Title: The Necromancer's Cauldron
Summary: The world of necromancy is a frightening and unsettling one, and something that Zohar hopes to keep Drayce away from. But when a thought-to-be mythical cauldron is stolen from the museum and mysterious entities known as Wendigos are unleashed upon the city, Drayce learns firsthand just how treacherous the world of necromancy truly is…
Warnings: Necromancy, black magic, mentions of death, use of the myths of wendigos, and originally created myth and legends. Also the use of a few completely original characters.
AN: This isn't what I initially had planned for the third saga, but I wanted to explore necromancers and some of the many myths and legends I had conjured up for them. So, here we are! Also, I wanted to concentrate on Drayce and his budding relationship with Zohar. Not making excuses, just trying to entice you into reading~
This saga will also be purposely shorter than the previous two. I'm still on the fence whether to call this Saga 3 or Saga 2.2, this being a bonus book. Or something. Anyway, hope you enjoy~
Chapter 1:
The breathtaking beauty of Tutelage Forest was in equal parts relaxing and exhilarating. And as Drayce stood amongst the vibrant greenery and pools of crystal-clear water, today was no different.
However, there was one slight difference to his previous ventures into the labyrinth. Two actually, but it was the six-foot-tall sculpture of grey stone that had his full attention. A smooth, oval-shaped statue that had patches of emerald green moss, and lines etched into the stone.
It was nestled within a small nook of green foliage and brightly coloured flowers. It looked both natural, yet unusual. And that was the reason why Drayce and his guilds stood transfixed in before the anomaly.
The slight etchings within the stone seemed to take the form of a face. Two horizontal slits for eyes. and the lines of the mouth honestly reminded him of a feline pout.
"Huh, this thing is kinda cute," Drayce commented.
"It's also suspicious as shit," was Blayke's readied response.
Kamali took a cautious step forward, his hand raised out in front of him. Slowly, he brushed his fingertips over the smooth stone. "There's…mana stored within this stone. I think…we need to push it."
"Down?"
"No." Kamali pulled his hand back, a curious tilt of his head. "Push it over."
Drayce eyed the large stone with some trepidation. "You sure?" Not that he didn't trust Kamali, but it looked pretty solid. He couldn't eve estimate how heavy it was. Still, they had little else to go on. "Well, ok. This thing looks pretty heavy, though."
"I'll do it," Caelem volunteered as he stepped forward.
Faelen was also quick to step up. "I'll help!"
The two therians moved to stand either side of the sculpture. Caelem leaned down to inspect the base of the stone, searching for the ideal spot to get a decent and firm grip. He seemed to have found one a moment later as a look of concentration appeared on his face. The muscles in his arms and back tensed for another moment before he lifted the stone up off of its base. Where Faelen then helped him to throw the stone back, revealing it's underbelly.
Where an ancient switch and lock mechanism could be seen.
Before Drayce could marvel at the contraption, something that was no doubt built by the ancient celestians, the unmistakable sound of stone grinding against stone cut through the natural music of the labyrinth.
Drayce whipped around immediately, startled by the noise. He instinctively readied himself to conjure up a Decoy Shield or two, only to pause in both confusion and surprised by the sight that greeted them.
There was an equally suspicious solid stone wall there a few seconds again, set starkly against the greenery. But now…
"Stairs?"
Hey, they were leading upwards, too!
"Well, it's about time," Blayke griped, in his usual manner.
Drayce immediately reached into the chest pocket of his jacket to pull out his mapping tools. As he quickly noted the stair's location, promising to give Ramus a far tidier map, he turned to face his other companions. "Great job, you three. We finally found those elusive stairs."
Both Caelem and Faelen were pleased with the praise, while Kamali patted at his chest as he released a sigh. "Personally, I'm relieved."
Faelen nodded his head before grinning. "And we can finally make it to the third floor."
And so could the other guilds and explorers who weren't aware of the less-than-ideal methods of ascending Yggdrasil. That should be a relief to both Ramus and guildmaster Egar.
"Speaking of which, let's head on up and activate the warping stone." Drayce placed his map back into his jacket. He gotta ensure that the stairs were legit, after all. "What do you say?"
He promptly received a chorus of positive responses. So, with a grin, Drayce turned to the stairs and led the way once more. The stairs were unremarkable, the same that he had encountered before. And as they re-emerged into the light, they were greeted by the familiar sights and scents of Tutelage Forest.
Yet, in direct sight of the stairs was a grey stone wall. Just like the one that had covered the way to the stairs below. That meant one thing; the way forward through the third floor was to find more golem sculptures. And push them over.
The labyrinth was proving to have some intriguing quirks, indeed.
