Creative Corner

Well, it happened again. I was writing a bio and it just got...so long... SO, I'm making a thread for it. :P It's kind of turning into its own story, so I may as well at this point. There's a lot of detail in here I didn't want to forget, so I folded most of it into this story. (I coordinated with the owner of Aurion's sister to hammer out the lore before I began working on this, but this particular piece is entirely written by me.)

To those of you who read this story, I hope you enjoy it! :) Feel free to PM me or leave a comment with what you think (once this thread is open to comments. For now, please keep it to PM's)!

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The Cairnstone Rest is a dangerous place. Countless cavernous tunnels, winding and yawning deeper and deeper into the earth. It's a cave system and an ancient burial ground, protected by skeletal wyrms arisen from the dead to defend the ancient and forgotten final resting places of those who once lived in an age gone by. Of course, such tunnels hold more than the dead. They hold history and intrigue, and, potentially, treasures rare, wonderful, and perhaps even holding now-unknown magical power.

This was what drew a pair of thieves to this place. The secrets kept there were craved by many, and the dangers, which kept many away, dared others to challenge them. Perhaps it was foolish, but this duo lived for the thrill, for discovery, for knowledge, and above all, for treasure.

At first, they worked separately. However, as the two tomb raiders encountered one another and talked, they found over time that they quite enjoyed each other's company. And so, the pair of Pearlcatchers eventually became a couple. And then, they had two children. It wasn't a very easy life. The errant historians and thieves made their living off of what was arguably sacrilegious larceny, and so they had to move lodgings regularly, and usually living in some ramshackle abode out of a shallow cave or somesuch. That said, wherever they lived was always near to the Carinstone Rest.

The pair of tomb raiders loved their jobs, each other, and their children: a boy and a girl. They taught their children from an early age how to safely sneak around the catacombs and avoid danger, how to read, how to write, how to use their numbers... They taught them, too, as much as they knew about the relics they unearthed and the myths and mysteries they gleaned from them. They also taught them how to read and translate what they knew of the old and ancient languages they'd encountered in the tombs. The parents had done so well in teaching their children, in fact, that the children began to see the tombs as a fun place to explore, and lost their due fear of it.

It had happened several times before: the parents realizing that their children weren't at home. Sure enough, they would find them playing in or around the Carinstone Rest. Each time, they would scold them, but the children didn't understand why it was so unsafe to play there without their parents around. And this time, the parents found them a little deeper into the caves than usual. As always, the parents scolded the children as they guided them back home, but this time, something found them. One of the massive, dreaded skeletal wyrms.

The parents picked up their children and fled as quickly as they could, while the wyrm's thundering footsteps and hollow roar rumbled the earth around them. And then, as they fled through a tunnel, the rocks cracked and tumbled down in a cave-in, blocking their exit and leaving them with nowhere to go as the wyrm rapidly closed in. It was then that the father of the children noticed a crack had split in the cave wall behind them, next to the cave-in. Without a word of explanation, he stuffed the little one in his arms into the narrow breach, then, taking the other from his mate, shoved that child in after the first. The wyrm's roar rumbled through the enclosed space, and all the couple could do was embrace each other and huddle together in front of the gap their children had been pushed through. A terrible crash. A simultaneous breaking and squelching sound. The pair of tomb raiders were no more...and after a moment, the wyrm was satisfied, and slow thrumming footsteps faded into quietude.

The children were old enough that they knew that their parents were gone. It was a rattling experience. For a while, they waited with dust hanging in the air. Then, they began to move around to find some way of illuminating their surroundings. As it turned out, they were in an old, forgotten chamber, with scrolls, murals, and tomes scattered all around. Draped over a desk, they found the remains of a dragon. On the desk was also a book the now-corpse had been writing in. Thankfully, the two knew enough about how to read this ancient text that they could learn a little about this room's occupant.

He had been a necromancer, and this hidden chamber had been his base of operations. His necromancy discovered, he was sealed away in here, along with everything he'd made or collected about his craft. Here, he spent his final days without access to food, water, or fresh air. And now, all of it had been left behind.

