Moreen

"You got a name?" The lead necromancer asked, lounging on a statue at the center of the town. She gave the whole ordeal as much thought as one would before plucking an apple.

"Moreen," She said bitterly, her head pounding like crazy. Blissfully her men all appeared accounted for, just as battered and bruised as she was. Matron willing they would be able to make it out of here alive. Her captors stood appraising them like they were cattle.

A woman in a suit of large armor, the only way Moreen even knew she was a woman beneath, was from how the other necromancers referred to her. She did not speak. The other two held the lion share of what conversation she heard. A scrawny-looking man draped in rags, he was what Moreen pictured when she thought of necromancers.

He was also the most reprehensible of the three, he wore a mask carved as an effigy of the animalistic gentry. A poppy flower placed where the mouth would be, it even had the coal-black eyes they were known for. She had first assumed coal was used, but they were too natural looking for that. She stopped considering what they could have been, not liking where that thought led. Worst yet the surface was etched in phrases written in the old tongue. Moreen was glad anyone under her command who could read them was not present, thank the matron. She had no doubt whatever was written competed between being vile and vulgar.

It only took the three of them to completely uproot and undermine her entire lott, even with Lilac backing them up.

/Matron send he was able to get away./ He was too valuable to fall into their hands. She looked at her men, if only she could have found a way to get the rest of them out of this. /Enough of that./ She had to keep her wits about her, maybe she could figure a way out of this mess.

"Finally a Lion who doesn't need me to pull teeth for the most basic information!" The leader said, lacing her fingers together she wore an eerily pleasant smile. "I am Nylah, it is a pleasure to meet you." She said a little too giddy, of the three she had been the most outspoken. Ghost white hair, skin as pale as pearl, her eyes gleamed with that amber glow. She wore a playful smile, Moreen had grown up with. /Matron, she's so young./ She should have been breaking hearts, not the bones of her men. She couldn't have been much younger than her sister. "Tell me Moreen, do you care about your men? I hope you do because that will make this so much easier..."

Moreen gritted her teeth, aborted necromancer, how could she ever do her sister such a disservice as to compare the two of them?

With a gesture from Nylah, the woman wearing excessive armor made her way toward Leo, grabbing him by his neck.

"Let him go!" Moreen snarled attempting to leap to her feet, a figure manifesting from nowhere beside Nylah grasped her and held her in place. She looked like a statue brought to life, a being of unnatural marble sculpted into a knightly visage. Usually floating the phantasm placed her feet on the ground to keep Moreen on her knees.

The phantasm looked towards Moreen, the face was unmoving, looking like the mask the necromancer wore on her shoulder brought to life. Decorated features only hinted at on the mask, like the faceguard appeared fully formed on the phantasm, which kept her eyes covered. It completely hid the scarring required for a necromancer to make such blissful creatures compliant. Even with a stoic unmoving face, Moreen couldn't help but picture the creature grinning.

Moreen couldn't hate the poor creature, much. It was a victim as much as she was, no it was worse off than her. It lacked both eyes and a sense of awareness of its situation, no more than a bound slave. Worse was what they called these poor creatures...

["Oh that's a relief, this will be so much easier."] Her muse said its words segmented with that ghastly ringing echo.

"What are you doing here!?" Moreen demanded, still struggling to escape her captor's grasp.

["What a weird question is it not, Maven?"] The muse asked with a snideness that made a strong juxtaposition to the stoicism of her unmoving eyeless face.

Nylah nodded, "Considering this is our land, Lion. I have a few questions, answer them or..." Her phantasm faded and appeared next to the armored necromancer. Without hesitation the phantasm snatched Leo out of the armor's grasp, keeping a tight grip on his arm. Slowly she began crushing Leo's wrist, the poor boy swaying like a fish on a hook.

"Ok! Ok!" It was his screaming that she had to stop. "I will! Please, don't hurt anyone here." Nylah merely grinned as her phantasm halted before causing any long-term damage. "Where is the man who was in charge of this place?" Whatever faux politeness she possessed faded in an instant.

"We did not kill him." Moreen answered, hoping to placate the white-haired leader, "We have relocated him captive." She noticed the necromancer with the gentry mask clenched his fist in response.

