Sacrificial Grounds

Considering the great benefits Morgana was about to obtain, one might ask. Why didn't someone already made use of the many sacrificial grounds spread across the vast forest?

The answer lies with the type of magic practiced by its denizens. Because almost all of the mages that lived here were either druids or sorcerers.

This first kind used natural magic. By attuning with the land and its inhabitants as well as studying them a druid would gain many great powers.

Unlike wizards, however, their craft did not draw magic exclusively from knowledge. And, also had nothing to do with the arcane.

On the other hand, a sorcerer's powers were innate.

For them, magic was something to be cultivated purely through practice and instinct. As such knowledge and scholarly studies played no part in defining just how skilled they were.

Some sorcerers drew their power from destiny, being blessed by chaos at the precise moment of their conception. There were also those who carried this magic in their blood. As such, they were the heirs of ancient and powerful beings, whose power they could somehow mimic.

Other kinds of innate magic existed as well, but these two were the most common by far.

As far as Morgana could tell, true wizards were extremely rare in Agatha.

The only examples of this profession she could find were those of Rumpelstiltskin and his followers.

In a time when the world was even younger than it was now, they were cast out by the other gnomes, many of whom considered their magic to be heretic.

Another point of discord, and the final trigger which resulted in their expulsion, was Rumpelstiltskin's express desire to make peace with the Feywild.

After this Great Schism, the wizards moved out of the Great Forest, building their own settlement in the south.

Some day Morgana intended to pay them a visit.

So, unlike wizards, druids and sorcerers had other pillars supporting their power. Pillars that often caused the practice of dark magic to become unviable.

Druids, for instance, sought to coexist in harmony with the lands in which they lived. As such, giving in to darkness would actually make them weaker instead of stronger.

While a sorcerer's magic would remain within the boundaries of the "gifts" that were bestowed upon them on the occasion of their births.

Of course, there were sorcerers who received their powers from an evil ancestor and those could only practice dark magic.

While some druids, who dwelled in decadent places, would worship corruption and evil, principles which were manifested by these dark and fallen domains.

But, fortunately, neither of those two cases existed in the Great Forest.

...

After visiting five of the locations that Morgana had marked on the map, Mordred was beginning to think that the rest of his journey would be just as uneventful.

But then, just as he was passing above a particularly large tree...

A giant flying monkey flew towards him, taking advantage of the fact that the familiar had come too close to the place where it dwelled.

The jump carried great strength as the very foundations of this tree were shook.

It was unlike the other members of its kind that partook on the battle against the gnomes, having a size twice as big as those individuals.

Truly massive.

Mordred made use of his smaller form and nimbly evaded the first charge.

The flying monkey was disappointed, considering if it should retreat. After all, in order to capture birds, his species always relied on the element of surprise, since their speed was quite lacking.

But Mordred was having none of this.

His eyes brimmed with malice.

Circling the enemy with great skill, he found an opportunity and stroke decisively.

From bellow his body, a long arm with four claws sprang forth and slashed the monkey.

The creature tried to counter-attack, but it was futile.

Mordred evaded him again and, after dispelling the arm he just created, flew away, towards the next sacrificial ground.

Taking a measure of his wounds, the flying monkey was still sad about losing its prey, but at least the wound was not too severe.

Of course, if only the creature knew...

It couldn't benefit from Morgana's immunities against the Bat King's deadly venom.

.....

"Rise."

In a runic circle drawn on the stone floor, laid the corpse of a wild beast. Some sort of giant snake that had red scales with several brown spots.

As if reacting to Morgana's spell, the serpent shook violently for a few minutes, before becoming still once more.

"Another failure. How vexing!"

She was displeased with the progress of her necromancy mastery in this world. So far, no attempt at reanimating a corpse was successful.

After injecting new vitality one the target, it would experience a sudden burst of energy, which lasted for a little while.

However, she could no longer call back souls from the other side, neither could she sustain the reanimation for a long period of time.

It was like the reflexes of a dead cockroach. A true show of vitality, of course, but only as a lingering effect, which could not be maintained.

"That's enough."

A good researcher should now when to halt the investigation on a particular project. It was just better to focus on easier fields to grasp, leaving aside this one until the situation changed and necromantic studies became once more viable for her.

After all, this was the unholy grail of dark magic, the greatest taboo, manipulating the boundaries between life and death.

Morgana would most likely do better strengthening her foundations by eating all the low hanging fruit first. The big juicy apple on the treetop would just have to wait.