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[Shelved][✓] Necromancy Rewrite


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Third Generation Necromancy
(Pending acceptance a series of IC events will be executed to introduce this new art to necromancers)


Of all the Dark Arts, Necromancy was the first, the foulest, and the blackest. The epitome of occult, the pinnacle of dark; Necromancy is the art of manipulating lifeforce into serving the will of a necromancer in manners unique to themselves including the likes of resurrection, tainting, and ritualistic rites.

 

Necromancers, upon crowning, have a leak tapped into their very soul, constantly losing lifeforce thus necromancers must drain at least once a year (IRL week) to sustain their body. It is possible for a necromancer to be kept in fair shape and well nourished by lifeforce, but they may not avoid suffering the weakness of mages due to necromancy itself requiring the strengthening of one's own mana. However, should they forget or opt to not drain lifeforce then their body quickly degrades and after three years of abstaining they are equivalent to the physique of a sickly anorexic. This state is livable if sustained but to regress a necromancer must consume more than their fill to step backwards and return their body. A diet of pure lifeforce would leave a necromancer in this crippled state but they could be sustained by it solely because their organs can function as repositories for more lifeforce, forcing themself to live.

 

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(Abraeke, a famed Necromancer)

 


 

The Powers of Necromancy

 

Draining

A power drawn from the Darkhollow that manifests within a Necromancer upon the art’s practice, it is the foundation of all of the First Dark Art’s powers. Draining is said to be the most base and primal form of lifeforce manipulation, for it symbolizes the terrible, mindless hunger that resides deep within the precipices of Man. With the power of Draining, a Necromancer may tear the very fabric of life from any corporeal mortal shape, and thereupon use this Lifeforce to fuel the spells which Necromancy boasts. Though primarily used as a utility, it has also been used as a formidable defensive power by Necromancers in peril, for when life is touched with this hexing spell it experiences the worst suffering imaginable. The only resistance a victim of Draining may ensue would be to unwind themselves from the pallid, frail grasp of a Necromancer, lest they be unraveled entirely.

 

There exists two draining spells a necromancer can invoke, Touchdrain and Tetherdrain.

 

Touchdrain: the first and most basic drain spell, but the most powerful. A necromancer must first open up their Darkhollow to allow change, and then seek to take hold of another life-form in their grip, be it man, beast or plant.     A necromancer must then take the risk of grappling someone with it so intense, debilitating effects ensorcel their form as long as they're held. This includes intense pain, blindness, bodily numbing and other debilitations that gradually build the longer a victim is drained.  The effects start dull but soon ramp up and quickly the pain of such unspeakable torment is unbearable.  The way to escape is to try to throw a Necromancer's hold off of them by some manner or to break their focus the moment you realise the circumstances, and then run away.  6 emotes are necessary to completely incapacitate a person this way at tiers one and two, 5 emotes at tiers three and four, and 4 emotes at tier five.

 

Tetherdrain: a more elaborate drain. A Necromancer must summon a tether in their hand, and then touch a victim in order to establish a drain. This is weaker than direct contact objectively, as it does not bring the degrading side effects that a Touchdrain does, but it still funnels Lifeforce out of a person or thing and afflicts them with tremendous pain. A necromancer can retain a tether at 8 feet at maximum, and the tether can be broken by holy magic or if the victim breaks away from the maximum distance.  Due to its lack of debilitating effects, a victim of this spell should seek to quite easily flee from it rather than confront it. The number of emotes necessary to completely incapacitate a person with a tether differ with tier. Tier one requires 12, tier two requires 11, tier three requires 10, tier four requires 9 and tier five requires 8.

 

Advancement through necromancy can teach a practitioner to reverse the function of these spells, allowing them to funnel lifeforce into a target through touch or tether.  A necromancer must simply open their Darkhollow up to change as before, but seek to exert their power outward.  If not taught how to control this exertion, a necromancer can easily drain themselves entirely and bring about their own destruction.  The uses of this function include soothing and feeding ghouls or other necromancers on the brink of death, and also plays an important part in sacraments.  A special variant of the spell named ‘Instill Darkhollow’ is cast very similarly, and allows a necromancer to create a Darkhollow within another person, subsequently attuning them to being able to cast necromancy.  

 

*Nimdravur lays a hand on his restrained ally, fingers like viper fangs upon his shoulder. A dark mist envelops his hand in a shroud of spitty, swelling darkness that permeates his grasp. He reaches out to take hold of Uldrivt’s frail arm.

 

[!] Restrained and helpless, Uldrivt lets out a shriek of woesome agony as pain of the worst physical kind ravages his arm. Nimdravur’s hand swells with more of the heinous, black gas and bites at the dark elf like snake fangs.

