Chapter 17: Decisions

Malakhay was sitting comfortably beside his master back in the queen’s study. All four of them returned there once the ceremony of rising Korpus was successfully over. Just as they came back, the queen immediately asked about the battle with the elves. Korpus explained everything that happened in great details, ending the story with him entrusting his life to Malakhay.

“I see.” Nyxea said as she thought deeply about everything she had heard from him. “So our original suspicions about a spy in our ranks were right. The only question remaining is, if there was only one?”

“That, I can’t say. After all, the Realm Walkers is a difficult bunch to deal with. First, we will need to try to get some useful information from Malthazar and act according to them.”

“I don’t want to sound rude, but I don’t think this is the right time to discuss this matter.” Deq’ria said as she reminded them about Malakhay being still present.

The queen immediately understood what Deq’ria wanted to say and looked at Korpus to find out if this will be a problem.

“You don’t need to worry, he won’t say a word.” Korpus vouched for him seemingly without any thoughts as he looked at Malakhay.

“Maybe it will do us good if we can use him in this matter.” Nyxea still pondered about something, while piercing Malakhay with a sharp glare. “He isn’t as conspicuous as you lich-lords and nobody really knows about him yet, he has also proved that he is capable.”

Malakhay didn’t understand what they were talking about, but he wasn’t so stupid as to not realize that it was important.

“So? What do you say? Do you want to help your queen and your master?” The queen finally asked him directly.

Malakhay didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to anger the queen as she would be an impossible opponent for him, but he also wasn’t thrilled about agreeing to something that they are yet to explain to him. Seeking the help from his master he silently looked at his skeletal face.

“As I told you before Malakhay, you are no longer my servant. It’s your life so you must make the choices yourself.”

The queen and Deq’ria were visibly surprised with Korpus’s words, but they stayed silent about it.

“I will do what I can to be useful to you.” Malakhay finally answered. He thought about it and decided to accept the queen’s proposal for now. It couldn’t be bad to work for such a powerful person and he concluded that he will probably be able to reap some great benefits from it, if nothing else he will be under the protection of the crown.

“Good. I will ask Korpus to explain what you need to know.” The queen looked really satisfied with his decision. “But before that I would like to reward you for your previous hard work, so I ask of you to state your wish.”

The moment she said this Malakhay’s mouth showed a cold smile.

“Revenge. I want to kill those slavers the cruellest way possible for what they did to me.” His answer was immediate, showing how much hatred he harboured towards them.

Nyxea studied him for a while with a calm face.

“You may be only an imp but you are still a pure-blood demon and I myself know very well that we demons don’t forget about these things. I can’t say that I will help you directly. If it would get out to the public that the queen is helping somebody with murders it would harm even that little trust we have built with great difficulties with the merchants from the other countries. But I can help to falsify reports, investigations and even prepare a scape goat if something would happen to the mentioned slave traders.” She said, explaining her situation.

Malakhay thought about what she said to him and understood what she was worried about. He was slightly disappointed as he thought that she will provide more help. He wanted those slavers and orcs murdered so bad his hands itched for it, but he wasn’t certain if he could do it alone. After all, he was still quite weak. These thoughts must have shown on his face as Korpus said to him:

“You don’t need to be worried Malakhay. The queen may not be able to help you directly, but I can.”

Nyxea only silently nodded as she heard him.

“There won’t be a problem if you help him and I can stay calm that it won’t go the wrong way if something unexpected happens. But I still want to ask if this is the only thing that you have in mind for your reward? It’s too little I can do in this matter and I don’t want you to think that I’m ungrateful. Money, women, territory, I can grant you any of those if you wish for it.” She offered to him, thinking that his demon greed will speak for him.

“I want knowledge to become more powerful. I hate that I’m so weak that in a fight even humans can kill me whenever they wish.” He stated almost instantly, not being tempted by the offer the queen proposed to him.

Surprised by his choice she smiled inside herself, not letting it shown on her face.

“That can be done easily. I will search for teachers suitable for you and grant you access to all parts of the royal library.”

“Teachers won’t be necessary.” Korpus stated, interrupting her. “I will take him as my pupil.”

“Excellent. I will also have prepared a personal room for you, here in the castle if you wish for it.” She offered to him, knowing he doesn’t have a place to stay in yet.

“Thank you.” Malakhay said thinking he made quite a good deal with her. He can learn from Korpus, will be protected and fed inside the castle and have access to the knowledge they possess. With enough time he was convinced that he will be able to get stronger.

