text: [Themes: grimdark fantasy, female protagonist, fantasy, war, villain protagonist]
  
  The years of your "college life" were a mixed bag.
  
  Being an actual "student" was sort of an interesting experience while it lasted. You got to explore what the fuss was about with college life properly a bit (as opposed to just sneaking about the college like you had been doing).
  
  Unfortunately you weren't too impressed with any of it though. Drinking, getting high, fucking, etc., it all seemed like a waste of time, which is why you didn't really engage in any of it.
  
  Well except for music concerts. You didn't really mind those, though even then it was because you really liked music (Something you discovered about yourself) rather than the actual "gathering."
  
  But other than that, why bother wasting your time on passing pleasures when you could be doing something more worthwhile? You observed that these people were future wizards and most of them barely had more ambition than learning what spells allowed you to drink yourself blind drunk without the repercussions of a hangover or a spell that cured whatever crotch rot you got.
  
  You can imagine most of them would go on to just be new faculty at the college or doing something else uninspiring and repetitious like building some lord's castle faster. While you can understand the logic in practical use of magic, you just were bored by those who seemed to be "gifted" with it.
  
  The funny thing is your own new family wasn't much better. You're guessing though most of them being in league with demons might have had something to do with it.
  Conspiring with beings that thrive on the lowest common denominator tends to lead more to degeneracy or at least that seems to be the case even if they originally started out seeking higher knowledge and power.
  
  As for your fellow necromancers, they weren't much better. In fact one of them was actually worse.
  
  "You see Catalina? I told you my power is growing every day and soon after we take Nuro, I will take an army to conquer the Brot Kingdom." Trelik exclaims as he controls several raised corpses.
  "The Brot Kingdom huh? And what makes you think after we take Nuro, you're going to be raising an army, let alone taking Brot with it? As I remember Mr. Demar is the one calling the shots and he hasn't said anything about which way to expand, if we are at all." You answer.
  "Well of course we're going to expand! Nuro is just the first step! And Mr. Demar can't control everything, he's going to have to delegate and since I'm the best necromancer here, I'm obviously going to be in charge of important military matters and have territory of my own to control."
  "And you really believe that Mr. Demar is going to trust you with this sort of responsibility?"
  "At this point, it doesn't matter. I shall TAKE what is rightfully mine and be a king of my own!"
  
  Trelik's been increasingly talking like he's just as powerful or even more powerful than Mr. Demar, which he is most certainly not. Even if common sense didn't dictate that Mr. Demar obviously has decades more experience, you can personally sense how powerful Mr. Demar is compared to Trelik.
  
  And this is why you don't like him. He's over confident in his abilities which to be honest aren't much better than your own.
  
  "Oh don't worry though, you lot can still assist me. Especially you Catalina, I'll be needing a queen." Trelik adds to his boasting.
  "You've got quite the imagination Trelik, a pity you weren't that imaginative when we doing Mr. Demar's assignment to create new spells. Who won that one? Oh right, that was me." You say.
  "Bah, who needs new spells when the old ones work just fine!"
  "The old spells do indeed work fine, but my point was I beat you in something that you completely failed to do, so maybe you aren't nearly as great as you THINK you are. There is still much you could learn from Mr. Demar."
  "There is much you could learn from Mr. Demar" Trelik says in a mocking voice. "I'll grant that the old man knows a lot, but that's just it, he's old. He won't have the stamina to keep up with his plan and eventually those with more vigor will take the lead."
  "Mr. Demar is knowledgeable in several different types of magic, including the dark arts. He's obviously got stamina to spare if he can train the lot of us in such dangerous magic that requires a lot of discipline."
  "You seem to know a lot about the old man's stamina. Tell me, is that why he picked you as winner for that contest? You been testing the old man's stamina?"
  "Excuse me?"
  "Oh I mean I get it. You want every advantage you can in the hierarchy. Hell, Felsa's been known to sit on the old man's cock from time to time when she's not sucking demon dick. You ladies got the advantage on that front, but mark my words Catalina, you'll eventually see that if you want to maintain a favored position, you'll be wanting to make magic with me rather than someone who barely has more life than those we raise."
  
  Trelik's sordid accusations now cause Sebastian to start to say something, but you hardly need defending.
  
  "Interesting story. Here's another one since it's funny that you should bring up Felsa. Heard that when you and her hooked up at a party, you barely raised at all, and even then it didn't last very long."
  "Wha...what?!"
  "So why the hell would I want to be queen to someone that's so...lacking in energy or power?"
  
