Boredom of the immortals

© Juriy Tashkinov, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0062-2877-1

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Chapter 1. Shadow in the south.

There is a moment when summer suddenly gives way to the nature of autumn. Just yesterday, this same sun high on the horizon warmed the air. And now it’s either weak or tired, who knows, but it’s cold not only at night. It’s too early to take out fur coats, but you won’t see half-naked workers on the street. Birds notice these kinds of changes before people. They fly away from their nests, like refugees who leave their homes with a small knapsack in turbulent times, keeping in their hearts the fragile hope of returning. Nature fell asleep, having worked hard in the fields in the summer. The trees are preparing for the last ball of the season, putting on the most beautiful colorful outfits. And mushrooms, mushrooms! People said that this was a sign of an imminent war. Who knows? So far there was no sign of it. It smelled of dampness and moss.

Duke Rigerd walked around the garden, watching the aspen trees wither. He was an elderly man, but not a single hair of his was gray. Wrinkles are a reflection of deprivation. And, of course, a lot of scars on his face.

«There’s something romantic about this weather,» he said.

– Yes, Your Honor! – said Councilor Otraud. – I also love autumn.

– And to be honest, I’m not very good. Rain, cloudy, damp. But that’s not the case now. The bright sun does not seem to notice what is happening around. And I myself want to live and create.

Rigerd did not like stuffy choirs. During the harsh winters, he held meetings in the castle; more often they took place in the open air.

– So what did you want to tell me, adviser?

– Disturbing news reaches me from the south. Some shadows are moving there. People are whispering about this more and more loudly.

«People are always talking about something,» said the Duke. – If we listen to all the gossip, there won’t be enough ears.

– That’s right, Your Honor. Every day a hundred or two news arrive at me. We have to sort the wheat from the chaff. But this time the rumors have some basis. Ennian lands are deserted. People are leaving their homes. They seek a better life in Eldoras, some even reaching the Morelean forests. And everyone is talking about the same thing. Ghosts in black hoods entered their homes, depriving relatives of their sanity.

– What do you think: there is a new crazy sorcerer who is disturbing people by sending visions?

– I don’t know such magic, Your Honor. Most of the victims flatly refused to leave their homes. But one man’s wife finally persuaded him. I looked into his empty eyes. It feels like someone drank the life out of him completely.

– Necromancy?

«I don’t think so,» said Otraud. – He’s alive. But it was as if someone had cast a spell on him. I tried to remove all the curses I knew – without results.

– I wish I could take a look at this patient.

Otraud smiled meaningfully.

«I always believed in you,» said Rigerd. «Others have to repeat the order several times, but you understand me without a single word.» Lead!

The adviser opened the carriage door, and Rigerd sat down next to the young man. His bottomless eyes did not express even a shadow of emotion.

– What is your name? – asked Rigerd. The man continued to look with an unseeing gaze. Then the Duke had to repeat the question.

«His name is Asir, Your Honor,» said the woman, whom Rigerd did not immediately notice. – And I’m Elisa, his wife. Sorry, he hasn’t been himself lately.

– Tell me what happened?

– I barely lost my legs myself. And she saved the children. The good remains, but don’t care about it! We’ll make something new. But you can’t turn life back, it’s one, and it’s in the hands of mischievous Fate.

Shadows began to visit us. I didn’t believe it myself for a long time. People say things. We are far from the capital, and ordinary cities cannot be seen miles away. So let’s have fun as best we can. We tell stories, sometimes scary ones. But this time the stories turned out to be true. Many people have gone crazy. The wheat is heading, but they are lying on the stoves, not going to collect. The light, you see, is not nice to them. And one day trouble knocked on my door. I open my eyes in the middle of the night, and lo and behold, a dark hooded ghost stands in front of me. Asir, he is brave for me, he was not at a loss, he distracted the attack, and in the meantime I grabbed the children. They looked surprised, saying why she woke me up in the middle of the night, it was still dark. But I didn’t answer, I grabbed him under the armpits and carried him into the forest. You can even fight off wolves with a stick, but what can you do with evil spirits? It was only at dawn that I decided to return home. And there is Asir… – the woman burst into tears.

– Come out! – said Rigerd. Elisa obeyed him.

The Duke preserved the magic of the true Morellians. However, he could not use it in front of witnesses. If anyone finds out, especially the Emperor himself, do not cut off Rigerd’s head. The old ruler went crazy. In recent years, all he has been doing is searching for witches. Supposedly in the name of good, but how many good people from this wide world survived.

Rigerd ran his hand through the air, and a bluish fog flowed behind his palm. Useless. Asir continued to look at the Duke with an unseeing gaze. Rigerd looked into his bottomless eyes and stepped back. He frightenedly opened the carriage door and jumped out.

