A View of Necromancy
By Karlan Jenson, Cosmologist

Necromancy is looked down upon by many, including Althena. The roots of the Art have been traced back to Clerical magic and is believed to be an offshoot thereof. Rather than manipulating life, however, Necromancers manipulate death. Necromancers eschew the magic of their Element to practice the Art. As Necromancers practice their magic they slowly take on the palor of death. A strong Necromancer will be very pale, gaunt, and their skin may even be rotting away already. Many take this as a mark of Necromancy's evil, though no magic in itself is evil. Because their magic slowly kills them Necromancers long ago developed a ritual that turns them into an undead. Necromancers all work towards this goal once they can no longer save their physical being by not practice Necromancy. A Necromancer who learn and are able to complete the ritual will become a Lich. But I am getting ahead of myself.

The base power that Necromancy is best known for is the ability to raise corpses for the use of the Necromancer. These undead, or zombies, are mindless creatures that are kept moving by the will of the Necromancer. To accomplish this, and most of their other powers, Necromancers use the power of their Soul to fuel their Elemental manipulations. This is believed to be the reason for the adverse physical effects of their magic. Weak Necromancers may only raise one or two zombies, while powerful Necromancers and wlel-versed Lichs may raise an army of shambling corpses. Of course, the problem faced by most is finding a corpse to raise. Skulking around graveyards has also give Necromancers a bad name, but those that travel with armies simply raise their fallen comrades and enemies for their use. Skilled Necromancers also manipulate dead flesh and bone to create grotesque creations from several different corpses.

Necromancers have also been known to be difficult to defeat in a magical duel because of their ability to manipulate the Eldritch Flame. This is named after a city of Necromancers that has fallen into the realm of myth. Eldritch was believed to exist somewhere on an island of unknown element, a city created from corpses and kept together by powerful Lichs that had become one with the city itself. The Necromancers of Eldritch, probably of the Fire element, found a way to create a cold fire. This fire did not affect physical matter nor give off heat, but rather sapped the energy of a person. It would weaken them, drain magical ability, and if strong enough even destroy the Elementus of a person and kill them. The Eldritch Flame is what gives Necromancers their edge in magical duels as it tears apart magical energies such as protective spells and can easily absorb spells as well. It is difficult to master this but many Necromancers find it a useful thing to know.

Necromancers, with their knowledge of death, also excel at the creation of magical diseases. These diseases are almost always life-threatening and usually rot a person alive. Some Necromancers talk of great plagues that have destroyed entire cities and other people that hear these stories fear the power of the Necromancers. These diseases also aid in the gathering of corpses for the creation of zombies. A Necromancer could spread a disease in a small village and wait as it ravaged the living until they were wiped out. Then he could raise them and walk away with a nice cadre of soldiers ready to do anything he commands.

A power of Necromancy that requires more finesse is the manipulation of ghosts. Ghosts are the spirits of the dead that inhabit the Realm of Shade. Some attempt to slide into Fou Lu for however long they can - though never indefinitely - for whatever reason they may have. Even in the Realm of Shade, though, ghosts can easily watch Fou Lu without being able to communicate with anyone. Because of this some Necromancers train in the ability to pull these ghosts across and talk to them. Ghosts make excellent spies and are great sources for information. Powerful Necromancers can even control ghosts in the Realm of Shade like some control zombies. These ghosts usually act as guardians, alerting the Necromancer whenever a threat approachs. Ghosts can't affect the physical existence of Fou Lu, though, so their use is limited to information and scaring people away.

Of course, as with Clerical magic, different Elements tend to lean towards different parts of Necromancy. Fire elementals, of course, are often adepts of the Eldritch Flame and follow a course similar to that of a battle mage. Water elementals are the masters of magical diseases. Earth elementals are some of the best at not only raising but crafting zombies. Air elementals find the manipulation and control of ghosts fits their skills best. Psychic elementals will usually have knowledge in all these fields, though perhaps not the mastery that others have. The advantage to Psychic Necromancers, though, is that they find the Ritual of the Lich easier than others. This ritual involves hours of work and concentration, and culminates in the physical death of the Necromancer and the transfer of their Soul into a vessel known as a phylactery. This phylactery becomes their only mortal weakness, though the destruction of their physical body is a big obstacle. Necromancy is an Art that is hard to master but holds great power in its secrets.