text: other necromancers would hang out in a place where a barely legal form of magic is taught.
  
  Eventually you get to the building, which doesn't particularly stand out from the others on campus. You do see a few more demon janitors in there and as usual they start avoiding you and making a few insulting comments as well.
  
  While it's late and classes probably aren't in session, you figure that if there is a cabal of necromancers here, there's no reason why they wouldn't still be around somewhere. Of course you're just guessing at all this.
  
  Suddenly you hear a voice, at first you think it's another demon janitor insulting you, but instead it's a young woman with red hair.
  
  "Ugh! That smell! Sebastian, I thought you... oh. Who the fuck are you?!" she asks demandingly.
  "Uh, I'm new." You say.
  "I'll fucking say! Didn't Mr. Demar train all you dead lovers to mask your magic aura? Shit, you smell worse than that ugly ass Sebastian!"
  "Yeah Mr. Demar said that was the next thing he was going to show me. I...uh forgot where his office is though."
  "Well it's two lefts, a right, straight ahead, another left, down the stairs, a left and a right. He should still be in there."
  "Wait, two lefts, a right and what?"
  "Two lefts, a right, bah never mind I'll just take you there before you get lost and call attention to a campus security guard that decided to patrol here tonight. Though given how you smell, I don't know how the fuck you haven't drawn their attention in the first place."
  "I...uh use enchantment magic a lot."
  "Hm, well that's only going to go so far. Come on and quickly, because I don't want to smell you any longer than possible!"
  
  The woman says her name is Felsa and quickly tells you to follow her.
  
  You heard Big Red mention a Mr. Demar, you can only guess he must be in charge of the cabal of necromancers. You're a little puzzled though by this Felsa that she would be offended by your "smell" if she's a necromancer herself.
  
  While you're heading down one of the corridors, Felsa looks over at you and speaks again.
  
  "You look a little on the young side and I don't recall ever seeing you in any classes. You a freshman?" Felsa asks.
  "Yeah, that obvious huh?" you say.
  "It's beyond obvious. You're lucky Mr. Demar noticed you when he did, because like I said, it's amazing you haven't gotten questioned by campus security. I'm betting you get a lot of people avoiding you though."
  "Yeah. So how long have you been a necromancer?"
  "Me? I'm not a fucking dead lover. I'm a demonologist! You couldn't tell?"
  "Oh. Yeah, I'm still a little bad at sensing others specialties."
  "Meh, I suppose you couldn't have known, I've been able to completely mask the brimstone. Though we demonologists also have the advantage of there being actual demons on campus so we can always make that excuse. Anyway, watch your step."
  
  The pair of you go down the stairs, and now you're a little confused. You thought this was a cabal of necromancers. There's demonologists too? Summoning demons is just as illegal as necromancy, so maybe it's a coalition of such people. Though you're not really keen on associating with demon worshippers.
  
  Eventually you get to Mr. Demar's office. Felsa opens up the door and you see an older man busily shuffling some papers around.
  
  "Damn it! I thought I locked that door! Felsa, what do you...and what do we have here?" Mr. Demar says taking immediate interest in you.
  "This newbie...what is your name anyway?" Felsa says.
  "Catalina." You answer, already expecting your mild deception to be unveiled.
  "Catalina said she needed to find your office to help train her to mask her necromantic aura. And I'd say not a minute too soon!"
  "Hm, yes, we do need to take care of that. Thank you Felsa, you may go."
  
  Felsa nods and rushes out the door in an effort to get away from the smell, leaving you and Mr. Demar together. Mr. Demar gets up from his seat and makes a small gesture with his hand where upon you hear the door firmly lock.
  
  "So...Catalina. How did we miss you? Or rather how did you know to seek us out?" Mr. Demar asks stepping around his desk to approach you.
  "Big Red..." you start to say before Mr. Demar interrupts.
  "Ah of course, Big Red. And how is that scheming demon? He's still failed to deliver on some books I paid for."
  "He tried to get me to deliver a black cube to you, but I didn't trust him."
  
  Mr. Demar chuckles.
  
