Wholly Undead 65 A Risk of Sorrows

In a larger room in his temporary underground base in Jakahn, Mark had sat up a large spell formation. He had all the ingredients to perform his ritual. In the large room sat his wife in a bone wheelchair, she looked around at the spell formation rather amused.

"So, this is the big surprise...? You know how I disdain such rituals now. I've gone through so many... and is it really necessary to dress me up like a mummy?" Princess Janet said with a displease voice, that betrayed the amusement on her face.

"I know, I know sweetheart, but this could be the last one! This one will work! I just know it." Mark ran around making the final preparations.

"The last five rituals didn't work, though that last one did help me raise my strength to Knight rank..." She continued, while watching Mark run back and forth double checking everything he had laid out.

"That was the set up. You have to have enough strength to endure this new ritual. I was able to get my hands on an ancient bone doc book that was supposed to be handed to The Holy Witch King. You'll never guess who the book was written by!"

"I know you fancy yourself a bone doc in your spare time, but honestly don't you think you should have gone to school for that?" Princess Janet asked while watching Mark triple check his formation.

"Blah! Bone docs in Dragon's Jaw, Bone docs in Deagoth, Bone docs in Borda! They are all the same. Too caught up in making money to see the real purpose and potential of our craft! You never asked if you wanted to know who wrote the book!" Mark carried on while making another round of checks.

"Alright then, who wrote it."

"Alendore Whitecoat!"

"You're going to have to remind me who that is... I don't keep boring things in mind anymore." Princess Janet said rather blandly.

"Of course, dear. Alendore Whitecoat was the personal doctor to the Lich King!" Mark said clapping his bony fingers together.

"To the Lich King?" Princess Janet was caught off guard.

"Yes! It was Ole Whitecoat that pioneered the medical arts of undeath! In fact, it could be said he was the founding father of Bone Doctors everywhere!" Mark explained pleasantly.

"So, this ritual was his, or inspired by his work." Princess Janet continued.

"Yes, and no. This was something he was working on, in fact, the book is his working notes, really. At the end of his days, he had been working on a solution to the problem that some undead experience." Mark waited a moment to let this sink in before continuing, "Some undead issues controlling their bodies, and Whitecoat believed that it was due to the soul's attachment to its undead form and damage to the soul or soul defect. Where the living has a perfect attachment, undead have a limited attachment tittered to the body through crated magic, instead of natural magic like the living."

"We've known my soul is damaged and isn't attached to my body correctly since I was twenty-one. I had my coming of age ceremony and I was still like this... Tell me something new, husband. " Princess Janet propped her head in her hand, as she listened.

"Alright, alright. Whitecoats believed that if he could strengthen the soul, then he could detach it, heal it, and reattach it correctly. The strength of the soul would allow it to remain behind just long enough to heal, before escaping to the netherworld, so that he could attach it back again."

Slightly startled Janet raised her head, "You wait to remove my soul, heal it, and quickly reattach it?!"

"Yes!" mark said with confidence.

"But they transferred my soul to this body, back then as well... What's the difference?"

"Your soul is stronger now, and I plan to aid the process. During the ritual we will heal your soul, and reattach it." Mark said caringly.

"How safe... is this?"

"Well... That's what I'm leading too. There is a chance of one of three things will happen."

Mark held up one bony finger, "One. It works perfectly, and you assume full control over your body. Everyone is happy. We celebrate."

"Okay..."

Mark held up two fingers, "Two. Nothing happens, and We go back to square one again."

"Alright."

Mark held up three fingers, as he shook them in the air, "Three... It works or it doesn't, but there are side effects."

"What kind of... Side effects?"

"Anything from memory loss right on down to true death." Mark said rather helplessly, as he looked at his beautiful wife. He truly felt complex about this. On one hand, he wanted to cure his wife, but on the other, he was afraid of further harm or even losing her.

Janet thought over it for a few minutes, as the room descended into silence. Mark didn't stir or press for an answer. Janet raised her head, "Let's do it."

"You're sure." Mark said as he nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright then. Let me help you to the center of the formation."

