int necro 5

[15:01:20] Teaching the street urchin of Neries kind on how to do magic was surely fun, but Saulot had other matters to attend to. He decided to travel back to Deadland Marshes, the land that was full of Depravity, thus making it rather challenging to trace any usage of Depraved Arts. Besides, it was a rare sight to meet some wanderer around here, so this was a perfect place for practice.

Loranthis versus Cinderfall war was surely a brutal one. Even after few years, there's been still bodies laying around in Trystle Caverns. Thousands died, and the flesh can only rot so fast until the body is more fitting for a skeleton rather than a zombie.

Ugh. He couldn't get used to the smell of carcasses even though he practiced Necromancy, so he simply summoned his skeletons to carry it for him and place the body inside of the small pocket dimension he crafted for himself.
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Along the way, he brought his another creation, a far more powerful skeleton than any of those he created - Cortez.

Who knows, maybe the ressurection of magi would go wrong and he'd attack? Just in case, he could use someone to back him up if the ressurected magi turns out to be powerful enough to take on Saulot, if we imply that he'd be raised at all to begin with.

The body was placed for the ritual by trio of skeletons that accompanied Saulot, the ones that sat inside of the pocket dimension and merely waited for their orders to come by.

"Make sure you keep watch for any strangers. I don't need witnesses."

With that word, Saulot pulled his hood on once more.
(Saulot Vykos)
[15:05:36] Forever, the skeleton travelled the Valmasian country side on his never-ending quest, the one tasked to him by the gods. The first goal of this quest of his was to discover his duty as Chosen of Heaven and Earth. Cortez didn't quite actually know this just yet. As he walked, wondering, it seemed as fate itself had gripped his body, leading him in some direction!

Cortez, either oblivious or ignoring the fact that it was his necromancer forcing him to travel, was currently gripped with the idea that the world was, once more, leading him along his path. From the Trystle, he came onto the Deadlands Marsh. It was this place which had been stripped entirely of life to generate the power necessary to grip his incredible soul from the stars and place it within his current body. Of course, Saulot wasn't aware of that, due to his ignorance.

The haughty dead man came to a halt before the hooden necromancer, his chin tilted up as always with an eternal smirk. "The Gods have guided here. Tell me, Saulot. What does fate have in store for me upon this occasion?"
(Cortez)
[15:10:43] A rather gruesome ritual, that's what.

Saulot looked up at Cortez right after settling himself on the ground before the corpse. Of course it smelled rather bad due to decomposing, but that's more of a reason for Saulot to wear a mask. At least it could muffle out some of it and make sure that the ritual doesn't turn into some self-torture where he had to stay in such environment for longer than needed.

"Ressurection of magi. This one can turn out to be rather dangerous and combative. Could you draw your sword and make sure that if this zombie decides it could take my life, maybe pierce him few times and keep him down?"

While at that, Saulot withdrew a ritual knife. Usually a touch of decomposing flesh or the remaining blood inside of the body helped Saulot to establish the physical link to pull the soul among myriad stars. A tough process, and thus tools that provided him a better focus were obviously required.


(Saulot Vykos)
[15:14:59] Ah, yes. He had forgotten who Saulot truly was. While he had been tasked with acting as Cortez's Guardian Angel, he was also a rather disgusting necromancer and possible a necrophiliac at that. No man took an interest with the necromantic arts without some vague sexual pleasure behind it. At least, this was what Cortez figured.

His hand was raised to wrap about the handle of his cleaver before pulling it off his back to allow it to rest before his chest. Both hands gripped about it now. "Of course, though I doubt any mere undead risen by your hands could compete with myself," he says, an eyeless gaze stuck upon the corpse.

While the man was comfortable with his own body, the vessel of the Gods' own Chosen, he saw other undead to be rather.. disgusting, perhaps. There was no kinship, just an odd neutrality hinting at dislike.
(Cortez)
[15:21:48] Merely a small nod of acknowledgement was given towards Cortez after he spoke. It was good that he was here; should the ritual go wrong or there would be someone to interrupt it, just as it happened the previous time versus an Outlaw with him, Saulot could use a hand to help him out. Although, gladly the necromancer became stronger since then too.

"Good. This one could turn out to be stronger than expected, so if he shows rebellious moods, I need him ended as soon as possible."
________________________

Preparations for a creepy, and rather disturbing ritual began.

By using the ritual knife, Saulot tore apart the clothing over dead body's chest to expose the flesh. He naturally assumed that another magi wouldn't be wearing heavy armor, least they were invested in efficience with sword, but that's not what Saulot picked out among other bodies.

With a small slice going across the body's right side, Saulot dug his hand inside of the wound, smearing his gloved hand in blood and bits of flesh. Although he disliked this process, it was necessary for him to establish a better physical link and thus manage to pull the soul back from the stars.

And the smell... to some extent, Saulot was envious of Cortez right now due to sheer fact that he couldn't feel it.

It was disgusting.
(Saulot Vykos)
[15:28:38] It seemed that Saulot was experimenting with stronger undead than before, something akin to that. The idea of why he would need any other undead when Cortez was around crossed over his mind, a strange bit of jealousy. No, not jealousy, but his pride was injured some. He was the strongest undead that ever graced this land, so why need any other?