  "Well that proves you're smarter than Felsa, who apparently just believed you to be a new student of mine...are you even a student at this college? You look slightly younger than most."
  "No. I've been living in the old library for a few years now."
  "Interesting. Y'know I once considered that to be the hiding spot as it were, but then I figured hiding in plain sight worked just as well given the fools on this campus, along with the help of the demonic janitors. In any case Catalina, I can tell you've come here seeking answers, but before you find any, I'm going to have to know more about you. And I mean your whole backstory."
  "All of it?"
  "Come now, it can't be that long, you're what? Sixteen or seventeen maybe at most? Just start from the beginning of when you first developed your affinity towards necromancy. I'm sure it's an interesting tale."
  
  Seeing little other choice, you sit and proceed to tell Mr. Demar of your history. The grave wings, the orphanage, practicing magic, living in the old library, all of it.
  
  While you're telling your tale, Mr. Demar listens intently, not really interrupting other than a few times for clarification on a some things. When you're finished, he looks at you a bit and after a quick stroke of his beard, he speaks.
  
  "You took a lot of risks in staying in Nuro, you took an even bigger risk coming here, however it would seem your risk has paid off since I've decided not to destroy you...yet" Mr. Demar says.
  "Thanks?" You answer.
  "Don't thank me just yet, because as of right now you've been conscripted into the Dark Order. Such natural magical talent can't be overlooked and will be put to use for our goals."
  "Which are what exactly?"
  "Oh I'll get to the details of that soon, but in short our mission is to correct the current order of this world by ensuring the truly powerful rule above the weak. But first, let's take care of your unfortunate aura issue."
  
  At first you think he's going to cast something himself, but instead he tells you how to do it. The funny thing is it's so simple; you aren't sure why you didn't think of it yourself. You suppose that's the benefits of learning from a teacher rather than just teaching yourself.
  
  "There. You smell better already and could easily fit in with the common learning class on campus, which you'll be doing soon after I see what you can do personally. I want to see exactly how much I need to teach you and the other branches of magic that you know, because it's important to not just rely on a single focus. Not being versatile enough can lead to enemies counter acting your strength and then where will you be? That's why the Dark Order doesn't just consist of a single branch of outlawed magic."
  
  Mr. Demar suddenly gets right in your face and both of his hands grab your wrists.
  
  "Now if we're going to continue this potential relationship, I think it's time to see your skills put to the test."
  
  At first you think he's going to try to molest you in some way, but that's not what he's about. Instead you're teleported to someplace dark with a few undead corpses wandering around. They see you and immediately attempt to attack until Mr. Demar holds them back.
  
  "Now that should last a few minutes. But it won't last long after I leave. It's going to be your job to control them. If you can do it, then we'll have a place for you. If not, well, your body will at least serve in the war to come."
  
  Mr. Demar teleports away and you're left alone with three corpses and no escape. You have to admit; you've never quite gotten the hang of controlling a single fully intact corpse, let alone three of them.
  
  Your first instinct is destroy at least two of them, but you know Mr. Demar wants to see if you're actually capable of improving your necromantic skills. And quite frankly you do too.
  
  You focus...
  
  The three corpses shamble towards you. With some effort, you manage to stop one in its tracks. However the other two continue towards you.
  
  One of them lunges at you and you barely manage to dodge, unfortunately you lose temporary control over the one you managed to hold the first time around.
  
  You sprint as far as you can in this dark room and once again order the rotting bags of flesh to stop. You feel lightheaded temporarily like you're going to pass out, but you manage to keep it together. In fact you feel a surge of energy like you never have before and you manage to hold two of them in place.
  
  The third one continues to come at you, and you continue to try to control it. The desire to just set this thing on fire is great, but you resist. Even when its decayed hands are within reach of your body, you focus. The thing grabs at your neck even digging in its nails a bit, but you are undeterred. You WILL master this magic once and for all!
  
  And then it all clicks just as you're starting to feel the effects of strangulation; the corpse releases its hands from your throat and backs away obediently. It then stands near its fellows.
  
  You've done it at last.
  Mr. Demar soon returns with a smile.
  
  "Good. I knew you'd succeed. Now that that's over with, I can introduce you to the rest of your fellows. Never again will you be alone. You are now part of an order that will last forever and YOU will play an important role in it."
  
