Ankou and the Shadow World

Prologue

11th of Varnorin

Hooray! Today, I joined the research corps of the Sky Library guild! I'm so happy that I can’t sit still. My first task is to investigate rumors in Gludio. It isn't too impressive, but I believe I will find something worth studying.

12th of Varnorin

The guards at the gates are describing mysterious undead. At first, I thought that it was just more tales from weary soldiers, but they talked with too much certainty. They say the dead seem stronger than usual. Hm, interesting… I must ask the citizens.

18th of Varnorin

Now it is even more curious! The undead were noticed not only near Gludio, but also in other towns. And these are not just wandering skeletons — they are liches! Four of them: the swordsman, the spearman, the archer, and the mage. I feel a real mystery here. If I solve it, I will definitely earn a promotion!

4th of Talven

My conversations with elders and guild masters were not in vain. About 150 years ago, a strange plague hit the village of Bernis. Healers hold its spread, but many died. Rumours claim that among all the villagers, only one small boy remained untouched by the disease. He was an orphan accepted by a healer from Gludin.

Note. Ask Gludin residents about the healer with the little boy.

8th of Talven

Three days of questions in Gludin, fortune! I learned about the healer. Her name was Fianna Arinel, and the boy she brought from Bernis was Estel. Fianna taught him the art of healing, and the people of the town accepted him. But shortly after the demon attacked Gludin and Fianna died, Estel suddenly disappeared. Since then, not a single word of him.

Note: Find out more about the demon attack.

13th of Talven

I find details about the demon attack. It turns out, it struck three towns at once.

According to the citizens, Estel stopped the demons in Gludin alone. Amazing, how could a 13-year-old accomplish this, when two skilled adventurers perished? His mentor and friend of hers. The boy is not that simple. I must learn more about him.

Lord Oscar Layet and many dark elven mages felt during the invasion of Gludio. Sir Michael Vasper replaced him.

Dion, however, was defended with almost no casualties. Lord Marcus Ashton secured the support of the Giran church in time. For his courage, Ashton gets the title of duke. His descendants disgraced the family with greed and bloodthirsty politics.

8th of Sirendin

Finally, my search succeeded! Today I visited Hardin’s Academy and spoke with the master in person. Hardin said that many years ago, a young man came to him asking to study necromancy. The youth was unusually stubborn and radiated great magical potential. Hardin did not dare to train him — he feared creating a new Beleth. Now he torments himself with regret for rejecting such a talent. No one knows what that boy has since learned, or how he might use that knowledge.

I'm nearly sure that kid is Estel. But why would he need necromancy? He intended to resurrect his mentor?! The very thought is so revolting, I refuse to dwell. I must focus on facts and search for other leads.

19th of Sirendin

I arrived in Rune. The cult of Triol is active here, and they may well have had ties to Estel. I’ll need to question priests and the town's story.

22nd of Sirendin

My suspicions are confirmed! The locals spoke of a mage named Ankou, tied to the cult. They claim he even brought several people back from the dead. At last, the silence after Gludin makes sense — Estel had merely taken a new name. Estel became Ankou, and chose the path of the necromancer… I must report everything to the guild. This is beyond me alone.

Liannel Sendariel, junior researcher of the Sky Library guild, set down and stretched. Her head ached with thoughts. In these few months she had uncovered so much. The plague, the demons, and the mysterious orphan boy who grew into a dark mage.

Solving these mysteries might bring her not only promotion, but the respect she longed for within the guild. And… perhaps Vernad would notice her. She smiled and blew out the candle.

Chapter 1. Scarlet Wail

About 150 years ago, a plague hit the village of Bernice, later called the “Scarlet Wail.”

It began subtly: fatigue that didn’t pass even after rest and bursts of causeless anger. Then — blackouts. If healers spotted the signs in time and began treatment, the patient could be saved. But more often people waited until the last moment, blaming their weakness on hard work or the blues.

When bloody tears began to flow from a sufferer’s eyes, it was already too late. The disease sank too deep, and the person slowly faded away.

Few villagers survived the Wail, but those who did were grateful to the elven healer Fianna Arinel. As soon as news of the mysterious illness spread, she came from Gludin and stayed in the village until the last patient recovered.

The epidemic shattered many families, including the Olmsteads. The parents and all adult children died, leaving only a two-year-old boy. Despite his whole family dying of the disease, he didn’t even get infected. The only one in the entire village. Fianna took note and wished to take the boy under her care. The village, having lost so many, couldn’t care for another child. No one objected when the healer offered to take the orphan with her.