The brother of the now-orphans took a special interest in the man's final account, and in what he read of this craft. He was fascinated with the wealth of necromantic knowledge hidden away and compiled here -- knowledge that was probably a lost art in other parts of the modern world. His sister and he also had to face the reality that there were those who were looking for their parents for their crimes. The siblings couldn't very well keep moving around like their parents could, and so they snuck back to their old home and moved their things into this hidden chamber, which became their new home, hidden from the world. Here, the pair of siblings studied everything within the chamber, and even found corridors connected to this part of the catacombs that seemed untouched by other dragons. Within those they found what materials they needed -- both magical in nature and the mundane dead -- to further learn the craft left to them by this long-dead necromancer.

The boy's name was Aurion, and he had a special love and talent for necromancy, he found. His sister likewise studied it, but she wasn't as naturally adept. The siblings had always been close, but now that all they had was each other, they were especially so. It was clear to Aurion that his sister became sad whenever he called her by her name, which, like his, meant "gold" in another language. Their parents always had called them their treasures, so her name clearly made her miss them. So, he began finding replacement titles, such as "Sister," and her mood began to improve. While practicing her necromancy, at one point, the spell had gone particularly bad, and Aurion, with a gentle smile, jokingly told her that her magic would bring about a calamity. Then, every time she made such a terrible blunder, he would say, "Ah, it looks like a calamity is coming." Then, one day, the girl announced that she could bring about a calamity if she wanted to, and was proud of it. After that, her name had remained "Calamity." Her real name is a secret between brother and sister. That said, they also did refer to each other with little nicknames from time to time. In particular, Aurion would st times call Calamity "Cal," and she would refer to her brother as "Auri."

As the two grew, they modified the crack in the wall to better suit them, until they managed to create a hidden door for themselves. Through their necromantic studies and excursions into the tombs, they had also became exceptionally adept with reading and even speaking the ancient languages found there. Aurion grew into quite the fine necromancer, while Calamity, while middling in her necromantic abilities, became quite the student of old relics. Whenever she was excited about a new find -- which wasn't uncommon -- she would chatter on and on about it while her brother listened with a smile, but with an interest which could hardly compare to his older sister's passion.

Indeed, though the two were clutchmates, the girl hatched a good hour or two before her little brother did. Even so, she generally acted more like the younger sister, with a sweet innocence and childlike curiosity, and he, like the elder brother, with an even temper and a rational mind.

Both in their hidden chamber home, and in the tombs all around it, the pair found all kinds of things. Of course, there were caskets and the dead, but there were also old relics. Within the chamber, the siblings found the old necromancer's vestments, designed to hone and enhance one's ability with necromantic magic. The robes Aurion took and even now wears more or less all the time. Calamity had trouble focusing her magic, however, and found that wearing the veil helped significantly, and so she received that part of the necromancer's garbs. They also found all kinds of items of ritualistic significance, including a pair of golden spheres with necromantic inscriptions carved into them, and a drop of the black magic having tainted their golden sheen. Each sibling took one in place of their pearls, which had been dropped and lost during the flight from the skeletal wyrm which had killed their parents on that fateful night. These spheres were meant to be focus objects, assisting a necromancer's concentration, and enhancing a necromancer's magic. And now, each sibling had one of the set, much like the garb they had divided between them.

Aurion's thirst for the ancient magic was unquenchable and he was diligent in his studies. After many years of living in the catacombs, his acumen only grew. He didn't have a specific goal in mind for most of it -- it was simply who he was. However, that didn't mean he didn't set goals for himself. Of course, his parents' demise never quite left him. There was no question in his mind that the skeletal wyrms were the result of necromancy, even if, perhaps, the one who originally animated them was no longer around. And if they were born of necromancy, his studies could very well grant him power over them, making his and his sister's home even safer for the two.

Finally, after much study in the field of gaining control over undead creatures and several successful attempts against lesser and moderately powerful ones, the day came when he sought out and confronted a skeletal wyrm himself. At first, the beast regarded him murderously. However, Aurion's own gaze was steely. He had studied for this. Using his necromantic power, he wrested control over the creature's will. He could tell that his grasp wasn't strong enough to fully control it, but he managed to make it tame before him. He could probably tear it apart with his power if he had wanted to. He knew the spells for dismantling such creatures, and for turning their bones into dust. However, oddly, this was enough. He peacefully turned the creature away. And in that moment, as the beast walked away to go about its business, he felt freer. Finally, he felt a sense of acceptance of his parents' deaths, having overcome the power of what had done them in. He and his sister would truly be safe from them.

