Dread Mage

"Why me? Why anyone? Necromancy, the art of the dead, is something everyone can agree to is a terrible art," Sonder said.

"Disagreeing with your master? Why, that's an offense to our bond, Sonder." Vell said.

It took her a few moments, but Sonder then said, "I am sorry, master."

"Ahh, just joking. I don't care much about authority or the things people seemed to have stamped and labeled as 'wrong'. All in all, I don't even care about living that much. They pass me by so quickly, that none seem to appreciate life when it's given to them until it is too late. How about you, Sonder? Do you find no enjoyment in being alive again?"

"I don't know if I could call this life."

"Do you want to be truly resurrected?" Vell offered.

"Can you do that?"

"Why yes, not much magic is out of my grasp. But it depends on you. Magic as true resurrection requires life of the same value."

"And conjuring that is out of your grasp then?" Sonder asked.

Vell was silent for a moment, put a hand to his chin, and answered plainly, "No."

He put his pale hand into the air and reached out, though it grasped nothing; the air was uncatchable.

And then he did it again, but this time he first said, "Soh," then wrapped his hand onto something in the air, as though it were solid, and then said, "Tal," and ripped from the air.

There was a small discolored piece in his hand, and he gave that piece to Sonder before it slowly disappeared and the air fixed itself, repairing the tear.

"Can you then?" Sonder asked.

Vell laughed, "Maybe if you proved yourself worthy of life." And then he finally stood up from the stump and walked on, using his staff as a walking stick.

And Sonder followed him as any thrall would.

She noticed that he didn't look human, as she did or once did, as the sword was still in her stomach.

"Are you human?" She asked plainly.

"No."

"What are you, then?"

"Maybe I'll tell you later."

"Where are we going?"

"You know, you're pretty nosy for both an undead and a servant."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's good and strangely refreshing for me. There is an innocence to your being, which I enjoy. And we're not going anywhere. We're just walking over to a little village right here. It's where I found you. Do you remember it?"

Vell pointed to a few houses not too far from where they were.

They were small shacks with straw roofs.

Sonder didn't remember them but did remember a cold and winter and that straw was sometimes not enough to keep warm.

"No," she said.

"You know, seeing you walk around... Your limbs are still a bit stiff, and maybe the sword is hindering your movement; don't you want to take it out?" Vell asked.

She hadn't thought of that.

She took its handle and tried to pull on it, but it was stuck, and she kept on it.

Vell stopped and then crouched down to look at her stomach.

"Oh my," he said, "Maybe the resurrection accidentally bonded your body with the metal of the sword. I'll have to fix that later."