Gentle rays of Amaril’s Gaze seeped in through the window, though I had been up after failing to sleep for more than an hour. My heart was beating rapidly, and even as my eyes begged for relief; I couldn’t stop inspecting the medallion.

  My fingers traced over the coarse edge, and each pass stained my skin with chalky ash. The coin wasn’t currency, but an etched trinket sporting some sort of four-legged animal. There was too much dirt, and the etching was far too tiny for my eyes to find purchase.

  At least under the moonlight.

  I gave up on the intoxicating beckoning of sleep, and moved to the worktable I had taken over. I dropped the coin dead center, and lit the lamp beside me. The flickering orange bathed me in its warm light, but more importantly, brought some sort of clarity.

  The Coin-Medallion wasn’t as ancient as I expected. There was no tell-tale sign of rust or disuse, and the coin itself wasn’t chipped. I rotated the coin against my hand, before finally setting it down.

  The four-legged creature was encircled in a golden wreath, and the writing around it was cursive and oddly beautiful. Needless to mention, I couldn’t read it, and It resulted in me just flicking the coin to do anything with it.

  The backside was completely charred; and my fingers scraping against it revealed more ash. I rubbed my eyes, and turned around to look for Myrrh. She wasn’t on this floor, so I stood up and shouted into the air.

  “Hey, Myrrh! Do we have any water inside?”

  The yelling woke Mirchie up, who squeaked angrily at me for disturbing her rest a second time. Her pink nose flared, and her beady black eyes spewed fury. She blinked once, and her small head looked between the comfort of the bed, the wooden panels between us, and the lack of anything warm.

  Her tail twitched, and her head flopped back down on my pillow, legs tucking underneath her fur and drifting back to sleep.

  Myrrh appeared a moment later, loose, parchment-like skin clinging against her bones. Elvish bones were oddly thin and lithe, looking much like humans… mixed with birds. Her fingers were elongated and smooth, not having the natural curve that human hands did. Her rib cage was compact, and even the femur and humerus seemed uncharacteristically petite and smooth.

  The ancient elf stood at the landing, before bowing her head. “We have water, Doctor Anise. Would you like me to brew you a cup of tea before your breakfast?”

  “That’d be nice, Myrrh. But, I’m trying to figure out something with this coin. Ananke called it a Memento Mori, but it just looks like a coin to me.”

  Myrrh headed towards the kitchen, and a moment later, arrived with a porcelain teapot with blue flowers painted against the pot, and two teacups. A fluffy, crescent-shaped piece of bread was there, slabbed with butter and a thick slice of cheese with nuts and berries to its side.

  She placed the platter against the table, and poured sweet-smelling tea into one of the cups. I took it, and brought it to my lips.

  It was lemon, but made in the same way the nobles would make it. Sugar syrup bonded with the water to make every drop taste more like ‘sweet’ than anything trivial like the lemon.

  Myrrh took the coin as I sipped, and brought it to her pale eye. Her eyes shone the ethereal green light of Anima, while she inspected the coin from the front and back.

  “Nered coin. Approximately 40 years old. Backside looks to be coated in…” she let the word linger. “Why are you inspecting it physically though, Doctor Anise? You said it was a Memento Mori?”

  “Yeah!” I said, putting the teacup down and grabbing the bread. My fingers push through the dough rather easily, tearing it in two. I was far too used to bread that was gritty and rough, but the softness of the crescent-shaped bread was… weird. I brought it to my nose to smell, and I was greeted with both butter and sugar.

  Both things I liked, so I wasn’t complaining. Myrrh clicked her tongue. “Honestly, serve a light croissant to either of the doctors and they make a mess of it.” She produced a handkerchief from somewhere, and handed it to me.

  “A Memento Mori, Doctor Anise, is an object containing an echo of a soul. I am not too aware of how Soul Magic works, but your grandfather would be able to tell how someone died from inspecting one.”

  That clicked in my head. I did have a way to do that. I nodded at Myrrh, as I changed my role to [Thanotologist].

  I held the coin in my hand and narrowed my focus.

  She bent forward, her olive-coloured arms lifting up a basket containing freshly baked bread, some salted fish, and a few vegetables.

  The coin pouch was slung against a braided robe, and the black robe she was wearing was naught more than a singular piece. Her head raised up for a moment, and looked over the orange sands, and the dozens of stalls hawking their goods.

