Path of the Necromancer - FACTION WARS

Chapter 5.2 - Ian

Ian sat back and folded his arms, half slouching as he watched the exchange between Eris and Grim play out. He noticed Mei's head coming up as the Archive continued to battle his point.

"I'm telling you, it ain't natural." Grim refused to budge, his spectral form bobbing back and forth as he paced.

"And what the fuck in all this is 'natural?'" Eris shot back with glinting teeth sparkling through her half smile. "Everything he does is extraordinary."

"Oh, forgive me." Grim mocked, earning a dirty look. "The Undead, alive for nearly a week after ten years, knows all! Everyone heed the decree of the mighty Lich, knower of all the Spirit Realm."

Mei's jolt from the couch caught his attention. Her shock was well founded after all - not even he knew he could do that until he did it. Her closer examination of the woman of Eris proved him right.

He too let his eyes wander over the beautiful woman, noting her snowy hair, alabaster skin, even the very way she breathed - slow and measured in a somewhat irregular fashion - combined to give her a verritible otherworldly beauty.

"Well I may not know everything about the Spirit Realm like you claim to," Eris replied cockily, breaking Ian from his admiration. "But there's at least one thing I can do that you can't."

"Pu-leaze," He drawled. "Do share your prowess, I'm sure it's very impressive."

"This." Eris said smugly, clapping her hands slowly.

Nought but the sound of distant traffic passed between Grim's befuddlement and Eris's satisfaction.

Then Dani sniggered. Around the room different levels of laughter emerged, with Ember's musical titillation cackling high over them all. Grim wasn't so happy. He was cursing furiously at anyone and everyone that took his fancy. Ian slowly, shaking his head all the while in disparaging amusement, allowed a smile to emerge.

Ember recovered first and raised her hands for peace; though her shoulders continued to tremble. "I fail to see the issue. She's a Lich bound to him, thus she gets power from him like he does," Indicating Scraps with a flourish of her slender fingers. "She could talk to the spirits and all that jazz when she was one. The only difference now is she has access to the powers Cassandra had residing in her body."

Grim scoffed at what he felt was an argument too simplistic to cover the complexity of what Eris now was. "It isn't like that." He started. "Mages, or magical creatures, shouldn't have more than one planar magic at their disposal. The energies just don't mix within the caster. So how then, is she able to do both, and both at the same time?"

"Same time you say?" Ian asked, his tone full of interest.

"Yes Einstein, they don't mix. In the same way flesh doesn't mix with Spiritfire, you try and mix them together in the same space and one destroys the other. Oh sure," He said with his own hand wave. "Every Mage has access to magic and can do roughly the same thing, though most specialise on an affinity, but they're still under the bigger picture of their magical type."

Ember glanced at Eris who was looking down at herself as if the answer would be painted on her skin. "How do you know she's doing two types at the same time?" Ember shifted her weight from one hip to the other, reclining her back against the dining table.

With a sigh, "Bring up a shield," Grim commanded. Eris looked questioningly at the floating spirit. The room's energy gave a noticeable shift as a faintly blue translucent membrane aparated in the air before her.."That!" Grim pointed, indicating the apparition's blue hue. "She's using Aethral magic right now. But she's still being sustained by her link to his Spiritual." Thumbing at Ian, Grim continued to float around the space. "It's like a Warlock using Spiritfire instead of Hellfire. Similar spell, but borne from a very different place."

"But she isn't pulling the energy into herself." Ian muttered, to which Grim stared at him like he'd grown a second head. Ignoring the look, "Ember, you said that I don't need to pull energy into myself to use my Spirit magic right?" Ember nodded cautiously. "So, if the Aethral magic is still flowing around inside, then the Spirit magic can't be inside her. It's coming from outside, from me."

"That... Hrm," Grim pondered, posture becoming decidedly less agitated. "That might work," Then he shook his head so violently it reminded Ian of a dog shedding water from its fur. "Then again you ballsed your way into bonding a Demon - so what the fuck do I know."

"Hold on," Dani looked at the various Mages around the room. "What do you mean, 'Aethral?'"

"Aethral magic is all about moving, creating and charging the realms around. It's where Cassandra pulled her blade from." Grim explained in a droll tone.

"Like a pocket dimension?" Dani clarified for everyone other than Ember.

"In a way," Grim stated offhandedly. "It's more of a spin off from all the dimension magic mumbo-jumbo that surrounds Warlocks and Necromancers. The Aethral Mages can shape the world around themselves to cause various effects, like store shit. You've probably seen them as Electromancers."

"Electromancers control the world around them?" Ian repeated. Then the blind arrogance of Lawrence - or whatever his name was - came back at him. *insert lance taunt at val*

"What does all this have to do with me?" Eris asked. "I can raise the dead and everything now?"

Ian perked up at that idea. Sharing out the control of the spirits could mean-

"Probably not," Grim stated, accidentally squashing Ian's train of thought.

'Easy come, easy go,' He grumped.

"If what he said is the reality we've got," Grim continued unaware. "You're sustained by the Spirit magic, not connected to it. I dunno, this shit hasn't happened in thousands of years and it's all shrouded in mystery. Probably to stop idiots from attempting to do it and blowing up half the world or something."

Sighing, Ian threw an arm around Ember's shoulders. Noticing the strange expression he wore, "Relax," She cooed silkily, drawing her fingernail along his cheek and under his chin. "Who cares how or why it happened. Enjoy the perks of having a more powerful ally in your corner than you bargained for."

Eris beamed happiness at that.

Ian chuckled to himself and had to agree. No use second guessing himself now. He rolled the dice and they came up in his favour. Eventually, he knew, luck would run out and shit would hit the fan in some serious blow back. Until then though, he'd do as she suggested and enjoy himself.