Necromancy

"Orcus... a damnable cretin, he may have been a duplicitous savage but... this Magick he has created, this... Necromancy... undying soldiers... immortal slaves to my will... now this may be of some use to me." -Vile's Journals, Lost Ages, Exact Date Unknown.

Necromancy is the youngest of the recognized schools of magick, at least by official classification. Its roots, however, are ancient, woven into rites once attributed to Conjuration, Abjuration, or even clerical miracles. It was only during the cataclysm of The Fall that this school crystallized into a distinct and terrifying discipline. Amid the chaos of war, one figure stood at the epicenter of this emergence: General Orcus, a devil bound to Vile’s banner, master of binding, soul-crafting, and post-mortem manipulation. Orcus pioneered techniques to twist and harvest the Arcane signatures left behind by the dead, treating souls as reusable energy, vessels, or currency. Though initially a secretive practitioner, Orcus’s ambition proved too great for Vile’s liking. After a failed coup by Orcus and a faction of defectors with their own designs for Gaiatia, Vile betrayed him, claimed his research, and used it to construct the fateful ritual that would dismantle his armies and merge his own soul with that of the goddess Xaethra. Orcus was cast aside, reportedly slain, his name scorched from history and his discoveries claimed by another. Vile would later be credited with inventing Necromancy, an irony not lost on the few historians who know the truth. Yet death is rarely the end for one so intimately familiar with its inner workings. In recent years, disturbing whispers from the shattered archipelago of Tarmahc, once the birthplace of Halflings, Humans, and other mortal races, speak of mass grave robberies, empty coffins, strange sigils carved into coastal stone, and sightings of a towering figure in horned armor matching Orcus' historical depiction. The dead allegedly walk in Tarmahc again, and many believe Orcus walks with them.
Theory and Practice:
Necromancy is the manipulation of life’s residue: the soul, the flesh left behind, the magickal echo that clings to bone and blood. Unlike Evocation or Enchantment, it does not summon raw force or bend minds, but instead recycles what already exists, twisting death into utility. Its core practice involves soul anchoring, corpse preservation, and Arcane mimicry, replicating lost energies through tethered remnants of the deceased. Necromancers work with materials that once lived. Flesh is their clay. Bone is their scaffold. The soul, when trapped or torn, becomes a reagent more potent than gold or spice. They speak to the dead not with reverence, but through complex rituals that bypass decay and denial. Some call it sacrilege. Others call it progress. Like all magick, it carries risks. The most common form of Magebane among Necromancers is Reversal Decay, wherein the caster’s body becomes confused by the presence of so many foreign souls and begins to rot prematurely, necrotizing even healthy tissue in rejection. Others experience a phenomenon known as Echo Displacement, in which fragments of personality, speech, or muscle memory from their thralls leak into the caster’s own behavior, leading to fragmented identity or haunted dreams.
Applications and Manifestations:

• Corpse Animation: The most infamous and misunderstood aspect. Animated skeletons and zombies are Arcane puppets bound to the caster’s will, not sentient, not evil, merely repurposed. Still, they unsettle the living.
• Soulbinding: A high-tier spell allowing the caster to trap a soul in an object, body, or construct. Often used to empower golems or store memories, though some use it as a form of punishment.
• Life Leeching: Draws vitality directly from enemies or cadavers. Common among warcasters. May bolster the caster’s strength, regenerate wounds, or temporarily grant heightened senses.
• Warding of the Grave: Defensive technique wherein the caster marks the dead with anti-necromantic runes. Used by All-Faith Paladins and necromancers alike to control their creations or bar access to them.
• Deathsense: A passive ritual that allows the caster to “smell” death and lingering soulstuff. Especially useful when navigating battlefields or cursed ruins.

Origin and Legacy:
Before Orcus, Necromancy was nameless. Its effects were miscategorized. Resurrection was called holy. Binding was mistaken for spiritual guidance. But during the wars of The Fall, Orcus proved that death itself could be structured, harvested, and applied. After his failed rebellion and Vile’s theft of his research, Necromancy was unleashed upon the world as a battlefield utility. Undead legions, soul-forged barriers, and eternal sentinels marched under flags bearing the wrong name. After the Schism, the Arcane Coalition declared Necromancy a “volatile but vital” school. It was placed under tight scrutiny, study allowed, application policed. The Scholar’s Guild walked a finer line. Many of their more advanced rituals, particularly those concerning memory extraction or soulprint analysis, bear undeniable roots in Orcus’s original work.
Cultural Presence:
In city centers, necromancers are often feared or outlawed. Fort Sunless permits them only under strict observance, and all Necromantic research must be licensed and performed within chartered mortuaries. However, in rural villages and war-torn territories, necromancers are quietly welcomed. They preserve food through flesh-freezing runes, interrogate the dead in lieu of missing witnesses, and keep restless graves from emptying. Some Orders, like the Gravewalkers or the Dust-Circle, believe in responsible Necromancy—treating it as a sacred stewardship rather than exploitation. Others, such as the Bonewright Cabal, lean into the darker applications, weaponizing corpse-bombs or soul-rending chains for battlefield supremacy.
Controversy and Restrictions:
Necromancy remains the most heavily restricted school of magick in Everwealth. Any attempt to animate a sentient being without their consent, living or dead, is punishable by death under Coalition law. Grave robbing is a minor offense. Soul theft, however, ranks among the highest crimes, equivalent to murder and treason. Certain districts forbid even the possession of skeletal familiars or ritual daggers. Still, many loopholes persist. The Scholar’s Guild teaches soul-preservation theory under Abjuration. The Order of the Hollow Sun employs sanctioned necromancers to maintain their tomb-vault libraries. And in the lands beyond Everwealth, where Coalition law holds little sway, Necromancy is seen not as wicked, but as survival.
Signature Effect – The Hollow Pact:
Advanced necromancers sometimes undergo a transformation known as the Hollow Pact. This occurs when a caster binds too many souls too closely, or stores a fragment of their own soul in each construct they raise. Over time, their emotional range narrows, sleep becomes impossible, and they begin to exhibit signs of being partially dead themselves. Their heartbeat slows. Their flesh cools. They speak in voices not entirely their own. But they also become more efficient, able to command entire platoons of undead with a whisper. Coalition records call it a degenerative affliction. Some necromancers call it transcendence.