Maid with Necromancy

“The law firm of Mala, Fasa, and Scar, well, it makes sense that a beast kin one would be tied up in getting Adric out so soon. Outside of a few of your neighboring kingdoms and the Broken Isles, which enter everything, Amaliana invested a lot to get a scry of the Ascendant Games the moment they learned about Loap. Considering her condition, I’d be shocked if they didn’t invest a lot of time and energy in creating and modifying laws around pet bonds. What I want to know is exactly what your familiar did to that dragon kin, too bad that would count too much as assistance under the Charter.” Maekus Von Trell mused after listening to a part of the tale.

Hyacinth refused to talk about the details of what he’d done with the coatl. Bowe was excited about it being something new and outside of his ancestral memories. But he was a dragon of few words. Hyacinth could adjust Bowe's size bigger if needed, but it wasn’t a simple process.

“You’re my advisor, and you know how the charter is run. How does my pet fit into my college life? You said there would be housing for him, and surely you’ve caught up on the details of my scholarship with the school? There are only a few days left of this welcome week, and I don’t even know my classes. Other students have their books already.”

Maekus picked up the large stack of papers on his now fully constructed desk and started flipping through them. Picking out a sheet, setting it on the desk, and taking a pen to the document. Signing the paper caused the sheet to dissolve into a slight blue haze when he picked up the pen.

Silence stretched as Harmony waited for her answers while he took sheet after sheet to the desk and signed them. Having chosen to be a servant, she lived in long silences, but that was no longer her position. “What are you doing?”

“You don't know what I'm giving up to be here doing this menial job? All my adventures have been exchanged for a new life of paperwork. Those are your school classes; the exemptions needed to be signed to get you in without the required skills or prerequisites.”

It’s not like he didn’t sit for months in Hazeldown while she was in the Ascendant Games. Harmony opened her mouth to protest, only to be slapped with a silence skill.  In the face of such rudeness, she mouthed a very bad word.

“I know you’re worried about your lack of formal education. That is why I focused on classes where success was weighted toward applying practical skills. The placement testing would be too risky considering your necromantic condition, as the kind of tests would reveal your necromantic roots. Because of your ranking, no one will question this. I’m still looking into the base spell to see why you were denied Primus status.”

As Von Trell slipped into prattling about the annoyances in the ranking spell she’d been subjected to on the first day. Harmony struggled against the silence’s effect on her body and skills. When she had reflected on her role as a servant, this wasn’t what she meant when she lived in long silences.  Considering how strong Maekus was, it was hard to figure out how long this one would last. Not all of her skills were affected; [Stride Before the Fall] was available, and she could summon Night through [Small Armor], even though using the blocking ability felt impossible, and the problematic [Eternal Fables Heart]kept beating. All skills that were tied to bonds of power.

Harmony had experienced people being able to break out of silencing effects several times. If it was possible for them, it was possible for her. [Final Silence] had become a staple in many synergies she’d used, and as an eraser, she’d gotten to know the skill well. Not only did it touch upon the quiet of death, but it was a tool for messy problems that required the utmost quiet. A lot of the ways her application had been broken had been to shout over it in some form, but that wasn’t how she behaved. That was the domain of the boorish and rude. Harmony accepted the quiet feeling and asserted her will over it, leaning into her connections with the energy in the bonds she had, forcing it to dissolve slowly in her soul. Her skills did not scream awake; they waited for their turn.

“…It takes too many points away if a bond, title, or achievement feels incomplete rather than accepting it as a stepping stone.”

“About my pet?” Harmony interrupted, having finally found her voice.

“I was wondering what was taking you so long. You’ll need to work on that. Adric has been assigned to the stables for advanced pets. Just be glad I was able to bypass intelligence tests; we don’t need him with the horses. Several pets there can masquerade as humans if they want, so he won’t be too unusual. I have him listed as a non-combatant; that way, he’ll be restricted from your school's official dungeon delving team. Take him on your private runs; he’ll have a full day of pet conditioning, educational foundations, and how to properly use his primal bond to serve his master. As his owner, you’ll have free access to him. I’ll get you the location as they are housed outside of campus proper.”

After helping build the desk, it was unsurprising that the silence had been a test or training. She had to accept these little quirks when dealing with the man.  [Recall] reminded Harmony she’d promised Xera a question, as she could tell Maekus’s patience was winding down.

“Side note. My teammate wishes to use the skill [Two Against the End] on me; it's kind of an oath.”  Harmony stopped talking as she saw the normally animated man freeze for a heartbeat, a grin creeping onto his face.

“He would send one of his progeny here. You should absolutely accept. There is absolutely zero downside to being the target of any [Two Against] bloodline skills. It will, in fact, solve many of the issues around hiding your necromantic nature. You can literally blame that connection. As your academic advisor, I’m telling you that you have to accept it!”

Maekus, sounding excited, wasn’t any potential trouble for her at all. [Poise and Bearing] suppressed a reaction to that sarcastic opinion. He might not be lying, but considering what made the man act this way, adding more complicated things onto her plate wasn’t part of the equation for a nice, simple time at school. Admittedly, that was a dream long past expired.