While in the village, Fianna often came across traces left by various demons, but however much she searched, she found nothing truly substantial. She didn’t bring it up. The people were too exhausted by fear and loss. When the last patient recovered, Fianna and her ward left Bernice. Ahead lay Gludin, behind — empty houses, fresh graves, and strange demonic tracks.

Chapter 2. Gift of Fate

Immediately upon their return from the village, Fianna examined the child closely and discovered his incredible spiritual strength and vast reserve of mana. Astonishing that such a wonder could be born to a simple farmer’s family. The healer gave the boy the name Estel — Gift of Fate.

Estel grew up like an ordinary child: he fished with other boys at the pier, listened to terrifying tales about ghosts in the old lighthouse’s dungeon from the storeman Norman, and heard stories about magical beings of the Abandoned Temple from the elf Nell. Fianna taught young Estel her craft, reasonably believing that one day he would become a great healer.

Estel loved Fianna not only as a teacher. She surrounded him with care and affection, becoming his new mother. His days were full: lessons in magic gave way to long walks through the forests and talks by the fireplace, where ancient secrets opened before him like the pages of long-forgotten books.

Years passed, and the boy became a youth. All the townsfolk loved and respected the young healer. No one saw in him the arrogance common to many gifted ones. Everyone who came to him for help felt not only the strength of his hands but the sincere compassion that filled his spirit.

Chapter 3. New Acquaintances

Fianna often took Estel with her on journeys across the surrounding lands. Together they visited small villages and forgotten settlements where the healer aided those who couldn’t reach town physicians. Estel watched as she patiently and tenderly treated the sick, comforted the suffering, and inspired people with faith in better things.

On these trips they visited Fianna’s old friends. Wise herbalists, hunters, and even former warriors whose fates were tied to her past. Traveling with his mentor became a school of life. He learned not only the secrets of magic, but also to understand people, to see their pain, weaknesses, and hidden strength.

In the south of the Dark Forest, at the foot of the Misty Mountains, in an old hut lived Wren Kain. He is a dark elf whose name was once spoken with respect and fear throughout the surrounding lands.

In his youth, Wren was a renowned mercenary, tempered in endless battles. Wielding weapons was as natural to him as breathing, but his heart always belonged to the spear — simple in appearance yet deadly in a master’s hands. After many years of adventure he grew tired of constant fighting and settled here, spending his time training young dark elves.

Despite his rare gift for magic, Estel was weak in body and tired quickly. Fianna understood that without strength and endurance he wouldn’t be able to unlock his potential, and she turned to an old friend, Wren Kain, for help. At first the youth regarded the mentor. Every gesture, every movement of the spear seemed frightening. But behind the grim exterior, wisdom and care gradually revealed themselves. Over time Estel came to trust Wren more and more, and in the dark elf’s eyes appeared respect for the student’s diligence. Gradually, each strike of the spear, each mistake, and each effort became steps toward one another. Fear yielded to firm, unconditional faith.

The light elf Fenralith Cuthalion lived on the shore of the quiet lake Felmer. Like Vren, he spent his youth in endless adventures, serving in a band of mercenaries. In those years he loved a girl, but her life ended during a bandit raid on a village. This loss left a deep scar on the elf’s soul, and he withdrew from the world of people and cities, secluding himself by the lake. There he spent his days hunting and exterminating monsters that threatened a small nearby settlement. The forest and the water became for him not only a home but a remedy for the pain he carried within.

Fianna feared that loneliness was pulling Fenralith into an abyss, and so she introduced him to the young Estel, full of light and hope. The elf met the new acquaintance warily, as if he didn’t believe his heart could still open. But with each passing day he more often took the youth with him — on hunts, to the river, into the forest thickets. There he shared his experience, taught him to shoot a bow and read the forest like an open book, and he himself was involuntarily drawn into a life full of simple joys. Gradually the wall of estrangement crumbled: in Estel he found a brother, and in himself — a long-lost faith. And one day Fenralith admitted to his friend: the boy returned his lost hope and healed the wound that had tormented his soul for many years.

Oscar Layet, lord of the lands of Gludio, was not only an excellent warrior but also a reliable leader — the people of these parts called him the “shield of the kingdom.” In the past, Oscar led a band of mercenaries in which Fianna served along with other mutual acquaintances. When she introduced Estel to him, Oscar immediately recognized the youth’s talent. He noted that the young healer’s success was the best praise to his mentor, and he often took him along on trips across the lands of Gludio, teaching lessons of honor and courage by his own example.

