The Necromantic by Lord Cartherion

The Necromantic is an archaic tome written by Lord Cartherion during the Fifth Age as a personal journal and dictation on his practice of necromancy. The writer takes a look at Gielinorian examples and applies them to applicable circumstances or simply notes these practices as fundamental knowledge.

Foreword
There is no meaning of life to the practitioner of necromancy, but a meaning to death for those of us that succeed in surpassing madness rather than delve into our inner most reclusive insanity. This is not to discredit those that have descended into madness as they practiced the dark arts, but to highlight that such a practice does indeed cause one to forfeit pieces of their mind, body, and soul, as if their craft was meant to be wrought to perfection. Let these words carry a message that necromancy has no place for the faint-hearted for they shall perish with their unfinished work. One's soul must first become devoid of all attachments and cherished ideals or memories in order to fully commit to such a soul dissipating art. It's almost inconceivable to find those that don't forfeit mortality to practice necromancy but be aware that these individuals, should they frolic about, will make the best sacrifices for your work. Pry from them, for even gems can be found in the most unlikely rocks of the earth, but operate under deceit and manipulation when they attempt to emulate your practice.

Inside this tome is not only my personal dictation to how the dark art has worked for myself, but an immense study undertaken throughout my years of longevity of necromancy practiced throughout our world by trial and error. You will find that if you're reading this then you've been entrusted with the constitution of my work or my soul has finally been damned and eternally destroyed. Perhaps you've managed to commit theft of it out of curiosity? Let us press on with hope that isn't the case, because you will soon find the uncorrupted soul you possess fractured and brought to immoral ruin.

Chapter I
"Dei perfecta est cum ad fracta ego eram."

For I was fractured flawlessly. The only capable necromancer is the one whose soul has already committed itself to death. As mentioned before, there are mortal individuals that think they can escape death's sweet kiss and still tamper with the souls of others. They will always fall prey to the stronger, most unnerving, and boldest practitioners. They deserve to be mocked and used as our thrall's once we've discarded them and reanimated their vessels. The only races capable of possessing such capabilities are those whose mortality is preserved by a genetic gift of longevity such as Elves or even the famed Mahjarrat. For humans, however, they are the most foolish of all to practice necromancy without a fractured soul.

One attribute as a human practitioner is that they can be most attuned to prying souls from the multiple underworlds. I've found Niflheim, the netherworld of the Fremennik, to be a valuable location for retrieving souls when without a struggling sacrifice. Legendary as it may be to the unfamiliar, it seems these spirits were undeserving of glory in life and therefore must be discarded to Niflheim. The Grim Underworld will always be the most ideal location to cease the ferrying of souls and misplacing their location, but as humans are entirely foolish and arrogant, they risk being caught by the Reaper himself. When coursing through the Grim Underworld, it's best to have experienced the journey within so as to avoid sacrificing yourself.

The initial and most important lesson in undertaking necromancy is to die.

Chapter II
"Quid enim tuum meum est et meum est, meum est."

The second lesson and often overlooked by the best of us is to fracture the soul, as I initially addressed. This is always done through ones own ability and it's obviously not wise to trust another individual with performing this sin on your behalf. Becoming a Lich can be voluntary or involuntary with the latter usually involving the enslaving of oneself to another necromancer. Trusting another with the journey of your own soul can go in either direction. A phylactery has always been the dominant haven of a fractured soul. In order to do so, the soul must be carved from within and sharpened on the whetstone of your abilities. Usually an item which can be worn or carried is used as the phylactery, a vessel of a liche's soul, that way it can also be concealable. Oh, but how does an individual live without the lifeline of their soul?

This question cannot be fully answered. Only the most experienced magi are truly capable of preserving their own soul through the means of magical energy.

It should be noted that the next line is spoken in the Freneskaen language and therefore, unless read aloud by a Mahjarrat, the individual doing so will suffer a crippling assault on their own being or even summon a member of the mentioned covenant. Should the latter happened, let us hope this character was permitted the usage of this tome. The purpose is to safeguard the next amount of insight.

"Nazutakkaaik Dao Rummattagar Elu Pettikaar Dizhrati Pelshragikk."

Before my dedication to the Amaranthine Order, sustaining my own vessel became daunting and required much effort. However, once you've committed to the practice of siphoning the soul and merging their life force with your own, sustainment merely relies on your continued practice of rejuvenating oneself with spells of restoration. As once observed by a Karamjan shaman and only attainable through careful practice or observation, the incantation "Iles resti yam darkus spiritus possessi yanai", can allow one to regain control of their vessel should they find the soul they've siphoned possessive of their body.

The magicks capable of preserving ones lichdom and rejuvenation may also be used as a group effort. Just as Nomad created an obelisk to siphon the souls of the dead, so could the most powerful necromancers construct such an object. Since it's unlikely many modern necromancers are liable to commit mass murder for the sake of collecting these souls, even though such an undertaking is highly sought after by the damned, petty murders can be encouraged and power shared through the combined effort of a forged obelisk. Be aware that the ambition of each necromancer is not to be underestimated and they surely should only be looking after themselves. The prospect of immortality can never be taken for granted, lest you be a fool. Sharing the power of a soul obelisk must always be bound to an adherence to loyalty by a sworn covenant.

Chapter III
"Consumptura est enim animae et dimittere."

Animating the corpse of the fallen is a progressive set of winding stairs so long as the practice is coordinated over a period of time and carefully articulated. Be warned that one mispronounced incantation, when using chants and incantations, could potentially fail, backfire, or end the caster's life. In many cases, a resurrected soldier could be reanimated but not under the control of the necromancer, therefore turning on them violently. Utilizing a binding curse whilst raising the dead should be an obvious attribute to reanimation, though in my beginnings as an apprentice I was faced with destroying my own creations as I had failed to bind them to my will.

In failing to do so and learning from these mistakes the act of binding to will became a natural instinct. During an excursion to an outlying village of goblins, I managed to resurrect a small makeshift graveyard and bind each of these skoblins to my will. This would also be the first instance that I was able to master such a task.

In many instances and most common, the reanimation of the dead is utilized by a device which is crafted and corrupted for the this purpose. An orb accursed with the ability to siphon souls can even deliver one to the vessel of a race that the soul is compatible with. Otherwise, if the soul of a lesser race inhabits the vessel of a stronger one, the result could end in years of adjustment and potential failure. This incident is not recommended or practiced by myself since revival should be used specifically for a purpose to obtain information or attack my adversaries.

Alas, many different corrupted objects can possess the ability to reanimate a corpse. For instance, in the southern reaches of Kandarin, deep in Ogre country, I once heard of a black prism that was used to raise zogres at ease, which quickly overran the site of Jiggig with these powerful undead creatures. It's probably most unfortunate that I could not locate this artifact myself...