After mark had taken his wife to the center of the spell formation, he flipped out two books. Whitecoats's last book, and his own workbook. After a few moments of reading he nodded again.

"Alright lay perfectly still, and close your eyes. This isn't going to feel good in the slightest."

"Mmmmm."

Mark summoned up all his courage, and the zeal he had earlier returned, if not a bit forced.

He spoke aloud, "You are the lioness that breathes the deserts! You are the daughter of the sun, not seen in the underworld!"

The large chunk of Glowstone, that was placed above Janet's head in the formation started to wobble in place.

"As Ra brings the sun to the underworld, so to do you follow! Bring with you healing the Ka, Ba, and Akh to become one again!" Mark's voice rose, as he started to shake. The Chunk of Glowstone lifted from the floor and was suspended in the air, as it rotated just above Janet!

"We reject the judgement of Kheru! We only find trust in you! Sekhmet! SO, COME FORTH! OREXOULHAWOLE" Finally Mark brought a fevered pitch to the incantation, as all the regents liquified as the poured into the basketball sized Glowstone.

This soupy ball of Glowstone began to rotate at an alarming speed until it formed into a small star. From inside the star, the form of a lioness headed cat woman emerged, as it cocked its brow as it observed the surroundings.

It turned its gaze down and seen the mummified appearance Princess Janet. It made motion to the still undead lady on the floor, grasping at the air above Janet with a clawed, but graceful hand.

As the motion did so, a ghostly appearance pulled from Janet's body. Mark was stunned at the side, as he saw the process. He had an idea of what would happen, but didn't know the full extent. He down knew that everything that was written down by mad man whitecoat was true.

The ghostly appearance of Janet's body seemed strange. There were no lower half, only the upper half. The Cat headed lady made motion with her other hand, and a swarm of energy swam from the outside world into the area just below Janet's waist.

It began to form, as the shape of the upper legs began to take place. Mark watched on as his wife's lower half was beginning to take shape. A joy that was hard to suppress emerged from mark's heart.

Just as the position above her knees was completed, the form of the cat headed woman began to fade. Mark looked on in horror, as the ritual began to fall apart.

"No, no, no! NO!" Mark howled, as he went to the side of the large room, and grabbed up several different regents, and threw them next to Princess Janet's body, shattering the glass jars and beakers exposing the contents.

Forming several quick hand seals, mark cried out another series of incantations, as he seen the form of the cat headed woman fade out of existence. spoke in a hurried tone, as the soul of his wife began to fade, "You are the one that lurks in the dark, you are the protector of the soul at the beginning of its journey. You are the one that can save an impending doom, so I call you! ANUBUS! SAJ'ER OMUS"

Out of the dark mess of broken glass that laid on the floor beside Janet, as dark and furry clawed hand emerged, as it grasped at the fading soul, that was rising higher in the air. Its clawed hand latched onto Janet's soul, and pulled it down.

As it pulled it down, it whipped quickly, and the soul was forcefully merged back with the body. Soon the hand slipped back into the muck of disgusting regents and broken glass.

Mark ran as quickly as his undead feet would get him, as he collapsed onto his knees. The dull sound of bone on stone sounded, as he slid next to his wife. He shook her shoulders, while calling, "Wife! Wife! Janet!!! Can you hear me! Please be there! Please! I need you! Don't leave me!"

Mark continued to shake. Mark stopped, and formed a few more hand seals, as he made spoke a few more spells, no longer incantations, using his own magic power. He poured his own magic into Janet, unceasingly.

Almost all the magic power that was contained in Mark's form found its way into Janet. Just as Mark thought it was over, the eye lids of princess Janet flickered slightly, as she opened them to look at Mark.

Mark ceased, as he looked at his wife, "Janet are you okay? Can you move? Can you speak... How do you feel?!"

"I... Who are you?" Janet spoke slightly confused.

"No! NO! NOOO!" Mark crouched over his wife. A pair of single tear drops rolled from each of his hollowed eye sockets.

Tears of the skeleton...

Chapter end