A scared guard

They soon entered the forest, the young man reluctantly leading the way.

The trees reached towards the sky, their leaves blocking out the sky but allowing the sun's rays to shine through. The forest was peaceful, deer could be seen running around, birds flying and singing to each other, squirrels climbed trees and gathered food.

It was peaceful.

"The name is Gavin Sir, I saw the woman heading this way." Gavin the guard said as he pointed towards a clearing, the distance made it hard to see anything detailed but it looked like a pond was there.

They slowly approached the clearing, the pond in the middle slowly coming into view as the forest got quieter. Every twig trod on snapped louder than the last, the only sound was their footsteps and the gentle breeze around them.

The pond was a deep shade of blue, the plants around it dead. A dead deer and two dead ravens were near the pond, their cause of death unknown at this distance.

As the Mage got closer he could see the blood covering the animals, their throats had been ripped out. Flies flew around the corpses as maggots tunnelled through their flesh, the smell of decay caused the guard to stagger.

The Mage drew near before stopping, he saw undisturbed soil. The creatures were dragged to the pond, it was unknown if they were dead or alive when they were taken here.

He turned to the guard before saying "Go get Angelo and three other guards, whatever creature did this, it isn't something which just you and I can handle." The Mage said to Gavin, the young man soon nodded his head before starting to run back to the camp.

'At least not with you holding me back.' The Mage took out his cane as he placed its end hovering above the deer.

The Rune on the cap of the cane glowed, its light seemed to stick to the Mage's hand.

He whispered while staring at the corpse, "Create lesser Undead."

A drop of inky black liquid fell from the cane.

In an instant the black liquid completely covered the body, the liquid flowed along the deer's body before climbing through its mouth.

Creaking appeared from the body as it stood up, it's gait clumsy as it took over the body. The wound on its neck scabbed over, the black liquid forming new tissue before the naked eye.

It only took a few seconds, from the spell touching the deer to it standing up. It looked completely normal, it's body showed no injury.

However its eyes, its eyes were hollow. They spoke not of life but death, it lacked a soul or mind. It did not breath or stir as a living creature would, it stood as still as a corpse.

The Mage then walked over to one of the ravens, his cane once again hovering above its corpse.

He then whispered again, his words thick with the spell's energy, "Create Thrall."

Two drops of the liquid dropped on the crow, this time it didn't engulf the corpse but flowed straight into the mouth.

A sound of popping soon came from the raven, joints dislocated before being relocated. The body destroying itself yet rebuilding, the raven's feathers grew blacker as it stood up.

It looked around before laying its gaze on the Mage, a simple caw left its beak.

"Your name will be Robin." The Mage said as the bird took flight, its eyes not filled with life nor death. They were filled with undeath, intelligence, thoughts. A once-dead creature now moving again, thinking again.

The bird landed upon a tree branch as the clearing started to change.

The withered plants shook in the wind, the smell of decay filling the air. Then the sound sounded out, drip drip.

Drip drip, it went, the noise reaching for the Mage's ears and crawling down the canal.

Caw caw, The Mage looked to his raven named Robin. He stretched his wings and took flight, circling the pond.

The water's surface started to break, the water started to ripple. The sunlight seemed to dim while the trees started to sway, their arms waving at the Mage.

"Attack anything that attacks me," The Mage says to the deer, its body moved for the first time. Now with orders, the deer started to move and stand behind the Mage, watching the tree line.

A head of black hair floated to the surface of the water, its body decayed and bloated. She wore a white dress with gold jewellery, she floated upon the surface of the water.

"Are you there?" A woman's voice sounded out, it echoed through the clearing.

Drip drip.

The sound of dripping got closer, the Mage looked around him but couldn't see anyone. The deer then ran into the tall grass to the right of the Mage.

Its hooves stamping and breaking the dirt, the woman's voice sounded out again but louder. "Are you there?"

The deer kept stamping on the ground but nothing happened, the dripping got closer again. It sounded like it was nearly at the Mage's ear, he voice called out again sounding far away yet right next to him.

"Are you there?"