"Hamon, I have something to show you today after school," Elliot said as he turned around to speak to me during class.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You'll see. I don't want to spoil the surprise. Oh, by the way, how did you do on the test the instructor handed back?" asked Elliot.

"I got an F," I replied, putting my head down on the desk. I paused and then lifted my head and asked, "What did you get?"

Elliot replied, "I got an A. It was easy."

"I'm sure," I responded dejectedly. Why was I not any smarter? Intelligence seemed to be an elusive attribute, one that I must not have been made to master I reasoned.

Elliot turned around again, he sat in front of me in nearly all of my classes in primary school, "School is about ready to get out, I will meet you in the courtyard. You are going to love what I have to show you."

A few moments later, while I was working on my history of Broadhurst timeline and I had finished indicating where Lord Udoros Strifelaugher had taken over the Empire, the instructor said to the class, "All right now, class is dismissed. Remember, you will have your attribute assessment tomorrow."

That's right. The attribute assessments are tomorrow. Finally, I can show my parents that I am meant to follow in my dad's footsteps and become a miner. I gathered my items in my pack and headed for the classroom door.

Crowds of students filled the corridors of the primary school. I realized that my days in primary school were just about up since I will have completed all seven years of schooling and will be beginning my apprenticeship as a miner soon.

As the crowd of students dispersed, I found Elliot in the courtyard waiting for me.

"Elliot! Found you. What did you want to show me?" I asked.

Elliot turned and said, "Hamon! It is this way." Elliot gestured to the south part of the courtyard, and we walked outside of the school down to a graveyard.

"But Elliot, why are you taking me to Obsidian Grove Tombs?" I asked.

"Hamon, patience! All will be revealed in due time," he responded. We walked a little further into the graveyard and Elliot continued, "Hamon, I know that you have not been doing well in school. It has seemed difficult for you to find your place in this world."

"So, you are taking me to a graveyard?" I said, half joking.

We walked further and further into the graveyard. "Relax, Hamon. It's not like that. I want to show you something," replied Elliot. "I know you said that you wanted to be a miner like your dad, but to be honest, I do not think you have the Strength for that trade. And deep down, I don't believe you do either."

"Elliot! I will make it work. Whatever I lack in attributes, I can more than overcome in training. There is a reason people have apprenticeships. For training. So they can learn a trade,” I replied.

"OK, OK. I understand that you want to be a miner, and you can learn the trade, I am sure. However, I have found something that you could do and become very powerful  if you use it correctly," Elliot responded.

We had finally reached the end of the graveyard and had arrived at the entrance of a crypt at the backside of the church. A large murky door hidden between trees marked the entrance to this crypt.

Elliot used both of his hands to grasp the large handle of the crypt's door and was able to yank it open. The air that emerged from the below ground crypt was thick, musky, and cold. Elliot turned and said, "Here, we go this way."

We walked down the stone stairs. Beyond the murky door lied a small, grimy chamber. It was covered in rat droppings, puddles of water and broken stone. Elliot took a lit torch from the wall and we descended into a catacomb. Inside, I took in the dark and musty chamber, the walls, ceiling, and floor were lined with bricks. Several of the passageways that were off-shoots from the main chamber were blocked with rod-iron gates. The torch allowed us to see the remnants of pillaged burial chambers, destroyed and defaced by time itself.

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We moved onwards, deeper into the crypt's darkness. We passed many rooms and passages, each seemed to go on forever, leading to who knows what. We eventually made it to the final room. An immense wooden door blocked our path. Ominous symbols were all over it, somehow untouched by time and the elements. Elliot opened the wooden door and entered. I soon followed.

Elliot led me back to the main chamber, where there laid a stone coffin on a three-cubit high slab of black marble. The crypt had an eerie yet peaceful feeling. Elliot turned and said, "Here, hold this." He handed me the torch and then proceeded to lift the top of the coffin.

"Need any help with that?" I asked as he looked like he was struggling.

"No, I got it," Elliot said, turning red from lifting and pushing the large piece of stone that encapsulated whatever was inside the coffin. Elliot only moved the stone lid to the side, so only the top of the dead body was visible.

