The Tower of the Dead

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There were tales of a far away and terrible place. In this place, the spirits of the dead lingered unable to move forward and unable to find peace. It was rumored to be a foul and evil place. All life had long since forsaken the area. No animals crawled along the earth, and nothing would sprout forth from the soil. The weather was always foul, dark and rainy with nary a breath of warmth to be found.

However, one lonely soul ventured forth into this land of the dead. All alone on the great plane of death and haunts, she trudged forward, fighting against the cold headwinds which strove to drive her back into the safety of the land of the living. However, she would not be deterred as she strove to find the power to raise souls from the dead. There were rumors that the dead protected the secret of resurrection for fear that some fool would one day seek to bring them back to suffer torment in the living world.

Whatever the case, the day had finally arrived as the lonely figure continued her trek into the forbidden lands. The land was much smaller than most people described it, but because of its seemingly dark and menacing presence most gave the area a wide berth.

However, she had arrived at the center of the maelstrom of death and decay. The massive walls of a derelict palace stood before her. It was probably a splendid place once, but now it resembled nothing of splendor. The walls seemed to be crumbling everywhere, stained glass littered the ground, statues of bright figures now resembled twisted and deformed demons.

Her heart shook within, but she knew that she needed to keep going. No sooner had she crossed the threshold, then she could feel her life force being drained. It was almost as if an invisible hand had reached inside her chest and was tugging at her very essence.

The first dead soul to appear nearly stopped her heart. He was a grotesque figure resembling almost nothing of the man that he once was. His eyes were sunken, his fingers were gnarled, his form was doubled over and his skin was opaque. He like that of a ghoul rather than human.

"What does the living seek in this respite of the dead?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

She took a moment to compose herself in order to prevent her voice from shaking when she spoke. "I seek the secrets of resurrection." Her voice, barely above a whisper awakened all the dead souls residing in the empty halls of the palace. More and more of the grotesque forms seemingly materialized from thin air. In no time she was completely surrounded by them. They were hovering all about her, but made no move towards her.

"There is no secret of resurrection here child." The spirit laughed. It was a harsh cackle that grated on her ears. "The foolish stories of those desperate to regain loved ones has driven you in vain. Return now to your world and leave the dead in peace."

Her face immediately fell at the news, but then she steeled her resolve. She knew that the secret of resurrection was there, and she was not going to be denied. "I do not believe you. The secret is here, and if you will not show it to me then I will find it myself."

There were now murmurs through the ranks of the dead. The chosen spokesperson cackled once more. "This one is brave, but also foolish. Even if there was a secret the dead would not want you to have it. There is always a cost to necromancy and the price is often higher than one can pay. I'm sure that you can feel it. Simply being here in the land of the dead is eating away at your soul. The longer you remain here the less of your soul you will have when you leave. Should you not leave soon enough then your soul will be completely siphoned away. You will be nothing more than a lifeless husk, a remnant of what you once were. Leave now."

She knew that he was right. The feeling was getting stronger with every passing moment. In fact, she finally realized that this was how the secret was protected. The spirits couldn't physically stop them, but they merely delayed them until the soul was siphoned away.

With this horrible realization, she tore through the ranks of the dead and sped away down the passages of the palace. She had no idea where she was going, but simply followed the trail of her soul. As it was being pulled away it left a faint trail that she was keen enough to sense. As she grew closer the spirits sought to bar her way by creating frightening illusions and hiding various pitfalls. However, none of them worked as she was completely focused on her task.

If her heart wavered for a moment then she would have undoubtedly been subjected to the various horrors that were thrown against her, but her eye was fixed on the prize. Finally, she reached the peak of a spire of the palace. Climbing out onto the roof, she was facing a skull. Red lights burned in its eye sockets, but upon its head rested a vibrant crown.

She snatched up the crown and placed it upon her head. Her soul was instantly restored to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. However, in that same moment the wails of the dead rose up all around her, and the skull soon was laughing manically.

Although her soul had been returned to her, she realized that now her body was being carried away. Her limbs were fading, with horror she moved to quickly remove the crown, but it would not budge. With every passing moment more and more of her body disappeared. So this was the price that she would have to pay. She would be able to return people to the land of the living, but she herself would not be able to ever return.

Her eyes blazed with anger, and with a final act of desperation she gathered her will together and cast her soul forth as the last remnants of her body dissipated from the world. A massive case of armor walked over to the crown and picked it up. With the other hand, the suit of armor grabbed the skull. The real power over the dead lay with the skull and not with the crown. Thankfully, tying her soul to this suit of armor had given her another chance.

The skull laughed no longer as its will bent to hers and soon fiery red eyes burned through the visor of the armor and the knight trudged away to release the once dead back into the world of the living.