Though Aurion and Calamity continued living in their sealed chamber home, the two of them did eventually start venturing out back into modern Sornieth. Within some of the old necromancer's writings, Aurion had found that the man had heard of forays into other necromantic studies. Where the modern Sunbeam Ruins were was necromantic activity, and, in another note, there were rumors of those who studied the arcane arts going mad in their search for knowledge. Evidently, one or two of these dragons would babble on and on about a multi-faceted place full of mirrors and a "black spiral." Though the old necromancer hadn't had time to investigate this rumor, he had spent some time in the place where the Sunbeam Ruins now rested. And, from the written account, doing so greatly helped him to further his necromantic knowledge.

Though Aurion wasn't exactly communing with the spirit of this necromancer, he still felt like the man was telling him to speak with other necromancers to broaden his understanding of his craft. And, honestly, there was no better place to start than the homeland of the Emperor abominations. He proposed the idea to Calamity and the two agreed that seeking other students of necromancy could only help them along their own journeys in the field. So, they gathered some provisions and set out, further away from the Carinstone Rest than they had ever before been.

It took some adapting to realize how out of place the pair were in modern Sornieth, wearing dark ceremonial garb adorned with bones and ancient inscriptions. Among the guesses people threw at them was that they were archeologists, performers, or having just come from a costume party. The siblings kept their cool and awkwardly agreed to whatever assumptions were thrown at them. Necromancy was likely not the most widely-accepted practice, after all, and, well, the dragon they had been indirectly learning from had been killed for it. Partway through the journey, the two packed away their necromantic items and carried them as luggage, instead wearing things more fitting to the times.

While the siblings were in the Light territory, they heard about (and decided to attend) an exhibition for researchers of magic and science looking for sponsors to fund their projects. Many of those speaking in the forum were, of course, not practitioners of necromancy. Aurion had been skeptical that they would find any fellow practitioners, but now he was beginning to think that this was a waste of time. But then, he began listening to the presentation of a Pearlcatcher named Tabian. Her story of the Lightweaver and Emperors drew him in immediately, but as she got to proposing research into necromancy, the audience began to turn against her. She was more or less run out of the forum, and that was when Aurion knew that this was his only link to other necromancers that he would find here. He hurried out of the auditorium and began looking for Tabian. Unfortunately, he could not find her. So, drooping with disappointment, he returned from his search to his sister, whom he found milling about in the foyer talking with another Pearlcatcher.

The two spoke enthusiastically about Calamity's favorite topic: ancient relics. After Aurion made his presence known Calamity introduced the other Pearlcatcher as Prosperity. Aurion figured it was a pseudonym -- after all, what were the odds that the name was a direct opposite to Calamity's own preferred moniker? -- but he couldn't really blame the man for using it. Aurion and Calamity had their own secrets that were in their best interests to keep. In fact, Prosperity invited the pair of siblings to go somewhere where they could speak in better comfort.

They wound up sitting in a quiet and out of the way part of town, where they could speak more freely. As it turned out, he was also a necromancer, although he specialized in understanding and using necromantic objects more than casting spells himself. He was also a fairly well-connected procurer and seller of such objects. Putting it more bluntly, like Aurion and Calamity's parents, the man was a tomb raider and sold his goods on the black market. Despite the difference in their kinds of necromancy, it was nice to engage in conversation with another practitioner. Prosperity was even able to give the duo information about the rumor the pair's deceased master had heard. Evidently, there was a cult of Pearlcatchers who gained forbidden knowledge in a place called the Black Spiral. Though Aurion was excited to gain new findings in such a labyrinthine library such as Prosperity described the Black Spiral to be, he also warned them that no one who entered the place came back unchanged. However, he could connect them to members of this cult -- called the Black Pearls -- if they wanted to speak with some of them.

The siblings took Prosperity up on his offer, and began traveling with him to his contacts among the cult. He had his ways of getting around Sornieth discreetly yet quickly, such as having his own private accommodations within a wagon in a merchant caravan. Aurion was happy to find a peer in the necromantic arts, and he did enjoy speaking with Prosperity about their experiences as necromancers, as well as comparing their different techniques, approaches, tenants, and theories within the craft. However, he couldn't help but notice how much of an interest Prosperity had developed in Calamity. At first, Aurion was content to let their friendship grow. It was nice, after all, seeing Calamity make a connection with someone besides himself. However, he began to worry that Prosperity may have had more in mind than just friendship.

