Raminus Polus was sitting on a curved bench in the middle of the foyer of the Arcane University. It would soon be dinnertime and he wondered what would be served today. For all the magicka floating through the place he'd expected the food to be better than it was. He picked up his copy of 2920, Rain's Hand and flipped through to the bookmark. It was snowing lightly outside and everyone seemed to be huddled inside the University buildings. Apart from the occasional council member or Battlemage wandering through the room Raminus had been left alone all day and he'd been able to catch up on his reading.

Almalexia herself had just arrived on the Isle of Arteum when Raminus felt a chill wind blowing around his legs. Looking up from the book he saw an unfamiliar woman wearing thick blue robes and a brown cloak enter the foyer. Trying not to sigh he put the book down on the bench beside him and stood up. Curious tourists were always wandering into the guild.

"Can I help you?" He hoped she would go away. He really wanted to finish his story.

"Who are you?" She was looking at him with wary grey eyes. It was an unusual question. Most mages knew who he was, and most tourists asked to see the orrery or the enchanted gardens.

"Raminus Polus, Master Wizard of the Mages Guild."

"Raminus! It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Lilia." She held out a piece of parchment in her gloved hand. He recognized the name and realized that she must be delivering her final recommendation. Taking the paper from her he quickly read the short note.

Lilia has completed her task and is recommended. Adrienne Berene

He recognized the hasty handwriting of the Skingrad guild hall leader. She produced the least amount of correspondence for the council to deal with. They didn't have any idea what was happening in Skingrad. Bruma, however, was a different story entirely. Raminus knew far more about that guild and its members than he'd ever wanted to.

"Did the bergamot seeds help with your research into damage magicka poisons?" She asked him with a grin.

He looked curiously at the woman in front of him. Years ago he used to work as a scholar for the University in the alchemy department. Potions had always been a passion of his. But he hadn't worked there for so long now most of the mages had forgotten. Looking at her his brain felt like it was itching. There was something about her that was so familiar. It was the same feeling he'd had when he'd received her first recommendation from Carahil. He'd been sure he'd once known a Lilia, but it was a long time ago and the memories had refused to come.

"Have we met before?" The way she arched her eyebrows at the question caused a flood of recognition to wash over him. "You're little Lilia! Your mother mentioned you in her letters - you look just like her." He once again took a good look at the woman's face. She had the same lovely bone structure as her mother, but she looked like a faded version of the original.

"I don't really, but thank you. I'm glad you remember her." She was smiling broadly at him.

"How could I forget Magician Lefevre? She was an amazing researcher. How did she do her work, what with your family traveling so frequently? Every time she came back to the University she brought back a huge collection of ingredients all labeled with their names and various effects." Lilia was laughing when he finished speaking.

"According to my father she used to balance her alchemy equipment on the bench of the carriage and sit on the floor. An unfortunate bump, combined with a volatile mixture of cairn bolete cap and ectoplasm, put an end to that practice. After that she used to use telekinesis to keep her equipment floating in the middle of the carriage while she worked. It sapped her ability to fully focus though, so once I was old enough I was taught how keep her apparatus magically suspended so she could concentrate more fully on her research. I bet half of those notes she brought back were written by me as we jostled over the rough roads of Tamriel."

Raminus laughed at the imagery. Erissare had been a remarkable woman. She was of mixed parentage. The rumours were that she was half-Altmer and half-Breton. She'd been the most exotic thing he'd ever seen when he'd first met her as a young Apprentice. He'd attended one of her rare lectures and had been spellbound. Her hair and eyes had been a beautiful deep brown, and her brows and full lashes had also been dark. The contrast against her glowing pale skin was incredible and she'd seemed like a tall, lithe moon goddess to his eyes. But when she'd picked him to grill about the four major effects of the common apple his ardour had quickly faded. When she chose to she could give an imperious stare that would lower even the haughtiest of Altmer nobility, and she'd given him such a stare as he'd stammered out only one effect.

"That sounds exactly like the type of thing Erissare would do. I was sorry to hear of her passing." News of her and her husband's untimely deaths had spread through the guild years ago. The rumours attributed the cause to sudden illness.

"Thank you. She mentioned me in her alchemy correspondence?" Lilia cocked her head a little to the side when she asked the question.

"No, not normally. But I seem to remember one letter that mentioned the incompetent healers in Kvatch had given you a cure poison potion that made your skin turn red. She went on about it for nearly half a page."

