Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:29:00 -0800 (PST)
From: chevy <dude_chevy@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Prodigy Necromancer

I would like to thank the guys on niftyorg, niftywriters, and my friend Wes
for their help and encouragement.

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. It never happened.
This story does not contain sex of any kind.

There is a glossary as the end of this chapter to explain terms the reader
might not be familiar with. This story is somewhat based on the Necromancer
character from the game Diablo 2. Diablo 2 is a registered trademark of
Blizzard Entertainment.


The Prodigy Necromancer
Chapter 1

Tanyc Oronar was a prodigy from a very young age; everyone knew that he
would make a great Necromancer [1] some day. Even from birth he had the
look of a Necromancer: very slim build, pale complexion, and almost
snow-white hair, all accented with solid white eyes surrounding a jet-black
pupil.

Tanyc was only four years old when he evinced the first indications of his
incipient skills. His pet morphic dragon [2] died, causing him untold
grief. In his sorrow, he wished so strongly for its return that the pet
came back to life. A grotesque specter rose from the dragon's body and
began to walk around.

Utterly surprised and recoiling from the hideous site, Tanyc's fear drove
him to kill it with a single blow of his hand, like some pestering little
insect. His parents, meanwhile, were incredulous. While they had heard
stories of people with this level of skill, they had never witnessed such a
demonstration.

Like any parent of a gifted child, they researched the field of necromancy
and found most practitioners required training to perform acts that Tanyc
could execute instinctively. Even with such instruction, the average
necromancer was unable to resurrect dragons until age 10. While they had
always suspected there was something different about their son, they were
beginning to learn just how special he really was.

At the age of 8, Tanyc was old enough to begin his training. He left his
parents to journey to the Village of Noniver, home to all the best teachers
of necromancy. Tanyc's departure to Noniver was a day of mixed emotions for
both him and his parents. While sad to be parting, the child and his
parents knew it would be the best thing for the young prodigy.

His parents presented Tanyc with a special gift to remember them by: a
bloodwood wand. Of course, Tanyc was delighted with the expensive
present. He didn't know his parents had saved money as best they could for
over four years, even accepting donations from the villagers. Tanyc told
them he didn't know how to use it yet, but he would learn and make them
proud.

Tanyc boarded the elegant enclosed horse-drawn carriage sent by the
school. He could just make out tears welling in his parent's eyes as the
carriage left his little village, probably never to return. The three-day
carriage ride afforded little entertainment or other stimulation for Tanyc,
so he watched with interest the variety of scenery that rolled by outside
his window.

He had never traveled far from his village and was fascinated by the
rolling hills covered with massive virgin oak and pine trees, trees so
large that three grown men could not reach around them and touch hands. He
also saw some attractive trees of a genus that he couldn't identify, since
they didn't grow near his village.

The heavy wooded areas allowed a road just wide enough for the carriage to
pass through. Young Tanyc thought the woods were the most interesting and
attractive sites, being intersected by running creeks and streams.

Right on schedule, the carriage arrived at the Village of Noniver and the
School of Necromancy. As the young boy exited the vehicle, he was surprised
at the School's size. The two-story building was festooned with gargoyles
completely surrounding the top. The appearance suggested that structure was
built as a white stone building, but two centuries of weathering had
colored the stones to a distinguished shade of yellow. The single huge
edifice contained all the dorms and all the classrooms.

An older boy seemed to appear from nowhere. He approached Tanyc with his
hand extended in the universal gesture and said, "My name is Eigim
Tzeoqiow. What's your name?"

Tanyc shook his hand and introduced himself.

Eigim was taken aback by Tanyc's youthful appearance. "But you're too young
to be the prodigy that everyone's been talking about. I thought you'd be
much older than I am."

As appearance go, Eigim bears a strong resemblance to Tanyc, since most
necromancers have about the same build and look. Eigim is about two years
older, though, and has attended the School for just under one year.

A ten year old boy, the apparent leader of the group of similarly-aged
youth behind him, approached the pair. Tanyc thought he had the look of a
smartass about him, and that assessment was confirmed instantly with the
boy's first statement, "So you must be the so-called 'prodigy'. You don't
look so special to me."