“Now that this matter is settled, I ask of you and Korpus to leave and deal with the situation that Malthazar has caused. As I said before, Korpus will explain everything to you. For now you are free to do as you wish, but remember that I can’t give you much time and will call for you soon.” Nyxea said as she released them.

Just as the door of the secret passage closed behind them Deq’ria voiced her thoughts to the queen: “Was it necessary to grant him access to the whole library? There are some things that could be troublesome if he learns them – especially spells.”

“He may be smart, but he is still just an imp. I was surprised when Korpus offered to teach him, but I don’t think he will pose a problem. After all, imps aren’t that long-lived, so even if he wants he won’t have time to learn anything that could harm us. For now his anonymity is an advantage for us, he can move freely with it and I can use it. If he will prove useful to us he can have his little rewards, be it books, money or women. Only time will tell if he can gain my trust or just become one of the many disposable pawns.”

“Just don’t forget that Korpus took interest in him. None of us lich-lords ever had a pupil that could proudly proclaim he was taught by us directly. Even Nexaria can’t really say that, as I only offer some advices and simple teachings to her to ease her progress. In the end I’m not saying that the imp doesn’t have his uses, but for some reason I got the feeling that problems tend to follow him everywhere.” Deq’ria warned her, she herself still curious about Malakhay as she thought about him. There was something that he radiated despite being so weak, so she understood why Korpus bothered with him. If she will have some spare time she will surely try to learn more about him.

“As always you are correct.” Nyxea listened to her knowing Deq’ria’s advices were always worth considering. “Just to be sure I will prepare somebody who will look after him for us.”

***

As they left the queen and Deq’ria behind, Korpus and Malakhay slowly returned to the catacombs through the secret passage unnoticed. Exiting from it into the dark hallway, Korpus immediately headed for the dungeon, where the other lich-lords were supposed to be together with Malthazar. Malakhay, staying beside Korpus, nervously followed him as he didn’t know what else to do.

“I see that you are curious, but I will need to ask of you to bear with it for now. I just need to finish something and then we will have a lot of time for the explanations and your teaching.” Korpus informed him to calm Malakhay’s nerves.

“As you command, master.”

“I told you previously that we are no longer master and servant but teacher and pupil. So you can stop calling me master.”

After that they walked quietly. They weren’t seen by anybody as Korpus knew his way around and how to avoid areas with servants or guards. Malakhay was wondering why Korpus was going to such great lengths as to not be seen, but he refrained from questioning the methods of his teacher.

With a quick pace they soon reached the lower parts of the dungeon, where occasional screams could be heard. As they finally approached them the screams stopped and threw the dungeon into silence.

Wary about the whole situation, Korpus stopped just before reaching the cell where Malthazar was supposed to be. After a few moments a disappointed sigh could be heard from inside.

“Sigh, there he goes. As we feared he put himself to death somehow.” A man’s voice could be heard from within the cell. “You can come in now Korpus.”

As he was invited, Korpus entered the cell with Malakhay in tow.

“I’m glad to see that you are all right. When I first heard that you were killed I was seriously surprised.” Just as Nara’akuu said this, the other two lich-lords also nodded their heads in unison.

“Yes, how could such a worm kill one of us?” Delian asked, slightly teasing Korpus about it.

“What can I say? I certainly lowered my guard at that time. But thanks to Malakhay over here I was able to make it back.” Just as Korpus introduced him, the other lich-lords finally took notice of him as they thought, until now, that he was just some lowly servant.

Seeing that three other beings as powerful as Korpus looked at him, Malakhay started to sweat, feeling great pressure from their gazes.

“If it’s like that I think that I can speak for everybody when I say that you have our gratitude.” Nara’akuu said to him, not minding the imp’s status.

“Let’s end with the pleasantries for now. Were you able to learn something useful from him?” Korpus asked, looking at Malthazar’s body which was still lying on the floor.

“Regretfully, no. At first he was intimidated, but as he finally regained some composure he killed himself or whatever Realm Walkers do when they end up in an inconvenient place.” Nara’akuu quickly explained. “I must say, that ability of theirs is a large pain in the ass.”

“I see. For now I will try to bind his body to this place. With that we should have another chance. Also, the queen wishes to speak with all of you regarding the upcoming future. Deq’ria is already with her.” Korpus informed them, crouching beside Malthazar’s stiff body.

The other lich-lords didn’t need to hear more to know where they should go. After all, Korpus was the only one from them who could still salvage something from this seemingly helpless situation.

