“What Lantal doesn’t say is that his class and role as [Lord] sees him fight zombies and stronger undead.

Even Afiele’s people seldom fight actual, Human zombies, Seraphel. I haven’t ever killed one, for instance.”

“Ah. I begin to see. Just lesser undead. Rodents, animals…”

Seraphel sipped from some prepared tea. Mariel offered Risel a cup; it was good stuff from Calanfer.

Noelictus’ brews were dark, earthy, and made Seraphel crave sugar to cut the taste. Or honey! Did Afiele have bees? If they did, it wouldn’t be an imposition to ask…

She had a terrible thought all of a sudden and glanced around.

“…Lantal, Risel? May I ask what might be a silly question? Er…are there undead insects? Worms?”

The couple blinked at her. Then Lantal smiled and instantly tried to hide it. Risel was more graceful about it. Seraphel smiled ruefully; she saw even the [Thronebearer] was turning her head away.

“That was a silly question, wasn’t it?”

“Not at all, Your Highness. Culin barely had the presence of mind to ask me last year…er…”

Lantal realized he was putting Seraphel on the same level as his son, and hesitated. Risel swooped in.

They did make a charming couple. Seraphel hated it as much as they made her like them.

“Insects do not become undead, Princess Seraphel.”

“At least, not normally. You can get gigantic undead spiders…”

“Lantal.”

Risel elbowed him. Hard. Seraphel was appalled.

“Undead…?”

“It’s highly unusual, even in Noelictus. Spiders, insects, worms—all lack the basic ability to become undead. Because they lack bones.”

“Bones?”

“Death magic is stored in bones. I think one of Noelictus’ [Scholars] once investigated the phenomenon for the Hunter’s Guild. It takes extreme concentrations of death magic to produce that kind of undead naturally.”

“And unnaturally?”

Seraphel remembered the [Necromancer]. She turned.

“Did the Necromancer of Terandria, Az’kerash, ever raise insects?”

The name of that monster made the [Thronebearer] shift. Mariel shuddered. Lantal and Risel shook their heads.

“Not that I can remember. Undead giants, spectral undead like ghosts, Wraiths…Draug, his vanguard, Ghouls, Crypt Lords…”

Lantal began listing types of undead. Seraphel sipped from her tea cup and decided to change subjects.

“Perhaps that’s enough about undead, Lantal, Risel. Does Noelictus have any monsters, what with all this competition?”

Every place had monsters. Risel smiled.

“We do. But they are second to undead most of the time. We used to have terrible Bagrhaven colonies until the Hunter’s Guild cleared them out.”

“Bagrhavens?”

Seraphel didn’t know many monsters either. Lantal explained.

“Giant, winged, feral scavengers and predators. They look like filthy, er, nude women with wings, some of them. Others are completely feathered. They tend to prey on travellers, animals, and drag them to their nests where they’re eaten…”

Risel kicked him as Seraphel turned pale.