The grand master had spoken: 100 sacrifices. That was the most important part of the ritual and creating your own, blank, grimoire was probably the most efficient initiation test, as you would have needed it to be a dark sorcerer in the first place and it was difficult enough to skim away the weak and less determined ones.

I was close to completing my task, it had taken an average amount of months to get the materials and the usual weeks to perfect the spells and set everything as needed. The only missing thing were the 100 sacrifices... The most laborious part and the one you shouldn't talk about. Some of the grand masters of the past had found creative ways to make wars begin and quickly got even more material, once they found a way to bond their death to the spell. Others had waited years to reach the number. Others were quicker, but somehow they never managed to become very powerful. Well, damn it, I would have changed things, I would have sacrificed millions... Millions of bacteria! Fungi, to be precise. I had thought about growing my culture, but a cut of fine cheese would have done the trick anyway.

​

"... and then you got nothing and wasted everything, didn't you?"

"FUCK! How is it possible? I did everything to the perfection, I focused on their lives, I have taken them, I-"

"Shut up, Alexander. You've always been so smart, yet so dumb..."

"But-"

"Value. The sacrifices are value. You're not the first one trying to sacrifice lesser means of life. Many quicken the process using dogs instead, after all it's needed that it's one hundred of something, obviously the result depends on what you use. If it's the same species you get finer results but it doesn't even need to be that way."

"So, the reason why you can't talk about it..."

"People would get suspicious about large amount of animals disappearing at once. They try to mitigate the inconvenience of inept trying this way. Yet, 100 chickens barely makes a book you can write a minor spell on, so that would be pointless. Now start again, we'll hang ut once you get your job done. You have potential and you know that. And don't ask me again how I'm finding 100 people: everyone has their personal way"

"Damn, it will be tedious, but I already have some ideas... Two years from tomorrow, the pub under the shortest tower, where we first met, vesper time at the table near the cellar door. I'll wait you there"

​

Now, I wouldn't have sacrificed him, he was my friend after all. But sneaking as much mages as I could among the 100 people would have made everything way more interesting...