Just as they left he slowly finished his preparations and casted a spell. A spell so rare and complicated, that he was probably the only one who knew it.

“ಒಂಟಿತನದ ಪೂರ್ಣ ದೇಹದ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ಯುಕ್ತವಾದ ಮಾಲೀಕರು ಮತ್ತೆ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ ತನಕ ನೀವು ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶನ ಮತ್ತು ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಜೀವನದ ರೆಕ್ಕೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸುವಂತಿದ್ದವು. (Body full of emptiness, defy the wings of life that guide you and wait until your rightful owner claims you again.)” The mysterious words which Malakhay never heard before were chanted by Korpus. Just as he finished, grey transparent chains appeared from beneath the body and rooted it in the place. As they finished their task they again vanished as if they never appeared in the first place.

“Teacher, what was that?” Malakhay’s curiosity couldn’t stand it anymore as he asked, not being able to find an answer even with the help of Korpus’s knowledge that he obtained from him previously. Even the feeling was completely different from the normal magic that he has previously encountered. This one left him with an itch all over his body.

“Do you remember how I previously told you about the fact that I have unlocked my bloodline?”

Malakhay only nodded at his words silently.

“My bloodline unlocks a special type of magic to me, which is called animae magic. With it I can influence the soul of other beings, or my own.”

“But why use another similar magic if you have already mastered necromancy?” Malakhay still didn’t fully understand.

“Necromancy and animae magic are two very different things. With necromancy you control only the body or what is left of it and with animae you manipulate the soul. Each one of them is only a single half of the picture, but when you put them together you will obtain a masterpiece.”

Even after this explanation there was still probably some confusion in Malakhay’s eyes as Korpus continued with his explanation.

“You have seen the undead which I had risen before. They can be a powerful force, but you must be able to control and command them. Without proper commands they are just empty husks. Their body still reacts to the life force of other beings and in a constant hunger to obtain what they have lost, they endlessly try to devour the living, but that is all. As they run out of mana, which their empty body can’t generate if they don’t feed or some necromancer doesn’t resupply it, they just fall apart. But, if you attach a soul to that empty body you will obtain a new type of undead. With a soul attached to it, the body can exist without a master, it can think for itself and act based on its own decisions if not controlled. It is also considerably more powerful than your regular undead.”

Finally roughly understanding the base differences between the two magic’s, Malakhay suddenly realizes something.

“Forgive me for being rude teacher, but doesn’t that mean that there must be somebody else with the same bloodline as you? Could it be that lichs are created by this combination of two magics?”

“As always, your sharp mind surprises me and logically speaking, you should be correct.” Korpus complimented him, his good mood showing in his voice. “But you are wrong about one very important thing. Who told you that we lichs are undead?”

As he listened to him Malakhay thought he heard him wrong. He dumbly stared at the skeletal body of his teacher which clearly consisted of only bones. What was he if not undead?

“I can see that you are confused so I will explain.” Korpus quickly told him, having a great fun from Malakhay’s reaction. “Every single lich other than me is a living being. Becoming a lich is a very old teaching and considered mastery of ancient necromancy magic and there are only a few who could attain it. If a strong mage with a vast knowledge decides to become a lich, he starts to convert his body and discards all unnecessary things from it. Skin, muscles, nerves, blood, organs, everything in his body is converted step by step to a very strong magical energy or mana. As this happens, the said mana is constantly built in and integrated into his bones as they are best suited as a container for it. At this time he can even take mana from another source and by adding it to this process he can easily enlarge his previous power. The only thing he must watch out for is the quantity he takes in. If the bones aren’t properly prepared or he is too greedy, they often aren’t able to support all this new power and shatter, until becoming only dust. If this happens the necromancer was unsuccessful and he dies without leaving any trace of him behind. But, if he was successful, he becomes a lich, a being that is not allowed to die normally or also known as undying, not undead. He also never died during the process so he is still counted as a living being. Many don’t understand this difference and thus also think we are just another undead.”

Silently repeating all the information he just heard in his head, Malakhay tries to remember everything of it.

“So if I understand everything you explained to me, lichs never died and never will die unless killed, while undead are just already dead bodies that were risen by necromancy.”

“Exactly.”

“But then what about the rule with a soul core that you explained to me before? You said that many non-monster races like human, elves, dwarves, beastmen or demonata have a soul, but monster races, where lichs are also included, have a soul core. Shouldn’t it be impossible for a human with a soul for example to become a lich who has a soul core?”