 

*Nimdravur drives down on his grip as Uldrivt heaves and screams. The sable mist whips around and eats away at the air as he holds onto the feeble dark elf, the man slowly falling limp and craning over.


 

Resurrection

Raising cadavers to walk and do the bidding of a necromancer, be it a skeleton, zombie, or abomination.

 

Where old necromancy had a finger to a corpse, a string to a marionette, and puppeteered their dead a new method of greater power has been developed to forsake the need for making bones dance at the waving of hands wherein now they dance as told. By reaching deep into the shell of a cadaver, touching on the empty parts of it's core where the cradle of a soul laid, a false mimicry of it may be awoken in the form of a soul shadow. Risen from death, a zombie of necromancy is not the conscious copy of a soul shattered by trauma as a ghoul is but a mere sliver of it's shadow, a fragment in a drunken stupor sick with death. These autonomous dead obey commands delivered verbally or somatically by their necromancer and may be ordered individually, in groups, or as a whole. Different undead may pursue different orders but are limited to the best of their abilities as nigh brainless, automatic undead. They possess basic senses and may process information as a golem may albeit the more complex the task the more likely they are to fail. “Pin her down,” or, “take his sword,” function as simple, easy tasks including single word commands such as, “kill,” or, “dig,” versus much more difficult tasks that would require assistance, multiple zombies, or is simply impossible such as, “find Ulthrandl,” or, “build a barn,” wherein the minions will attempt their best and just that: their best. The dead make for durable companions due to the restrictions of mortality being lifted from them but they do not make for swift companions; they are only as strong or swift as the muscle and bone of their living forms.
A final note is that all risen dead bear the a faint glow to their eyes colored by the aura of the necromancer controlling them. As well, the distance from which a risen dead wanders from their necromancer the lesser their bond, weakening the flow of lifeforce between the two; whilst still functional at extreme distances, when undead are near their necromancer they possess a greater amount of lifeforce within them which makes them more resilient to feats of holy flame or purging light, albeit not immune, for the additional lifeforce must be burned through in order to vanquish the dead.

 

Necromancers can only raise a total of five zombies and should they attempt to raise another the oldest one falls inert and dead. Abominations crafted through fleshsmithing , of large size take up two channels and huge creations take up three. Entities larger than a troll require the control of multiple necromancers to remain stable. Entities smaller than the average person, up to half the size of a normal individual take up half a slot. Every tier unlocks another channel for a necromancer to maintain a corpse, starting at one.

 

Branding - Necromancers possess another dark power in this realm of influence however, an utmost complex yet simple curse known as Branding can only be formed under the prowess of a grandmaster necromancer (T5).  Used mainly when the Necromancer does not have any zombies at hand, they may touch a living being and impart a short lived curse upon them.  This brand would make it so that should the bearer die whilst affected, they would instead rise once more as the Necromancer’s undead servant for the length of any other conventionally raised zombie.  This unit takes up one of a necromancer’s five slots and will cause any excess zombies to return dormant.  The curse can be applied with barely a thought, simply the brief touch upon one’s clothes is enough to brand them with a looming, terrible fate.  One emote trying to touch someone with your primed spell is enough, as long as you can successfully lay a hand on them.

 

*Malineer raised his hand before the five knights at his feet, black misame poured from his upturned palm like a fountain. Flashes of viridescent energy illuminated the smog like lightning strikes as it split into tendrils and weaved through the air into the mouths of the helpless cadavers.

[!] The Knights rise from the ground, the tendrils of smog coiling around and propelling their lifeless husks skyward for a few moments before lowering the armored figures to their feet. The Minions eyes shot open, where once life was reflected there now emanate an unnatural green luminescence


 

Tainting

Twisting lifeforce into antithetical, all-consuming disease that devours lifeforce with a hunger more ravenous than a necromancer’s own.  A necromancer can begin to experiment with taint upon becoming an adept. [T3]

 

Taint comes in two varieties:

Stagnation - Lifeforce can be made stagnant within an area, preventing the natural ebb and flow of the recycled energy and creating a miniature vacuum in which no lifeforce may flow, to this end the land becomes inhospitable to life, stilling the lifeforce inside mortals that pass through it and slowly sapping them of their vigor and inevitably killing them should they linger. This is a process that despite its categorization involves no taint, if left to Its own devices this divide can expand and prevent the spread of lifeforce beyond Its origin point in a creeping wave of destruction and if not pushed back and brought back into flow by a Farseer or Druid this stagnation can continue indefinitely.