Specifically, Aurion wondered if Prosperity was toying with his sister's emotions in order to gain access to the relics she discovered. The brother was not about to let her precious discoveries be sold off by some greedy black market salesman whose only ambition was to take advantage of such a sweet young lady. That greedy glint he got in his eye whenever he appraised (figuratively and literally) a relic she showed him was certainly adding to Aurion's concerns. So, as they were traveling, Aurion took Prosperity aside and confronted him about his misgivings.

He was blunt in his questioning, but not specifically accusing. Thankfully, Prosperity was quick to deny that he meant to use Calamity for her relics. Aurion responded that that was good, but did leave him with a warning...and perhaps came off a tiny bit strong, despite his calm (but perhaps dread-inducing) intonation.

"If you ever hurt my sister I will kill you, raise you back to life, kill you again, raise you again, and make you suffer until you're begging her for forgiveness. And then I'll make you serve us for the rest of your unlife."

Aurion thought he saw the other necromancer shiver a little at the threat, but he reassured Aurion that though he believed the threat, but even without it, would never harm Calamity. That was good enough for Aurion, though he did take a small biological sample (a bit of hair) from Prosperity just in case he needed to make a tracking totem to find the man later in case that oath was broken and Prosperity tried to escape his retribution. As far as Aurion is aware, Calamity never learned of that little heart-to-heart, and the three of them got along fine after that. And, as promised, Prosperity successfully brought the siblings to where some of the Black Pearls lived outside of the Black Spiral.

After speaking with some of the Black Pearls, it became clear that Prosperity's assessment of the Black Spiral was right on point. It held all kinds of arcane secrets just waiting to be unearthed, but being within it for any amount of time came at the risk to one's sanity, and no one left there unmarked. It was what stained Pearlcatchers' pearls black as an outward representation of what occurred within the dragons' very beings. The siblings did indeed want to learn what lay within those dangerous archives, but agreed that it was better to simply keep in touch with the Black Pearls while they withdrew and reassessed ways to access it without risk to themselves.

They weren't the first dragons to make connections with the cult, either. However, for now, they were cautious about making a deal to exchange information. Many of these dragons were rather unhinged, after all. It would probably be better if they could figure out a way to access the Black Spiral without risking themselves. After all, the Black Pearls were rather welcoming to like-minded dragons. They were warned, however, that only Pearlcatchers had been able to enter and exit the place intact.

Aurion in particular mulled over what they had learned on their way back to the Cairnstone Rest. Once again, Prosperity was handling transportation on behalf of the siblings. Meanwhile, Calamity and Prosperity continued to talk about their favorite topics, seemingly unendingly.

After the siblings had returned home, they thanked Prosperity for his help. Though they didn't show him to their sealed chamber, they did welcome him to visit if he felt like it. He likewise told them where he was lodging for now. Like their parents had, he kept the practice of changing his abode every so often so as not to be caught for his less than lawful occupation. And so their dealings ended for a time.

Life returned to its quiet normal for the siblings. Aurion was often lost in ancient texts or practicing his necromancy. Calamity spent more time daydreaming and writing than she used to. As usual, however, she would go out on her own from time to time.

Then, one day, Calamity approached her brother. All this time, Aurion hadn't noticed it. He'd thought she'd been going out to look for relics like she'd always done before. While it was true that she had done that at times, many of her outings had been to meet with Prosperity. And now, she was nervously fidgeting with a shy smile as she told her brother that Prosperity had invited her to live with him...and that she wanted to go with him.

Aurion hadn't been quite prepared for this. All his life, his sister had been right there with him, even when no one else was. It was one of the few certainties he'd held in his life...but now, she had met a man...and both had fallen in love with each other. She wanted to be with Prosperity...and he would soon be moving to the Tangled Wood. It was clear that Calamity loved this man. Aurion himself had to admit that they made a good match. It was a difficult thing for him to do, but in the end, Calamity was only taking this to him because she cared about Aurion's own feelings...how could he deny hers?

His neck was rigid, but he managed the nod. He forced a smile. Calamity probably knew he was hesitant to agree to this, but she clearly appreciated the support she was receiving from her one family member. And so, Calamity packed up her things.

