Assassin's Chronicle

Anfey walked into the room and sat down. Suzanna, Anthony, and Alice streamed into the room after him. Behind them were the mercenary leaders. They all wore a grave expression, and none of them opened their mouths.

Everyone knew how powerful Anfey was, yet the man had almost defeated him. That came as a shock not only to Anfey but also to everyone else in the city. After Anthony recognized the aging spell, everyone realized that no one in the city was powerful enough to take on that necromancer. Everyone knew how terrifying the aging spell was. It was a very nasty spell, and the only reason Anfey survived was because of the light magic within him. By the laws of nature, light magic could suppress the effects of death magic and cancel out its effects.

Edy felt uncomfortable as he realized that everyone in the room was staring at him. He shifted in his seat but did not say anything.

"As you know, a necromancer has just visited this city," Anfey said quietly. The effects of the aging spell had already worn off, but he felt exhausted.

"I know," Edy said. "It’s hard not to realize that."

"Tell me, Edy," Anfey said. "Who is the most powerful necromancer?"

Edy frowned and lowered his gaze. When he was first captured, he thought for sure that Anfey would interrogate him to find out more about the necromancers. Then he thought maybe Anfey didn’t care about him and what the necromancers were planning. This question took Edy by surprised.

"You’re a smart man," Anfey said. "If you focused on studying magic, you should be much more powerful than you are now. I don’t know why you chose to become a necromancer, but I think you don’t like it. That is why I kept you alive. I think cooperating benefits both of us."

"Why I became a necromancer?" Edy said, shaking his head. "I don’t think you can understand. The only way for someone like me to rise up is to study magic."

"If you wanted to study magic, why didn’t you go to the academy? Why did you become a necromancer?" Alice asked, frowning.

Edy shook his head. "You’re funny, Lady Alice," he said. "Don’t you need money to study at the academy? Do you really think an orphan like me can afford the price of going to the academy? I can barely feed myself, let alone think about learning magic."

"You still shouldn’t have turn to dark magic," Alice said, shaking her head. To her, the way of the necromancers was against the laws of nature. She despised necromancers and thought that the entire world should despise them as well.

"You don’t understand," Edy said. "Have you ever been so hungry that you would eat anything? Have you ever tried living on the streets, not knowing if you would survive the night?"

Alice froze. Edy was right. She had never experienced anything an orphan like Edy had experienced.

"I promise you, Lady Alice," Edy said. "Starvation does not feel good. Becoming a necromancer was the only way for me to survive."

"I see," Anfey said. "I sympathize with you, Edy, but I need to know something. Who is the most powerful necromancer?"

"It’s not that much of a secret," Edy said with a shrug. "It’s Minos the First."

"Anyone else?" Anfey didn’t know who Minos the First was, but there was no way the most powerful necromancer would ever come to White Mountain City alone.

"Minos has three students," Edy said. "Golman, Morgan, and Desvidia. They are the most powerful necromancers after Minos."

Anfey sat up straighter in his chair and leaned towards Edy. "Tell me more about them," he said.

Edy nodded. "Morgan was the most powerful out of the three of them. I’ve never actually met him, but I heard that he was a handsome young man. I don’t know anything else about him.

"Golman is the least powerful among the three, but he is the most dangerous to you."

"Why?" Anfey frowned and asked.

"Because he is the master of plague magic," Edy said. "If he wanted, he could kill every living being within a twenty mile radius without ever joining the fight himself. You’re lucky that he betrayed Minos twenty years ago."

"I thought the secret of plague magic had been lost," Anthony said.

"It is," Edy said. "But Golman is a genius. He was able to figure out the secret from the bits and pieces that remained."

"How many necromancers can use plague magic?" Anthony asked.

"Why did Golman betray Minos?" Alice asked.

"Because he’s a good person," Edy with with a shrug.

"A good person," Alice repeated drily.

Edy nodded. "Golman betrayed Minos when Minos ordered him to destroy everything he had worked for. He didn’t want to kill all the necromancers that had learned plague magic, so he left with his manuscripts and his research. He is the only one who knows its secret."

"Why did he learn plague magic in the first place, then?" Anthony asked.

"Because he was curious," Edy said. "He believed that the world needs balance. He didn’t want to destroy the existing balance of magic in the world because he believes that will lead to utter destruction of everything."

The room fell silent. If Edy was speaking truthfully, Golman was less of a necromancer and more of a scholar.

"Minos hates Golman," Edy continued, "but Golman was too influential. A lot of necromancers now believe no good will come from destroying the world."

"Unless a new system was created to oppose the necromancers," Anfey said. "But that’s impossible, isn’t it? If the necromancers destroy the world, they will die as well, because they cannot recreate the balance. Minos would be the only one left."

Edy nodded. "Golman never said anything like that, but everyone knew that was what he was implying. His belief began fracturing the necromancers. We’ve been preparing for this war for years, and Golman played a vital part in its preparation. But...the council did not use Minos’s choice and instead picked a more defensive plan."

"Because they’re worried as well," Anfey said.

"Golman really is a genius," Edy said, nodding. "Golman is good friends with Morgan, who is also the one Minos chose to chase Golman down. Morgan has been searching for Golman for more than twenty years, but he still hasn’t found him."

"Have you met him?"

"He’s the only one I’ve ever met," Edy said. "He appears ugly, but his way of speaking is gentle and forgiving. If you only hear his voice, you might mistake him for a priest."

Anfey nodded. "Interesting," he said. "Tell me more about Desvidia."

"Desvidia isn’t as powerful as Morgan," Edy said. "He keeps a low profile and rarely appears in public. Most people ignore him."

"What does he look like?"

"I heard he has very smooth skin," Edy said. "His skin is smoother than a normal human’s, and he had no facial hair."

"That’s got to be him, then," Anfey said, tapping the table.