"Where are you taking me?!" Jason was panicked. The skeleton had grabbed him and walked him to the forest. He made an odd motion with his hand and a black portal opened.
When Jason first took the skeletons hands he was emotional and angry. After walking for a few minutes, although still furious, he was second guessing his decision.
The skeleton did nothing to alleviate Jason's overwhelming worry. The skeleton trotted forth with Jason in tow.
Jason looked at the portal with fear yet anticipation.
'This is magic!' Before Jason's thoughts could wonder, the skeleton pushed Jason through the portal.
"Ahh!" Adolescent screams filled the empty and shifting dead grey miasma that surrounded Jason. It felt as if he was falling through time itself.
The screams of tortured spirits and ghosts invaded Jason's ears as he drifted through the portal.
Beads of sweat rolled down Jason's head as he prayed for a quick end to this magical ride.
Then, he landed.
"My god…" Jason looked at the grey grass and rotten forest that surrounded him. The place stunk of rot and death.
But Jason was no child, At least mentally, his parents charred and rotting corpses were engrained in his memory for the rest of his life. This includes the horrific smell that the two corpses gave off.
'Where did that damn skeleton go?' Jason looked around curiously as he searched for his "friend."
Suddenly, a chill swept the back of Jason's neck. His hair stood up and beads of sweat began to form on Jason's forehead.
Jason's once stable legs became jittery. He shrunk down in fear as he looked at the green ghost that resembled a suit of armour.
What was it, Jason wondered, that made the ghost so terrifying. He had held hands with a skeleton and seen his parents butchered and burned. Any fear he once held was mostly gone.
Jason crawled backwards as the ghost approached.
"Ugh." Jason stopped suddenly as he backed into something.
Turning around, Jason saw the skeleton that accompanied him here.
"Go." The skeleton spoke a simple command, but the ghost bowed his head in respect. The ghost held that position for a few seconds before sparing a menacing glance to Jason. It marched off to seemingly nowhere.
"Get up. It's time you see your new home." At the words of a new home Jason was puzzled.
'This home is in a disgusting forest. Can't say I'm too excited. But why would this skeleton do all this? Is it adopting me?' Jason asked the question to himself as a joke, but inwardly wished for someone to take on the role of a parent. As of now, he had no guides or role models. Anything he's ever cared for is gone. His desire to be successful was born of his need for his parents admiration.
Well, he did have one thing.
'That's right. That skeleton promised me power. Maybe it wants me to be it's student?' Jason was slightly excited. Magic was the dream of every little boy and girl. Becoming a mage was painted as the peak of life by the kingdom. Stories of strong mages slaying dragons and burning the villages of goblins always fascinated Jason.
"Come this way." The skeleton turned and walked the opposite direction of where the ghost went. Jason turned to examine his surroundings once more with a troubled face before running to catch up to the surprisingly quick skeleton.
Jason kept his gaze a little downwards. He was staring at the dead floor of the dark forest. Using his sound to guide him he followed the skeleton. Mad thoughts rolled through his head.
'Will the skeleton really give me power? Why would he to begin with?! I was so dumb to believe that! What if he just is going to kill me?' Jason was honestly a bit scared. He was afraid to part with his own life. Perhaps that is one of the only things that can scare him.
'No. The skeleton wouldn't do that. He has had every opportunity to do so. All it would take is the flick of his wand and I would be dead!' Jason had no clue about the fact that he's only here because he survived a deadly spell. All Jason had felt was a boost in strength.
"We're here." The skeletons aged voice pulled Jason away from his morbid thoughts.
Jason looked up from the ground to see a truly phenomenal sight.
"Holy shit…."
A Castle made of sleek, polished black stone stood proudly in the field of dead. Humongous bone Wyverns flew around the castle. Green ghosts much like the suited one from before flew on them.
Except now Jason knew that the "ghost" he saw was actually a skeleton. A skeleton wrapped in ghosts green armour.
Skeletal archers lined the walls. They held green bows and had ghostly arrows in their quivers. Different swordsmen wandered the castle as well. Many were walking outside, eternally scouting the lands. Every so often a knight like the one that originally approached Jason could be seen. Some on spectral steeds and some surrounded by a troop of swordsmen.
The skeleton turned towards Jason who stood in awe at the show of force. Four words were spoken in thunderous passion.
"Welcome to my castle!"