– Are you okay? asked Otraud.

– These spells were created by someone stronger than me. It’s a pity I can’t visit the Ennian lands myself. But I will send Leivead. My nephew took over our family’s gift for magic. Maybe he will be able to find out the truth?

Chapter 2. Messenger

The wind blew, carrying golden leaves around. The dragonfly fluttered up: probably the huge dragonfly had not had time to fall asleep. A black-haired guy with long hair and a neatly trimmed mustache was holding the hands of a curly blonde with blue eyes.

– I’m so glad to see you, Nisa! I barely survived this summer. A few more days without your face and I would be finished.

– But we met exactly a year ago. Remember that walk under the golden chestnut trees?

– How could I forget? Stay, please! Be with me. We will have a magnificent wedding!

– Father will not give a blessing. You know he is strict and unwavering. Once he decides, that’s the end of it.

– It’s not for him to live with me. Let him think about the good of his daughter at least once!

– He doesn’t trust the Morellians. It constantly reminds us of old wars in which your people fought on the side of the forces of Darkness. They say here that necromancers and Zeymond worshipers nest here even now.

– My uncle doesn’t communicate with you either. But he will never refuse if I decide to leave you with us.

A branch crunched. The lovers instantly turned around, letting go of their hands.

«Sorry, young people, for distracting you,» said Otraud. – Viscount Leivead, the Duke wants to see you.

***

Rigerd was sitting at the table. There were documents in front of him. He dipped his pen into the inkwell and wrote a sweeping signature. When the nephew came in, he immediately put aside his work. He took his pipe out of the drawer and lit it, blowing out thick clouds of smoke.

– Uncle, you should quit smoking. No matter how I approach your room, I constantly hear a cough. This will not bring you any good!

– It seems that you communicated too closely with Aunt Annette, may her ashes not fade away! She also grumbled constantly. However, I survived it!

The Duke stared at one point. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

– I called you on business, Leivead. I need your sorcerer’s gift.

Rigerd briefly described everything he knew about the events in the south.

– Gather a squad. Travel to the borders of Ennian Forest. Find out what kind of misfortune is going on there. Just don’t risk yourself or the soldiers. Every sword counts for me. I smell a battle coming soon. Okay, gather the people, we’ll meet for a communal dinner in the evening. Because I have a lot of work now.

Leivead sighed. Rigerd looked at him studyingly.

– Have you met the princess again?

Leivead was silent.

– You are no match for her. The Emperor will never accept your candidacy. Mark my words. I have known Gartaur for several years. He is stubborn as a sheep. He would rather marry her to one of the Sutheringians. But not with the Morellian!

– Can origin somehow influence matters of the heart?

– Politicians don’t care what people feel. They are only interested in profit. It’s better to renounce her now, before you become inextricably tied to her.

– Looks like you’re late, uncle.

Leivead had already turned towards the door when Rigerd whispered:

– We are on the brink of war with Velzuvik. It looks like the days of the United Kingdom will soon be numbered. Complete your duty in the south and return. And forget the princess. Then it will be hard. Trust me.

– Okay, uncle!

– Take care of yourself!

– Certainly!

Chapter 3. Ghost

Viscount Leivead’s detachment was approaching a small village called Odebrun, which is on the border of the Ennian forest.

Silence. It seems that no one except travelers dared to disturb it, not even birds were heard. Gray clouds have been swarming in the skies for several days in a row.

«It feels like no one has been here for thirty years!» – said Ermekar, one of the soldiers. Battle-hardened, graying, but retaining the sparkle in his eyes, like a young man’s. – Fields where unharvested wheat rots. Yards overgrown with grass.

«My uncle said that the attack happened no more than six months ago, and the last residents left their homes a month ago,» said Leivead.

– Oh, I don’t like all this. Not good, my heart feels.

– Hey people, is anyone there? – shouted Leivead. – People, respond!

Silence. The Viscount pushed the wooden door, and it opened with an unfriendly creak. It smelled of dampness and musty air. There were abandoned remains of food on the table. Midges swarmed. Fresh footprints were visible on the thick layer of dust. The Viscount followed them. There was a man lying in the corner. Leivead grabbed the unfortunate man’s shoulder to turn him around and looked into his face. Open eyes looked at one point.

– Looks like he’s dead. «It needs to be burned,» Ermekar whispered. Suddenly the man opened his eyes and grabbed Leivead’s hand. The warriors immediately took up their swords.

– Messenger of Darkness, you are not welcome here! Leave our lands! Otherwise there will be retribution!

After these words, the man seemed to lose all interest in the guests. He lay down in his original place. Did your eyes remain open? He looked blankly at the ceiling.

