Text | un: undyingsoul

[necroyalty]

Now, recently I've answered those auction bids about worthy pupils who'd like some private lessons. I'm also here today to dispel some misconceptions about a school of magic very near and dear to my heart:

Necromancy.

It is one of the oldest schools of magic known to the mortal races, and among the Vanthians, it's a long-standing cultural tradition. The streets of Ebonspire are filled with many an individual who gave up their bodies to everlasting vigilance.

Contrary to what one might believe, however, necromancy isn't solely about animating the dead. Animating the body of a humanoid is going to be illegal here anyway, so I'm not going to be getting into that, and besides, I can't think of any worthy reason anyone might need to here.

For the purposes of its practical use here, let's get to the basics: at its core, necromancy is about life force manipulation. This can be used to heal the ailing, solve a murder, or even resurrect a willing soul from death, or for combat if you're looking for more subtlety than a fireball or what have you.

Or, yes, zombies. There's always zombies. (Although I'd advise most aspiring necromancers to work with skeletons instead; they're far more hygienic and aesthetically charming.)

 

Before we begin, there's a few principles to keep in mind:

• Consent and communication are key. Excepting the combative spells which I assume you'll be using in self-defense, there's not much reason to necromance a person who's unwilling or unknowing. If you want to become a skeleton guard in Vanth, you have to sign a contract, but even a simple verbal agreement will work as long as you make yourself clear. Also, absolutely do not use the combat spells for sparring. Just don't. I developed my Aging Touch spell as a means of ending predicaments quickly if somewhat brutally, but it doesn't lend itself well to sport.

  Remember: It's their body, and zombies or no zombies, they can do whatever they want with it.

• Show some respect: This ties into the point I made about consent, but it still warrants a mention. Skeletal guards standing watch over a family crypt? Dignified. A zombie bursting out of an oversized birthday cake? Please don't.


• Practice good hygiene: Traditional Vanthian methods for preparing a corpse involve having the flesh eaten by beetles before bleaching, alchemically treating, and inscribing the person's name onto the bones before giving them another wash. You needn't be this thorough, but do whatever you can to avoid spreading disease. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you ingest any blood unless you require it to live. Also, please do not slice the entire palm open like an idiot should you need to use your own blood for a ritual; a simple finger prick will do.


• Add a personal touch: Normally, the choice of whether to use an arcane focus or a spell's material components is up to preferences of the individual mage, but I'd make an exception for necromancy. Don't get me wrong, I tend to prefer using an orb under most circumstances, and I'd normally recommend a wand or staff for a beginning mage. But because necromancy is an innately personal school of magic, you shouldn't be afraid to get your hands dirty when it comes to handling the blood, grave dirt, and bone needed for most of these rituals. Likewise, always remember that you have a fair amount of flexibility when deciding on what incantation to use - even if it ends up sounding a little embarrassing or stupid, something with more emotional resonance to you is going to provide a stronger conduit for the magic.

Now then.

There are three aspects of a mortal life. The first, and most important, is the soul. There's also the animating force of the body itself, which is basically just the body's capacity for movement and satisfying what needs it has for survival.

The third is a bit more complex, but its' what us necromancers like to call a person's "shadow" or "echo". Particularly strong emotions or important memories can leave a lasting impression on a dead person or a location even if the soul is gone, but it's difficult for this part of your essence to process new things.

But, even with the echo of memory, it's still not quite the same person as was alive. Every undead who lacks a soul (and most who don't) is driven by some sort of compulsion, and the more intelligent sorts will work with whatever their echo gives them. For a revenant, just as an example, that's the need for either vengeance or closure. Sometimes it gets more complicated with that.

Now, a dead body that lacks both soul and echo is only going to ever become a zombie or something similar, but any other combination? Things get very interesting!

In most cases, you want to hang on to the soul in order to resurrect or preserve a person's life, but sometimes you want to affect its movement after death as well.

Magister Nal'intra Kilani of my world, for instance, was a dark elven theurgic mage whose late sister sought to grant their people the gift of reincarnation that a bitter god had denied them. That didn't sit well with the city they lived in, which saw this magic as an affront to their goddess, so the sister was killed and their research was destroyed. He's still working on rebuilding what he's lost.

Then there's the very difficult process of anchoring your soul to an artifact if you're interested in lichdom, and if you want to learn from someone who succeeded, well, I've got a post that's buried somewhere here.

Let's begin.

Breathe deeply. Allow yourself to become very aware of your own heartbeat, your body's inhalation and exhalation; the stillness inside yourself after all has been stripped away. Extend that awareness to every living thing around you.

I've attached the instructions for some basic spells that aren't zombie-related so you can see what you can do with this sort of potential

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand attached are the instructions for the following spells

• Chill Touch


• False Life


• Gentle Repose


• Ambrosine's Aging Touch, a spell made by your resident lich queen


• Blindness/Deafness


• Speak With Dead


• Feign Death]

Alright, that concludes today's lesson. Now go forth, and always remember that knowledge is power.

 

Comments

[necroyalty]

Fair enough, but as I said before:

1 - Necromancy involves more than just reanimating a corpse, and;

2 - This is incredibly dismissive of the many, many people who literally sign up to have their corpses used in such a manner after their deaths, or people who have their corpses probed for information related to solving their murders.

[ Really, it just kinda screams "I didn't read the text/am using a strawman argument" here. ]

[downswing]

If the dead are the end, not the instrument — then, a shift from a magical orthodoxy can be

( Spittle in the face of every elder and tradition. )

Discussed.

[necroyalty]

In all seriousness, I suppose I understand the concern people have after the knee-jerk reaction of "you shouldn't be doing that" is dismissed, but this is usually the case where I'm from.

Around a quarter of people who die there contract to have their bodies donated to some sort of use or another after they die. Most of them go to research before the remains are given back to their families after a time, but it's not unusual to see some people choose to become skeletal guards or soldiers. I know of one individual who willed their animated skeleton to be installed in a park as a sort of performance art piece.

Which is unorthodox even in my culture, but if that's what they wanted, it's not really right to question things too much. I'm just surprised the city went along with it, although to be fair, the deceased did donate very generously to various artistic and public works projects in life.

Anyway.

Sometimes they see this as a contribution to a cause they find worthy, like the advancement of science or the protection of their communities. Think of it as a final parting gift of sorts.

Or they see their soul as the only thing that truly matters and want their now-unoccupied body put to more practical use, instead of just taking up space in a jar or a grave somewhere.

[downswing]

Exorcists defend the living from restless dead.

The dead have no defence from miscreant necromancers.

You understand the concern?

[necroyalty]

Precisely the reason "using magic to influence someone without consent" is a crime where I'm from.

Well, that and grave-robbing.

Where the dead cannot defend themselves, the law fills the gaps


But it makes no sense to forbid an entire school of magic simply because of potential of misuse.

[Her home's take on necromancy is pretty similar to modern Earth organ donation, basically.]

[downswing]

Fear and habit can suspend reason.

[necroyalty]

Isn't that the truth.

[ She's got a little bit of experience with that. ]