 

   Afflictions - Forms of taint (corrupted lifeforce) that had been carefully treated by a necromancer in order to achieve certain disease-like qualities. It spreads and tears up lifeforce like original taint, except in different, specific mannerisms that usually lead to deformities, degradation or the general breakdown of someone's well being. Afflictions can only be cured by holy magics, and are similar to curses in their variety, but cannot be engineered to work as specifically as individual, unique curses.

Stagnation
The bane of life is not a force that a necromancer might control, instead it is a force that they might simply give a helpful push in the right direction. Stagnation is paired with Affliction as earthly form of taint, whereas taint can be spread upon the ground and kill what it touches it cannot spread as far as Stagnation can, nor is it as resilient. Stagnation occurs when a Necromancer touches a piece of flora, imbuing the lifeforce within with his will and bringing it to a stand still. This stilled lifeforce is modeled after the Abyss, a clot in the veins of the natural flow of lifeforce that if left unchecked will grow infinitely by feeding on the lifeforce of plants nearby or those trying to grow. This stagnation leads to rot and decay as all living beings within the Stagnation cannot pass lifeforce from use or death, leading to a dead land caked in rolling smog. Unlike most other spells which can be wielded with more ease at greater skill in the Godless Art, Stagnation is an alien and uncontrollable force that even a master necromancer could not wield effectively or even withstand the devastation it may cause. They are merely capable of putting the effect into motion.

*Malineer’s hand clutched tight the bark of the tree before him, as quick as a breath a thin wave of smog, like ripples in water arched out from his hand, encompassing the whole of the tree before reversing and flowing into the Elf’s palm.

[!]The Life Force within the tree grew still, the sounds of nature grew silent nearby, stagnation had begun.


 

Afflictions
Among the most vile sorceries of Necromancy are afflictions. A skill birthed out of vicious ire, Afflictions serve as the Necromancer’s lasting touch, a foulness that they might subject others to with prolonged touch or through the use of cursed objects. The necromancer begins by befouling a portion of their own lifeforce and applying it either onto an object, a food, beverage, or upon the victim themselves. The Necromancer twists the life force that they produced and cause it to take on disease-like qualities such as boils, tumors, respiratory/circulatory damage and the like. Unlike tainting which seeks only to destroy lifeforce in the most efficient method possible and spread like wildfire, the taint crafted with care would only seek to spread in predetermined manners such as through breathing, water, or saliva and to destroy their targets in specific manners before consuming their beings whole. A master necromancer can create a disease that would carry on for three elven weeks before the lifeforce fueling it would peter out or the last carrier would die. This estimated time can be extended with the aid of additional necromancers of skill, another necromancer can increase disease’s potency two-fold, adding another three elven weeks to the life span. This increases per necromancer to a maximum of two elven months of infection upon people, animals, and plants. These afflictions have their limitations however, they progress even at their strongest at the strength of your average contagion and while incurable by most regular methods can be easily peeled apart with healing of the holy variety or by the purging flames of Aeriel

 

*Naruntah’s gloved hand pressed on the forehead of the human held in place by his minions. As his fingers dug into the man’s skin so too did a small feed of faint black miasma that burrowed into pores and set to work, after a few moments of this agonizing process the wraith released the human’s head, leaving his weakened foe to recover in solitude while his dark gift tore through the man’s body and began to form tumors and moistened pustules.

 

Vivication

Awakening soul shadows deep within mortals, a necromancer may return consciousness to a fresh corpse, lay a curse, or temporarily convert themselves into a ghoulish figure.

 

By reaching deep into the fleeing lifeforce of a corpse, a fresh cadaver whose soul is wandering from their body and their juices split, a necromancer may touch on the empty shell left behind and awaken a looming darkness within; a soul shadow may be temporarily resurrected of the dead, returning a false imprint of their consciousness back into their body provided their skull is intact, and from it their disembodied voice may return. So long as the necromancer maintains their black sorcery, constantly draining them of lifeforce, they may take up a conversation with the newly lost. The longer the talk, the more lifeforce is consumed, and quick talk serves most efficient. These awoken shadows cannot learn new information to carry on to their next life should they be revived by the Monks nor do they remember any part of the conversation. The process of being risen briefly as shattered parcel of a soul is an excruciating thing and the time spent risen is agonizing for corpse’s soul; thus it is often found that corpses spew the truth to end their suffering to appease questioners, however lying to sate a questioner’s prying is also common. A necromancer cannot force conversation, only pry for information. This can be performed up to a total of five questions, consuming the necromancer's lifeforce whole.

