Ritual Studies

The magical properties were interesting, but Amanda wasn’t one to instantly classify it as ‘sinister’ or ‘evil’.

She was quietly taking notes during a ritual to raise an undead faun from death. Some of the mages involved had allowed her to do so, as long as she had given her word that she would not speak of this event to any others - all data she was collecting would be anonymized. At least, so long as they all raised the newborn undead properly. If they abandoned the poor thing out here, she would have something else to say on the matter.

For now, though, she watched as they brought out the item imbued with magic. She didn’t know what constituted an object, and mainly was expecting something such as an ornate dagger - it was surprising to see that they had taken out a teacup instead, filled with a strange liquid, although, one that was certainly not blood, given its brilliant color.

They poured the contents into the soft earth of the grave, and began to chant mystical words. Amanda managed to write down some close approximations of such, but she was sure that there were more accurate articulations of them somewhere - she wasn’t particularly interested in performing one of these rituals herself, though, so she didn’t mind the chance of inaccuracies here.

Suddenly— a skeletal hand shot out of the grave, causing her to jump, but none of the mages. The hand was so small, it was practically child-sized… she made a quick sketch of it, as the rest of the newly born undead faun rose from the grave.

It wasn’t as small as an infant, but it was most definitely still a child. One of the mages crouched down to pick it up, cradling it gently in their arms as they stood. It nuzzled into the mage’s robes, shivering slightly. If Amanda hadn’t known better, she would have thought that it was going to cry.

The ethics of this were… in a gray area, of course, she thought to herself. But when she saw the loving, almost parental way the mage held this newborn, and the care that was given to ensure it arose safely, she couldn’t think that this was evil.

“I think I’ve taken enough notes for now, but— if you would let me meet again to see how this faun grows, I would be honored,” She said, smiling to one of the mages. “Thank you so much for your time.”

The mage bowed silently in return, making their way out of the gravesite - leaving just Amanda there, with the gravestone of a faun that had once been alive.