Necromancer

Chapter 4: Damned


Five years have passed…

It's been ten years since you allied with Velzix, an alliance that's becoming more tenuous with each passing day.

Startled by your transformation and surge in power, Velzix proceeded to work extra hard on opening the portal, which he did...permanently. Velzix now has unlimited reinforcements, but you do as well. Your new found abilities allow you to not only summon the torments spirits of the infernal plane, but you soon were also able to raise dead demons as hellish undead. Something that couldn't be accomplished before, by any being. Not even the Great Lich Lord. Combine this with your other regular necromantic abilities and you're a severe threat with completely loyal troops who will have to be dealt with soon as far as Velzix is concerned. But for now, the alliance still stands. Your other "ally" Sinthinia still maintains her grip on her spy network, but it's of little importance to you now. You've completely filled your holdings with undead be they former mortals or demons. None of them are going to rat on whatever it is you're plotting.

As for the "Grand Alliance" it's in its death rattle. The Zalan Empire has basically taken full control of it, but even with more of a unified leadership, this last hope for mortals is doomed. You don't even know why they persist in struggling. You alone have pushed your undead hell legions towards the gates of the capitol yourself, beating that idiotic Tivadol to the punch. You hear of how he roars with rage at your successes.

Having accomplished this feat, and despite your transformation, your thoughts can't help, but turn to your family. It's been years since you've had any kind of direct contact with them. You know your Mom still lives in the capitol of the Zalan Empire and that your sister is still currently holding the last pitiful lines of defense there as a general.

As for your Dad…well you know exactly where he's at right now. He's in your dungeon. Sinthinia recently had him captured after he and his company had been waging an ongoing guerilla tactic campaign of irritating raids on Velzix's Realm. When you found out, you insisted that he be brought to you and she was only too happy to oblige, knowing that your dislike of him, only grew and festered into full blown hatred after your transformation.

While it's true you're supposed to oversee the destruction of the Zalan capitol personally, you're going to enjoy yourself in tormenting the one who sired you first.

You open the door to his cell and see a beaten and bloody old man. No longer is he the figure of intimidation that you once quaked in fear of when he was around. His wounds are recent from the lashes he's been taking. You decided it would be best to start off with the basics before moving on to more elaborate tortures.

However, upon seeing you, he manages to compose himself the best he can.

"Ugh…too chicken shit to do your own dirty work, huh?" he says spitting blood.
"I think you'll find that by letting others do my dirty work, I'm actually showing mercy. Because when I starting doing it, you won't be in any condition to perform this poor attempt of bravado."

Your Dad finally stands up and addresses you more directly. He looks at you and shakes his head.

"You think by killing me, that you're proving something? You ain't proving shit boy except what a lousy disappointment you truly are. Now your sister, THERE'S a child to be proud of. Even yer mother gave up on you. Broke her heart you know that?"

You can't believe this arrogance!

"Feh, aligning yourself with the hordes of hell, I always knew you were too weak to do anything on your own. You couldn't even follow the path of darkness without help." Your Dad mocks.

You don't know how he's doing this, but he's actually managing to get to you. You're tired of hearing this and you cast a spell that strips a portion of his skin off. He falls to the floor in pain.

"You will NOT dictate your judgment on me! I am beyond such things now, especially from the likes of you! A blood thirsty thug who committed more than a few atrocities in his day and up until I began my path of darkness, was still committing foul deeds under the guise of law. You are no better than me!"
"Wrong again boy. I cleaned up my act…heh heh, okay maybe not completely. But I ain't never got myself in league with demons. Let alone turn myself into some unnatural…thing. Yer dammed boy. And while you might think you're going to be controlling everything, you ain't. You don't control hell boy, it controls you. Yer nothin' but a slave to..."

"ENOUGH!" you shout and kick him before he can complete his sentence. The rage building up in you is enough to twist steel, but still your Dad mocks you. He's laughing!

"Ha ha ha, broke yer mother's heart…"

You don't have time for this right now. You're supposed to oversee the final attack of the Zalan capitol, and you're still going to do that, and your Dad is going to feel the pain when you come back. In the meantime he can rot in his cell.

You arrive and the final attack is ordered. You storm the gates as cannons destroy multitudes of your troops only to be replaced with more. You see your sister on top of the battlements ordering her soldiers to fire upon you. During this attack you feel several bullets enter your body breaking through your magical defenses. You ignore the pain, as its nothing compared to what you've been exposed to.

Not stopping, you enter the gates of the city realizing that this was inevitable. Things could've only been this way. Your undead slay all those that oppose you, but you mentally make sure none of your undead has murderous intentions towards any of your family. You have special plans for them. You head towards your parent's old house, taking little notice of the death around you.

When you arrive you find the house empty. In fact it looks like it's been empty for months. So many memories here…a different time… even a different life now…

"She left when the attacks first came. She didn't say where either. She just told me she was leaving. I even had her followed for awhile, but she was quite adept at eluding my scouts, not to mention I had other concerns to take care of." Your sister says entering behind you.

"Mom always was smart, well except maybe when it came to Dad, but he's rotting in my torture cell right now. So who cares?" you remark.

Your sister doesn't make her sense of concern noticeable by your revelation, but instead looks upon you with complete disgust.

"I can't believe you've let yourself become what you are. What you've done…"
"I've found that one is capable of quite a bit, when one sets their mind to it. Even the demons fear me and I have only myself to congratulate. Soon they too will fall…perhaps this is a lingering sense of brotherly concern, but you could join me in this. You would be a great asset in the coming war with Velzix. Perhaps I could even help you transform as well."

She spits on the floor, and then raises her magical glowing sword.

"I thought as much."

You blast your sister with powerful beam of negative energy causing the color to drain from her face. She's still continues towards you, but another blast causes her to fall.

She's near death and your twisted mind still ponders what to do. Your sister was a great warrior, and you weren't joking when she would be a great asset to you if she was on your side. You're sure if given enough time and using the right magic rituals you could transform her like you did to yourself. Part of you also still has your Dad's words of how she was someone to be proud of ringing in your head. Transforming her into a vessel of evil would be destroying that image in your mind.

You have 2 choices: