Slaying

When just death ain't enough.

More than murder, a Slaying is a ritualistic butchery - annihilation of a creature of magic for the purpose of usurping its power. To slay another is to remove them from the world, to take their place, and to erase all they could ever be. It is an act only fools and villains undertake without pause, and to be known as a Slayer in the magi community is not a compliment. Still, a short-cut to power is hard for some to resist, and the bones of would-be-slayers litter the lairs of creatures that proved more powerful than they.
It is a vile act of mystical obliteration, practiced by only a few particularly power-hungry mages. The wise witch thread carefully around them, least they become the next victim.

Beyond Killing

Hold still. This'll be your last breath.

Slaying is part spell, part butchery, a proacted ritual of destruction that begins and ends with terrible bloodshed. Whatever foe the mage wishes to vanquish is cut in flesh and beyond, their very being dismembered into component pieces and stolen away.

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The exact details of the ritual varies between mages, everyone has their own way of wielding magic to Slay. For most, it involves cutting, burning, or flaying whatever monster they've managed to hunt and bind, peeling back layers of skin, then meat, then finally bone and being. It is not a short or clean rite, nor for the faint of heart - even against the immortal creatures of the Beyond, such suffering taints the soul of those who inflict it.
When the Slain has been reduced down to the core of their being, all pretense and all corporeal shields flensed, the final act of Slaying begins. The Slayer begins to cut the soul and essence of their victim to pieces and swallow them before they can escape into whatever awaits beyond death. Many times, it is a visceral, messy consumption that leaves little doubt about what has transpired.

Some witches coach their murder in ancient rites - strangling, drowning, burying beneath enough rocks to crush the life out of anything. Any way you go about it, it is a slow and deliberate act, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, pal.

A Slaying can take everything from a few hours to a few days, depending on the power of the victim. While a Slaying can be performed by groups, most Slayers are a greedy sort and not keen to share the rewards of their butchery, no matter the risk. Those who do are especially dangerous, hunting like packs of jackels that even horrors fear.

Slain and Slayer

Can't die dead enough.

The jury is still out on what lies beyond death, but most magi agree that there's something there. Echoes of the past can be felt throughout the Shadow, and just killing someone isn't always enough to put them away. Whatever there is, a Slaying severs that thread. It annihilates the soul and being of the creature slain, preventing them from any sort of return or communication from beyond the grave. They are gone, their essence removed from the universe.

It's a kind of obliteration that causes even creatures of the Beyond to pause. For many, death in the Prime is more of a temporary, if painful, inconvenience, where their essence flees back to the Beyond after their Prime vessel is destroyed. But to be Slain is to be touched by true oblivion.
It is not a fear entirely unknown to them. In the manyfold worlds of the Beyond, there are predator and prey. Many spirits and monsters have their own way to destroy each other, at varying degrees of permanency - but at the hands of a mortal?

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As such, Slaying is sometimes an act of desperation rather than ambition. Some beasts are too dangerous or powerful for the world, their very existence too much of a risk to suffer. When killing them isn't enough, a Slaying can end a threat forever. Such Slayers are usually tragic figures, haunted by what they've done, but there's always those who develop a taste for it.
For the Slayer's part, they are now the usurper of their victim's being and all they once were. The effects are unpredictable, but often addicting as the rush of power accompanies new powers, heightened magical abilities, more mystical energies, and even physical changes. Slayers always inherit some Aspect related to their Victim, from a vampire's pale skin or dislike for the sun to a dragon's greed and reptilian eyes. It leaves a mark on the slayer's being, one that can never be erased.

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Slaying Mortals

Like any monster, a mage can be Slain, though for much less gains. Despite their powers, most mages are still mortal, still creatures of the Prime, and offer much less power to their Slayer. Regular folk, however, give nothing at all, besides screams and blood.

Still, as far as revenge goes, few acts compare.

Grafting

The new-fangled cousin of an ancient horror, Grafting perform many of the same acts of terror for a more physical transformation by transplanting the flesh, bone, carapace and organs of monsters into mages in search of power.
There's something of a debate raging between mages about which is worse, for either Slain or Slayer, but neither are particularly pleasant.

The Butcher

For every kind of killing, there is always a tool. From ritual daggers to garrot ropes, Slayers have their pick of venerable weapons of murder, but none is as feared as the Butcher. An old blade that looks like nothing more than an old, saw-toothed blade, it was made for to Slay and consume... And has served its purpose well.
No one is sure where the Butcher is right now, and no one would celebrate knowing it.

Aspects

Aspects are the supernatural parts of a person's being, manifesting as a sort of friction between the reality of the Prime and the magic of everything that could be. When a witches shadow acts on its own accord, or a warlock's very presence causes milk to spoil - those are aspects in action.
Although the Veil smoothes over memories people have of the girl with hair like raging fire or the man with the impossible eyes, they can be make a mage's life real complicated.

Such changes are often enough to change a mage's True Name - making them both more and less then they were before the knife came down.