35 The Past & Skeletons (1/2)

The grandiose door swung open, the age of the door showing, as it slowly creaked open. Exposing the far too elegant and luxurious interior. A massive chandelier cast of pure gold, hanged precariously from the ceiling. Several dozen fire burning candles, layed on a multitude of furniture. Every piece of furniture as extravagant as the chandelier, tables lined with gold, masterwork art pieces framed in frames that could only be described as perfection incarnate. All culminating in a staggering staircase, leading up to a higher floor.

The slow reveal of the interior left Sev's eyes both an appreciation for the ever-growing treasury of Lucius and a well-kept envy. Unlike Nora, her eyes only briefly paused over the extravagance. Herself having become dulled to such displays of wealth. Her only thoughts being on how such lofty collection, in her words, was a waste of a fortune.

As Nora entered, a series of rattling noises echoed the second floor of the building. The rattling noise continued to grow until, two skeletons in their loud and inelegant moves, rushed down the staircase, fumbling and falling part way down the staircase. Completing their folly in a pile of bones, scattered at the foot of the larger-than-life staircase.

”I see that Scraps and Brook are still alive, alive-ish, well alive enough” the pile of bones reminding Sev of some of his younger years. ”Come on you two, don't be so impolite, this is Nora”

The rough pile of bones started to shimmer, slowly reforming them into the two skeletons that Nora had seen running down the staircase previously.

”Nora here is my inheritor, treat her and you would treat me” Sev spoke slowly, ensuring the two buffoonish skeletons understood.

”Sev, how do I tell them apart? Which is Scraps, and which is Brook?”

”It doesn't really matter, they're always together so they've both been Scraps and they've both been Brook. It just matters which is closer...”

Lucius, who had been awkwardly standing beside Sev, completely mute and confused finally spoke out, ”They listen to you instantly, but after 40 years they haven't followed a single one of my commands! Those ungrateful bastards!”

”Don't blame them, they're kinda slow on the uptake...” Sev spoke, trying to be the kind voice for the two skeletons, ”Nora you see, these two skeletons aren't like any other. They were the result of one of my more curious experiments. Unlike traditional summoned skeletons, who have their consciousness and life-energy centralized and contained within their skulls, these two were manually, and painstakingly created by hand, several dozen miniature arrays within their bones spread their consciousness and life-energy throughout their entire body. Storing the consciousness and life-energy in such a manner caused them to be extremely difficult to permanently injure while slowing down their mental prowess...”

Sighing, in memories of days long past, ”For some reason or another, I could never destroy them. Something about my first original creation brought a sense of... well I don't know... maybe fatherly attachment?”

”Yeah, that same 'fatherly attachment' is why I've been stuck with them for the larger part of 35 years!” Lucius' internal displeasure rearing its head.

Instinctually, Sev smacked Lucius in the back of the head. ”Don't be so rude to Scraps and Brook!”

-

Great Mage Mirlie and Sev had now been travelling on the road for what Mirlie considered far too long. Her initial anger had cooled off, her hope to save face rested of the cultivation manual which Nora had gifted Percy, the so-called, 'Tempering by a Thousand Cuts'.

Ever since she had a change of heart, the ride had been going a lot smoother. Great Mage Mirlie had even begun to give some pointers in the ways of the Mage to Percy. His real age shining through as he attempted to absorb all the new information.

Or at least everything had been going smoother until Great Mage Mirlie's gaze shifted violently, peering out the window.

”Stop the carriage!”

The coachman who had been driving the academy provided carriage immediately halted at the instruction of Great Mage Mirlie.

Great Mage Mirlie hastily jumped out of the carriage, unveiling a staff Percy had yet to see. The seemingly out of nowhere staff materializing from a bland metallic ring on her hand.

The staff itself standing nearly two heads taller than Great Mage Mirlie. The towering staff possessing the appearance of a large branch with a large green emerald at its head.

At the appearance of the staff, Percy couldn't help but be curious, ”Great Mage Mirlie, what's with-”

”Not Now! There's a time for questions and there's a time for action. Ask me later, we've got some unexpected friends!”

A fair way down the road, a man dressed head-to-toe in a black robe, mounted on a large wolf was charging his way towards them. As the man neared, Great Mage Mirlie's vigilance skyrocketed. She could sense an uncontrollable bloodlust from the man. Something far more akin to a berserk state than to malintent.

With the quickly closing distance, Great Mage Mirlie had to make a choice, either to let the distance close further and attempt to reason with the black-robed man or to pre-emptively attack the seemingly hostile man.

She quickly ran the question in her head, weighing the positives and negatives both of the potential outcomes. Her decision was aided when she noticed that the wolf which the man was riding on, had some significant signs of rot and decay, missing fur, blank eyes, exposed muscle. Clearly, the wolf had been raised into some state of undeath.