Warnings: Please read. I probably should have put this in the prologue but oh well ^^'...
Rated T for - Character death, mild language, mild violence and I currently have 2 planned homosexual characters. If any of this offends you I suggest you stop reading now. The entire story is set after Morganthe is defeated. I'm not sure what happens in the third arc due to it not being released at the moment, but whatever happens in that hasn't yet happened/hasn't happened. Whatever, enjoy!
Chapter 1 - Know-It-All
I loved Nightside. The dark eeriness of it. It was truly a paradise for any Necromancer. Even the usually squeamish novices enjoyed it here. It had a ... peaceful ... atmosphere to it I guess you could say. But unlike most others I hardly ever left this places. After classes I'd hide behind the school and just continue reading trying to ignore the loud chatting of those who had decided to make Nightside their 'hang out.' They annoyed me quite a lot. Hardly any of them were Necromancers, they really had no place to be around here. But I wasn't going to try. Necromancers were hated enough as it was, being able to summon the undead seemed to frighten people. It seemed strange to me, but whatever. But even among my fellow Necromancers I wasn't well liked. I didn't mind that though, I saw friends as a distraction. I needed no distractions, only more time to learn and absorb every little detail I possibly could.
"I thought you'd be over here Lenora."
I glanced up, and there was a distraction now. But she was a rather nice distraction I had to admit. Delaney StormCloud was new to this school and unlike most of the others she wasn't the least bit disturbed by Necromancy. She actually thought it was cool. And unlike most Exalted wizards I saw no shame in being best friends with an apprentice. Even if she was a bit silly and perky sometimes. It made me unhappy to think when she became closer to my level that would fade. The more you quest, the more you see, the more you realize the Spiral is truly a dark place. But regardless, Delaney had become my best friend. Thought it had taken much persistence and patience on her part. I wasn't very open to having friends.
"Oh, hi Delaney." I smiled not looking up from my book as I felt her plop down next to me and look over my shoulder at my book.
"Haven't you already studied that creepy bone dragon thing?" she asked
I sighed "Skeletal Dragon. And yes but I wanted to review it and see if there's anything I can do to make the spell stronger." I respond glancing up only for a moment to see the interest in my friend's face.
"Are you sure you're not just annoyed because Professor Ambrose isn't allowing studies past level 100 for now?" Delaney teased
I glared down at my book "It's very impractical of him, students should constantly be growing and learning no matter how fast they work."
"I guess." Delaney shrugged "Do you wanna talk about something other than school for once?"
Maybe a little...
I shut my book and looked up at her suddenly remembering something, I hadn't even asked how she was doing!
"So...how have you been since the Golem Tower incident?" I asked glancing worriedly at my friend
About month ago Delaney had been the one to find Golem tower an absolute mess. Headmaster Ambrose had shut down the entire area and was yet to open it. Dworgyn had revealed to us that some serious dark magic had been used in that tower. Not only had it ripped all the golems efficiently into shreds but it had managed to remain and go after Delaney's head. I had to admit I had been worried for my friend after that incident. She had been quiet and paranoid for 2 weeks before going back to her old self. Headmaster Ambrose had showered her in praise saying how hard exposure to magic that evil was to bounce back from. I had to say I was impressed too. But that didn't mean there wasn't still something my friend might want to talk about.
"Actually a lot better." Delaney replied "I had nightmares up until last week...Even passing by Golem Court has been giving me bad vibes."
"Understandable." I respond "So how have you been doing in school? You hardly ever talk about your classes."
Delaney grinned "I'm level 16 now! I just mastered the Storm Trap spell and I've been given access to more parts of Krokotopia!"
"That's great!" I grinned "You've managed to gain 11 levels in the last month despite all that's happened. That shows real character, I'm actually very interested to see how powerful you'll be at my level."
Delaney laughed "Yeah, it seems impossible I'll ever be able to catch up to you!"
I laughed as well, what an odd sound, my laughter. I hardly ever had much reason to laugh. Usually only when Delaney was around. I guess that was the downside to having so very few friends.
Before our conversation could get any further along I heard Dworgyn ringing the old bell he had bought to signal the beginning of classes.
"Exalted classes are beginning now, I'd better go." I reply
Delaney looked a bit disappointed our conversation had been so short "Oh. Okay. Well I'll be back from questing around 6ish so maybe we can hang out then?"
I sighed and shrugged "Sure, why not?"
Delaney grinned before standing up and running off. She certainly wasn't careful enough. It wasn't exactly like there was a lot of room behind the school. If you weren't careful you were bound to tumble off the cliff. That sort of danger excited me though. I was strange I suppose. I stood up and slowly walked into the death school trying to ignore the loud chatter of my peers.
Dworgyn was reteaching a lesson on Skeletal Dragons, which I was more than prepared for. I sat in the very front of the class quickly answering every question he had before anybody else had a chance. That gained mixed reactions, some were happy they had little work to do, others were mad at me for taking their time to shine.
"Dworgyn, perhaps you should ban Lenora from answering anymore questions and give the rest of us a chance." Brady MoonShard one of the more stuck up Necromancers "How are you supposed to assess the rest of us if she does all the work?"
Dworgyn looked confused for a moment before snapping out of it and agreeing "Yes, yes, Miss NightMask you have proved yourself to be far more adept than any of the others. You can go off in personal study if you'd like."
Brady looked horrified "What do you mean more adapt? She's just an insufferable know it all."
"No." I reply "I just know more than you. I'm sorry you're jealous that I have more thoughts in my head than you do."
I picked up my bag and walked out of the classroom Brady watching me leave looking a mix of shocked and mad. I smirked a bit at his expression, my peers were such idiots sometimes. I wish they'd just grow up already.
"That was quite an impressive show you put on in there."
I froze turning to see a girl I had never seen around before. She wore a pretty popular outfit, Marleybone high heels, Dragonspyre armor. The only thing that didn't seem as popular was the rogue's hood which I saw more often on boys than girls. I could see her spiky bright red bangs sticking out of it though. Something seemed strange about this girl, I sort of liked it.
"Thanks, you could hear it from out here?" I asked
"Not unless you were listening." she replies "I was listening through the window. The Professor isn't the best, is he?"
"He's brilliant!" I defend quickly.
Dworgyn had dropped the title of Professor long ago, it made him sound to formal, at least that's what he thought. The students were more comfortable just calling him Dworgyn too so really, it was a win-win for everyone.
The girl shrugged "I suppose, my name is Moira. You're a very interesting girl."
"Thank you." I smiled hoping she meant that as a compliment
"Have you taken up any other magic practices other than Necromancy?" she asked
"I tried Ice for a while, it got boring after a while but I did get the tower shield spell out of it." I reply with a shrug "I have quite a few sun and star spells too."
"That's impressive." Moira noted "But someone your level must have learned shadow magic by now."
"I haven't tried to pass the test to get it yet." I replied "I'm hesitant to learn a type of magic that was banned."
Moira smiled slightly "You should try. I have a feeling you'd be very good at it. We'll talk after."
"What do you me-" I began but I was quickly cut off as Moira teleported off.
'How odd.' I thought 'Her teleport is just one bright flash, no school symbols in sight...'