  Trelik sputters and gets flustered. You take a defensive stance, thinking that today is the day that he's going to finally snap, but he doesn't do anything threatening towards you other than name-calling.
  
  "Fucking bitch, you think you have even half the power I have? When the day of reckoning arrives, you'll soon see just how powerful I am. Fucking cunt."
  "Hey, Trelik, why don't you just leave her alone?" Sebastian suddenly says.
  
  Trelik can't believe Sebastian is even directly confronting him.
  
  "Shut up, you fucking ass faced idiot! Thought you'd have enough sense to keep your mouth shut, but since you have opinion on this matter, let me give you a hard truth. You're wasting your time playing paladin you pathetic slug, she's not interested in you and you'll never know the please of her embrace." Trelik shouts at Sebastian.
  "And neither will you." Sebastian quietly replies.
  
  And that did it.
  
  Unlike his reaction to your defiance, Trelik takes his anger out on poor Sebastian by casting a death bolt at him, which he's only barely able to defend against with a shield spell. Though it's still enough force to cause him to be thrown backwards into a pile of bones.
  
  Believing that Trelik is going to start attacking you next, you put up a shield and raise several corpses near you. Even Irwin, who as usual everyone has forgotten about, puts up a personal magic shield.
  
  Trelik however is unimpressed, though he doesn't press the issue.
  
  "Whatever. I'm more talented than ALL of you combined. I got better things to do than to piss my time away here, because unlike the rest of you I don't need to practice."
  
  Trelik takes his leave and you go over to help Sebastian up.
  
  "You alright?" you ask.
  "Yeah I'm fine. Are you okay?" Sebastian asks.
  "Sure, he didn't nearly kill me."
  "He wouldn't he's too obsessed with you."
  "Hm, lucky me."
  "Still, you should watch yourself around you're alone with him."
  "Pfft. I'm not worried about him. I've dealt with worse than him and had less ability to defend myself at the time. I'll be fine."
  "Okay, just know I'll help in anyway I can if things get bad."
  "I know."
  
  Sebastian now starts to look a bit shyer. As if he wants to say more but doesn't. Or rather he does, it just isn't what he really wants to say.
  
  "Hey um, just uh, I don't believe what Trelik said about you. I know you're not like that."
  "You'll have to be specific, since he said a few things about me."
  "Uh, about you and Mr. Demar."
  "Oh that. Yeah, again I'm not worried about what he said. Anyway look, I'm going to go study, I need to brush up on a few things before putting them into practice. See you later."
  "Oh okay."
  
  You quickly take your leave before it gets even more awkward between you and Sebastian. You have half a mind to just call him out on his feelings towards you, but if he really desires you, he NEEDS to tell you himself as his fearfulness on this matter is just as undesirable as Trelik's overbearing over compensation.
  
  Despite your detached views of "passing pleasures" you're still young and curious about what all the fuss is about. Weakness of the flesh is an unfortunate reality.
  
  But you're only going to pick someone you see as worthy of your time and Sebastian hasn't achieved that yet due to his meekness, not his physical appearance since it's not like looks are a big deal to you.
  
  Sure physical attractiveness is nice, but since your deeper understanding of necromancy, you understand just how fleeting looks are. Everyone grows old and dies. Even races like elves that sustain their appearance much longer rot in the ground like everyone else. Everyone dies.
  
  And you've come to appreciate and even see the beauty in it.
  
  Unlike most of your Dark Order "family" you aren't really drawn to the darkness for power. Again, that's a nice extra, but it isn't the main reason. You're attracted to death.
  
  Much like a grave wing you suppose.
  
  Makes you start to wonder if you should even stay in the Dark Order. You don't exactly have the same goals as everyone here. Then again you don't really have any long-term goals other than perhaps increasing your necromantic knowledge.
  
  Overthrowing Nuro and potentially risking war with the entire world isn't exactly something you have a great desire to do even if you don't have any particular objections to it.
  
  Just sounds like a big hassle and you imagine at some point you'd be expected to lead armies and (gasp!) leave Nuro from time to time and you hate that idea.
  
  Of course leaving Nuro is something you might have to do if you want to avoid "hassle." You've pondered leaving Nuro before several times in past, but ultimately you always stayed. One reason was your irrational anxiety of leaving the familiar, but the other was you weren't really ready. Or at least you felt like you weren't.
  
  Now? You're more than able to handle yourself. Your magic skills in not just necromancy but other branches are enough to keep you safe. Especially since you know how to mask your deathly aura.
  
  You think you'd be able to overcome your anxiety of leaving Nuro after a few weeks. You don't even think you'd go to another center of "civilization", you'd probably live on your own. You certainly have plenty of knowledge in nature magic to do so.
  
