Volume 1: «Preparation»
Chapter 6: «Laying the Foundation (Part 1)»
***
— Mr. Aaron, what are you doing? — Walking up to the boy sitting on the ground, a short-looking old man said. — Sunbathing?
— No Earl, I'm not sunbathing, it's not summer and the sun is not warm... — answered the man, through his breath. — Just thought it might be nice to stretch out before lunch. Is there a problem with that?
— Is there a problem? No, it's... It's good for your... Um, health...
— By the way, now that you're here, could you do me a favor? — Aaron suddenly asked, getting up from the ground and shaking off his pants.
— I can, but it depends on the exact contents of the request... — countered the steward.
— Nothing difficult, just something to buy, Aaron said, and then he looked seriously into the old man's narrowed and cunning eyes. — A few things, they're not rare or expensive, quite affordable...
— What kind of things are they? — Earl raised an eyebrow and asked.
— Here's a list...
Aaron, digging in the pockets of his pants, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the manager. Earl took the outstretched note and began to read it aloud, trying to estimate what exactly the boy wanted to buy.
— Rotten blossom, skosoble, cakeshopper...
— Yes, that's right, that's exactly the herb I want, buy a dozen of each, — Aaron clarified. — Oh yes, as long as the stem of the cakeworm is purple, not red...
— Hmm, pardon me for asking, but what do you need them for? — He said, and then added with a laugh, "Were you going to make some kind of poison out of them?
— How do you know?
— What?
— How did you know I was going to make poison out of them? — Aaron smirked and clarified his question.
— Are you serious? — Earl frowned. — Why do you suddenly need poison?
— What a stupid question... It's obvious... To poison a man.
The old man cocked his head to the side, thought for a moment, then sighed.
— Who exactly are you going to poison, if it's not a secret...
— Me, of course, why would I poison anyone else? — Aaron said with a laugh. — Poisoning other people is bad, they can die...
— And why poison yourself, are you tired of living?
— No, no... This way I will create an immunity to the poison...
Aaron was well aware that right now he did not have full access to magic and his own divine spark, and it would take another four years before they would awaken. So, he decided to do two things that could somehow help him strengthen his powers — developing his body and creating immunity to poisons.
The demigods of death and life differ from the demigods of fire, lightning, and ice in that their element is more complex and deeper. The divine spark of death gives access to necrotic energy, and two additional elements, darkness and poison. The divine spark of life gives access to life energy, and the two additional elements of light and medicine. Perhaps it is because of these two additional elements that the demigods of life and death are so few, and they occur much less frequently than the demigods of fire, lightning, and ice...
In addition, because of various superstitions, legends, and lore, the awakening of the divine spark of life is like a gift from heaven, while the awakening of the divine spark of death, on the contrary, is akin to the worst of curses. Simply put, necromancers have an extremely bad reputation, causing many to fear and shun them.
At first, Aaron suffered a lot because of his power, feared it, hated it, despised it... But in time he realized that she suited him, and he was quite comfortable with her. True, then the time was already lost, and his divine spark refused to cooperate.
One of the peculiarities of necrotic energy is its poisonous nature; when it penetrates an enemy's body, it can cause him serious harm, up to and including excruciating death. And in this case, the problem of death demigods is the fact that they are still living people, and death energy harms them just as much as others, poisoning their bodies. This makes necromancers look, rather, unattractive and painful.
To avoid this, Aaron decided to develop his physical fitness and focus on developing immunity to poison, which will make him look better than a skinny zombie in the future. And maybe even help to get rid of the second problem of the owners of the divine spark of death — infertility... Alas, the demigods of death are incapable of giving life, which is somewhat ironic...
Basically, the statement that necromancers are cursed is pretty, close to the truth, and much better to be a demigod of life. They are almost immortal, extremely difficult to harm, and can only be killed if certain conditions are met. The demigods of life are also capable of healing others, as well as interacting with nature and animals, and even controlling them.
The energy of their divine spark is like medicine and has a beneficial effect on the human body. However, in reality, in battle, they are quite weak and useless, unlike the demigods of death, who are feared for a reason...
***
In the dining room tonight, during dinner...
— You've been practicing today... — when he finished his meal, Bradomir spoke.
— Did Earl tell you? — Aaron smiled, putting aside the cutlery.
— That's right, and I'm glad you decided to take your mind off the books," Grandfather nodded approvingly. — A man should be healthy and strong, not just sitting in a dark room reading books.
— Training the body is useful, but if you are a stupid moron, even the best physical form does not help you in battle, — retorted his grandson.
— Maybe so, but we Aaron live in a cruel world, and in it is more important to have a strong body than an enormous amount of knowledge, — Bradomir said with a little note of condemnation in his voice.
— Knowledge can be a power too, and even more terrible than a strong body... — looking his grandfather in the eyes, Aaron answered. — But even so, I have a favor to ask of you.
— What is it? If you mean about buying herbs, I've already given Earl permission...
— No, that's not what I mean," interrupted the grandson. — Would you teach me to fight, please?
— Hmm," Bradomir said thoughtfully. — Why should I? I thought you were thinking of becoming a scholar or maybe a civil servant. What made you start training?
— You said it yourself... We live in a cruel world...
— If it's because my parents died, then...
— No, I'm not afraid of death," said Aaron, stopping the worried old man. — But you're not going to live forever, and I can't go through life hiding behind your back...