I used the last day before classes returned for training. There was not much else to do. My friends had their interviews with the royal investigator today. They were brief and uneventful. Skadi went to the city afterwards and returned triumphant. She told us she had a deal for some bones. We could collect them in a week.

Cassie was busy brewing potions and improving her alchemy. Cost would certainly be a problem if we wanted to create an exploding chicken army. My friends had money, I did not. And their resources were not endless either. Coming up with a way to make money would be helpful. Maybe we could set up an alchemy business, somehow.

On Lunday classes resumed and I was rather happy about it. Learning magic was exciting. Checking today’s schedule, I was really looking forward to advanced death magic. Undead were fascinating. Besides the draugr, I even brought my goblins along. Obviously Nyx was always with me.

“What is that?” Tim asked, while pointing at the draugr, as I entered the classroom. He and his brother Tom were already here. They only had rat skeletons so far. I wondered if they had actually used them in combat during the field trip.

“It’s a draugr. A sort of frost zombie.” I explained. Although it was much cooler than a normal zombie, pun intended. My internal joke made me smile.

“Where did you get it?” Tom asked.

“I was in the city with friends, and got attacked by an Ilestrian priestess. Nyx killed her bodyguard and I made him an undead.” I said, proudly.

“Ilestrians, bunch of fanatics. We should really remind them of their place.” Tim said.

“Oh, a new undead?” I heard Leo say. He must have entered just behind me. “You keep impressing me. My offer of support still stands.”

I turned around and looked into his smiling face. “Thank you for the offer but I will have to decline.” I said with a polite smile. That guy was persistent.

Gronir’s arrival saved me from more conversation. “Hello students! We have an exciting lesson today! As you have likely noticed, Koyuki created a new undead. This is a draugr and it has certain ice powers. So today we are going over undead and their use of mana.”

Tom raised his hand.

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“Tom.”

“Can we create a draugr without having a water affinity?” He asked.

“Ah, good question! The answer is yes, but not easily. There are artefacts that allow you to channel enough water mana to add some to your undead. But those are rare and expensive. They are also limited in the power they can produce. The other method would be to animate a creature that has a water affinity.”

He paused, considered for a moment, then clarified his answer: “To be more precise, you need a corpse containing that affinity. Not every creature retains it after death. It also depends on the freshness of the corpse and the specific spell used. Another way would be to raise a tier three undead. A tier three is capable of possessing their own affinity. If you made a water mage into a tier three undead they could retain their power.”

He smiled. “Which brings us nicely to the topic of undead using magic. The link you have to your minions supplies them with mana. It feeds them and can be used to control them. A stronger undead needs more mana and therefore costs more to keep around. But a bond provides a bit more than they need to survive. The excess is stored in their body. Once that is full it either bleeds off or strengthens the undead over time. Having the same minion for longer can pay off.”

Tim raised his hand.

“Tim.”

“So we always supply the same amount, no matter if they currently need it?”

“Yes.”

I raised my hand.

“Koyuki.”

“But how can my draugr create such a sturdy ice armour with the little amount of mana I give him? It would cost me so much more!”

“Ah. Two things. First, the undead stores the mana you send. Meaning he is using more than the bond provides and would eventually run out of mana. Then he would need time to replenish it. Second, undead are incredibly efficient when it comes to their casting. Their abilities are not spells, they are more like a dragon’s breath. A natural ability.”

Leo raised his hand.

“Leo”

“Is there another way for undead to gain mana?”

“Yes! If you remember Nyx eating the newly animated rat skeleton.” Nyx did not react to her name. She was curled up on my desk. “That was a devouring. Undead, at least some of them, can devour other creatures with mana. Usually the living. It’s used by natural undead to feed. It is not a common ability for skeletons. Another way to gain mana is to absorb it from the surroundings. That would require death mana to be in the air.”

“What about a tier three undead mage?” I forgot to raise my hand but he did not mind.

“Ah, tier three are truly special. They are not just intelligent, they can have a core. That is why a natural tier three can command other undead. When you have a tier three minion, the bond is not about feeding them, but to keep them controlled and bound to your will.” Gronir explained.

“So you could have an infinite army if you controlled tier threes and they controlled other undead.” Leo mused.

“Not quite. There would be a limit on how many tier threes you can bind. And there would be a chance of them growing powerful enough to challenge the bond.”

“You said undead can use the mana they get through the bond to grow stronger over time. How does that work?” I asked.

“Not all undead can do that. It really helps if they are properly raised and enhanced with alchemy. Also, they won’t suddenly go up a tier. But a skeleton would get harder bones and more strength. It’s most notable with something like your draugr. It’s also not a fast process. But if you keep it for 10 years you will likely see some improvement.”

10 years? That was not quite as amazing as I had hoped. More importantly, would Nyx grow stronger? And did Nyx have a core? She was too intelligent for a tier two. But she also did not speak. I stared at the little mystery on my desk. Purple eyes stared back.