  Of course there's still more you could learn here and part of you does feel mildly indebted to Mr. Demar for guiding your magic skills to a higher level faster than you might have achieved otherwise. You respect the man a lot and it doesn't seem right to just abandon him after you were the one who sought him out in the first place.
  
  > Stay
  No, you're not going to leave. For good or ill, this place is still your home and you aren't going to leave it due to having doubts or especially boredom. You also still feel grateful to Mr. Demar which you even acknowledge might be foolish on your part of getting attached like you did with Miss Olga.
  
  Though that attachment was a little different. You were younger and you certainly didn't have any other feelings.
  
  "What the fuck is going on with you girl? That man is more than twice your age. Shit. Things were so much easier when I wasn't suddenly thinking with parts other than my brain." You say to yourself.
  
  It's unfortunate that you seem to be tethered to the same sort of urges as everyone else. Normally you'd take matters like this into your own hands, but you're starting to wonder if you need to just get it over with to satisfy the curiosity part.
  
  So what are you going to do? Go into Mr. Demar's office naked telling him to just take you there on his desk? While you're tempted to do exactly that, that would be pretty awkward if he wasn't interested. And you're pretty sure he's not given that you've never detected any hint of attraction to you. (Makes you wonder if he is fucking Felsa like Trelik claimed though) In any case, you really don't want to deal with potential complications like a "relationship" or all the gossip.
  
  Honestly hooking up with any fellow Dark Order members would just cause the same potential complications, maybe the key is to just pick up some boring random stranger to get it over with, that's what most people in this college do anyway.
  
  To hell with it, you're going to go get laid, however since you don't want to be a complete degenerate, you avoid asking the demonologists where the best hang outs and parties are and decide to just visit one of the more popular spots on campus where the college folk gather.
  
  You wait until night and head to a place called the Alkymist. Someone's idea of a cute play on words for a place that mostly serves wizards you suppose.
  
  Surprisingly the Alkymist isn't very lively tonight. The hobgoblin tending the bar asks what you want to which you order something that isn't going to dull your senses since you're trying to get laid, not raped.
  
  You aren't exactly sure how to proceed since you were expecting more people to be here, but from past experience you figure eventually some guy will come up to you attempting to impress you in some way.
  
  So you wait at a table by yourself.
  
  And wait.
  
  And wait.
  
  And any other damn time some creep is attempting to make unwanted advances. Maybe you would have been better off going into Mr. Demar's office naked.
  
  Just as you're about to give up on this endeavor, you sense a strong deathly presence enter the bar. At first you think it's someone from the Dark Order, but the person who enters isn't familiar.
  
  It's a man in who looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Pale. Fairly handsome looking.
  
  You can't say you've had any contact with one before, but from the stories you've heard from Dark Order members, this man seems to be a vampire. The Dark Order is supposed to have an alliance of sorts with them.
  
  Why one is here you have no idea, maybe they're spying on you or something. In any case, you'll soon learn why because he sees you and immediately approaches.
  
  "Hello, my name is Alec. I haven't seen you here before." He says.
  "Because I've never been in here before." You answer.
  "Ah, that would explain it. So what brings you here tonight? I figured most would be at the Manticore House party tonight. People on campus couldn't stop talking about getting ready for it."
  "Oh. I wasn't aware of it. I don't keep up much on the latest campus stuff."
  "So, you here with someone?"
  "No."
  "Ah so, you looking to meet someone? I mean that's one of the main reasons people come here. Well that and to get drunk, though the drinks here aren't as good as they used to be."
  "Well I'm sure you wouldn't find them to be your taste that's for sure."
  
  Alec is silent a moment at your comment. He also sits across from you without asking to.
  
  "And...why do you say that?" Alec asks.
  
  You nearly stare at Alec in disbelief for playing dumb, but you continue to refrain from staring directly into his eyes.
  
  "Please. I know what you are." You say.
  "Hm. Yes, I suppose you'd be able to tell right away. But then, YOUR kind have an affinity towards those of my state of being don't they?"
  
  Alec smiles while you don't answer.
  
  "You see, I know what you are too. I could sense an appealing deathly aura about you." Alec whispers.
  "Of course you do. So instead of all this pointless attempt at trying to charm me, why don't you get to the point? Why has a representative of the vampire clans come here? If you want to speak to Mr. Demar, he's probably still at the conjuration building right now."
  "The clans? You mean that old aristocratic asshole club? Pfft, I'm not part of them. Or at least I haven't been since the one who created me got himself killed. Free to do what I want nowadays and I sure as hell don't want to be part of some stodgy system. Mind you I do have to not step on their toes in whatever little schemes they got cooked up, but that's easy enough to do since I don't have much in the way of grand ambition. Probably why they don't give a shit that I'm not around actually."
  