 

In the same manner of awakening a soul shadow in a corpse, a necromancer may awaken a temporary soul shadow in themself. Akin to welcoming a phantom into one's body for possession or holding one's breath underwater, the necromancer casting this spell of false death loses control of their body and become disfigured as a corpse may; fresh and pale, rotten and wormeaten, or bare and skeletal, a necromancer may appear in any way the dead may and play as them too. Mimicking a corpse is a constantly draining matter and with it the longer the spell is cast the more lifeforce is drained. This can be performed up to a total of ten emotes, consuming the necromancer's lifeforce whole. Five emotes consumes half.

 

[!] From the depths of Cer’xion, deep in his robes, brews a gnawing mist of shadow and blackness. This dark haze leaks from the mouths of his sleeves and through the holes in his tattered robes, licking off him like ink in water.

 

*Cer’xion suddenly begins to thin and become frail, his sleeves draping around his narrowing body as if his fat and muscle were being sucked away. His robes become splotched and blotted with bloody prints and soaked segments of bodily fluid.

 

*Cer’xion drops like a ragdoll, limp and pale as though he were no more than a bleeding corpse. His mask rolls off his face to reveal a ghoulish and frightful visage full of holes and sinewy features.


Cursing

A curse is a wretched thing, a hex laid upon the living so they may suffer and nothing more. They are the product of a soul shadow being awoken in a living body outside the dark origins of the necromancer’s own signature, allowing for curses to be engineered in others rather than put upon one’s self through playing dead. A potent tool, cursing requires a great deal of lifeforce and will exhaust any well experienced necromancer and thus cannot be learned until tier 3. Curses may include blindness, deafness, madness -- paranoia, hallucinations, illusions of grandeur -- impotence, or lethargy in usual cases, often altering the life of the cursed for two years (two IRL weeks) unless the curse is aided by another necromancer, extending the duration by two more years. Whole lineages can be cursed in such a way where multiple people are cursed at once and children they bear befall the same fate; a group of five necromancers can come together to conduct a ritual to gift the lifeforce of four to one who may engineer the curse. MArts may be applied to for more creative curses. A curse is set on an individual much like an affliction, though Its purposes are more specifically destructive. The Necromancer pools lifeforce within his hand and must maintain contact with the victim (Contact must be made but it is possible through clothing/armor) for at least 2 emotes in order to instill the curse, unlike afflictions however this process is agonizing and some time must be given to the necromancer to twist awake a soulshadow within the victim and manipulate it into a dark purpose. Curses differ from afflictions in their diversity, causing a mystical blindness, impotence,  it may instill an urge to throw oneself off high places, or attack human children. Rather than cause disease-like growths, it can make one's glands swell and give them a half-bloated, malformed head.

 

*Malineer squeezed at both sides of the barbarian's head, black smog rising slowly form his fingertips in smoky trails, as though his fingertips were searing the man's flesh. Pain like razorblades dancing through his veins struck the man, causing him to flail fruitlessly beneath the grasp of the abomination. "So strong, aren't you?" The NEcromancer mused as his life-forced pressed on through the man, grasping at his soul and instilling a nefarious purpose within him.

[!] Sometime later the man would awaken, though his memory would be unaffected he would feel a strange urge near his loved ones, to pounce them and try to consume their flesh from the bone.



 

Fleshsmithing

Sculpting flesh like dough and bone like clay to mold a truly horrific abomination which may be risen.

 

Imagination is the limit. An artist may breathe life into the inanimate to create beautiful pieces of visual delights and in the same way an experienced necromancer may too in a macabre fashion. By treating flesh with saturating blankets of lifeforce, flesh, muscle, sinew, and tissue may become soft like wet clay and soupy so ready hands may push and pull the biomass into shape. Extensive study of anatomy is required lest a necromancer form a pathetic, quivering heap of skin and boundless muscle with no functionality and no purpose. The same can be done to bone, warping it into a doughy consistency so it may be structured and sculpted into horrific frames and skeletons. However, living material cannot be sculpted nor shaped, the moving lifeforce within too deep in its own current. Such an attempt is a ritual known as cauterizing.

 

*Abraeke’s digits dance like spider legs as he runs them over the bovine’s thick, meaty leg upon the altar. Congealed blood dribbles from the cut on its top where it was severed from the body.

 

*Abraeke’s fingers spit a heinous cloud of darkness textured with static, the black force seeping into the hairy leg’s bulging veins and stiffened muscle like hounds digging into a meal.

 

[!] The skin of the cow leg begins to shiver and shake, twisting about at its top as it softens and becomes pliable like dough.