"No doubt you moved him along with your other prizes."

"We moved them to a new location, you have my word they are safe."Agatha promised, mixed feelings warred on the necromancer's face.

"Figures." The apostate wearing the gentry mask scoffed, "Was killing him really that hard for you?" He did not hide his anger, Moreen expected him to lunge at her at any moment in a fit of rage. "You lions are obsessed with making this as hard for us as possible." Moreen wasn't surprised, she expected this type of cruelty from his kind.

Nylah lifted her hand and he jumped back into place, whoever she was, she was able to maintain some sense of discipline.

"Who do you serve?" She said looking towards the phantasm that had Leo in the air. He was struggling attempting to break free from her grasp. The knightly figure paid it as much attention as a mother keeping hold of a fussy child.

"The matron," Moreen said, "A detachment of the Mane Blossoms led by Luminous Julius!" She added the moment Leo began screaming again.

"Good." Nylah said, Leo fell to the ground as her phantasm faded away into a plume of feathers and energy. "I'm glad you understand the situation you and your men are in, I wouldn't want to make an example of anyone." Moreen highly doubted her statement.

"What do we know of the Mane Blossoms?" Nylah asked, turning her head towards a floating skull, Moreen did not hide her open contempt for it. Who was it before it was appropriated and made a glorified assistant?

The skull hummed and buzzed with the amber electricity her kind was known for, "Huh." She said, amused, "Guess we have a chance to update our notes." She said as a grin slowly crawled against her face, it was enough to kill the hope of whatever mercy she offered being true.

Moreen spent the next thirty minutes answering the necromancer's questions to the best of her ability, without giving away any sensitive information. From who she served to how they cremated the walking corpses that were here when she and her team arrived. She was so compliant she was certain their glamour had taken hold.

The townspeople her lott had liberated stood silent, watching with trepidation and fear. Moreen had no doubt they had cast that aborted enchantment on every last person in the crowd. It was probably for the best. The last thing she needed was people rising up and being slaughtered on her account.

At least Lilac made his escape, she could find solace in that at least. "Hey, Nylah! Look! Look! Look!" A voice called out, a fourth Necromancer, how many of them were there?

"Aspects! You got him? That's amazing!" Nylah called out like a teacher proud of her student finally able to understand an equation they had been going over.

'Got him' Moreen forced herself to gaze towards them. Surely she couldn't mean-, Lilac hung dead in his grasp, his body limp and lifeless. "Lilac!" Moreen howled, "I'll kill you, I'll-"

Moreen lost what composure she had, rushing towards the man with all her might, only for that accursed phantasm to manifest before her, appearing from thin air, jabbing her in the guts.

Moreen fell to the floor; winded, crying, and disarmed. A laugh escaped the necromancer wearing the gentry mask. "Aspects, you just going to stand there and let her gut you like a fish?" Had her fury really been able to scare one of these monsters senseless? Not that it mattered, Lilac was dead, and so was any hope of rescue.

"Green, you will not take this accomplishment away from him." Nylah chided her companion, once again he fell in line. "Hey don't let Green get to you," She said turning toward the fourth Necromancer, "You were able to get the eldritch that eluded me." Was killing him not enough? She now had to call him that?

Nylah's phantasm plucked his corpse from the fourth necromancer's arms, holding him upright, her fingers gripping at the gem at the center of his chest. Moreen watched helplessly as her Lilac was mutilated before her very eyes, an unnerving pop echoed as the gem was freed from his chest. With little care she tossed his remains to the floor, handing the gem to the bastard that killed him.

"Make sure not to lose that, ok?" Nylah ordered.

"Y-yes Ma'am." The murderer said, pocketing the gem.

She spoke so casually about ending his life like he was the prize of some hunt, "Lilac..." He was gone. "His name was Lilac." She said louder, she would never be able to hear his laugh again. "His name was Lilac, you aborted monster!" She'd never hear his stupid complaints again.

"Oh, how rude of me, yes we were in the middle of a conversation..." Nylah said, with a tone of faux apology.

"I'll kill you..." For a moment, Moreen did not even realize it was her speaking." Every last one of you. I'll kill each of you and every one of you. You'll all down in your aborted blood." She didn't yell, she didn't raise her voice, what was the point? It wouldn't bring him back, not her Lilac.