  Well this is interesting to keep your attention, assuming he's telling the truth of course.
  
  "So you're telling me, you're just some vagabond vamp with no ties to anything other than your thirst." You say.
  "Well I like to think I'm MORE than just what I eat. I have other interests. For example, I come to this place often whenever I'm in Nuro because it brings back fond memories of when I was younger. Used to hang out here with my friends playing darts, getting drunk, telling jokes, and occasionally going home with a lovely lady. You know the usual things one does in one's misspent youth." Alec says.
  "Hm. Wouldn't know much about that seeing as I'm still young and I try not to misspend any of it."
  "Yep, you're definitely a necromancer."
  "What's that supposed to mean?"
  "Gloomy, dour, and generally no fun. Well with a few exceptions, but then those type tend to be arrogant dickheads who are no fun in other ways."
  "Well if I'm no fun, don't let me keep you. I'm sure you got better things to do. Why don't you try the Manticore House party you mentioned? It's probably lively with a bunch of dumb unsuspecting co-eds who you can lure into a dark alley or something."
  "Why repeat myself?"
  
  You have to admit, there's a part of you that found that amusing.
  
  "Okay I saw you smile at that comment." Alec adds.
  "So is this how you get your prey? Try to wear them down with attempts at humor?" you ask.
  "No, I generally just use the gaze for that. This is how I try to get a lady I'm genuinely interested in."
  "You don't even know me."
  "I know you're pretty, I know you're obviously intelligent. Hell, we even know one secret about each other already."
  "At this rate, it'll be the only one."
  "Oh come on! I know you're not here to just enjoy the ambiance of this place. You obviously aren't the type to do anything without a major purpose. You were here to meet someone."
  
  You can see Alec's not going to leave you alone about this, so you indulge him a little longer.
  "Okay, fine. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with socializing and shit. And yeah, that also included potentially meeting someone."
  "Alright and how the hell did you think you were going to accomplish that by sitting in a dark corner away from everyone?"
  "What difference does it make? Nobody was here anyway."
  "Okay, but what if this place had been crowded? I'm betting you would have done the same thing, am I right?"
  "Perhaps, but given past experiences without even trying, I'm sure someone would have come up to me."
  "Oh I'm sure they would have. And what would you have done? Probably given them a hard time and put up a wall like you're doing with me right now."
  "If they couldn't deal with my personality then they obviously aren't worth my time. And as for you, you're a fucking vampire. Of course I'm going to be EXTRA careful around you."
  "I don't believe that."
  "Don't believe what?"
  "I don't believe you're worried about me being a vampire. If you were, you wouldn't still be talking to me since I imagine you don't spend this long shutting someone down."
  "And I'm probably not going to spend too much longer on you either."
  
  Alec sits back a moment. He's obviously trying to figure out a different tactic. And you of course are still curious enough to see if he's going to finally impress you.
  
  "Alright, I can see I'm antagonizing you." Alec says.
  "You leaving for easier prey?" you ask.
  "No, I ate before I came here. I'm going to tell you a little more about myself. Obviously I don't have time to go into decades of the past, but maybe this will put you at ease."
  "Not really. You could just make it all up."
  "Well then at least you'll hear a good story."
  "Fair enough. I'll listen."
  "Thanks for giving me a chance...um...this would be easier with your name."
  "It's Catalina. Hey wait, did you know the Great Lich Lord?"
  "What? No. I'm not THAT old. And that's an appropriate name to match your beauty."
  
  Alec goes a little bit into his life before he was a vampire. Mentions he wasn't actually a student at the magic college, but rather was a city worker that happened to have a few buddies that had some magic skills so he was usually along for the festivities.
  
  He goes into a bit about how before he was turned he didn't really think too much about anything that lay outside the walls of Nuro since he had pretty much all he needed here.
  
  You notice he doesn't quite go into detail about the vampire that made him (or even why) and only really mentions brief details. And even in those details you get the impression the "relationship" wasn't the most positive one other than all the new things he saw and places he travelled to.
  
  Honestly though, you're only half paying attention to most of it. Mainly because you don't really care about any of it, because your foremost purpose was to just get laid in the first place. And just your luck, this vampire so far is your only suitor tonight.
  
