Editing Az’kerash (section)

=== <u>Volume 2</u> ===
After [[Skinner's Attack on Liscor]], Az'kerash called all the undead (including [[Toren]]) and commanded them to come to him and bring him all the magical artifacts of the [[Ruins of Liscor]].<ref name="2.10">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/04/12/2-00-t/ Chapter 2.10 T]</ref> However, none of the undead made it all the way to him and he failed to receive any of the artifacts.<ref name="7.14T" />

When [[Ryoka Griffin]] approached the Necromancer's castle on her delivery run for [[Teriarch]], Az’kerash was occupied creating a huge whale-sized creature out of bone designed to threaten the [[Walled Cities|Walled Cities.]]<ref name="2.48" /> He only focused a fraction of his mind on casual surveillance of the battle between [[Zel Shivertail]] of the [[Trisstral Alliance]] and [[Ilvriss Gemscale|Ilvriss]] and the forces of [[Salazsar]], which also occurred near his abode. One of his servants, [[Venitra]] regularly briefed him on the situation as it unfolded, but the Necromancer decided not to interfere in the Drake's petty squabbles, just sweep up the fallen after the battle as future resources. He issued a kill order on anyone that penetrated his veil.<ref name="2.29">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/05/26/2-24/ Chapter 2.29]</ref>

Ryoka broke through that veil, followed by [[Periss Veldant|Periss]] who was slain, together with her Elite Soldiers, by the Undead. Ryoka could run straight towards Az'kerash's study where he - his main consciousness still occupied with the Undead creation spell - stopped her with a [Sticky Webbing] and a [Silent Sickle] spell. He reprimanded Venitra and dismissed her, then dealt with Ryoka himself, commending her for coming this far.

As he then learned she was a [Courier] sent to him from Teriarch, he relieved her of the package and revealed to Ryoka that the [[Dragons|Dragon]] had sent him a birth-year greeting and a considerably minor artifact: an original ring enchanted with warding and movement spells in the Silvarian duelling fashion.

Supposing that it would not do to kill one of Teriarch messengers, he lets her go afterwards.<ref name="2.30" /> A week later, he finished his new undead creation, and woke from his focussed trance, ready to give orders on collecting fresh material for his next creations, of which he states to need at least six, and fourteen would be ideal. Still, he started to work under time constraints. When Venitra reported to him the incident with Ryoka, Az'kerash became furious that the messenger had escaped alive to tell of his location: spilling the knowledge of his current abode could undo a decade of preparation and force him to act. So he tasked Venitra, together with [[Ijvani]], to track Ryoka down and kill her along with everybody else who knew of his castle - unless the Runner has kept confidential about it, in which case he expected Venitra to either call him but use her own judgement because he was similarly occupied with a creation again.

After she left, Az'kerash considered that he was ready for a war, if the need arose; but if not he would have yet more time to prepare. He also pondered about Teriarch's role in the chains of events, as the Dragon was his mortal enemy but also a neutral entity that might now take sides in the conflict.<ref name="2.48">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/07/29/2-41/ Chapter 2.48]</ref>