A Skeleton and a Lich

by Michael Chatfield

  “Is he still drawing in mana?”

  “Yes,” Claire said.

  “Well, he was one of the strongest—he probably needs it.” Damien raised the papers.

  “It’s been a week since he started.” Claire indicated to the papers in Damien’s arms.

  “The forces of Radal and Selenus are starting to get serious. It looks like they’re going to go to war again. Mobilization on both sides.” Damien offered her the pages.

  “With everything that the forces of chaos have been doing, it’s hard to believe they didn’t have a hand in this.” Claire took the papers from Damien and reviewed them. “Pretty much everything points to them. Okay, we need to move up our time schedule. Call on the judges; have them assemble. When Anthony wakes, we’ll see if there are any who can become Guardians. Tell the council that we are taking control. Have Tamarra organize things on that front.”

  Damien nodded. “How long do you think it will take him to recover?”

  “I’m not sure.” A thread of worry entered Claire’s voice.

  “Well, he’s made it back from the dead—a little mana loss isn’t that bad.” Damien tried to brighten her spirits.

  “I can only hope that you’re right.”

  Chapter: Striking Out

  Anthony yelled as golden wings appeared on his back. His body started to glow with green power. He pushed himself up with his left hand, his right showing black smoke as his sword was freed from his scabbard. He faced the wall, standing on the stone altar he had been resting on.

  His yell was enough to shake the underground manor and make those who heard it feel a thread of fear run through them.

  The mana in the air shook angrily, his very emotions in tune with the mana around him.

  “So dramatic still.” Claire sighed.

  Anthony started to relax, focusing totally on Claire.

  “What are you staring at, you bag of bones?” Claire moved her hair to cover her lich features.

  He dropped the sword and pulled off his helmet, looking at her with his glowing flames. “Claire.” His voice was rough, filled with emotions and thoughts; loss and longing, relief and joy all in one word. He moved to her and put his arms around her, slowly and carefully.

  Claire could feel her heart in his chest was fit to burst as she felt all of the emotions running through her like an electric field.

  She, the war mage, was more scared, happy, confused, tired, and overjoyed than she had ever felt on any battlefield. She had gotten back the man she loved, the man she had given her heart to.

  She fell into his embrace and just let out the loneliness—the suffering, the fear. All of it was laid bare.

  Like that, a death knight hugged and rocked a grand lich, carefully stroking her hair.

  ***

  It was some time before he released Claire.

  The loss was too fresh, the memories vivid.

  I’m still recovering, only about thirty percent of what I was at my peak. I need to get more power in order to wake up Penelope and Wendy, to materialize all of my familiars. To fight against the Drafeng yet again.

  His mind moved, seeing Troga and Tairlyn.

  “After Troga and Tairlyn killed the queen, what happened?” Anthony asked.

  Claire went silent as she pushed away and looked at her hands. “I broke my vows,” Claire said in a low voice.

  “What do you mean?” Anthony asked.

  “Who told you to run out there and be a hero! Who told any of you?” Claire yelled, glaring at Anthony. “I was the commander of the defenses. You should have waited for my orders!”

  Anthony took off his gauntlets and held her hands. “We had to. You know how queens are—once they’re in an area with a lot of power, they can start reproducing rapidly. They would have reformed their army, kept on hitting us with their cannons, increased their army as they waited, destroying our defenses and then pouring through. There was no way that we would be able to last three days. Once they got through the fortress, they would have run into several towns and villages in the surrounding area. And our reinforcements would have to split their forces to try to stop them. Meanwhile, more poured through the fortress and that queen kept on spawning more beasts.

  “They were all over the place, unorganized, suffered heavy casualties. We needed to act before they got ready,” Anthony said.

  Claire bit her lip but she didn’t say anything. She knew he was right, but still she wished it hadn’t happened.

