Necromancy is one of the Triadic Arts that cover the elements of life: body, mind, and spirit. After the Schism, the loss of cerebremancers caused many to begin thinking of necromancy as the opposite of theramancy rather than one of three parts that make up a whole. Necromancy was long associated with death, and the name stuck, but it is truly the magic of the spirit. After the body’s physical death, the reincarnation cycle of spirits traversing Endscape to rejoin the Initiator means that necromancy is the only multiplanar magic. A trained necromancer can determine if someone is near death, who the person was in previous lives, and even commune with spirits in Endscape before they are reincarnated. Some believe necromancers can communicate with the Initiator, though necromancers deny this.
Necromancers are greatly respected both for their closeness to the Initiator and for the comfort they provide to those who have lost loved ones. In the rotes when the insensati burned magi, the necromancers survived mostly unscathed: it is considered an insult to the Initiator to kill a necromancer. With their knowledge of impending death, it was common in the rotes when the skies danced for soldiers to seek out a necromancer before battle and ask if the coming conflict would be their last, but these magi are often reticent to reveal what they know for fear the knowledge will change the outcome. Necromancers believe that everyone must die at their correct, appointed time.
For almost three thousand gyres, necromancers have been a rare sight. It is unknown precisely how many there are, but some say as few as twenty. Necromancers believe there is a finite number of spirits able to wield this specific type of magical energy, so each generation has the same number of necromancers as spirits reincarnate. Their numbers dwindled from hundreds to the current, tiny number after an event known as the Bleed. Something caused thousands of spirits to return from Endscape without merging with the Initiator. They began to rip the spirits from living beings and send them screaming into Endscape before the appropriate time. The necromancers of that era came together and contained the angry spirits to a single region, but it caused the death of most of the participants. They have never reincarnated. The trapped spirits continue to linger on the stark, stone plateau to this rote. The Great Lantern Tower at Ameklin Pass guides the living through what has become known as the Wailing Sea. The tortured spirits cannot stand the light of the tower, and living beings illuminated by it can travel safely.
The most common specialties within necromancy are presented here. Bridgers facilitate contact between the living and the dead, serving both grieving families and restless spirits. Releasers are magi who guide spirits through the crossing into Endscape at their properly appointed time, but legends claim unraveled releasers turn their powers on the living and release their spirits into Endscape early. Soulwrights focus on the health and integrity of living spirits still housed in their bodies. They are the necromancy equivalent to theramancy’s healers, though their precise purpose and function is poorly understood by most magi. The vigilists began as a watchful group devoted to observing what Endscape chose to reveal of itself. Over time the role expanded into active mapping, experimentation, and attempts to better understand the nature of Endscape. Other necromancers have grave concerns about this drift.
Kristofor Loren Carlson 