 

*Abraeke works his hands into the meat of the upper thigh, shaping it into a bowl shape. He grunts as he picks up the limb and sticks it onto the ball joint of a corpse’s severed hip, the supple flesh accepting the new form like hands fitting one another.

 

[!] With a single wet ‘shlk’ the leg fits onto the new body and Abraeke steps back to admire his craft, looking over the new cow-legged, crab-armed, boar-headed bear-man he has sculpted.

 

Cauterizing

Cauterizing is a woesome deed full of screaming and strife. The worst pains imaginable in draining are replicated here but duller, deeper, and darker; flesh of the living may be warped in a similar method to fleshsmithing to seal skin, mend muscle, and close wounds in awful scars of ruptured mass lest they be healed by divine rite. Cauterizing weaves needles into the skin, pins muscle with glass shards, and fuses bone with hot iron rods; the pain is acute and lingering, a victim feeling every motion and movement as their body is sealed. This alteration is an ugly thing and often a last resort lest people walk about with hideous scars on their bodies, hiding from public eye.

 

*Sprat extends a sickly hand upon the bleeding wound deeply cut into Adorellan’s right arm. A noxious fog of pitch black smoke whirls out from his nailbeds and feed up along his talons.

 

*Sprat weaves his spindly arms about as he makes occult gestures, the dark haze dancing over and into the skin of Adorellan’s wound as he works his black sorcery; veins of smoke begin digging into the flesh.

 

[!] Adorellan’s sword wound begins to warp and wriggle like a nervous, shaken babe; his skin pales and ripples like thick soup, twisting together to seal the deep cut in a lethargic crawl. He feels every fiber of his skin stretch and move in the act, producing horrific pain.

 

Sprat’s ebony tongue peeks out from his sewn lips as he offers the man a meek grin, eyeing his handiwork as Adorellan screams and wrenches about, stare locked upon the churning flesh mixing around the wound to form a macabre scar; a vortex of bloodied skin.


 

Sacraments

Born from primeval practices discovered again through the ancient necromancer Naruntah’s efforts within the depths of the Abyss, these rituals are not new but rather revised based on Necromancy’s adaptations. The revisions mostly involve the permanent reanimation rituals, whereas acts such as Clotting remains unaffected. As well, all amounts of sacrifices can be replaced with additional necromancers to supply the lifeforce.

 

Morghuul Sacrament - With the power of Soul Shadow Reanimation, a strong willpower to live is planted within the depths of a corpse through the use of a Necromancer’s Lifeforce, inciting the awakening of an unfettered Soul Shadow. With this, the corpse becomes what is known as a Morghuul, or True Ghoul, where fragments of their living past are retained and a degree of their humanity is kept preserved within the Morghuul’s fragile mind. In order to perpetuate themselves, a Morghuul must hunt men for their living flesh and harvest their Lifeforces through cannibalistic feasting, making them mortal foes to any living thing, with the exception of the necromancers that serve as both their masters, and their lifelines.  Morghuul can be raised by adept necromancers (T3) at minimum.

 

Sacrament of Ordainment

When a Morghuul has shown signs of great potential, a master Necromancer (T4) is able to “ordain” them, or bless their Soul Shadows with the capacity to tear true soul essences from a freshly slain or still-living mortal body through the same method of feasting. Soul essences are collected in this manner in order to heighten the strength of  a Morghuul’s Soul Shadow so that they may become strong enough to ascend to one of two forms of Lichdom. In order to gain resplendent strength through being Ordained, a Morghuul must be blessed through a Necromancer’s sacrament and then feast upon seven mortal beings.

 

Soul essence can only be taken from another mortal character’s flesh once per day.  Once ordained, an Ordained Morghuul’s body will glow with a spectral sheen, increasing in intensity the further they are through their pilgrimage.  Should an Ordained Morghuul be slain by holy magic, the dark blessing within them will be violently revoked as they rise again and all of the soul essence they collected will dissipate into the soulstream, requiring the Morghuul not only to seek forgiveness of his Necromancer master and become Ordained again, but also to consume seven more soul essences.

