6

Astaria walks in the laboratory, striding with some more purpose than she previously had- each step is more sure of itself, as if the undead had gotten more used to her body, more used to being herself once more. The faint blue glow over her eyes shifted towards them as she made a small gesture towards the tables- to which three corpses waited. A crow, a rat and a deer.

"The deer is for Aldrah" she spoke softly, her tome taking a slightly harsher tone than its usual - not due to any inherent anger, but rather the focus which she had for the task at hand now. Something was more.. lively about her - ironically so, considering she was an undead; perhaps a new purpose she had found, as if something was driving her once more rather than simply..

Existing.

"A rat for Annie, who never tried to ressurrect anything. I'll be guiding you through it.A crow for me, so that I can get used to the practice once more- before moving on to where I left off. I'll be showing my own technique to you, Aldrah, and observe yours."
(Astaria Rosenkreuz)

Confused by Astaria's sudden call she follows her into the lab curiously. She figured that it was another lesson on necromancy and was eager to find out what she had planned for them. When they reached the tables she saw dead animals laid on them, a rat, crow and deer.

Annie looked at the rat, which was most likely to be her experiment animal. It was nothing special, just a plain rat corpse. She was slightly disappointed by the fact that she got the smallest animal, but quickly brushed it off. She had no experience in necromancy, everyone had to start somewhere.
(Annie)

Aldrah was called by Astaria, who took him and Annie to the laboratory, which as expected was yet another lesson of necromancy

Arriving at the place, Aldrah came across some animal bodies that would be used for the lesson this time, where he would use a deer body in his experiment. He preferred a bear this time, since there already was a deer, which was right next to Wereley's body, standing still. Well, but that did not matter at the moment, now what mattered was to go practice once more.

He started by pulling out his book and utensils from inside his coat and placing them next to the deer's body, then removing his coat and placing it on the floor near the table that held the deer's body.

After getting ready, he began by taking a look at the animal's body, to see what was the cause of the death. After some time checking, he came to the conclusion that it was a trauma on the skull since he found no other injuries and the head seemed to havesuffered a strong impact.

After that he stared at Astaria, since he wanted to see the technique she would use to revive the raven.
(Aldrah)

"As you can see" she spoke once they'd approach, trailing her glowing eyes between one and the other; her expression was kept blank, her voice was firm and steady, slipping into her 'mentoring' state. "The stages of restoring the body won't prove necessary. Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head" she gestures at the carcasses of each animal. "and I took special care not to overly damage the skull. That is because we'll be focusing on the technique itself."

Although she was out of practice, she did have a more formal grasp over the theoretical aspects of necromancy, as well as more contact with it - but despite that, it's true that people often just want a guiding hand.

Whether she was a necromancer or not was irrelevant, as long as she'd guide them. It's what many seem to crave for, just somebody telling them what to do. Besides, using this lesson to return to her own practice was going to be useful. Pulling a hunting knife from her leather belt, the undead neries removed the crow from the table; a darkened cosmic energy was channeled through the blade, gleaming like the stars, as she'd carve over the wood a simple straight line.

"The line represents the spine. You should carve one that is proportional to the corpse that you are using, and align the body to it, since the runic inscriptions will be over it."

At that, she approached the knife to the table. With the cosmic energy running through it, it became easier to write the runes with precision; although Astaria wasn't as skilled of a runecaster as Ophelia, to already have the designs made it easier, and it did help her bring focus over the important organs.

"It's best, for your first attempt, if you measure the lines and the inscriptions. The more accurate they are, the more precise can your channeling be. Aldrah, as an Ice Magi, you have the benefit of preserving corpses. Annie, as an Energy Magi, you have the same benefit as I do - the manipulation of raw mana."

A glance was paid at the sword on the young Oscuri's back, at that. "Although you may need to learn to use it through finesse, rather than raw power."

