The Dark Lord sat looking at the last pathetic bastion of the Juniper Empire. They had held out quite well, with their Sacred Heroes and such. . . However, the Dark Lord had a trick up his sleeve. His youngest son is gifted with the power of Necromancy, but there were two things wrong with him. One, the boy was a mute , making communication difficult,. His second and worse mistake was the fact the boy took after the wench of his mother. He was as kind-hearted as a mortal could be, which often leads to complications as to the very nature of Necromancy. Unfortunately, every tutor that taught him said the same thing, "If he harnesses the power and used it more often, he would rule the world in a heartbeat!" The Dark Lord didn't know what to make of this statement, as he had to force his son to get into the Dark Art. The Dark Lord had his hopes up when the boy summoned a sentient Shade on his first try. His ever kind nature destroyed what small hopes he had, as the Shade warmed up to him and accepted his contract of familiarship. He was going to get his son to work his magic one way or the other.

Elsewhere. . . .

One way or the other , she was going to prove it to them, she was going to show them all! Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Vallerie will prove that she deserves her spot as third caught of Duke de la Vallerie and Karin de Matin! She was tired of the jeering, the exclusion and the harassment of all of her tormentors, especially that no good Zerbst! Louise had once again let her mouth run faster than her judgment and spouted some nonsense about she was going to summon a fantastic familiar, one that would even the most ancient of dragons to shame. This time, Louise was going to fulfill her promise she was going to show up that no good harlot once and for all!

Elsewhere. . .

That boy was going to defy him for the last time today. The Dark Lord stormed to the boy's roomm only to hear a raspy laugh along with a laugh that would cause those foolish elves to go green with envy. He burst into the room to find the Shade and the young Necromancer reading over some sort of book, perhaps one of the books the maids would sneak in, with their romances and adventures, with all the same result, the Dark Lord dying and the beloved hero returning home triumphantly to the sound of trumpets and all round happy sounds, sounds that the Dark Lord killed for, the type of sounds that cause so much disgust, that the one who caused the sound wouldn't even be allowed to look at his lowliest of slaves, nevermind life ever again.

"What is the meaning of this! What have I told you about these disgusting books!" The Dark Lord burned the book in its place as he bellowed his question. One good thing about the young Necromancer was his weak physical fortitude, however, the same isn't to be said about his summons. The Shade looked at the Dark Lord with a smoldering flare, before backing down, remembering the last time he and the Dark Lord had a scuffle, it caused his dear friend a lot of pain to save him from oblivion. The Dark Lord chuckled, knowing that his greater strength trumped that of the Shade, however should the boy be distraught, he would summon one of his most fearsome creatures, the female Wraith, created from his mother's essence. Male Wraiths are dangerous as they are, but as said by many, "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned". While he was ranting and telling the boy his he should follow his cause, he missed the Shade leading the boy through a large oval portal.

Few minutes before...

There was an all round air of content (and unspoken nervousness) as the second years at Tristain Magical Academy were summoning their lifelong partners. They ranged from normal animals (dogs and other average pets), stranger beasts ( a mole and a bugbear?), to fantastic creatures like a dragon and a fire salamander. However one student was hoping to not be seen as her reputation would bring nothing but smoke and more humiliation than she could possibly bear. However, that would not come to pass as a certain chirpy voice flew above the musings of all the newly acquired familiars, "Oh Mr. Colbert! The Zero hasn't summoned her familiar yet!"

Of course this caused Louise to flinch, then turn a harsh glare at her long time tormentor and family rival. Louise steeled herself as she walked down the seemingly long lane opened up by her fellow classmates, while receiving scared looks, jeers and mumbled phrases, all including Zero, in one way or another. She stood before the circle and began her chanting. Unlike the others, which were a standard chant or wisecracking requests for powerful familiars, she just poured her whole heart and soul into her spell.

"My wise , beautiful, powerful familiar. From the bottom of my heart, need my call and answer my guidance!"

Of course, as things would typically happen when you mix magic and Louise together, things go boom. This time it was of massive proportions, much to the horror of everyone present. Soon nothing was left if the circle except a massive column of smoke. Silence followed, then a snicker here, a short soon followed, chuckles came next, before the whole class shrieked in laughter at yet another failure of Louise the Zero. However , a certain cerulean knew better, her dragon was getting fidgety , saying something about a dark smell from the smoke. She looked around to see the other familiars acting in a similar fidgety fashion. She used a small wind spell to clear the smoke to see a lone cloaked figure lying on the bottom of the explosive pit created by Louise. He had an ornate staff, made of some sort of dark material, but stood out the most was the creature looming over him. It was approximately seven feet tall , and seemed to be covered in chains and a ragged black cloth. It also seemed to have large claws. The scariest thing about it were its eyes, eyes that pierced yours and read everything there is to know about you. The cerulean was about to say something when a loud raspy voice came from the figure,

"Who dares harm my master and friend?!"

I know I have failed before with my other stories, but I hope that this one is better! Please correct me on ZnT lore, and feel free to ask questions. Also, I don't have a beta reader, so pleeeeeaaassee excuse any cringe worthy mistakes I have made. Also I may or may not be looking for undead OCs, not entirely sure about it. . . Anyway hoped you enjoyed chapter one!