  The buildings were made of sandstone, blocky and cubic in design. Cut off squares for windows were crowned with wooden boards, and the street was noisy.

  I forced myself to keep focus, to not be pulled back into the Ashley staring at a coin, but… whatever this sense was of staring out someone else's eyes. I bit my tongue, and forced my concentration.

  Hot! Her skin was burning warm, and even her breath was heated. I could feel it against my own cool skin, feeling both the burning sensation of Amaril’s Gaze… and the nothingness that was at home.

  She looked to the left and right, inhaling the scent of salt and spices. The man in front of her said… something in a tongue I couldn’t understand, and her attention was pulled towards him.

  The man had the same olive skin, and wore a similar looking black robe. He was fairly overweight with his stomach bulging out, and his beard as unkempt and long. “Ashiya ki limatari?”

  “Ka. Vasa’vi layish,” she responded, pulling out a few silver coins and handing it to the man. The coins had that strangeness to them, with the head not being of a phoenix but of a lion, and the script around the coin being in the same writing.

  A loud scream burst out, and her vision went hazy and unfocused. Her head jerked between the left and right, spotting a child raising his arm to the distance. Immediately, her gaze followed.

  I could smell the smoke; ashy, thick, and heavy, She coughed, and I could feel myself wheezing too.

  In the distance, the mountain had erupted, and a crawling bank of black ash rolled down the sides. Red, molten rock followed behind it, and the air was coated in ash.

  But more people were running. Her head couldn’t decide what to look at; the mountain breaking, the people running, or the constant, new sources of screams and tears.

  Until she finally spotted the figure in the ash.

  In the sky was a massive creature; four legged with two wings jutting from the side. With one flutter of its massive wings, the ash surrounding it dispersed into nothing.

  Its underside was bone-white, and where the topside came in, there was nothing but black scales. The sharp white talons on each paw skated over the air, but her eyes were locked on its wings.

  The wings were strong and leather-like; black scaled humerus connecting to the elongated radius and ulna to the claw-tipped metacarpus. The primaries, secondaries, and tertials were strong and vibrant, showing off that same bone-white underside.

  It flapped its wings, and the dust around it spread… and the sand below it picked up. The dresses of women and men in front of her began to flutter, before the rushing strength of a gale of wind knocked a few back… and then summoned a sandstorm.

  Her eyes however refused to close, looking up into the sky as the reptilian head became more and more apparent. Its eyes were bright red, and its entire body was getting closer and closer.

  The flying reptile smashed atop of the stone buildings, but it was so far away a moment ago! The creature was massive; where even the guards with their lances barely reached up to the knees. One guard lunged forward, the iron-tipped head smashing right into the black scale.

  The tip broke, and for the guard's effort, the spiked, prehensile tail wrapped around his gut. It flicked him upwards, and the reptilian head snapped it up, devouring the screaming man whole.

  The creature looked down at the street, and opened its mouth. The air smelled of gas, before everything became red and orange.

  My skin was sweating, and I could feel it begin to melt and char away. My breathing picked up, chest heaving, heart beating, and stomach tightening. I saw the orange flames come toward me, to devour me whole…

  … and then fade away into nothing. I was back in the room, with Myrrh watching me closely. She motioned for the tea, which I greedily drank. My body felt hot, burned-alive really, yet, physically, I was fine.

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  “What was that?!” I finally shouted.

  “A Death Echo,” Myrrh calmly stated. “What did you see?”

  “I… saw a woman in the desert…”

  “The Nereds, which makes sense with the coin,” Myrrh said.

  “...Who was buying groceries… and then a giant reptile attacked! It had WINGS Myrrh!”

  Myrrh stopped fuddling over the dish and turned to me. “Black or red scales?”

  “...Black?” I responded.

  “Red eyes?” she asked.

  “Yeah, and bone-white… underscaling?”

  “A Black Dragon then. Not many of them around,” she finished, pulling up a chair to sit beside me.

  “What? Do Dragons exist? Black Dragons do too?” I frantically said. Myrrh refilled my teacup, and forced me to drink.

  “You really haven’t gone out much in your time, have you, Doctor Anise? There’s a whole world outside of cities and towns. Though… dragons are rare. They are, rightfully, the Apex Predator.” The way Myrrh said that radiated reverence.

  “So… what, Ananke wants me to kill a dragon?”