Her attention returned to the runic inscriptions, then - perpendicular to the line traces for the spine, she wrote two different lines; one of which would be at the heart's section, and one for the stomach. Reaching her hunting knife to the bottom end of the line, the woman made two acute straight lines, upwards, right before she finished with semi-circular lines towards its top, the beginning.

"These lines will serve to close the circuitry, made it a 'closed system'. The runes over here are for the heart and the stomach, respectively" she pointed at each of the recently inscribed ones - and wrote a single rune above them all, directly top top of the straight line, though separate from the 'closed system' she had drawn in the first place.

"And this one's for the head. The most important part, as you'll remember- the head is what holds memories and personality. This isn't the way to use necromancy, it's simply the one I've found it easier for me."
(Astaria Rosenkreuz)

Slowly walking over to the table with the rat laid ontop she slid her hand under the rat and moved it to the side of the table. She was glad that the corpses were relatively undamaged, repairing it would be tedious.

Annie watched attentively at Astaria's explanation, making sure to absorb all the information possible. She wondered why Astaria was only using a crow for her example. She clearly knew a lot about necromancy and seemed to be explaining it well. Did she study necromancy but never had the chance to practice when she moved to Huangzhou?

She shrugged it off and looked to her waist, unsheathing a small mythril dagger that was attached to it. Shaking her head she quickly placed the dagger back into its sheath. The blade was crude, worn and curved like a serpent's tongue, not suitably for carving.

The tip of her finger began to glow as she condensed a small amount of rieka into it. Lowering her hand on the table she started to do the same as Astaria, outlining the rat's corpse in the wood. Taking occasional glimpses at the rat and Astaria's sketch she would burn the figure into the desk. First straight two parallel lines in the center for the spine. Then two more lines that connected the heart and stomach to the spine, closing the circuit. Finally, she brought her finger upward to the top of the drawing and drew she curved lines that represented the head.

Taking a step back from her drawing it was rather crude compared to Astaria's. The width of her finger made the lines thicker and closer to each other due to the rat's small size. She looked over to the neries hoping that the figure was good enough.
(Annie)

Aldrah just continued in silence, staring at Astaria, waiting to see her techniques of reviving an animal. With a pen in his hand ready to write down what prove that going to be useful to improve his own techniques.
(Aldrah)

Before proceeding, she'd look at Annie's carvings; her eyes frequently trailed over the rat and the inscriptions being made, occasionally giving her a small nod of encouragement, though her expression didn't change from its usual blank state, unrevealing of thought or emotion.

As the oscuri finished hers, Astaria looked over her own, reaching for the dead crow and positioning him over the inscribed runes - its small spine lined over the straight line carved on the table. As long as that was properly aligned, as long as the rest were accurate, they'd be aligned as well.

"Runecasting aside, it works differently for each type of caster. Ophelia was a wordcaster - she chanted. For me, I'm a visionary caster. I prefer to visualize the circuitry and assume direct control over the shaping of spells."

Both hands hovered over the crow'd corpse, with the undead neries' eyes narrowing slightly. The blue glow over her eyes intensified as her magic was evoked - reaching a point that it filled the entirety of her eyes, making them look like a solid shade of blue, without pupils, iris or sclera. Her own circuitry was visualized right before her eyes as the flow of mana was channeled in precise steps - only for it to flow through her fingertips, towards the crow.

The mana was not, in fact, visible to the naked eye - not its flowing, at least. The runic inscriptions and the circle drawn around the crow, on the other hand, flared with it; a blue shade taking over them as the mana ran through each rune, activating the shaped spell for the binding of the soul. The Neries' mana flew through the corpse, at the head first, and the heart next - from the heart, it spread through the rest of the body, running over the entirety of the spine, as if strenghtening it, and its excess filling the stomach, the well of mana.

A sickening energy spreadfrom the undead, similar to the magical corruption she already possessed, as the runic inscriptions have her a reach over to the crow's soul. Souls usually struggle once they've past - it was not natural to bring them back; exercising her dominion over it, however, Astaria gripped it tightly, forcing it back through the barrier and into the corpse, to which the crow twitched - spasms happening, akin to a seizure, as the corpse was jumpstarted back to life.