"It was a cure disease potion, and my skin turned pumpkin orange." Lilia was laughing at the recollection. Raminus mused at how much of her father she must have in her. He'd never met the man. Lilia was at least a foot shorter than her mother had been, she was deeply tan despite it being fall, and she had the most unusual red hair he'd ever seen. By the time he had met Erissare she'd already been married with a young daughter, and he was amazed to see the child he'd never met standing in front of him now, bringing back so many old memories.

"It now makes perfect sense to me that it would be Erissare's daughter who shows up to the University with eight recommendations instead of the seven required to become an Apprentice." Lilia's face showed surprise at his statement. "Didn't you know? Fathis Aren wrote a letter to me about you."

"What did he say?" She seemed almost nervous as she asked.

"Just that you were adequately talented and that you should be admitted to the University without needing any more recommendations. Oh, and that you were rather knowledgeable about Necromancers." He wasn't sure why she frowned at his words. Lilia looked around the foyer and then stared at Raminus. He waited for her to speak. She seemed to be making a decision about something.

"Is there somewhere else we can talk? Perhaps outside of the district?" She asked him quietly.

Raminus hesitated briefly before answering. What could she possibly have to say that she couldn't say here? Curiosity, as it always did, won out over paranoia and he agreed to go for a walk with Lilia. They made their way out past the stone walls that encircled the University and headed down to the shore. As they walked along the rocky sand he was rather surprised when she starting shooting mud crabs with shock magic spells. She certainly wasn't like her mother in terms of temperament.

"Did you bring me out here to go hunting?" He asked lightly when she stopped walking. She glanced suddenly at him - it was as if she'd forgotten he was there, she'd been so lost in thought. Lilia glanced back at the handful of dead mud crabs she'd left like a trail of breadcrumbs.

"Oh. No. Sorry about that, I can't stand the horrid things." She was looking intently at him and was frowning a little. "Raminus, my mother spoke highly of your intelligence so I'm going to trust you to help me. Something needs to be done about the Necromancers."

He hadn't expected this. As far as the council of mages was concerned there was nothing to be done. The practice and study of Necromancy had been banned, and any member caught violating the ban was expelled. But he'd become a bit concerned over the reports he'd received from Lilia's recommendations. The treachery of Falcar, the lies of Kalthar, and the business in Bravil had caused him to worry.

"Don't worry about it. The council is more than able to take care of it." She was shaking her head by the time he finished speaking.

"No, they're not. Either the council is incompetent or they're headed by a fool, or both." Her words shocked Raminus. He'd never heard an Apprentice criticize the council so harshly without even having met them. His voice was cold when he answered her.

"The council contains the wisest of Master Wizards and Arch Mage Traven is a brilliant leader. I think you are mistaken in your opinions."

"Traven? You don't want to know my opinions of him." She muttered darkly at the dead mud crabs before looking back to the Imperial. "Raminus, something is wrong. Why would the Necromancers place spies throughout the guild? Why would they seek out two of the best conjurers the guild has and try to convert them?"

"Two conjurers?" Her eyes narrowed in displeasure at his question. He'd heard of Fathis Aren's strange meeting, but he hadn't heard of a similar incident.

Lilia quickly filled him in on the details of Erthor's ordeal and he was not happy about what he heard. He was very disappointed that Adrienne had failed to inform the guild about what had happened. He shouldn't be hearing it from a new Apprentice. He also didn't appreciate the tone in which she was lecturing him about the dangers of Necromancers.

"Just where did you learn all of this? What makes you such an expert?"

"Look at this." She pulled the glove off her left hand and held it in front of her palm down. It looked like a regular hand. Raminus wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at.

"Your hand?"

"Look closer. Look with your mind." Her words were quick with impatience. Looking again he tried to open his mind. The skin on the back of her hand seemed to shimmer softly.

"Why is there a patch of illusion magic on your hand?" He asked sharply.

"Because I need it to cover this." The skull symbol that revealed itself caused Raminus to step back and prepare his strongest spell. Erissare's daughter or not, he wasn't about to let a Necromancer kill him.

Watching Raminus step back in fear Lilia reflected that this was not going well at all. When his hands began flaming with powerful destruction magic she quickly called to him.

"Raminus! Wait!" The wizard lowered his hands a little, but the flames did not go out. "Look closer. Please tell me you recognize the mark."

"Of course I recognize the mark, Necromancer." She resisted her impulse to roll her eyes. He'd probably incinerate her if she did.

"No, look closer. Look at the eyes." Raminus leaned a little forward to stare at the skull on her hand. Seeing his brow wrinkle she knew he'd finally noticed the worm that was tracing its way in and out of the sockets. Now the fire was out and he was looking up and down her body.

