The Empires Rise

- ???'s POV -

The darkness is quiet.

The void is still.

Death takes all in due time.

My consciousness becomes clear.

--------------

A tiny spider in memory scuttles about, helping keep the bugs at bay.

As time passes, the spiderling grows and evolves. The connection becomes clear. They become a 'she' in mind.

"M-Master." That is all I hear. It's a small, delicate voice, with a subtle clacking of mandibles in the background.

I look down at the spiderling that has grown larger in the last two years. I pet her and smile. "Good, can you understand me?"

"Master," it repeats.

"Hmmm, not there yet." I pet her again and continue with my experiments.

--------------------

The ritual is almost complete. She has grown so much more than I could have dreamed. Maybe I should name her, but that is for another time. I must complete the ritual and find enough beasts and volunteers.

"Master, what is my next task?" She asks me.

I smile at her, "Go, find and capture more ferocious beasts."

She has done an excellent job recently. The cellars have been filled with beast cages; only she can bring food to those in the back.

"Yes, it will be done." She scuttles off.

Not long after, I finish the ritual circle. I am preparing for the next step, the soul housing.

The script is archaic, and I can't make out some parts; I have some educated guesses between two different runes, but there is no knowledge in any of the libraries regarding either. I place the one that I feel would be correct and prepare to start the ritual.

I have moved my plans forward; I can't let her know; she must stay safe. The army will be here soon.

Starting the ritual, the pain is worse than described in the books. Feeling my flesh slowly being eroded, my blood being used to fill the runes on the ground. While still conscious, I activate the hidden runes in the cellar to kill all the beasts.

Death mana floods up, and the essence of the beasts fills the ritual. I grit my teeth and push through the pain to leave one last message to my little spider before I disappear from her life.

"From this day forward, your name will be Rhenriqi.

Thank you for your support and care for the past 15 years.

Live long and grow strong.

Haulgard."

With this final task completed, I proceed with finishing the ritual. The only thing left of me is my skeleton and soul. The flesh has melted, the blood has dried, and my soul is being sucked into the special housing.

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Another persons memories start to flow.

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Looking down I see my hands, and I think for the first time.

Who am I?

The door bursts open and a group of soldiers? Yes, soldiers, they come into the room and look down at me.

One of them commands, "Put your hands where we can see them."

Some of the soldiers look like my hands, no flesh on them, just bones.

Slowly raising my hands from where I am seated.

"Do you know what you have done here?" I am asked.

"No," my jaw isn't working right. The sound of teeth knocking together grate on me, I don't know why though.

Hearing the confusion in my voice, he asks me one more question, "Do you know who you are?"

I shake my head.

"Damn..." I hear him whisper under his breath. "Bring him to the matriarch, she should know what to do with him."

Being forced to stand up with my hands behind my back, I am pushed into a cart.

Slowly being pulled away from what looks like a tower, I see a large spider scuttling to it from the woods.

--------------

Several days have passed since I was taken as a 'prisoner'. They don't treat me poorly, and I am learning many things about them.

I am what they call a newly risen skeleton. The process was botched though and I don't have memories of my past life as one of the other creatures we have run into.

I can smell life coming from them. I don't need to eat, I rest at the most inconvenient times. They keep saying that as a newly risen, my mana levels are low and it is normal.

I ask, "How can I increase my mana levels?"

No one answers the question right away before a zombie steps forward. "You have to receive it from one of the leaders after taking a test of sorts."

"A test?" I asked.

"Yes, we need to know what manual to give you."

"Manual? I am very confused."

"Don't worry, you are in good hands."

----------------

Another coupld of days past. We have reached a large city, and I am brought into a building that looks like a temple.

"Bring the newly risen here," a gruff but benevolent voice sounds out.

Sergent Draemish, as I learned her name from our talks, brings me over to the man.

All around me are depictions of a man wielding different weapons of death from sickles, to darts, and one holding a staff up like he was casting a spell.

He looks down at me, I have a light set of robes on, they are dusty from travel, and almost completely worn through.

"Hmmm, and where did you find this one, Draemish?" He asks in an almsot disrespectful tone.