  “Troga and Tairlyn were killed by the queen. You were dying, without any power in your body, even your familiars were dormant. Chaotic power burned you from the inside. I used my darker powers. You were the first three I turned into undead. Then I turned the rest of the Guardians who had fallen into undead. With it, I lost my rank with the Guardians. They banned me from awakening you completely. We still had a war to fight, though. There was a group of Guardians who made me promise to make them undead. Using some of our contacts, a crypt was made in the mountains. Guardians fell in battle and I raised them, binding their soul to their bodies, sending them to the crypt to rest. Even in death, they wanted to be ready in case there was ever a battle that needed them.

  “The Guardian leadership turned a blind eye. It was our people’s choice to make. We lost so many. The Guardians cleared the remaining gates and closed off Dena from the Drafeng. At the end, there were hundreds filling the crypt, but only tens were left afterward. They were already being lenient. The judges passed down a sentence.” She raised her hands and injected some mana into her wrist. A purple chain appeared.

  “I was to remain alive to care for Dena, to watch over the crypt but never use my power to raise those there unless Dena was under a grave threat. I found out that the chaotic flames in your body were burning through your mind, destroying your soul. I found that lichs could increase the power of the fallen under their command over time. So, I took that last step. As you would sleep, I would watch over Dena, hoping that we were never needed. I disappeared to complete the ritual. It was a success and the undead Guardians started to recover with time. I needed to draw out my heart as it would become the center of my power. I placed it within you so that I would always know what happened to you. At least be able to track you down.

  “Damien wasn’t a Guardian but I still turned him into an undead, according to his will. I was working on him last when I was becoming a lich. When I became a lich, his soul was powerful enough that he woke up by himself. He stuck with me as a death knight. We sealed up the crypt. If we were to raise you, the Guardians promised to hunt me down. So I left and I headed to Epan, as far from the crypt as possible. People thought that I had died in the fighting.

  “The Guardians and Dena recovered from the war. The Agents of Chaos were at work—many of them had gotten through. As the Guardians were fighting on the front lines, they infiltrated a number of institutions. Using their connections, they were able to turn public sentiment against us. They led their own people to attack the Guardians. They went to trials that were a mockery. They tried to cleanse the Agents of Chaos, but they were overwhelmed. Those who were left fell. The headquarters of the Guardians became the Church of Light’s headquarters, which is nothing more than an institution run by the Agents of Chaos.

  “Damien and I worked in Ilsal and Epan. We spread our influence carefully. We quietly cleared the lands here and built up the government, making sure that the Agents of Chaos weren’t able to infiltrate. We got into contact with the elves, dwarves, and other races through different channels. Only some of the enclaves of dwarves and the elves were free of the chaos’s influence. We’ve been fighting to keep the Agents of Chaos away, build up our own forces and try to figure out what we can do in Radal and Selenus. I cannot go to the main continent, that was part of my sentence, unless I am asked to, by a Guardian.”

  Anthony hugged Claire once again. She struggled but he didn’t let go.

  “I’m back now,” he said, holding her.

  Claire was stiff before s
he coughed and then wrapped her hands around Anthony as if she were holding onto a life raft.

  It was some time before she released him again.

  “So, how am I still a Guardian?” Anthony asked.

  “I raised you, but I didn’t affect your mind nor your soul. When you awoke, then it was up to the judges to say if you would remain a Guardian or not. It looks like they approved,” Claire said.

  “Well then, Claire, as the last remaining Guardian standing, in somewhat of an undead manner, will you assist me in restoring peace to Dena, restoring the Guardian institution, and protecting Dena from those wishing to harm those within it? If they be people of Dena or those from other realms and planes?” Anthony asked.

  The chains on her wrists lit up again. “I will be beside you in this life and the next.” Claire’s flaming eyes looked into his. “Don’t think about trying to kiss me. You’d be all teeth.” Claire grinned.

  Anthony couldn’t help but laugh, hugging her again as he whispered in her ear. “That’s my battle mage.”

