The First Necromancer

Contains mentions of gore, violence, and mental health issues

      A young man came running frantically through the trees, his messy brown hair flying about as his white robe became dirtied and torn amidst the brush. “Talia!” He called out desperately as he approached a small hut in the woods. “Talia!” His eyes were flooding with tears as the door swung open, and a woman emerged, looking in his direction with a worried expression. She had piercing emerald eyes, an angular face and messy red hair, you would think she was an elf were it not for her rounded ears. “Cozumel! What is it dear?” She said as he ran into her arms, cradling his head as he wept. “I went to the town not far away, and-” he was cut short as Talia blurted out “What? What were you doing going into town? It’s dangerous! Have you forgotten what happened to your mother?” Just then Cozumel began to cry even more furiously, his tears seeping into her blue dress. “Oh, I’m sorry Cozumel, I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” she put an arm around him and guided him to the door, “come on, let’s head inside, get you some tea and clean off your robe. Then you can tell me what happened.” They entered the small hut together, and a broom that was absentmindedly sweeping the floor rushed to get out of their way as Talia placed Cozumel on a wooden chair. Talia reached into her sleeve and produced a wand covered in intricate vines blooming with small blue and purple flowers. “Hey, let’s get your mind off what happened for a moment, get your wand out ok?” She smiled and gestured at him to follow suit. Wiping tears and snot from his face, he seemed to visibly brighten up for a moment, and reached into his own sleeve, producing a dark wand made from a root with a single wilted leaf attached to the bottom. He nodded his head and stated, “I’m ready,” She performed a flick with the wand over her own dress where his tears were, causing them to disappear in a moment. “See? Just wave the wand over where you want to direct your energy, imagine the clean surface, and will it into being. Guide your spirit towards the dirt and grime to remove it!” He pointed his wand at the hem of his robe, working to steady his hand, and took a deep breath. After a moment, the brown and green stains began to disappear, slowly at first. “Now then,” Talia started as the teapot began to whistle, lifting itself up to pour two cups of tea in front of them, “Tell me what happened Cozu… I’ll listen.” Cozumel’s hand began to shake once more and he winced. He ripped his wand away from his robes as it began to stain them blood red instead of cleaning them. Talia eyed the stain with concern, before sighing and gently saying “Cozumel, please tell me what happened in the town.” Cozumel fumbled for a moment and twiddled his thumbs before answering, “I went into town, I wanted to show them how I could help…”

           Cozumel emerged from the edge of the woods and called out to the townsfolk, who jumped, eying him warily. They lived in an unpredictable time, and knew not if he were friend or foe. “Don’t be alarmed friends!” Cozumel called out on the outskirts of town, gesturing in front of him, “may I come closer?” Several townspeople looked at each other, leaning on farming tools, before nodding their heads. Cozumel smiled and ran enthusiastically forward, and the townspeople’s eyes widened as they saw what followed behind him. Numerous shambling corpses emerged from the woods, many of which were little more than skeletons in burned and slashed rags. Seeing their trepidation, Cozumel held up his hands, “it’s alright! They’re under my control!” He beamed back at his creations, the first of the risen dead, “I’ve been studying magic most of my life, and I’ve devised a way so that no one has to fear death or the pain it brings ever again!” One corpse in particular shambled forward and held out a poppy flower, it’s rotting muscles twitching as it forced a dead smile at the townsfolk. The man he had offered it to pulled away, taking a few steps back in horror. Cozumel looked around the horrified faces and furrowed his brow, “What’s wrong everyone? I-I didn’t kill them if that’s what your wondering!” He moved back to one skeleton in particular, a few stray strands of brown hair dangling over a dull blue eyeball that hangs out of it’s socket, “This is my mother! I love her more than anything else in the world, I would never harm her!” He smiled genuinely as the townsfolk gasped and shuddered, “I didn’t hurt anyone, I would NEVER hurt anyone! It was a bandit gang that ran through my town when I was young, a band mostly of-” His voice shook as more townsfolk approached. “A band mostly of… rhoshi.” He stared at an elderly rhoshi man, a lup-rho judging by his wolf-like features. His gaze went between him and several others, his breath heaving in his chest as he witnessed a rhoshi for the first time in decades. His mothers voice echoed in his mind from that day, My sweet boy, stay here ok? Stay right here for mommy and don’t make a sound. And whatever you do, do NOT come out unless you hear me or someone you know call you ok? He hardly even noticed the undead advancing ahead of him as he saw his mother being cut down by a lup-rho, his ramshackle home being burnt to cinders by fa-rho, by ka-rho, their animalistic faces sneering as they robbed them of their meagre goods. He finally snapped out of his trance when he heard the screaming.

           “Stop! Stop!” Cozumel called out to the undead as they began ravaging the town, showcasing particular cruelty to any rhoshi who resided there, fueled by his unchecked emotions. They raked flesh with claws, some stole tools to use as weaponry, the sound of rending flesh, spilling guts and bloodcurdling screams filling the air. His heart pounded in his chest and he held his head in his hands as screams of old echoed in his ears, bouncing off of the screams surrounding him now. Curling up into a ball on the floor, he repeatedly said the word “stop,” over and over again, begging his zombies to stop the killing. “STOP!” He screamed out finally, unleashing a blast of magical energy that levelled half of the town. Still cradling his head in his hands, he ran back into the woods, fleeing the scene of what he had committed.

           Cozumel sat shaking in his chair like a scolded child as Talia, and all her enchanted tools and implements stood completely still, her hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face. “I’m sorry Talia… I just wanted to help… am I a monster?” His voice trembled and he clawed at the table, raking his nails, causing them to bleed as a war raged in his mind. Talia placed a hand over his, stilling it, “No! You’re not a monster Cozu, you… you made a mistake. You lost control is all.” She swiftly wiped her tears away and smiled shakily down at him as he raised his head to meet her gaze. “Why don’t we take a break from magic for a bit, ok? Let’s work on your emotions from now on… what say you about taking a quick nap to relax a bit first?” Cozumel nodded his head and looked out the window as he strode to his bed. He smiled faintly as he saw his mother approaching, several other loyal undead in tow, carrying baskets of food and offerings. I’m not a monster… she said so. Talia would never lie to me. Cozumel laid in his bed, and drifted off to sleep.