You wake up and find that it’s now nighttime. You groggily look around and don’t see Annah. You call out to her, but there is no answer.

You sit up and after stretching a bit, you suddenly have a horrible realization.

“Oh shit. Shit! Shit! No, no, no, no. Fuck!” you say as you immediately go to the loose floorboard under the dresser where you keep your hidden savings.

You continue to curse yourself for being so stupid and not realizing something was up from the start.

And then you find that your savings are still there. Even the blade trap you have set hasn’t been disturbed. You then breathe sigh a relief as you put everything back.

While Annah didn’t rip you off, you guess that she just didn’t want to stick around. You figure that she had to get back to the university to get prepare things on her end. Or at least you thought she did until she comes walking back in the room.

“Oh you’re finally up sleepyhead. Given how long you slept, guessing you haven’t had that sort of loving in a long time. Not surprised.” Annah says.
“You’re still here.” You reply.
“Of course I am. Did you not want me to be?”
“No! I do. I’m just surprised.”
“Why? What, did you think I was going to do, rob you blind while you were asleep and leave?”
“Heh, no…”
“Pfft, liar. You DID think that. I bet you checked all your hiding spots in this room after you woke up.”

Your silence confirms her accusations.

“It’s okay, I probably would have done the same. I came on so strong I guess it would be natural for you to have some suspicion.” Annah says.
“Actually, at the time I wasn’t thinking at all except the obvious. In fact the only worry I had was that you might be fucking with me and were going to just leave me at the university with a massive hard on.” You reply.
“Nah, I’d never do that to you.”
“So where did you go?”
“Oh I just came back from speaking to your inn owner Hank. Told him that all about the cheap talent that’s going to grace his inn this weekend. He seemed receptive to the idea. Kept staring at my tits the whole time, I’m assuming if I hadn’t mentioned that I was your girlfriend, he would have tried to touch me as well. Ugh, he’s gross. But in any case everything’s set on this side, I just have to speak with Nature’s Revenge and a few others and this place will be party central.”
“You didn’t need to speak to Hank, I would ‘ve done that, but thanks for saving me the trouble. You’ve certainly been more than helpful today.”
“Well…I suppose I do have an ulterior motive of sorts.”
“…oh well I guess you’re telling me to my face at least. Alright out with it.”

Annah sits next to you on the bed and holds one of your hands. This must be serious.

“I need your help on a job.” She says.
“…that’s it? I thought you were going to ask for something unreasonable. Wait, are we trying to rob a bank or city hall or something?”
“No, nothing like that. Just need you to crack open Jenny’s safe.”

Now you’re totally confused. Annah smiles and explains before you can ask the obvious.

“I’ve tried several times to get into the thing while she wasn’t around, but no luck. I’m just not skilled at it like you are. I need an expert.” Annah says.
“Well that answers one obvious question, but why other one would be why? I mean not that I particularly care I suppose, but I was under the impression you were somewhat friends with this girl.”
“Eh, we have common interests in some regards. She’s a typical rich kid doing illegal shit every now and then for kicks, but lately she’s been sort of a bitch to live with. Which brings me to my other reason of why I’m doing this. I’m leaving the city so I figured I wouldn’t leave empty handed.”
“Wait, you’re leaving the city?! Why? Where are you going to go? Did you intend on telling me?”

Annah goes on to tell you that she’s getting bored of Klyton and wants to see more of the world. She says that when she first came to Klyton she initially wanted to live here for the rest of her life, believing it to have everything she’d ever want. She then says its funny that masquerading as a university student caused her to learn more about the world and how she wants to see more of it.

So that’s why she’s leaving. As for telling you, she said she went back and forth on whether or not if she should since even though you weren’t together any more, she got the impression that you might be inclined to talk her out of leaving. Running into you when she did and your reaction to her advances sort of solved that personal dilemma though.

“I want you to come with me.” She says.
“Annah…” you start to say.
“I know, I know, you’re not a traveller and you hate it, but you’ll be with me. That should certainly take some of the sting out. And I know…I know in the past how I was always nagging you. I think you’ll find that I’ve changed a lot since then.”
“Well that is true.”
“I mean I want us to start completely over together and part of that would be leaving this city and going some place else.”
“Where would we go?”
“I dunno, anywhere. Hessla for starters? The point is I want you to come with me. I mean…I just don’t see it as a bad idea given how we obviously feel towards each other.”

Well Annah always does get right to the point on how she really feels about you. Maybe she’s right, maybe you could use a change of scenery. You’ve certainly saved more than enough to move and live comfortably elsewhere. (You assume Hessla is probably cheaper, if that’s your first destination)

“Okay, Annah. I’ll come with you, but that sort of makes this getting elven musicians and shit here sort of pointless.”
“Not really. I mean I still need some time to get ready for the trip and I imagine even with your meager belongings you might not want to just suddenly jump on a carriage. Also, this weekend is still going to be the best time to go rob Jenny’s safe since she’s going to be home the rest of the week. I can also convince her to come with me here to enjoy the show. So while I’m here with her, you can go clean out her safe and take a few other items as well.”
“So what exactly did this Jenny do to you?”
“As I said, she’s been a fucking bitch and even if I wasn’t leaving the city, I’d probably be moving out soon anyway. Trust me, she’s got this coming.”
“Hey, I’m not judging. So of course I’ll need some more information on the lay out of this place.”

Annah goes into great detail about her place of residence and everything you’ll find in it. She mentions the safe itself is under the bed, but points out that Jenny has a few nice pieces of jewelry in another more accessible box on her dresser. When you ask if she knows what’s actually in the safe, Annah says as far as she knows there are some valuable family heirlooms in there and probably a few gems and coins as well.

“Jenny might come from money, but she’s a bit of a hording cheapskate, somewhat like you in that regard. As I said, under different circumstances, you’d probably get along with her.” Annah say with a chuckle.

Annah then tells you that when you’re done robbing the place; meet her back at the Laughing Devil and you can go from there.

In the meantime, Annah says she better get back to the university to get the rest of this plan in motion.

You spend the rest of the week more or less taking it easy and mentally preparing yourself for taking another trip. You didn’t envision yourself leaving Klyton like this, but you’re starting to look forward to the idea. Maybe your dick’s not so dumb.

Annah comes to meet you the day before with a few bags (and Checkers who is still the furry little demon dog that growls at you when she sees you) stating that Nature’s Revenge will be coming tomorrow night along with a few other amateur bard types, but definitely better than the chick spouting shitty poetry on a regular basis. She says word is already spreading around the university and there should be a large crowd.

“So it’s a all set. As you might have noticed I’ve brought some bags with me, I figured you won’t mind me staying here tonight. It’ll save time.” Annah remarks.
“Of course not, but what about Jenny?” you ask.
“Oh I already told her about the big gathering tomorrow. I told her I’d meet her here and as far as she knows I’m just staying at my boyfriend’s place tonight, which isn’t a lie. Oh shit. I forgot my key to the house to give you.”
“Hardly a problem. I can pick the lock.”
“You’re so talented. I’ll be so glad when we’re out of this city. I’m bored of it already. Come on, make me less bored.” Annah says and begins caressing and kissing on you.

You see no reason to decline this request and spend more quality time with Annah for the rest of day (and night).

You wake up the next day a little later than usual and find Annah going through her bags. You also hear the sound of music and mild revelry in the distance.

“Shit, is that the band? Am I late? Fuck I gotta get going!” you say.
“Relax, Nature’s Revenge isn’t even here yet, that’s just some opening act and it only just started. If you were late, I would have woke you up.” Annah says.
“Yeah…still I should get going.”
“Jenny’s not even here yet either. You’ve got time.” Annah says and stops what she’s doing, goes over to the bad and grabs your cock.

“Again? But…shouldn’t I really get going?” you say.
“As I said, you’ve got time. You can skip the foreplay.” Annah says and before you can reply, she’s kissing and getting on top you.

Well no point in arguing with her when she’s like this…

After spending even more quality time with Annah (which took longer than you meant to) you’re putting on your pants, grabbing your pack with tools, steeping over Checkers (who has been sleeping most of the time she’s been here) and rushing out the door.

“Be careful, I love you!” Annah beams while lying naked on the bed.
“Yeah…and you stay exactly like that when I return.” You reply and close the door.

You run past the crowds in the Laughing Devil which are cheering some bard on stage and go outside where you run into three tattooed androgynous looking elves with wild colored hair carrying instruments and exiting a nearby carriage. You’re guessing that this is Nature’s Revenge.

Not really giving a shit about them, you just push past and get in the easily accessible carriage and tell the driver to take you to the university.

Eventually as you get close to the destination you get out since Annah’s old home is off campus, not actually on it. When you finally get there, it’s indeed a nice home, but not overly fancy. You’ve probably passed it a few times not really giving it a second look.

After a quick perusal of the outside surroundings, you’re guessing the Jenny has already left so you quickly get to work on picking the lock, which is easy for you of course.

You get inside and immediately head to the location of the safe since you want to be in and out of here as soon as possible. Pushing the bed slightly, you uncover the safe and get to work.

It’s actually not too complex, but you’re not surprised Annah couldn’t get it open. She never was adept at it, hence why she’s gotten you in the first place.

You crack the safe and indeed find quite a bit of coin in the safe. You find a couple of small objects that may or may not be valuable though. Seems like Annah thought there was more in there than there actually was, still, it’s not a bust by any means.

As you finish dumping the contents into your pack, you’re about to check the rest of the house, and that’s when you suddenly hear the front door open! What the fuck!? Did she actually come home already?

You didn’t even remember to bring your weapons with you since you were in such a hurry, not that you wanted to turn this into a murder in the first place. You figure you got two options at this point, either hide or try to escape out a window.
> You escape
You need to get the hell out of here. The longer you stay the more chance you’re going to get caught.