So to speak, at least. Almost as soon as the crow would raise, flapping its wings, the black feathers began to fall. Shifting its head towards Aldrah, an eyeball popped out, rolling over the table; the rot settled in rapidly, attesting to Astaria's lack of practice despite her good grasp over the theoretical aspects. The feathers fell off quickly, as well as what little flesh the crow had, rotting quickly with the stench akin to spoiled food. At each moment, another piece of flesh fell off, until there was little more than a skeleton.

But it was conscious. An undead, who walked around the table, flapping its skeletal wings, who weren't truly capable of giving it flight. At that, the undead neries shifted her gaze over to Annie, settling on the young oscuri, who was the most inexperienced here.

"You'll channel your mana through the runic inscriptions first. Then, to the body; first over the head, which holds the memories and personality. Then, to the heart; the heart is what pumps the mana, and it'll spread through the spine, responsible for the motor function and sustaining the body. The excess of mana will be channeled to the stomach, which is the well of mana.

Once you do that, you will activate the spell shaped by the runes, and you'll feel the soul on the other side. Souls struggle, so dominate them and force them back through the barrier and into the body."
(Astaria Rosenkreuz)

Breathing a sigh of relief as Astaria gives her a nod of encouragement she watched as the neries went through the process of resurrecting the crow. She watched as her eyes and circuits began to brightly glow blue, a state the Oscuri was fond of. When the neries positioned her finger near the crow. At first, nothing seemed to happen until the runic inscriptions began to shine. Moments later the crow would spring to life with it's flesh decomposing shortly after.

Then it was her turn. She stepped forward and her body began to shimmer with rieka, the viridescent light being emitted by her circuits grew more intense, illuminating the area around her. Channeling rieka into her hand was already a well-practiced act for the Oscuri. Soon she'd focus the rieka into the tip of her finger and sent it flowing into the etches in the table. In an instant the runes began to radiate the same viridescent colour as the circuits within the rat became distinctly visible to her.

Following her mentor's instructions she would guide the rieka into the head and down into the heart. Once the rieka hit the heart it would flow into the remaining runes, following the trail that was created by the spine until the excess eventually pooled in the stomach.

All the preparations were finished. She moved onto the final and most difficult step; forcing the soul back into the body. Annie reached for the soul, securely grabbing it. With immense force she would send her fist flying to the rat and abruptly stopping just short of the body. The rat would momentarily convulse as its soul was bruteforced back into it and after a few moments it would sprout to life, rolling onto its legs and standing. The process of decay came shortly after. The rats fur began to shed slowly, its skin peeled off the body and softly landed onto the table. The remaining product was an undead rat that consisted only of fat, muscle, organ and bone.

Immediately she smiled, proudof her work despite not being able to produce a perfect undead. The attempt was good, especially for her first.

"I.. I did it!" She exclaimed loudly.
(Annie)

After seeing Astaria reliving the raven, Aldrah quickly turned to the deer on the table, focusing his attention on the animal's body. He had already revived a deer before, the process would certainty be easier this time.

He placed his right hand on the creature's head and his left hand on the deer's chest, then starting to send energy to the animal's magical circuits, focused on the heart and brain.

Before the energy began to be sent to the being, he spoke softly a few words "Come back to life creature.. I order.."

After speaking the energy began to flow through the palm of Aldrah's hands and go to the animal's circuits, filling the brain and the heart completely. Through the heart, energy would be pumped into the rest of the animal's circuits, filling the stomach and enveloping the deer's spine.

After a while sending the energy, Aldrah could already feel the soul of the deer through the barrier thatseparated the world from the living and the dead. Because the circuits were being refilled with energy, this was pulling the creature's soul more and more, like a black hole, back to the body.

Feeling this, Aldrah knew that the process of reviving the creature was almost at the end, he now needed only to force the soul down to the body. He lifted his hand up and as if grabbing something in the air, began to pull down quickly toward the deer's body as he spoke.

