Lith didn't know if to be more surprised by the discovery of how ignorant he was about necromancy's true potential or by seeing a rat's skeleton standing on its hind legs, talking with Professor Zekell's voice .
Despite the distance, he was able to notice that the light in the eyes of the creature had turned from deep red to bright blue .
"As you have seen when I reanimated this carcass, I left an imprint on it by using my life force to bind our essences . " The Zekell-rat tapped its head with a paw, making the mark visible again .
"The bond allows necromancers to temporarily transfer their consciousness inside their creations . Students used this skill mostly to cheat during written exams . By using a small undead mouse, they could communicate between them or simply copy the answers of the most brilliant students .
Undead were also a very popular tool for pulling cruel practical jokes and peeping through windows . There is a reason that all academies have removed windows from their dorms . Even magic can't beat the enthusiasm of a bunch of horny teenagers .
No matter the protection, they would always find a loophole . " The rat laughed .
"Keep in mind that the transfer is not without risks . The mage's body is left completely helpless for the entire duration . Someone could simmer you and you wouldn't even notice .
"Also, in this form I don't have the perceptions of a rat or of an undead . I can see and hear as if I'm on your desk, but all my other senses are lost . I can't use magic and if something happens to this body before I return to my own, the resulting shock could incapacitate me for hours . "
The creature's eyes turned red again and Professor Zeneff snapped her fingers a third time, taking out a third rat's skeleton from her dimensional amulet . When she cast the necromantic spell, the black fog engulfed the carcass for a while before disappearing .
"This is what happens when attempting to reanimate a long-dead corpse: a failure . To date, the phenomenon is still unclear . What we do know is that if a corpse it's not reanimated at least once every five days it becomes useless . "
- "I wish I could use Life Vision to collect data . Solus, what did you see with your mana sense?" Lith thought .
"Her spell seems to fly blind . Fake necromancy has no concept of mana core, so the darkness energies scanned the whole body before forming the blood core . My guess is that when a living being dies, its mana core leaves behind some kind of echo that disappears after about five days .
Fake necromancy seems to be heavily reliant on those lingering energies . Without them, the spell loses focus and becomes ineffective . "
"Kalla isn't an Awakened one, yet she knew on instinct what to do . " Lith pondered . "Magical beasts' natural affinity with the elements is simply terrifying . No wonder there is still no dominant species on this planet . "–
"During the following lessons, I'll teach you how to safely create all the lesser undead, how to transfer your consciousness and how to recognize when you are pushing your limits .
Necromancy is all about control and self awareness . Unlike all other kinds of magic, it can backfire . It will help you build your character, make you realize that your decisions, your spells have consequences on yourselves and others .
We have still a few minutes before the gong . Any questions?"
Lith raised his hand and Professor Zekell nodded to him .
"How long does an undead last?"
"Depends on the tier of the spell and the strength of the creature . " She was happy to hear a relevant question instead of one about ghosts and curses .
"Let's say that after this course you will be able to keep a simple skeleton for up to fifteen hours or a skeletal knight for one . "
- "I take back everything I thought . The only kind of necromancy I know needs me to constantly infuse mana into my undead servants, while hers can provide them an energy reserve .
Not to mention that my knowledge about the undead is limited to Dungeons & Looting and George Romeno's movies . There's a lot I can learn from her . I tend to forget that unlike magical beasts, humans have legacies .
I can merge their hundreds of years of experience with what Kalla taught me to create my version of necromancy, something stronger than the sum of its parts . "–
"Another question: you mentioned small rodents . Why not insects? They are smaller and are more likely to go unnoticed . "
"Excellent question!" Professor Zekell didn't like playing favourites, but seeing genuine curiosity in her field was as rare as flattering .
"For two reasons . The first is that if the body is too small, instead of getting infused by darkness magic it gets destroyed by it . The fine tuning it would require makes such a spell too expensive and leads to reason number two .
Even if one manages to succeed, the stored energy would last only for a very short time, making the creature useless . "
Lith still had more questions, but the gong resounded forcing him to stop .
"That's all for today . Dismissed . "
Since they had yet to receive the books for the third trimester, Lith's group split once outside the classroom . Everyone went back to their rooms waiting for the delivery .
"Mind if I accompany you for a bit?" Yurial asked .
"I want to talk to you about Phloria . "
"Don't tell me that you liked her in secret all this time!" Lith joked about it, hoping to avoid getting schooled about relationships by a single-minded hormonal teenager .
"Gods protect me, no . " He laughed .
"She is too tall and definitely too strong-willed for me . I prefer petite, well endowed girls that don't threaten to turn me inside out like a sock . It's just that since I never saw you with a girl, I wanted to give you an unsolicited piece of advice . "
Lith inwardly cringed, while keeping his poker face and nodding .
"If I were you, I'd return the Ballot to Linjos and let her have it . "
Lith was left in a daze . This wasn't what he had expected from Yurial .