The skeleton shut invisible eyelids, his sword shifting down to stick in the dirt as he rested both hands upon its pommel. There was a silver lining to this; if Saulot became a stronger necromancer, then he might be capable of making Cortez stronger. That was his duty as Guardian Angel, after all.

"Saulot, He tasked with my rising. In time, bestow upon me greater strength through your necromantic gift." Cortez spoke these words with eyes still shut, though it wasn't something Saulot could see.
(Cortez)
[15:34:36] The process of ressurection was about to be starting, and with his eyelids narrowing in focus, Saulot's other hand slowly extended out into air, if only to literally "grasp" upon the Lifestream itself and force his way in. The Lifestream itself was torn, and Saulot had immense experience in pulling off such a feat, thanks to his practice in both Riftmancy and Necromancy alike.

A horrible sound echoed. It sounded like... a hollow, dark hole sucking all life out of surroundings with immense amounts of Depravity rolling off from the source of ritual. It almost sounded like a scream, one that soon was hushed down by Saulot's skillful hand, just like the murderer silences his victim in the act. The natural flow was disrupted and it became apparent.

And even though the sound was gone, the Depravity persisted.
__________________________

Sickly, blue colored hue surrounded Saulot while he was performing the ritual. He was in utmost focus, but thanks to some degree of experience he could spare some of his mind to uphold conversation as well.

"I do have a lot of plans to improve you, Cortez. Gifts that would make you defy death no matter what."

Obviously, that was a long run. He still needed to get to the notes of Lich King Dominic Falco, after all... besides, such feat would call for Master Necromancer.
(Saulot Vykos)
[15:41:26] As a skeleton, who was created through depravity, Cortez honestly did not care one bit about the lifestream being torn. The Gods had created him and he was depraved, so why did it matter? Life was destroyed by the hand of another; that was simply natural. If anything, depravity was the way of life.

Not that he was a philosopher in the slightest. The only thing that mattered was his personal legend. With the strange scream, the skeleton finally opened his eyes to gaze upon the body as Saulot worked his 'magic'.

He nodded with an invisible grin upon his necromancer's words of plans. Power. That was what he wished for, without a doubt. Perhaps that was a part of his quest.
(Cortez)
[15:48:16] And so was Saulot already used to Depravity as well. As a matter of fact, he was deeply Depraved of course, just one difference that he could conceal it unlike Cortez; the powerful psyche that Saulot was in possession of gladly provided him full control over own Depravity, and it would be an extremely rare sight to see Saulot slip into madness, even if temporary... something that happened almost a decade ago by now.

As the ritual continued, the blue, sickly smog was thickening around Saulot; his hand was still inside of the Lifestream, seeking out the specific soul of a magi to whom this body belonged amongst thousands of stars. Not an easy task, of course, but that wasn't something Saulot could not handle.

Though, Saulot remembered one advise from Hauk... to actually ask his undead how they feel and what they wish for, just to acknowledge how it's like for undead. A long debate sparked much thought, after all.

"Tell me, Cortez, what do you expect to do now that you were granted another chance on earth? What are your goals, exactly, or how do you feel about your current state?"

Unordinary question from the Necromancer, but Saulot asked it nonetheless.

And the ritual? Saulot could already feel the soul nearing, almost etching on his palm... so close, and yet so far. He needed just a bit more time.
(Saulot Vykos)
[15:55:56] It was an interesting question that caused the sword that sat stabbed into the earth to be shifted about slightly as the skeleton leaned into it, thinking upon what was asked. The light show surrounding Saulot was almost entirely ignored, fully under the knowledge that his own resurrection was much more beautiful. After all, this entire land had been stripped of life and turned into the Deadlands Marsh by the forces of Eternia in order to place his soul into this body.

"This is no second chance, Necromancer. Of the unfathomable amount of souls within the stars, it was mine that was chosen to inhabit this vessel, chosen by Heaven and Earth, by the Gods. My goal is to act as their Chosen, of course," he declares, his chin tilting upward.

"I travel this land in search of the omens the Gods have laid out for me to understand my purpose. There is but one thing I know thus far. I must become strong enough to truly act as their purpose, and smite any who may smear my name, and thus theirs. You, Saulot, have been tasked with assisting me on this endeavor. But as an omen, you too guide me upon my quest."
(Cortez)

[15:57:39] Saulot Vykos: (Going with self-fluffed Chance of Injury roll, 3+ above to avoid it)

SAULOT VYKOS ROLLED A DICE AND IT LANDED ON: 5

[16:02:46] The words from Cortez sparked an interesting point - all undead retained their personality to some extent, unless they simply wished to no longer exhibit it, but otherwise their mental function remained as it were during their life, perhaps with some changes due to ressurection happening and forces of Depravity influencing the mind to some extent.

"I see. That's an interesting point. And do you remember anything at all from your living as a mortal, or have any visions related to that?"