You immediately go for the window in the room and your hopes of a speedy escape are dashed when you find out the damn thing has been painted shut. Doesn’t help that the window is slightly higher than you’d like, making even trying to pull it upward a chore.

With the voices (and giggling) coming closer, you get desperate and pick up a nearby metal knick-knack of some sort and use it to break the window. You know you’ll be heard, but you’re hoping you’ll be quick enough to get out.

You smash the window and try to break the remaining side pieces so you don’t get cut up too badly, but by this time your actions have already drawn the attention of Jenny and apparently her very large gentleman caller.

“HEY!” he shouts which causes you to hurl the metal object at his head before you make a small leap to climb out the window.

You make it half way through before Jenny’s boyfriend grabs your legs. He must be on the wrestling team or something because you cannot escape his grip and he easily yanks you back.

While this might have originally only resulted in you most likely getting your ass kicked, followed by the law taking you in, however you experience something a little different.

The window still had jagged glass bits around the edges and when Jenny’s boyfriend pulled you, you naturally got scraped on most of those. Wouldn’t have been so bad due to your protective clothing, but then you caught a sharp piece against your unprotected neck while getting pulled and unfortunately sliced open an artery.

Even Jenny’s boyfriend is shocked when you’re choking on your own blood when you hit the floor and die soon afterwards.


Chapter 1: Dark Beginnings

Well, you did it again. You slacked off all semester and didn’t study for your finals. There’s no way you’re going to pass your nature magic test tomorrow. Those things are always killers. You don’t even know why you enrolled in that class; you aren’t even interested in being a nature mage. You don’t even like the damn outdoors!

Oh wait, you know why, it’s because you saw a cute witch taking the class, so like a dumb ass, you signed up for it. Naturally the moment you tried to impress her with some sort of cantrip, she laughed at you and said even if she was straight, she wouldn’t go for a half assed hedge wizard like you! You really should’ve known better, half of those witches are lesbians anyway. That whole Mother Earth Goddess worship caters to the rug munching. (And no, there aren’t any MALE witches, any self respecting man would call himself a WARLOCK, not a damn witch!)

(Sigh) Like your little sister’s B’ar’b Dolly once said “Magic is hard!” Indeed. Sometimes you curse the day your mother passed her magical elven blood on to you.

Still, you’re here now, so you need to make the best out of your life. You’re already going to hear it from both of your parents of how you’ve been nothing but a disappointment to the both of them. Your Dad will probably do a little more than say that, he’ll probably personally ride up to the University and beat the hell out of you for wasting his hard earned pillaging money to send you there in the first place.

Arrgh! You just wish you were good at SOME kind of magic! You have the ability; you just don’t have the focus! That’s always been the problem with you. Your sister has it easy, she took after Dad. Narrow minded focus on killing someone with a blunt instrument doesn’t take too much effort. Of course you had to be the one that greater things were expected of.

You’ve tried all the schools, evocation, conjuration, illusion, divination; all of them. You can’t excel in any of it. You can only get so far and then the words and gestures and well all of it just becomes too fucking confusing for you.

However, you haven’t tried the “darker arts”, but your Mom would definitely never approve. (Your Dad probably wouldn’t care, but if you upset your Mom, it’s a warhammer upside the head) In fact it’s illegal to study any of them. They caused too much trouble in the past and nearly destroyed the world at one time. All who are known to even dabble in such arts are immediately taken into custody and executed.

You don’t think you’d want to be summoning demons anyway; even the few “friendly ones” that work on campus are fucking assholes to the Nth degree. You can only imagine how bad the ones who haven’t been living among mortals are.

However there is another dark art which you have to admit you’ve always had a bit of curiosity about.

The art in question is necromancy.

At this point you’re willing to at least see if you’re good at ANYTHING, so for shits and giggles you decide to blow off your test which you’re going to fail anyway and go see if you can find out more about this outlawed dark art.

Though being a lazy sort you decide to try the library first.
> You go make a trip to the library
Even though you’re supposed to be a wizard in training, you spend as little time as possible in library if you can help it. Normally you just check out whatever you need to read for a class and leave.

You have little faith in finding anything substantial on Necromancy in there, but maybe you can find something that will at least quell this thirst for knowledge on it. You realize you’re treading on dangerous ground, but you have to try to learn more.

The library is huge however, and you’re unsure of where to look, it’s not like there’s a section on Necromancy or Outlawed Magic, but you figure you’ll look in the History section first.

You glance and browse through the stacks until you pick up a few choice books that look like they might contain something, sit down in a quiet corner and begin to read. Naturally you don’t learn too much. The history books mainly go on about how bad the Dead War was, important battles, the atrocities of the Lich Lord, the typical stuff you’ve read time and time again. Still, you’re determined to find something new.

You spend hours reading until you realize you’ve spent the day in the library and that it’s now night time. Oddly the library is mostly empty, and that’s probably because finals are now over, one of which you’ve now undoubtedly failed. You think of how stupid you’ve been to obsess over an outlawed art that you probably wouldn’t be any good at anyway! You’ve only been dwelling on the subject to ignore your own problems that you could’ve tried to solve yourself, instead of fantasizing about being some Necromancer. Raising the dead…what good would that do you? Delusions of grandeur. You wouldn’t have enough motivation to try to take over the world anyway. There was only one person who truly motivated you, and she’s gone.

You begin to think about Serena and begin to feel sorrow like when you first lost her. You’ve had enough of death. You leave the library in a daze and head back home to sleep off this miserable day.

You can’t escape though; even your dreams bring death. You dream about Serena. At first she’s alive and vibrant, and then suddenly she dies before your eyes. Then you see her grave with you sobbing over it and shouting how you demand that she not leave you.

Then she rises from her grave…and you wake up only to come face to face with her! She is a ghost floating near your bed.

“HOLY SHIT!” you shout and back up against your headboard.
“Shhhh! Hush my love, I’m risking a lot just by being here.” She says looking around as if someone is going to bust down your door any minute.
“Serena, what’s going on? This isn’t a dream is it?”
“No, my dear I assure you that I am very real. And I have a message for you.”
“A message?”
“Yes, embrace death and all the beauty it has to offer.”
“You want me to kill myself, to join you?”
Serena laughs a bit. “No silly, you are to become a necromancer and bring the purity of death to the world.”
“…yeah right. With my aptitude of magic, I doubt if I could raise a mouse skeleton.”
“You always did lack confidence in yourself. I suppose that’s why they sent me to motivate you one last time. Though I admit, I would’ve come to see you anyway.”
“They?”

Serena side steps your question and continues.

“Look we haven’t much time, but you HAVE the ability to become the greatest Necromancer since the Great Lich Lord who brought the world near the brink of extinction centuries ago, but you cannot do it alone…at least not yet. You must have allies. There are others like you on this campus who long to practice the dark arts. Seek them out and take over this college as your first step to your destiny.”
“What? Hold on! What makes you think I want to do all this?”

Serena floats closer to you and touches your face with a ghostly hand. You feel completely calm.

“Because deep down it IS what you want. You know your thoughts are dominated by death. You even think of me rather than living girls and I’ve been dead for years. The very fact that your mind played a part in summoning me here is also proof of your desire.”
“I miss you…”
“I know you do, but my point is, even before I died I remember you having an interest in the dark arts. Indeed it’s part of what attracted me to you. But now I must return and you must fulfill your part in this world, whether you succeed or fail at this endeavor will ultimately be up to you, but I believe you will succeed.”

Serena then floats a little closer to kiss you.

“Farewell, my love.” She says and then disappears.

You’re now wide awake and pacing the floor. You’ve been ambivalent about pursuing this path before, but the more you think about it and with this visit from Serena, this is the path you’re going to choose. And why not? It’s not like you have any better options in your life at this point.

You’re going to do it, and though Serena mentioned others like you being on campus, you’re damned if you have a clue to as of knowing who they are since you don’t really socialize. Still, you can think of two people that could get you started. (Or at least not rat on you, when you start inquiring about Necromancy)

The next day you take your first steps towards darkness…
> You go talk to your creepy conjuration professor, Mr. Demar
Chapter 2: Death Awaits

Serena’s right, you’re going to need the help of others and you head to Mr. Demar’s office.

Mr. Demar’s class was probably the only one you didn’t struggle in too much. It’s not really a popular field given that conjuration can lead to summoning demons. Still, there is use for it on a minor level, though of course it’s strictly regulated by most governments.

Mr. Demar was a good professor, but the general agreement by everyone in your class, was that he was REALLY creepy. Plus there were always rumors about him. You always got the impression he was interested in doing a lot more with his area of expertise, but had to settle for teaching. He always seemed to be alright with you though.

When you get to his office, surprisingly it’s open and he’s busily shuffling some papers around.

“Mr. Demar?”
“Huh? What? Damn it, I thought I locked that door! Oh it’s you, what do you want? And lock that door.”
“Well uh…I had some questions…”
“Okay, what are they? Out with it.” He says continuing to look at some strange parchments.
“Well, uh…I guess it’s about magic, and I guess um…”

Mr. Demar looks up at you like he’s going to slap you for stuttering so much. You finally speak up.

“I want to know more about Necromancy.”

Mr. Demar steps back and gives you a few inspecting stares.

“I dunno what you’re talking about, in fact if you don’t get out of here I’m going report you to the dean for asking such questions.” He warns, but you get the impression that he’s not telling the truth. He probably thinks you were sent to spy on him by the dean or something. It’s not like he hasn’t been held under close scrutiny before.

