Necromancer

Reanimating the dead, manipulating corpses, tormenting and even torturing the living are all things generally frowned upon in all societies. Beldam is no different. The Most Illuminated Church has often been lauded and derided for its apparent policy of tolerating all but the darkest and most invasive forms of sorcery, wizardry, and witchcraft. There is one such school of magic, however, that is considered so heinous and unnatural, that even the most rouge practitioners of the dark arts will rarely come to the defense of; it is known as Necromancy.
Necromancy first appeared in Beldam in the years following the death of Madame Julia Barker-Phillips, a legendary witch and member of the founding colony. It is believed that Argus VonHammershted, a wizard blessed (or cursed) with an abnormally long life-span, had travelled to the continent of Beldam and set up shop in the small, newly founded village of Gemmingtown. Argus felt that, with the death of the colonies most prominent and well known witch, he could work with impunity in the new territory, away from the condemnation of the church and the suspicion of the provincial Counts.
Argus, having spent several years as the apprentice of a tormented sorceress named Urik-Su-Aram in the kingdom of Anak-aron-Ik, moved to Beldam to peddle dark magical objects and ghoulish accoutrements from a small hut on the outskirts of Gemmintown. He was, from the beginning, met with suspicion and sometimes outright hatred. He persisted, nevertheless, and his notoriety grew, in no small part, due to his impressive skill with poisons, antidotes, toxins, antivenoms, and disinfectants. It was his knack for resuscitation of the dead or dying, which earned him the most respect among the people of Gemmingtown.
As a result of "saving" the Count of Gemmingtown Provinces' 6 year old daughter, Argus received a writ of "sortiarius imunius" from the controversial Bishop of Gemmingtown, Porthos All Harrowing. The writ allowed him to practice his sorcery under the protection of the Count and with the exclusionary blessing of the church. Argus soon founded the Gemmingtown Academy of Healing and Restorative Arts, which was merely a front for running a kind of necromancy college. At it's height, the academy had over 100 students enrolled. Many of Argus' students advanced to become some of the deadliest and most abhorred students in the world. 3 years before his death, at age 211, the school was permanently closed by the Order of Saint Polidori, it's teachers and students excommunicated with many imprisoned, deported, or even executed. Those that were imprisoned were sent to Isla Dementias, a small island prison for the most abominable criminals and wizards of Beldam.
To this day, any "true" practicioners of necromancy are considered criminals and treated accordingly. There remains, however, the shop founded by Argus, run by his descendants the "Poe" family, most notably Howard Poe and now his children, Edora and Robair. Though forbidden from "practicing" necromancy proper, the family is allowed to continue as "healers, restorative mages, and resuscitators.

Type

Arcane