 

This sacrament requires the necromancer to open his Darkhollow up to change and grab the Morghuul by the throat, pumping the Necromancer’s own life force into the creature with all of his power.   The oversaturation of muscles and organs causes the Morghuul agony, and he must fully submit to the Necromancer’s hold over him.  Once pacified, the Morghuul will radiate a ghastly aura, and burn with the hunger and ability to consume soul-essence. While this does not offer a physical advantage it prepares a Morghuul for the Sacrement of Inmortuae

 

Sacrement of Inmortuae

When a Morghuul finishes their pilgrimage through the consumption of seven people’s worth of soul essences, they may seek a master necromancer (T4) so that the nascent strength of their Soul Shadow may be unfurled to bring them to greater shape. A Morghuul may choose to become either a Lich or a Darkstalker, whereupon their Greater Soul Shadows are trapped within a phylactery  for preservation. Like the genuine souls of Liches in the past, Greater Soul Shadows are capable of channeling magic and can innately use the tetherdrain spell, though not the debilitating touchdrain.  Liches are still not considered to be true souls; merely fragments of the once-was, bolstered by the theft of power that is not their own. This is not the case for Darkstalker’s Soul Shadows, however, which are only capable of summoning a Touchdrain. Lichtypes born from Ordained Morghuul are known as “Lessers”, as they have not yet reached the full capacity of their being. Though Liches and Darkstalkers follow the command of the leader of the ritual that raise them, their servitude can be broken by the same maleficar’s agreement and thus they are able to exist without the burden of slavery, if it is earned.

 


This sacrament requires three necromancers to complete, one who understands the complex intricacies of the ritual, known as the ritualist and two assistants.  The process of moving a soul from body to phylactery is no small task, and requires immense power; more so in fact than one necromancer can even output.  It is because of that fact two additional necromancers must join the ritualist to fuel him, that he may execute a spell consolidating the power of three people by himself.  A great reserve of energy is needed to be drawn from, either a great golden obelisk charged with life of an oversaturated natural area.  The ritualist will slay the saturated Morghuul and begin to drag over a sliver of his soul-shadow into the vessel that will soon become its phylactery, and the soul-essences the Morghuul consumed will be absorbed into the ritualist, causing additional strain on them.

 

The ritualist and the assistants must form a tether to the obelisk and all begin draining it at once, the assistants spare hand will form a reversed tether to the ritualist and pump life force into them.  The assistants act as conduits for life force, allowing it to flow from the obelisk, through the assistants and into the ritualist.  The ritualist’s spare hand grips the gem that would be the ghouls phylactery.  The influx of life force threefold into the ritualist quickly exceeds his capacity for the primal resource and overwhelms him, causing him to release it all at once, along with the soul essences in one sharp shockwave down his arm and into the phylactery, transporting the Morghuul’s soul with the jolt of energy.

 

The sheer intensity of the sacrament so violently teared at the body of the Morghuul, that little to no flesh would still exist upon it, promptly rising entirely skeletal.


Sacrament of Wholeness

True Lichtypes  (hereby referred to as ‘Graveborn’)  can be made through the ascension of a Morghuul through the ranks of servitude until the holder of their phylactery judges them worthy the Graveborn will be granted their phylactery and freedom from their master. To do this the graveborn must enter the Aurum ritual circle and stand in the center clutching their phylactery to them. The Grandmaster Necromancer[T5] Must then provide two live sacrifices to the circle and funnel them into the phylactery, this overload of energy if carefully controlled collapses the body of the Graveborn and purges the soul-shadow from the gem. This extreme surge of power trapped within the circle is then used to call forth the graveborn’s true soul into the phylactery, making them whole at last and capable of learning the godless art to completion, completing their long journey to the status of DeathKnight or Gravecaller.

Sacrament of Transference
Should a Lich or Darkstalker be displeased with their current form it is indeed possible for their soulshadows to adapt to a similar form with the aid of a necromancer or by themselves should they be a graveborn undead. Once every elven month it is possible for the soulshadow/soul of a Darkstalker to be converted into that of a Lich or vice versa with minimal difficulty. This is an imperfect art however, with this transference a lich’s soul will lose their prowess with every art save for Necromancy, forcing them to start from scratch should they wish to re-learn their lost arts.

 


 


Sacrament of Desperation

Unlike Morghuul who must slowly ascend with the will of their necromancer ally, A master necromancer [T5] has a much faster method transforming themselves into the greater form of both paths of ascendancy almost immediately. For a necromancer, skilled with the manipulation of their own lifeforce and those around them all that is required to become a Death Knight or a Gravecaller are two unwilling participants, a hefty sum of aurum, a knife and a crystal tainted to absorb loose lifeforce from the dead. It begins with two captives tied and bound at the edges of  a great circle constructed of aurum, between them is rested the crystal. One at a time the Necromancer must slay the tied captives and guide their departing lifeforce into the crystal, when this task is complete the necromancer must tether the crystal itself and funnel their own lifeforce into it, establishing a drain for the crystal to feed from, once this is established the Necromancer must commit the greatest taboo, ending their own life.