“Mr. Demar, I’m not trying to get you into trouble, it’s me! I really want to learn Necromancy, and you’re about the only one I think can help me! I actually was worried about coming to you and I was nervous about the whole thing!”
“Hmm, well I guess I always did think you were inclined towards the dark arts and given your annoying stuttering a moment ago, you do sound like you were nervous. Okay, you want to learn? I’ll teach you. I’ll teach you like I’m currently teaching so many others right now. Surprised? Yes, the time is coming to pass that we who are inclined to REAL power begin to make our place in this world…permanently. Though I still have concerns about you, I mean while you did about average in my class, I’m well aware that you’re not exactly the best student in other fields. I question whether you can handle the power of the dark arts, let alone become a Necromancer.”

You stand up straight and reply. “I’m confident that this is my path.”

“Good, I’m glad you said that, because there’s no going back and this path is not for the weak. We also must maintain secrecy at all times until the day that we may take what is rightfully ours. Now come with me, we’re going to see exactly what kind of potential you have.”

Mr. Demar casts a spell and opens up a portal. He then prepares to enter it and beckons you to follow him, which you do. Suddenly you’re whisked away into a place of near darkness. Given your immediate surroundings you’d guess that you’re underground somewhere. You can hear the clinking of chains though nearby and moans.

“Where are we?”
“Your testing area, this where we’re going to find out what exactly you’re made of. In the next room, you’ll find some undead friends. They’re currently chained up, but they won’t be for long. Now, you can kill them, but as a Necromancer you’re supposed to be controlling them, so obviously you should try to do that.”
“But I don’t know how! You haven’t taught me any spells!”
“And I’m not going to, you’re going to have to figure this out yourself, but I will say this, it’s all about the strength of willpower. Tap into your magical energy and if you have what it takes, you’ll succeed. I’ll leave you to it.”

Demar disappears back into the portal and leaves you all by yourself. You’ve really gotten yourself into it and now there really isn’t any going back, and you can hear the chains from the next room dropping to the ground and the moans getting louder and closer.

There’s a large bone on the ground and not much else in the room, and you can’t run either as there are no other exits.
> You pick up the bone and defend yourself
You pick up the large bone and prepare for whatever is coming at you. A couple of zombies enter and as soon as they see you they shamble over.

You’re a little shaken, and you attempt to do exactly what Demar said, but you’re not having any effect. Soon one of the zombies is almost upon you and you lash out with the bone.

You give a few good whacks to the first one’s skull causing it to collapse lifeless once again. You do the same to the second one. You’re breathing hard and thank the fact that they were slow enough not to easily catch you.

However, your victory is short lived, when Demar appears again.

“(Sigh) you killed them, after I told you that was not the purpose. Plus you gave a poor showing in even attempting to control them. I don’t see a future for you, if you cave under pressure like that.”

You’re a little dejected, but the worse is yet to come, when you find you won’t be leaving this place. Mr. Demar can’t risk you knowing about this place yet not being a disciple of his. He didn’t last this long being undetected by taking chances.

With a few quick mumblings and you feel your body ravaged by rot. It’s a horrible death, but one that results in you rising to take the place of the “test” zombies you just ruined.

You spend your remaining undead life shambling around underground until eventually when Demar feels it’s time to attack, you’re one of the first cannon fodder troops to be destroyed in the attempted take over.


Chapter 2: Death Awaits

Serena’s right, you’re going to need the help of others and you head to Mr. Demar’s office.

Mr. Demar’s class was probably the only one you didn’t struggle in too much. It’s not really a popular field given that conjuration can lead to summoning demons. Still, there is use for it on a minor level, though of course it’s strictly regulated by most governments.

Mr. Demar was a good professor, but the general agreement by everyone in your class, was that he was REALLY creepy. Plus there were always rumors about him. You always got the impression he was interested in doing a lot more with his area of expertise, but had to settle for teaching. He always seemed to be alright with you though.

When you get to his office, surprisingly it’s open and he’s busily shuffling some papers around.

“Mr. Demar?”
“Huh? What? Damn it, I thought I locked that door! Oh it’s you, what do you want? And lock that door.”
“Well uh…I had some questions…”
“Okay, what are they? Out with it.” He says continuing to look at some strange parchments.
“Well, uh…I guess it’s about magic, and I guess um…”

Mr. Demar looks up at you like he’s going to slap you for stuttering so much. You finally speak up.

“I want to know more about Necromancy.”

Mr. Demar steps back and gives you a few inspecting stares.

“I dunno what you’re talking about, in fact if you don’t get out of here I’m going report you to the dean for asking such questions.” He warns, but you get the impression that he’s not telling the truth. He probably thinks you were sent to spy on him by the dean or something. It’s not like he hasn’t been held under close scrutiny before.

“Mr. Demar, I’m not trying to get you into trouble, it’s me! I really want to learn Necromancy, and you’re about the only one I think can help me! I actually was worried about coming to you and I was nervous about the whole thing!”
“Hmm, well I guess I always did think you were inclined towards the dark arts and given your annoying stuttering a moment ago, you do sound like you were nervous. Okay, you want to learn? I’ll teach you. I’ll teach you like I’m currently teaching so many others right now. Surprised? Yes, the time is coming to pass that we who are inclined to REAL power begin to make our place in this world…permanently. Though I still have concerns about you, I mean while you did about average in my class, I’m well aware that you’re not exactly the best student in other fields. I question whether you can handle the power of the dark arts, let alone become a Necromancer.”

You stand up straight and reply. “I’m confident that this is my path.”

“Good, I’m glad you said that, because there’s no going back and this path is not for the weak. We also must maintain secrecy at all times until the day that we may take what is rightfully ours. Now come with me, we’re going to see exactly what kind of potential you have.”

Mr. Demar casts a spell and opens up a portal. He then prepares to enter it and beckons you to follow him, which you do. Suddenly you’re whisked away into a place of near darkness. Given your immediate surroundings you’d guess that you’re underground somewhere. You can hear the clinking of chains though nearby and moans.

“Where are we?”
“Your testing area, this where we’re going to find out what exactly you’re made of. In the next room, you’ll find some undead friends. They’re currently chained up, but they won’t be for long. Now, you can kill them, but as a Necromancer you’re supposed to be controlling them, so obviously you should try to do that.”
“But I don’t know how! You haven’t taught me any spells!”
“And I’m not going to, you’re going to have to figure this out yourself, but I will say this, it’s all about the strength of willpower. Tap into your magical energy and if you have what it takes, you’ll succeed. I’ll leave you to it.”

Demar disappears back into the portal and leaves you all by yourself. You’ve really gotten yourself into it and now there really isn’t any going back, and you can hear the chains from the next room dropping to the ground and the moans getting louder and closer.

There’s a large bone on the ground and not much else in the room, and you can’t run either as there are no other exits.
> You try to prepare and concentrate
You begin to concentrate and prepare for whatever is coming at you. A couple of zombies enter and as soon as they see you they shamble over.

You maintain your calmness and focus, backing up only to get out their reach. It’s not work though, but you refuse to give up so you do something that you never thought you’d ever use.

You’re underground and there are a lot of roots where you’re at, you remember a minor spell you learned in you nature magic class. You cast the spell, and the roots entwine the zombies’ feet causing them to be unable to move at you anymore. You then concentrate on controlling them, which now comes a lot easier to you because you don’t feel in danger anymore.

When you’re sure you have a hold on them, you release the roots and then practice telling the zombies what to do. Sort of fun, like having a pet. Your fun is cut short when Mr. Demar reappears.

“Well, that was an interesting way of handling things. Don’t think I’ve ever seen combining nature magic with necromancy before. Usually the student kills one of the zombies with a fireball or something and then focuses all their attention to control the other one. Still, whatever works, and you are one of the few that’s managed to control the both of them with no training in necromancy at all, so you have natural talent. And natural talent will serve you better for this path.”
“I understand why you gave me the test, but I have to say I thought you’d start me off on raising the dead rather than controlling them first.” You say.
“Ah! Yes, that’s a common misconception. You want to know why most necromancers fail even before they get started? Because they lack the control. Raising the dead is relatively easy; controlling them takes a great deal more focus and power. Most of the time a neophyte necromancer will go to the local graveyard and end up getting himself killed by the very bodies he raised because he can’t control them. Okay, I think it’s time we introduce you to the rest of the class. We’ll have lots of time to practice while most of the so called regular students are away for vacation.”
“Uh, I’m ready, but I was supposed to go visit my family for vacation…and well also I don’t think I’ve passed all my classes either, specifically the nature magic class.”
“What? (Sigh) Very well I shall take care of your grade; I know exactly how to handle the situation and I have a lot more pull in this school than most could ever dream of. As for your family members, I’ll leave that up to you. Surely you can think up something to tell them, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Very well then, it’s all settled. Time to meet the rest of your kind.”

Once again Mr. Demar takes you through another portal. You’re still underground, but now you’re in a more structured setting with actual bricks rather than a cave like setting.

You’re soon introduced to the rest of Mr. Demar’s “class” known as the Dark Order. Some of whom you’ve actually seen on campus or even in your other classes. Those that know you are surprised.

“You’re letting THAT guy in here? I remember him back in Illusion class, and he ended up creating clones that punched the professor in the face!”
“That’s nothing, back in Evocation class; he ended up setting the professor on fire.”

“Okay that’s enough class! I can assure you that he has the potential to master the dark arts. He wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think so. Now Trelik and Felsa, you’re coming with me, the rest of you practice your lessons and one of you help our newest associate here get started, we’re all in this together you know.”

After Demar leaves with two of his students, you’re left to your own devices as it seems nobody wants to help you. You look around the study area a bit and you start to pick up one of the many tomes lying around until someone comes up to you.

