A Lich's Wife (Book of Shra)

It had been several days since Shra left, and in that time, chores were being done, and the kids were running around as always. Then he came back.

At first, he looked normal, but something was off; his steps were off: too slow, too staggered, like he was...an undead. When he came closer, it was more obvious. His eyes were not his bright yellow, but bright purple. The pupils were not white, but black. He wasn't just an undead; he was a lich. At first, it was scary and unnerving, but all that went away when he gave a hug. His body didn't provide warmth, but peace. Another detail was the scar on his chest. It looked like a knife had sliced him open, then sewn shut. It wasn't done professionally or with care. Which meant this was a necromancer's work.

"What happened? Where's the rest of your adventuring party?" I asked.

"Dead, we were ambushed, and I was caught. I woke up, and now I serve a lich lord." Shra answered. He seemed tired but unable to sleep.

"So what happens to us now?" I asked.

"I don't know. The lich lord I serve has allowed me to say goodbye to my family, but once I return. I'm his servant forever," answered Shra.

"Well, since you're a lich, I guess I'll have to become one too," I said.

"What? That's a terrible idea. The pain, the ritual, you have no idea what you're getting into," said Shra.

"Oh, please, you need me. Even if you lived a hundred or a thousand years, you will feel alone without me. You will be lost without me; you will lose yourself faster than your flesh decaying." I said.

"But this is my burden now. I don't want you burdened with it too," said Shra.

"Shra, how many times have I said that your burdens are our burdens? Or that you shouldn't be carrying them by yourself? How many times has Laraganus told you about that?" I asked.

"This is different. This changes everything. I've been cursed, and I don't want you to be cursed either." Shra said with tenderness in his voice.

"That is not for you to decide. You cannot stop me from being cursed." I argued back.

"You do realize that if you go down this road, we'll have to see our kids grow up and die, right? Not only them, but our grandchildren and their children for generations upon generations," said Shra on the verge of giving up.

"Well, luckily, we'll be able to do so together," I said, grabbing his cold, dead hands.

After Laraganus agreed to take care of the kids, we headed to the White Valleys. Within a week, I finally met Shra's master: Another lich, Lich King Karkos, alone in a huge cave with a tiny light shining down from a hole toward the top of the cave. There was no army, just a single necromancer apprentice and a few undead. "I wonder why he has such low numbers?" I asked Shra in a whisper, "He has no interest in conquest or knowledge. He just wants to be alone and has begun to feel too lonely, so he's been making friends," answered Shra as he whispered back. I couldn't help but chuckle and feel sorry for the undead man. "So, this is your wife? She, too, is a half-orc. Tell me how long you two have been together?" asked the Lich King. "We've known each other our whole lives, my lord. We've been married for 7 years now." I answered as I bowed toward him. "Don't bow. I only want friends, not subjects, servants, or slaves," he ordered. "My apologies, I was told you were my husband's new master. I was simply trying to show respect." I said as I stood up straight. "Oh, that's right, Shra does work for me, but as an apprentice," laughed the Lich King. "Master Karkos, my wife has the desire to also become a lich. I tried to talk her out of it, but she's too stubborn to back out of it," said Shra. The Lich King laughed, soon followed by everyone else. "I apologize, my friend. I just have not seen this kind of love and devotion in someone in a long, long time. Of course, I'll grant her wish. Another friend shall join us," said King Karkos as he stood up from his throne. His bones cracked and popped as he did so. "To the altar," he said as he limped over to it. Everyone followed suit.

I lay on top of the altar as I looked into the empty magic spark of the Lich King's "eyes". I was stabbed, healed, stabbed again, healed again. It was extremely painful, but each time I could feel my body trying to resist the corrupt healing magic. I screamed, I contorted my body in various directions, and squeezed Shra's hand, almost crushing it during the ritual. I then passed out. I woke up surrounded by blood and organs; it looked like a sacrificial ritual had taken place. I looked around and found Shra leaning against the wall, engulfed in shadow.

"You got your wish. Now what?" he asked.

"Huh?" I asked back.

"You're a lich now. How do you expect to go back home? What do you plan on doing for hundreds, or thousands of years?" he asked, like he figured it all out and expected me to do the same.

"I'll figure something out, but we have each other, but for now, my head hurts," I answered as I sat up.

"That would be the lack of a brain in your skull. I felt the same way," he chuckled.

"So, why are my organs on the altar?" I asked.

"Those aren't yours, but animals. The true price of the lich ritual," answered Shra.

"Oh, so why are they next to me?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know. I haven't been taught that yet. But probably just aesthetic for all I care," answered Shra.

Then came in the Lich King, his arms outstretched as he limped toward me. "Ah, my new friend. How do you feel?" he asked excitedly. "I feel fine, except for my head," I answered. "Good, that will go away within a week. Now let me show the rest of my prymaid," said the Lich King as he limped away.

Over the years, Shra and I would travel between King Karakos's Prymaid and Laganus's village. While fighting off cultists and zealots, we got to see our kids grow up and have kids of their own. Laraganus kept growing older and thus needed a caretaker, which I became. Then one day, Shra needed to go off and fight a group that was attacking nearby villages, fearing they were after our family. After that day, I never heard from him again. However, I was blessed with witnessing the birth of Noone. The future warrior who would unite all countries under one flag, one god. We did so generation after generation. I cannot wait to see what he does and witness his rise. I am blessed to know I am one of the few responsible for raising him. Though I may be a Monster of God. He will be an even greater monster than I, one more feared, and remembered thousands of years after he's gone.