Manerii Solis Orientis
12:01 AM

The clock had just struck midnight, the month had just shifted, and Ventus stood once again in the basement of his manor home. The ritual circle had been drawn, the pieces had been set. Only now, instead of a single Hand of Glory, there were six. Five made up the points of the pentagram, the sixth in its normal spot. The corpse was as fresh as it can be. A young man, killed earlier that day. He was physically fit, a Muggle well trained in martial arts. Yes, he would be a perfect test subject.

Ventus performed the ritual he knew so well, anxious and excited for what was to come. This resurrection would be the pinnacle of his experiments. All his tests, all his research, it had led him to this moment. Shaking with anticipation, Ventus watched as the room went black, the light being sucked unto the void that is death. And he stood, waiting for the inevitable.

Finally he heard it, the scraping and shuffling of the body picking itself up. Smiling wickedly, Ventus used his wand to light the lanterns around the room. And he marveled at what he saw. The man stood before him in the center of the ritual circle. But unlike those raised before him, this one didn't slouch. He stood, shoulders back, head held high, just as he did in life.

"Wh.." The man said in a strangled voice. Slowly his eyes dropped down to the floor, and at his own hands. "It... can't... I... dead." Carefully, Ventus watched as the man reached up a strong hand and rubbed his throat. "You... brought me back...?"

Ventus gave a small nod. "Yes, I brought you back from death itself," he said calmly. "And now, you serve me. Tell me, what is your name?"

The man blinked slightly. "My name..." he said, seeming to struggle with the memory. "Jacob... I was called Jacob."

"Good," Ventus said. Now seeing that the man's memory was still intact, it was time for phase two. Without warning, Ventus thrust his wand at Jacob. "Pulverem Pulveri!"[1] Bolts of vivid purple and green lightning erupted from the tip of his wand and collided with Jacob. The danced angrily about his body, and if Ventus didn't know any better, he would say the man looked scared.

With a loud and sudden crack, the bolts seemed to discharge and pull the flesh directly from the bones of Jacob until finally he was merely a skeleton. Curiously, at each of the joints was a cloud of black smoke. In fact due to the amount of it, it appeared that Jacob's entire skeleton was shrouded by this dark cloud.

"I... didn't feel anything," Jacob said in a surprised sounding voice. Carefully Jacob eyed his bones, slowly working his joints and watching as they interacted with one another. Finally he lifted his head, and turned his attention to Ventus, who noticed that deep in the sockets of his eyes glowed what looked like two small blue flames. "Is there... more?"

Ventus smiled again, and gave a small nod. Again, he pointed his wand at Jacob and cast Pulverem Pulveri. This time, however, the bones of Jacob implode in upon themselves, until with the same loud crack, they formed a ball no bigger than a marble. Slowly, it lowered itself to the ground and sat neatly in the middle of the ritual circle.

Hesitating for a moment, Ventus simply looked at the small ball created from the bones of a man. He had just crossed a dangerous threshold, from which there was no return. Finally, he stepped forward and picked up the ball, slipping it into the breast pocket of his vest.

Ventus had created his first minion.

1.	Dust to Dust in Latin. An experimental spell derived by Ventus from instructions and translations in the Necronomicon.