“Hey, do you even know what those are for?” an ugly student asks you.
“Well, they have a skull on the front, and from the looks of them they contain descriptions of various types of undead creature. My guess necromancy.”
“Yeah, so what do you know of it?”
“Not much, that’s why I’m here obviously, isn’t that why everyone else is?”
“Not at all, in fact you’re only the fifth necromancer-to-be here. Most of the students are into studying how to control the infernal planes. You know Demonology. There’s even a guy studying on the lost art of temporal magic.”
“Temporal? You mean time?”
“Yep, a lot of people forget about that one being outlawed as well. Good reason, considering it could really fuck up something if not used properly. I’d actually stay away from Quayle, I think all that studying on time has made him a little loopy. He tends to talk backwards, and sideways a lot. Even Mr. Demar has a hard time keeping him on track.”
“Interesting, so what’s your name, are you a demonologist?”
“Me, nope I’m one of the disciples of death as they say. My name’s Sebastian. You might as well meet the others, you’ll be working with.”

Sebastian takes you over to two other students. Catalina and Irwin. They nod at you and go back to their training which involves creating a some sort of bone golem. Catalina looks somewhat familiar. Sebastian tells you the other is Trelik who just left with Mr. Demar.

“He’s the most skilled, besides Mr. Demar of course.” Sebastian says.
“So what exactly do I start on first?” you ask.
“I’d start out with raising and controlling some skeletons. I know you probably did the zombie thing, but you’ll need to hone your skill a lot and skeletons are easier to practice with. Take this book, and get started. You’ll find the bone pits down the corridor and to the right, don’t go left though; the demonologists got some bad ass demon locked in a circle down there. He’s really pissed off too. Best stay away.”

You take one of the necromantic tomes and head down the corridor. On your way there, you begin to hear a voice penetrating your head.

“You, come here. I know you. You seek power. I can give you that power; you need not waste your time studying anymore. I can grant it to you instantly. You want to be a master of death? Come to me…”

This voice is very tempting.
> You head down the left corridor
You feel compelled to follow the voice and you head down the left corridor where eventually you come across a demon sitting in a couched position in a circle. He’s looking at the chalk that creates the circle around him, before looking up at you. He’s a lot bigger and meaner looking than even the demons you’ve met on campus. He certainly doesn’t seem happy to be trapped. You suspect that they summoned this guy up from hell recently.

“Who are you?”
“My real name is unimportant, but you can call me Velzix…and you are the new disciple of Demar’s delusional bunch of would be shit starters. They believe that they will be able to take over this school by using the dark arts. And perhaps they may, but such a victory will be fleeting. Mortals lack long term vision. They will not be prepared when the entire world unites against them…but you can be spared that fate. Free me, and I promise you that you will become a powerful force in the struggle ahead.”
“While that sound tempting, demons are known for their deceitful nature and infamous for getting around loopholes in so called deals they make.” You say.
“Yes, it is something we pride ourselves on…very well I will not harm you when you free me. That is what you worried about isn’t it?”
“It had crossed my mind.”
“Okay, now you may free me.”
> You free Velzix
You easily remove the chalk around Velzix.

“Ah yes, another lack of vision, if they had been smarter they would’ve also placed a magical barrier around the chalk circle and bound me in magic chains. Well, now they shall pay for their arrogance!”

Velzix now free from his prison lets out an unearthly roar and pushes you aside to take revenge on his captors. As you recover and get off the floor, you can already hear the sounds of battle, followed by screams.

You hesitantly head towards the study area, and there you see carnage. The demon has easily killed everyone and is now casting some sort of spell.

“Now that I’m free, this world is going to suffer. That puny mortal Demar’s petty plans pale in comparison in what I have in mind. He’ll be first on the list that I’ll track down. Shouldn’t take long.” He says and opens a portal to the infernal realm where upon several smaller demons come pouring out eager for blood. In fact they see you and begin to step towards you.

“H…hey! You said no harm would come to me!”
“I said that I would not harm you. I never said anything about them! Ha ha! Like I said you mortals lack such vision!”

You don’t even have time to run before the demons jump on top of you and begin to rip you to pieces, the only good thing is you were spared the horrors that Velzix unleashed upon the world.


You feel compelled to follow the voice and you head down the left corridor where eventually you come across a demon sitting in a couched position in a circle. He’s looking at the chalk that creates the circle around him, before looking up at you. He’s a lot bigger and meaner looking than even the demons you’ve met on campus. He certainly doesn’t seem happy to be trapped. You suspect that they summoned this guy up from hell recently.

“Who are you?”
“My real name is unimportant, but you can call me Velzix…and you are the new disciple of Demar’s delusional bunch of would be shit starters. They believe that they will be able to take over this school by using the dark arts. And perhaps they may, but such a victory will be fleeting. Mortals lack long term vision. They will not be prepared when the entire world unites against them…but you can be spared that fate. Free me, and I promise you that you will become a powerful force in the struggle ahead.”
“While that sound tempting, demons are known for their deceitful nature and infamous for getting around loopholes in so called deals they make.” You say.
“Yes, it is something we pride ourselves on…very well I will not harm you when you free me. That is what you worried about isn’t it?”
“It had crossed my mind.”
“Okay, now you may free me.”
> You negotiate some more
Velzix isn’t pleased that you’re attempting to negotiate with him. He feels he’s given you a fair deal, and he begins to raise his voice at what he considers to be your outrageous demands.

Of course this doesn’t help since it causes some of your fellow students to come wondering what’s going on and hoping Velzix hasn’t escaped.

“Hey! What’re you doing here! You’re not even a demonologist!” one of them yells.
“Weak minded fool was probably tempted by Velzix’s voice.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never said anything to him, he wandered down here on his own accord, and started talking to me about striking a deal of some kind.” Velzix says with a smile.
“I DID NOT!” you protest.

Your protests don’t do too much to help you though. The rest of the students decide you’re either lying, or you don’t have the mental strength to resist the temptations of Velzix. And in either case you’re a liability that they can’t afford.

You’re struck by several lightning bolts and your corpse is completely burned black before you even fall to the ground.


You begin to concentrate and prepare for whatever is coming at you. A couple of zombies enter and as soon as they see you they shamble over.

You maintain your calmness and focus, backing up only to get out their reach. It’s not work though, but you refuse to give up so you do something that you never thought you’d ever use.

You’re underground and there are a lot of roots where you’re at, you remember a minor spell you learned in you nature magic class. You cast the spell, and the roots entwine the zombies’ feet causing them to be unable to move at you anymore. You then concentrate on controlling them, which now comes a lot easier to you because you don’t feel in danger anymore.

When you’re sure you have a hold on them, you release the roots and then practice telling the zombies what to do. Sort of fun, like having a pet. Your fun is cut short when Mr. Demar reappears.

“Well, that was an interesting way of handling things. Don’t think I’ve ever seen combining nature magic with necromancy before. Usually the student kills one of the zombies with a fireball or something and then focuses all their attention to control the other one. Still, whatever works, and you are one of the few that’s managed to control the both of them with no training in necromancy at all, so you have natural talent. And natural talent will serve you better for this path.”
“I understand why you gave me the test, but I have to say I thought you’d start me off on raising the dead rather than controlling them first.” You say.
“Ah! Yes, that’s a common misconception. You want to know why most necromancers fail even before they get started? Because they lack the control. Raising the dead is relatively easy; controlling them takes a great deal more focus and power. Most of the time a neophyte necromancer will go to the local graveyard and end up getting himself killed by the very bodies he raised because he can’t control them. Okay, I think it’s time we introduce you to the rest of the class. We’ll have lots of time to practice while most of the so called regular students are away for vacation.”
“Uh, I’m ready, but I was supposed to go visit my family for vacation…and well also I don’t think I’ve passed all my classes either, specifically the nature magic class.”
“What? (Sigh) Very well I shall take care of your grade; I know exactly how to handle the situation and I have a lot more pull in this school than most could ever dream of. As for your family members, I’ll leave that up to you. Surely you can think up something to tell them, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Very well then, it’s all settled. Time to meet the rest of your kind.”

Once again Mr. Demar takes you through another portal. You’re still underground, but now you’re in a more structured setting with actual bricks rather than a cave like setting.

You’re soon introduced to the rest of Mr. Demar’s “class” known as the Dark Order. Some of whom you’ve actually seen on campus or even in your other classes. Those that know you are surprised.

“You’re letting THAT guy in here? I remember him back in Illusion class, and he ended up creating clones that punched the professor in the face!”
“That’s nothing, back in Evocation class; he ended up setting the professor on fire.”

“Okay that’s enough class! I can assure you that he has the potential to master the dark arts. He wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think so. Now Trelik and Felsa, you’re coming with me, the rest of you practice your lessons and one of you help our newest associate here get started, we’re all in this together you know.”

After Demar leaves with two of his students, you’re left to your own devices as it seems nobody wants to help you. You look around the study area a bit and you start to pick up one of the many tomes lying around until someone comes up to you.

“Hey, do you even know what those are for?” an ugly student asks you.
“Well, they have a skull on the front, and from the looks of them they contain descriptions of various types of undead creature. My guess necromancy.”
“Yeah, so what do you know of it?”
“Not much, that’s why I’m here obviously, isn’t that why everyone else is?”
“Not at all, in fact you’re only the fifth necromancer-to-be here. Most of the students are into studying how to control the infernal planes. You know Demonology. There’s even a guy studying on the lost art of temporal magic.”
“Temporal? You mean time?”
“Yep, a lot of people forget about that one being outlawed as well. Good reason, considering it could really fuck up something if not used properly. I’d actually stay away from Quayle, I think all that studying on time has made him a little loopy. He tends to talk backwards, and sideways a lot. Even Mr. Demar has a hard time keeping him on track.”
“Interesting, so what’s your name, are you a demonologist?”
“Me, nope I’m one of the disciples of death as they say. My name’s Sebastian. You might as well meet the others, you’ll be working with.”

Sebastian takes you over to two other students. Catalina and Irwin. They nod at you and go back to their training which involves creating a some sort of bone golem. Catalina looks somewhat familiar. Sebastian tells you the other is Trelik who just left with Mr. Demar.

“He’s the most skilled, besides Mr. Demar of course.” Sebastian says.
“So what exactly do I start on first?” you ask.
“I’d start out with raising and controlling some skeletons. I know you probably did the zombie thing, but you’ll need to hone your skill a lot and skeletons are easier to practice with. Take this book, and get started. You’ll find the bone pits down the corridor and to the right, don’t go left though; the demonologists got some bad ass demon locked in a circle down there. He’s really pissed off too. Best stay away.”

You take one of the necromantic tomes and head down the corridor. On your way there, you begin to hear a voice penetrating your head.

“You, come here. I know you. You seek power. I can give you that power; you need not waste your time studying anymore. I can grant it to you instantly. You want to be a master of death? Come to me…”

This voice is very tempting.
> You head to the bone pits
No way, you’re not going down that path. There are too many stories about demons fucking people over in their deals. In fact, you’re a little worried about the fact that this “class” has more dedicated demonologist than necromancers. Still you’ll just have to deal with it for now, you can only hope they know what they’re doing and have a better grasp on things than a certain cabal of wizards did during the Dead War.

As for you, you need to start mastering your own branch of magic. When you get to the pits, you are literally surrounded by bones. You open up your book and begin to read a bit before casting your spell.

Your first attempt isn’t too bad. You animate one skeleton, and surprisingly it doesn’t attack you. You continue to practice this, and while it’s only been an hour, you’ve already animated thirty skeletons, all of which are completely obedient and not attempting to attack you at all.

You’re not sure if this is normal, good or bad for a beginner, but given how many problems you had with other branches of magic, you think you’re doing pretty well. In fact you feel pretty proud of yourself.

You decide to get a little more inventive and you see rusty weapons on the floor along with the bones. You command the skeletons to pick them up and begin to start sparring with each other. They do so, without problems.

This sound of minor battle brings in a few of the students, most of whom are shocked.

“What’s going…whoa. I thought you said you never did this before.” Sebastian says walking in.
“I haven’t…I dunno, it’s just coming so easy to me. For the first time I feel like I’m actually good at something!” you say.
“Well, it’s a lot better than what you did in Enchantment class when you managed to charm all those frogs which then proceeded to attack the professor.” Catalina says.
“That was you? I even heard about that. Man, what is it with you and your spells accidentally hurting your professors in some way?” Irwin adds.

You ignore Irwin’s question, and address Catalina.
“I thought I remembered you from somewhere. I asked you out once.”
“Hmm, yes and you were unsuccessful in that as well. I suggest you stop looking at me and pay attention to your little army there, before they get out of hand. Like that one.”

You turn around and stop one of the skeletons that’s wandering in your direction and then command him to go back to sparring.

“Man, I’ve never seen someone with this much control just starting out. Well Trelik comes to mind, but he was already very skilled in general magic and was learning directly under Mr. Demar. From what others have said, you were completely inept at magic and have no previous training in this stuff whatsoever. You’re like an idiot savant of necromancy or something.” Sebastian says.
“Um…thanks. I think.”
“Well anyway, glad you’ve joined up. We’ll leave you be. If you want to try something harder, there’s more tomes in the study area and just ask one of us where the other practice centers are.”

And so it goes. You find your place among the Dark Order and practice your skills there, in fact it gets to the point that you rarely leave the secret underground base at all. You begin to catch the attention of Mr. Demar who is very impressed with your ability to learn and master so quickly. “Natural” isn’t the word for it, more like prodigy. Trelik however is showing signs of jealousy…

Mr. Demar has to tell you to take a break every now and then or else you’ll drain yourself. You don’t feel that way though, you feel like you have more energy than ever.

As he promised your grades were “fixed” though Mr. Demar’s actions meaning you don’t get kicked out of the college. You tell your parents that you’re taking an advanced course in magic that requires you to stay and how you’re really excited about it. Your Mom is a little disappointed that she won’t see you, but is happy to hear that you’re doing so much better in school.

If she only knew…

The City of Nuro is a quieter place with less students around, but the guise of secrecy still must be kept. After a month has passed you find out that this “class” aren’t the only allies Mr. Demar has. He’s been teaching the dark arts for years and most of his “graduates” are living in this city. The attack is going to come when classes first start up again. Demar feels that it will actually be more beneficial to attack with more people in the city because after the demons are done with the killing, the Necromancers can raise the dead to reinforce the hold on the city.

One key part in all of this is Quayle. He is to cast a slow spell of the greatest proportions over the city. While everyone else is moving at a near stand still, the Dark Order will be able to take over key locations much easier.

While all of this sounds exciting you can’t help but still be concerned about this plan. Mr. Demar is placing most of his faith in the demonologist, which you suppose is understandable given his background in conjuration, but you feel as if you necromancers are getting put on the backburner. Sure you’re playing your part, but it almost seems as if you’re just there as “back up”. Not to mention you’re still not keen on the whole idea of dealing with so many demons.

Of course these concerns are the least of your problems as another month goes by, Trelik is becoming a complete asshole to you. Within the short time you’ve been here, he’s time and time again attempted to sabotage your spells, but usually you manage to overcome.

You’ve got a month to go before the final plans are in place, but suddenly Mr. Demar has some news he’s not pleased to inform everyone of.

“Class, we’ve got a delegate from the Vampire Clans. I don’t think I have to tell you how annoying this is.”

You ask Sebastian what’s the problem and what exactly is going. Sebastian tells you that ever since the clans heard about Demar’s plans, they’ve been strongly opposed to them for they fear that it will draw attention to their one last stronghold which is kept invisible and secret to the rest of the world. It is there where the last of the “ruling” class vampires still exist, most of them having been killed or degenerated into little more than mindless beasts that are eventually hunted down.

While you’re fascinated by Sebastian’s explanation of things, you’re suddenly singled out by Trelik.

“YOU! Do you find this so unimportant that you feel the need not to pay attention?”
“No. I just didn’t know the whole situation and I was asking…”
“If you wanted more information you should’ve been asking Mr. Demar after he was done talking!”
“Okay, okay. That will do Trelik. Someone should’ve explained it to him before actually, given that he’ll be playing a large part in this plan. In fact, maybe he should come with me to meet the delegate instead.”
“But Mr. Demar! I have more experience in this sort of thing!”
“True, but to be quite honest, the blood suckers don’t care too much for you. You’re too combative. So how about it? Do you wish to be present when I speak to this delegate?”
> You go with Mr. Demar
“Sure I’ll go.”
“Very well, you and Felsa are coming with me. Trelik, you go brush up on the attack strategy.”
“But!”
“No buts! Just do it!”

Trelik storms off while you, Mr. Demar and Felsa head towards the conference room. When you arrive, you see a single pale emaciated figure. He doesn’t look at all like the vampires you’ve heard of in past. There is no regality here.

“It’s about time you showed up. I must confess I was not enthused about you leaving me here waiting like a dog. We have very important matters to discuss!” he hisses.
“My apologies Yolev. I just needed to take care of a few things. Please sit, and let us all discuss this.”
“There really is no discussion Mr. Demar! You are to cease your plan immediately lest you face the full brunt of the vampire clans! Your foolish mortal desires will kill us all and we cannot allow that to happen! We must continue to survive!”
“Survive? Is that all you vampires worry about anymore? Why at one time you were secret rulers and puppet masters. Hell, without you the Great Lich Lord wouldn’t have made nearly as much progress as he did.”
“And THAT folly of those ignorant vampires is exactly why we must stop you now. The Dead War cost us greatly, we should not have thrown our lot in with a mad man who was determined to bring death to the world. It was only at the last minute that the wiser of us realized to do so would be detrimental to us. Almost too late. We are only a shadow of our former selves, but that shadow is still long…and we can make life difficult for you.” Yolev warns.
“I don’t respond well to idle threats, but I will say this, your fears are unfounded. The Dark Order is not seeking to bring death to the world, we are merely going to reestablish the proper order of things. The strong were meant to rule, and WE are the strong. Those who master the dark arts have always been strong. It is why we are so feared and hated and hunted. You should not be against us Yolev. You should see this as an opportunity to reestablish your rightful place as vampires.”

Mr. Demar’s words have a slight effect on Yolev. He falls silent and looks almost wistful of ancient times, when his kind roamed more free in civilization, rather than hiding and cowering on the outskirts like animals. He quickly snaps out of it though.

“Idealistic words, Mr. Demar, but even if we were still to use what little influence we still have, I cannot believe that you and a few students can change the world. Even if you manage to take this one city, you can’t believe that you’ll get away with it. You there! You’re one of these students are you not? What do you think? And tell me what you TRULY think, not what Mr. Demar wants you to think.” Yolev points to you.

“Well uh…I think we can do it.” You stutter off guard.
“…You think you can do it? Is that all you have to say about it? This is what you’re working with Mr. Demar? How could we ever place any faith in your plan when you’re training near idiots that can barely form sentences?”
“Yolev, you might be a delegate, but you best watch your tone, you’re not in the best position right now, and given your previous threats you’re already treading on dangerous ground.”
“You dare to threaten ME? I’ve crushed greater men AND women than you!”
“Yeah, and now you’re a running lap dog for some so called vampire king who rules over nothing but a few remaining scraps of a dying legacy.”

As this begins to get hostile, you notice Felsa preparing to cast something.

