Orian continued to mingle with the people at the memorial until early evening. As the event began to die down and people started to leave, his family retired back to their dwelling.
They held a smaller get together at their home, just the family and their closest friends but Orian excused himself, stating that he was tired from the day's events.
Although that was partially true, the real reason was that he wanted to get the day over with so that he can proceed with the idea he had thought up after talking to his friends.
He just didn't know how the other individuals important to his plans would take it.
The next morning, he left early and went to go looking for the Grans. He located them in a small cottage built on the grounds of the infirmary where those too injured to continue fighting were spending their retirement.
As his true form would be too large for the cabin, he had shifted into his humanoid dragon form beforehand.
He knocked on the door and waited as he heard rustling inside. The door opened and one of the Gran sisters were revealed.
It looked like they she had just woken because heavy bags were under her eyes, her hair was wild and uncept, and she was still wearing her nightgown.
"Greetings honored, Gran!! My apologies for disturbing you at such an early hour but I came to you with a..." started Orian.
Slam.
The Sister closed the door in his face before even giving him the chance to finish his eloquent speech.
He frowned and knocked again.
A moment later the same Gran opened the door.
"Trust me boy!! You don't want to deal with us until we've had our morning tea!! Come back in an hour or two!!" Stated the Gran.
"I'm afraid that the matter is most urgent, honored seeress! And it cannot wait until then!" Stated Orian.
The Gran grumbled and threw open the door, revealing her sisters sitting at the dining table each holding a small cup of tea in their hands.
A third cup was sitting by itself at an empty seat by the table.
"Sisters!! We have a most uncourteous guest this morning!!"
"Why do you trouble us so early in the morning, dragon!!" Stated another one of the sisters.
"Forgive me, Honored Seers but I come before you with..."
"Save us your flattery, dragon!! And get to the point!!"
"We can already tell that this request won't be to our liking!!" Stated the Grans.
"W-what m-makes you say that?" Asked Orian sheepishly.
"No one flatters us this much unless they're about to ask for something that they believe we won't be willing to grant!" Stated one of the Sisters.
Orian swallowed nervously.
"I need you to call her spirit back from the beyond..." blurted Orian out.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The silence definitely wasn't a good sign.
"J-Just hear me out!! This isn't what it sounds like!!" Stated Orian.
"So this isn't some grieving fool so desperate to talk with a deceased friend, that he's willing to disturb her final rest just to have a conversation with her?!" Accused the Grans.
"No!?" Stated Orian.
"You always were a terrible liar, Orian!!" Accused the Grans.
"It's not just that!! We are still no closer to figuring out what this spirit's motives were! And we've run out of options now!!" Stated Orian.
"So your intention is to interrogate this spirit? And what will you do if it's unwilling to reveal that information? Do you intend to torture it!?" Accused the Grans.
"No!! But I'm certain I'll be able to convince her to reveal it!" Stated Orian.
"And what makes you so certain?"
"We determined that the spirit feels attached to me in some way didn't we?! If I plead with her... state my case... I'm sure she'll see reason..." stated Orian.
"... Orian... didn't it occur to you that this spirit might have a good reason for hiding these memories from you?"
"If it believes that these memories will be harmful to you, then it will never agree to reveal them to you!"
"What if this spirit is right though? What if this information ends up breaking you?!" Asked the Grans.
"I'm willing to take that risk!" Said Orian without hesitation.
"And what does your father have to say about this?"
"He's already agreed to the plan..." lied Orian.
"..."
"Ok, fine!! I haven't spoken to him yet..." Retorted Orian after a moment.
"Even if we wanted to do this, and trust us, we're not yet convinced, what makes you think we can? We're not necromancers, boy!"
Orian glared at them.
"Don't lie to me!! I'm aware that you're familiar with dark magic!! Or did you think I wouldn't be able to sense it!!" Stated Orian.
Light magic was the natural counter to dark magic and the two practitioners were always able to sense each other.
Orian first noticed it on his father, who were able to call on and use both sides of the magic. He also sensed a strong source of dark magic in the Grans.
"There are many fields of study in dark magic, but not all revolves around death. Your father is a practitioner of dark magic, and yet he's no Death Mage!" Explained the Grans.
"It's just... the magic you use to commune with the spirits feels and sounds a lot like necromancy to me...
The Grans gave him a venomous glance and Orian realized he'd used the wrong words.
"We'll forgive that insult this once, NEVER compare us to necromancers again. You clearly can't tell the difference between a death mage and a necromancer!"
"Death mages practice their craft to maintain peace between our world and the spirit world by helping those who are struggling to move on to find peace.
They accept that death is a natural part of life and would never seek to break the sacred laws to extend their own lives,and to them undead are the ultimate abomination against these sacred laws."
"And necromancers?" Asked Orian.
"Necromancers see death as a tool to be used, whether it is to form an army, to extend their own lives, or as a weapon to kill their enemies. They don't care about the suffering their magic causes to either side of the veil." Stated the Grans.
"Then... as a death mage, you should still be able to fulfill my request. She was a restless spirit. By your own laws, you are obligated to help her." Stated Orian.
"She moved on Orian!! She's at peace now! Do you really want to disturb her like this!?" Yelled the Grans.
"YES!!!" Yelled Orian.
Glass shook at the power in his voice and even the Grans seemed taken aback by the emotion.
"I won't be able to move on until I've found out why this was so necessary! Please... I'm begging you to help me...!" Stated Orian.
The Grans studied him closely as he waited for their verdict.