In the afternoon I had my advanced death magic class. I was the first to arrive and Nyx decided to curl up on my desk. Her head was facing the door. I had no idea if she could perceive her surroundings without her purple eyes. As a skeleton she did not have organs. Her bones were held together by magic. Maybe I should ask a teacher how undead worked?

Leo was the second student to arrive. “Greetings Koyuki and congratulations on creating your first undead! That is quite the achievement.”

“Thank you. What have you chosen for your first skeleton?” I asked.

“A kind of wolf. My family has good connections and a lot of resources. The bones received the best alchemical treatments. I would be happy to offer you some help in the future.”

Leo was being nice. But I still remembered Helena’s warnings. One day I had to ask her what the full story was.

Tim and Tom arrived next. They showed immediate interest in Nyx. “Wow, you already have an undead!” One of them said, I had trouble telling them apart.

“What can it do?”

“Hi. She is called Nyx!” The undead in question sat up and curiously examined the twins.

“What tier is she?” One of them asked. “And she can use magic?” The other one inquired.

“Tier two, or maybe even more? She created a fog when duelling our combat instructor. I don’t know what else she can do.” I admitted.

“More than tier two? As your first undead?” They looked sceptical.

“Make her do something!” The other demanded.

I looked at Nyx, she locked back. Her eyes narrowed. “Uh, she does not do party tricks.”

“She is a creature of death, not a clown.” Leo said. “But remember that you are her master. She is but a tool, an instrument of your will. No matter the tier.”

“She is my companion.” I clarified. Sure, low tier undead were simple minions. But she was smarter than that. I was sure. And even if I could force her, that was only for emergencies.

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“Hello class.” Gronir said as he entered the room. “Be seated, you will have enough time to gawk at Koyuki’s undead later.”

The others went to their tables.

“Now that everyone has chosen their first skeleton, we will talk about the raise undead spell. The tier one version is quite simple. You memorise the rune to get a feel for it. Then select the target and channel your mana until it completes. The hard part is the targeting. You need to mentally select the bones you want to animate. The skeleton from a single creature is easier to raise than mixing parts of different monsters.” He explained.

“The biggest hurdle for most students is concentration and multitasking. It’s needed for a lot of spells and it will become easier in time. When you fumble the runes while trying to select the bones don’t worry, it happens to all of us.”

One of the twins raised his hand.

“Tim.”

How could he tell them apart? The fact that we all wore a uniform meant I could not even use their clothing to help me.

“What happens if we target the wrong thing, or only some bones?”

“The spell will fail to complete. A bit of mana will be lost but most of it will just sit in your body. All of you have an affinity for death magic but don’t keep elemental mana in your body too long. Unless you are truly gifted it will start to damage your body after a few hours. So once you are done practising, vent.”

“Tom.” The other twin had also raised his hand.

“Why is her undead black with blue lines? Can we paint the bones?”

“You can paint the bones with non magical dyes if you want. Alchemical substances that improve the skeleton can change the colour as well. Anything magical that you add might increase the mana you need to raise the undead. The colour of Nyx is not a paint, it is a mixture of her nature and alchemy.” Gronir explained.

“How much mana was needed for her creation?” Leo asked.

“That is not something for me to answer.” Gronir said. “I know there will be plenty of rumours so let’s make some things clear: The creation of Nyx was a bit unusual. Outside forces have tampered with the skeleton. Something that the principal is investigating. But make no mistake, Nyx is Koyuki’s undead. A feat which she accomplished without the help of a relic, or a fellow mage.”

Leo looked thoughtful, then smiled at me.

“Now, open your books, get your bones and start practising!”

I was confused, because nobody had carried a skeleton when they came to class. But apparently they were already here.

“Koyuki, come here.” Gronir said.

I approached the teacher's table.

“Sir.”

“You already have Nyx but you still need to practise the spell. Here is a simple rat skeleton. Just create a normal tier one this time. No dual affinity, just a simple undead.”

“Yes sir!”

I took the bones back to my table. Nyx watched me closely. I felt nervous. My feline companion was an accident and not the normal spell. What would people think if I failed now? I read the instructions in the book three times. I made sure I had the rune in front of me. Then I started the spell. My first try failed, I lost concentration. I took a deep breath and tried again. I was surprised how little mana I needed. And then it clicked in my mind. The spell worked!

“I did it!” I shouted. Maybe a bit too loud. Everyone looked at me.

The small rat skeleton sat there. It did not have a mind of its own. I commanded it to stand on its hind legs and it did. Then a skeletal mouth engulfed it.

Nyx had grown to a size where she could swallow the new undead. There was a short crunching sound as she chewed some bones, then they were gone. A bit of dust spilled from her mouth. How? She was a skeleton without a stomach! How did most of the bones disappear? I just stared.

“Now that is interesting.” Gronir said, stroking his beard.