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[matadorable]

If you're hearing this message, I am probably not here. Or I am furiously pressing every button I can because I forgot how this thing works. One of the two! Either way, I will get back to you...eventually.

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[matadorable]

[Uh.

The government said something about him being a Teacher's Assistant now.

Is this what this is about? Is this one of his students??

HE'S NOT READY FOR THIS.]

Oh...I'm...sorry things are stressful. Do you want to talk about it?

[Nailed it.]

[bindsthedead]

Wait- you're not- [Sabriel sighs. Can't she get in contact with who she wanted to today?] Well, if you don't mind me venting...

It's Crane. And that girl who caused a hostage situation. They're both being given ridiculously light punishments- the girl isn't even spending time in jail!

Things were so much easier dealing with the Dead in the Old Kingdom. All I needed were my bells and sword- my duty was obvious, and I could actually do it.

[matadorable]

I, uhhh...

[Should he say he doesn't know who these people are? But if she needs to vent, she probably won't appreciate answering a bunch of questions from someone who doesn't understand much of anything these days.

In the end, he decides to try learning more about her instead.]

What...kind of duty do you mean?

[bindsthedead]

My family stops the Dead from hurting people, and makes sure people don't use necromancy or similar powers to cause trouble.

[matadorable]

So it's...kind of like a family tradition, then?

[Manolo gets that. He gets preventing the misuse of necromancy too, even if he doesn't understand why the dead would want to hurt people in the first place.]

[bindsthedead]

Yes. We've been working to maintain the boundary between Life and Death- and protect the Old Kingdom for more than a thousand years.

[matadorable]

A thousand years...

[He sounds a little awestruck. Talk about a legacy. And people back home thought two-hundred years of bullfighting was a long tradition!]

Are that many dead people desperate to come back to the land of the living? Or are you talking about the necromancy thing?

[bindsthedead]

Some. It waxes and wanes- if there's been a lot of death, there will eventually be spirits that want to live again- that refuse to pass on, losing their memory and humanity in the process, and eventually creep into life again to steal Life from living people.

Necromancers often instigate such situations, or make them worse.

[matadorable]

[Manolo can't help but cringe a little. Some souls don't even remember who they are anymore? He isn't sure what's worse -- being forgotten or forgetting your own humanity. They both sound equally horrible, albeit for different reasons.

With that thought in mind, his voice is soft and somber now.]

The ones who can't move on...they must have a lot of regrets.

[bindsthedead]

Sometimes. Sometimes it's just as simple and selfish as not wanting to die, and being willing to kill to cling to some form of life.

[matadorable]

It's hard to imagine wanting to come back to life without at least some kind of reason. [That...sounded less weird in his head.] You said your duty wasn't so clear here, though. Does that mean you don't have as many problems with the dead now?

[bindsthedead]

Does a drowning man think about why he doesn't want to drown? He just tries to keep his head above water, even if it means pushing someone else under.

That and... I can't walk into Death as I usually do. And most of the Dead here, aside from some imPorts, aren't a threat to people.

[matadorable]

[It's hard for Manolo to compare the panic of drowning to the finality of death. They're two separate things in his mind, and he can't think of a scenario where someone would want to leave the Land of the Remembered for no good reason at all.

On the other hand, maybe these souls were forgotten or cursed somehow. That, at least, might explain why they're so desperate to live that they're willing to destroy other people to get their way. Not that it justifies hurting others, nothing justifies that, but it would at least explain why someone could do something so terrible.

He's not about to argue that point, though, least of all with someone whose family has been working with the dead for a thousand years, so he lets it rest for now.

In any case, it sounds like death works a little differently here than it does there. Can something as universal as death really be that different in each world? Manolo can't quite wrap his mind around that.

Still, something she says catches his attention.]

How can you tell if an imPort is dead?

[bindsthedead]

I feel it. It's part of being a necromancer- I can sense death and the dead.

[matadorable]

Oh. [He silently wonders if that applies to him too, but knows better than to ask.] Are there a lot of dead imPorts here, and are they that dangerous?

[bindsthedead]

There are people who died and were revived, but they don't really count- they feel just like anyone else. Vampires, though- they drink blood from living people.

[matadorable]

[So dead people can be revived when they get here. Good to know, although he's not sure about the full implications yet.

But vampires? Can't say he's seen one of those before.]

I can, uh, see how that might be a problem.

[bindsthedead]

If they cause too many problems, I can bind them- make them not hurt people, no matter what they want.

[matadorable]

Bind them with what, exactly?

[bindsthedead]

With music, and my will. Charter magic is sometimes involved.

[matadorable]

[That all sounds interesting, but of course Manolo zeroes on one thing:]

You can use music to bind spirits?

[bindsthedead]

All necromancy is tied to music. And thus, every Abhorsen has had training in that area.

[matadorable]

Oh. I didn't know that. [This place was just full of surprises.] What kind of music is it?