After I met with Telyos, I went to Risers, the pub that was just a few blocks from Mr. Cole’s house. Inside, the tables and bar were made of ebony wood with white walls exhausted from age. There was a fireplace and never much of a crowd, an ideal environment to have an intimate conversation, or for my purpose, deep contemplation. I thought of it as my personal refuge from the busyness of Nezura.

“Hey, Max, how we doing this fine evening?” the skeleton behind the counter asked.

“Good, Henry. Could I get a glass of the melomel?” I asked.

“Absolutely, coming your way.” Henry’s teeth curved up as he spun around. Henry grabbed a glass and took it to a wooden keg, pumping a nozzle at the top until a cloudy amber filled the brim. He came back and dropped off the drink.

“Thank you, sir.” I inhaled the fermented aroma mixed with cinnamon and blackberry. The excitement of taking a sip was the happiest I felt all day. The moment the liquid passed my lips, the sweet taste of the mead assuaged the stress and depression just a touch.

“Hey, Max, look who’s here tonight.” Henry pointed his boney thumb at a burly man entering through a door behind the bar. “Pub Owner King Ryoz has finally graced us with his presence.” Henry’s jaw clapped up and down, chuckling.

Ryoz laughed and covered his eyes. “Cmon, Henry, I told you not to call me that.” He grinned. Ryoz threw a rag over his shoulder and parked his elbow on top of the bar, beaming at me. “Max, it’s been a couple months, I’d say.”

“How was your trip to Orbavue?” I asked.

“Good. Nice to get away once in a while. I actually went to the Lavarund National Park too. Beautiful trails, views, and wilderness. You can really relax and get away from it all deep in those woods, and even in those wide-open fields, there’s not a soul around. I highly recommend camping there if you ever get a chance.”

“Sounds like I should take a trip soon myself.” I raised my glass to him and took a swig. “Maybe I will. Thanks for the inspiration.”

“Anytime.” Ryoz smiled, then studied my face. “Still haven’t been feeling too well, huh?”

“I’ll be okay, don’t worry about me.” I waved.

“If you say so. That drink is on me, by the way.” Ryoz knocked on the bar and started drying glasses with his rag.

“Cheers,” I said, continuing to slurp my lonely mead.

Ryoz waved and went into the back room, leaving Henry at the bar.

A wailing man came through the backdoor, his face red and wet with tears. I recognized him as I glared. He came in every once in a while, and I was thankful for his scarcity. His friend was holding him up with his arm and patting him on the back, saying, “It’s all right, Rog, chin up, we’re at the next pub. Pull yourself together.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to look over.

“Hey, bag of bones! My friend died! Can’t I get a drink already!” the man yelled.

“Roger, they should get it to ya for free, making us wait so long,” Roger’s friend said.

Henry spun around and jogged up to the two of them. “Sorry, I was just on my way. What can I get for you?”

“The strongest mead you got. And whatever my friend wants,” Roger blurted.

“I’ll just have the house melomel,” his friend said.

Henry turned back to the wooden barrels behind the bar, poured out two drinks, and delivered them. They didn’t even say thank you. Henry checked on the other patrons at the tables.

“This drink should be f-free! One o’ my closest friends just died, for goodness’ sake!” Roger barked.

“Talk to Ryoz about that,” Henry said when he came back around. “Keep it down and get your act together. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll ask you to leave.”

“Do that, and I’ll cuh-rack your skuh-SKULL. I’m grievin’ for cryin’ out loud.”

Henry’s eye sockets furrowed, and he started distracting himself with other menial tasks around the bar and kegs.

“My f-friend was MUR-dered by the SIL-ver Army! A damned spuh-spy took care of ‘im. Y’never know who could be a spy fer those pigs.” Roger’s drunken eyes wandered over in my direction. I didn’t want to look, but I could feel his stare burning my face. “That guy RIGHT there, co-could be uh spy.” He pointed at me. His friend also glared.

What do I do in this situation? Do I scream? Do I pull out my knife and try a necromancer spell I’m not even capable of producing? Please, someone in this bar, call this guy out!

“I seen ya around, kiddo. I ain’t nu-never seen ya summon shit. Who’s t’say yer not a sp-spy? It’d make sense t’me.” He scowled.

“Roger, he’s good. Leave him alone,” Henry demanded.

“Ya can’t say shit t’me! My friend d-died! Went to th’ funeral t’day!” Roger roared, chugging more of his mead. He patted his friend on the shoulder. “Vlark this kid uh-up. Good-fer-nothin’ spy. Preyin’ on them old people, poor Mr. Cole. We all know ya. We know what yer up to.” He and his friend stalked me like prey.

My heart thumped in my neck. I hadn’t dealt with a physically threatening bully since I was living in Verrenna. Flashbacks paralyzed me further. My legs took root in the stool.

They leaped forward with their fists out, striking me across the face. I crashed on the ground, my head smacked the tile. They kicked me repeatedly, as hard as they could, the tips of their boots ramming into my body.

