A place of morbid like this attracted many to bury their dead here, continuing in assisting the growth of the rings of tombs and mausoleums around the cemetery. Other than that, the living made it a habit of keeping away from here because of the atmosphere as well as the rumors that spread throughout the land of the dead rising and wandering about. It kept most at bay, but for those like Sonja, it merely lured her towards it. Perhaps it was because of her affiliation with necromancy and the other forbidden arts; or maybe because she could on sympathize with them on some twisted level. Regardless, she chose to come upon these grounds early into the morning where the gray skies claimed the area and the sun had yet to risen. The cold air blew against her flimsy cloak and through her dark, unkempt hair. Everything around her stirred a dreadful feeling inside her, and yet she didn’t mind it too much. In fact, she sorta liked it and it was reflected in the smile she donned. Glaciem was one of the most fickle and unpredictable seasons and the natural fog that rolled through the cemetery only added to the mystery of these so-called haunted grounds.
Every tombstone she passed carried a history, a story of the body it played host to. They were once among the living, starting their lives as babies then children and then to adults. They worked, thrived and died- it was simply the circle of life. More would come and again would play the brief game until their time was up and then the next generation would and then the next one after all in a seemingly endless cycle to go on forever. But the very things that stood as testaments were barely lingering on themselves; several of them were old and worn down. Some of the text printed upon them were illegible and some went unnamed. Plenty of them were thrown into here as a result of robberies on the road that went wrong, if she recalled correctly. It was a shame that life was taken for granted and was easily so fragile, but it made her work all the more savory. Coming across one of the inner circles, Sonja halted and came across one of the graves. “It’s time to rise, darling”, she cooed before kneeling down and placing her hand onto the earth. Her magic channeled in a green light that basked the ground she touched, seeping into it. A few moments passed before she felt the soft rumble beneath her and the ground was breaking until a grotesque, decayed hand withdrew out. Another followed suit and before long the body started to tear itself from its grave while she moved back onto her feet and watched with the proudness that a mother would have for her child.
Soon the reanimated body stood once more- it was that of a young man who appeared to have died in a war of sorts, given by the appearance of torn and aged leather armor that remained on him. Itr suggested to him that he had died some time ago, but the decay suggested that he wasn’t terribly old just yet. She reached over and wrapped her fingers around his jaw, careful in her touch as he remained still. He was hers now, like a loving dog to its master and it made her smile grew. “Such a shame that a fine man like you had to be forced into battle at your age. If only things in this world was different, but it can’t be helped, my friend. This world is blind and ignorant to its own misdeeds”, she said before releasing her grip and beckoned the man to come follow her. “Come, let’s awaken your friends here.” And that’s what she did; a few more corpses were awakened and from their attire were also soldiers. How many had died for a foolish cost? For a trivial reason? Had it all been worth it in their eyes? Their souls had moved on so she couldn’t know that for certainly, but from the conditions of their bodies, from the gruesome wounds to lost limbs, she would think that it was all for naught. Sonja moved around and through the group, caressing their chest and heads with care and kindness as she hummed among herself.
