Necromancers

Necromancers appear like any other typical humans. Unlike Shapeshifters and Elemental Mages, their physical appearance generaly isn't affected by their magic abilities. However, when these are active, their eyes will begin to glow and emit a faint bluish light, much like other types of Soulbound Mages.

Magic Abilities

The abilities that Necromancers possess are varried and still relatively mysterious, even compared to other soulbound mage types. This is due to their rarety and the widespread stigma around their abilities. Still, over the centuries, Scholars have been able to develop a list of recuring abilities that all necromancers seem to possess with varying levels of potency.

Spirit Communication

Necromancers are able to communicate with the spirits of the dead who still linger in the physical world, and are sometimes powerful enough to reach spirits located in The Ether. The type and lenght of the communication is highly variable, from genuine long-winded friendly conversations, to single word commands.

Spirit Summoning

Necromancers are able to summon spirits to their location. To do this, they must first establish a link between themselves and the spirit, aing to those found between shapeshifters and their ikshai. The summoning spirit will then use that link to find and appear in front of the mage. However, a spirit can refuse or resist a summon if it is strong enough.

Spirit Command

Necromancers can command summoned spirits to do various things, such as divulge information, or fighting for them. Necromancers are also able to render their spiritual forms semi-solid for a short while, allowing them to talk normaly and use tools and weapons. However, giving a spirit a body again also means that they can feel pain again. This poses a risk of transforming them into Ghosts, who will later have to be exorcised. Spirits produce ectoplasm when wounded in this form.

Ghoul Creation

Ghouls can be created by Necromancer reviving a recently deceased person with their mana energy, transforming the corpse into a puppet controled by them. Non-magic human corpse take less mana to reanimate compared to mage corpses. A quirk of Elemental Mage corpses is that when reanimated, the ghouls are able to use magic as well, as long as their mana core is still intact. This quirk does not apply to Soulbound mages, since their souls/spirits are needed for their type of magic. Generaly, 1-3 corpses can be reanimated at once by a single necromancer, and each can stay "alive" for a few hours, depending on the strenght of the Necromancer, before "dying" again. For a reason that remains a mystery, once a ghoul dies, their body decays extremely rapidaly, sometimes in mere seconds, turning into a pile of dust and dry bones.

Self-Resurection

Necromancers can cheat death by quickly summoning their own souls back to their body after it dies. This is a very complicated proceadure with a high failure rate. However, those that succeed are able to remain alive for long enough to heal whatever killed them, such as wounds or poison. A major caviat to this ability is that they cannot summon themselves back into their body if it was killed by silver, as the metal will block their souls from reentering.

Phantom Body

Necromancers are able to very temporarely make their bodies phantom-like, meaning that it becomes non-physical. This allows them to be able to pass through solid mass, or allow solid mass or objects to pass through them. This effect can't be sustained for long, and most necromancers have to revert back to a physical body after just a few seconds. This is because that ability consumes a lot of mana, and they cannot use mana from the Ether in this form, as their etherial link is disabled in phantom form. Contact with solid mass as well as receiving wounds on their body in this form produces ectoplasm.

Exorcism

Necromancers are able to effectively fight Ghosts and expulse them from the physical plane. They do this by establishing a link with it, giving it a semi-solid body that can be hurt, and then they fight it using a specialy forged iron sword, made with their own Ectoplasm. When the ghost is sufficiently wounded, it will either surrender and become a normal spirit again, or it will try to flee. If the former happens, the necromancer can send it back to the Ether using their own link. If the latter happens, then the necromancer must catch it and kill it. It is unknown what happens to these killed ghost, but some say they sink to the underworld and become demons or other monsters.

Other Magical Abilities

Healing/Regeneration

Necromancers have relatively weak healing abilities compared to other soulbound mages. Rumours claim that some of them need to feed on the mana energy of spirit they summon to heal themselves, but this hasn't been proven.

Visions

Out of all soulbound mages types, necromancers have the most potent premonition abilities. This allows them to occasionaly see visions and experience prophetic dreams about themselves and others from both the past and the furute. Most notably, when summoning spirits, they are able to see visions and memories related to them as well, though this is limited by the strenght of a spirit. A stronger spirit may offer greater resistance than a weaker one.

Telepathy

Although most soulbound mages are cappable of varying amounts of telepathy between each other, Necromancers are naturaly some of the best, only behind Soulweavers. This might be because they regularly converse via telepathy with the spirits they call and summon.

Magical abilities tend to develop late for Necromancers, compared to other soulbound mages. When these are fully developed, usualy after puberty, they are heavely influenced by Veos's moon phases Their abilities grow stronger as Veos becomes larger in the sky, and vice-versa.

A small, but very famous schools for necromancers is located in the city of Nefan, in south west Asylia. The institution opened during the second age, and received its charter from the Esnian Empire to operate. A branch of the school opened in the city of Sirok, on the other side of the narrow sea, around 300bc.    Besides this famous school, young necromancers are able to learn and train some of their abilities, most notably the arts of exorcism in various Suriats of eastern Arros. There, they are considered a branch of the Moonknights, who serve the Choranian clergy. However, Necromancers training in these places are forbidden to use some of their other abilities, such as making ghouls or controling spirits against their will.

Necromancers speak the common local language. However, some that were trained either in the school of Nefan, or in various suriats of eastern Arros do learn a command-based language, recited in Old/High Esnian, mainly for tradition's sake. These commands help necromancers summon spirits and control them more efficiently.

It is common for known Necromancers to wear long dark cloaks and hoods over their heads, so as to hide their identity when moving about.

A legend that comes from the Kingdom of Northengor talks of a centuries old necromancer, living in a small hunt deep in the thick pine woods. It is said that when night falls, he goes out to prey on anyone wandering the woods alone to consume their souls. Despite its old age and emaciated looks, it can run fast and for a long time. Once it catches its victim, it will suck the soul directly out of them, and transform the person into a ghoul, who will become his servant until its death.

Necromancer are seen as abominations within Solianism, and as such, have faced similar or even harsher oppresion as their shapeshifting comrades. However, unlike them. there is no easy way to distinguish Necromancers at a glance, which has historicaly been their main way to evade the autorities. Elsewhere, mostly in choranian countries, Necromancers are accepted, but the use of their abilities is heavely regulated. They, like other soulbound mages, often get help from Shapeshifters, and it isn't rare for Shapeshifter Clans to accept a necromancer in need of help and offer them shelter, at least temporarely.