When the Necromancer’s corpse falls, so too does their darkhollow inflicted soul follow the stream of life force to consume, inadvertently trapping itself with them gem, breathing false life into the necromancer’s corpse and bringing their new dark form into being.

 

Though this serves as a last resort, as a necromancer can ascend through a similar but much more stable ritual.  

 

Sacrament of Ascendancy
While it is possible for a grandmaster necromancer to bring themselves to a greater form of undeath, it is also possible for a less-skilled necromancer [T3 and Greater] to ascend via similar methods. Substituting two live sacrifices for Three skilled Necromancers [T4 or Greater] around the circle it is possible for a reverse-tether to be formed to the subject of the ritual, tasked with holding the lifeforce gem to be their phylactery the Necromancer in the center of the circle is pumped rapidly with lifeforce while forming a tether of their own upon the crystal in hand. With an overflow of lifeforce the Necromancer is struck with death from the excess and all being funneled into him is very rapidly shot through his own tether upon the gem into it, trapping his soul.  The aurum circle prevents the life force from violently escaping, naturally being directed into the gem. This Sacrament also conveniently readies the body for ascendancy as the excess of lifeforce suddenly thrust upon the body causes the flesh upon it to quite literally explode off the bone. With his fellows disgusted, a large clean up project, and his new form achieved the Sacrament is complete.

 

Sacrament of Silence (Clotting)

 A power drawn from the maddening depths of the relic of the Old Lords, the Black Nexus, the Sacrament of Silence (also known as clotting) is a secret rite that only the most powerful of necromancers are entrusted with.. With Clotting, a necromancer’s control over Lifeforce may be completely eliminated, shattering their capacity to use the art until the affliction is redacted with a similar ritual. Clotting is often a spell imparted to those destined to become Coven leaders or those who wish to act as greater overseers over all of necrodom.




Red Lines:
Necromancers remain physically feeble and must drain to keep up their physical strength (though this is no more than the average mage)
Cauterization cannot be used to add any body part save for reattaching a freshly severed limb (Within one elven day unless the limb is preserved)
Curses beyond instilling mental urges or crippling someone must be approved by the MT through use of a MArt
Curses can be healed by Paladins/Clerics/Ascended
Stagnation can be cleared by Druids/Farseers
Slots for undead are capped at 5 at tier 5, creatures 12ft or slightly bigger are worth 2 slots. Halfling Sized or smaller are worth 1/2. Anything larger than an Olog requires more than one necromancer.
Resurrection of a corpse requires time, 3-4 emotes must be given to raise zombies with the exception of smaller undead such as rodents and branded individuals who die.
Branded individuals count as taking up a slot but lose their brand if more than fifty blocks away from the necromancer who branded them.
Keepers/Ascended/Itharel cannot be branded, cursed, or afflicted
Holy magic can be used to break a tether.
Undead within 15 blocks of their necromancer are resistant to holy arts, it is far more taxing and time consuming (2 emotes extra) to burn down an undead with the necromancer fueling their creation.
While Draining is painful, it is not capable of paralysis 
Afflictions/Curses cannot be used to instantly kill.
Mental-illness based curses or afflictions require OOC consent. 
DeathKnights and Gravecallers are not new creatures, merely liches and Darkstalkers empowered with the ability to wield necromancy.
If a lich becomes a darkstalker using the Sacrement of Transference , they must re-learn their magics should they switch back save for necromancy.
Liches no longer suffer from a slower rate of learning magic due to the extra effort now needed to become one.
No dual casting.

Ghouls still decay over time, no matter the amount of life force they consume.  Their decay can be slowed, but never stopped. 

Furthermore,  ghouls are zombie-like and are prone to animal-like behavior.  They have trouble remembering the most basic details, and are unable to recall some of the most major memories of their life before ghouldom.

Ghouls are also unable to speak normally, as their body is decaying and mind is fragmented.  Their speech seems slurred or mumbled.


Notes:
The Weirhent style of necromancy is still possible.

Clarification:

Spoiler

When a mage becomes a Ghoul on the path to attaining Lichdom, they lose their magic. This is based on the fact that their true soul, which departs from their bodies, is only capable of the utilization of magic, as a Morghuul/Ghoul are left with fragmented Soul Shadows that cannot achieve the same things as a normal soul.

They remain without magic all the way up until their Ordainment, where they are tasked with devouring the soul essence of seven mortal beings. What this does is "bolster" their Soul Shadow - through cannibalism, one may say they gain strength through devouring others, as the stolen soul essences cause their Soul Shadow to become stronger and stronger until it becomes less fragmented, and more taped together, so to speak.