You think that if you say anything, things are only going to get worse, so you stand back and do nothing, but hostilities don’t cease and eventually Felsa casts a blast of fire at Yolev, he falls to the floor trying to beat out the flames, but Demar isn’t pleased.

“FELSA! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?” he shouts and then finishes off Yolev by casting some sort of spell that causes his chest to explode. Two Imps suddenly appear and begin to rip Yolev apart before he can get a chance to recover.

“The pair of you really fucked up today! You with your actions and you with your bumbling! I might as well had Trelik with me! Shit! (Sigh) Alright. Fine we can still do this, but the vampires are going to be pissed off at us now for killing their delegate and it’s definitely going to make things harder. Come on we got a lot to prepare for.”

The last month is no picnic. Mr. Demar has you all training a lot harder than you have before. He’s been pushing everyone a lot harder to the point that they’re getting tired and sloppy. One of the demonologists gets eaten by a brimstone beast. Another accidentally casts a spell backwards and causes himself to be sucked into the infernal realm. Morale isn’t exactly the highest.

But the plan goes through and after the first week classes go back in session, the gates of hell are literally opened. Portals appear all over various parts of not only the campus, but also the city. Demons come swarming out of the portals gleefully killing all in their path. The demonologist lead the attack, while you and the other three necromancers take advantage of all the new corpses in the area. Soon, you have a fair sized army of dead. Mr. Demar himself is taking on the head professors at the college, with the help of Felsa and Trelik. Given the amount of explosions you’re seeing from the streets, you’re glad you got a “lower” assignment.

All seems to be going well until it looks like the demons have decided to leave the city limits, one of the demonologists tries to corral them back shouting that they are supposed to only concentrate on Nuro, but they laugh and simply say: “You didn’t mention that in the deal!”

With the demons completely unreliable now, it’s up to you necromancers to take up the slack. You do alright, but there’s still a lot of resistance and something has gone wrong with Quayle’s spell as your attackers are beginning to move at a normal rate instead of a slower one.

You don’t see this ending well, unless something changes quick. Even if you win, you know you got a shit load of problems ahead of you.
> You attempt to regroup
Victory isn’t beyond your grasp, you just need to regroup and organize. You immediately seek out Irwin, Sebastian and Catalina.

You find Sebastian and Catalina, and they’re running low on viable corpses.

“Hey, glad you could get here, the Nuro mage guards are putting up a hell of a fight! The demonologists can’t keep the demons in line and whatever former graduates Mr. Demar had to help us are probably all dead by now!” Sebastian explains.
“Yeah, it’s bad all over. Where’s Irwin?” you ask.
“Irwin? He’s dead; can’t you see his body lying over there with all the arrows in it?” Catalina points out.
“Well, no point in letting this go to waste, we need all the help we can get.” You say and command Irwin to rise to join the rest of the horde

You tell Catalina and Sebastian to hand control over the rest of their troops to you, as if you can concentrate them with a single mind, you’ll be able to break the doors down of city hall and take out the remainder of the mage guards holding out there. You also tell them that one should head back to the college itself and go check on Quayle, and the other should go help out Mr. Demar.

Oddly enough Sebastian and Catalina obey your orders immediately. You begin to feel even more confident in your power of command. You proceed to tell your now larger undead horde to attack the last bastion of Nuro’s governmental control. You unleash blasts of dark energy at the mage guards who attempt to defend from the windows while your zombies and skeletons break down the doors and begin to massacre all those inside.

You enter the building nearly oblivious to the carnage. You feel a very real sense of calming peace amongst the death. Eventually you encounter the “First Citizen” of Nuro busily trying to slay as many of your soldiers as possible, but as you continue to raise them, even he realizes it’s a futile endeavor.

A skeleton warrior hacks his arm off with an axe, and then a recently raised mage guard clubs him in the head with a small mace. He falls to the floor of his own office before your feet and looks up at you.

“Why? You…you’ll never get away with this…” he sputters as he bleeds out.
“You might be right, but it’ll be interesting to see if I do.” You calmly say and kick him in the face before another skeleton lands a killing blow to him. He is then raised to join the ranks.

You exit the building and notice that the city is near empty. At least as far as the living go. The dead however are plentiful, bodies litter the streets. More resources for you, you think.

A demonologist looking very worn from battle sees you and you have to stop your small horde from attacking.

“Hey hold on! I’m on your side! Shit, this didn’t turn out as planned, did it?”
“Oh I dunno, we got the city.”
“Yeah, but Mr. Demar is still battling the rest of the staff in the college and I’m really worried about what the hell’s going on with Quayle’s spell, I don’t know if you’ve experienced it yet, but I’ve been seeing buildings phase in and out of existence. I knew fucking around with time would be trouble!”
“Where are all of the demons?” you ask.
“Most of them left! I mean there’s a few that stuck around, most of the weaker variety. There was a major demon called Velzix who was supposed to be helping, but he took off as well. Bah! Unreliable lot they are. I should’ve done what you did, become a necromancer! The dead always obey.”
“Not always…but you may still fulfill your wish after all this is over, so where exactly are Mr. Demar and Quayle, I mean I know they’re in the university, but where exactly?”
“You can’t miss either one of them, Quayle’s located in east section of campus, where you see all the damn buildings phasing in and out. As for Mr. Demar, well I’m sure you can still hear the explosions. I’m going to try to corral at least some of the imps and help Mr. Demar, I’m not going anywhere near the eastside of the campus though. I’m off!”

The demonologist runs to go do what he said, leaving you with a couple choices of proceeding. You could go try to fix this problem with Quayle since it won’t do anyone any good if the city collapses on itself or disappears to gods know where, of course you don’t know exactly what you’re going to do, hell you’ve never even spoken to Quayle before. He was always kept locked up by himself in his room studying most of the time.

Of course you could go help Mr. Demar, chances are he could solve the problem with Quayle a lot better if he survives.
> You go deal with Quayle
Mr. Demar is a powerful wizard and he’s already got help, along with the help you sent and also the help that’s coming. You need to do something about this time problem.

When you get to the east campus, the demonologist was right, you see a lot of weird things going on, nearby plants are growing older and younger before your eyes, buildings are indeed disappearing and reappearing. It’s a mess. You see Catalina watching it all in wonder. She looks at you briefly only to acknowledge your presence and then goes back to watching the changing landscape.

“I see you choose to check on Quayle.” You say.
“Yeah, I think he’s in that small gray building over there, the only one that seems to be stable. I can’t get to him though, well at least I’m not risking it, I sent some of my troops in there and I watched them either accelerate in rot and disintegrate, or even stranger actually turn back into their living selves until they eventually became babies and then nothing. In fact I’m getting out of here as it only seems to be getting worse. This plan sucks.” Catalina replies.
“Well someone’s gotta go in, so I guess I’ll do it. I’ve risked too much already to fail. I suggest you go help Mr. Demar.” you exclaim.
“Wow, this whole thing has really made you really authoritative. You’ve come a long way since Enchantment class.”
“Yeah well I’ve had a revelation that I’m really good at this necromancy stuff and I won’t be denied my career in it before it’s truly begun.”

You suddenly grab Catalina and kiss her on the lips; she pushes you away and slaps your face.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! Just because you’re not incompetent at one thing, doesn’t automatically mean I’m wet for you!”
“Well let me show you I’m not incompetent in two things then!”
“Ha ha. Maybe later, like next century. Nice try though. But I will go help Mr. Demar seeing as that would be the best course of action for me. Good luck with the time storm there.”

As you check out Catalina’s ass as she leaves you realize you should be focusing on the task at hand, but it’s just you feel so alive for the first time in awhile as ironic as that may seem given the circumstances.

You begin to employ the same strategy that Catalina did, and you get mostly the same results she did, however you currently have a lot more troops than she, so eventually you manage to map out a safe path to the building she thought Quayle was located in.

Apparently she was right, you see him sitting in one of the auditorium class rooms in a lotus like position on the floor in a trance. A strange white field of energy surrounds him.

“You are the future…there is no future…there are many futures…it’s all so fascinating…” he says in an echoed voice.
“Hey Quayle, we pretty much won, you can stop doing whatever it is you’re doing with time now. It’s really starting to mess things up.”
“Things have started to get better…they will get worse…they will stay the same, all is relative… how will you proceed…you have decided…”
“Uh, yeah. Look Quayle you NEED to stop what you’re doing, the whole fucking city is going to disappear if you don’t, and I don’t want to know where it might end up. So stop this right now!”

As soon as you give this order, a flash of light appears from above Quayle’s head and a bizarre creature with way too many tentacles comes out. Naturally it attacks. You dodge out of the way of its tentacle whip and command what remains of your troops to attack. You don’t know why, but you don’t feel very well in its presence. You feel like you’re about to vomit.

“There are so many things…worse than hell…worse than death…madness…insanity…I must show everyone…I have shown everyone…I have lost…I have won…”

Quayle’s either gone completely mad, or he’s speaking perfect sense. Probably both, but either way if this one creature is any indication of what he’s talking about, you’ll have to stop him, but you’re having a really hard time concentrating as strange thoughts begin to enter your mind. You see all manner of images from the past and the present…you dare say the future. It’s all going so fast though and you’re getting dizzy.
> You cast a blast of negative energy at Quayle
You attempt to concentrate, but as you do so another strange creature appears and smacks you in the face, knocking you to the ground. You don’t even have time to recover before it begins to wrap one of its powerful tentacles around your head and squeezes until your skull cracks and your brains come leaking out.

Given what is in store for the world, you were lucky to be killed so quickly.


Mr. Demar is a powerful wizard and he’s already got help, along with the help you sent and also the help that’s coming. You need to do something about this time problem.

