"While the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Empire are human, that is not quite the be all and end all of our great nation. Of course most other thinking species are inimically opposed to all that is good and moral and have been eliminated wherever Her Eternal Majesty has encountered them. However, the Empire welcomes all peaceful races, whatever their species. The Mehrzad are one of the rare exceptions to the dark nature of non-humans. Living high up in the mountain ranges of the Empire, they are treasured friends of all. A peaceful species who are as renowned for their gentle kindness as they are for their quiet wisdom, the Mehrzad's distinctive features can occasionally be seen visiting Trevayn for discussions with Her Eternal Majesty's ministers. If only other thinking species were more like the Mehrzad, the Empire's generals could sleep more easily at night."

Two Thousand Years of Empire by Jahangir Amini

=====

Kaisie finished the laborious job of checking the magic animating the walker in front of him. The corpse, some homeless trash spirited out of the Wasteways, stood there patiently. It wasn't like it had anything better to do after all.

He smiled to himself at the thought. Its condition was adequate, as were the other two. They could all be sent back to work. The Duke would be pleased.

"Tagae." Kaisie imbued the word with magic and watched as the three of them started to shamble away. He could call it a day soon, have a wash and get some sleep. Life was good.

Suddenly the walkers froze before turning their heads towards the corridor leading up and starting to shamble towards it. He frowned. That wasn't right. Had they sensed something? He still didn't understand how the things saw or heard.

"Do'aelt ai'dag'fa." Nothing happened in response to his command. They just kept shuffling slowly in the wrong direction.

Then Kaisie heard it. Something was coming. Pounding feet on the gravel floor. The walkers would always prioritise intruders over any other command. The Duke had told him that.

His lips thinned. He wasn't much of a necromancer, not like the Duke, but he could give whoever the intruder was a nasty surprise while the walkers distracted him. Yes, that was what he'd do. He'd punish whoever had dared come down here and present them to the Duke for interrogation and reanimation. Anyway, it wasn't like he had much choice. If he ran and the Duke found out, he'd be lucky to join the walkers that shambled around the catacombs.

Kaisie readied himself, lifting a hand ready to gesture and bringing a spell to his lips.

The words fled when a giant burst out of the passage. The largest man Kaisie had ever seen, armoured and wielding a sword so large it looked ridiculous.

He was moving at a jog, deceptively quickly. In only a moment his huge strides took him to the first walker. He didn't even change his pace. His sword descended and bisected the walker without the slightest sign of resistance. The man's expression didn't flicker. His grim determination could have been carved in stone.

Before the two halves of the walker had hit the ground his sword had lashed out again, cutting straight through the second. He didn't even look at the third, just backhanded it hard enough to slam it off its feet.

With a horrified start, Kaisie realised he'd been staring.

"Lobh ugk," his spell was cut off as a huge, gloved hand clamped painfully tightly around his neck and hauled him off the ground.

Kaisie found himself looking into the dark eyes of the man. A southerner some part of him absently noted. The man stared at Kaisie for two long seconds then shook his head.

The pain in Kaisie's neck flared and he heard a crunch.

He was on the floor. How had he gotten there? Why was the world turning black? Where was the man going?

=====

"We're just wandering around this maze like fucking idiots." Abiel resisted the urge to snap at Ruben. At least he'd kept his voice down, and ultimately he was right.

"There's another way out of here. There must be. That necromancer isn't coming in and out through the Vaults every day. We'll find it and then we'll be out of here. Even Thucer can't complain about," he gestured around them, "this."

They crept on forwards, keeping as quiet as they could. Abiel was no fighter, but he truly wished they had some proper weapons on them. Of course a foppish nobleman and his servants visiting the vaults wouldn't have been armed beyond belt knives, but Great Spirits it was frustrating! This was the last time he targeted a Great House. However, much anyone paid or threatened him!