The night Aurion and Calamity met with Prosperity just outside of the Carinstone Rest was a bright one. The couple would have no trouble finding their way to Prosperity's next contact. It was a bitter thing. As he held onto his sister's hands, memories flooded his mind. Memories of their time in their hidden chamber studying the ancient languages, memories of traveling together in modern Sornieth for the first time, memories of finding new and exciting necromantic relics and mastering spells for the first time, memories of playing together as children in the Rest...and memories of being very young, embraced in their parents' arms, all together. And then, he felt Calamity begin to pull away toward the one who would look after her from now on. And Aurion...let go.

He still had his tracking totem if anything went wrong. They knew how to contact him, too. They would keep in touch. He now had a brother-in-law. All of these thoughts tried to penetrate the hollowness he was beginning to feel in his sister's promised absence. He forced a smile as he waved them off. Then, when the night was once again still, barely below a whisper, Aurion said his sister's true name into the darkness...and wished her well. Then, he turned around...and returned to what was now his own hidden chamber, and private study.

Days turned into weeks. No matter how much study or practice Aurion occupied himself with, he could not fill the emptiness Calamity had left behind. Despite having become accomplished enough to begin crafting his own spells and magically-imbued artifacts, Aurion never felt like he really achieved anything. It was one of those things that would just take time, and one of these days he would have to come to grips with his new life of solitude.

Sure enough, the pain did numb eventually. He began getting used to living alone in the catacombs. It had an odd effect on his perspective as he mused about it, too. Here he was, his life having been saved by his parents, and though he had grown up as he was sure they had wished for him to, Calamity was the one who seemed to have moved on to a relatively normal life. She had found love, and may have even had children one day, and so life went on. But what of Aurion? He remained among the tombs, keeping company with the dead alone. Could that really be called "living?" If his parents could see how he was spending his life, would they be disappointed in him?

Then again, why couldn't he simply ask them? He was a necromancer after all. That said, it wasn't as though he could simply summon the spirits of the dead. However, he may have still had a link he could utilize.

For a long time now, he'd thought about how his parents had died in front of the entryway into his home, and that it may have had significance. He hadn't told Calamity about this thought, however. He'd wondered if perhaps their wish to keep him and Calamity safe had had some sort of effect that helped to protect them and keep the hidden chamber an undiscovered secret. There were a few theories on this sort of thing happening in some of the ancient texts he'd studied, and it made sense with the circumstances of their death. If there was one, strong wish the pair of them had had at the time of death, it was clearly that their children survive and grow up happily and healthily. Thinking about it that way, Aurion thought that he may have had a little ritual he could perform.

It was designed to ease the passing of spirits with a strong connection to a wish, person, or place, essentially "disspelling" them from whatever was tying them to this world. True, it would make the spell he and Calamity had placed on their hidden door weaker, but it was Aurion's desire to assure his parents that their sacrifice had indeed saved him and his sister, and that they had both grown up happily because of it. It would, perhaps, be the last time he could connect with what remained of them...but he would be able to tell if their wish was truly granted or not. If it was, then it would mean that they approved of his life, and he, himself, could find peace in it. Additionally, their remaining fear for their children would finally be quelled, and they could rest in peace. It was worth finally saying goodbye completely.

Aurion's only hesitation was that he wished that Calamity could also be there for the ritual...but she had moved on. This was something that Aurion had to do. He would simply write to Calamity about it later. That was, if it was successful. If their parents' wish hadn't been fulfilled, then the deep concern they had left behind would remain until their wish was finally granted. If it came to that...then what could Aurion do? Necromancy was his life...but if his parents couldn't accept that, could Aurion really accept himself?

It was a simple matter. Aurion stood outside the hidden door which led from the collapsed corridor to the secret chamber. Before him was the very spot in which his parents spent their last moments. Right now, with his magic filling the air, he could see a vague impression in the air around where their bodies had once been, huddled together, as though the dust in the air had settled onto invisible versions of their forms.

It was oddly emotional for him. Aurion hadn't expected to get choked up just seeing this thin representation. It was strange seeing them now. He remembered them being so much bigger than this...though, in reality, it was that he had been so much smaller. The magic felt exactly like what he had expected it to, however. He could feel their intense desire to protect their children, their weighty fear not only of their impending doom, but that that very doom would reach beyond them and take their children too. Before he even realized what he was doing, Aurion instinctively began doing exactly what the ritual required him to: he spoke to the impression of his parents' wish.

"M-mother? Father...?"

The stagnant moment in time shifted. The representation of Aurion's parents lifted their heads. They looked up, directly at Aurion...though Aurion could only feel a hollow lack of understanding from them. Everything else was unchanged.