When you get to the east campus, the demonologist was right, you see a lot of weird things going on, nearby plants are growing older and younger before your eyes, buildings are indeed disappearing and reappearing. It’s a mess. You see Catalina watching it all in wonder. She looks at you briefly only to acknowledge your presence and then goes back to watching the changing landscape.

“I see you choose to check on Quayle.” You say.
“Yeah, I think he’s in that small gray building over there, the only one that seems to be stable. I can’t get to him though, well at least I’m not risking it, I sent some of my troops in there and I watched them either accelerate in rot and disintegrate, or even stranger actually turn back into their living selves until they eventually became babies and then nothing. In fact I’m getting out of here as it only seems to be getting worse. This plan sucks.” Catalina replies.
“Well someone’s gotta go in, so I guess I’ll do it. I’ve risked too much already to fail. I suggest you go help Mr. Demar.” you exclaim.
“Wow, this whole thing has really made you really authoritative. You’ve come a long way since Enchantment class.”
“Yeah well I’ve had a revelation that I’m really good at this necromancy stuff and I won’t be denied my career in it before it’s truly begun.”

You suddenly grab Catalina and kiss her on the lips; she pushes you away and slaps your face.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! Just because you’re not incompetent at one thing, doesn’t automatically mean I’m wet for you!”
“Well let me show you I’m not incompetent in two things then!”
“Ha ha. Maybe later, like next century. Nice try though. But I will go help Mr. Demar seeing as that would be the best course of action for me. Good luck with the time storm there.”

As you check out Catalina’s ass as she leaves you realize you should be focusing on the task at hand, but it’s just you feel so alive for the first time in awhile as ironic as that may seem given the circumstances.

You begin to employ the same strategy that Catalina did, and you get mostly the same results she did, however you currently have a lot more troops than she, so eventually you manage to map out a safe path to the building she thought Quayle was located in.

Apparently she was right, you see him sitting in one of the auditorium class rooms in a lotus like position on the floor in a trance. A strange white field of energy surrounds him.

“You are the future…there is no future…there are many futures…it’s all so fascinating…” he says in an echoed voice.
“Hey Quayle, we pretty much won, you can stop doing whatever it is you’re doing with time now. It’s really starting to mess things up.”
“Things have started to get better…they will get worse…they will stay the same, all is relative… how will you proceed…you have decided…”
“Uh, yeah. Look Quayle you NEED to stop what you’re doing, the whole fucking city is going to disappear if you don’t, and I don’t want to know where it might end up. So stop this right now!”

As soon as you give this order, a flash of light appears from above Quayle’s head and a bizarre creature with way too many tentacles comes out. Naturally it attacks. You dodge out of the way of its tentacle whip and command what remains of your troops to attack. You don’t know why, but you don’t feel very well in its presence. You feel like you’re about to vomit.

“There are so many things…worse than hell…worse than death…madness…insanity…I must show everyone…I have shown everyone…I have lost…I have won…”

Quayle’s either gone completely mad, or he’s speaking perfect sense. Probably both, but either way if this one creature is any indication of what he’s talking about, you’ll have to stop him, but you’re having a really hard time concentrating as strange thoughts begin to enter your mind. You see all manner of images from the past and the present…you dare say the future. It’s all going so fast though and you’re getting dizzy.
> You physically tackle him
The tentacle creature has almost killed all your troops, you’re too dizzy to cast a spell, you need to just bum rush this fool.

You run towards the front of the class where he sits and just narrowly dodge another tentacle beast appearing suddenly in front of you.

“…stop…stop it…you must stop…”

You tackle Quayle and something completely unexpected and disgusting happens. His body literally breaks like a fragile glass vase and all manner of insects and maggots come crawling out, mostly on you.

“EEEEYEEECAAAGH!” you yell trying to get them all off of you, completely ignoring anything else. Fortunately for you, whatever you did has stopped the temporal disturbance. The creatures disappear and everything else seems to go back to normal.

After stomping on some centipedes you notice Quayle’s head has rolled into a corner. Surprisingly it’s still alive.

“Thank you…you are the future…perhaps…” his head says before it just simply disappears.

You shake your own head at all of this. As much as you’ve seen during your time in the Dark Order, you’ve never seen anything like this! And you hope never to again. You’re still a little shaken. You take a breather while your few remaining troops wander about, but still obediently awaiting your orders.

You can’t hear anymore explosions; you wonder if Mr. Demar has won, you hope he has, considering you’ve been doing a lot for the “cause” so to speak. You exit the building and begin to walk over to the other side of the campus where the explosions were coming from.

You’re a little tired, but you feel like you might have to be ready for anything, so you raise more of the dead to protect you for possible battle. It’s almost so easy now; you barely need to concentrate even in this fatigued state.

You arrive to burning buildings and ruins of towers. Once again you see Catalina standing outside talking to a demonologist. After they leave, Catalina sees you and once again seems unimpressed by you. You think you’re warming up to her.

“Huh, took you long enough. You missed all the major battle while you were playing around with Quayle.”
“Playing around? You don’t even want to know what I’ve been through, and I’ll wager it wasn’t nearly as…disturbing as what you went through.”
“Doubt it, by the time I got here Mr. Demar had already lost Felsa, Trelik had betrayed him, and Sebastian was killed. Luckily I was here to provide back up for the final battle with the Dean. We’ve won, but Mr. Demar is very weak right now, I dunno if he’s going to survive his wounds.”
“Shit, sounds like I did miss a lot, so is Trelik dead?”
“Nope, the coward ran off when he realized he couldn’t beat Mr. Demar.”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure I guess, he’s in library, or what’s left of it.”

You enter the library briefly remembering when you came in here to seek more necromantic knowledge. Now you have more than you could’ve ever imagined. You see Mr. Demar sitting at a table looking through a book while he winces in pain while clutching his stomach. He’s bloody, as well as burned. He’s a mess.

“(Sigh) This didn’t turn out the way I planned at all. Of course those that follow the dark path never seem to get their way. I wonder why. Is it simple arrogance or is it just the cosmos balancing things out?” he says not looking up.
“Mr. Demar, those wounds, you really should…”
“I know what my mistake was, I was thinking too big. I should’ve concentrated on one dark art. Spread my attention too thin, and this mess was the result. (Cough) Thought I was going to rule it all…”
“Your wounds are…”
“Ah fuck it; I knew what I was getting into when I started along this path. I have no regrets other than trusting Trelik. Treacherous bastard. Heed my words, this path is not one of trust. You are truly alone. No matter how powerful you get, there’s always someone seeking to topple you and steal what you have.”
“Mr…”

Mr. Demar now addresses you directly.

“Listen to me; this is your last lesson. At least from me, because for what lies ahead of you will be the greatest test of all. You’re obviously a powerful necromancer, and you’re only going to become more so. You must take advantage of your powers, and do everything you can to survive and crush those who oppose you. If that means war so be it, but if you can achieve this through peace do not be so quick to dismiss it. Chances are this will not be an option for you, but anything is possible. Just never back down. You are a ruler, not a subject. The city is yours if you can hold on to it. The entire world is yours…if you can hold on to it…”

Mr. Demar collapses on the table. Strange that someone so powerful chose to die, since you get the impression his death could’ve been prevented with some strong healing magic. Did he feel that he failed and death was what he deserved? Was he deep down too cowardly to handle the hardship ahead? Or was he just tired?

You’ll never know for certain you suppose. You exit the library, where Catalina meets you.

“So what’s going on?” she asks.
“I’m in charge, that’s what’s going on.” You reply.

Catalina looks surprised at the bluntness and simplicity of your answer.

“Well, I suppose we could do worse…so what’s next fearless leader?”
“Good question.”
> You good question indeed. You are about to take your necromantic career to its next level
Chapter 3: One Foot In The Grave

One year has passed…

It’s hard to believe it, but it’s been a year since you took control of Nuro…or rather Aftermath as you renamed it.

The “Nuro Incident” as it came to be known was a shock to the civilized world. Nobody had anticipated such a thing occurring despite all preparations. Certainly not to Nuro given it’s near “invincible” reputation.

The Grand Alliance was immediately formed to retake the city, but fortunately for you, you weren’t the only problem they had.

Velzix, a demon lord who soon left Nuro during its attack, managed to unite the rest of the demons that felt the need to break their contract with the Dark Order turned their attention to the Tulan Kingdom. Right now he’s established his own rule, enslaving the population and is most likely planning further conquest assuming he can keep his own troops from fighting each other long enough.

Trelik the “other necromancer” has been rampaging across the countryside in a vain attempt to establish some sort of dominion of his own, but so far without any real allies he’s yet to be successful. His actions have still kept the Grand Alliance and other governments busy however.

As for you, you’ve already managed to hold off one Grand Alliance attack quite successfully due to your preparations. The first thing you did was command all the surviving Dark Order members to become necromancers. Some of them the more die hard demonologists hated this idea, so you gave them the option of taking their chances with Velzix or alone against the Grand Alliance.

After being presented with these two undesirable prospects, they grumbled, but the rest soon fell in line. Catalina was mainly responsible for training them, given that she’s the only other “true” necromancer in the city. You’re glad of that as it saved you from having to do everything.

Your relationship with Catalina’s has improved mainly because you’ve proven yourself to be a competent leader that has managed to hold on to the city despite the odds. She still acts like she’s not interested in you, but you catch an extended glance from her every now and then. Oh yeah she’s definitely warming up to you.

You haven’t heard anything from your family, you can only wonder what they think of all this and in some ways you don’t want to know.

While things are somewhat quiet now, that’s not going to last. The Grand Alliance will keep attacking and who knows how long they’ll be distracted with Velzix and Trelik? They may very well overwhelm you in time, if the other threats are taken care of. You can’t just sit in your throne room and prepare for the next attack; you’ll need to be proactive about this threat.