Occasional sounds echoed through the tunnels, distorted by their twists and turns. It didn't do anything for Abiel's nerves. He'd always thought he was brave, he needed to be to pull of some of the things he did, but this place was worse than anywhere he'd been before. The bones in the walls, the twisted runes and carvings that sometimes seemed to move out of the corner of his eye and the flickering, dim lighting were bad enough for his nerves. The thought that they might run into more walking corpses was worse.

They reached a crossroads and Abiel hesitated. There was no point going back the way they'd come, but the question was which fork to take. They looked the same to him, but he could hardly admit he was lost.

He froze. There was something coming down one of the other corridors. The arhythmic shuffling sound that his brief time down in these catacombs had already taught him to associate with a walking corpse.

"Get back and keep quiet!" He frantically gestured at the others.

They crept back a little further away from the junction. Abiel clutched the hilt of his dagger so hard that it hurt and tried not to breathe.

The corpse shambled into view. They hadn't dared go far, not when any movement might alert it. They were all pressed against the wall of the tunnel, as still as stone.

Despite that the thing paused. Looking around itself with blank eyes. When it wasn't shuffling along it was completely, unnervingly silent. It took a slow step towards their tunnel and Abiel thought his stomach might escape through his throat.

The walking cadaver looked back the way it had been going, but still took another smaller step forward. A shudder ran through it and then it turned away.

As soon as it was out of sight, Abiel let out his breath in a shuddering gasp. Why hadn't it attacked them? Had it just not seen them?

He shook his head. It didn't matter.

"We'll take that one." He whispered as he pointed towards the downward sloping tunnel the corpse hadn't taken. If something was luring the dead away from them he had no desire to find out what it was.

=====

Ester only made it a few steps further into the chamber before she skidded to a halt. There was something else in there. She didn't know how, but she knew it.

Two columns of bones, made of neatly arranged rows of femurs and skulls, stretched up to the ceiling. But that wasn't it. The magic was different here, she could feel something.

Somewhere ahead of her she heard movement. Not the slow, vague shuffle on the undead that she'd encountered so far. It sounded bigger, more directed.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The dim glow of the witchlights didn't give her enough light to see what was going on properly.

Something shifted in the darkness. Something big.

"Taalsoi." Light flared above Ester, casting away the shadows. The chamber was bigger than she'd thought, but her eyes were immediately yanked onto the hulking shape on the far side.

A Mehrzad! Ester would have relaxed at the sight if she hadn't been where she was. Its gentle, furred face was obvious. Almost human, but softer, kinder and bigger. Long, heavily muscled limbs shifted as it turned towards her. They came down from the mountains so rarely, she'd only seen a few during her time at the Academy, but she'd never forget those visits.

Ester's heart was already beating so hard it felt like it was trying to escape from her chest. If it had been anything other than a Mehrzad she'd have blasted it into the wall without thinking, but the very idea that one could be anything other than benevolent was ludicrous. Treasured friends of all, that was what they called them.

"Hello child." Its, no her, voice was as soft and melodious as Ester would have expected. It washed over her, kind and reassuring. A voice that made her feel like everything was going to be alright. "You should not be here. This is no place for you. Not for anyone."

The Mehrzad took a jerky step forward on legs thicker than Ester's torso. Was the Duke keeping her prisoner here? Magic flowed off her, but Mehrzad were magical creatures, there was nothing strange about that. Was there something wrong with her magic though? Ester wasn't sure.

She took a deep breath. "Honoured Mehrzad, are you a prisoner here? Do you need help?" If she could do anything to free her from this horrific place she had to.

"I…" the Mehrzad's voice went up an octave, suddenly harsh. "I need to feed. Sooo hungry."

Ester took an involuntary step back at the suddenly grating tone. Where had the motherly, gentle voice gone? What had the Duke done to her? She willed more magic into her light, casting away the shadows in front of her. Were those scars across the Mehrzad's face?

"Please, honoured Mehrzad, we can find you food, but we need to escape first. I can free you."

"No!" The rough dissonance was gone from her voice as quickly as it had come, but now there was an urgency to it. "You need to leave child. There is nothing you can do for me, go! Go back!" Magic roiled around her, greens and reds and blacks that Ester couldn't even begin to understand.

