Zombie

After getting over the fact that I had become a zombie I decided to question the young man.

His name was Anzan Ashvel, but he liked to go by the nickname Ash. Not by coincidence, he is a descendant of mine, in a way. As Ash mentioned before my name is Bruyn. But he didn't say my full name Bruyn Ashvel.

As Ash was explaining the current situation to me I gave myself a quick look in a mirror Ash was carrying around. Why was he carrying around a mirror, well apparently he saw this coming?

I looked very similar to my past self, almost identical even. But I was pale, as pale as you could expect a corpse to be. My hair was as white as snow, and my body was large... too large. Compared to Ash who neared six feet I towered nearly seven. I was not this tall before, in fact, I was much shorter than Ash.

The situation wasn't too bad... It has been nearly three hundred and fifty years since I died at the Battle of Amberth. Also, Amberth was now the location of a large trading city called... Amberth. And this city was ruled by my family.

The Kingdom of Burnia was no more and my own home Kingdom of Falstad was a vassal state of Belzenhall, which I just learned is a massive empire to the north of Falstad.

As I listened to more of Ash's ranting I moved around a bit. It was a bit odd but not too hard really.

After some time I finally had to stop Ash.

"Ash, why did you summon me? Its been over three hundred years since my death but I doubt necromancy is now legal."

Ash stopped and looked at me confusion..again.

"Necromancy was outlawed in your time ancestor?" Did this kid never learn the history of his kingdom?

I have to say my impression of Ash wasn't very good at first, not only was he annoying with his ranting but he also didn't seem like he thought things through.

"Yes necromancy was a serious crime at the time, I remember personally hunting down several necromancers myself. In fact, I even joined the Church of White Ice at one time and purged a city of its sins." As I spoke I wondered if the Church was even still around?

Ash began to laugh, but I couldn't understand why.

"No wonder, that church has gone through so many reformations in the last hundred years. There are cults and versions of the church all over the north."

Cults? Reformation? Well, that was new to me, I had never heard of a church reforming just falling.

"So now necromancy is legal?"

Ash shook his head. "Not legal, just not illegal. No one cares or has the time to chase down necromancers anymore." Ash suddenly became dejected. I could tell that whatever he just said had hit a sore spot.

At the time I wasn't really concerned about being risen from the dead. It wasn't like I was having the time of my life in Heaven, hell, or wherever I was sent to.

At least that's how I felt.

Ash soon led the way to his home. I needed clothes and we needed a better place to converse. We were deep in the Ashvel territory, and I was lying in an unmarked grave how Ash found me I will still never understand, he had told me that he guessed. How do you guess where your random ancestor of three hundred and fifty years was buried? Not only that, what if he had guessed incorrectly? Unmarked graves were either those unwanted by the family, criminals or just old forgotten ancestors no one cares about anymore.

But it is what it is, and all's well that ends well.

Once we reached Ash's home we were greeted by... no one. The place was not a mess it was just empty, no furniture, no servants, nothing but the structure of the house.

This already gave me a bad feeling, what happened to my supposedly prosperous family?

After getting some clothes, yes I was naked and finally finding some chairs to sit Ash finally told me why he summoned me.

The family was in trouble, not that I cared.

Ash needed help because most of the elders were locked away in their homes or dead, can't they retaliate?

The head of the family was now some woman who Ash said killed his father in order to temporarily take the post of family matron. But I suspect Ash has no proof.

Then he rambled on about helping the family and my duty as a great ancestor... blah... blah.. blah.

"So will you help me, great ancestor! Nay! Help us the Ashvel family form this catastrophe?!"Ash was passionate, charismatic, and most importantly an idiot in my opinion.

"Nope." To this day I believe my answer was the correct one. Heartless? I was buried in an unmarked grave at the back of a random cemetery. Whose heartless? Me or those ungrateful descendants. Besides, I was going to help him, I just wanted him to work for it.

"I know what you're thinking, but this used to be the main cemetery, but it was later moved to-" Before Ash could continue I cut him off.

"Then why wasn't I moved too?" I still laugh a bit to myself remembering his face at the time. Well, I can no longer feel joy but I know how to laugh and I'm sure it was funny, I'm sure of it was funny...maybe.

"Ancestor please, don't abandon your descendant! I worked so hard to find you, and took a risk, and tried even harder to summon your soul!" Ash began to plead, and Ash was begging with that pathetic look of his I started to wonder. If I was a risen zombie, an undead, why couldn't he just command me?

I soon figured it out, but that would be later.

"You know what, fine. Stop with the begging, for some reason I feel a strange attachment to you. I bet you're my actual descendant or something like that. So my parents had another child?"

Now it was Ash's turn to be confused. "No, you had a child ancestor, you didn't know?"

"With who? You know what I don't want to know." I really didn't, still, don't. Why? Because I don't that's why.

"So I'm a zombie, your ancestor. Okay, what do you need me to do?"