Frankenplot: A Necromancer's Fate

Ivano Fontino had practiced necromancy since infancy, as he had been breastfed and nursed by a witch, and had inherited her characteristics.

His skill in the arts of dark magic was so superior to any other exponent of the black arts that his reputation spread across the Venetian enclave.

While those practices were popular with the common people, the church and the government considered them a challenge to their authority.

Ivano found out that his enemies were denouncing him to the Council of Ten through anonymous letters posted in various 'Lion's mouths' (stone postboxes featuring the carved relief of a lion's face).

He felt that his days were numbered and should do something quickly to avoid being caught by the Venetian Inquisitors.

Even though he was an expert at raising spirits, his spirit was in the doldrums.

He had always relied on the witch who had raised him and whose wisdom he respected.

He decided to seek her advice.

“What would you do if you were in my shoes?” he asked her.

She understood that he was serious and had to stifle a laugh thinking about his size 14 feet.

“What ails you?” she enquired. 

He explained the problem, and she came up with a simple solution.

“Use your magic powers on yourself and change into someone who has an unblemished personality, like a Doge, for instance.”

No sooner said than done. Instantly, Ivano Fontino was the newly proclaimed 55th Doge of the Republic of Venice, Marino Faliero.

Sitting peacefully in a room of the Palazzo Ducale, dressed in a luxurious ceremonial scarlet attire, he reflected on his future. 

If he kept his head down, he'd be safe.

The camouflage worked as intended: Ivano Fontino assumed the physical aspect and identity of Faliero.

The only drawback was that since the Doge was 80 years old, he and Fontino lost the strength of their younger selves.

To his dismay, the necromancer discovered that he was trapped inside the body of a stranger and could not revert to his previous form.

Political events happen quickly, and a year after becoming a head of state, Marino Faliero was convicted of treason and condemned to be beheaded.

As the executioner was swinging his axe, Ivano Fontino shouted at the top of his voice:

“Stop! You have got the wrong man.”  

But no one heard him. The axeman's blade severed his neck, and his bloody head dropped with a thud into a basket below the scaffold.