– What does it mean? Why did you say that?

The owner of the house continued to lie silently.

– Answer! – Leyvead trotted him by the shoulder.

– Leave. I don’t want guests.

– Strange place. «You can’t say anything,» Ermekar said. «I hope we won’t stay here overnight?»

«We will stay here until we find out the reasons for what happened, ” said Leivead.

– Leivead, have you seen his eyes? Look! They radiate a power I don’t understand. They…

– Someone has enchanted these lands. And this is by no means a weak sorcerer.

They entered every house, and everywhere it was the same: desolation. Where such colorless people lived, and where it was completely empty. We decided to spend the night in one of these abandoned houses.

We chopped wood and lit the stove.

– I hope the owner won’t be angry? Why do we behave as if we are not guests at all? – Ermekar asked.

– A kind host would not allow his guests to die of hunger and cold.

We roasted the chickens that were scurrying around the yard.

The night lay a heavy black and gray blanket. An owl hooted. The gray wolf howled, the fierce, lonely wanderer. Hungry, or simply hating the whole world. Or maybe he just started singing? It’s getting colder. The glass was frozen with a strange pattern. A storm howled outside the windows. Leivead woke up with a bad feeling. Others did not sleep either. Creaking footsteps were heard outside the door.

They walked outside without saying a word. The door creaked treacherously.

When you exhale, light steam flows.

– Stop! Who goes! – Ermekar shouted into the darkness. He saw better than others at night. Leyvead looked closely and saw a shadow in the distance moving towards them. – We’ll shoot. Come on! – the uninvited night traveler did not pay attention to the words, he kept moving towards the soldiers. – Once! Two! Fire! – arrows flew towards the uninvited guest. But he, not paying attention to the arrows that seemed to pass right through, walked leisurely towards them. Or maybe they were just poorly oriented in the dark, so they missed? This is unlikely! The best Eldoran marksmen rarely missed their target. Meanwhile, the mysterious night owl was approaching. You can hear his chilling breath. He is tall, three heads taller than the tallest of the warriors, Krystell.

– Who are you? – Leivead asked. There was no answer. The stranger extended his crooked fingers. Leyvead succumbed to an incomprehensible feeling and pierced his new acquaintance with a sword. But the blade passed through the hooded man without causing him any harm.

– Ghost! It’s a ghost!

The warriors clumsily read prayers, and Leyvead remembered the words of the spell. Meanwhile, the spirit looked into Ermekar’s eyes. He turned to his comrades and hissed:

– We warned you! Go away! Leave our lands!

For a while Ermekar regained his composure. He cast a spell, and violet flames enveloped the ghost from head to toe. And then the villain flashed green and disappeared into the fog.

Ermekar sank to the ground. He was looking somewhere into the distance.

«Run before it’s too late,» he whispered.

– What happened to you? – Leivead asked.

– This ghost… He is not like us. I have seen a lot in my long life, but not this! He drank my soul, it was worth looking once into his bottomless eyes.

– You killed him! It’s over now!

– No, everything is just beginning. I got to know him! Understand? You must know this necromancer spell, Leivead.

The Viscount knew. The book with forbidden knowledge lay in a closed wing, but he often secretly made his way there to, by the light of a darkened candle, glean a new secret inscribed on worn parchment. Necromancers of antiquity knew the dead from the inside in order to find a weak point and return them to their graves.

«I have come to know him, and it seems to me that now I am poisoned by his charms.» I’m afraid of becoming just like him. Please kill me. And then run before it’s too late.

– But we did not fulfill the will of my uncle! We still don’t know what happened in these parts. And these lands are under the protection of the Duke!

– You’re unlikely to find out anything. These ghosts are a dime a dozen here. I read it in a moment when I looked into the eyes of the monster. They eat souls, leaving emptiness. Dolls! All local residents are now just dolls in the hands of ghosts.

– We’ll go to the forest…

– No, you will go home. We need to assemble a Council of Necromancers. And maybe you’ll even have to ask Velzuvik for help. You can’t defeat ghosts that easily. Run before it’s too late.

Ermekar closed his eyes and showed no more signs of life. His heart was beating, his lungs were heaving, but not a word came out of his mouth.

Leivead whispered words in a forgotten language, and a bluish mist of healing spells escaped from his fingers. But it’s all useless.

– We must find out what secrets the Ennian forest keeps!

Krystell placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder.

– Have you heard that Ermekar rocks? We must deliver him to the Duke. Maybe he can heal our comrade? Leivead, beware of imprudent actions. Sometimes it’s worth retreating, but waiting for reinforcements rather than getting into trouble. There is only one life, you can’t turn it back.

Chapter 4. Council of Necromancers