Estel found in Oscar a worthy example to emulate — a man in whom strength was joined with honor. Watching him, the youth gradually adopted his character: he learned patience in disputes, how to endure blows steadfastly, restrain anger, and seek the true reasons behind others’ actions. The desire to be like Oscar became his inner compass, quietly shaping a firm and just system of values.

These encounters — with the stern yet fair Vren, the skilled ranger Fenralit, and the wise Lord Layet — became for Estel the milestones that change a life’s course at the lightest touch. The youth did not yet know where his path would lead, but a sense of duty was already ripening in his chest, and in his hands — the confidence granted only by mentors who believe in you more than you do yourself. Now Estel no longer walked forward alone: with him went the words, looks, and lessons that would forever remain part of his strength.

Chapter 4. The Invasion

The road to Gludin was eerily quiet. As they drew closer, the smell of smoke and the distant roar of battle grew stronger. Estel, Fianna, and Fenralith quickened their pace, eager to learn the cause. Cresting the final rise, they saw the town, and the young healer’s heart clenched. Skeletons in rusty armor and demonic beasts were assaulting Gludin’s walls and gates. Flames devoured roofs, pillars of smoke blotted out the sky, and the citizens’ cries were drowned in the din of battle. Without losing a moment, Fianna summoned a magical echo and sent a call to Oscar and Vren. The reply came instantly but brought no relief: “Wren is with me. Gludio is under attack as well.”

Gludin’s defenders fought to their last breath. Their ranks thinned, their line wavered. It seemed one more moment and the walls would fall. Fenralith leapt into the fray without delay. His magical arrows whistled through the air, cutting down foes. Fianna rushed after him, raised her staff, and unleashed upon the undead a squall of blinding lightning. Skeletons crashed down in shapeless piles of bone, demonic creatures crumbled like a handful of ash. Estel wanted to rush after them, but Fianna stopped him firmly:

— Your battlefield is not here.

She pointed toward the part of the town that still held.

— You’re needed there. Find the wounded, help them… and don’t let fear break those who are still alive.

His heart rebelled, but reason obeyed. Estel hurried to where groans and cries tore the air, where every minute was worth its weight in gold. As he bound wounds and poured all his strength into healing spells, he understood: war is not only a face-to-face clash with the enemy. It is also a struggle for every breath, for every soul that can still be wrested from death.

Chapter 5. Blood Harvest

At the height of the battle, darkness thickened over the town, and three demons burst into Gludin’s streets. Defenders fell one after another, their ranks thinning by the minute. The incursion nearly reached the district with the wounded, but Fianna and Fenralith managed to halt the demons’ advance. Estel watched the fight in awe — he had never seen such powerful magic. The former mercenaries were strong, yet they could not withstand three demons. Desperate to help, Estel rushed forward, but it was already too late.

One demon swung its blade and pierced Fenralit’s chest. The elf jerked, his eyes flew wide, his tunic bloomed red, and he collapsed lifeless. The other two unleashed their attacks on Fianna. Under their onslaught her magical shield burst like a soap bubble, and dozens of phantasmal spears pierced the elf’s body. Pale with pain, she turned as if searching for someone with her eyes. Seeing Estel, Fianna gave a faint smile and silently formed a few words. A moment later the light faded from her eyes, and the mentor’s lifeless body fell to the ground, leaving the youth alone with the horror unfolding.

Everything around froze, and in that stillness Estel heard only the beating of his own heart. He felt an unknown flame break in the depths of his soul. His skin shone from within, his eyes took on a cold light. The power that had slumbered within him for so long burst forth. The demons noticed Estel and soared into the sky, yielding the field to the oncoming army of undead. Hordes of enthralled skeletons surged toward him, but the young healer repelled their assault, sweeping away enemies with waves of a power he had never known he possessed.

In the heat of battle Estel noticed the three demons weaving a powerful spell. Every fiber of his mind screamed danger. The last words of Fianna rose in memory. Though he had not heard them, each word flared with piercing clarity in his consciousness. Tenebris Dispersa Lux. A mighty spell that banishing the undead. They recently begun to study it, and now it was the only hope. Estel knew that ancient magic demanded a colossal amount of mana and inhuman focus. Any misstep could be fatal. But he had nothing left. He wanted to protect the town, even at the cost of his life.