"It's me, Aurion. Your son." He could feel their recognition and surprise. Of course; not only had he been a child when they had last seen him, but this apparition wasn't even quite his parents. It was just the wish they had left behind. Even so, he hardly cared about that detail. Even if it was an illusion, to Aurion, he was receiving the succor he needed in speaking with at least some representation of his parents.

Aurion went on to tell his parents' wish all about his and his sister's lives after their parents died protecting them. He told them about the hidden chamber, the foray into the necromantic arts, how Calamity came to receive her new name, the time when he wrested partial control over a skeletal wyrm, Tabian's theories from when they went to visit the Sunbeam Ruins, the Black Pearls, Prosperity... All the while he could feel the apparition listening. It wasn't responding to anything. It was only taking in the information. His scholarly mind knew that this was just the wish trying to learn if it had been granted or not...but there was something cathartic about talking about his life to something left behind by his parents.

Finally, in the end, after confessing how much he missed his sister, Aurion stood there silently watching as the apparition silently watched him back. Then, with a somewhat helpless smile and a tiny half-shrug, he finished. "Thank you for your protection. The two of us have grown up thanks to what you did for us, and are now on our own paths."

Suddenly, Aurion felt an overwhelming sense of relief and satisfaction so powerful that it overrode all his other senses and natural feelings. This feeling, after all, did not come from himself. And by the time it finished washing over him...the apparition was gone. And Aurion knew for certain that he had managed to succeed in assuaging the fears which had created it. Finally, his parents could rest in peace...and Aurion himself had the peace of mind to move forward in his own life as a necromancer.

And so, his new life as a solitary student of necromancy truly began. He'd already learned much from his deceased master, and his own exploration into the craft led to his writing his own contributions in his own tome. Theories of concepts and spells, ones he'd tested and found to be either successes or failures, incantations of his own design, formulae for how to construct them, diagrams of various sigils, designs on how to properly craft various necromantic objects and materials, illustrations to explain the flow of necromantic magic, notes on anatomy and such of constructs which he hadn't yet found in his own reference material...

And, during this time, he also had the thought of sending letters to the Black Pearls Prosperity had introduced him to. He shared none of his findings nor studies with them for now, but he did enquire about whether they knew any specific necromancers he could contact. Indeed, they knew several from within their own order, but one name that was brought up as an aside immediately caught his interest. He wrote another letter and sent it on ahead before donning his modern Sorniethian attire and returning to the place Prosperity had shown him and Calamity.

Due to the short notice, it took a day or two of waiting among the Black Pearls, but finally, a representative of the group escorted their affiliate to where he was lodging. After all this time, he hadn't thought he'd get to meet her in person after all, but as she stood before him, looking directly at him with her bright, yellow eyes, he couldn't help the excited grin he wore.

"This is the necromancer from Dragonhome we told you about - the one who wanted to work with you on your research," the guide introduced to the young woman. "His name is Aurion."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tabian. I heard your proposal in the Sunbeam Ruins, and am greatly intrigued by your theories and proposed applications. I would like to explore them with you, if you would allow me to," he told her.

"You sound fairly eager." Of course she would be a bit wary.

"I apologize. I haven't had much experience in socializing," Aurion replied, an awkward grimace pulling onto his face as he already began analyzing what he'd said.

She seemed to relax at that. "Well, you seem sincere anyway. Why didn't you come find me at the Sunbeam Ruins back when I gave my presentation?"

"I tried to," he admitted, "But I could not find you after you, er...left the stage."

She nodded as her eyes became distant, thinking back to the event. "I suppose there were a lot of dragons at the expedition... I see." Then, she smiled at him. "So, what do you think of my theories?"

By now, the escort wandered off, leaving the two to talk. Aurion immediately brightened at her question and began rattling off how wonderful it was to hear new theories on necromancy, how said theories made so much sense, various principles of necromancy which lent themselves to her propositions on how to use them, and how eager he was to begin exploring them. "By the way, your presentation was cut short. What sort of research were you hoping to conduct?"

This time, Tabian's own countenance was aglow, and she readily jumped into speaking at length about all the possibilities this research could uncover to her eager listener. Both agreeing on how society could be bettered by the acceptance and application of certain necromantic practices, the two very quickly became friends. They also agreed to work together for the foreseeable future on exploring the research Tabian had conceptualized, and proving than there was a place for necromancy in modern society.