The Necromancer’s Beginning

A murder of crows sit on the branches above. Catori brushes the red paint onto the totem lying in front of her. The face of the carving turns morbid as a ghost ascends.

“You gotta quit doing that,” Catori exclaims, “It’s freaky.”

“What’s the fun of being a ghost if you can’t freak people?” He grins, “Glad to see you’re alright. Last time I saw you, you had passed out. What happened?”

She falls into thought and doesn’t answer.

“Well, what are you painting?” he asks to lighten the mood.

“It’s a totem for the solstace festival next week.”

“Ahh.. Solstace I remember the days…” the ghost stares into the sky.

“How’re your parents doing?” Catori asks him.

“Ahh… I don’t know. They seem alright most of the time, but whenever I come near my mom she gets all whelmed up. I try to tell her I’m alright and let her know I’m there, but it just seems to make her worse, ya know, ” the ghost sighs, “I should probably stop visiting.”

“And your Dad?”

“Still drinkin’. He curses at me a lot for not being there, but then is too drunk to perceive my presence. It feels hopeless.”

“Time to move on perhaps?” Catori suggests as she continues painting the beautifully crafted pole, “Sorry to change the subject, but what would it take to summon the dead on a large scale?”

“A lot more red paint!”

“For real, Dee. I’m growing bored with all these mediocre spells. I’ve talked with every ancestor I know of. I’ve helped people solve mysterious deaths… Now I want to do something great.”

“Like what?”

“Like summon a graveyard or ghost town. Or come visit you on your side,” she says switching brushes, “I miss you.”

“I know you do… so I’ve been doing some snooping and it turns out there is a spell that will allow you to cross the threshold safely. The problem is that it’s only known to the tribe of Thyatira.”

“Then that’s where I’ll go.”

“Easier said than done my love;  Thyatira’s located on a nexus in the Northern Isles. A place where Hell touches earth. They live among demons,” Dee sighs, “I’m not sure I should be telling you any of this. You’re gonna get yourself into trouble… Or else permanently sent to my side.”

“Ow,” Catori puts her hand to her forehead. Another migraine, “These keep getting worse, and horrible flashes…”

“Flashes of what?”

“I can’t figure it out. It just makes me feel so sick.”

The crows start to make sound and fly off.

“They can feel it,” the ghost says watching their departure, “Are you going to be okay?”

She falls to her knees.

She’s dizzy…. foggy…

Everything goes black.

 

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This character’s story will be continued. You can click on a character’s name in the sidebar to bring up all of his/her stories. Note that this blog is still in it’s starting phase, so there will be lots more to come!

To read a short overview of this fictional world and it’s characters see The Nepenthe

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