"After the second exam, Phloria is second guessing her life a lot . I know it because I lived under her roof until the academy started again . I don't know if Rudd will manage to get Lukart expelled, his father is a powerful and well connected man .
Even if he does, it's only a matter of time before people start talking about you two, and that would put a second target on her back . Everyone knows you have a Ballot, so you can always bluff your way out of trouble . Not to mention that you are incredibly strong . " Yurial winked, referring to Lith's shared secret .
"She is strong too, but right now Phloria is in a rough patch . She doesn't need more traumas . If you really care about her, you should put her safety first . A year is a long time, many things can happen . "
"Who are you and what did you do to Yurial?" Lith replied raising his eyebrow in disbelief, making his friend laugh .
"It's just that her future is not set in stone . She can change her path anytime and I believe Phloria needs peace and quiet to not rush her decision . I really envy her for that . "
Yurial sighed . Since he seemed to need to take something off his chest, Lith didn't interrupt him .
"You know, the reason why I may appear so shallow at times it's because I'm just like Phloria, trying to enjoy the little time I have left to its fullest . Don't get me wrong, unlike her I will not put my life on the line every day, yet I will be chained .
By my responsibilities towards my father, my subjects, my wife and children . "
"Your what?" Lith was flabbergasted .
"Man, even before I started the academy, I was already betrothed . I know who and when I'll marry since I was ten years old . "
"Do I know her?"
"No, she's not a mage . It's a political marriage to join my magically talented household to an ancient noble family . Everybody wins . After we graduate, I'll become my father's second in command for a couple of years .
Then marriage and I'm expected to have at least a couple of heirs by the age of twenty . As I said, Phloria's future is not set in stone, but mine is . I understand better than anyone else how it feels being trapped . "
- "You and me both . " Lith inwardly sighed . –
"Maybe it will not work between you two, but you can still learn something from each other . Promise me you will think about it . "
"I will . "
***
In a remote corner of the Blood Desert, the three Guardians had met in person for the first time in hundreds of years . Even though they had turned into their human forms and were suppressing their auras as much as they could, it wasn't enough .
The earth below trembled slightly while the skies thundered . The world seemed to be scared by their assembly and was trying to break them apart once again .
"I hate to admit it, but you were right . " Salaark said .
She had taken the appearance of a young-looking woman, with silky black long hair, emerald eyes and a bronze tinge of skin so clear it seemed to shine under the morning sun .
She wore the same white clothes her tribal leaders, the Feathers, did but with no turban, allowing her hair to graze the ground .
"Some b*stard has invaded my turf and is spreading Abominations like they are presents . I underestimated our opponent, leaving everything in the hands of my Awakened ones . The result is that five of my Feathers died in less than a month . Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click for visiting .
They were all good men and women . Someone has to pay for their deaths . "
Her eyes ignited with a purple flame while the sand below her feet turned into glass because of the heat she emitted . The trembling and thundering intensified, but none of those present cared .
"It's not all . The sudden death of so many Awakened crippled my military force, my borders are under attack from all directions!"
"I'm not responsible, the truce with the Griffon Kingdom still holds . " Tyris said .
"Me neither . I control nothing in the Empire, but my apprentice would have told me before making such a move . She knows how much is at stake . " Leegaain shrugged in annoyance .
"I'm not blaming you idiots, but myself!" Salaark roared .
"Clearly the culprit has made sure that all my enemies knew about my weakness, otherwise the neighbouring countries could never set up a coordinated attack like this . They are ruining years of hard work!"
Her delicate feet stomped multiple times, shattering the glass, the land, and causing a minor tremor, around 3 . 0 on the Richter scale .
"Then why did you summon us if you knew we are innocent?" Tyris already had a headache from having to stand Salaark's temper without the possibility of bashing her head .
"Because I know who did it and where they are right now . If this was just about killing, I would have done it myself, but I want to take them alive and make them talk . I need you to prevent them from escaping . "
"I'm fine with it . I had nothing to do this evening anyway . " Leegaain yawned, giving her a thumbs up .
With a snap of her fingers, Salaark Warped them hundreds of kilometres away, in the proximity of a small mountain range . Like most of her kingdom, the landscape was barren . Too barren even for a desert .
"The b*stard must have taken its sweet time here . Even the mountains are crumbling due to the void of world energy . " Salaark snorted .
"Seal the space around here, I'm going in . "
Tyris and Leegaain operated their magic their own way . A Guardian was attuned to the planet, to the point that even their simplest act was magic . Tyris started to walk, countless runes of power spread in the air and the ground with each step she took .
Leegaain was feeling nostalgic, seeing both his friends moved his old heart . The dragon started to sing with a tenor voice . Wherever the song reached, the matter would be bound to the dragon's will .
"Show off . " Tyris smiled, singing along in a counter melody . Their voices filled the air with mana, making flowers bloom from long dried up seeds and water gush out of the ground . The Guardians were only sealing up the space, life was just a by-product of their joy from being together .
"Well, at least there will be a lot of rain this year . " Salaark grumbled while entering the underground maze .
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