Unexpected Aka Necromencer's Beginnings

DeBrant

Giles, I had the weirdest dream last night. I mean, like one of the Slayer dreams."

Giles looked up from his desk to see his favorite (and only) Vampire Slayer having, as she herself put it, the "wiggins" on his doorstep. He reminded himself that he should get a more secure lock in the future, and then answered:

"What did you see, Buffy? Was it a demon, or a face? Some kind of dark feeling?"

Buffy came in the door, and then sat on a chair near the desk. "Well, I was in the cemetery. You know, the one by Wilson Street, about three blocks from Xander's house, and I saw this middle aged man. He was dressed completely normal and everything, though he seems to be into the tweed look a bit." Giles grimaced. "Anyway, he had dark brown, maybe even black hair with completely white streaks above his ears, and his eyes were a light blue. And then the dream got weird. When I looked at his eyes, I got pulled over to him, and dark blue flame spread all over me. I started to scream, but not scream exactly, well...anyway, and then I heard a voice. I knew the voice, but I couldn't tell whose it was. The pain stopped and I woke up."

Giles' look, which had started out as mild interest, was now something in-between panic and complete surprise. "Blue flames you said?"

"Yeah, dark blue."

"I think it might be Azrael's Flame which you are speaking of..." Giles said in a distracted tone, standing up and walking over to the bookshelf. He scanned over many books, until he apparently found the one he was looking for. He brought it back over to the desk, and then opened it. He mumbled something Buffy couldn't understand until he found the page.

"What is it?" Buffy asked. From the way Giles was reacting, she couldn't really tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing, or a combination of both.

"Ah! Here it is...Azrael's Flame. 'Azrael's Flame'" he read, "'is the tool of a necromancer, a controller of the dead. It can be used in a variety of purposes, including those fire is traditionally utilized for, but also including forms of majik. Dreams or visions of the flame are the forerunner of the arrival of a necromancer. Several accounts of Azrael's Flame visions have been recorded, the most widespread and recent being in 1960 and 1981, the first being in London, England, and the latter taking place in Sunnydale, California.'"

"That's a pretty new book to have something that occurred in this century..." Buffy said in amazement. For the most part, things in the Giles books were dated by century, mostly in BC. An actual year in this century was an oddity.

"That would be because this is a Watcher's digest of 20th Century occult happenings. I acquired it New Years Eve last year from a friend in the Watcher's Council who still likes me."

"Oh." Buffy let it soak in, then remembered her other question, "Giles, what's a necromancer? And why did one visit here in 1981?"

"A necromancer" Giles explained, "is a person born with the ability to raise the dead and maintain control over them. They have a certain power over vampires, and for some reason, they seem to gravitate towards Slayers, despite the lack of demonic or hell-related abilities."

"What do you mean, 'lack of demonic or hell-related abilities'?" Buffy exclaimed, "They can raise and control the deceased, not to mention a power over vampires! I'd call that demonic!"

"Calm down, Buffy..." Giles soothed, "Firstly, a necromancer is not necessarily a bad person. They have a soul. They were born that way, as you were, and necromancers are almost as rare as Slayers. There are only 3 or less alive at a time. Secondly, that power is over the dead, not demons, and the control over vampires comes from the fact that a vampire is technically dead."

"Okay, but back to my second question. Why did one visit in 1981? And why is one visiting now?"

"I believe that last bit wasn't in your original question, but I will give my conjecture on both."

"Okay"

"There is a theory which has been put forth by a few of my colleagues that states that the more widespread visions foretell not the arrival of a necromancer, but the birth of one. Would you say that the man in your dream could have been born in 1960?"

Buffy thought back and brought the image of the old man into her mind's eye. "Yeah, that seems about right..."

"1960, if you don't remember, is the year of that other widespread occurrence in London, where, no doubt, the man from your dreams was born." Giles ended.

"So that means that you think that another necromancer was born here, in 1981?" Buffy asked, her mind doing the math at the same time.

"That is exactly what I think. And that would mean that the necromancer, unless he or she has moved, was one of your graduating class."

"But, why would the vision be now? Why not all the time, if a necromancer has lived here all along?"

"Firstly, because you came here and they were already here. Secondly, because his power was not activated, most likely." Giles answered.

"Not activated?" Buffy asked.

"Yes" the Watcher answered, "A necromancer's powers are born with him, but to be activated, another necromancer must come within a certain range. I guess it is almost a self-defense measure..."

Buffy, who was thinking, suddenly looked up. "The other voice, the one who saved me! That's the other necromancer! I couldn't tell whose voice it was, but it wasn't old! It's the voice of the Sunnydale necromancer!"

Giles' eyebrows shot up. "Most likely...I didn't think of that... Go to class, Buffy. I'll do some research on necromancers so that we might be able to identify that helpful Sunnydale necromancer. I'll call you when I have something..."

Buffy nodded, then walked out.

"I wonder what he's doing right now?" Giles murmured as he began to dig into the books.

Part 3