“Can you give me more details…”

“Too late. Your time with me is up. They’ve assigned me, other students to advise, if you can believe that.” He pulled out another sheet and handed it over. “Here is your list of classes and times. I’ve arranged for your books to be delivered to your room, and there might be a slight overlap, but I feel like you can handle that.“

A rip formed in the air beside him, and Harmony found herself pushed through it as Maekus’s domain shifted her about like she was an afterthought. The location it dumped her out of was so heavily warded that it made her skin prickle. Maekus's form of humbling her and bragging about his skill. The statue of the school’s founder towered above her. Saren Byerly, witchhunter, founding member of the guild, and bane of necromancers.

 Stepping out of the founder's shadow, Harmony looked at the hand Maekus Von Trell had dealt her.

​

Defense Against the Forbidden Arts

Alchemy - Potions and Concoctions 201

Deworming, Decursing, and Deconstructing Skills

Practical Magicware Effects on Planar Experiences.

Material Manipulation

Understanding Stats for Progression.

Seminar-  Silenced Combat

Seminar-  Local Politics

Seminar-  Orconomics

Seminar- Uniques!

​

Was he trying to kill her? First-year students only had five classes. There is an overlap of five minutes from when Defense Against the Forbidden Arts ends, and Material Manipulation begins. How was she supposed to manage that? Harmony let [Cold Touch] bleed into her feelings, cooling down the anxiety. She’d climbed Nae’s Garden alone in a month, she’d fought mountain-sized mimics, humbled spoiled princesses, and ascended to the peerage. A rotting corpse of a class list wasn’t going to do her in.

“Greep,” Hyacinth warned her from his place in her jacket pocket. The rough transition had awoken him from his nap, and the constant being stalked was annoying him.

“Hello Xera, you have your answer. My advisor said it was acceptable for you to place your skill on me.”  Harmony addressed the woman approaching from behind. The cold tone wasn’t just a reflection of her skill on her voice. This wasn’t a task she looked forward to. Lying had been an option if it hadn’t been clear that Maekus might intervene if she did.  “I hope you will grant me some privacy after doing this.”

“Of course, Healer White. If you come with me to my place, I have everything ready to begin.”

Harmony turned around and followed the youthful defender. “You were ready to spring that on me at the lunch table with everyone watching. What has changed now?”

“Apologies. I might have gotten ahead of myself in that case. At first sight is one of the recommended ways of using the skill. Now that you are a willing participant, there are things I can do to help you get the greatest benefit from this link.“

Harmony didn’t blink as Xera led them to the wealthier part of Ricort at the edge of campus. Gems decorated the sculpted houses here, fixed into metal statues. Xera’s place was a gated house smaller than the mansions next to it, but other status symbols like a living garden maintained in the sea of metal and wood inlays that were probably more valuable than the gems other houses had adorned. A liveried guard wearing silks in a cut Harmony was unfamiliar with, but that same competence she’d seen from Xera managed the gate.  Her version of Bates opened the door and waited with a small staff of three maids.  “My family’s house in Ricort.”

She didn’t need to explain. Harmony had seen that side of society enough times. Different cultures, different styles, same money and power. At least Xera would be good for a loan, not that she wanted to be seen as a moocher siphoning money off the more successful. Too bad her class schedule left little time for a regular job. As for irregular jobs, there was always one option, eyes of The Tomb be damned.

“The spare room is set up. You only need to sit in the circle and donate a little bit of blood.” Xero continued as they made their way up to the second floor.

When the door opened, the tone Xera used down played the work that went into this. If only Len were here to see this. Spellwork covered the walls, ceiling, and floor. Four Xera-sized crystals made a box around the circle. Harmony read enough to know they probably acted as focuses for directing the skill. The clear spots were a circle for her and a small spot for the defender, with a small knife and a decorative bowl waiting.  

Harmony pulled Hyacinth out of her pocket as he wiggled in her fingers. “No accidentally getting this targeted to you, as hilarious as that would be. You wait in the hall.”  That was the kind of mistake she’d experienced once already and did not want to repeat.

Harmony gracefully avoided the spellwork to sit in the circle. One mantra repeated in the Necromancer’s head as she did, “Do not meddle. Do not meddle. Do not meddle.”  She offered her blood, choosing to slice her palm with a sharpened fingernail rather than the knife and [Mend]ed the wound after. “Do not meddle. Do not meddle.”  

Xera cut her hand and added her blood to the bowl, too. To keep herself from overanalyzing the ritual, Harmony closed her eyes and kept with her mantra while she relaxed, not even letting her non-visual senses spread out.

“We start as one. Alone in this world. Kismet brings people together for a shared goal, life, and breath. Defender, healer, mountain, river, child, mother, linked by their nature. Together they can be [Two Against the End].”  The oath slammed into Harmony.

By accident. Just a smidgen. She meddled.

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