The demons finished weaving their spell, and send a bolt of magic toward him. There was no time to hesitate. Gathering all his mana, he activated the banishment. The air shuddered with the magical words, and a bright light cleaved the darkness at the very moment the demons’ spell struck his chest. In the next second the demons and the undead vanished as if burned out of reality, and Estel crashed onto the stones, losing consciousness.

When he came to, Estel immediately recalled the horrors. The deaths of Fianna and Fenralith flashed before his eyes. His heart tightened, but he remembered his mentor’s last lesson: war is not only fighting the enemy, but protecting allies. The time for tears would come later. Now he had to save those still alive. The youth set out for Gludio at once, hoping to reach Oscar in time to help.

The town met him with exhausted dark-elf mages and the remnants of the defenders. They told him that the sudden onslaught of undead had caught the town unprepared. Wren Kain appealed to the Tetrarchs for aid, and the mages they sent arrived just as he and Oscar were fighting the demons. But it was already too late. The demons slaughtered the brave warriors. The elves opposed desperately and managed to banish the demons, but the price was too high.

Estel heard their words, but they did not reach him. His mind was emptied by grief. Wordlessly, the youth fell to his knees before the bodies of his fallen friends. Today, he had lost not merely mentors — he had lost his family and, with them, every last hope. He was alone, utterly emptied, left face to face with ruin and death, unable to find the strength even to weep.

Chapter 6. Secrets of the Past

Estel returned to Fianna’s house and began sorting his mentor’s belongings. Among the books he found her journal and could not resist studying it.

From his mentor’s entries Estel learned of the tragedy in the village of Bernice and of the mysterious traces of demons nearby. Fianna described her observations in detail. Her magic grew stronger near him, and she could easily perform what had once come with difficulty. The journal also spoke of her conjecture that his own power would increase significantly as he matured.

Fianna tried to understand the connection between the demons and the plague. She concluded that the culprit was the demon Libe, known for pestilential curses. It seemed he had stumbled upon the abilities of little Estel and decided to test his new powers on the village. For many years Fianna had noted demons appearing near the town, but they did not dare attack while Estel was at her side. She suspected the demons wanted to claim the youth to use his abilities.

These revelations shocked Estel. Could it be that his parents, the people of Gludin, even his mentors — all had died because of the power within him that he neither understood nor controlled? Estel’s mind swung between blind rage and a heavy sense of guilt. He had already lost a family twice. Logic insisted you cannot blame a child for a gift he never asked for, but a voice within whispered unceasingly: “This happened because of you.”

Torn between despair and the search for a shred of hope, he paced through Fianna’s home. When exhaustion finally took hold, a terrifying clarity formed in Estel’s mind: the power that had destroyed so many lives might be the only thing capable of returning them. And memory supplied the how.

During his training, Fianna had told that necromancy could raise the undead or resurrect a person, but with a great likelihood the person would return altered or mad. Therefore necromancy was forbidden, and all books about it were destroyed or hidden.

Recalling the gruesome stories told by warehouseman Norman about the old lighthouse, Estel decided to sneak inside — perhaps the ghost tales guarded one of the secret archives. In the far part of the lighthouse’s underground he discovered a hidden room full of shrouded cabinets with ancient tomes and scrolls. After studying some of them, Estel became convinced it was indeed a cache brimming with forbidden knowledge of necromancy and soul magic.

Studying such books in the town was too dangerous, and Estel had already caused the people of Gludin enough suffering. He understood that leaving the town that had become home was the only sensible choice. To set things right, he needed time and the opportunity to practice. The Misty Mountains were perfect for this — far from large villages and populated by tribes of sentient beings on whom he could test new skills.

Gathering the necessary books and a few supplies, Estel left Gludin and headed north to the Misty Mountains. He knew that ahead lay a path along the brink of madness, the study of forbidden magic, and a meeting with his own darkness. But there was no other way — making amends had become his sole purpose.

Chapter 7. The Lost Path

Months of solitude passed in grueling experiments. The pages of forbidden books, worn by time, taught him truly dreadful things. To perform the necessary rituals, one had to cast aside everything human — compassion, mercy, and belief in the value of life itself.

Estel tested new spells on orcs he captured in nearby forests. But without a mentor it was hard to master complex magic — too often his experiments ended in failure, leaving only mangled bodies and maddened souls. Each failure hardened his heart, and the whisper of the dead grew more familiar and closer than the voices of the living.

