Appearance/discussion of Academy units.

Magic, that's understandable.
But a sadistic mage – I don't know.;)
Most likely (as mentioned somewhere above, she has a tombstone in her hands), so the mage, while dying, created a guardian that will protect his resting place (the guardian and the tombstone are one):D. I must say that the mage didn't have much strength; he was dying, or he was a novice – that's why the gargoyle turned out to be weak.:(