Lith couldn’t forgive Xolver for messing with him twice. The idea of becoming the next Royal Healer if something happened to Manohar was a strong motivator too. He valued his freedom as much as the mad professor did.
Lith took out his communication amulet and pressed Kalla’s rune. The Wight’s hologram appeared instantly.
“Hello, Scourge.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to use my human name?” He said in exasperation, afraid that more misunderstandings could ensue.
“Fine. Hello, Shadow of Death. To what do I owe this call?”
“That’s not my human name either!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Jirni and Kalla said in unison.
Seeing an undead bear instead of a woman, put both Jirni and Kamila at ease. Tista was still wondering why her brother had never told her about this particular friend of his.
“What do you mean, ‘I wouldn’t be so sure’?” Lith asked.
“It all started as a moniker Nana used to refer to you with the Association after you killed Garth Renkin and his father.” Jirni explained. “After the plague, wherever you go someone coincidentally dies or bad things happen. So it stuck.”
“People consider me bad luck?” Lith was astonished. He could almost hear Kamila thinking about it was only after dating him that she had got dragged in that mess by Commander Berion.
To be fair, it was just his paranoia speaking.
“Only the envious ones.” Kamila said without leaving his hand. “Those who speak behind your back and think that your achievements aren’t enough to justify the prestige you hold in the eyes of the Crown.”
“Your potential enemies refer to you as such too.” Kalla said. “Scarlett told me that’s how the underworld refers to you, human and not, ever since you killed that Wyvern. Anyway, what can I do for you?”
Kalla was still recovering from the injury she had self-inflicted on her life force. Being unable to further her research, she was bored to death and eager for a distraction.
Lith told her everything that was happening in Othre before describing her Kaelarn and his Vassal.
“Whatever it is, it’s not necromancy.” Kalla spoke with the same certainty she had that the Sun would rise in the morning.
“The blue eyes are simply a side effect of a partial consciousness transfer from the maker to their creation. Judging from your description, it seems like a twisted version of light magic.
“You are looking for someone who alters the life force of the living rather than reanimates corpses. The two disciplines have one common feature, though. They both deal with the research for the perfect immortality.
“A human named Arthan Griffon conducted thorough research on the matter. As far as I know, his only achievement was to set the very definition of Forbidden Magic.”
“Isn’t that the same guy you thought resembled the god of healing Xhal?” Dorian asked. He knew the Mad King’s name only because of the nursery rhymes his mother used to scare him with whenever he misbehaved as a kid.
“Yes, Dorian. He is, but I don’t think is wise to waste our time with trivia. I can only imagine that our enemy will rush their plans. They have Manohar and are aware we discovered their backers’ network. It’s only a matter of time before they flee.” Lith replied.
Arthan was barely a footnote in the Kingdom’s history books. His name was forgotten and his legacy lost to all those without the highest clearance level.
Unbeknownst to all those in the room, Arthan had been the very first god of healing. To quickly find a great number of test subjects for his experiments, he had established a free health system that lasted until his plan was exposed.
It saved millions of lives and the people worshipped him like a savior. The clerics of Xhal thought to ride the King’s coattails by reshaping the statues of the ancient god in his image, hoping to draw the masses back to their temple.
Their plan royally backfired, becoming the last nail in the coffin for most religions.
“By the way, who are these people?” Being interrupted twice made the bored Wight curious about the nature of her audience.
“Don’t worry, Kalla. They are all good humans.” Lith replied to the implied question if they were or not fellow Awakened ones.
“As I was saying, you are not facing necromancy. At the same time, it’s unlikely for the local undead community to not be involved in the matter or at least know a good deal about it. Many disappearances make feeding and hiding much harder.
“Whenever something bad happens, people always blame curses first and undead later. They are the perfect scapegoat and once panic spreads, even eccentric normal people who like wearing a mask or prefer night life become targets.
“Plus, I heard multiple times about projects aimed to build meat puppets to allow undead with an unpleasant appearance to have a normal life, or just to experience the sunlight again.
“Some need it for business reasons, others because they are unhappy with their limits.
“I’m not the only one researching for a cure for undeath. What you are describing sounds like a perfect temporary fix. Maybe I can point you in the right direction, but it’s going to be dangerous. How much do you know about the undead?”
“Only enough to recognize them and kill them if necessary.” Lith admitted. Most of the knowledge about greater undead was classified. He had never wasted precious merits to learn things that Kalla could teach him for free.
“Such a narrow perspective.” She shook her head in disappointment.
“I’ll keep it short. Sentient undead are divided into three Courts, based on their standpoint on the living. The Dawn Court, the only one I have a connection with, respects all kinds of life forms.
“Be they humans, plants, or beasts, the Dawn Court regards them as creatures that despite being weak and short lived, can still be worthy of the gift of eternal life. They do not take slaves, are patrons of the arts, and don’t kill while feeding unless strictly necessary.
“Just like the Royal Court, the Dawn Court is ruled by a King and a Queen. They are by no means related by nuptial vows or even race and are often at odds with each other to further their own power plays.
“The Dawn Court is not content with survival, they want to enjoy their existence. The Royals are elected every year among those who brought more prosperity to the Court, be it in terms of wealth, social connections, or safe havens.
“Most of those who became undead against their will and wish to retain, if not to regain, their old life style seek asylum among their ranks.
“The Dusk Court are just loners who grouped up to not get harassed or disturbed by other Courts. As long as they are left alone, they don’t care about the living. Their feeding and social habits are unpredictable.
“They have no leader nor a rigid structure. They assemble only when one or more of their members is threatened. They are the most difficult Court to contact or deal with. If attacked, they don’t bargain nor do they seek compensation. They retaliate until their enemy is destroyed. Most Liches belong to the Dusk Court.
