Nekomancy

Nekomancy is the black art of the cat scholars, a discipline whispered about even among other magical creatures. A nekomancer is a cat who holds the rare and unsettling gift of calling the dead to rise and speak. Unlike mortal necromancers, they do not enslave souls or build armies. Their power serves knowledge alone. The dead are raised not to serve, but to answer.   This magic begins in language. The nekomancer’s voice is said to reach through the thin space between life and what lies beyond. By reciting a name or fragment of memory, the cat awakens that echo for a brief time. Bones stir, ash breathes, and the dead recall just enough of themselves to speak. When the answers are given, the spell fades, and the body collapses again into silence. Few outside the cat clans have ever witnessed it without trembling.   The practice follows strict limits. A nekomancer cannot restore life or hold a soul beyond its willingness to return. The dead speak only as long as they choose, and they are often blunt or cruel in their replies. The art draws upon a mix of empathy and authority. The cat must convince the spirit that its words still matter. Some use persuasion, others intimidation, but all respect the fragile line between curiosity and desecration.   Nekomancy is passed through bloodlines and long apprenticeship. Each practitioner memorizes the old languages of the underworld, for only certain tones and cadences carry across the veil. Ceremonies are quiet affairs, often held in moonlight or among ruins where the dead are restless. The nekomancer marks a circle with chalk or ash, not to bind the spirit but to guide it home. Within that circle, questions are asked, bargains made, and truths recovered from the edge of oblivion.   Though their art is morbid, nekomancers serve an essential role in cat society. They are historians, record keepers, and judges of truth. When disputes arise over ancient promises or forgotten crimes, it is the nekomancer who calls witnesses from the grave. Their neutrality is legendary, for no lie survives the testimony of the dead. Yet many others fear them, believing that too much time spent among corpses stains the soul.   Philosophically, nekomancy is about reverence for memory. To raise the dead is to acknowledge that the past still shapes the present. The nekomancer accepts that knowledge carries a cost and that curiosity must be balanced with compassion. They walk the line between life and decay, guided by duty rather than desire. When their questions are answered, they always close the grave with care. To leave the dead unsettled is the one sin their order will not forgive.