The face of death (3)

"Now that you've revealed yourself, can I ask you a couple of questions?" I grinned mischievously, and Rizel nodded resignedly.

"Go ahead, I won't hide anything from you anymore."

"You said that your mother's enemies might be after you. Who was she?"

"As far as I understood, she was a great necromancer who lived for several thousand years. She took part in many wars and developed her own fighting style, using our family weapon," Rizel nodded at the scythe on her shoulder, "my mother also participated in the battle against the demon lord, and that's when she died. There are still many of his supporters in our world, and I fear they might come after me."

"But how will they recognize you?"

"Necromancers inherit the magical power and appearance of the one who passed their contract with the spirit, as well as partially the appearance of the spirit itself. My eyes were never green, and my hair never grew to this length; all of that is influenced by the contract. I tried to change my appearance, to cut my hair, but it would grow back by the morning. Besides, this scythe is one of a kind, forged from the very soul of the Mistress of Death herself, it's unmistakable."

"But how did you get it, and..." I began to contemplate the necromancer's words, comparing them with historical facts.

"Necromancers live forever; it's the gift of our goddess. For that, they help souls transition to the spirit world, and they have the right to pass on their power to only one heir. If a necromancer has other children, they don't receive their power or immortality. So, I inherited my power from my mother, who received it from my grandmother. And my grandmother was the only one with whom the Mistress of Death made a contract."

"Mistress of Death Risa," the Rector's pensive voice resonated from the crystal, "though your mother never admitted it, I always knew she could only be her daughter."

"Wait, you're the granddaughter of the Summoner of Death?!" Vina's voice interrupted the Rector, "that's so cool!!"

"Please! Don't tell anyone about it. My grandmother left behind even more enemies than my mother did. Many still blame her for the origins of the Great Plague, but I know that's not true. She told me herself!"

"While you were answering my questions, I have even more new questions," everything began to form a hazy picture, and I wanted to quickly find out who Rizel really was, "Firstly, the demon lord was defeated a thousand years ago, which means your mother died at the same time. How old are you? Secondly, you wanted to join us from the very beginning, how do you know us? And thirdly, how could you talk to your long-deceased mother and grandmother while remaining in our world?"

"Krito, since our first meeting, you've been astonishing me with your insight," Rizel smiled affectionately, "I must tell you the story of my birth and life, and then you'll find all the answers to your questions."

In the room, silence hung heavy as Rizel took a deep breath and began her tale.

"My mother was one of the greatest mages in history, and she couldn't avoid taking part in the battle against the demon lord. But she had a premonition that she wouldn't survive the battle, so she decided to leave her power to her successor. Necromancers can sense when death is near, giving her time to prepare. I don't know who my father was, but she didn't want him to be anyone significant to her and rejected a young man who had pursued her love for many years."

"Poor Grivor, his heart was broken," the Rector sighed on the other side of the crystal.

"She planned in advance what she would do with her child, so she wanted the father not to be able to claim me. Before going into battle, she left me, just a couple of months old, in a sacred place in an ancient swamp, using a complex spell that would put me into eternal sleep until the threat to this world was over. She didn't know whether she would defeat the demon lord, so she arranged it so I would awaken if he was destroyed or if the one destined to defeat him was born."

"The Summoner?" Katrina whispered.

"Yes, he was born in our world about sixteen years ago, and that's when I woke up. A caravan of traders passed by, and the captain of the guards decided to take the defenseless orphan into his home. I lived without sensing magic and without knowing my origins. The only little peculiarity remaining from my necromancer blood was that I was resistant to poisons and diseases, surviving even after being bitten by a very dangerous swamp viper. Since then, the townspeople treated me with respect, and little by little, I started to practice herbalism, though it wasn't that easy for me. Everything was going well until hordes of marsh monsters started besieging our city. I was wounded but managed to stay conscious longer than others and helped a young group of heroes find the monsters' lair. They did everything possible to find an antidote for me, but I still died."

"Wait a moment," this story seemed painfully familiar to me, "No way."

"What's wrong, Krito?" Ragni looked at me with surprise.

"What if you add a dozen kilograms to Rizel, shorten her hair, and dye it chestnut color? Does she remind you of someone?"

Rizel smiled and slowly took off a long boot. On her ankle, there was a thin row of tiny scars, resembling bite marks from small fangs.

"Maria!" Ragni exclaimed in alarm, "So, I was late with the antidote back then?"

Ragni lowered her head in sadness, but Rizel embraced her and pulled her close.

"No, your antidote helped me a lot. It was only thanks to it that I could fight death while I was on the other side," Rizel patted the dragoness's head and then gently pulled away.

"Could someone explain who this is?" Vina's voice came from the crystal.

"Oh, right. You don't know," I turned to our new guildmates, "This happened on our first joint mission when we fought the royal hydra. At that time, the daughter of the local elder was dying from the hydra's poison. Ragni managed to make an antidote for her, but we never found out if it saved the girl."