While eager to push forward to give the new floor a curious look around, Drayce made sure to stop and to activate the Stair Jump crystal. And ensured that the other members of his party did the same. It took them only a moment, so they were soon back to their exploration.
"Drayce, look," Caelem said, grabbing Drayce's attention and pointing to his right. To a natural nook in the foliage. Where something of light grey was seen.
"Is that a golem statue?" Drayce mused aloud as he approached.
"But someone already shoved it," Blayke pointed out.
And indeed, he was right. But it allowed for Drayce to investigate the working and ancient mechanism at the base of the stone. It appeared to be a lever switch, the main working parts hidden deep within the grass and soil.
As he trailed his gaze along the base, it noted that the grass was flattened, but the broken strands healing and old. It was clear that while the sculpture hadn't been newly activated, it certainly was not years old, either. Perhaps a couple of days at the most.
Someone had been on this floor long before them.
"They must have needed to enter a location," Kamali mused as he tapped his cheek in thought. He soon looked confused, however, and glanced around at their surroundings. "Although…if they worked it out here, why did they not open the way below?"
"Probably wanted to keep the floor to themselves," Blayke offered, and honestly it was a pretty sound suggestion.
"Anyway, let's have a quick look around before calling it for the day," Drayce stated. "Don't travel too far out of sight of each other, alright?"
Blayke was swift in his sarcastic rebuttal. "Make sure you don't see something shiny and wander off."
Drayce sent his best friend a grin. "I'm sure you'll swoop and save me, if I do."
Blayke snorted, but made no attempt to utter another response. Instead, they spread out ever so slightly to inspect their new surroundings. Drayce had his attention focused on the foliage, mildly wondering if there were of any materials that they could gather, when he came across a narrow path. He paused before the opening and glanced down the significantly darker path for anything of note.
And there was.
There appeared to be a figure at the base of a tree, bathed in the soft light filtering through the leaves.
They appeared to be a celestian, with vivid purple skin and equally vibrant dark purple hair. The tone of his skin was startling for a moment, but Drayce promptly reminded him that celestian were known to have uniquely coloured skin. Purple and blue were one of the rarest, however. If his memory was correct.
Slowly, Drayce ventured closer to the celestian. He didn't want to startle them, or appear like a threat.
However, as he edged closer, he realised that the man appeared to be lightly…snoring.
Sleeping? Man, not exactly the best place to fall asleep. Was it willing, though? Maybe he should wake him up, to see if he was ok. He probably should. For his own peace of mind. And it wouldn't hurt to chide a newbie for doing something reckless should they have actually decided that the labyrinth was a good place for a snooze.
"Hey, wakey wakey! You're snoozing in the labyrinth, my friend!" he called out cheerfully, not wanting to invoke the celestian's fight or flight response.
The man snorted lightly, momentarily tightening his folded arms. A few seconds later, he peeled his eyelids open, revealing a pair of striking pink eyes. They soon found their way toward Drayce and the celestian blinked.
His eyes suddenly widened as shock and surprise spread on his face. The next second, he was up on his feet, directly in front of Drayce. And had taken him by the shoulders as he stared hard into his face.
Unsurprisingly, Drayce was startled and made a noise in response.
Before he could respond in some fashion, either stepping out of the man's grip or ask him what he was doing, he was surprised by the look of distressing disappointment on the man's face. It wasn't just disappointment, however. A realisation had struck him, and it was heartbreaking to him.
The man hadn't said a thing, and flicker of raw, pained emotion appeared on his face, likely lasting no longer than a few tense moments. And yet, Drayce had seen it all. Noted it. And brought him a wave of sympathy and curiosity.
"My…apologies," he finally uttered as he pulled back his hands from Drayce's shoulders. "I thought you were someone else."
"A-ah, sure," Drayce uttered dumbly in response, still startled by what had happened. "I must have surprised you by waking you up, huh?"
A polite smile appeared on the tall celestian's lips. "What is your name?"
"Drayce. And you?"
Again, a sharp look of realisation appeared on his face. "Drayce…?"
Drayce blinked and unconsciously tilted to the side in curiosity. "Yeah? Something wrong?"
"No." He had answered automatically. He soon gathered himself, and that polite smile made a reappearance. "My apologies once more. My name is Kyrell."
Huh. Were all necromancers so formal and proper? Well, Tomlin wasn't but that guy was a bandit and a brat, so he didn't count.
A spherical black blob suddenly appeared on Kyrell's shoulder. Its abrupt appearance startled Drayce for a moment. He didn't experience that spine chilling sensation he felt whenever Theodore would manifest. Yet, looking at it closer he noted that it had two little white dots that he assumed were eyes, a yellow pyramid in the shape of a beak, and two yellow bird-like feet sprawled out in front of it as it literally sat on Kyrell's shoulder.
