on
Necromancy
Eruzith walked towards a small study sequestered between two gargantuan lines of bookshelves. In one hand he carried a lamp that shined brightly without flickering and in the other, he carried a large tome. Eruzith walked carefully– looking over his shoulders to make sure no one was following him. I’ve been in this Library for over 3 days now. he thought, I deserve some wine. he had sent a message to his husband and had asked him to bring him a bottle of wine from their cellar.
The Library of Illivar was ancient– a relic of a time long forgotten. Over the years it had acquired a massive amount of written knowledge from all around the world and made it available for anyone who could read. Eruzith opened the door of a small study and placed the lamp on a desk covered in piles of fragile, leather-bound books and delicate scrolls. He took the bottle of wine out from under his robes and placed it next to the table.
He sighed and sat on the chair and uncorked the bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. The massive size of the collection the Library had made it difficult for him to find any relevant information about necromancy. Although the people called necromancy an occult art, Eruzith strongly believed it was a lost science and had spent most of his gathering shards of knowledge. He opened the book and began skimming through the tome that he had just brought into the room.
This looks promising. he thought, It does have references to necromancy and its association with the region of Nicro. he took a sip of his wine and shuffled through the pile of books. Aha.
He opened it right in the middle and there it was, a page filled with arcane formulas, sketches, and calculations to perform Necromancy. Eruzith erupted in happiness and took another gulp of wine– half finishing it. He read handwritten text– the black ink had retained its color after a millennium. “To perform the art of Necromancy, a practitioner should understand that it is an exact science rather than a subtle art. Necromancy requires complete dedication and almost a machine-like precision. Necromancy originates from the very metabolism that keeps humans alive. A slightly wrong spell can cause a practitioner to wither and die.
“It should also be noted that alcohol is a strict no to perform the magic. Alcohol impedes the practitioner’s ability to focus and execute the spells with machine-like precision. With this, we present you with the exact science of Necromancy.” Eruzith continued to read the fine text of the tome and wondered How can I miss this? I skimmed through this text two days back.
Eruzith closed the book and took another gulp of the wine and walked out of the library, smuggling the book underneath his robes. Finally. he thought as he started towards his house, Can’t wait to show this stuff to Erius. he thought.
“Erius,” he flung the door open and went inside with a broad smile on his face, “Erius, I’ve finally found it.”
“That is exciting,” Eruzith hugged him and gave him a quick peck on his cheeks before throwing the book open on the table, “Bring that lamp.” he pointed towards a non-flickering lamp and Erius brought it to the table.
“Here,” he pointed on, “a practitioner should understand that it is an exact science rather than a subtle art. The spells look simple– let’s try it out.” he looked around the room and smiled when he saw the bird.
“No way Eru,” Erius called, “no way you are going to kill that bird.”
“Don’t worry,” Eruzith said, “Necromancy is real, I’ll bring him back in an instance.” Eruzith– ignoring the protests of his husband opened the cage up and took the bird out. He petted the little songbird and in an instance snapped its neck– killing it instantly.
Eruzith placed the bird on the table and began reading through the text, memorizing the process. “Eru,” Erius peeped over his shoulders, “Did you drink wine?”
“Yes.”
“The book says, alcohol is a strict no.” Erius sounded nervous almost fearful.
“Bah,” Eruzith measured the bird’s weight and did some calculations on a piece of paper as instructed by the guide, and placed the bird back inside the circle he had drawn, “I’ve only had half a glass. That doesn’t count.”
He carved a small piece of skin from his fingertips using a scalpel and placed it next to the bird inside the circle. Erius offered alcohol to disinfect the wound but Eruzith ignored it and continued to follow the instructions on Necromancy. After fifteen minutes he said, “Let’s see if it works. Stand back.” he sighed and calmed himself, The book says, the intent is important. he closed his eyes and focused on the dead bird. He placed his bleeding finger on the circle and allowed it to redden the table and began the incantation. I want this bird to live. he thought as he continued to recite the incantation from the book, I want this bird to live. The blood began to ooze out at a much faster rate, I want this bird to be alive. he thought.
I– I love you Erius– I want this bird to live. his mind slipped for a small fraction of a second. The wound in his skin erupted and burning hot blood pumped out of it spraying all across the room. Eruzith screamed as he felt unbearable pain in his chest. He looked at his arms and saw it wither and gray, “What is happening?” Eruzith asked in agony, “Help me Erius.” his voice trembled in pain as his body began to die. “Erius,” he said “Save me, Erius.” Erius looked at him in shock unable to move a single finger or speak a syllable. He stood there, watching his husband bleed and wither and die.”