Prologue: The Fifteenth Year

Aria Hatzis, a young witch, enters a small town's dark tavern, unsurprised to hear the drunkards rambling despite the early hour. With only a handful of patrons, the tavern is still flooded with disjointed ramblings over inane subjects polite society would never speak of so boldly. She finds a seat in a far away corner, keeping herself covered as she listens, intrigued when there's a sudden shift in the subject of discussion.

"Today marks fifteen years since The Dark Solstice. Close to two decades since our beautiful summer solstice became the harbinger of a massacre..." A man says, his eyes becoming unfocused as he remembers the event, "An entire Kingdom razed to the ground in only three days. It took so long for the smoke to fade and the stench of death to wash away. Those who were around for it can still hear the screams sometimes, the wails of the dying and the groans of the dead." He raises his cup to the others in the tavern, "A toast to the poor fools of the Kingdom Ileo!"

Aria orders a drink from the waitress and leans back in her seat, intrigued at the well-timed gossip.

"They sure learned their lesson, huh?" Another man scoffs, raising his glass with an amused smirk, "Sparking the ire of such a powerful boy like Nikolai Iliev."

"To kill another kingdom's King and Queen is foolish enough, but they really messed up when they went after their guards, The Great Witch and her husband The Head Knight." An older man adds, "Of course their son would seek revenge, Nikolai had already somehow mastered the dark arts of necromancy, the boy was clearly overpowered and unhinged already."

"The King of Ileo got what he deserved for his poor planning, as far as I'm concerned." A woman huffs, "He should have waited until he could guarantee the deaths of the heads of Ekstrom, as well as their children Prince Sverre and Nikolai." She takes a swig of her drink, eyes widening as something clicks, "And little Prince Silas was born by then as well, wasn't he?"

"Might I remind you 'Prince Sverre' has long been 'King Sverre' and to talk so casually about his death is tantamount to treason?" Her friend admonishes from beside her, "And yes, Prince Silas was around three when it happened. The apple of his Uncle Nikolai's eye. No one could have gotten to His Majesty and Prince Silas back then, not with Nikolai around. It was already a well-known fact that he was a necromancer and once Prince Silas was born he was never far from the boy or his father. Those three were untouchable from the start."

"Then he should have scrapped the entire idea in general." The woman groans, earning a disapproving look from her friend, "I stand by my initial statement; the King of Ileo got what he deserved for being a greedy fool."

A younger man sighs at a nearby table to the witch's, catching her attention before he speaks up, "I understand killing the King of Ileo, of course, he was after the Kingdom of Ekstrom after all and in murdering the highest ranked he needed to be dealt with, I even understand the annihilation of his army," His face contorts to one of disgust, "But for Nikolai to murder the innocent civilians of the kingdom…and in such a vile way, it was truly a mad man's act."

Another man laughs from a table at the other end of the tavern, "Well of course Nikolai was mad! He picked up the dark arts, how could he not go mad!? You think a sane man would have gone off and fought an entire kingdom alone? Even with all of his corpses it's shocking he won! The odds were so slim!"

The man who made the original toast huffs and crosses his arms, "Of course Nikolai won! They had no warning before they were ambushed by thousands of corpses, led by a mad man hungry for revenge! It was like setting a thousand foxes into a rabbit pen. There was no option but his success."

Shaking his head, the bartender looks to the cup in his hand with a sad smile, "He had started out so promising, one of the strongest immortals of his generation. How could he become such a disgusting thing?"

"That boy was always obsessed with power, it's no surprise he ended up embracing the dark arts just for fun, and so shortly after graduating from The Ambrosius Academy as well." A man dressed in far nicer clothing than the rest adds, a scornful look on his face, "The only school for the Immortals, so prestigious and well-regarded, yet he tossed their teachings into the mud and chose villainy!"

The drunkards have all worked their way up to the bar now, their tables abandoned to indulge in bad mouthing of a man long since passed. Luckily for Aria, they are still loud enough that she can hear every word, and animated enough that she sees every movement with ease. She takes a sip of her drink, her eyes landing on a man as he leans in to the crowd with an almost sickening grin, "They say on the third and final day of the war in Ileo, Nikolai sat on the kingdom's throne and watched with a twisted grin as a group of corpses tore apart the king. He waited until everyone else was killed before he killed the king! He wanted the king to watch as he murdered his family, his people, and leveled his entire kingdom before he would give that pathetic man his death. Truly a vile creature."

"Very worthy of his title; The Mad Corpse Demon." Someone says somberly and everyone falls silent for a moment.

"That's right, he's a demon now, isn't he?" A woman asks in a hushed voice, as if saying it too loud might summon him.

Aria laughs at the idea, if only it were that easy.

"Mn, on the final day Nikolai's withered up body shone with the mark of a demon before he died and went to hell." The upper class man grumbles, "What an affront to The Ambrosius Academy." He huffs, chest puffed out. "He's not even worthy of licking the bottom of my shoe."

Aria can't help but roll her eyes at the man's blatant peacocking, from his clothes and his jewelry to the obnoxious way he speaks. It's clear he is not an Immortal with his middle-aged appearance, which no self respecting immortal would ever have. If she had to guess, she'd say his haughtiness comes from probably living in the city of Ambrosius.Immortals are a rare thing that humans desperately wish to be, but none more so than the pompous humans of Ambrosius. Being so close to the young immortals as they learn to use their power and choose the title of a Witch, Wizard, or Inseguitore leads them to believe they are special despite the fact they are no different than any other human.

Everyone, human and Immortal alike find his kind insufferable, so luckily he continues to be ignored.

"A truly terrifying man." A younger girl, barely old enough to drink, mutters, "Thank the heavens no one has been successful in summoning a demon, so he will never return."

The middle- aged woman beside her sighs, "Aye, but before him no one was able to use necromancy, either. He seems to break molds in a terrible way. I fear if anyone could do it, it would be him."

The Mad Corpse Demon is such a feared man, even after dying in such pitiful shape, the mere idea of him returning has silenced the tavern and filled it with a thick air of tension. Humans have complex yet intense feelings towards the infamous Nikolai Iliev, even fifteen years later.

Such a destructive man.

Such a powerful demon.

Aria feels her lips curling upwards against her cup as she takes another sip.

Imagine what they'll say when he comes back.