With a small red tongue flopping out from the corner of its beak, and the thousand-yard stare, it looked…dopey.
Kyrell motioned toward the black blob on his shoulder with his hand, the polite smile on his lips never faltering. "And this is Raven."
So, it was a bird!
"Your partner wraith?" Drayce questioned.
"Yes." Kyrell reached up and patted Raven on top of its head, causing the strange little wraith to make a squeaky sound with every light tap. "He's quite unique, I suppose you could say."
Drayce could not help but laugh in honest amusement. Unique certainly sounded about right! He had never seen anything like it.
"Ah, yes," Kyrell suddenly stated as muted realisation flickered across his face. "I remember that I had a purpose for entering the labyrinth." His polite smile soon returned to his lips and he gave Drayce a slight nod of his head. "You must excuse me. It is nice to meet you. Hope we cross paths again."
"Nice meeting you, too," Drayce returned, equally politely, watching as Kyrell turned to walk deeper along a narrow path.
What a strange guy. Polite enough, so no complaints. Anyway, he best go in search of the others before Blayke got antsy.
Turning on his heel, Drayce quickly retraced his steps and soon found himself back in the small clearing, where his guildmates are already gathered. He made a bee-line toward them, half expecting Blayke to turn around and scold him for taking too long or being out of sight, or something else he would utter in protectiveness.
Instead, the blue-haired fencer turned to him and arched a curious eyebrow. "About time. Anything of note?"
Drayce jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, toward the narrow path. "Just found a guy sleeping under a tree."
Blayke immediately gave him that look of disgruntled disbelief. "Eh?"
"I'll explain later," Drayce said simply with a smile and reached into his jacket pocket to pull out an Ariadne Thread. "Let's leave the exploration of this floor for tomorrow. What do you say?"
With everyone agreeing, Drayce activated the thread. They were enveloped in a bright white light, and as the aftereffect faded away, the bustling sounds and sights of the city of Iorys greeted them. It was always disorientating moving from the relatively peaceful sounds of nature into the loud sounds of civilisation.
Yet, it passed quickly and Drayce was once again leading the way back to the Crescentia, a sense of relief on his shoulders upon finally finding those stairs. Ramus was sure to be relieved, also. He wondered if the little prince had any other requests of him, and was simply waiting for him to complete one task before requesting another.
The sound of raised voices pulled Drayce from his thoughts. As he refocused, he realised that they were on the street that led them to their guildhouse. Yet, it was the sight of Zohar standing with a white-haired celestian that had his attention. The woman appeared confrontational, pointing at the taller Zohar in a truly agitated way.
The sight caused Drayce to feel both confused and protective.
"You do not seem to understand what I am saying," she all but hissed as she alternated between pointing a harsh finger at him and then back toward herself. "I need him. I need to see him again."
Zohar maintained his cool, however. "I do understand your grief. But I cannot, will not resurrect your husband."
Resurrect…?
"I will not accept no as an answer," the unknown celestian snapped harshly, almost violently in response. "You are a necromancer. You have the power to bring him back to me. It is your duty to do so!"
Zohar's shoulders suddenly tensed and his hands curled into tight fists by his sides. His expression, however, remained passive, if stern. "It is my duty to protect the dead. If you dare to try to resurrect your husband, the creature who rises from that grave will not be your beloved. But something far, far worse. Is that what you wish to see? Your beloved as a creature so twisted and violent?"
Zohar's words, no warning, was harsh and stern, desperate to get the point across.
And perhaps he managed to do so, as the woman just glared back at him wordlessly. Her harsh expression faltered a moment later, crumbling into a heartbreaking grief. She turned on her heel sharply and hurried away, quiet sobs heard as she rushed past where Drayce and his guildmates stood dumbfounded.
Drayce stared after the woman for a moment before he turned his gaze back to Zohar. Where he still stood, his attention staring at the ground in front of him.
"Zohar?" Drayce called out gently. "Is everything ok?"
Zohar turned his gaze toward Drayce. He didn't immediately reply, allowing Dracyce time to note that he appeared torn. Frustrated, even irritated. "Did you happen to overhear that?"
"We were just returning from the labyrinth," Kamali was the one to explain in reply, sounding greatly sympathetic.
"I see," he uttered with a sigh. "I do apologise."
Drayce didn't see why he should have to apologise. "What happened?"
Zohar fell silent once more, his eyes momentarily taking on that thousand-yard sheen as he carefully chose his next words. "…Necromancers are often asked by the grieving, requested that they see their loved ones for one last time. And in many cases, they wish for their beloved to return from the dead."