  You're still not quite sure about all this, but for now, this will probably be an easier way to develop your ever-growing skills.
  
  > Learning
  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.
  
  > leave Nuro
  You're letting yourself get too attached. You did this before with Miss Olga. You're not making that mistake again.
  
  Right or not, you have to do what's best for you and getting involved in a war isn't part of it.
  
  You think about where you're going to actually go and the best place you can think of is the Drozz Wasteland. If war breaks out, it's going to involve the powerful nations of the world, so it's best to stay away from those areas.
  
  You'll find a secluded spot and make your home there. Will it be permanent? You don't know, but you can figure things out. Maybe a change of scenery away from civilization is just what you need anyway.
  
  Of course the Drozz Wasteland is full of a lot of savage orc tribes and such, but those lot tend to give a wide berth to difficult targets with little reward and that's exactly what you'll be.
  
  Best way to do this is to just do it as quickly as possible. You go to your quarters and start packing your stuff. When you think you have what you need, you take your leave.
  
  Before you get off the campus, you have think, you're going to get stopped by Mr. Demar or someone else, but that doesn't happen. Doesn't happen when you're actually leaving Nuro either.
  
  It isn't long after you've left Nuro though when you stop and realize that this is the first time you've been out of the city. This is a completely new experience for you.
  
  You have to stop a few times trying to calm yourself down about how anxious you feel.
  
  "Get a hold of yourself Cat. It's just like a large park. You're a wizard of considerable skill. There isn't any danger that you won't be able to face." You tell yourself.
  
  Eventually you believe it and travel is much easier.
  
  Easier is a bit of a relative term since this is the first time you've ever travelled outside of a city or anywhere for that matter.
  
  You aren't exactly sure how far you're going to go into the Drozz Wasteland. You figure you'll know when you get there.
  
  A few days pass and there's still no sign of anyone coming for you like you half expect there to be. Maybe you weren't really that important in the grand scheme. Just another potential soldier.
  
  A minor part of you is a little insulted at this idea, though if that is the case, you also believe it was a good idea you left.
  
  Eventually you do start to run into trouble from the inhabitants of Drozz which unsurprisingly are of the orcish variety. You don't have much issue with them though as they don't employ very complex tactics. It isn't killing a few that causes them to start leaving you alone though, its raising them back from the dead that causes them to give pause. You don't have much issue with the greenskins after that.
  
  With attacks dying down, you finally decided to put down roots and build a simple home (With the assistance of your newly raised orc corpses) not far from a water source.
  
  Your knowledge of nature magic comes in handy as far as growing food. Good thing since there isn't much in the way of food that's easy to come by in this place that doesn't rely on hunting. Fortunately magic makes that a little easier too.
  
  Doesn't take long before you're settled in pretty well. The odd thing is you've probably brought a bit more "life" to your surrounding area of the Drozz wasteland thanks to your use of magic to make your own more comfortable.
  
  Of course you haven't completely abandoned your necromantic practices. For one, you still have undead orcs patrolling your personal grove. Though you also spend a lot of time practicing odd new spells using a combination of necromantic and nature magic. You perfect your "Death vines" that you were working on during your time in the Dark Order.
  
  Gravewings are drawn to your grove which you enjoy as you've always found them to be pretty.
  
  A few weeks pass and you settle into a routine of keeping yourself busy. You don't particularly miss having to be social. You lived in the abandoned library for a few years by yourself so being alone isn't really new to you.
  
  And yet, you'd be lying if you didn't sometimes wish there was someone else to speak to. Not with mobs of people of course, just one would suit you just fine.
  
  You briefly think if you shouldn't have asked Sebastian to come with you. He probably would have followed. You then shake your head.
  
  "No. Too meek. Mr. Demar on the other hand..." you say to yourself and just end your statement with a minor chuckle.
  
  Besides the weakness of faint biological urges you didn't really get a chance to participate in, you also miss music a bit. You try to fill that void somewhat though by humming the odd tune to yourself. Sometimes it's from a song you remember. Other times you're just making it up.
  
  It's during one of these uneventful nights that you suddenly sense a strong deathly presence and it's not the same as the one you've created as your home...
  
  You hear your undead orcs spring into action outside your home and you open the door just in time to see a man in his twenties making quick work of them with his sword.
  
