AN: Okay, this really isn't a prologue, so just bear with me. This is more of a….what you need to know otherwise you'll be totally lost, info page. Okay, I got the idea of this story from Gath Nix's book, Sabriel. (Which is my FAVORITE book, go read now!). So basically, this is a cross over between Rurouni Kenshin and that book. Nuff said. Now, the stuff you need to know.
Necromancers: Magic-wielding people who could travel into death and raise or put to rest spirits. They can feel people die.
Death: In this book, as well as story, is a place. There are 9 gates in death, once you pass the 9th gate, you can't come back to life. Necromancers have the power to come here, in spirit form, leaving their body unprotected in life.
Old Kingdom: A place that has long been abandoned. FILLED with the dead. No one is allowed to pass, guarded by a wall and the army.
Ancelstierre: A town, near the wall that blocks out the Old Kingdom. Where Kaoru lives.
Charter Magic: Just a type of magic, marked in symbols.
Charter Stones: Large, black stones that contain charter spells. One can be broken, if the blood of a necromancer is spilled on it. If it is broken, it opens another gateway to the dead, and allows them easy access to life.
Mordicant: a demon that can pass through life and death whenever it pleases. It nothing more than clay and human blood, molded together with a dead spirit trapped inside. Normally sent by necromancers.
The Book of The Dead: Is pretty much self-explanatory. It explains what happens in death, how to raise the dead, how to put them to rest, etc.
Bell Bandolier: A leather strap that has seven pouches and hold the following magic bells (all necromancers have them):
Ranna: smallest, brings sleep
Mosrael: wakes the dead
Kibeth: gives freedom of movement to dead, or makes them walk further into death.
Dyrim: not much, just known as the "voice" that death often lost.
Belgaer: thinking bell, tries to ring on it's own. It can restore independent thought or erase them.
Saraneth: the binder. It binds the dead to the necromancer who rang it, so they are at their will.
Astarael: largest bell. Very rarely used. Would bring death to anyone who heard it, including the ringer.
Okay, I tried to make that as clear cut as I possibly could. The only thing you might have to check every once and a while is what bell does what. (I had to do that for a while when I read the book, so don't feel bad). Okay, with all that said, enjoy!