The champions of Kel'Zernu

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Z'Greel

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The full moon was shining in through the mostly shattered windows of what used to be a small temple in the castle. The light reflected off the armor and halberds of the silent, skeletal guardians, as their master walked among the three slabs sitting in the middle of the room, chanting in a almost forgotten language. A small circle, filled of magical runes, glows slightly from the ground, draping the slabs in the sinister, green light.

On each slab, a body lay, seemingly void of all life, covered only in simple rags. The largest of the figure was not a beautiful one. A lot of his flesh seemed to be badly burnt, and what wasn't didn't seem to belong to him.
The second figure was far more feminine and far less ugly, her body seemed to be mostly intact, with the exception of a few scars of different sized.
The third was also a female, and like both the two before her, she was well muscled, yet seemingly more lean and agile.

The man walking among the dead stepped to the alter of the ruin, and suddenly stopped chanting, as he lifted his hands upwards. The three circles around the slabs suddenly burst into a similarly green flame, enveloping the three bodies for a moment, before disappearing.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." The man at the alter said with a smile.
 
The largest set of bones assembled themselves into a great beast of a man. He stood head, shoulders, and a good deal of his chest above your average human. Grandson of a Cave Troll and otherwise all Orc, Kolek was massive and massively ugly, knuckles dangling most of the way to his knees and a thick pair of tusks jutting from his bottom jaw. Dusty grey skin, generously scattered with thick, wiry hair, covered him from flat face to massive feet. He came back as he had been shortly before death: thickly corded with muscle from head to toe, built like an oxen and with a bellowing voice to match. He flexed his arms and gave a battle cry, elated to find himself filled for the first time in countless years with physical strength. He had missed his corporeal form, and missed it dearly.
Next to him, a slimmer figure formed, her skin a dusky green and dotted all over with freckles. She sat with her legs crossed, emerging in a state of peace and quiet contemplation quite unlike her larger companion's. For every brutish aspect of his, hers was streamlined, not delicate but lithe, and where his frame held bulk hers was spare. When she rose to her feet she stood taller than many human men, but nothing monstrous. Truly, the strangest feature of hers was the mass of carrot-orange hair sprouting kinky from her scalp. The ginger gene was a strange thing indeed to behold in an Orc, but she wore it well. There was something about her face that was, if not nobility, at least dignity. She was wise and learned both, and had the look of a woman who had seen more than any person had a right to see, and forgotten more than most would ever learn.
Third to rise was the shortest of them all, though she was only two inches shy of six feet even. Thurin was built broadly for a human maid, with wide shoulders and hips and equally solid waist and thighs. She was pale as cream, though with a rich mane of brown hair that tumbled to her hips in waves surprisingly silken and lush. Her eyes were dark; her nose broad; her cheeks ruddy; her hands manly. Though it would be unjust to name her crude, neither was she comely to note. Strong, though, and with a noble cast to her face that spoke of a pure soul beneath. She was the youngest and looked more than half confused to find herself suddenly living again.
Grinning, Kolek reached down, lifting his great stone maul. It had been his weapon in life as well as death, and his soul had a stronger tie to it even than to his bones. Similarly, Viortu lifted a handsome walking staff. Near the top it was inset with a lump of amber the size of her fist, and lower down three rings encircled the wood- one of iron, rusty and cold; one of bronze, shiny like gold; one of ivory, bleached yet old. Thurin had no weapon, but at her feet stood a great hound. A cavehound, as her people knew them. The size of a small pony, Unther's shoulders were at a height with his master's lower ribs, his head long as her forearm, his paws big as her hands. His coat was dark brown marbled with gold, and his eyes the blue of old, old ice. He had served her loyally in life and followed her to death, so she was harldly surprised to see he had followed her back to the land of the living as well.
As one, the three glanced at each other, then turned to the fourth figure. "Who are you to interfere with the way of souls?" Viortu asked, regarding him warily.
"Why did you bring us back?" Thurin asked almost at the same time.
Kolek merely shrugged and asked "Have any food? I'm hungry. Feel like I haven't eaten in years..."
 
As the large beast of a man rose and let out a warcry, the skeletal guardians around the room got into a battle ready stance, pointing their halberds at him. They didn't stand near him, to not threaten him, yet if he, or any of the others for that matter, they would be ready to send them back to the realm of the dead from which they had just been pulled.

The man at the alter chuckled slightly at the questions and especially at the one from the giant. He reached his hands into the hood of his black robes, pulling it back to reveal himself to the small group. He was but a human, with dark hair, pale skin, and a goatee almost covering his smile.
He held his hands out to them, a gesture of welcoming. "I am Kel'Zernu, high mage of the necromancers of the Zarnomous temple." He announced loudly, still smiling, before going on to the next question. "I have brought you back, because I need someone like you. Someone with the strength and intelligence to lead my troops more closely than I care to do myself, as well as to take care of problems a army isn't made to solve. As for food; there will be a welcoming meal after we have dealt with whatever questions you might have, as well as some other information."

He started walking around the alter, towards the group, still smiling. "Now, I don't assume any of you have any problems with this?" He asked, still smiling smugly.
 
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