  “Well, that was romantic,” Claire said dryly but squeezed him tighter, a cat-like satisfied look on her face.

  “You’re not going to let me go, are you?”

  “Nope!”

  “Okay, so what do we have to do now?”

  “Now? Well, things have changed, or at least accelerated since you went to sleep. The legions of the beast kin and the armies of the humans have started to amass on the borders of Selenus and Radal. I have gathered judges from across the world. People that are all looking to better lives on Dena. I have trained them for peace and tried to prepare them for war. Now they can become the hammer of justice, wielding it to crush those who dare harm Dena, and build up those who are innocent. They await a Guardian, and as it happens, I have found one.”

  “War never changes. Only people’s memories and accounts of it change. No one asks the soldier, the person who was there, what they thought of the war. It is those in high towers and in lands far away who send them.” Anthony let out a sigh, feeling tired. He had fought all of his life, waged war for years.

  “We both know that you won’t leave them to it. That you’ll somehow be right in the middle of it all.” Claire touched his jaw and turned him to face her.

  “It is up to the Tribunal to accept or deny a Guardian,” Anthony said.

  “I know and I know not all of the judges will be accepted to become Guardians. I will be unable to command them. You will become the leader of the Guardians.” She let that sink in for a moment before she continued. “While I command the united isle militaries from Epan and Ilsal and oversee the courts, we’re going to need Guardians capable of cleansing Dena. It’s time for us to do our duty.”

  “You were the one who convinced me to become a Guardian—you can convince me to be the leader of the Guardians as well. After this, though, I am taking a damn break. These bones are tired.” He raised his hand to his face. “Look—you can see the yellowing and the cracking! You need to look after yourself—you know, first impressions.”

  “And your fiancée is a lich—deal with a few cracks, will you.” Claire huffed but Anthony just moved her in his arms, unable to stop himself laughing at her pout.

  She rolled her eyes at him.

  “There are many mysteries in Dena. Once we have this war under our belts, there is that Fountain of Recovery we heard about in the Misty Isles off the coast of Deepwood.”

  “We never knew which coast,” Claire said.

  “Well, we’ll have time to explore. We have plenty more to see and more adventures to be had!” Anthony declared valiantly.

  Claire couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “You’re an idiot.” She let him pull her in tight as she rested her head against his breastplate. “But you’re my idiot.” She floated up and kissed his cheekbone.

  “She likes me!” Anthony yelled out louder than when he had woken up.

  “Shut up!” Claire blushed as she hit Anthony’s chest.

  He flew back, his legs hitting the altar as he flipped over it and hit the ground. “I’m okay! Missing my skull though. Uhh, hun, could you give me a hand? Oops, hmm, yup, missing some finger bones.”

  “I’m sorry!” Claire rushed around the altar to find Anthony’s body slowly getting up as he made grunting noises, moving his skull around so he could try to see his body. Claire stopped, her eyes going wide as she clamped her mouth shut, trying not to laugh.

  “I wasn’t ready! Some warning next time would be nice!”

  Claire, who was barely holding in her laughter, burst out. “Never seen someone go head over ass so badly!”

  “Hey! I got a good fifteen feet with my head, thank you very much. Head toss, would not recommend!”

  Claire grabbed Anthony’s head and put him back on his body as they looked for his missing finger bones.

  “Ahh, this is true love—hundreds of years and you’re helping me look for my finger bones,” Anthony said as he put the bones back in place.

  Claire just shook her head, reaching out and holding his hand to pull him along. “Come on, we’ve got work to do, you lazy bunch of bones!”

  Anthony grabbed his helmet and his gauntlets as they passed the altar, his jaw open in a grin as he looked at Claire and her holding his hand, pulling him along.

  He squeezed her hand tighter, not wanting to let go ever again.

  ***

  “You can make Guardians? How does it work?” Aila looked at Anthony, who stood beside Claire, holding her hand and not letting go.