Seclusion could not hide the traces of his experiments, and soon people began whispering about a mysterious necromancer. This was dangerous for Estel — he could not allow the rumors to reach the Ivory Tower. He abandoned his refuge and put on the mask of another name so that none of his old acquaintances would learn what he was doing. Now he was Ankou — a wanderer with no past — and under that mask he began a long journey of roaming, searching for knowledge and teachers.

His wanderings led him across the continent for many years. Ankou met mages, traded with them, and studied under them. Hearing of Hardin’s might, he visited the archmage’s academy. But the old sorcerer only squinted and refused to teach Ankou, though an interest in the unusual youth flickered in his eyes.

The deeper Ankou plunged into the abyss of necromancy, the more it warped his essence. His former aspirations faded, yielding to a single goal — to resurrect his mentor.

The path led him to the harsh northern lands of Rune, where he met followers of Triol. They teach him the secrets of soul magic, ways to make pacts with demons, and drew upon knowledge, approaching his aim.

Years flowed by, leaving only ash behind. The human name vanished with the past, and the new shell, Ankou, became his only truth. Thirty years of wandering tempered his will, and now he knew he was ready to challenge death itself.

Chapter 8. Fate’s Mockery

A life must be paid for with a life. But Ankou chose another path. He had nothing — only knowledge and feelings. He decided to exchange his mentor’s life for the dearest thing he possessed — his love for her.

Preparation took months. Ankou had to recreate a body and implant a soul into it. At last everything was ready, and on a moonless night he began the great work of his life. After several tense hours, breath finally sounded within the crafted flesh, filling it with life. All that remained was to wait until the soul accepted the new body.

Fianna came to in an unfamiliar room, not understanding where she was or what was happening. The last thing she remembered was dozens of phantom spears piercing her body and Estel frozen in horror. The memory of danger instantly stirred her magic, but instead of the familiar strength came a troubling, alien sensation.

Fianna left the room to look for people who might help her. Drawn by a noise, she opened the door at the end of the corridor and found herself in a kitchen. A woman at the chopping board started, nicked her finger, and gasped. Fianna stepped closer:

— Don’t be afraid. I’ll heal you.

She extended her hand — and everything went wrong. The blood didn’t stop; on the contrary, it gushed faster. Old scars crept across the woman’s skin and split open one by one, as if time were winding backward. The woman screamed in pain and fear. Servants rushed in at the noise. Everyone who approached the elf began to choke on agony: their old wounds reopened one after another; some collapsed, unable to endure the torment.

Fianna recoiled, clutching her hands to her chest.

— I didn’t mean to… I… — her breath faltered. The magic within hissed like poison.

Suddenly an icy dread wrapped around Fianna, and a tall, pale man entered the kitchen in silence. There was something familiar in his features, but she couldn’t place him. The man observed what was happening with cool curiosity. Fianna tried to explain herself, but he wordlessly took her by the hand and led her away.

In the garden, Ankou stopped and turned to his former mentor. No former feelings remained in him — only cold curiosity. He remembered her as the greatest healer, and now he watched as her very presence ruined people.

— Fianna, I’m glad to see you alive.

— Who are you? — she studied his face. — You know my name… Why weren’t you harmed by my touch?

— I used to be called Estel, — he answered. — But Estel was weak. He died. My name is Ankou, and I command the dead. — The man bowed to Fianna and went on.

— You died thirty years ago, during the attack of the undead and demons on Gludin. As did Fenralith, and Oscar, and Wren. I couldn’t accept your loss, so I spent most of my life studying necromancy. And today you have finally returned.

— Estel… — Fianna slowly sank to the ground, her voice trembling, — How could you? I understand our deaths were a terrible blow to you, but necromancy… I warned you! Look at what your selfishness has led to! — The elf covered her face with her hands.

Ankou regarded her, lost in thought. So many years of effort, and here it was — the pinnacle of his art. His mentor had returned to life with a perfect body and a lucid mind, yet the change in her magic troubled him. There could be no mistakes in the ritual, and this deviation demanded careful study. He addressed Fianna again:

— I must resolve what happened to your magic. For now, you will remain in the manor. There is everything you need for comfort.

Ankou turned and left with a swift, soundless step. Frightened by his indifference, Fianna stood frozen, watching him go. Suddenly she understood what kind of life her former student had given her, and horror seized her.

Continuation of the story https://telegra.ph/Ankou-and-the-Shadow-World-part-2-10-29