  He looks human, but given how fast he moved and the unnatural aura you're sensing, he clearly isn't. You've heard of these before.
  
  A vampire.
  
  You've heard a few things about them over the years and even more during your time in the Dark Order. Mr. Demar said they were to be allies when the time comes.
  
  Now you're wondering if this one has been sent to come find you and potentially drag you back to the Dark Order.
  
  Or just kill you. In fact, you're betting it's that one. You stay in your home and attempt to hold him in place.
  
  "Um, you know that's not going to work on me right? I'm a vampire, not some dumb ass zombie." The vampire says, realizing what you're attempting to do.
  
  You'd cast fire at him, but you can't risk setting your grove on fire if he dodges and given how quick he is, he probably will. Staying in your home is you safest immediate move since he can't enter it.
  
  "Catalina isn't it? My name is Alec! Look I'm not here to hurt you! I'm just here to talk!" the vampire shouts.
  "I highly doubt that." You exclaim.
  "Understandable that you don't trust me, but at least hear me out! I don't want to be out here than you want me out here."
  "Better hurry up."
  
  Alec seems relieved that you're willing to listen, but really you're just stalling for time and hoping to catch him off guard for something you have in mind. You also tell him to stay where he is because you're not going to let him attempt to hypnotize you. You turn a bit to the side so you're not looking straight at him and remember to not stare at his face for too long.
  
  "Wow, not taking chances huh? Okay, well like I said I'm not here to hurt you. In fact I'm here to offer you a way out of your situation with your life." Alec says.
  "I'm not going back to the Dark Order. I'm just not aligned with their goals." You answer.
  "Heh, well you're not alone. The vampire clans haven't exactly been completely thrilled with the Dark Order's plans. I mean it's still up for debate on if we're going to really be allies or not and from what I've heard Lord Rostov is heavily leaning in the direction of not allying. Potentially maybe even opposing when this all goes down."
  "Great. So why tell me?"
  "I was sent to Nuro a few months ago to sort of keep an eye on you lot and gather as much information as I could, but I sort of got sidetracked with the college parties making for easy prey and all. In any case, to my surprise I found out that the Dark Order had lost one of it's flock. The one I knew the least about too seeing as you were a newer member and you really never left the confines of the Dark Order's quarters. In fact, you're not even officially a student at the college and there are no records of you. Hell, there's not even any city records of you. You're a bit of a mystery."
  "And you still haven't gotten to the point."
  "I'm getting there. Anyway after learning about how pissed your former mentor is and this situation has caused a bit of stir, I reported back to my own superior and was told to go try to find you. Took me a bit, but fortunately you eventually stopped moving around and...alright I better just get to the point. The vampire clans wanted to know what your intentions were, and now that you stated them quite clearly, I have another offer from them."
  "Oh?"
  "Yes. An offer to join."
  "To join?"
  "Not as surprising as it might appear. While not a lot is known about your background, I do know you are considered one of the more promising necromancers that the Dark Order had. You obviously aren't afraid of death. Why not take the next logical step?"
  "Become a vampire. Really?"
  "Yes really, you would be a valuable asset to us. You're obviously very skilled and we would find a place for you."
  "A place. Right. As what? Vampire sex slave? I've heard enough about how vampires treat their new acquisitions."
  "What?! Is that what the Dark Order has been saying about us? No, it wouldn't be like that and the clans just don't pick anyone! True as a new vampire you wouldn't have the most authority, but isn't that just like with anything? When you were in the Dark Order, you weren't near the top immediately right? However as a vampire you'd have more authority than you would ever have as a mere human. Even as a necromancer. Better yet, you would live in the shadows of society and free to pursue what desires you want without fear of exposure. Now, I'd think someone like you would appreciate something like that."
  
  There is some appeal to what he's proposing and perhaps what you've heard about vampires from demons and Mr. Demar haven't been completely true. Becoming a vampire would make "life" a lot easier too. You'd certainly have plenty of time to do whatever ultimately tickled your fancy.
  
  There's also the idea of being closer to death. And that idea is what intrigues you the most. It's one thing to see death with living eyes, would you appreciate its beauty even more if you were one with it?
  