  Myrrh’s eyes narrowed in confusion, and her lips curved. “You’d utterly die.” She looked at me again, and then the coin. “Whose eyes did you see out of?”

  “Uhm… some woman, I think,” I panted, before turning my attention back. “Wait, a woman was killed by a dragon, and that has to do with the wreck here? Are you sure I’m not going to kill a dragon?”

  “...Are you going to the Nereds?” Myrrh questioned, and I shook my head. She let that be my answer. “Think this through, Doctor Anise.”

  I lifted the coin up again, and stared at it. What did I actually know?

  The woman was from The Nereds, was shopping… and then was incinerated by a Black Dragon which also is real.

  “I don’t understand any of this, Myrrh. How is knowing a woman died to a dragon going to help me with my task?”

  Myrrh stared at me still, and her ghastly eyes locked with mine. “You are expected to shepherd the dead, Doctor Anise. You are holding onto someone's soul locked inside of a medallion. The actual person is probably in one of the underworlds, but you have a direct connection.”

  I flicked the coin against my head, and nodded. I was acting like a panicked schoolgirl, and Myrrh was right. I had plenty of ways to check this through.

  I focused my senses on the coin.

  Of course I did! The Memento Mori floated in the sky, and I felt my symphony begin to connect. The howling of winter mixed with the sounds of maggots and other carrion swarms filled my ears, though it was organized and neat. The scents of paper and ink and blood and bodies was an intoxicating symphony, as my Major death and Minor books coated the waking world.

  Three green lines hovered atop the Memento Mori, and a ghastly, spectral figure came from it. She was beautiful, her skin olive and her long smooth black hair coming down to her waist. She was short as well, I’d have estimated 5’1 if she was standing on the ground. Her face shimmered between two realities; the one before she was turned into ash, and the rotting, burned skin ruined by dragonfire.

  I watched her, and she watched me back. Myrrh raised a cup of tea to her lips, and after a few minutes, she got annoyed.

  “Doctor Anise, ask her a question.”

  “Oh!” My senses returned to me. “Who are you?”

  The spirit said nothing. Myrrh glared at me. “You… can talk to the dead, right?”

  “...Right,” I muttered, before closing my eyes and just focusing.

  “Wait–” Myrrh began, but she was too late.

  “Ashitia, ta la?” (Who are you?)

  “Azara Al-Arnab,” the woman responded, and her figure slowly faded out. One of the three green lines hovering atop the Memento Mori faded out.

  Myrrh shook her head and took another sip of the tea. “...Please refrain from asking questions you already know the answer to. You have a limited amount of questions, unless you plan to trek down to the underworld itself and talk to her.”

  I nodded. “Kimaya ka vakter?” (How did you die?)

  “DOCTOR ANISE–” Myrrh began, but the spirit was already talking.

  “Kiran, the Black Prince, Tyrant of the Nereds.” The ghost dutifully responded, and another flame ticked away.

  I swallowed, before realizing I knew the answer to that one too. I then turned to Myrrh. She said something in her beautiful, singsong language before turning to me. “Please, Doctor Anise, just ask ‘What are you looking for to be unburdened?’”

  “Janitra Ka Rhea?” (How can I help you be unburdened?)

  The ghost hovered in the air. “I would like to be reunited with my husband.”

  The third tick faded away, and the coin dropped atop the table. Myrrh took another sip of her tea, and refilled the cup. “You won't be able to call on her again, at least for another week. Next time, Doctor Anise… please don’t ask questions you already know the answer too.”

  “I’m sorry! I panicked! I was just killed by a dragon and then I summoned a ghost that wanted me to ask questions…”

  “I know, I know. You’re not much different than Levan when he was studying this,” Myrrh stated. “It is a pleasure getting the chance to mentor the newest generation.”

  I took a piece of the buttery bread between my fingers, and was about to eat it. However that’d look unprofessional, even if I just wanted to shove it in my mouth. I pouted, but Myrrh paid no mind.

  “Why doesn’t Selenia know that you’re around, Myrrh?”

  Myrrh put the teacup down, and looked at me. “She’s not officially part of Levan’s Cult, and is thus subject to [Lifebane]. If she were here, and I wasn’t able to control my urges, I would devour my daughter.” She said it so plainly, so… neatly.

