into it.
Tulkus thought of his friend. From the day they had met, the ditch he had been found in, to being welcomed in as part of the family, to training in their village, every moment he had spent with Zael ran through his mind. At long last the attendant came to check on him, and he found Tulkus sitting with his head in his hands weeping.
Zael Talen. Closer than a brother, a friend dearer than any other, now an enemy.
The Magic Emperor. Perhaps Zael would be right. But he needed to try. This land, Detair, would be the hope of the world.