“Get the hell outta here!” someone screamed, mighty footsteps marched to my side, and the kicking stopped.

I looked up and saw Ryoz grip each man with his muscular fists and haul them outside, following it up with, “Vlark off! You’re banned!” Ryoz watched them clear away before slamming the door. “Sorry about that, everyone,” he said to the handful of people inside the bar. He walked back to me and helped me up. “Max, I’m really sorry about all that, drinks on the house tonight, however many you want. You okay?” He patted my shoulder.

A combination of tears and blood obscured my eyes.

“They got you pretty good. Don’t worry, though, I can help clean you up no problem,” Ryoz said, but I ran away, out the backdoor of the pub, straight to Mr. Cole’s house.

I threw together a bag of clothes and some food and sprinted outside. It was strange to be the only one in such a hurry while everyone around me was having a relaxing evening of drinks, dinner, dessert, and entertainment. Necromancers performed musical numbers with skeletons on the street corners. Laughter, cheers, and applause could be heard on every block.

Everyone seemed so cheery. Why can’t that be me?

As I headed north to the city gate, I stopped off in front of a stone, two-story building on Venom avenue. I knocked several times before there was an answer.

“Hello?” Someone I didn’t recognize opened the door.

“Yeah, hi, I’m, uh…” I had a mental slip. Who did I even come to see?

“Are you okay? You look like you got attacked pretty bad.”

“Yeah. Is Megan home?” I finally remembered the name.

The woman at the door frowned. “I’m sorry, she’s gone for the weekend making some deliveries. I can leave her a note if you’d like?”

I feigned a smile. My lips quaked. I wanted to say something but I couldn’t, so I left from the doorstep. I pulled out the slip Telyos gave me from my pocket, but the therapist office was closed. Without a second thought, I ran until I was entirely out of the Nezura gates.

I hiked for days until I made it to southwestern Lavarund, arriving at the National Park.

Ryoz was right: there was much isolation, but it wasn’t the medicine I thought I needed. I could still hear the laughter from my classmates years later in the back of my mind, clearer than ever. Trudging through the forests, I eventually found myself in a valley, and something caught my eye. A shovel was on the ground, in the middle of two hills, glistening from the moonlight. It was late, and I thought I’d be more tired, but I had a spark of energy and an idea. I picked it up and started digging a hole.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. After constantly shoveling for what felt like days, but only hours, I discovered the bones of a dinosaur, and with closer analysis, a velociraptor. My mind exploded with cheers like a fireworks celebration.

This would be it; this would be my revenge I would exact on all those that ran me out of town, bullied me, or tried to kill me.

I uttered the incantation, unsheathing the blade my uncle gave me many years ago. I stabbed my hand at what I thought was the precise moment, but there was a pinch. Still, my hand glowed. Holding my freshly cut palm over the pile of bones, my blood spilled. Any moment the remains would glimmer and assemble before my very eyes.

Any moment.

Okay, but seriously, any moment now.

Now?

“Vlark it all!” I spiked the shovel against the wall of soil and threw my hands on my head as I tried to rip out all of my hairs. The tears I cried from all the trials I had experienced now changed into the tears of a failed necromancer. It was all I knew how to do, it was all I ever loved, and it was all I wanted to improve at. I tried to echo the advice from Telyos in my head and believe it, but it couldn’t remedy the depression. It seemed like every necromancer under the moon was better than me. All the beginners appeared to be way ahead. They mastered the focus and meditations. They knew how to say the incantations with perfect rhythm. They knew how deep to make cuts against the skin without pain, and they could perform spells without even referencing a book.

“Who am I kidding?” I moaned as I slumped against the wall and sat down. I was drowning in a flood of misery.

Maybe my parents and bullies from Verrenna were right, and I’m just bad at everything.

The moon was full and massive. I gazed up at it, hoping for some burst of inspiration. Suddenly, a person’s head hovered over the hole I was digging—I couldn’t see their face, but they were staring at me, the whites of their eyes exposed.

“You found something impressive,” the old voice said.

“Who are you? What do you want?” I demanded with a broken up, syrupy voice.

“I can sense the power emanating from those bones. You’ve done well to discover them, Maximilian. That’s a powerful friend at your feet.”

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

“Having trouble conjuring the summoning spell, are you?”

“Dammit, just tell me who you are!”

The old voice sighed. “I’m Akara.”

I gasped. “Good joke, now please, tell me who you are!”

She disappeared from the top and reappeared next to me with a sudden whoosh. I could see her now, her short white hair glimmering from the moonlight.

“You have much to learn, young Maximilian, and I will be your personal mentor.”

“What are you talking about? This must be a mirage. Everyone in Nezura said you died years ago in the attack against King Mozer.”

“People can speculate and spit out their uninformed rumors, but I’ve always been around. I’ve seen the future of this country, and you are desperately needed for what is about to happen. It starts with me training you, helping you carve a path.”