"I cannot go back, the Duke is there. Let me help you. Come with me, I will break the wards holding you here." Ester tried to push down the dread that was rising in her.

"Yes! No! It is too late for me." The Mehrzad suddenly jerked forward faster than anything that size had any right to move, half a ton of hair and muscle grasping for her. Ester shrieked and stumbled backwards, just out of reach. "Yes, succulent, sweet liiife." The Mehrzad drew the last word out.

"What's wrong with you?!" What new crime had the Duke wrought? Ester didn't take her eyes off the Mehrzad, ready to dodge if she leapt forward again. She needed to find a way past her. The thought of actually attacking a Mehrzad, with everything she knew about her kind, felt like one horror too many.

"I have been changed child. Ascended to greatness. Mutilated. I am dead. I want to live. I must feed. Kill me!" The words came out in a jumble, switching back and forth between kind, softness and grating need.

With a jolt Ester realised the Mehrzad was getting closer. There was no leaping now, just deceptively small steps, silently coming forward, thickly padded feet bringing her closer as she spoke.

"Stay back! I don't want to hurt you." Ester tried to keep the distance between them and glanced behind herself to the tunnel she'd come in through, but there was no escape there. That just led back to the Duke. She could bring down the wards that surrounded the chamber, but that might also break what little restraint the Mehrzad had. "I I I'll kill you," Ester's voice broke. "Stop! Please!"

Ester meant it. She didn't think she'd have been able to a few months ago, but now…

"Yes! Kill me child! Please!" The Mehrzad crouched and then leapt forward, a huge shape moving impossibly fast.

"Diwaien ai'gewaaj." She slammed into Ester's hastily erected barrier of air with enough force to make the chamber shake.

Ester lurched away, as quickly as she could without risking losing her footing. As the Mehrzad rammed herself into the barrier a second time, Ester backed round one of the columns of bones.

"I will kill you quickly, it will not hurt. I do not want to hurt you, but I am so empty, I need to be full!" Ester could feel the Merhzad's magic, or perhaps whatever the Duke had done to her, eroding her own spell.

With a wrench she felt the barrier break. The Mehrzad didn't hesitate, sprinting forward, grasping for her with hands big enough to envelope her head. "Get away from me child, I need liife!"

"Saig ai'xànjar." With a shriek Ester sent a white hot blade of magic at the Mehrzad at the same time as she tried to duck aside.

The world went white as one of the Mehrzad's gigantic fists smashed into her. Her Schema took the blow, but the impact still sent her tumbling painfully across the gravel floor.

Ester ignored the discomfort, forcing herself straight back onto her feet and away from the Merhzad and her reaching hands. There was no time for self-indulgence, she could worry about the pain later.

Through the flaring magic of her Schema Ester saw the Mehrzad coming towards her again, at a more sedate pace thank the Spirits. She could still see the huge muscles tensing and relaxing under the Mehrzad's skin though, ready to coil and pounce if she got too close. Ester's spell should have bisected her, but she seemed to be uninjured. No, there was a narrow line down her body, leaking dark ichor. Did Mehrzad not have blood? Her mind felt jumbled. She couldn't remember her lessons.

"That will not stop me. I need you child. So empty, so hungry." Ester forced her mind back on track as she kept on backing away, trying to keep the Mehrzad at a distance.

"Ngëlën dojeen'fa ai'saig." The gravel around the Mehrzad's feet erupted upwards, spinning into a whirlwind of red hot rock that clawed at her. She hesitated and then kept stalking forward, brushing off a storm of small stones that would have shredded a human as if it was nothing.

Ester bit her lip, tasting blood as she kept moving away, circling round the edge of the chamber. Whatever the Duke had done to her, the Mehrzad clearly couldn't control herself. If only she had more time, Ester might be able to help her, but as it was…

"You must kill me child, please! Because I am so hungry." Ester wasn't even sure she could kill her. "My head, aim for it and get into my mouth. I will crush your skull, you will not suffer but I need delicious, succulent, disgusting, I am a monstrosity." The Mehrzad opened her yawning maw of flat, wide teeth and swiped in front of her with her oversized hands.