  They had called everyone back to the main hall for their announcement.

  “I just have to call down the Tribunal, which is made up of some of the strongest spirits that protect Dena or look over it. Then they will judge and look through the candidates, judging them and seeing if they are worthy to become Guardians,” Anthony said.

  “They will bless them with the ability to use Guardian’s Judgment as well as imbue their body with power from Dena, which will allow them to become much stronger than before and allow them to use their different arts to call down Guardian’s Judgment. Gnomes don’t have power, but they were still Guardians and can write runes. With the right runes, you can create a courtroom of judgment. They just need to put a bit of blood on the formation and it calls them forward,” Claire expanded.

  “Look, let me show you.” A hammer appeared in Anthony’s hand and he brought it down. It rang out in midair and a purple gavel appeared. Purple lines of power traced out from the gavel, spreading out rapidly to become a table, then several other tables.

  Chairs appeared behind the tables and judges appeared.

  Aila could tell that these spirits were much older and more powerful than the ones she had seen before. They took more time to appear and looked over the people present in the room.

  “This is a Tribunal held in order to judge those worthy to become a Guardian. Does one of you wished to be tried?”

  “Damien All-Hammer, the Dancing Wolf from the east,” Anthony said.

  Damien’s body shook as he looked at Anthony and Claire.

  Anthony smiled and nodded to Damien.

  He took a few steps forward in front of the Tribunal.

  “It has been centuries since the last Guardian stood before us to be selected. Though I remember you, Damien,” the elemental said. Looking at their body, it seemed as if they contained their own world. There was a timeless age to the elemental.

  “Elemental Leader Randarok.” Damien bowed his head to the elemental.

  The elemental laughed. “It has been a long time since I have heard that name. For one so young, your memory is still sharp.”

  “Shall we begin the trial?” a human woman wearing a robe with armor layers said. Her face was serious but there was a kind light to her eyes as she looked at Damien.

  “I am not ready, but I will do my best,” Damien said.

  “More time rarely means gaining more wisdom. It seems you have done both,” an old-looking elf said.

&n
bsp; I have never seen an elf that old. They almost look like the old Maestro Damus, the head mage who created the Deepwood. Aila felt that these people were those who shaped Dena, not merely lived within it.

  “We shall begin.” The beast kin leader’s voice rumbled through the hall.

  Each of the judges raised their hands. Two arrows appeared, facing each other. They pushed upward, becoming an X before pointing above and below. A purple eye opened between them, looking down on Damien.

  Seeing them, Aila felt bare, all of her secrets and her thoughts revealed.

  Damien’s head slumped forward as the Guardian symbol moved forward, ringing around Damien. All seven eyes stared at him, forming a circle.

  Aila saw his body twitch as the judges closed their own eyes. Their purple Guardian symbol appeared on their armor, on chains, or on their very bodies.

  After a few minutes, the arrows pulled together. The Tribunal leaders opened their eyes and looked at Damien, who seemed to be recovering.

  “Damien All-Hammer, you have tread a long and hard path, taking up a cause that was not your own. You have long been a Guardian,” the beast kin said, his eyes shining as he looked at Damien.

  He made a coughing noise under those proud gazes.

  “Do you agree to carry out the duties of a Guardian, sworn to protect this Dena, its people, whether human, beast kin, gnome, dwarf, goblin, elven, or elemental?”

  “I do,” Damien said.

  “Repeat after me, the Guardian Oath.”

  The other members of the Tribunal rose, covering their Guardian symbol. All of them spoke together:

  “We fight the strong and the armed.”

  Damien repeated it after them, staring up at them all. Threads of purple power rose from Dena, wrapping around his left arm, creating runes.

  “We stand beside those who would stand beside us.”

  Purple power wrapped around his left leg.

  “We stand for those who can’t stand for themselves.”

  It threaded around his right leg now.