Narokki Werukeya's Will

Even apprentice bards and clerics know of the document that changed necromancy in Bastelia'hu forever. The document in question is Narokki's will, in which he states his willingness to have their body used for necromantic purposes, rather than interred in a cemetery.

Read the Document

Narokki Werukeya's Will

On this sacred cane, I, Narokki Werukeya, state my will.
It is my will to help beyond death; beyond prophecies and divination.
It is my will to donate my body to Sal, my husband and a necromancer.
Do not fear my body and do not fear for my spirit.
My husband shall receive all my possessions, except for my goats, which shall go to my sister Wuanya.

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Before Narokki Werukeya's will, corpses found in the wild (aside from those subject to lion's funeral) were considered fair-game for necromancy purposes. Those buried in bones temple, on the other hand, were off-limits. People from Bastelia'hu believe that the spirits in bones temples are helping their descendants through guiding clerics and bards with their divination. However, unburied corpses' spirits are thought to be lost or gone feral. Thus, people were ok with using them for necromantic purposes

However, the abundance of unburied corpses was always very limiting, which meant that the practice of necromancy never advanced as much as it could. Narokki was married to a budding necromancer, so he knew this. He saw no difference in Bastet's clerics using the spirits to divine the future than in necromancers using his body. So he decided to try and change things.

Narokki wrote his will in his 30s and never changed it. His husband didn't even know of its existence until his death, almost 30 years later. When the contents of the will became known, the rumours about what it contained spread like wildfire.

A contentious will

Narokki did this behind the back of everyone in the clan and the city. He knew this would possibly not stand! I'm sure he had hopes that we would be forced to listen to his words now that his spirit is freed. He was wrong! And we would be wrong to accept his will! We do not simply make a contract with the living to use them when they die.
Think of the repercussions!
Tradition must stand.

— Enkar Ko'in, an elder upset about the turn of events

Heated debates were held for weeks on end; Narokki's corpse was preserved by cleric's magic. In the end, and to the surprise of many, Narokki 's will was accepted, and his body was not buried at a bones temple, but rather left for his husband to raise.

He could never do it, however. The thought of raising his husband turned Sal's stomach. So he had a necromancer friend from a different city come to raise Narokki's corpse. Sal only put one condition to his friend: to make sure everyone could see the good that could be achieved from using zombies.

His friend, true to his word, had zombie-Narokki undertake simple, menial tasks, such as repairing the city's walls and collecting waste. He did this first in Narokki an Olosa's city, and then in his own. In a few generations, creating wills to donate one's body to a necromancer became a normal occurrence.