"He was located on a ritual circle where we believed the Magician Haulgard was going to practice his ritual for lichdom."

"And are you certain this risen is not that man?"

"I am not certain, but I can confirm that this risen doesn't have any memories of his past. It is also possible that Haulgard perished before the ritual and his familiar spider was the one to start the process in hopes of resurrecting him."

"Were you able to capture the spider?"

"No," her answer is short.

"But what abou-" I was about to ask, when she silences me with a stare.

"Oh, and what do you have to say?" The zombie in priest robes asks.

"I....I was just thinking, there was a forest near that tower I was taken from. Could it be that she escaped?" I feel Draemish glaring daggers at me.

"Oh," he turns to Draemish, "Did you send anyone into the forest to find the spider?"

"No, sir." She responds in a cool tone.

"Well, I need you to go and find that spider as punishment for not doing your job properly then. You are dismissed."

Draemish snaps to attention, turns around and leaves without another word.

"As for you my fellow risen, do you have a name?"

"No," I try and think of the honorary to call him, he can see my confused look.

"Bishop Kirnon," he readily supplies.

"Ahhhh, then you will have to work to get your name. Shall we start?"

I nod, not knowing the torment I would be put through for the next ten years.

Cleaning, practicing magic, torture, worshipping the Death God, and the God of Corruption. My days grew long, and my power was increasing.

Passing by the Bishop's office one day, I hear him talking with someone.

"Second Lieutenant Draemish, what can I do for you today?"

"I am here for someone."

"Oh, and who might you be here for? Last I heard, you were on a mission to the border."

"I am, and I need someone that you have held here for the last several years."

"There is no one here that is being held here, just those looking to further their studies, and live their lives."

Remembering how nice this Draemish was to me those days when I first was newly risen, I creep closer.

"I think you know which risen I am talking about, when I brought him here, he had no name."

"That poor fellow. I am sorry to inform you that he has perished."

"What do you mean perished?"

Hearing the blantant lie the Bishop is giving to probably my first friend, I grind my teeth in anger. I am about to extend my hand to the door to open it, but then a mysterious tendril of black silk grabs my arm.

Following the silk, my eyes meet a young demi-human, half her body is a human, the other half is a spider.

Then a connection forms between our minds, I try to stop it quickly but the force of the connection pushes my feeble attempts to the side.

"Found you."

Scared, I bump into the door.

Hearing the commotion I caused outside, Draemish opens the door, looks down at me, and then at the Bishop.

"Well, 'Bishop', it appears that he hasn't perished as you thought," her sarcasm fills the room.

"This risen, I thought you were talking about a different risen," he is glaring at me. It doesn't take long for him to follow the silk thread to the young demi-human. "And what is that abomination doing in the sacred halls of the Gods of Death and Corruption?"

"This is Rhenriqi, she is my helper. And from what I can tell, she seems to have taken a liking to this risen. And what by chance did you say his name was?"

"I-I-" Kirnon stutters.

"You didn't, did you. Thank the Lord I arrived then with orders to investigate your church." She gives a malicious smile. "Should I ask this fine risen what he has been experiencing while under your 'care'?"

The Bishop starts to cold sweat, and Draemish notices this right away.

"Hmmm, seems I should," she turns to me, "Has he given you a name?"

"No," I answer succinctly.

"What has your tasks been since arriving at this, oh so holy, place?"

Thinking about how to answer, I decide to tell her everything. My memory seems to be in near perfect condition. As the minutes pass, the scowl on Draemish's face deepens. There is a moment when the Bishop steps forward to stop me from talking but she pulled out her blade and held it to his throat and I continue.

After 15 minutes of talking, I finish.

Draemish's eyes have turned black, the veins on her head are throbbing, and the sword at the Bishop's throat has started to press further and further in.

"And you haven't been given a name?"

"Correct," I respond. "I did think of a couple of names for myself, but after reading books about how names are bestowed and the meaning for the bestowal, I decided against giving myself a name."

"Good, good, good," she says three times. "And what do you think we should do with you?"

