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As Sae felt the sudden drain of energy he always felt when he performed major magic, the scale and tooth on the skeleton's chest melted, merging with the bone of the skeleton.  Two blue flames burst to life in the skeleton's eye sockets, and the fingers tightened around the hilt of the sword on its breast.  Sae stepped back, nearly tripping over Naelan, and waited for the skeleton to sit up.

For the first time in what felt like ages, he was able to open his eyes. But something was wrong... terribly wrong. Everything in his vision had a blue tint to it. What was worse, he couldn't feel anything, not cold, not heat, not his breaths, or even the beat of his own heart. With one glaring exception, he could still feel Saethriel grasped tightly in his hand. But... why, he knew deep in his soul that he was supposed to hold onto the sword in his hand, but he couldn't remember why. As his mind did circles inside his head, his vision became clear and he saw through his helmet's visor, looking down at him a Draconian. He shot up from his prone position into a defensive guard. He saw the draconian's companions, and did not like what he saw. A half-breed, An Orc, a rabid treant, and worst of all a demon. His vision went bright red flickering with black. He kept up his guard, but he hesitated, why was he afraid? Why did he feel the need to raise his sword to them? How did he know how to use a sword? Why was he in a graveyard? What even was his name? Who was he? He found himself overcome with terror and confusion, his vision took on a completely black tint and he had to fight the urge to run or lash out at them out of fear and ignorance. He shouted at them to back away and kept his sword trained on the draconian who was nearest to him.

Sae touched the point of Saethriel, and pushed it down, saying, "Badon, I am not here to harm you.  I am here simply to request your assistance with our quest.  I raised you from the dark of the Abyss, and put new life in your bones.  I am Sae'taer, the leader of this group.  If you don't believe I am no threat to you, try to slash me with Saethriel.  It will pass through me without causing harm."  As Sae said this, he activated a talisman on a cord around his neck that turned him insubstantial, but left him looking entirely normal.

Badon? Was that his name? It seemed familiar. "I don't... understand. Raised me? Am... Am I..." he looked down at his feet and realized he had just been lying in a coffin. "Oh... No... I was... I am... Dead?" He held up Saethriel and saw his reflection in the blade. He saw that his helmet was illuminated by two bright blue flames that flickered black as his fear rose and fell. The black taking more dominance he removed his helmet, and his fears were confirmed, looking back at him in the reflection of Saethriel was a skull with two flames in the eye sockets. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He tried to remember who he was and he couldn't. The only tangible thing he had was the sword in his hand that his grip grew even tighter to. "You sought me out necromancer." he said his tone audibly pained, "Do you know who I am?"

Mir was correct in his assumption then. This was necromancy. He steped back instictually, not a fan of this particular breed of magic. He gripped his spear, but when the draconian spoke, he calmed down. Still prepared for anything, but calm, he wondered what the others thought of this.

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"Your name is Badon.  You are the bearer of Saethriel, and a Hero of the War of Wintreath.  You were a master swordsman, and a Frost Knight of the Icicle.  I have raised you to help us overcome a Snow Demon wreaking havoc across Wintreath," Sae said, thankful the talisman had not been needed, "We need your expertise with a blade to train young Erebus here.  Will you join us?"

Aside from the name and the information about Saethriel, the only other thing he recognized was Snow Demon, and even then it was a feeling of hatred that he didn't understand. With lack of anything else, even if he wasn't quite sure if it was true, he decided to accept his name was Badon. "I don't know if I would be of any use to you, I can't seem to remember anything other than the name of this sword. But, for some reason I hold a deep hatred of this 'Snow Demon' you speak of, so I will try to aid you if I can."

"Thank you for joining us.  Now, please follow me.  We need to collect our equipment from where I had them leave it.  And, don't call me 'Necromancer.'  Call me Sae or Sae'taer," Sae said, turning to leave, showing trust by exposing his back to the skeleton.  He lead the way back to the fire, and put his armor back on.

"That was it? A skeleton with a sword?" Grond asked rhetorically. "What next? We have to find a gnome with a magic wand?" Grond bellowed out laughter as he began to put his armor back on. He slipped the magic ice axe into a strap on his back then stood leaning on his steel battleaxe.

*Naelan facepaws at Grond's remark*
"I could make that happen, so be careful what you wish for," Sae said to Grond, amused, while slipping a piece of steel into the gap left from the scale he'd jerked loose.

Mirithal followed silently, planted the makeshift weapon back into the ground, and grasped his steel blade. This he placed on a smal holder on his back, ready for action.

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"The path to the demon's hideout is a long one, but shouldn't be especially difficult.  Be ready, though; my kin are mostly highwaymen and bandits.  The path I've chosen is a haunt of such bandits.  We should have nothing to worry about.  Just, beware of Draconians as tall as I am and taller: they explode when they die.  Smaller ones turn to stone, trapping the weapon if it isn't withdrawn fast enough, then crumble to dust a couple seconds later.  Aim to maim, rather than kill, the Draconians my size and larger.  I don't want to have to heal you, nor do I think my healing would be well received.  It is extremely painful," Sae said, turning away from the fire after extinguishing it with a wave.

He started walking Northwest, and soon didn't see anything but white all around.  Turning to the group, he said, "I'm going to fly to see if I can see any landmarks, and to scan our route ahead for danger."

Badon was still in shock about the entirety of his situation, but had slowly followed along behind the rest of the party, his mind still swirling off in a thousand directions. As the Draconian flew up above the treeline, Badon's gaze shifted back down the trail that led to the graveyard.

Sae landed, and, flustered, said, "The landmarks are all gone!  One moment they were there, the next, they simply vanished!"

"What now?" Grond said frustrated. "Keep walking 'til it gets cold?"