  I had seen [Lifebane] and [Blood Thirst] before. In fact, it was one of the first abilities I had gotten as an [Acolyte] that made me not trigger it. “What are those? [Lifebane] and [Blood Thirst], I mean.”

  Myrrh’s attention shifted to the door. It was about 7:00 AM, so Selenia would arrive in 30 minutes for breakfast, and then I’d head out. When I returned, I would finish the dagger we were working on.

  “Ananke probably asked you the same question she asked Levan. What is a [Necromancer]?” Myrrh finally said.

  “Yeah. I don’t really have an answer.” I responded.

  “The answer is this: A [Necromancer] is what you decide it means. However, that answer is not going to mean anything to you for the longest time. You’re still learning your craft, and if you presented that answer to the Goddess, she would tell you to figure out what that actually means.”

  “...That sounds like a nothing-answer, Myrrh. Of course anything is what I decide it means, but that doesn’t..”

  She raised her hands and put it against my lips, and her thumb pressed underneath my chin to keep my jaw closed.

  “[Lifebane] and [Blood Thirst] are ‘senses’ that [Night-Things] have that try to solve the same fundamental issue: We do not create Vitality.”

  I nodded, though I usually referred to Vitality as Anima. “...Ophelia drinks blood.” I murmured out of her grip, my lips barely flapping about as I spoke.

  “Ophelia must be a vampire then, the social predators. They’re the only ones able to feast on the living without killing them. For the lesser dead, it comes from only one way: Consumption of the living.”

  “Or you can stand on a blight!” I added, pulling myself away from her grip.

  Myrrh tilted her head to the side, and looked out the window. “No, the Blight has to belong to your leader or it must be a natural blight. I am aware this city is blighted; I used to wander off at night to do as I needed. But when Bazerie took over and claimed it, I’m not part of her cult, so I must stay here in Levan’s workshop. Which leads to the second way most of the [Night-Things] get around it – “

  “They serve a [Necromancer],” I finished for her, and Myrrh nodded.

  “Under a cult, the undead can not and will not attack the living members, as it suppresses the [Lifebane]. Selenia was never inducted, as Levan was killed before it could be done. I am aware you could induct her, but Levan’s resurrection is close at hand, and I feel that my line would prefer to be inducted properly – no offense meant dear.”

  “None taken,” I replied. “But what does this have to do with being a [Necromancer]?”

  “You manage the dead. Necromancy has its roots in elvish medicine, but it’s a line developed by the short-lived races,” Myrrh stated.

  “There’s no elvish [Necromancers]?”

  Myrrh tapped her chin. “...Not full elvish, I know of one Half-Elf.”

  “Wait, is that –” But Myrrh glared at me. I think I knew the answer to the question I wasn’t allowed to ask.

  “If you truly want to understand what I mean, Doctor Anise, I would start your research on the fundamental class you are - What is Arcane Magic, really? If you can start from there, you’ll come to the conclusion that Levan and I reached that satisfied Ananke. Though, your answer can be different than mine.”

  “...I would, but I want to understand the elvish way too. Could you teach me?”

  Myrrh laughed. “Torment no. If you want to learn that art, you’ll have to ask Alexia.”

  “Who?”

  “Alexia Delaius-Vandis,” She repeated.

  “Who?” I repeated.

  Myrrh sported a bemused smile. “You’ll have to learn about the elves to know why that name is special. She lives off the Mirror Lake with her servants. She’s also one of the younger elves. She’ll gladly teach you medicine, but don’t tell her you're a Necromancer. She isn’t too pleased that her sacred art has been defiled by the mortals.”

  I groaned, but got up. “I guess I’ll go see Selenia for breakfast. You sure you don’t want me to induct her so you two can chat?”

  “No!” Myrrh forcefully said. “Poor girl’s been abused by her lineage for a long time. I don’t want her to know about how her lineage should be broken until she meets the actual Doctor again.”

  I slowly nodded. “This has something to do with her not being allowed to be an Aeromancer?”

  Myrrh pursed her lips, and then tilted her head towards the door. I didn’t need further ‘hints’ to know this was a topic that neither of them wanted to speak to me about.

  So I left.

  Selenia’s breakfast and tea was nice – though, she didn’t know the first thing about dragons. She did tell me the copper dagger could wait, but to bring my own Artifact with me if I was really going to see a wreck.

  My heart was pumping. It had been awhile since I got to go do something.

  I was becoming a woman that did what was necessary, and that was so exciting.