A sigh escaped the lips of a rather beautiful man as he looked up from his tome.

"He is close isn't he?" asked a voice behind him.

"...He might succeed this time," answered the man after a moment.

"You are worried" observed the voice.

"Why?" asked the voice after a moment.

"He is like a son to me. I will always worry for his safety, not that I expect you to understand," comment the man with a frown as he turned to the voice revealing it be a skull mounted on a thin crooked branch of Necro wood with violet flames for eyes.

"There is nothing out there that can threaten him and you have prepared him enough to survive the Dread-lands for decades," replied the skull ignoring the comment.

"We have been over this, I am not getting into this argument again," said the man as he stood and fully turned to the staff.

The skull simply stared at the man with unasked, answered questions it didn't truly understand.

He sighed and took hold of the staff and clasped it with both hands closed his eyes and started chanting. The blaze in the skulls eyes intensified and it opened to utter  "Dzɔla ɣaɣla".

Only nothing happened, at least it looked like nothing happened.

"I still think you are being overly paranoid," said the skull and the Necromancer sighed.

-----------------

In what could only be described as a dead baren plane where even time seemed to be dead a skeletal paw broke through the soil disturbing the stillness that had plagued the lands for decades.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The paw was followed by another and a skull of an mole followed by it's entire skeleton.

The mole emerged from the ground leaving behind an entrance which spat out a young man as it closed behind him.

The man quickly got to his feet and looked around and spotted the black wall that separated the Dread-Lands from his home in the distance causing him to laugh in triumph.

"I win!!" yelled the young man to the gray sky of the Dread-Lands.

His joy was cut short when he spotted a large bird circling over head.

His face paled and filled with dread as he recognised his Master's familiar and his heart rate spiked at the thought of being forced to go through more 'classes'.

The dread was replaced by nervous anticipation as he remembered his challenge. His nervousness decreased as the bird landed Infront of him instead of sweeping him up in it's claws.

The bird while it looked normal from a distance was anything but, It's skeleton was visible through the semi transparent ether that mimicked its flesh.

"Ethos Spes," said the bird in the voice of their Master.

"I win, Master. You can't lock me away in my tower again." said Ethos in false confidence.

"I told you not to call me that." said the Master with resignation.

"I am going to call you that because you are to me even if you take it to mean something else," argued Ethos.

The bird shook it's head mimicking it's master and Ethos stepped back to avoid being hit in the head even if they were sufficiently further apart.

"You forgot this," said the master as Necro-wood staff with a gaged skull manifested in-between them and promptly fell on the ground.

Ethos frowned.

"I don't need her! I am strong enough on my own," protested Ethos with the knowledge that arguing about this was pointless.

"Ethos," warned the Master.

"Fine!" grumbled Ethos as he picked up the staff as the skull glared at him in rage which Ethos promptly ignored.

The Master and student stood in silence neither knowing how to say goodbye.

"Write to me and send messages" said the Master as the bird spread its wings ready to take off making Ethos take a few more steps back to avoid getting hit by them.

"You too!" yelled Ethos as the bird took off.

Ethos stood there following the bird as it disappeared over the horizon and remembered the various attempts at escaping his Master's grasp.

He was broken out of his stupor by a groan coming from his staff. 

He glared at it and removed the gag and destroyed it with black flames.

"How dare you!" yelled the skull in a shill voice that hurt his ears.

Ethos ignored her and turned away from the direction of his home and towards the vast expanse of Dread-Lands with anticipation.