Return from the dead? But…that was truly impossible, wasn't it? Though, he did understand that those who lose their precious loved one would desperately cling to any bit of hope to see them again.
Every…everyone wanted to be with those who they love once again. To have more time with them. That was normal.
But to actually ask someone to resurrect them?
"Do you get that-?"
"The world of Necromancy is a delicate one," Zohar interrupted quickly. "And there are many laws and rules that should not be broken. Excuse me."
"Ah, sure," Drayce instinctively replied, watching as Zohar turned away from him and walked down the road.
Away from the Crescentia, and away from him. Watching as he walked swiftly, obvious tensions in his shoulders, made Drayce concerned. It was so obvious that Zohar was unsettled. Possibly even upset. And that alone made Drayce to immediately wish to help him.
Kamali placing his hand on Drayce's shoulder pulled him from his thoughts. He turned his head in time for the purple-haired warlock to lean up, to talk quietly into his ear. "The request from the grieving is a touchy subject with many necromancers," he explained.
"Oh," was all that Drayce could utter in response.
He had absolutely no idea. But, that shouldn't be a surprise, now should it? He barely knew anything about necromancers and necromancy in general. Not really from the lack of interest. But from the lack of information. They were a secretive lot, their myths and legends purposely vague or written in ancient celestian text. He had never met or known a necromancer before.
Kamali smiled sympathetically in response and gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Let us return to the Crescentia," he prompted.
Drayce nodded his head and took on the leader's role once more. Even as his mind began to drift again.
He was curious, there was absolutely no reason to deny that. His insatiable curiosity was inherited through a family of notorious treasure hunters and myth chasers. It wasn't exactly something he could necessarily help.
But he also knew that not everyone appreciated having someone pry and stick their noises into their private business.
…Would it hurt for him to do a little bit of research upon those laws and rules Zohar mentioned in passing? If there were laws involved with necromancy, then he'd like to know. So that he wouldn't unintentionally break any of them and bring offense to Zohar. Or any necromancer, really.
Drayce shook that thought aside as he made his way up the front landing of the Crescentia and promptly made his way inside. "We're back!"
"Ah, welcome back," Ashton promptly greeted, walking from the direction of the dining room. "How did you go?"
Drayce began to shrug off his shield and armour. "Well, we finally found the stairs. It was actually quite obvious."
"We would have found it sooner if it wasn't for those damn bandits," Blayke could be heard grumbling under his breath.
He was right, though. However, if they hadn't encountered those bandits, they would never have had found the Shining Lotus. As much as it pained him to say that.
"Well, we found it now, which will put Ramus' mind at ease." Drayce carefully set his cannon next to his shield. "Speaking of which, let's wash up and head back out. We need to pay out little prince a visit."
"Sound good," Blayke said, walking alongside Drayce as they trotted up the stairs. "Wonder if he has another request lined up for us. Hope it's not searching for the next set of stairs."
Drayce laughed. "As much as I hope he does, after the first two floors, it would be nice to have a couple of days simply exploring and mapping."
"We can only hope."
"Dude, you just jinxed us."
"Oh, shut up."
Drayce laughed again as they both stepped out onto the second floor. He was about to make another comment when he spied their guild's skilled botanist as he stepped from Runihura's bedroom.
"Hey, Fio," he immediately called out as he and Blayke moved in separate directions. "How are our patients?"
"Behaving themselves mostly," Fiorello returned positively with a somewhat cheeky grin. "Tokala and Salim have been fishing out in the garden, believe it or not."
Again, Drayce couldn't help but laugh. "At least they're not fighting monsters out there. And Runihura?"
"Resting." Fiorello turned to gaze back at the room he had just ventured out of and folded his arms behind his back. "Keeping to himself and usually just talking with Palash. He'll need more time to warm up to everyone, it seems."
"I can't say I'm surprised," Drayce murmured, wincing at the memory of Keane's harsh treatment of the quiet harbinger.
Fiorello turned away from the door to train his focus upon Drayce once more. "What can we expect from the third floor?"
"A gimmick involved shoving over golem statues to reveal doors hidden behind walls of stone." He purposely decided not to elaborate as, really, it would be best to witness it with his own eyes.
"Is that so?" Fiorello arched an eyebrow. His grin soon returned as he turned to walk in the opposite direction, his arms still folded behind his back. "I think I'll leave all the running about to you youngins, then."
"Fair enough!" Drayce said good-naturedly before he turned to head to his own room. "Anyway, gotta go get all prettied up before heading out to visit Ramus. Catch you later."