Eigim knew the boy, Xsih, from other encounters. He didn't know why Xsih
always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder but knew that he evinced all
the outward signs of being incredibly insecure. "Why don't you leave him
alone?" Eigim hissed. "He just got here and you are already picking on
him."

"Why don't you make me?" Xsih replied sarcastically.

Leveling penetrating stares at each other, both Eigim and Xsih waved their
wands and chanted some incomprehensible polysyllabic magic words. Almost
immediately, the ground rumbled between them and two clay golems [3] began
to rise from it. Tanyc backed away, never having seen such a thing before.

As the two boys concentrated their mana [4] to resurrect the clay forms,
they seemed to weaken, almost dropping to their knees. Curiously, though,
they seemed to regain some of their strength as the fight wore on.

The group of youth that had circled around the two earlier now spread out
more widely, as they knew a fight was about to take place, between the two
manufactured golems. A golem fight can be very brutal, even when the
simulacrums are made of clay. The two golems slammed together in battle,
each controlled by its creator. A dust cloud continually expanded as the
battle continued.

Two of the School's instructors noticed the crowd and rushed over from
their classrooms. They ordered the two boys to kill off their own golems
instantly.

Continuing to fix each other in stares of hate, the two antagonists slowly
raised their wands and simultaneously lowered them. The golems seemed to
melt in just seconds, falling into a heap of clay. The instructors then
ordered the boys to clean up the mess and report to detention. Reluctantly
obeying, they continued glaring at each other.

Over the ensuing months of school, Tanyc and Eigim became even closer
friends. Eigim became Tanyc's protector so to speak; since Xsih could not
stand the thought of any student gaining power faster then he did and was
continually harassing young Tanyc.

Tanyc was pleased to find he lived in the same dorm as Eigim. Living so
close together, the two boys helped each other study their
skills. Practicing this black art requires a person or animal to play the
role of 'opponent' and, since necromantic powers could in the worst case
kill a practice partner, trust was essential. It was imperative to know
with absolute certainty that your partner would stop if asked to do so.

Spells cast as 'cures' can cause an opponent to be harmed in a variety of
ways. 'Bone skills' can be either used as a weapon or a defense. 'Summoning
skills' had to be practiced at length in order to gain control of the
conjured minions and strengthen them.

Tanyc's skills grew quickly as he matured. It took him only a few years to
catch up to Eigim in spell strength, and his knowledge continued to grow
even as others struggled. The role of protector had changed since now Tanyc
was guarding his friend Eigim. Tanyc's intimate mastery of the arcane grew
stronger -- and his knowledge grew faster than anyone else is at the
school. Others revered his skills to the point that he was treated almost
like a celebrity, although Tanyc was no fan of this adulation.

Xsih continued his tyrannical ways and grew into an ever more bitter rival
of Tanyc and Eigim. Xsih was always trying to prove his skills were
superior to those of the 'prodigy'.

Tanyc avoided the bully most of the time, but as Xsih became increasingly
stronger, his pestering of Tanyc and Eigim became harsher and more
persistent. While not quite the prodigy that Tanyc was, Xsih nonetheless
was becoming a very strong necromancer. While his skills grew stronger than
Eigim fairly quickly, he suffered to see Tanyc's skills catching up to and
surpassing his own.

In fact, by the time Tanyc was 16, his skills had surpassed those of
Xsih. Tanyck, though, was a quiet boy who did not desire drawing more
attention than absolutely necessary. He went so far as to keep the true
level of skills between himself and Eigim. Both boys were able to raise a
metal golem, the second most difficult necromantic feat.

Xsih could rise but three skeletal mages [5], whereas Tanyc could raise
five. This kept Xsih on edge, always trying to prove he was better and also
prevented him from completely overrunning Tanyc and Eigim. Nevertheless,
keeping Xsih from harming Tanyc and Eigim was an increasingly difficult
task.

Tanyc continued to practice his powers in private, growing and enhancing
them every day.

Fire golems are the ultimate challenge of necromancers. Few can raise a
fire golem before they are 20 or more years of age; even then, incredible
mental strength and power are both required.

