“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”

- Edgar Allan Poe, Eleonora

The days passed.

And then it was ‘Void and Necromancy for Beginners’ again.

Alyssa stood before the reinforced door in the dank corridor leading up to it. She took a deep breath, then another. She still had not opened the door. Asandria regarded her with exasperation, ‘You are better than them. Even if they strive and work their utmost they cannot match your advantages in that regard. They were jealous. Go on in.’

She took another breath and opened the door. Professor Carmen was already waiting. Some students were sitting on a bench talking. Ludwig looked at her with a half-smile and nodded.

The professor nodded wryly and gestured for her to take a seat.

Time passed and the seats were filling up. Today the slabs were empty, the dry cold air had a subtle chemical reek and Alyssa had to stifle a sneeze.

“We are all assembled I think and it is time to begin the lesson. Welcome students to ‘Void and Necromancy’” She began to pace. “You might ask- Why is it called necromancy when everything I could think of doing with a corpse is prohibited by law? That is because we will not be using a dead person, animals are not included in the prohibitions neither is the use of necromancy for sensing or even augmentation. It is at the end of the day only a form of energy, of power that can be harnessed to do its wielder's bidding. The corpses present at our last meeting were meant for providing power only. Which made the display...” she looked at Alyssa as she said that "...a bit problematic. But they had forfeited their rights and there was no permanent creation of undeath, so that is that."

She walked towards the students. “Today I will explore the different possibilities and then we will learn about the glyphs and theorems making up the brunt of void and darkness manipulation.”

The students became busy taking notes.

Alyssa peeked at the others while trying to keep up with the flow of the lecture. Some of the others were keeping their distance and some even seemed nervous or afraid of her but some did not look all too bothered.

Ludwig grinned as he caught her gaze and then continued to write.

‘Perhaps it will blow over when nothing strange happens with me in the next week or so.’ Trying to keep her optimism, reinforced from a weekend spent with her friends, she focused on professor Carmen.

“We will now go into the finer details regarding void transmission into recently dead flesh and the ways to still preserve it for the function intended.” The professor explained as a student raised his hand. She raised her eyebrow but nodded at him, “You have a question?”

“Yes.” The student seemed nervous. “Void energies damage flesh as you mentioned. What about the presence of someone who uses void magic and cannot control it well?” A side-glance at Alyssa made his line of inquiry clear.

Professor Camen sighed, “That could lead to bodily harm. But you forget something essential when asking this question.” The student looked uncomprehending. “You, all of you first-years are still mostly new to magic, the somewhat rare home-schooled scion of a wizard's family aside. And all of you don’t have full control of your power. Light mages could blind you, fire could burn you, severely I might add, earth mages can summon some pretty nasty metal blades. If you ever get hit with a Blade of Erosion talk to me about your experience sometimes.”

She clasped her hands behind her back. “That does not mean that void is not among the more damaging and potentially one of the most hazardous elements and users should be trained for safety and control first. But! You should not needlessly stir up fear and resentment you are in the same situation and none of you are here because you lack a facility with void.”

A snicker from Ludwig caused the student to turn red in the face and take a step back to better vanish into the group.

The rest of the lesson proceeded smoothly. The homework was distributed and they left the room.

Three students including the one who had asked the question hurried after the departing Alyssa. “Wait!”

Alyssa stopped and turned with a wary expression. “Yes?”

“Did you really kill a person with void-magic?” A girl with close-cropped dark-brown hair and a hooked nose asked her suddenly.

“Why do you ask something like that?”

“I heard some rumors. Seems like there is some truth to it.” The boy who was humiliated in the lesson looked triumphant.

“Yes, I killed some bandits who tried to harm us. And not only with void magic, but I also used fire.”

Cyrus flapped his wings and arched his neck, his eyes gleamed in the light of the glow stones and the three took a step back.

“So you killed people and are actually proud of it!?”

“They tried to kill me! Should I have let them? Would you? And what of it, if the town guard slays a bandit they get feted and praised, when I do it, it is unconscionable?” Alyssa became angry. “And if you really thought I were such a threat, why corner me in a dark corridor without anyone nearby? Wouldnt that put you in danger?”

The girl pointed at her and smiling victoriously said, “There was talk you killed someone in your hometown. Was it a bandit too?”

Alyssa felt her heart beating rapidly. “I don’t know what you have heard. The only thing I ever did was defend myself when attacked. I never attacked someone first in my life. And I don’t have time to chat with you, I have to be going now.” Saying that she turned and hurried away, she felt like she was fleeing and it did not sit well with her but she could not simply stand in the corridor trading barbs with those people.

Exiting the basement corridors she breathed deeply of the crisp autumn air and basked in the sunshine that even late in the day warmed her nicely. Calming her heartbeat she walked towards the dorm and hopefully Alea. Mireille should still be in ‘Sword One’. A smile stole on her face as she remembered the freckled red-heads indignation about that boring title.

A bit further away stood Leonhard and a big student with a thick neck and massively muscled arms and legs with dirty blond hair and a nose that had been broken and not healed well. “You get the dust” Leonhard looked around shiftily, “when you call her out to duel even if you should lose... " The big student scoffed. "...in the improbable event that you lose. And you will get the gratitude of the others as well. Perhaps I can even persuade Melissa to reward such an upstanding student as yourself with a date.”

The big student grunted his assent. “Ok. The dust and the date and it's a deal.”

“Otto my friend you will not regret this.” He sneered and looked at the white-haired, waifish girl with the maddeningly beautiful face walking briskly down the sideroad to Wisteria Dorm. His palms itched and that always spelled trouble, for whom was the only question. ‘That will teach you and wipe the smile from your face. When I offer my help again you better take me up on it. Or else...’

Meanwhile in a castle far to the northwest.

The room was stiflingly hot and the flames roaring in the old fireplace heated the metal grating to a dull red glow. Eyes glowing with a feverish light shone out of deeply sunken sockets. The body was emaciated and the veins prominently visible on the hands clasped before the shrunken breast as if in prayer. The hairs on the liver-spotted pate were whispy and of a nearly translucent white. The teeth were astoundingly healthy-looking even if the gums had retreated and made them seem overly large, the lips were thin and pulled back.

Brocade covers swaddled the body gold and silver stitching outlined every edge in ornate embroidery. The window was tightly shut and hung with heavy curtains.

The walls were dark and ancient stonework hung with Gobelins depicting scenes of warfare against human and monstrous foes. Giants ripped heads still screaming and spraying blood from bodies tumbling onto heaps of corpses. Warriors torched a city full of men and women pleading on their knees. A snake swallowed praying monks while a knight in platemail raised a greatsword to the heavens where a dark king brooded in clouds rife with lightning.

And even though the body seemed near death, rasping breaths left no doubt as to him being still alive.

There was a knocking at the door and the eyes rotated towards the door before a cough wracked the sticklike figure, “Enter.”

The door opened and Mathilde von Nordstrom entered, her left arm was swathed in bandages and there were inflamed reddish spots on her left cheek. “My lord I have news.”

“Speak”

“The children are at the academy, the ones that thwarted your plans are sworn to their house and also enrolled as students. Our ally professor Jamila von Nordstorm has begun to get the council to remove them and perhaps even oust Magister Illimen in the process. If it becomes known that he has let his judgment slip so as to let a criminal and murderess attend the school against his better knowledge that might give us the leverage needed. There are royals in attendance after all.”

“Satisfactory. Need the children...here.”

Mathilde nodded and continued, “Yes, when we have Demavar removed they will be vulnerable…”

The patriarch coughed and gestured.

Mathilde grabbed a goblet from the table beside the ornate canopy bed and opened a vial before emptying it into the goblet, then she added some wine from a decanter and stirred with a glass spoon. There was a hastily suppressed look of revulsion on her face as she supported his upper body with her right arm and held the goblet to his lips with her left. Gulping the contents rivulets of dark red nearly black liquid dripped from his chin. Bloodred energy flowed through his throat and lit his flesh from within.

“Better.” The old man suddenly much more vigorous arranged his blankets, patted Mathilde's hand, and continued. “I have made arrangements with the nobles council and the regent. We will have our land.” His eyes turned towards the woman “But we don’t have much time. If you don’t arrange for the two Graufurt siblings to be here before the beginning of winter then you will have to give me Henrik.”

Mathilde flinched as if struck. A thin arm snaked from the covers and caught her wounded left arm and thin corded muscles bunched as the grip tightened painfully. Before she could control herself she gave a stifled groan. “Do remember whom you serve.”

Pale, with sweat beading on her brow she nodded.

“Good.” The word was drawn and breathy like wind blowing through a fleshless skull.