This of course this means conquest. Your standing army is stronger than ever right now and your powers in necromancy have grown considerably with the last year. You’re confident that you could probably take over a small kingdom. Gaining more territory that your enemy can’t use is usually a good way of making things harder for them.
> The path of conquest calls
Ah the time honored the tradition of all true rulers…

“Catalina, I think it’s time we expand.” You say walking into her study.
“Oh you do, do you? Well, there’s no shortage of places. Got somewhere in particular in mind?”
“A few places, but this is sort of why I’m talking to you, I figure it’ll be good to have your input.”
“Wow, laying it on thick today aren’t we?”
“Yeah…do you like it?”
“Maybe.” She says with a faint smile.
“Good, but seriously I’m thinking we should attack the Brot Kingdom. It’s close, and its military is weak.”
“Normally I’d agree, but I think you’re forgetting that our former classmate Trelik has currently established a presence there.”
“Yeah, I was thinking we could get rid of him at the same time.”
“Easier said than done I hope you realize. I know he’s a treacherous asshole that’s been run ragged by the Grand Alliance, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less formidable. Not to mention we’ll still have the Brot military to handle and hopefully the Grand Alliance doesn’t show up in the area. Speaking of which, Trelik’s pitiful endeavors have been keeping them busy. Get rid of him and they’ll pay more attention to us.”
“Alright then, where do you think we should attack?”
“Here.”

Catalina points to a rather barren area known as the Drozz Wasteland which contains barbaric orc tribes, though ogres, goblins and similar “uncivilized” races dwell there as well.

“What the hell are we supposed to do with that?”
“Do you realize how many soldiers we can get in that area? The tribes in there are disorganized and unlikely to give us a meaningful fight. We can suffer minimal losses and gain more than what we started out with. Then we can use those gains against more formidable foes!”
“Cat baby, THAT is not going to be easy. First of all I know something of orcs and the green bastards don’t know when to fucking quit most of the time. Even with the fear of an undead army, I guarantee they’ll still fight. Same thing with the ogres, trolls, minotaurs and GIANTS that live in that area! Giants, Catalina. Fucking giants. Not to mention those tribes have the full advantage of the knowledge of the terrain.”
“What difference does that make? It’s not like our army needs to eat or even sleep! Those tribes are fighting each other most of the time too. By the time we’ve slaughtered half of those mongrel tribes, it’s still unlikely that the rest will unite against us in any meaningful way. You said giants live there and perhaps that will be a challenge, but think about it, we could RAISE those same giants to use against our enemies in the future!”

While the idea of raising undead giants is appealing, you still have reservations about attacking the area.

You have a big decision to make.
> You attack the Brot Kingdom
As much as raising undead colossuses would be cool, you decide that taking over the Brot Kingdom will be easier and you’ll be able to take out Trelik at the same time.

“I think I’ll go with my plan of attacking the Brot Kingdom.”
“You just want to be all macho and kill Trelik.”
“Maybe…does it turn you on?”
“Ha ha. Perhaps if you’re successful. Are you going to do this personally?”
“Of course, I don’t think any of the other necromancers can take on Trelik by themselves, and I’d rather have you here looking after things.”
“Really? You’re trusting me to run Aftermath?”
“Yeah, now I want you to keep a good run of things here, and if the Grand Alliance attacks I want to know immediately, so I can get here!”
“Okay, but I doubt if that’ll happen. I’d be more concerned with them attacking you when you’re at the Brot Kingdom.”
“I’ll be fine, okay I’m off.”
“Good luck!” she says and quickly kisses you on the cheek before you leave. You stare at her for a moment in shock and she stares back.

“What?” she asks as if nothing happened.
“Nothing, but we’ll discuss THAT later when I return.” You say.
“Maybe. If you’re good and return victorious.”
“I don’t think I’ll be good, but I will be returning victorious.”

You decide to take a couple of extra necromancers with you for support as you march your undead horde towards the Brot Kingdom. By the time you get there you can see the destruction that Trelik has wrought. It’s obvious where he’s been. Some corpses linger around the razed towns he’s obviously been through, but you immediately bring them under your control. It’s apparent that Trelik hasn’t focused on fortifying his holdings too much and he probably wasn’t expecting you to arrive at all.

Given his weakened state, you wonder if you should bother attacking Trelik immediately. Perhaps you should take out the remaining Brot military just to get them out of the way first seeing as they might be more of a threat.
> You attack Trelik
Your thirst to get rid of one of your rivals overcomes you and he is closer, so you continue your march towards where he’s located, it doesn’t take long as you just follow the heavier population of undead wandering around. You continue to easily take control of his unsupervised troops.

At last you reach the heart of his domain, where you are less able to take control of his undead and you’re forced to destroy them. You catch sight of each other during the battle.

“You! You’re the cause of my current problems! It should’ve been me to take Nuro! That’s all gonna change today though! You were a fool to come here, you should’ve stayed behind your safe walls!”

While Trelik is ranting at you, you choose to take a more active approach and blast him with a beam of negative energy. He falls and temporarily loses control of his undead. You take advantage of it and enforce your own will over them. Trelik’s position isn’t good considering he’s surrounded.

“NO! Don’t follow him, follow me! You’re supposed to follow me! NOOOOO!” are his last words before he’s butchered by his once obedient corpses.

“All too easy, now let’s finish off the Brot military and take over this place completely.” You remark.

Taking Trelik’s remaining army you march upon the heart of the Brot Kingdom. The place is better defended than you thought, but your numbers are overwhelming and you don’t have to worry about Trelik being at your back. You conquer the Brot Kingdom within a period of a few days. A Grand Alliance army attempts to retake your conquests within the week, but you’ve fortified your position by then and successfully defeat them.

You leave a few of your most competent necromancers in charge and return to Aftermath in triumph. Catalina meets you.

“So, what’s the update?”
“I killed Trelik, I conquered the Brot Kingdom, then I kicked the Grand Alliance’s asses.” You say putting your arm around her. She’s not resisting anymore.
“Hmm, sounds like you were very victorious. So now what?”
“Now what? You and me in the bedroom, that’s what!”

You and Catalina at last end this little dance and consummate your relationship.

And just think all it took was destruction and killing on a grand scale!

Four years pass…

It’s been five years since you took control of Aftermath and you’ve made progress. Though not much. Many changes have certainly have come about.

Your territory now encompasses a little more than just Aftermath, but besides the former Brot Kingdom, your other holdings are minor towns that dot the landscape. You call your region the Dead Dominion. The population consists mainly of the dead, with necromancers typically being the only living beings, though there are pockets of living that have pledged their loyalty to you in exchange for mercy. You have granted it. You and Catalina are now truly King and Queen of the dead.

Velzix has benefited a little from your success; he’s managed to hold on to his own realm, but has failed to expand. While he’s stilling having problems of his own, rumors are that he’s attempting to rip open a portal of the largest size to unleash all of the horrors the infernal plane has to offer.

The Grand Alliance is attempting to handle the pair of you, but has only succeeded in fighting to a stalemate. Rumors are the Zalan Empire is attempting to take full control over the Grand Alliance in order to pursue a more extreme course of action.

You have not heard anything from you family. You know your Dad’s mercenary company has been fighting in the outskirts of Velzix’s realm. Your sister has become a respected and successful Grand Alliance captain. She’s managed to hold back the tide of your dead horde from gaining anymore ground for a couple years now. As for your Mom, who knows? You’d prefer not to know what she thinks of you.

You aren’t making anymore progress. You’ve expanded as much as you’re able without making yourself vulnerable. You know you’re going to have to do something soon, but allying with Velzix isn’t an option. Making peace with the Grand Alliance isn’t either.

The Vampire Clans have unsuccessfully sent assassins after you, but they have all failed. However one night you are visited by another vampire who you almost kill before he begs and insists that he has a message for you from the Clans. He states that they are willing to talk to you. He says he can take you to their secret fortress. That is the only area where Lord Rostov will agree for any types of negotiations to take place.

At this point you’re open to the possibility of peace talks if it’ll reduce the number of enemies you have, though Catalina is wary of this.
> You kill the messenger
Catalina’s right, you can’t take the chance of trusting these bloodsucking bastards. If they get you in their fortress, that’s going to be it for you.

“I regret to inform you, but your trip here has been wasted and so has you existence.” You say as Catalina sets him ablaze with a fireball and you cause his heart to explode.

“Wow, that was oddly familiar.” You reply and then order the remains to be cleaned up before going about your business again.

Indeed it was very familiar since you were witness to Mr. Demar and Felsa doing a similar thing to delegate Yolev five years ago. And much like those two, you’ve set yourself on a course that will end badly like it did for them.

Five years pass…

It’s been ten years since you took control of Aftermath and now it looks like that’s all finally coming to an end.

Velzix never quite managed to succeed in his plan to open up the portal, and was struck down by your Dad’s mercenary company of all things. Your Dad died during the battle and he was declared a hero who sacrificed all in the cause of good. A statue of him now stands in the Zalan Empire’s capital. Funny how mad men can be made into heroes so easily

With no other enemies the Grand Alliance turns its full attention to you and they’re relentless with your sister leading them. She manages to take back everything you ever conquered until at last she’s at the gates of Aftermath itself.

You defend her attacks many times and you only grow weaker each passing day. However, it is not your sister that kills you. It is by another group of vampire assassins who once again slip in under the cover of night.

You’re no longer able to fight them effectively due to all the energy you’ve been expending fighting your sister’s army outside. Catalina is dispatched first when she attempts help you, when you see her fall; you gain a surge of adrenaline and manage to kill one of the assassins. You wound another severely, but ultimately they strike you down and only a bloody mess is left for your sister to find when she finally breaks down the gates of Aftermath.