Ester just wanted to curl into a ball and hide, but if she did that she'd be dead in seconds. Her heel caught on something as she stepped back and she almost fell. Disgust warred with fear, but she couldn't let either of them rule her. She needed to think and fast. Could she disrupt the magic in the Mehrzad? She didn't think so. If she knew anything about necromancy, maybe she could… Her mind shied away from even considering that. Maybe she just needed more force?

Ester vaguely noticed that she'd backed the whole way round the chamber, trying to keep to a distance where the Mehrzad couldn't leap forward and grab at her again. She needed to end this before she made a mistake and fell over.

"Food. I do not want to do this. I need to do this." The Mehrzad seemed to have stopped trying to talk to her and was just muttering to herself as she stalked after Ester. "Sweet guts ripped from your, what have I become?! I am so hungry." Ester shuddered, Merhzad didn't even eat meat. She remembered that much.

Ester didn't stop her constant movement backwards, staying out of reach of the Mehrzad. Too far away for her to reach her, even if she leapt. If the Mehrzad could grab her then she'd be dead in moments.

She'd seemed to be trying to help Ester though, when she had moments of lucidity anyway. Her head, Ester needed to attack her head. If she could believe the Mehrzad, if she wasn't just thinking of getting Ester in her mouth. But with what? After her other attacks had had so little impact, she didn't think she could cut through the Mehrzad's neck. She seemed to be resistant to magic.

The Mehrzad made a small leap forward forward, still too far to reach Ester, but she nearly fell over stumbling desperately backwards.

"Come closer child, I will not hurt you. No, keep away! I just want to feast on you. No I do not! What have I become? Hungry!"

Ester did her best to block out the Mehrzad's words as she moved to get one of the columns of bones between them. It was too easy to imagine what would happen if she was caught… Maybe she was trying to be too much of a Mage. Clever magic wasn't going to save her here. She needed to think differently if she was going to survive. She glanced to the side, at the stone blocks that made up the wall of the chamber.

"Spiëkk jel'dojeen'fa." Ester focused her will and pulled as hard as she could. For a terrifying moment nothing happened, then with a deep, groaning rumble a huge block dragged its way out of the wall. She didn't give herself time to worry about causing a cave-in, nor to feel the strain from lifting such a heavy weight. "Kel'dolox os'ellende." Despite her inner turmoil, Ester's voice didn't waver as she barked out the words of power.

The stone block shot away from her and straight into the Mehrzad's gentle face with a sickening crunch. It barely slowed, slamming the Mehrzad off her feet and dragging her several feet before Ester managed to get the block back under control and in the air.

"Ffssss." The Mehrzad tried to speak from the ground, but all that came out of her mouth was a wet gurgle. That didn't stop her from starting to get up again though.

With a shriek Ester slammed the block down onto her head, ignoring the strain of the spell. Lifted it and slammed it down again, and again, and again. Each time, the whole chamber shook, showering her in dust. She wasn't sure how many times she brought the block down before the Mehrzad finally stopped moving, but when she eventually released the stone and let it fall to the ground she was gasping for breath and her hands were hurting from how hard she was clutching the skirts of her dress.

Ester's watery eyes lingered on the finally dead Mehrzad for a few, long seconds. What other monstrosities had the Duke created? How many other innocents had he hurt?

"I… I'm so sorry." It wasn't enough. But there was nothing more she could say. She needed to survive, to bring the Duke to justice. Nothing else really mattered. She felt utterly numb inside, but she couldn't stop now.

After another long moment Ester looked away. She needed to keep moving, the Duke was almost certainly catching up with her. Without another glance she headed onwards

She only had time for a few steps before she froze. Ahead of her a walking corpse shambled out of the chamber's exit. Then another, and another.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.