[WP] Magic exists, however with a catch. Everyone can only use magic the way they expect magic to function. Harry Potter fans MUST do weird wand waving while Call of Cthulhu players all end up going insane. Write an interaction or duel between two vastly different magic users.

I was used to only dealing with petty necromancers, ones that wanted to commit smaller crimes using the dead as their minions. Things like stealing cars or rioting, not something of this magnitude. I admired the necromancer’s ambition, and was honestly shocked no one had attempted to raise the entirety of the catacombs before. The city was evacuated with little casualties, as the one responsible had little need for the living. The ground quaked as if the city itself was alive, despite its current inhabitants being the exact opposite. The air was filled with the stench of death, as the magic that ran throughout the city did not care if you had died yesterday or 200 years ago. Once I made it further into the city I carefully unsheathed the largest bell from my bandolier.

Astarael, the Sorrowful.

The banisher, the final bell. Properly rung, it casts everyone who hears it far into Death. Everyone, including the ringer. Essentially, it was a necromancer’s nuclear bomb, and here in the abandoned city it would echo. At this point I began to see the results of the necromancer’s magic, the older dead wandered aimlessly, but newer, fresher corpses shambled on with purpose...perhaps looking for loved ones who have long abandoned their homes. Grasping the final bell in both hands I took a deep breath and rang the mighty bell. Astarael’s deep resonance pulsed through the street and echoed in the alleyways. The dead returned to their natural state, and I felt bile rise to my throat. Deafness had its perks, as I couldn’t hear the bell properly and as a result, couldn’t be forced past the many gates of death. The bell did however make me feel like I wanted to die, which was arguably worse than actually dying. I pushed my complaints at whoever made the bells to the back of my mind and pushed on further into the city.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread