Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 47

The boat crossed the river quietly. The water barely made a sound as we passed over it. We all sat quietly, not even looking at the water. Our lessons were already learned.

"Ferryman, what do you know of this place?" Gunther's voice broke the silence, and a part of me was relieved that he asked. One of us was going to do it even if I just did it a few moments too late. He was harsher around the edges, but I don't think the man at the helm of the boat cared too much.

The Ferryman kept pushing the water, staring out across the empty river, unbothered by the enchantments laced through the water. He remained quiet for quite some time before he answered us. "Most of my memory was erased during the calamity. Now I only do what my lady asks, and that is to take the living back and forth across the river."

Calamity? I pondered on his words for a moment as I thought back to the journal we found. It said that this realm was torn away from the rest of the world. So it's called The calamity. But what really caught my interest was his job. "Lord Kharon, you mentioned your lady. Who is she? What do you mean by the living? Are you not alive yourself?"

"My lady, the Empress of Asteria. As for your next question, who is to say I am not? What is life adventurer?" His voice hung heavy in my ears and eventually my thoughts, and I had never really thought about that.

"Flesh, bones, a beating heart, thoughts, and a soul, I would suppose," I replied quietly. His words left a lasting impact on me, and I never once considered the question that he had asked. Maybe it was just me being short-sighted.

"There is far more to it than just that, but that is a conversation for another time. We are close to the docks." In the distance, the outline of the far shore was visible through the thick fog. The outline of trees stretched for quite a way out on either side. But something else struck me with curiosity, something that I had to know the answer to.

"You say you transport the living. What lies beyond the docks?" I feared the answer I would hear, and I knew it deep down, yet I didn't want to believe it was true.

"The dead and lost. Those who were once thralls of powerful necromancy, and those who are loyal to Asteria and the Empress." My heart sank as I realized that this was a domain of the undead. The most wretched of all creatures. Those torn from death by a necromancer and bound to servitude. Every necromancer was a walking crime against humanity and deserved only death.

"So your empress is a necromancer." Gunther's demeanor became colder, and the tension in the air grew even more palpable.

"No. She gave everything she had to sever the chains that kept us bound. We are all free, seeking a purpose in our existence. Far from a vile necromancer." Even though his monotonous words, I could detect malice and hatred at the thought of serving a necromancer. I glanced towards the other. Carter remained quiet as he listened, and Gunther was fuming. Alinore was just looking out across the river, her magic protecting her from the pull of the enchantments.

I cleared my throat and tried to calm the situation a bit. "Forgive us, Lord Ferryman. Necromancers have an evil reputation where we come from, and most are stamped out, and very few undead exist."

"It is fine. The lady would never stoop so low as to be a necromancer, and she is far too kind for something like that." The way he spoke about her made me feel like she was alive. But wouldn't she be a domain core? I scratched my head as I tried to figure out what this all meant. A domain of undead wouldn't be accepted, and the Velcrest Theocracy would lobby to destroy it. Yet, it was still a domain and one of the most valuable things on this planet.

"Maybe we should wait and see what the domain offers first before we jump to any conclusions." Carter's voice broke the tension, and I nodded in agreement.