A Teacher

"I didn't see any corpses," Ludwig said, his voice tinged with confusion and a lingering hint of exhaustion.

Van Dijk sighed deeply, the kind of sigh that spoke of centuries of experience weighed down by the naivety of youth. "The Sigil of Summon Undead isn't limited to the corpses lying on the ground," he began, pacing slowly around the room with his hands clasped behind his back. His crimson eyes glinted under the flickering light of the lanterns in his lab. "It is an ancient and dangerous craft. The sigil can harness the residual essence of anything that has died in the vicinity, even those long faded into dust."

Ludwig stiffened at the explanation. He had understood necromancy to be a means of calling the dead back into service, but this was something altogether more profound—and far more horrifying.