"It really did save my life. When I was dying, the venom suddenly stopped spreading, and I found myself on the brink of life and death. Then my soul went where my home was, in the world of the dead, where three great spirits awaited me: the Mistress of Death Tanatos, my mother Celestia, and my grandmother Risa. They told me who I was and where to find the 'Touch of Death.' Mom said she wanted to name me Rizel in honor of grandma, and I decided to take the new name. But most importantly, Lady Tanatos made a contract with me, and I gained the power of my mother and grandmother. I was resurrected as a great necromancer once again."

Rizel sadly lowered her head and let out a deep sigh.

"My father was happy, but the next morning, I changed. My eyes and hair matched my new soul. The villagers began to avoid me, and I didn't want to cause any trouble for my father. With his permission, I set out in search of this cloak. It was hidden in the same place where my father found me. After that, I was determined to join the heroes who saved our village."

"Riz," Katrina embraced the necromancer, "You should have told us everything from the start."

"Well, I didn't know how you would react to a thousand-year-old granny, who had already died once. In my village, everyone who knew me from birth gradually turned away from me after learning the truth."

"Silly girl," Ragni playfully tapped Rizel's head and embraced her from the other side, "We have such a diverse group of people here that you don't stand out at all. Besides, now I'm not the oldest guild member, heh-heh."

The girls laughed together.

"Andddd!" Rizel suddenly screamed in horror. Two tanned hands were wrapped around her from behind, gently massaging her breasts and then moving smoothly to her waist and hips.

"Indeed, you're perfect, not just your face," the lustful princess's voice resounded mischievously from behind Rizel, "your breasts are small, but for such a slender figure, quite nice. A slim waist, not an ounce of extra fat, and a perky little behind. Mmm, I could eat you up."

"Stooop!!" Rizel sharply hit her staff on the ground, and an invisible force threw Seleria against the wall, "Oh god, how can you ruin the moment like that!"

Seleria was pushed back not by the necromancer's telekinesis but by something dark that emerged from the girl's shadow. The skirt that disappeared during the battle reappeared, slowly covering Rizel in its embrace.

"Whaaat? Rizel, what is this?!" Katrina recoiled in fear from the necromancer.

"This is shadow magic," Seleria quickly recovered from the blow and looked at Rizel's back, "the assassins of Leran once possessed a similar magic. It's a defensive form, a blend of telekinesis and summoning the spirits of necromancers. Its shadow has a mind of its own and serves only one purpose: to protect its owner."

"I'm surprised you know so much," the cloak completely enveloped Rizel's body, leaving only the hood visible, "my ancestors' souls reside in the shadow."

"Rizel!! Are you planning to keep hiding under this cloak forever?!" Vina tried to persuade the girl, her voice choked with tears.

"Hmm," the necromancer's voice became surprisingly calm, and in her gaze, the tranquility of death returned, "perhaps you're right. I've already frightened everyone enough with my usual attire. I'll wear my cloak, but I probably won't use shadow magic to conceal my identity anymore."

The shadow slowly receded, hiding within the depths of the cloak. Now the necromancer's cloak didn't seem so impenetrable. From the brooch on her neck, it smoothly spread to the sides, leaving her stomach, waist, and legs visible. Not to mention that Rizel decided not to wear the hood.

"Teacher Risa," a timid voice came from the door. Peering shyly from around the corner was Mili, the girl from Koroldayne who considered Rizel her favorite teacher. Judging by the whispering behind her, the other children were there too.

"Hello, Mili. It seems I no longer have to hide, and I think quite a few people illegally sneaked into the lodge," Rizel replied.

"Teacher!" a horde of kids burst into the room, all of whom we were familiar with, and they didn't hesitate long about their unlawful intrusion.

"Hey, hey!" the voice from the crystal caught the children's attention. "I understand everything, but haven't you forgotten something? There's still one more match ahead, in case you didn't know!! Oh my, Krito, has Rizel's beauty already clouded your mind? Hurry to the arena before they count you defeated."

"Damn it," Alfred had been standing in the arena for a while, and I rushed there.

"Rector," the young earth mage addressed the crystal in front of him, "you said that Grivor loved Rizel's mother?"

"Yes, poor fellow."

"But he lived a long and glorious life."

"Young man, eternal life has its drawbacks too. Grivor feared dying alone the most. He had thousands of lovers and even three lawful wives, but he outlived them all."

"And so he wanted to love a woman who was immortal like him?"

"Well, not exactly. After burying his third wife, he vowed never to fall in love again. But during the war with the demons, he met someone who could stir his heart. The war lasted for years, and humans often lost, but when a powerful and beautiful death wizard came to his aid, he was touched. He courted her for two years, hoping for reciprocity, and I even started to think that Celestia returned his feelings. However, she still tried to keep her distance from him. Later, I realized that she knew she didn't have much time left to live and didn't want to break Grivor's heart again. But he was still heartbroken when he found out that she decided to have a child with another man whom she had known for only a few days. After her death, he took her ashes and never left her grave again."

"Is she buried in Koroldayne?"

"The stone on which he sat every day, contemplating life, was her tombstone. He scattered her ashes over the forest where she learned the art of necromancy from her mother, and never left her again."

"It's a sad story."

"Grain, if you and your beloved live forever, it doesn't mean you are destined to die on the same day. Remember that it's better to spend every second of your life with her."