After asking the question, Saulot focused upon ritual more intently. At last, the soul was found amongst the thousands, thankfully due to the physical link.
______________________

But the soul of magi was a resistant one, and Saulot still didn't have sufficient experience in order to raise the fallen magi and thus 'tame' the soul.

Lashing back at him, it fought with all of the might, trying to burn his hand and injure the Necromancer; the screams of Lifestream echoed once more whilst the soul was pulled.

Although, it was of no effect upon Saulot; it was of course painful to some extent, but other than that, Saulot managed to grasp it and tame it after all. Now it was being shifted towards the body.
(Saulot Vykos)
[16:11:18] Further the skeleton leaned upon his sword, thinking upon the question posed. Memories? Cortez had not once thought upon his past life, given how excellent his current one was, to be chosen by the forces of the world themself. He drew his mind inward, thinking past the day he was risen, but.. there was nothing but darkness.

"There is nothing," he states. The skeleton took notice of the sudden shift in Saulot, but he had no clue of the battle going on within a different world. His grip tightened upon his cleaver, but nothing more.
(Cortez)

[16:18:08] That was an expected answer.

"Figures. And do you ever feel like caring who you once were, or it remains irrelevant to you?"

The necromancer kept as calm and steady voice as possible during the strenuous ritual. Resistance from the soul of the dead was painful as well, but Saulot was doing rather great with holding it off.
________________________

The battle proved to be a challenge, but ultimately it ended up to be the one where he actually succeeded. The soul was being shifted towards the body infront of Saulot, hopefully to bring the zombie back into living.

With the soul attached back into vessel of the corpse, it took the newly risen undead several seconds to open the eyes. The sickly blue hue began to dissipate slowly whilst Saulot held his mildly burned hand, concerned that he had gotten injured - gladly that wasn't the case.

"Do you hear me?" - Saulot spoke to the zombie.
(Saulot Vykos)
[16:24:57] "In the past, I was a man of legend. A great titan who ruled over others," Cortez states. There was absolutely no proof to back it up, and based upon the skeleton had said about having no memories, it was clearly made up. But within his soul, the skeleton believed it to be true. His soul was special, so undoubtedly it had been in the past life.

As the risen undead, a creature with true flesh, flicked its eyes, the undead soldier took an offensive stance with one foot before the other, sliding his cleaver from the earth to grip it in both hands with the blade held outward. At any moment, he was ready to cut down this zombie.
(Cortez)
[16:31:47] Saulot immediately stood up to observe the zombie risen before him. It was clearly sloppy, still incapable of realizing what's even going or moving properly. The undead was trying to slowly stand up, but it was awkward, incapable of doing so properly, and even falling over again and again.

This "creation" was an embarassment, rather than anything resembling a powerful magi that Saulot was speaking about initially... the necromancer sighed, still giving it a bit more time. Maybe it would actually walk properly after all, at the very least?

"Well..? Can you even walk properly?"
_______________________

The zombie risen by Saulot would be incapable of anything proper, unfortunately. He only almost grasped the art of improved Necromancy, but that was not sufficient to properly uphold the existance of risen magi.

With his patience running low, another sigh escaped his lips. All of this effort and for this... he didn't get himself another undead bound to servitude, and there was no point trying to continue with this one and hoping that things would be right. Hell, the zombie wasn't even capable of speaking or standing proper, so why bother?

"...Right. Well then."

At least Saulot had earned invaluable experience with such type of undead. You learn from your mistakes, and next time he could know how to properly pull this off.

"Cortez, just... end this... abomination. Behead it or something. It's of no use to keep it alive, at least the soul will be released if it's dead once more."
(Saulot Vykos)
[16:32:38] Saulot Vykos used Stat Boost (Magic Damage)
[16:40:19] Cortez watched, fingers tense around his blade's handle as he watched the undead begin to rise. It was clearly a failure of sorts, but the Chosen did not put down his guard. One of the previous omens bestowed upon him from the Gods was to never underestimate an opponent, shown when a six year old defeated him and crushed nearly all of his bones. Even if this undead looked incapable of anything, proof would come before his guard was lowered.

But as Saulot made the verdict, Cortez stepped over with a grin to stare at the abomination upon the ground. As he approached, rather than decapitate the fellow undead, a boot was risen to drive it straight towards the rotten skull. With a sickening crack, gore blew from the sides of its emples as the Chosen's metal boot smashed bone and forced out innards.

He took a step back and slid his boot across the grass, wiping off rotting flesh and blood.
(Cortez)
[16:45:26] It was unfortunate that the ritual ended up as a failure, but at least Saulot gained necessary experience to take the step further. Better than nothing, isn't it?

"Well... thanks."

The splashed gore around the corpse was truly unsightly, but that's not something Saulot couldn't get used to. As a matter of fact, he witnessed a lot of violence in his life and travels alike, so this wasn't a new thing to him nor it grossed him out much.

"We're done here. I'll be heading off to rest, thank you for your assistance."

The pressure made upon Saulot's mana circuits during the entire ritual had worn him out, besides raising the magi as a zombie was way tougher than it would be to raise a skeleton.

Hopefully next time he'll be successful.
(Saulot Vykos)