1 Prologue: A Familial Kingdom

The Kingdom of Legame was known for two things: Neutrality and Family. Legame had only ever involved itself in one war, and the results were beyond disastrous. Casualties were in the thousands, and recourses drained like water through a sieve. After the war had ended, Legame decided to cut their alliances with neighboring kingdoms and declare neutrality on all foreign affairs. Due to this, Legame became very self-sufficient. The empire blossomed thanks to a solitary, powerful law: The Lineage Decree.

The Lineage Decree was called into power by King Genitore shortly after the war. The law dictated that every family in the kingdom must learn a trade and teach their offspring how to do the same. This decree resulted in a surge of family businesses, creating a maintainable economy without requiring outside interference.

To aid in their work, families began to study magic. Magic is separated into several branches, each branch containing a plethora of spells. Magic is very powerful, but a typical, fragile human body and mind can only retain the power of a single spell. Family members take one spell from their families practiced magic, master it, and put it to use in bolstering their business. Most families learn simple branches of magic; chefs used fire magic to cook, farmers employed water magic to grow crops, and fishermen utilized wind magic to blow their sails. For more unique businesses, however, families learned more… unorthodox forms of magic.

Take, for instance, the Passagio family. They dealt in the depressing business of cremation, a common post-funeral rite in Legame. They burned the bodies of the recently deceased and ground the remains into ashes to give back to the grieving family. This was considered a very noble profession in Legame, and the Passagio family had made a comfortable living after generations of cremation. They studied ash magic, an ill-practiced branch of magic that worked wonders for the art of their birthright. The Passagio family has firm beliefs in the wishes of the dead. Thus, whenever one of their own died, they treated their last requests with respect and diligence.

A few weeks ago, Sempre Passagio, an elder of the Passagio family, died in his sleep. His final request was to be scattered from the top of Mount Precipizio, the highest mountain in all of Legame. This task befell Sempre's grandson: Torcia Passagio. The trip from Tocia's hometown of Prosperare to Mount Precipizio would take around twenty days, and Torcia had left just two days prior to now. It should have been a simple trip, but there was a lone factor that complicated things a bit.

"Ugh, can you walk any faster? It's so cramped in this damned pot!" Sempre shouted, a gruffness in his voice.

"If that 'damned pot' wasn't so heavy, maybe I could!" Torcia replied nonchalantly. Torcia was seventeen years old, with short stature and a straight posture. He had long silver hair which split into several braids at the end. He wore a red tunic and a green pair of trousers, a clear mismatch showing his lack of style. His face was young and bright, blossoming with rosy cheeks.

"Respect your elders, you whippersnapper!" Sempre snapped back. "Kids these days have no respect for the dead…"

"Ya know, I wanted to ask about that, actually," Torcia remembered, taking his backpack off and setting it on the ground. Tied to the backpack was a beautiful clay vase, lined with gemstones and strange, shimmering markings. "I was told not to say anything about it at the funeral, but like… How are you still able to talk? I mean, you're just a pile of ashes, after all…"

"Well, I never- What a rude question! I don't know what's worse- Your ignorance or your parent's stupidity to keep it a secret! Very well, I'll tell you, but only once so listen up!" Sempre rambled, his voice coming from inside the vase. "When I was a lad, I learned a special spell. It's called Ashen Haunt, and it allowed my soul to inhabit any body of ash!"

Torcia's eyes went wide, shaking the vase around. "Are you crazy?! Revival spells are outlawed!"

"HEY HEY WOAH!" Sempre screamed, causing Torcia to suddenly stop. "I can still get dizzy, ya know! Besides, what are they gonna do if they find out, kill me?"

"Well um. Huh…" Tocia conceded, slinging the backpack over his shoulder with a little more force than he probably should have. "Okay, but why do you want to be scattered from Mount Precipizio? I mean, no judgment and all, but Mount Vinco is closer to Prosperare, and you always seemed… Oh, I don't know, homely?"

"Hmph, sounds like a whole bunch of complaining to me! You'll see why once we get there, how about that?"

"Uh-huh, sounds peachy." Torcia rolled his eyes, continuing on the trail. The pair found themselves trekking through the Rossa Woods, a dense forest that was known for its crimson-topped trees. The glimmering red leaves provided perfect shading from the lukewarm spring sun, leading to a relaxing sight. "Anyway, the map said that there's a village a few hours away. As long as we don't take any breaks, we can make it by sunset!"

"Heh, this is all one long break for me." Sempre replied with a chuckle. "I mean, I can't see anything in this vase, so it's like taking a big, long nap…"

"Oh, how I envy you, Grandpa." Torcia just smiled, walking ever so slightly faster than before. When he was first informed of his duty, Torcia was beyond bummed out. Spending twenty days with his reanimated, grumpy grandfather was both annoying and depressing. Torcia loved his grandfather, of course. But if he had to listen to one more rant about how easy kids have it these days, he might blow a gasket! Thankfully, the weather was nice today, putting Torcia in a good mood regardless.

High above the trees, a man watched Torcia. He looked to be a young adult, with a chiseled face and short, messy blue hair. He was wearing a white jacket with red lines going in a crisscross pattern along with a black pair of pants. A round scar dots itself on the center of his forehead, cracked with lines in all directions. After watching for a moment, the man sighs. "They entrusted it to a kid? Those ashes are as good as ours…" He states to himself, a slight smile spreading up his mouth.

Torcia had no idea, but after today, he would be in grave, grave danger.