Shyish

Shyish, also called the Lore of Death, is the Purple Wind of Magic, and it is the embodiment of the Aethyric certainty of the passage of time and the inevitability of death. It is the most mysterious and terrible of all the wholesome forms of magic.   Shyish is said to be formed by the realisation of the transience of life, of reminisences of days gone by, of mortal acceptance of the day currently lived. It blows from the past and into the future.   The Purple Wind blows most strongly when death must be faced or endings take place. It is therefore drawn to battlefields, sites of executions, and graveyards. The Wind of Shyish is manipulated by the Amethyst Order, whose adherents are called Amethyst Wizards or "spiriters."   Shyish is most often described as a puppet to the passage of time. It blows from the past, because the past has ended and is gone, through the present, because endings and the expectation of death are intrinsic parts of the living of life, and into the future, for the future leads inevitably towards endings and death. Some have equated Shyish with destiny, for it does not control what was, is, or shall be, but instead permeates and reflects these things with absolute intimacy.   Shyish blows strongest wherever death must be faced or endings take place. It is drawn to battlefields where men must embrace or submit to their deaths, and because all soldiers must accept the possibility of their own demise as part of their daily life. Shyish lingers around the gibbets of execution and hangs in the silence of graveyards where mourners gather in longing and reminiscence.   It is said to be strongest in times of most obvious transition -- at dawn and dusk, for one is the end of night, and the other is the end of day. Many of the Amethyst Order's rituals occur at these times.   It also blows powerfully during spring and autumn, and yet also the solstices of both summer and winter, for they mark the longest and shortest days of the year and therefore the beginning of the end for each of the seasons.  

Amethyst Magic

  It is true that Magisters of the Amethyst Order have power over the dead and the power to cause death. They can steal the soul of their enemy or suck away his life, leaving nought but a flesh and blood husk. These Magisters are reputed to even be able to see spirits and souls as they travel between this world and the next and are said to be able to communicate with them, after a fashion.   The most powerful amongst the Magisters of Shyish are rumoured to be able to contact the spirit world and whatever remains of the souls of the dead exist within the Aethyr. These spirits may sometimes be encouraged to speak through Shyish's Magisters, for they have a degree of mastery over spirits both benign and otherwise -- although this ability ends, or so they say, when that soul is devoured or embraced by one of the many gods or Daemons of Mankind.   Once a man has grown to full maturity and the point has been crossed where growing up is replaced with growing old, the Magisters of Shyish are said to be able to actually see in a noticeable and measurable way his slow demise as death claims him in tiny increments, second by second, hour by hour, and day by day. They see the approaching end of all things that live.   There are those who wrongly accuse the Amethyst Magisters of dabbling in Necromancy, but this is not the case. At least not entirely. Necromancers defy death and despise endings, while the Order of Shyish accepts death and embrace endings. Despite this, the Order of Shyish remains tainted by their apparent association with the powers of darkness.   Yet there are some similarities between the magic of the Amethyst Order (also known as soul-stealing)and the dark arts of necromancy. Only the spiritualism and spellcraft of the Amethyst College can be practised without causing the detrimental psychological, spiritual, and even physical effects of true necromancy. Having said this, Amethyst magic can never reach the levels of raw power achieved by the corrupt and coldhearted Necromancers.