You are very conflicted about which spell to learn right now as you can think of uses for both, you decide to read each thoroughly and discover that the spell to detect souls is not quite what you expected, it only detects souls that have been freed from their living vessels. Without the ability to detect keep track of living beings you decide to learn the spell of direct control first, and suddenly you know it. It’s a strange sensation, knowing that you have been studying both spells for the same amount of time but knowing for a fact you can only cast one, the book definitely seems to be having a hand in how quickly you are learning your spells and is giving you knowledge much more quickly than you would learn it from Arbus, but still it is holding something back from you, giving you trickles of power rather than letting you learn at a speed suited for you.
Still you have other things on your mind right now. It’s late, but still you spend a few minutes examining the shape of your spell in your head. With a few simple words, a touch and an expenditure of mana you can take direct control over an undead being for a few hours, whilst you have this control you have no control over your body or your senses so it is best to cast this spell somewhere safe. Furthermore the element of your control is made out of both your vitality and your mana. So, it is best not to lose it. If your minion should die whilst your will inhabits it or you do not return your will to your body before the spell is over you feel that you would lose some mana and some blood but otherwise be able to function as normal. You can have your undead minion touch your body to transfer your will back to yourself safely at any time.
Deciding that this is a spell to use cautiously you settle down for a few hours of deep, exhausted sleep before you get up to start your day as a mages apprentice. You wake up refreshed and early, despite your late night and start your day as you have for years now, making sure Arbus has breakfast and the things he needs for his morning studies before wolfing something down yourself. You sort, you tidy and you fetch until noon, and then it is time for your lessons. In the main you keep up studying the basic stone summoning spell, making slow progress which leaves you able to summon a pebble after an hour or so. It’s frustrating, but it doesn’t bother you so much now you are making progress on a different path.
Deciding not to put the time spent with Arbus to waste you decide to see if you can subtly push him to send you on an errand to Ifeus. However, despite your keen knowledge of him and his trust of you your suggestions fall on deaf ears, it is almost as if he has decided to purposely sidestep the topic of Ifeus and what she might know for the moment. Considering that he was free with this information just yesterday something must have changed in the meantime, perhaps they fell out, occasionally that does happen, though usually you he grumbles about her arrogance a little when they have an academic disagreement. Still you decide to leave the issue for now, but you think you’ve picked up a couple of tricks for the next time you want to get someone to do something.
As your lesson finishes and your chores are finished up you decide to take a few minutes to do some magical experimentation. You cast detect magic, it taxes you a lot more than it usually does and drains you to cast it, but magic is fickle like that and sometimes it’s just a bad day to cast a certain spell. Still, knowing is fairly important to you so you push the mana through regardless and see a familiar sight. The air is laden with spirits, lots of spells have been cast here over time and spirits tend to gather where the magic is, many of the books lying around have spirits embedded in them, marking them out as magical items or results of spells in their own right. Turning your sight to the two necromantic objects in the room you can’t see anything directly that would indicate they were magical, souls cannot be seen under detect magic it seems (you mentally rename the spell to something more appropriate) however the spirits do give each object a wide berth, no spirit approaches within a hand span on the zombie rat and you could stand within the spiritless sphere centred on the book and stretch your arms out and not touch a spirit. It seems that natural spirits do not like being around created souls. This then is a tool for those who search for necromancy, so long as you can see, you can see the gap in the sea of spirits, especially in magic rich environments.
Satisfied you decide to go speak to your sister, who should be having breakfast by now. Your father and Ta are out working and by the time you reach the house the three of them share Jia is cleaning and polishing her equipment. As you embrace, it’s something of a surprise to see you, you catch the definite whiff of sewer stuff. And that starts the conversation off, you show the requisite amount of concern and get her to talk without seeming too interested, you’re getting better at this getting people to do things business. She explains that the Night Watch and Paladins are hunting something in the sewers, something that’s killing the people who live down there and seems to have come closer to the surface recently as a child has gone missing in the last week. Which explains the involvement of the Night Watch, the Templars are there in case it is something magical, or even necromantic. So far whatever it is has been alluding them and Jia is obviously frustrated. You talk about family life and your studies which distracts her a bit from hunting around in the sewers all night. Before you leave, you offer to help her put her armour on, after all, it’s easier with two. Actually it isn’t, but your sister is patient enough to help you undo your mistakes and teach you how to do it properly. You reckon you’ve learned enough to wear the armour you’ve acquired without slowing you down too much.
So you have a the evening and as much of the night as you are willing to spend to do with as you will what next?
Health: 10/10
Mana: 6/10
Will: 5
Skills:
Competent Magical Theorist (d8)
Competent Mage (d8)
Novice Necromancer (d6)
Proficient Scholar (d10)
Novice Handyman (d6)
Novice Negotiator (d6)
Novice Observer (d6)
Adequate Manipulator (d7)
Items of import (ask about what else you might have that makes sense):
The Path to Power (+1 to summoning corporeal undead) (Hidden in your room)
2 gold, 9 silver and 4 copper coins worth of coinage
Dagger (Hidden in your room)
Cutlass (Hidden in your room)
Leather Armour (Hidden in your room) (+2 armour, -1 to spell casting)
1 Rat zombie (d4)
Arbus the Sage (your mentor): Trusting, he has worked with you for many years and so trusts your capabilities and has insight into your character.
Bral the Labourer (Your father): Doting, he cares for all her children but has a special place in her heart for the son who will make something of himself even if he sees you rarely.
Ta the Labourer (your elder sister): Cordial, you still have contact with Ta who wants little from life, though she has always been wary of the lust for power she saw in you.
Jia the night watchman (your elder sister): Good, you two share the same drive to better yourselves you both recognise that in each other and respect it.
Ifeus the star mage: Unknown, she is an independent mage with whom Arbus corresponds with most often as such you have run some delivery’s to and from her tower.
Valo apprentice to Apras the fire mage: admiration, Valo and Apras are in the employ of the temple. Valo is a couple of years younger than you and holds your magical knowledge in awe.
Cai apprentice to Didor the Druid: Rivalry. Cai and Didor are in the employ of the kingdom. Cai is about your age and she has a drive similar to yours, this has led to a sporting rivalry which has allowed you to pick up some practical magecraft and her to be schooled in more theoretical matters.
Bind Corpse: Creates a skeleton or zombie servant of varying power. The power depends on the soul’s strength and the skill with which you cast the spell.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d (4+number of bound undead servants)
Control Undead: Gives you direct control over one of your undead minions for a few hours. It is recommended that your control be returned to your person manually.
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d(strength of the undead minion)
Arcane Shield: Creates a shield which deflects the actions of spirits of a certain type.
Cost 1 Mana.
Difficulty d4+number of active shields
Spirit Sight: Allows you to see the spirits in an area, determining their numbers and movement
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4
Message: Compels the wind to carry something roughly the size and shape of a parchment a considerable distance
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4
Slow blood: Thickens the blood of a living being, rendering it sluggish and eventually unconscious
Cost 1 Mana
Difficulty d4 or relevant skill
Vicious Growth: Accelerates and controls the growth of a nearby plant, which dies when the spell has ended.
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d6
Light: Forms a ball of dim light that can be controlled for a while, will momentarily blind someone if summoned in their face.
Cost 1 mana
Difficulty d4
Author
Topic: (SG) You are an aspiring necromancer. (Read 5734 times)