C2-Choices

I jerked awake with a migraine and blurred vision.

"Where..."

"You're here, of course!" said a voice behind me.

"Wha?" something triggered a memory.

"You must have been really tired to faint like that mid-flight! I had to kill a dog to wake you up," said the voice cheerfully.

That voice...the nutcase!

I leaped up.

Below me was a massive pentacle with blood splattered all over it. A blood sacrifice?

"You couldn't just splash me with cold water or something?" I asked incredulously. He snapped his fingers.

"Water! Of course! I see this'll be a two-way education, my prodigious pupil! This reminds me of..."

As he babbled on, I observed him properly for the first time. He was around an average height- 5' 8, maybe 5'11- with creepy-looking clothes. Black leather tights with a cowled robe suited no one. Remarkably, I couldn't fix his face in my memory, even while looking straight at it. I could see individual features- a nose, two black eyes- but they became completely forgettable when taken as a whole.

Sadness engulfed me. Was this my fate?

"So, whaddya wanna learn, then?"

"I don't know. Aren't you the teacher?" I was way to tired for politeness by this stage.

"No, I mean your goal, your Path."

Ah...

Everyone had their own road to follow. Some chose to be great warriors, while others decided to contribute to society and become healers or even farmers. Recently, people had started referring to this as a Path, as many had to choose theirs at a very young age.

"My grandfather was a knight," I said with pride. "I'll follow in his footste-"

"No, no, no," he shook his head dismissively. "That's boring Light stuff. We get it much easier."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you have 3 options. Necromancer, Blood Lord and Executioners."

"Fewer options don't mean better choices!"

He shook off my objections. "This is better."

My shoulders slumped. They all sounded evil. I didn't want to kill. I could imagine it...

Executioners, stained with the blood of innocents, cackling in burning towns.

Blood Lords, feasting on weaker beings, sucking them dry of blood.

And Necromancers, creating vast armies of the dead.

Then I realised something. One of those didn't actually involve murder!

"Necromancer!" I announced. He seemed impressed.

"How delightfully vicious of you. I was concerned I'd end up with a wuss as a student."

This was not what I expected.

"What's wrong with Blood Lords?"

He grimaced. "They're a bunch of hypocrites. 'Ooh, look at me, I'm all immortal and deadly'. Then they say they're vegetarians and drink rabbit blood. Weirdos."

That actually sounded far less harmful than I thought.

"And Executioners?"

"The peacekeepers of our side. When someone tries to conquer the world or something, they step in to ruin our fun. I can't begin to tell you the number of times we've had issues."

So, they executed the law? What was with these misleading names?

"And, Necromancers?" I asked hopefully. Following the pattern, these should be exorcists or something else cool.

"Oh, we're the fun ones. When people think 'Dark Magic' they think of us. Lots of blood, and conquest, and epic battles with douchebag knights..." He looked as though he was reminiscing about something.

"Who exactly are you?" I asked shakily.

"Oh, sorry, didn't introduce myself. I've been known as the Dark Lord of the Night, Lord of the Dead, Slaughterer of Souls, Stealer of Candy (from my younger days)..."

"No, I mean your real name."

"Oh. Forgot. Probably something lamer than Dark Lord. Call me by one of my titles, shorten them I you want. Like 'Slaughterer' or 'Lord'."

"I look forward to learning under you, Lord Candy." I said seriously. He nodded in reciprocation.

My own little rebellion.