"You have been remarkably cooperative," Nylah said, paying Moreen's threat no mind, her playfulness all but melted away.

"Annoyingly so..." Gentry-masked said, his irritation was more than apparent.

"Finally a little hypothetical, you are accustomed with the burdens of leadership I hope." Moreen merely nodded, she forced herself to keep going only for her men. "Then I guess you are aware of the tough choices a leader must make..." Nylah's muse pulled her closer to the necromancer, inches away.

"You have to leave one of your men behind, to escape from us evil weavers, whichever would you pick?" Moreen went pale, only now realizing what monster she had been talking with.

"No! You said you wouldn't hurt anyone if I answered your questions!" Even now it was hard to care anymore. Lilac was-, No! She could not fall into that melancholy. Not when she had men counting on her, looking to her to get her out of this mess. Mourning would be a prize she could indulge in when she got her men home.

Nylah looked confused, "I never said anything of the sort, I was just relieved you cared about your men. Makes it easier to leverage answers out of you." The Necromancer shrugged.

["And thank you for not making it hard,"] The phantasm said. ["My maven is not one to tolerate those who do not sate her curiosity."]

"Hurry up and pick one," Nylah commanded, "Or all of them will die."

She was a monster, nothing short of a monster would play such a game like this, Moreen closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she only hoped her men would forgive her. "Ok..." Moreen said, resigned in her course of action, a blade freed from her hidden compartment, finding a new home in the neck of the necromancer.

Moreen savored the sensation of burying her knife into the necromancer's flesh. The look of shock on her face, her body convulsing and stepping backward. Moreen felt the swift retaliation for her actions, her own limb dismembered by another phantasm. This one looked like a collage of animal pelts stitched haphazardly together, the only connecting factor was every animal was a predator. Not that it mattered. It was too late, she had already killed their leader.

"I promised you would choke on your own blood..." She said relishing the thrill of her kill, deaf to the hot pain of her missing limb. The gurgling sound escaping Nylah made a beautiful melody. Moreen fell to the floor as if the weight of Nylah's baleful gaze pulled her there itself.

The knight phantasm faded away, being connected with the fallen necromancer, Moreen assumed. The gentry masked man took command directing the phantasm still around to keep a hold of her. "You made a big mistake." He said, mirth behind his voice, Moreen wasn't surprised, these monsters had no sense of comradery, and he would probably greatly benefit from her death.

A blast of amber light escaped from Nylah's body, before Moreen even knew what was going on, fear was already eclipsing all facets of her mind. The light was so bright her hands moved in an attempt to shade against the invading light.

Nylah's flesh connected and reformed, and the necromancer's gargling began to slow before halting completely. Steam escaped from her mouth, as she stood to her feet, emerging as if no injury had even occurred, save a small ethereal scar against her neck.

Moreen was speechless, she had known about the apostate's ability to recover, she had even seen such feats before, but so few of the jinn in their employ would be able to repair such a fatal wound, not without being trained as a healer, and Moreen was certain this woman was no healer.

"You know..." Nylah swallowed, staggering to keep to her feet, forcing a sigh as steam escaped her mouth. "I was hoping you'd be more reasonable..." Was she disappointed? "Now I'm going to kill you and your men..." To their credit each member of her lott kept a sense of dignity, no begging, no pleading, they would not give her the satisfaction of an honorless death. "Save one, that one will be allowed to work with us in exchange for his life."

Moreen hissed at the necromancer, who in their right mind would ever-

"Me! I'll join!" Emil howled, attempting to stand to his feet, Moreen took the words like a dagger in the back.

"Noct," Nylah said as she gestured towards the heavily armored woman, she dropped Leo making her way to Emil, the other men did not hold back their disgust at his betrayal.

In a single swipe the woman known as Noct freed Emil's head from his shoulders, the entire scene was enough to silence everyone.

"You should be thanking me, that guy was literally your weakest link." Was this all she wanted? To play with her? To play with them all, to show them how helpless they were in the face of four of their kind? "Besides..." She said, extending her hand, as her bound phantasm was summoned to retrieve Emil's disembodied head, his expression of shame still plastered on his face. "You'll be joining him soon."