"Please don't, I was instructed by my matriarch. You can't kill me, please." The Bishop folds like a house of cards knowing that this is the only time he will be able to beg for his life.

"Rhenriqi, please tie up this 'Bishop' we have more to investigate.

Through the rest of that day, Draemish and Rhenriqi went through the entire temple with me as their guide. They pulled my fellow nameless risen from their jobs and had them wait outside. More bundles of priests and high ranking officials come out of the temple in a slow stream.

Once everything is done, Draemish asks me, "I am sorry I have failed you, I should have fought harder to help you back-"

I stop her, "There wasn't much you could do. As a sergent you had to follow your orders from a higher up. These ten years have allowed me to learn a lot. My only requests are for a name, to have my mana affinity checked, the basics for mana circulation, and to be left alone."

She nods, saddened but understands my thoughts. "OK, I will request a name for you, or do you want to use one of the names you have thought of. As a Colonel, I have more say in how things turn out in the clan."

"You aren't a Second Lieutenant then?"

"He wasn't the only one telling lies." She smiles at me.

Nodding, I take a second to think about the names that I wanted, and list them out to her.

-----

Several months have passed since Colonel Draemish has rescued myself and the other risen.

I took what little money was owed by the church for the services I provided as well as compensation from the Void Clan, and went to start a new life on my own.

My affinity was tested showing a strong affinity to death mana, and a small affinity to corruption mana. The first mana circulation books were provided to me, and then I was told to come back after half a year for the naming ceremony.

Wandering around, I found myself back where my life started, in a tower out in the middle of nowhere. I go inside to find it filled with webbing. Sighing to myself, I start to clean up some of it so I can live, when a mental connection connects to me.

"Welcome to your home...Master."

Glancing around, I find the demi-human hanging from the webbing.

"I am not your master," I tell her.

"I can never forget your smell," she insists.

Thinking about how this person has been bugging me since I first was rescued, I can't help but sigh again.

"Don't you have missions to complete with Colonel Draemish?"

"No, I quit." She answers.

"But didn't you have a good job?"

"It was an agreement to find my master again."

"But I remember she was sent to find a spider that used to be attachted to this tower."

"She did, and she found me."

"Why didn't she kill you?"

"Because, she was undercover, and has been since the day you botched your own ritual."

"It wasn't my ritual, it was someone else's."

"It was yours," again she insists.

"Fine," I toss my hands in the air to surrender the point. "Can you help me clean up, if you are so insistant that I am your master."

She oblidges and cleans up space for me to rest and practice my mana circulation. When she pulls her webs away there are shelves of books ranging from basic education, to highly advanced knowledge.

I look at her and ask, "Why do you have such advanced knowledge, I thought they were strictly regulated?"

"You were lied to," she answers.

A feeling of anger rose in my chest. "Damn that Kirnon."

"Don't worry, he is getting his punishment by order of the Council of Matriarchs." Her voice is filled with admiration just saying this name.

"You want to be on that council don't you?"

She nods her head, "It isn't easy for a familiar like myself to become a part of the council, but I will make it one day."

The day of the naming ceremony came and went, I was offered a spot in the Void Clan to which I refused. They didn't push and accepted my refusal. When leaving the ceremony the only thing to note was the sadness in Draemish's eyes as I left.

Rhenriqi has stopped calling me master due to my insistance and came up with a little pet name for me.

I grew stronger and got to the point of becoming a Baron. I failed at becoming a Viscount but still strived to open a school and teach.

Rhenriqi grew stronger as well, she went off and made her own clutch and was accepted into the council after a lot of struggle.

Draemish was promoted to become a General, and also rose to become a matriarch of the void clan after a failed breakthrough attempt from the previous matriarch that killed her.

My years were quiet, I didn't know why until later when I found a couple of the younger members of the Void clan stalking around my tower that had slowly expanded to become a manor.

I told Draemish to stop it, but she claimed that she couldn't control where the adventure society sent her clan members.

Hundreds of years passed like this, until one day I was taken from my world, put into a white room and told to choose a class, and profession before being shunted infront of a scared human.

After standing for a minute with him looking at me, I asked, "So are you going to introduce yourself, or should I start?"