"That's the symbol of a worm thrall. Why do you have that on your hand?" She was relieved to hear that he recognized it. The woeful lack of knowledge about the Dark Arts that she'd encountered throughout the guild had worried her that even a member of the council wouldn't know it to see it.

"You might want to sit down. It may take a while to explain." She waved towards a large rock beside them, but he shook his head.

"I'll stand, thanks. Continue." She noticed that he was still tense and that he still held his hands so they would be ready at a moment's notice.

"Very well. Do you remember Ulliceta gra-Krog?" His face darkened as Lilia spoke the name.

"Of course I do. Her remarks have been recorded for history in The Black Arts on Trial. She's one of the most infamous Necromancers of all. Why?" He was definitely suspicious of her.

"I studied under her years ago." Noting his hands flare again she hastily continued. "Before it was revealed that she was a Necromancer. I'd heard that she had a remarkable new method of healing scars so I went to Orsinium and presented myself at her home. She asked me a lot of questions about myself before she agreed to train me. Satisfied with my answers she led me to the basement. The magic was unusual but eventually I started to become more adept at it. She kept giving me potions of restore magicka so that I could continue practicing as the day wore on. After sunset she gave me another potion and I drank it without a thought.

When I woke up again I was lying on the floor of a small cell. I couldn't move a muscle and the back of my left hand hurt terribly. Ulliceta was nearby - I could hear her voice but I couldn't see her. She told me that I'd never need to worry about scars again. She explained that she was going to turn me into a worm thrall. Apparently I was the healthiest subject she'd ever chosen and she was very curious at how long I would last before I changed. My lack of family made me an ideal candidate for the experiment. She walked away and left me alone in the dark. I never saw her again." Lilia paused; she didn't relish discussing the next part.

"How did you get away?" The Imperial's hands were now hanging down by his sides.

"I didn't, not at first. Whatever was in the potion rendered me immobile and silenced. All I could do was lie in the dark and listen to things shuffling around me. After I don't know how long, but I'm guessing a day, I heard the cell door open. A zombie came in carrying another potion. I wasn't able to stop it when the creature opened my mouth and poured it down my throat. This was repeated four times, so I think I was down there for five days in total." Lilia resisted the urge to retch. She'd never forget the feel of undead fingers in her mouth. She was convinced that she'd been made to swallow a piece of rotten flesh that had scraped off the finger of a zombie as it moved over her teeth. Those five days had seemed like an eternity to her. Five days spent in the dark, unable to do anything but let her mind wander in terror, left to the tender ministrations of the undead. Five days as she felt her flesh dying around her.

"On the sixth day the zombies stopped moving. I later learnt that the Knights of the Lamp had attempted to arrest Ulliceta at the Mages Guild in Orsinium and that she had fled the province. She was unable to maintain her zombies because of the distance, or she chose not to, I don't know. Either way I found myself lying in the black silence. Eventually I regained the use of my magicka and I recalled back to the anchor I had set in Daggerfall. It took a month for the healers to fix me." She looked at the back of her left hand. "I've never been able to remove the mark. It doesn't seem to be a burn, a scar, or a tattoo. It doesn't hurt anymore, and it doesn't do anything unusual. It doesn't seem to serve any purpose except to frighten people such as yourself. Ever since then I've made it a point to learn everything I can about Necromancers. I never wanted to fall into such a trap again. There aren't enough books on the subject, but the people of High Rock are rather knowledgeable about Necromancy. It was rumoured that the King of Worms himself was present during the Warp in the West. If you need more information I suggest you contact the guilds there."

Raminus was openly staring at the mark on her hand. Offering it to him he took hold and touched it, his fingers tracing the outline as he frowned deeply.

"It doesn't seem to be magical in any way that I can detect." He let her hand go. "You can cover it up again."

Lilia hesitated a moment before deciding to merely put her glove back on. "No, I'm not sure if I will. Strange coincidence, isn't it? I finally join the Mages Guild ten years after getting this mark, ten years after Necromancy is banned, and suddenly there are problems?" She looked right up at the sky as she spoke. "I don't believe in coincidences any more."

Raminus was giving her an odd look and she sighed softly. Mentally she added him to the list of people who considered her slightly mad. It was getting to be a much larger list than the one of people who thought her completely sane.

"Well, come along Apprentice Lefevre. Let me show you the grounds of the Arcane University and get you a set of apprentice robes."

"Please, just call me Lilia. And Raminus?" The Imperial stopped and looked at her. "Can you show me the orrery and the enchanted gardens first?"