Once a Morghuul had completed their Ordainment Pilgrimage, they are taken by Necromancers so that "Ascendency" can be initiated. Ascendency is a Necromantic Sacrament that causes a strengthing and binding process in an Ordained Morghuul's soul-essence-heightened Soul Shadow, essentially causing a near exact replica of the Morghuul's old soul to coalesce inside them.

While, yes, their true soul is no longer within their bodies, this "Greater Soul Shadow" mimics it almost precisely, but is weighed down by an accursed Darkhollow, that continuously saps them of their Lifeforce. Because this mimics their old souls with such precision, all of their old experience in spellcraft is carried over and returned to their minds, and because their Greater Soul Shadow is nearly just like their old souls, it also carries the mortal brilliance, so to speak, that allows for the use of Voidal and Dark magic.
 
The difference between Lichtypes that go through this soul-reform process and Lichtypes made directly from Necromancers, is that the Necromancer Lichtypes retain their soul. There is a final Sacrament that Morghuul-born Lichtypes can be put through that causes their old soul to return from the heavens and into their bodies, merging with their Greater Soul Shadow, so that they then may learn Necromancy, and become either a Gravecaller or Deathknight.
 
(Credit to Idolomun for explanation and consultation.) 
 
EDIT: (Caleb said since this is just a small clarification I could edit beforehand.) When a ghoul which had magic in life has finished their ordainment and goes through the liching process, they must prove their knowledge of every magic they plan to keep to someone well versed in said magic who is on the MT. An MA for a lich must be commented on approving them to hold the magic as a lich, otherwise it will be denied. This comment must be posted by a member of the MT who has interviewed them. For every two months a ghoul is a ghoul, their magic will fall down a tier, excluding the first two months. Teacher applications for liches must be resubmitted and accepted.
 
Ghoul Timetable
0-2 Months: Same tier as living.
2-4 Months: -1 Tier
4-6 Months: -2 Tier
6-8 Months: -3 Tier
8-10 Months: -4 Tier
10+ Months: MA will be denied and the magic dropped.
If the ghoul was tuned to a lich in less than 1 Months time, no interview is required.


Credits (in alphabetical order):
Geoboy66- Writing and consultation
Swgrclan- Writing and consultation
Tentoa- Writing and consultation
Zarsies- Writing and consultation

(We all worked very hard, Swgr didn’t bring up Dark Souls, there was progress.)-Tentoa
(I nearly killed them all) - Tentoa

(This has been a long time coming. Too long.) - Zarsies

 


   Lore links

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/133593-necromancer-lore-the-exegesis-of-lifeforce/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/143128-necromancy/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/144322-the-darkhollow-the-yoresigil/


 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/142149-the-apotheosis-of-the-liches-lich-lore-update/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/132278-playable-the-darkstalkers-of-xion/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/150590-morghuul-ghoul-revision/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/146019-the-suspension-of-life-the-power-of-clotting/
 

 

Addressed LT concerns regarding: Cauterization, corpse Resurrection, dualcasting, stagnation, cursing, fleshsmithing, clarified the distance and strength of the corpses resistance to holy magics.

 

 

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Zch1P9x.jpg

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5 minutes ago, Zarsies said:

Zch1P9x.jpg

2
 

Same.

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tumblr_inline_nphkbjYrtX1rsow5b_500.gif As much as I joke, it's lovely. Good job.

Edited by Clayphish
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This is extremely well written, all involved deserve a pat on the back.

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Finally, I want to see some Necromancers again. It feels so lonely. :c

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Finally killing the guide page is the lore meme I see.

Fairly well written lore but theirs something you should buff.

1 hour ago, Tentoa said:

A necromancer can retain a tether at 8 feet at maximum

8 feet is about 2.5 blocks in Minecraft standard (2.43 meters, to be exact) and in real life standards that is about this. Also a UFC ring is about 30ft and in that video I pulled that from he crossed from the fence to where you see him in the image in about a second. That's 15ft in a second so I would not waste more than a single emote to cross that 8ft distance and then maybe another emote for my attack.

If you think i'm bsing those numbers here is the video.

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Just now, Данстан said:

 

This rewrite extended from the overuse of the tether, it should not be used in combat and is utlitary in purpose now. The focus was to be shifted toward these shiny new undead.

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2 minutes ago, Tentoa said:

.

Boost it to 30ft so theirs something that can reasonably take down my Paleknight, apart from holies.

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Just now, Данстан said:

Boost it to 30ft so theirs something that can reasonably take down my Paleknight, apart from holies.

0
 

You mean Death Knights/gravecallers?

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4 minutes ago, Tentoa said:

 

Hold on, i'm going senile.

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