I peered at her, not knowing how to respond. It must have been a dream.

She held out her palms and uttered the incantation, stabbing her hand as the tip of her blade glowed white. The movements were fluid and confident. Her wrists glowed, and so did the bones. They magically assembled together, more lively than they had been for millions of years. Standing before us was the skeleton of a velociraptor, looking at Akara as her true master, waiting for her next command.

“Still don’t believe that I’m Akara?” she said.

I shook my head.

As I held up my hand to the skeletal velociraptor, it studied me. It nudged its head against my palm like an affectionate dog.

“Already, you show promise for great talent. Skeletal conjurings take a liking to you; you embody a respectful aura. You don’t see these summons as a tool, but more than that. By that metric alone, you’re way ahead of the curve,” Akara said.

“You’re lying. Don’t you know? I’m a joke among my peers!” My voice cracked as the tears still leaked from the corners of my eyes.

“Come here for a moment. I want to hug you; I can tell it’s been a while,” Akara stated.

I sniffled and quivered before stepping to the other side of the hole. When I was within arm’s reach of her, she slapped my face.

“Ow!” I shrieked, my face stinging.

“Sorry, I don’t have any cold water to throw in your face. You needed some sense to return to you. Now please, give me a hug because I do believe you need one.”

I rubbed my cheek, scowling at her, but she opened her arms. After stepping closer once again, she wrapped me in a warm hug that rejuvenated my spirit. Even if it was a placebo or magic, my anguish alleviated.

“Let’s diagnose all of your problems.” Akara put her hand over my face, and her palm glowed as my head felt like it was dipped in a warm vat of honey. She pulled her hand away and looked at me with sympathetic eyes. Just as she was about to speak, she sighed. “I really want to yell at you, but that’s not going to do you any good. Can you truly not see why other necromancers your age appear to be so much better than you?”

I shook my head.

“It’s because you never mastered the small and basic skills. You did them, yes, but you didn’t master them. When it got too hard, you gave up. It’s time we go back to the beginnings.”

“But I passed my classes when I took them at Nez—”

“You passed them because of your age and the folly of the instructors. As annoying as it may sound, you need to focus on summoning flowers and then work your way up to the skeleton of a chipmunk, a squirrel, or a rabbit even. We need to start from the ground up. Master those skills so that summoning the skeleton of a small dog will be no harder than boiling a pot of soup.”

I hung my head. “I don’t even know how to make soup.”

Akara stared at me with slight irritation. “It appears you have more to learn than I had imagined.” She smiled, then stared back at the velociraptor. It stood perfectly still, like a knight awaiting orders.

“Give her a name,” Akara said to me, looking at her own work with hardly as much admiration as I did.

“You want me to name the velociraptor for you?”

“Sure, but she’ll be your companion. I’ll release control to you, and she’ll follow your every command. Just give her a name.”

“Uh, I’ll call her, um, Betty? I always quite liked that name.” I shrugged.

“Very well, Betty.” She faced the dinosaur, whispering an incantation with my name sprinkled in.

The velociraptor looked at me as if awaiting the next command.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much!” I said, beaming at Akara.

“I’m going to head out now. You’re going to come to my island home. I already have another guest staying with me who is undergoing training. You must come if you have any interest in getting better and saving the country. Do you understand?”

“Saving the country?” I echoed, remembering she mentioned it just a moment ago, but it hit me with tremendous confusion. I couldn’t process it. “Are you sure you have the right person?”

“Quite sure.”

“Maybe there’s a different Maxi—”

“No. And there’s no time to keep debating this. It’s you, and you need to come to my home. See you there.” She stared up at the opening.

I nodded. “But wait! Are you leaving? Why can’t we go together?”

“Trust me, I’ve seen this outcome. If I go with you, we actually have less chance of survival.”

“Less chance of survival?” I croaked.

“That’s right. Please don’t be afraid, just come to my island, and everything will be fine.” She stepped up to me and pressed her thumb against my forehead. It radiated for a second, and the internal map of my surroundings became more familiar. “There, now you know the way to get to my island home. A skeletal oarsman will take you to my island. You’ll meet him on the northern port of Lostonia.” She gazed up at the top of the hole, closing her eyes and bending her knees slightly.

“Wait! Is there anything else I should know? You’re just dumping this whole journey on me.”

“Oh yes. There’s a 50% chance you’ll become best friends with the other person that’s training on my island. If you do, the country has a significantly better chance at surviving. So please be kind to them but don’t overdo it. Find a good balance.”

“The country has a better chance at surviving what? You need to tell me!” I yelled irritably. “You can’t possibly expect me to save it from anything! I’m just a loser!”

Akara smiled. “We’ll work on your attitude. It’s been good to meet you. See you on my island soon,” she said, whooshing out of the hole and out of sight completely.

Betty tilted her head at me, and I stared back at her with goggle-eyed wonder.

“I guess we better get a move on, Betty.”