Legends of the Arcane: The Necromancer

Chapter 1

"Sometimes I wish Ralu had your calm nature, at least then maybe she would get her work done faster," a deep yet calm voice joked, which caused Kyra to flick her eyes up briefly, her gaze landing on a tall, yet lanky male figure. A smile appeared on her face as Kyra tied the last of the ribbon together, humor in her tone as she responded to her mentor.

A mental image of Kyra's caramel-skinned, brunette friend popped into her head, a smile on her face as she thought back to all of the times they'd fumed together about how disrespectful people were of their occupation and living space. They didn't have much in common other than their raging tempers and bad mouths, as Ralu always seemed to be full of snark and energy, but that was enough to make them close friends.

"If that were the case, then you would have to be the one to deal with all of our," she paused briefly, contemplating the words she wanted to use before continuing, "unwanted guests."

"That's true. Ralu loves to chase away the city children when they try to sneak into the Hall at night," Uth chuckled as he approached the table that Kyra was standing behind. He carefully inspected the body that laid on the table, his keen, light purple eyes not missing a single detail. Even though Kyra had only wrapped half of the man's body, his upper half still on display, she knew Uth wouldn't be upset with her progress.

Uth Threehide was the head priest of Maplecoast's Hall of the Dead, and one of the only necromancers in the entire city, his purple eyes proof of the magic in his blood. Despite his magic and occupation, Uth was a very docile man and hated having to scold children, teenagers, and even adults when they disobeyed one of the Hall rules. He relied on people like Ralu and Kyra to scold and keep away any troublesome visitors.

"Fine work as always my dear, but you're not done quite yet," Uth approved before he met Kyra's confused gaze. Usually, when he would bring her a corpse to prepare, she would just wrap it before having Uth transport it to their designated tomb

"Torth Rekar was his name," Uth grunted as he gestured to the body Kyra was in the middle of preparing for burial. Kyra looked back down at Torth, a wince on her face as she tried her best to avoid looking at the gash on his neck, and felt a small stab of pity for the man. She didn't know the circumstances of his death, but a cut like that had to have hurt and she found herself rubbing her neck subconsciously.

"Lelra, Torth's wife, is on trial today for murdering him, hence the laceration at the neck," Uth explained as he pointed at the wound, "I'll need you to raise him when Lelra and Vizen get here."

Kyra held back a groan as her lips tightened, but despite the feelings of anger and discomfort, she nodded her head. Even though she was a necromancer who worked in the Hall, raising the dead was the least favorite part of her job.

"So I'll need to raise him so he can be questioned," Kyra let out a defeated sigh, "which means I should do it before they show up so he's easier to question." She rubbed her temples as she allowed her thoughts to wander, lost in thought as to how she would stop the dead man from being alarmed at being brought back to life.

"I know you don't like it Kyra, but since you're the only other necromancer here and I've depleted my magic, I need you to do it," Uth replied, his eyes swimming with obvious regret. He knew why Kyra didn't like using her magic, and while she appreciated that Uth rarely asked her to use it, it never failed to upset her when he did.

She wanted nothing more than to get upset with him and tell him off for even suggesting that she use her magic, but she knew it wasn't his fault. He was already being incredibly generous and thoughtful by letting her get by without using her magic as often as he did, especially since he shouldered that burden himself. The thought alone stopped her from allowing the anger brewing in her mind to take control and snap at the only father figure she had in her life.