Flusoh rolled his eyes, a motion Jeremiah never quite got used to. "C`mon kid. I know what you`re doing, I want that on the record. But what the hell. Come on, let`s do a demo."

　　Jeremiah`s anticipation threatened to bubble over. He had never seen Flusoh perform any but the most basic of spells. The floodgates were now open for additional questions as his teacher led him to the upper floors of the castle.

　　"Are you super strong?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Are you super fast?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Why do you have those eyes?"

　　"To see."

　　"Do you need them?"

　　"No."

　　"Whose were they?"

　　"A prophet`s."

　　"Can you see the future with them?"

　　"Sadly, no."

　　"Sounds like you thought you`d be able to."

　　"Yup."

　　"Was there any benefit at all?"

　　"Prophet seemed a lot more legitimate without eyes."

　　"He was alive when you took them?!"

　　Flusoh stopped and glared at Jeremiah. Jeremiah stared back into Flusoh`s eyes and had a sudden insight.

　　"Were you lying?" Jeremiah asked

　　"I lied about half the questions you asked me, including this one. Now shut it, we`re almost there."

　　Jeremiah followed Flusoh to the parapet of the highest tower. The noon day sun illuminated the world through a sheet of gray haze, casting the swamp into monotone. Jeremiah spotted the path he had once followed to come to the castle, and reminisced about how he had had no idea what he was getting into.

　　"You want a demo? You sure?" Flusoh asked.

　　Jeremiah nodded, unable to suppress a boyish grin.

　　Flusoh stood astride the battlement and shouted across the swamp. "By show of hands, who thinks this is the most obnoxious student ever to curse my castle halls?"

　　The swamp exploded in activity as countless—truly countless—skeletal hands erupted out of the water in every direction. Jeremiah`s eyes grew wide at the field of white wheat stretching to the horizon. There were humanoid limbs, tail bones, an arm at least ten feet long ending in three foot long claws, and innumerable others that even his extensive knowledge of anatomy could not begin to identify.

　　Just as Jeremiah was starting to comprehend the number of bodies that had to be in the swamp, the bony appendages receded back below the surface of the swamp. He stared after them with awe, then turned to his teacher. "Why did you do that? Why did you answer my questions?"

　　"`Cause you`ve been here for three years, you`ve done everything I said, and you`ve never pried. I respect and appreciate that, so I had to indulge you a little." Flusoh patted Jeremiah`s shoulder. "But the hands have spoken, you`re obnoxious. Now go practice."

　　With the vision of incredible power fixed in his mind, Jeremiah set to his work with renewed vigor. Soon he was able to manage the two undead as easily as one. From there, he advanced quickly to reanimating three undead at a time, then four, then five.

　　With each additional minion, another bubble would appear in Jeremiah`s mind, but the more bubbles there were, the less room there was for him. With five undead, he had to move slowly and methodically in order to do anything, and once he reached six he felt there was no room left for him at all in his own head. He sat on the floor of the room they were working in. He couldn`t bring himself to move, cast, or even think straight.

　　Flusoh stood by, observing, then ordered Jeremiah to minimize his connections.

　　All six bubbles shrank considerably, and the zombies collapsed to the floor. In low focus mode, the undead could not be commanded but some mind space was returned to the necromancer. When needed, the bubbles could be reinflated back to their normal state for full control. Jeremiah sighed with relief as he began to feel more himself again.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

　　Flusoh looked thoughtful. "Your headspace will increase with practice, but I`m thinking it`s time we got you a familiar. Let`s go outside."

　　Jeremiah knew from his reading that familiars were bonded creatures meant to enhance a mage`s power through mental delegation. The specific effects varied depending on the creature and caster, but Jeremiah was intrigued by the possibilities. He reactivated two zombies to follow as he and Flusoh made their way to the castle gates.

　　The gates creaked open as they approached. Flusoh pointed to the swamp beyond. "Step one. Go get yourself an animal."

　　"Just&any old animal?" asked Jeremiah. "Whatever I want?"

　　"Smaller tends to be better. Getting your familiar killed is a serious problem, so you want to be able to hide them. But it`s up to you, so by all means feel free to pick an alligator or a timber wolf or whatever."

　　Jeremiah descended the muddy path, his zombies following like bodyguards. He`d never stopped to consider the variety of life teeming in swamp, but as he slogged deeper into the mire, he found himself paralyzed with options. Jeremiah sat on a stump to ponder the flaws and virtues of each.

　　"Snakes are cool, but maybe too obvious? Fish are less obvious, probably for a reason though. Rats are smart, that`s good, but they get fleas. Crows are smart too, and they can hide by flying. But a bird of prey would be more useful for hunting small animals for corpses. Maybe an owl?" The permanence of the decision weighed on him.

　　The shadows were growing longer. His zombie companions maintained their vigil in silence. Jeremiah was beginning to consider the advantages of the bats flitting overhead when a fat gray lump hopped out of a nearby puddle and began dragging itself across the mud.

