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Kalestra's Chosen (*Finished*)
Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-three

"This is frustrating. We destroyed too many of the necromancy books." Dragonis sighed at the paltry group of books on the table before him. 

"I may be able to help," Xan spoke in a nervous manner.

"Oh?" Dragonis was intrigued and hopeful.

"I may have acquired some black market items, for purely academic purposes of course," Xan tentatively stated.

"Indeed," Dragonis understood the trust he was being shown.

"I can be back with most of what I have quickly," Xander offered.

"That would be spectacular!" Dragonis was pleased and excited. He had never truly gotten a chance to study all of the necromancer texts before the Dragons and Dragonborn had come to the consensus that destroying them would be safer than their continued existence.

He watched Xander port out and in just minutes he ported back into the library. Dragonis was a bit taken aback.

"Forgive the rudeness of porting in like this, but I thought it would be more prudent if I didn't allow the guards to see what I carried," Xander said looking worried.

"Of course, I had not thought that far ahead," Dragonis apologized also.

Xander laid them all on the table as they spilled from his arms. Dragonis  eagerly started picking up books and inspecting them. They were all handwritten grimoires. He could still feel the residual magic used to seal them from prying eyes. Broken by master mages. He picked up another book and dropped it in horror his mouth open, aghast as the book hit the floor with a loud thump. He looked closely at it laying there on the cold white floor. It gleamed of dragon skin. A book bound in his kin. This practitioner was particularly cruel and kept obvious trophies beyond the tools made from bones or the enhancement to their magic the blood of a dragon or Dragonborn made. He saw Xander look at him with concern. 

"I am sorry, I should have warned you," Xan looked as though he felt extremely sad.

"No, I had forgotten how bad things were during the height of necromancy before the war. All of my brethren who had vanished," Dragonis shook his head hoping the memories might fall out instead of flashing before his mind's eye, "The reincarnated suffering."

"I am so sorry," Xander said again.

"It is what it is. What's passed is in the past. Or should have been," Dragonis said irritably.

"Then we should focus on learning what we can despite the repulsiveness of the material," Xander said as he bent over and grabbed the dragon skin bound book.

There was a tap on the door and someone opened it from the outside just enough.

"Lady Kenna missed her check-in, so we sent guards through. They found them all asleep." Alaric peeked further into the library to see them.

"They are ok?" Xander jumped at the news.

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"Yes fine." Alaric quickly said.

"They are now with a Healer in the common room," Alaric informed them.

"If you will excuse me," Xander said to Dragonis.

"Of course," He waved his hands in dismissal towards Xander.

Both Alaric and Xander left the library and Dragonis was left alone with his thoughts. He looked to the offending book of dragon skin laying there. Something told him that this was the book that might hold the most useful information. The writer appeared to be extremely powerful. He willed himself to touch the book to open it. The pages looked muddled and the words seemed to move at will. He could not read it. He tried several cypher spells and grew frustrated when it did not change the behavior of the pages. 

Then he suddenly thought why not his blood. He found something to prick his finger and touched the page with the drop of blood. As soon as he did, the words righted themselves. He went to another table and grabbed paper and a pen and started to frantically transcribe what he was reading.

The stories of this necromancer's magical experiments both fascinated and horrified him. He read of one instance of capturing one of the fae and finding that their blood, as well as dragons blood, could enhance magical abilities when injected. However, dragon blood proved corrosive and addictive. Fae blood did not corrode the body but was still highly addictive. Fae blood instead corrupted the mind. He stopped writing and wondered how this necromancer had even found one of the fae. They all stayed inside Sid Hayef. They were mere legends now to the lay folk. This master of necromancy had experimented on countless acolytes and prisoners. Many Dragonborn had lost their life to him as well. He continued reading and writing.

He was hoping to find the tracking potion. Instead, he found increasingly horrifying experiments. The necromancer's lord had caught a special dragon, and brought it to him. The blood was different. It enhanced without corroding. It was not addictive. They knew of instances of this dragon's blood imbuing those chosen with the dragon's own frost abilities.

"High Dragon Hima," Dragonis whispered. Why did they not find his body when they defeated Itzal he wondered. They did miss something. Something big. He continued in the book.

They drained him of blood and his lord god inhabited the body. Something they could do with no other dragons. 

"It was because of his lineage from our old home, he was of the old dragon gods." Dragonis trembled with anger and sadness. They desecrated something extremely sacred in Hima and the old world.

The necromancer was made High Priest. High priest to His God Death.

"Death?" Dragonis was confused. Itzal was the God of Shadows. Two rogue gods, the implication was chilling. They really had missed something big indeed. Now he needed to let everyone know except Aulder. Aulder would destroy the books if they knew of them. Aulder might even do more to Xander. Dragonis took the books and brought them to an inner room in the library. Opened a panel on the wall, and put the books inside. Then he left trying not to make it obvious he was in a hurry.