"Come back to life creature!" Shouted

At the end of his speech, he slammed his hand against the table in front of the deer's body. A circle of energy formed around the animal's body. After a few seconds, the body began to spasm, then rising with difficulty, as its flesh and skin fell. When he got up, the animal fell off the table, making the organs and flesh that remained in his body detach, leaving only bones left.

Aldrah gave a smile, again was successful, could soon start trying to revive humans!

He pointed to the other deer, on the side of Wereley's body and spoke.

"Go, stay with him." With this command, the skeletal deer walked all clumsily to the place ordered.

Then his gaze turned to Astaria, waiting to see what she would say.
(Aldrah)

Her index finger was raised - and at that, the skeleton crow paralyzed completely. Not an actual paralysis, as incapability of movement, but rather a silent order for such; the woman's glowing eyes slowly receded into the faint blue, softer than before, as she trailed them over to check on the work of Annie and Aldrah. A slight, barely perceptible tug came at the corner of her lips at the succesful ressurrections; despite the smell of rot that plagued the laboratory now, it didn't bother her.

She no longer needed scent, anyway.

"Good work" she spoke briefly, returning her gaze to the still paralyzed skeleton crow, now, focusing her stare upon him. "Now look at your undead. Focus on it. You should have a grasp of it- a tug from your energy, your mana that continuously keeps it animated as it is. You can into that to give it orders, like Aldrah just did- or to sever its connection."

As if to indicate what she meant, the undead neries lowered her index finger, instead clenching her fist. Abruptly, the skeleton crow simply fell - like a puppet whose strings had been cut, its bones spread over the table with the fall. Motionless and completely lifeless, without any indication of it happening.

"If you're practicing and you don't wish to keep them, like I do with Rakshasa" the woman rose her hand to scratch over the skeleton rat's skull, who had been resting over her shoulder, as usual. "Then release them."

A small pause was made at that, then, with the undead turning towards them both. A serious expression crossed her now, with a slight furrowing of her eyebrows- the faintly glowing eyes trailing from Aldrah to Annie.

"Last but not least. Remember what the Holy Art is for. I don't want to hear talk of disrespecting the undead. I don't want to hear that you're using it to enslave people. The Holy Art is about making the world better. It's about restoring a person to life as smoothly and perfectly as possible."

That soft glow of blue intensified slightly as she trailed her eyes from the young oscuri to the man, settling on him this time.

"If that's clear.."
(Astaria Rosenkreuz)

Lowering her exertion of rieka to its regular levels the girl would return to her normal state. Annie's face was still filled with happiness as she listened to Astaria, watching as she disasembled her crow into a pile of bones. Looking at Astaria's skeleton rat the Oscuri decided that he wanted a companion as well, to stave the loneliness she often felt.

Focusing her eyes on her freshly resurrected rat she slightly tilted her head upwards as she attempted to tug the rieka inside of the rat in order to control it. The motion was intended to have the rat jump and land lightly inside of her coat, but the undead rat doesn't move a muscle. Unsuccessful she tries one more time, to no avail. She casually squeezed the air releasing the rieka within the creature, causing its remainings to slide and plop onto the desk.

Flashing an awkward smile to her teacher before turning to look down at the table, hoping that they didn't notice her failed attempt of control.


(Annie)

Aldrah had other plans for his undead, but since most people here did not like the idea of enslaving undead, he would have to hide it for the time being.

He looked into Astaria's eyes, smiled, and spoke.

"Understood."

He then took his coat, put his things inside it and spoke.

"I'll go now, I need to rest .. I'll see you another time!" Then he headed toward the exit.
(Aldrah)

"Good, then that's it for today" the undead neries made a gesture of dismissal for the both of them, as she herself strode past Annie towards the stars. Without a second look or another word, Astaria walked down to the door, taking her leave.
(Astaria Rosenkreuz)