**
Andin accompanied Svoi to the School of Necromancy. “I was always surprised you chose to imbue earth magic – I think you would have been a fine necromancer,” said Svoi to his former pupil.
“I enjoyed it as much as any other discipline, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to master earth and fire together,” replied Andin. The pair walked through the streets admiring the ornate architecture.
Svoi would negotiate the student exchange program with the Commandant of the school. Because the School of Necromancy was a militarized institution special arrangements would need to be made to accommodate students from Beldur, and likewise for the College of Beldur receiving students from Ventisma.
Andin politely excused himself from Svoi and the Commandant’s meeting. Instead the fire prince opted to wander through the halls of the school. In some rooms students sparred with wooden weapons, in others students practiced reanimating specimens of the strange wildlife of Ventisma.
Andin’s meanderings took him to the Crypt of Heroes. The iconic pale blue stone of Ventisma entombed the long dead warriors. The most skilled and devoted warriors of the Reapers lay here, members of the Twilight Vanguard.
“Do you know why they were so feared in battle?” asked an old voice. Andin turned to the thin man addressing him, “No sir, why is that?”
The old man rested his hand reverently on one of the tombs, “The Vanguard reached their legendary prowess in battle by destroying and reanimating their own limbs. The arms and legs of a Vanguard are nothing more than dead tissue.” Andin’s eyes widened, the old man continued.
“The body can only take so much; a Vanguard has never served more than eight years. Some even will practice bloodletting before battle, assuring victory – and their own death.”
Andin couldn’t help but admire this selflessness. He turned to the old man, “I never knew that.”
“That is my job young fire caller, to carry their story,” said the old man.
“What do you do here?” asked Andin.
The man stood a little taller “I reanimate and repair the decaying tissue of the Vanguard Captains.”
“I thought once a life was lost the spirit was lost permanently?” said Andin.
“True, but with careful preservation the memories their bodies witnessed can be saved,” answered the man.
“Recounts of their battles have already been transcribed in the Academy archives, but a whole lifetime of memories cannot be copied, I am their sole trustee, I am the Keeper,” the old man stated his title with pride.
Andin knew the Plane of Death had fought with the Plane of Torment some time ago. After a long pause he turned to the Keeper, “Can we speak with the Vanguard Captain who fought in the Plane of Torment?”
The Keeper began walking away from the prince, “You may listen to his story.” Andin followed. The Plane of Torment had always intrigued the prince. Very little was known about the Sadists other than their cruelty and strength in battle. The Keeper stopped at one of the tombs, “You seek Captain Wane; I can show you his memories, but his spirit is gone, he cannot answer your questions.”
Andin understood and watched attentively. The Keeper delicately pulled back the veil covering the armored corpse in the open faced tomb. The Keeper placed his hands on Wane’s partially decayed head, “Wake up Captain; a Beldurian fire caller seeks your wisdom.” Wane’s body tightened; a thin stream of black and blue smoke swirled through his eye sockets and decayed nose.
“Yes that should do; Captain could you please recount the portal opening to the Plane of Torment?” asked the Keeper.
The corpse spoke in a hollow voice, “It was year seven hundred seventy-two. The doorway was about to open. I had personally overseen the defenses – they were strong. The first beast through the portal was a massive Crusher; it filled the entire portal’s width. Its hands had been replaced with two massive spiked spheres imbued with torturous magic.”
“We brought the first Crusher down easily; the next five lasted longer. They used the mass of the first as cover from our barrage. Then the Divisas came, they were the first real show of force from Torment. The snaking beasts made a sickening snapping noise anytime one of their joints bent.”
Andin was enthralled; the Captain continued reciting his account. “The Divisas were fast; they came through in one massive wave, we weren’t ready for them. Their thin segmented bodies were studded with needles, needles they used to inject pain magic into our soldiers while they constricted them. The screams were awful.”
“Lord Crepus dealt with them as he could, but even a god has his limits. Many of the Divisas flew from the portal site into the city and the outlands. Delaying our reinforcements and causing terrible havoc on the civilians. In the evening Garruk, the god of Torment, boldly crossed through. The battle between him and Crepus was the most terrible display of power I had ever witnessed.”
“By midnight we had pushed the frontline forces back to the portal entrance, Crepus wanted to cross through to pursue Garruk; I was to lead the charge. They had taken so many of our people.” Andin was so engrossed in the story he didn’t notice the world around him go grey. The Keeper had frozen in place. The Captain’s rotted face turned towards Andin, “I knew the fire prince would come to me one day.”
Andin could only mutter out a confused, “What?”
The Captain sat up in his tomb and grabbed Andin, pulling him close, “Your fate has been written fire prince; you must be the one to kill Garruk.”
Andin recoiled and drew his sickles; he now noticed the strange greyness filling the tomb. The Keeper stood frozen, “What’s going on?” shouted Andin.
The Captain repeated, “The fire prince must kill the Tormentor, it has been written.”
Before Andin could ask anything else the Captain returned to his tomb, the freezing grey lifted, and the Keeper ended his reanimation spell. “I hope that satisfies you fire caller, the Academy Archives will have a detailed account of all the portal openings as well.”
Andin didn’t move. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. It was obvious the Keeper hadn’t seen what Andin had. He left the Crypt of Heroes thinking only of Garruk.