Inside the coffin, Elliot was able to reveal a corpse with red, perfectly groomed hair awkwardly draped over a sculpted, friendly face. Dark stubble graciously complimented his hair and left a fascinating memory of his reckless luck.

"This is Alas Dawnwhisper, an enchanter among wood elves. He died two days ago in a battle with a blood elf. He was a friend of my dad's. There's something curious about him, perhaps it's a feeling of guilt or perhaps it's simply a feeling of shame. My dad told me that he was buried here. My dad does not know that we are here, or what I have with me," explained Elliot.

Fear and anxiety filled my body as my nerves began to go wild and fear consumed my stomach, "What are we doing here, Elliot? If your plan is to scare me, you have done a good job. Now let's go!"

Elliot paused and calmly said, "I still must show you something." He took his pack from behind his back and uncovered a large, leather-bound book that read on the cover in silver embossed lettering, Necromancy, Tome of the Undead.

I read the silver embossed lettering and shouted, "Elliot! That book is evil!"

"Hamon, relax. Not all necromancy is evil. Trust me on this."

"I will trust you, but if you summon anything, I am out of here," I replied. I had known Elliot's dad was a necromancing wizard. The villagers of Broadhurst thought he was an odd duck, but we never had thought that he or his family were evil. The villagers did not believe that Elliot's dad was particularly good either. We were never really sure what Igor, Elliot's dad, was up to. Despite Igor's necromancy practice, Igor was one of the friendliest people at the village tavern, The Towering Cliff Tavern.

Elliot turned the spellbook to Animate Death and pulled out from his pack a vile of blood, a jar of flesh, and a jar of bone dust. After taking out the ingredients and placing them onto the stone coffin lid, Elliot said, "Now this spell will make Alas Dawnwhisper an undead servant of mine."

"What do you plan to do with him," I asked.

"Have him be friends with my dad. My dad misses him," Elliot replied.

I responded to this morbidity, "Elliot, that is really nice that you are planning on doing that for your dad and I can tell that you have good intentions. But, don't you think that meddling in the worlds of living, dead, and undead that we are going down a path that maybe we should not? I mean, your dad hasn't come down here and made Alas Dawnwhisper his undead servant now, has he?"

"Well, no he hasn't. He has been in mourning as of late. There is another reason why we are doing this," Elliot answered.

"I'll bite, what is the other reason?" I asked.

"I was thinking that necromancy is a path that you could start to take. I mean, let's be honest Hamon, you do not have an ounce of Strength to be a miner," Elliot answered.

"You make a good point," I replied while I pondered his suggestion. I never saw myself as a necromancer before. Perhaps it was not evil.

"Also, we I get done showing you this, you will see how easy it is to become powerful quickly," Elliot added.

"You have an interesting idea, Elliot. But I am not convinced that I would be good at necromancy. And isn't raising someone from the dead a level three necromancer?" I asked.

Elliot nodded and said, "I have been practicing at home. I'm sure that you're aware that my dad has arranged for me to go to a magical academy. I’m not sure which one. However, he found a well-accomplished mentor for me. It is all planned out. He activated my magic last week. Since then, I have been practicing all of my waking moments on memorizing spells and increasing my power. Necromancy is easy to become powerful quickly. That's why I think you should do it with me. My dad could find you a mentor."

"I am intrigued, let's see this!" I shouted, excited at where this path could take me. Could I become powerful?

Elliot took the vile of blood and poured it over Alas Dawnwhisper's face and neck. He then took out a piece of flesh from the jar and placed it on Alas' neck. He then covered the blood with the bone dust closed his eyes and concentrated.

Before I knew what was going on, I saw a light blue aura emerge from Elliot's body and descended onto the dead corpse of Alas Dawnwhisper. The aura kept emitting from Elliot to Alas Dawnwhisper.

After a few moments, Alas Dawnwhisper sat up. Piercing sapphire eyes, set rooted within his sockets. He turned to Elliot and said, "You awakened me, master."