I had my ingredients all laid out in front of me. I made sure to go over the list three times to be absolutely certain that I had everything. I had waited for the sun to sink in behind the horizon, too, following the book's instructions. This was my first time performing this necromancy spell: A weaker variation that's used to bring small animals back to life. Despite my neutral expression, I was ecstatic to learn a new skill, even if it wasn't of much use to me right now.

The spell required a small amount of blood to work, according to the book, saying that 'To have the stalled heart beat once more, an equal amount of blood that was shed in slaughter must be given from skin tore.' I never understood why these spells always had to be so unnecessarily philosophical or poetic.

As I brought my dagger to my palm, a sharp sound of wood splintering had my body tense, my pointed ears perking at the sound.

My head whips around, eyes darting along the treeline of the clearing until my gaze lands on the dark silhouette of what looks to be a woman. It was hard to make out in the dim blue lighting that the full moon provided.

"A villager? Here? And a girl, no less." I thought to myself as I observed the poor thing. She must've lost track of time in this forest. It tends to disorient people who aren't familiar.

"You're quite far from home," I state rather coolly, my eyes snapping onto the girl's features. "What brings you here?" I ask as I turn to face her, eyebrows set as my eyes find her features in a cold glare. I kept my stoic expression firm on my face as I observed her intently.