  Still though, you'd be taking a big risk.
  
  "So, if I say yes. Who turns me? Your Lord Rostov?" you ask.
  "Oh, um. No, I was tasked with doing that. Someone like Lord Rostov is a little busy to turn everyone that's picked. Don't worry though I'll be filling you in on everything you need to know." Alec says.
  "You?"
  "What's wrong with me?"
  "Well forgive me for saying so, but seeing as you just said I would be a valuable asset to the clans, I'd think if not Lord Rostov then at least one of royalty or whatever you got ruling you lot would be turning me."
  
  Alec shows a little annoyance.
  
  "Hey, you'd be glad to get me! You said you were worried about being as sex slave, well if one of the nobility turned you, you'd be at their complete whims and they get bored very often. I wouldn't do that though. You'd be under my protection." Alec says.
  "Wait. YOU just said the vampire clans don't do that sort of thing." You reply.
  "What sort of thing?"
  "Have sex slaves."
  "I mean yeah they generally don't, but yeah there's unfortunately some bad apples. Like I said, you wouldn't have to worry about that though since you'd be..."
  "Yeah, yeah under your protection. You said that already. But this brings up the question of why the hell should I believe that YOU wouldn't turn me into your sex slave?"
  "What? I would never! I...I don't even like girls! You'd be safe from me!"
  "And even if that's the case, what about YOUR superiors or any vampire that's more powerful than YOU? Surely you can't protect me from them, and if they decide they want to command me, then I'm fucked in more ways than one."
  "I assure you that wouldn't happen!"
  "Shit, how do I know you have no intention on turning me and you're just looking for a free meal?"
  "Catalina! I'm not going to do that! Look I'm trying to give you a way out, because after the Dark Order inevitably fails there will be sweeping repercussions, like renewed fanatical hunts for practitioners of such arts. And while you may believe you're safe out here and can scare the dumb greenskins away. That isn't going to work with everyone. Not to mention there are other things out here that you might not be prepared for. I'm the only option if you want to survive all this."
  
  It hasn't gone unnoticed that Alec has been inching closer toward your position, probably hoping to distract you with arguing and catching you with his own gaze, but you haven't been distracted at all, however his recents answers and demeanor have confirmed your suspicions.
  
  You finally look at him directly.
  
  "Very well come..." You say.
  
  Alec smiles believing he's won, but when you wave your hands motioning him to enter your home, he looks very shocked by the impact of something hitting him from behind. He looks down sees a thorny piece of dead vegetation sticking out his chest. He realizes it's also gone through his heart.
  
  "...inside." You finish saying and then he explodes into a pile bloody gore.
  
  You soon see several gravewings descend from wherever they were to feast on the remains. Having dispatched Alec, you shut the door to your home.
  
  While you may be safe for now, you wonder if you shouldn't move just in case you get more vampire visitors. You hate the idea of having to rebuild all over again, but you might have to. Of course Alec did say he had to find you and you didn't exactly give him a chance to report back, so it's still a case of nobody of any importance really knows you're out here.
  
  > Move
  Better to be cautious about something like this. You make preparations to move. It's not going to be fun potentially being exposed to an attack by the savage tribes around here, but you can handle them easier than a couple more vampires.
  
  While you have doubts about Alec's intentions on turning you for your protection, you do wonder if he was telling the truth about the vampire clans and the Dark Order. If that part was true, then it's just as well you left. You had your doubts about the Dark Order winning in the long term anyway, but with the clans potentially muddying the waters then the plan might not even get off the ground.
  
  There's a brief thought of you returning to Nuro to warn Mr. Demar, but that's not possible. Even if you were welcomed back and allowed to leave again, it would potentially put you in even more danger and you're trying to avoid that, especially now.
  
  After about a day of deciding to pack with you, you abandon your grove and move on to seek another place for yourself in the Drozz Wasteland.
  
  Half the day passes and you see some figures in the distance. Or rather you see several, but most of them seem to be lying on the ground. Probably dead bodies, possibly from a battle.
  
  A few though are standing or kneeling over the others. They move in a jerky motion and you can't quite tell what they're doing, but they might be looting.
  
