Secrets of the Grave
Of all the myriad ways magical energies have been wielded across the millennia, none are as terrifying and unnatural as necromancy. While all magic is intrinsically incredible, the power over death itself has a reaction in most that evokes raw fear. To witness the dead rising as nearly unstoppable hordes of shambling monstrosities is enough to unnerve even the most seasoned of adventurers.
Such horrors have been a part of history for untold ages. Even before the Second Darkness, when an entire barony fell to corruption and sought to spread the plague of undeath across Mennara, corpses have shambled out of their tombs and revenants have stalked wilderness regions. Each season sees cults who worship death itself hidden within Terrinoth sink their insidious talons further into society. Necromantic magic, practiced by both the living and the dead, spreads like a funeral shroud over the land that, if unchecked, will surely result in the end of all life.
Necromancy in Mennara
There have seemingly always been undead. Tales of spectral beings such as wraiths and ghosts are some of the oldest in many cultures, as do those of Vampires and barghests have existed for untold ages, although few but the heavily inebriated dare speak of creatures such as Lord Farrenghast or the Lords of Bilehall. It took a great general and leader, though, to truly establish the necromantic arts as a powerful force that could threaten all of Mennara.
When Waiqar Sumarion roared his fury and hate upon all existence and vowed to never rest until his quest was complete, something answered his cry and true necromancy was unleashed upon the world. He and his forces died only to be reborn in death, and he later discovered how to fashion new undead such as Reanimates from fallen Deathborn. Across the centuries, his followers spread his gospel of death and reanimation across Mennara. They weave new spells and adopt new ritualist techniques, though none can ever hope to match the Undying One in power and skill. Some uncover ancient relics from the elder times, though, powerful enough to perform feats none can hope to replicate or even understand.
Necromancy is a relatively misunderstood art, despite the centuries of study its ageless practitioners conduct. Some scholars of the forbidden believe it to be of a sorcerous nature, its energy coming from the Turning, or Verto Magica. Though most mages hold it to be a lower form of magic, it is still quite powerful. More scholars of arcane arts firmly believe it is too dangerous for any study, however, and actively work to suppress such activities. With every crumbling parchment page memorized, dark spell used, and undead creature commanded, a mage's spirit shrivels just a bit further and their actions become more cruel. Despite this, there are always those thirsty for knowledge and power who advance its practice.
Broadly speaking, the dark arts come in three major forms: raising the dead using remnants of previously raised undead, leeching life from the living to empower other beings (most notably, to empower the user themself), and twisting flesh into new forms.
While most who claim knowledge of such things believe necromancers raise the dead, the truth is instead more disturbing. Waiqar discovered that the ground skeletal remains of any of his fallen creations, once properly desecrated using profane rituals of his design, could be used to animate other corpses. Only a small amount of the bone dust was needed; a single Deathborn Legionnaire could be used to raise thousands of lesser Reanimates. His forces thus grew even greater when one of his own were laid low, even though none were as powerful as his original lieutenants. It is an especially necessary duty, then, for his followers to collect the remains of his creatures to be used to fashion additional undead.
Even without their undead minions, necromancers are puissant forces. They can wield death magic to accelerate necrosis and decay, causing wounds to grow festering and pustules to burst forth in their enemies. As foes fall closer to death, these foul spell casters become gorged with life and energy. Fleshwrights also affect dead tissue as well, but in even more horrific ways. Also known as Flesh Moulders, they can alter raw tissue into twisted new shapes through their fell arts. Additional limbs, insectoid eyes, and elongated fingers with venomous nails are only some of the less horrid transmutations they can achieve. Some even use their powers on themselves, constructing bizarre but deadly forms to better serve the Undying One.
References
- Realms of Terrinoth