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You could often find Sunana in a lichyard.
For a lady with an affinity for the dead, she felt they would appreciate the emotions they felt at death’s door being known to at least one person. The emotions were practically never pleasant, but somebody should acknowledge them, and help them pass on.
Of course to properly pass on they needed to actually be in the grave, and very few things angered her more than someone denying a corpse this most basic thing.
In this lichyard she was accompanied by Pipin, both of them placing flowers after Sunana connected with the dead. Just as she pushed herself back to her feet from a prayer position she happened to notice him…
A Hyur with a shovel, and not wearing church robes at that. He was digging directly in front of a gravestone, and Sunana immediately flew into a rage as she locked her gaze on him and shouted with an almost inhuman amount of rage, “Are you desecrating the dead!?”
The grave robber was so surprised he dropped his shovel, and with a timid bit of fear he replied, “Maybe, what’s it to you?”
What was it to her? To her it was a religious duty as well as a matter of compassion, and she wouldn’t stand for this. A fact that was clearly evident as she shouted as loud as she could, “Any who would defile the dead deserve-”
Her voice was suddenly drowned out by the sound of ground shifting, and Sunana looked around in utter panic as she tried to ascertain what was happening. It didn’t take long, you’d have to be blind not to see the undead rising from their graves.
Their bodies were bent over and jerky, but they weren’t going anywhere. She had no idea why they had risen, she wasn’t a necromancer after all. The only thing she could think was- “Was I loud enough to wake the dead?”
The bodies finally began to move, shuffling towards the grave robber. Since they had the same goal Sunana chose not to do anything to stop them. Rather she took the opportunity to finish her sentence.
“Any who would defile the dead deserve to join them.”
She could see the fear in his eyes as he was surrounded. And she relished the scream that rang out when the zombies bit him, though it was very quickly completely smothered by fire. He nearly choked on it, and he noticed that Sunana had brought her palms together in front of her face as she said in a patronizingly sweet tone, “Shhh, you must speak softly in a cemetery. You would not wish to wake the dead, after all.”
A laugh broke the air, the kind of wicked cackle you would expect from a power drunk sorceress. It mixed with the sound of ripping flesh and ravenous growls as the zombies tore into the grave robber, and Sunana did naught but look upon the scene with a vicious smile.
Eventually the zombies had their fill, and they turned to her with hungry eyes. Before they had a chance to stumble towards her she put her foot forward, eyes becoming even more radiant in the glow of the fire surrounding her. A mix of arrogance, wickedness, and pure power laced her voice as she cast her eyes over them and said, “Unwanted souls, harken unto me. You cannot linger here. I give you two choices; return to the ground and stay there, or I shall burn you to ashes. Make your choice.”
She took out her staff and let it hang loosely behind her in a relaxed stance, but she wasn’t really relaxed. It was a feint, she could very quickly cast a spell at any time. It seemed one zombie took it as a bluff, seeming very doubtful that she would actually burn them.
Unfortunately for him, she had not been bluffing. In mere seconds the zombie was reduced to ashes, and the grave robber’s body was caught in it as well. Both were simply a pile of ashes, and she looked at the remaining zombies with a malicious smile as she prompted, “Well? Make your choice. You know the consequences.”
The zombies grumbled, but their choice was clear. With pure fear they wisely chose to climb back into their graves, and once they were returned Sunana breathed a sigh of relief.
She really had no idea how that had ended up happening, and as she tried to churn over possibilities in her mind she was suddenly startled when her hand was captured in familiar, slightly calloused hands. She looked over at Pipin with pure surprise, and he gave her charming smile as he noted, “You play the part of the megalomaniacal sorceress well.”
For some unknown reason that sparked quite a bit of embarrassment and pride in Sunana, suddenly feeling incredibly flattered. It was clearly a nod to her power, something she had certainly worked hard for. Perhaps that was the reason she had to cover her blushing cheeks as she replied, “Ah, well, thank you.”
Pipin chuckled, something that made Sunana fold her arms and huff. Her eyes drifted off to the side though they closed as she heard Pipin muse, “I was really quite shocked to see the dead rise.”
She knew what he was doing. He was insinuating that she was the one that made them rise. She didn’t think she was the cause, if she was it was certainly not on purpose. And so she turned to him with an inquisitive raised eyebrow as she stated, “I was just as shocked as you are.”
Pipin frowned, and though it was clear she had understood his meaning he still chose to blatantly ask, “Did you give them life?”
Sunana put a hand on her hip as she tilted her head in thought, and it was a moment before she gave a ruminative reply. “I do not believe so. I have no knowledge of necromancy, and I clearly had no control over them. If I had summoned them I would have control, since that is not the case I can only assume I was perhaps loud enough to wake the dead.”
Since she had no control over the corpses she couldn’t be certain they wouldn’t disregard the choices she had given them and rise once again, not unless she made it impossible for them. And she had just the right spell for it, so she touched the ground with her staff head and calmly spoke an incantation. “Unwanted souls, by my magic you shall not rise, even should you wish to deny my threat.”
Her magic seeped into the ground, creating a barrier around each of the bodies. With this spell they would be unable to move in the soil, permanently trapping them. This spell was basically for insurance, and with it she was satisfied. So she sheathed her staff, and just as she cast a glance in his direction Pipin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over to him so he could say, “Let us leave, O’ powerful sorceress. The sinner that defiled the dead is now ashes by your hand, so let us leave it at that.”
Gods, it embarrassed her so much to hear his absolutely worshipful tone as he referred to her as a powerful sorceress. She was, obviously, but she was never actually called such. A blush was spreading across her cheeks from a mix of embarrassment and pride, and she shoved her face in the crook of his neck as she mumbled, “Very well.”
Pipin continued to keep an arm wrapped around Sunana as they began to go down the path, briefly passing the pile of ashes that was once a man. She made no effort to clean it up, she wanted it to stay there. If only in remembrance of the one thing she hated more than anything else:
Disrespecting the dead.