　　Jeremiah considered it. "A blue spined swamp toad. You don`t come from much, do you? Just crawling across the mud, trying to get where you`re going. But you`ve got a secret talent&I like it."

　　One of the zombies stooped and picked up the toad. Its blue spines sprang out to puncture the zombie`s indifferent hands as it struggled to escape, and Jeremiah returned to the castle with his prize.

　　"A blue spine, huh?" said Flusoh, "Good choice! Suits you, and that poison is no joke. Glad you didn`t come back with a crow, that`s just so predictable. Well, let`s get you two bonded."

　　Flusoh brought them to the ritual room. Jeremiah had never been allowed in here, and looked around with interest. The room stood in stark contrast to the spartan spaces that made up most of the castle. Instead of dark stone brick, the walls, floor, and ceiling were solid sheets of smooth gray marble. A towering wooden shelf displayed hundreds of meticulously organized components.

　　A chalk diagram took up most of the floor, its complexity staggering. Jeremiah struggled to make sense of the designs with his sparse knowledge of ritualism. Hundreds of geometric shapes and symbols were interwoven, precisely connected by long thin lines which seemed to never overlap. He recognized small metal amplifiers on certain junctures, as well as dams of powdered copper distributed around the diagram in precise patterns, designed to control the levels of resistance for magical energy. The design was so intricate, however, that Jeremiah couldn`t begin to comprehend the layers of effect involved.

　　The diagram featured two empty circles, a large one for Jeremiah and a small one for the toad. Jeremiah took his place. The zombie placed the toad in the other circle, where it sat contentedly.

　　"Shouldn`t I be learning how to do this?" asked Jeremiah.

　　"Hell no! Ritualism is a whole different mess you`re not ready to handle. Just accept that I`m doing a nice thing for you." He stood at the end chalk line extending toward the diagram. "Ready?"

　　"Wha—"

　　"Too late!" Flusoh slammed his hand down on the line.

　　The chalk glowed blue. In a flash, the entire floor transformed into a riot of modulating hues of blues and purples, the color changing as magic coursed through the diagram. Jeremiah`s hair stood on end as he cried out in surprise at the energy`s intensity. He felt his mind absorbing something, changing into a whole new place. He looked toward the toad and saw himself sitting in the circle instead, a perfect mirror image.

　　There was a flash and quick as it came, the magical chaos was gone. The toad was back, sitting in its circle as though nothing had happened. Jeremiah smiled at it. He couldn`t describe how, but he knew that this toad was very important to him, and that it adored him unconditionally. The toad gave a happy wiggle and crawled toward him across the diagram with haste. Jeremiah picked up and cradled the creature.

　　"Aww, ain`t that cute!" said Flusoh. "Now, reestablish control over your minions. Feel any different?"

　　Jeremiah turned his attention to the small bubbles in his mind. He gasped as he reflated all of them with room to spare. "There`s so much more space than before!"

　　Flusoh nodded. "Familiars take some of the burden. Just don`t get it killed or your limits will snap back, and if you`re controlling too many undead you`ll end up comatose. Also I won`t be there to help you get a new one, cause you got to go!"

　　Jeremiah did a double take. "I, w-what? I have to go?"

　　Flusoh nodded with enthusiasm. "Yup! Can`t stay here forever, right?"

　　Jeremiah was stunned. "I know, but I thought there was a lot more for me to learn!"

　　"Oh, tons! I could write books about what you don`t know. In fact, I have! But you`re not gonna learn it here. You need experience outside these walls. So, out you go!"

　　Jeremiah found himself being herded back toward the exit, dazed, toad still cradled in his hands. His pack was already waiting for him by the gates as they swung open once again.

　　"Ah, one small thing," Flusoh said as he thrust the pack toward Jeremiah. "I`ve included a little gift for you. I don`t give this lightly. It is your no-win scenario` solution. Understand this: it will kill anything and everything it can, and you will, at best, be able to suggest what it goes after first."

　　"Um," said Jeremiah. "Thanks." He shrugged on the pack, taking some comfort in sensing his own confusion and apprehension reflected in his new amphibian companion. "Any advice?"

　　Flusoh leaned forward like he was about to say something cutting, then seemed to reconsider. A long moment passed as Flusoh worked his jaw and looked out over the swamp. "Look, Jeremiah," he said finally, "You`re a good kid. That`s a rare thing in our line of work. Might be worth seeing where that leads."

　　He jabbed Jeremiah with a bony finger. "Now get out."

　　Jeremiah nodded and smiled, and set off down dirt path away from the castle that had become his home. He was about halfway down he heard Flusoh call to him. "Hey, kid&"

　　Jeremiah turned to see Flusoh leaning casually against the door. The lich flashed a skeletal grin. "Run like hell."

　　The waters on either side of the path erupted as hundreds of undead clambered over each other in a mad effort to reach Jeremiah, who screamed and fled into the night