  You're confident in your abilities that you approach. You're going to need a few bodies to help you build a new home, so this is a lucky find. You sort of thought you were going to have to do it all yourself. You imagine whoever is looting the bodies will run as soon as they see you, but if they don't you'll be ready.
  
  You get a little closer and you can now see the looters a little better and they're not other greenskins but they're definitely not human. In fact they're not even quite living and they're not looting the dead of their possessions unless you count their body parts as possessions.
  
  These are ghouls. It would appear the Drozz Wasteland is just full of surprises. This particularly alarming though since these are typically created by vampires and if ghouls are here, then there's another vampire in the area.
  
  One of the creatures looks up briefly from the body it's eating and screeches at you before suddenly leaping at you in a zig zagging fashion. Doesn't take long before his fellows do likewise.
  
  Raising the dead won't help in time before they reach you, and you can't control them since they're already under control by the vampire that created them, so you rely on more direct means and attempt to hold them since of dispatching them, which is trickier than normal due to their odd movement patterns.
  
  Still, the beasts aren't exactly the most sturdy, so a blast of lightning to the face is enough to take one out. They get uncomfortably close though before you take out all the attackers.
  
  After the battle you are somewhat concerned you're in potentially more danger than you thought if there's another vampire out here with ghouls at his disposal. Lacking another idea, you decide to raise all the dead bodies (minus the dispatched ghouls of course) and travel onward to make a new home quickly.
  
  When you believe you've found a good spot, you get your undead group to start building while you start to work on growing a new grove.
  
  A few days pass and everything has gone off without any problems. Unfortunately it's just before you're almost finished when you see more ghouls in the distance of your new home.
  
  They don't attack though; they just stand around watching safely from afar. You know damn well another attack is coming and moving again won't help matters. You're going to have to just weather this one. The good news is you're more prepared than when you had to deal with Alec. The bad news is if this vampire has ghouls then he's obviously much more powerful than Alec.
  
  You build up more defenses and have your small undead company ready to attack as soon as the ghouls move in on you.
  
  A week passes and more and more ghouls show up watching your now more heavily fortified grove. You can only imagine this is some sort of psychological tactic. You still haven't seen the vampire yet.
  
  Upkeeping your defenses all day and night is getting tiring and at this point you hope that they just get it over with and attack. Win or lose, at least you'll be resting.
  
  And eventually that day comes. Or night rather. You hear the awful screeching and that's when you know they're attacking.
  
  Unsurprisingly the ghouls greatly outnumber your walking corpses, but they'll have to get past the bramble and walls of razor thorns first.
  
  Initially the battle goes well, but eventually enough ghoul bodies have thrown themselves on the thorns that the rest just safely climb on their corpses and jump into combat with your zombies.
  
  You naturally assist, taking down several of the ghouls, but they almost seem to be without end. You don't really have time to think about it too much, but if there are this many ghouls, you can't imagine just how powerful the vampire is.
  
  You eventually whittle them down to lesser numbers, but you have to retreat back into your home as all your zombie meat shields are truly dead and you're getting exhausted.
  
  The ghouls claw at the door, which they will undoubtedly break through, but you should be able to take out the rest.
  
  Or at least you would have.
  
  As you're backing away from the door, you feel a sinking beneath your feet, as if the ground is soft. It's not soft though so much as it's hollowed out and you soon fall through part of it.
  
  "Shit!" you exclaim losing your balance and trying to grip on to something nearby. You see the ghouls break down your door just in time before all the ground around you gives way completely and you fall a short distance before hitting the bottom.
  
  It's pitch dark, you can't see and even if you could you're somewhat disorientated anyway. Before you can even get your bearings though, you are suddenly hit by a strong force knocking you back to the ground.
  
  You see a pair of glowing red eyes and then bright white fangs and then everything goes black.
  
  You look around and find yourself back in the present, whatever that means in a place like this.
  
  Well that wouldn't have been a good fate. Then again most aren't, but that didn't happen anyway. You're having a hard time even remembering some vampire by the name of Alec. You're guessing maybe you knew him? His face was clear enough anyway.
  
  As for the ghouls and the Drozz Wasteland, you never did go there. Your beloved most certainly did. He made a temporary alliance with the Ghoul King who was an outcast vampire, but you never met the creature.
  
  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.