Necromancy

Introduction

Underneath the timeless land of Bastia, one finds Feu Follet the abandoned village nestled within the shadows. According to history, sickness raked the village 100 years ago. Sorcerers when experimenting on the river yews mistakenly infused the poisonous plants with medicinal magic. Since medical magic, clerics, and healing was a specialty of the village; the sorcerers hoped to help more Bastian's by sending out these magic-filled flowers. But they were wrong. Once cut, the now magic-filled river yews released a toxic gas that stole the powers of those who breathed it in. To protect Bastia, the royal Abel family hid the land in shadows, where it was never to be seen again.

Today, no one knows what came of Feu Follet. Some speculate that those who remained in the village when the shadows were cast were punished for their naive foolishness and turned into the river yews themselves. The citizens who live in Briller, which borders the murky gloominess of Feu Follet's entrance, speak of a legend which pertains to the village. They claim that every night at midnight the scarlet red lantern which sits at the entrance of Feu Follet will flicker on, then another one will, then another one, and then another one. Lanterns that were not set up or even maintained by the townspeople will turn themselves on and burn an ominous red glow throughout every night. These lanterns light up a path that bends and twists into the shadows until they blend in with the darkness.

They say that if you follow those lanterns, you'll find a company at the edge of Feu Follet that is still in business. Those who are in especially trying times have attempted to see if the legend is true. So they start on a journey, most of those people have not come back. Those who have returned are no longer themselves, their minds have been infected by the shadows. Darkness takes advantage of those who are weak, and without warning will seep into a naive soul. Spreading and spreading until their hearts are completely black. Their entirety will become so infected by the darkness, they'll return to Briller stumbling and muttering nonsense. But fools will always continue to walk the path of the lanterns. They desire to know if this company does exist, because if it does then they hold very powerful and lost healing magic. So, if you know someone who is sick, injured, dead even, would you set off to see if this business is real?

What most don't know is that this business is real, and it is run and owned by a former citizen of Briller.

Deep inside the darkness of the shadows, at the very end of the path shown by the lanterns, lives a forgotten boy. Ambrose Tholl, from the best of his abilities, has been able to tell that he was a charming young fellow. At least when conversing with the shadows, that's how they would describe him. They said:

"My friend Ambrose, you were never meant to be. It was merely a chance that someone like you was able to survive the village being engulfed in shadows."

No matter how many times Ambrose asked this, they always reply the same way. Then he would follow with the same question, and cry "why me? Why was no one else able to survive the shadows!"

"Look at your hands, what do you see?" they asserted, just like every other time.

"They... They're w-white" he stammered, knowing that this was not the answer that they were looking for.

The shadows have described him as a ghost before. When he collects water from the stream, when he plants herbs in his garden, when he wanders around the abandoned village in general, he is an anomaly to the shadow's existence. Amongst the shadow's darkness, his translucent skin shines like a lost beacon, illuminating areas devoid of sun.

They laughed at him, both in humor and annoyance, "your skin is not just white, you are albino."

"Shadows, if I may ask, what color is my hair?"

"Your hair is snow-white," they said.

"And, what of my eyes, what color are they?"

"Your eyes are pale pink," they said. 

"Why am I like this" 

"Because you were not meant to be," they said.