Eigim encouraged Tanyc to attempt to raise a fire golem. Tanyc was not
confident all, thinking it would be a waste of time. But Eigim had seen
other young men raise a fire golem and felt Tanyc to be as strong mentally
as those were. Eigim's encouragement motivated Tanyc to study this ultimate
feat.

One day, Tanyc and Eigim were practicing their skills in the woods. Tanyc
had tried repeatedly through the entire morning to raise a fire golem but
had had no success. They took a long rest, hoping to regain a bit of their
mental power and ability to concentrate. Eigim reiterated his
encouragement, feeling that Tanyc's native talents and powerful work ethic
would enable him to succeed in this most complex feat.

Tanyc tried again. He enchanted some magic words, and slowly raised his
bloodwood wand while focusing his mental powers. To his surprise, a small
fire erupted and quickly grew to over two feet in diameter.

Eigim was delighted. "Hey," he exclaimed, "it looks like it's working; keep
going."

Sustaining the fire requires continuous expenditure of mana, far more than
Tanyc had anticipated. As he grew tired, some of the fire came to take the
shape of a gruesome head.

Tanyc's fatigue gave him the appearance of someone almost ready to
faint. Eigim rushed to his side, quickly grabbing Tanyc under his arms in
order to support him, while the prodigy continued trying to raise the fire
golem.

The fiery head grew an orange neck that then broadened into a hefty set of
shoulders as the golem continued to rise from the ground. Intense heat
emanated from the flaming trace, causing Eigim to back away from it. The
image's arms and chest solidified as the blaze rose higher.

Tanyc's breath came in short pants as his strength ebbed. Suddenly, he
passed out, supported only by Eigim's arms. Eigim lowered Tanyc's limp body
to the ground as the fire that composed the golem extinguished itself.

Eigim shook Tanyc awake. Extraordinarily weak, Tanyc gasped, "What
happened?"

With a huge smile on his face, Eigim related the tale. "You raised up a
fire golem all the way to his chest before you passed out. You almost did
it! I know for a fact no one as young as you has ever raised up a fire
golem before."

Tanyc slowly regained his footing, and walked back to his original
location. "Isn't this where he rose up? The ground is not even burned."

"Yes," affirmed Eigim. "That's exactly where it rose up. Didn't you feel
the heat coming off him ? Look at my face and arms; they're sun burned from
the intense flames."

"No, I never felt it," Tanyc mused, "but I learned in my studies that the
necromancer performing the ascension can't be hurt by the golem's powers of
fire. I could stand right next to him and be unharmed -- as long as he is
mine."

Only two months later, at the young age of only 17, Tanyc raised a complete
fire golem without passing out. The two friends have kept this a secret to
avoid extra attention. Tanyc's strength is now such that he has mana to
spare to raise other golems as well, even while maintaining the
cohesiveness of the fire golem.

Glossary:

[1] Necromancy - the study of raising and controlling the dead.

[2] Morphic Dragon - a small lizard-like creature.

[3] Golem - a creature created from the forces of the earth, can be
summoned with out a dead body. Resurrecting a golem requires more mental
energy than other minions.

Types of golems:

Clay: the easiest to raise. Taught to young necromancers, weaker than all
other golems and unable to wreak much harm.

Blood: steals life and mana based on the amount of damage he is causing his
enemies, shares the life and mana he steals with his master, but the master
is weakened as the fire golem receives damage.

Metal: a golem resurrected using a metal object like a knife or sword.

Fire: the strongest golem, inflicts more damage and tolerates more damage.

[4] Mana - Mental energy required to cast a spell, resurrect minions, or
use bone powers.

[5] Skeletal Mages - raised from the dead more easily than Golems, but with
considerably less strength. A necromancer can raise as many mages as his
mental power will allow. Mages use one of four powers: fire, cold,
lighting, or poison.

Cast:

Tanyc is the main character and a prodigy necromancer.

Eigim is Tanyc's best friend.

Xsih is their smart-ass rival.


TBC

All comments are welcomed and encouraged. Send them to:
dude_chevy@yahoo.com You can see more of my stories at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fantasy_Wrestling_Stories/


Chevy

Thanks to the community for help with editing.