Deth Wizards – 1: The Book

Givana carefully turned the pages of the book. Although the pages looked thin and tatty, they felt extremely sturdy, almost like leather. The words and pictures were written in a dark brown ink that was pleasing to the eye.

“Oh, thank you grandfather! A real book! I've always wanted one of these since you taught me how to read!”

Givana's grandfather smiled warmly.

“I thought you might like a book of your own instead of having to read the ones from the public library all the time in it's reading hall. But before we read it together, there are still a few things to learn,” Karl continued.

“As it is no ordinary book and its contents have to be read step by step. When I was your age and celebrated my own 14th birthday, I received this book from my grandfather, your great-great-grandfather Anselmus. Through him I learned that life is a great balance whose equilibrium must be maintained and honored.

We must be careful. Some will envy our knowledge, Givana. Others, those less knowledgeable and wise, may fear us. Treasure this book and its teachings. For the next four years it shall remain a secret to both of us.”

And with that, I welcome you to a new mini-project of mine. While our elderly circle of hobbyists were chatting and making plans for the upcoming CONflict presentation, the idea of presenting Deth Wizards from Snarling Badger Studios came up. The reason for this was simple - it was a project with a manageable timeframe until the event and pretty much every hobbyist has a model or two of undead stuff lying around at home.

Yes, I too have a small pile of shame at home, albeit smaller than most other hobbyists, and I'm taking this opportunity to paint some minis and tell a little story in the process. I've been meaning to do this with one of my Oathmark characters for a long time anyway - the master necromancer Givana!

But as the saying goes, “No master fell from the sky” and I guess that also applies to necromancers. At some point and somehow they must have started out, stuck their noses into books of forbidden knowledge, carried out their first experiments and experienced their first missteps and triumphs.