“Yes I explained to you previously that with the exception of the demon race, one can have only a soul or a soul core. This rule still applies here. As a part of the process while becoming a lich, a human’s soul gathers in one place inside of his body and then also compresses itself. This is automatic and cannot be prevented. When this step is finished the hardest part of the whole process takes turn. The necromancer must create a magical defensive layer, or you can also call it a vessel, around his compressed soul and then shut it in. His soul assimilates with it and in the end a soul core is created while the soul ceases to exist. This is the most dangerous part of the whole thing. If the necromancer isn’t able to create the mentioned vessel his soul fades and he dies. If he creates it too small a part of his soul is shut out from it and still fades not being able to assimilate with the rest of the core. When this happens, madness and insanity overcomes the lich. These lichs must be immediately killed as they are highly dangerous. Also, if one creates a too big vessel, again only a part of the soul assimilates, but with the difference that the not assimilated part stays inside. That creates a body with a soul and a soul core at the same time and they devour each other, killing the lich in the process.”

Malakhay, still trying to process everything he was told, starts to be confused with a lot of information he was offered at the same time. Korpus seeing it knows he probably told him too much, too quickly. But Malakhay did need to learn all of this eventually as he was probably going to interact with other lichs in the future, so he was willing to be patient with his new pupil.

“Teacher, you said that: ‘every single lich other than me is a living being.’ What does that mean?”

“That is simple. It means that I already died in the past. Or to be more precise, my body died. Here returns what I told you about my bloodline and animae magic. I was a converted lich already when I was defeated and my original body died. But thanks to my ability to control souls to some degree I was able to transfer my soul from the broken soul core to a new one similarly as you had witnessed today. Thanks to this I’m probably one of the longest living beings. Through the centuries I have gathered knowledge and power. I have seen kingdoms rise and fall. I have caused kingdoms to rise and fall and I’m not to be trifled with.” As he said this the temperature in the room visibly dropped. The mood changed instantly and Malakhay knew that if Korpus wished for it he could obtain almost anything.

Looking at the uncontrollably trembling body of his pupil, Korpus wanted to show to him how vast the world can be and that even if he commanded all this force, in the end he was still killed.

“Teacher, why are you working for the queen?” Malakhay asked, noticing too late that the words he just spoke could kill him.

“You are either very brave or insane when you are asking me this.” Korpus lifted Malakhay by magic and held him up so that he can look directly into his eyes. The murdering aura that radiated from his teacher almost choked Malakhay as he wasn’t able to fight against it.

“For this one time I will pretend that I didn’t hear anything, but there won’t be a second chance. Also, I will warn you beforehand that everything that I have said here was meant only for your ears. The other lich-lords and the queen are the only ones except you who know about my bloodline and if you ever tell someone about it I will make sure that you will wish to be back in the hands of the slave traders again. Knowing all this here is my last question to you: Do you still wish to be my pupil?”

Malakahy stopped his pathetic struggling and stared at how death itself evaluated him like some kind of toy. Korpus was giving him a chance to change his mind while showing him a little of the world he was about to enter. It will be too late if he starts explaining what the queen mentioned before. He may have exaggerated in showing his power a little bit but if he is going to teach someone, he wanted somebody who was resolved enough to walk through hell itself. He will be used by the queen and a lot of others will try to use him against her. There won’t be any shortcuts and Korpus will be hard on him. This was the last piece of kindness he could offer to somebody who saved his life.

“Yes teacher. I will not back down.” Malakhay said, showing a confident smile despite being held in the air above ground.

“Good.” Korpus put him down convinced about his determination. The mood changed again and the tension in the air vanished as if it never was there.

“But we strayed from your original question of what I did to Malthazar’s body. For now I will tell you that Realm Walkers have a special ability. When they die their soul leaves the body behind and escapes it. This body will just vanish in one day. After exactly 49 days from their death their body appears in a temple and their soul simply reattaches back to it and a Realm Walker comes back to life. Before you ask, we don’t know how they do it. There are a lot of unsolved mysteries about them. But we don’t want Malthazar to do this so I cast a spell which I recently learned, this should prevent the resurrection. I tried to bind his body to this place. Now it shouldn’t be able to vanish and when his soul returns it won’t have any other option than to return here where we can wait for him and question him again.”

As Malakhay listened to Korpus a lot of questions popped up in his head, but before he was able to ask them his teacher stopped him.

“I know you want to know more, but this isn’t the right place or time. I suggest we leave and take care of some minor things that you will need for your living here. I also must explain to you some rules and what will be expected from you.” With those words they left the cell with a body lying on the ground behind them.