  He is quite alluring and it isn't due to any sort of "vampire charm" he's attempting. It's the fact that he's also giving off a powerful deathly aura, even more so than Mr. Demar. You can only imagine that's due to him actually being dead. You've always seen the beauty in death and a vampire would certainly be a good embodiment of it.
  
  Part of you just wants to throw caution to the wind and go off with Alec right now, of course you're still entirely there since you are still very aware of the danger of this. It would help if you could determine if he's being sincere about anything.
  
  "So how about you?" Alec asks.
  "How about me what?" you answer temporarily being brought out of your own thoughts
  "About yourself? I've been droning on about myself and not letting you get in a word edgewise. We're supposed to be getting to know each other better right?"
  
  > talk about yourself
  Well Alec doesn't seem to be in a rush, so why should you? Probably best you do interact with Alec more anyway so you can continue evaluating him.
  
  You begin to go into your past a little bit more. You mention the orphanage and what ultimately led you to the Nuro magic college. Basically the same story you told Mr. Demar when he asked about you.
  
  Alec for his part listens quietly, only interrupting for clarification on some things. About the only thing you really don't mention is the Dark Order, especially since you probably said too much just mentioning it when you initially met. Eventually you finish up your tale.
  
  "Well, you've certainly had an interesting life for your short time here. Honestly a lot more interesting than mine, before I was turned of course." Alec says.
  "Interesting I suppose would be one way of describing it." You reply.
  
  Alec starts to say something, but then stops himself. Of course this causes you to continue.
  
  "Well...I was going to ask what exactly the Dark Order was since you mentioned it when you thought I was spying on you for the clans. But I suppose you left it out of your story for a reason so I won't press the issue."
  "Is this your attempt to get me to trust you better?"
  "Is it working?"
  "Heh. Somewhat. All I'll say is they're currently the closest thing to family and despite my mixed feelings about them, I have grown in my magical abilities thanks to them."
  "Yeah, I suppose I could say something similar about the clans. I don't agree with a lot of the stuff they do, but my existence is probably better now due to being involved with them at one time. Probably would have just drank myself to death if I hadn't been turned."
  "Funny, now you drink to live."
  
  This causes Alec to laugh out loud.
  
  "See? This is why I was drawn to you." Alec says.
  "I thought it was my deathly aura." You say.
  "That too, but I could just tell you were going to be an engaging person and I was right."
  "Thought you said I was like all the other necromancers you encountered."
  "Eh, I mean you put on that front, but there's much more after you let that wall down, I do wonder though, what exactly draws you to necromancy? I mean in just about every case, necromancers are always in it to dominate and power. But you obviously don't care too much about those things."
  "I suppose I find a beauty in death. Always have even as far back when I saw those grave wings eating that dead cat."
  
  Alec nods and smiles a bit. You look at him and return the smile. He reaches out to touch your hand, you're hesitant at first, but then something about this seems to make perfect sense.
  
  You take his hand, which is cool to the touch. His other hand covers yours and you look at each other again knowing there is a connection.
  
  "Catalina, I have no ill intent. I only want to spend time with you."
  
  You believe him.
  
  Alec stands up, still holding your hand. You follow his example and stand up as well.
  
  "I have a place in the city I go to when I'm here. We can go there together."
  
  You nod and follow Alec out the bar and to the destination, which you soon learn, is a crypt. This doesn't really surprise you though and it certainly doesn't bother you. If anything you feel even more comfortable here.
  
  You and Alec get to a nicer part of the crypt, which has a very fancy coffin with a comfortable looking interior.
  
  "I'm afraid I only have the one coffin available, but trust me, there's definitely room for two." Alec says.
  
  You don't say anything. You just continue to stare at him. In fact there's a part of you that realizes you stopped avoiding his gaze as much when you started talking about yourself.
  
  As he approaches closer and wraps his arms around you tightly, you also realize you've fallen under said gaze. That part of your brain is screaming for you to break away, but it's too late. He's managed to slowly and subtlety get you under his control.
  
  Alec senses your powerless resistance.
  
  "Don't worry Catalina, I didn't lie. I mean you no ill intent. You'll see that this will be the best thing for you and then we can be together forever in death." Alec says.
  
  Alec then quickly lunges at your neck and everything goes black.
  
  You look around and find yourself back in the present, whatever that means in a place like this.
  
  Well that was certainly foolish letting a vampire lure you into a conversation like that. In fact that whole event in your life was pretty foolish. You were lucky things didn't turn out like that.
  
  After a bit of reflection on what just happened, you realize you'll have to try again to reconnect later. When will that be? You never can tell.
  
  But it'll happen again. You'll reunite with your beloved.
  
  It's only a matter of time.