• Solo • [The Umbral Caverns] The first step on the Dark Path.

[Netzach Embersoul]

Stormwastes, Near the Umbral Caverns

A haggard dreary eyed Netzach trudged through the arid, dusty soil of the stormwastes. The ground beneath his feet feeling less like sand and more like broken bits of bone and teeth, that stuck to the soles of his shoes, or painfully to his skin when he stumbled.
His form was covered head to foot with loose scarves, and other bits of cloth, trying to hide his features as much as possible.
He wanted to make sure nobody saw him coming all the way here. As far as anyone back at Rharne knew, Netzach should be taking a week off from his work at the Tavern. Maybe to fish or something. He didn't particularly care about the specifics and he was sure neither would anyone else. Just as long as nobody knew where he really was.

Seven trials ago he had finally resolved himself to meet his 'master', the old necromancer who had bestowed upon him these magical powers.
Having experimented with them, he finally realized it was an opportunity he could not squander. Although the idea of apprenticing oneself under a murderous, potentially crazy and extremely powerful old man did not particularly strike as pleasant, the reward was more than worth the risks involved.

That was seven trials ago. Netzach had since then prepared himself with a few travellers neccesities. He armed himself with a simple crossbow and a dagger, the only weapons he reasonably trusted himself to wield. In his knapsack were rations to last him several days, a bedroll and some other camping equipments.
But despite his preparations, things did not go even half as smoothly as he hoped. The caravan stopped short of Stormwastes, and he earned the odd looks of the other more grizzled looking adventuring types seeing his thin lanky frame head out to what they probably believed was certain death. On top of that, the nights he spent after trudging for hours on foot, trying to read a map that he was pretty certain he was holding upside down half the time, before bedding down. The starlight sky would have definitely been an awe inspiring moment, a romance of songs sung around a campfire. But no it was mostly filled with the teeth-chattering cold breeze and occasional beetle or scorpion taking residence in his cot-roll.

Netzach was, in short, exhausted. His eyes sagging, his skin pocked by insect bites.
And finally before him were the Umbral caverns, a small craggy hill with several entrances carved into its side.
Netzach didn't know whether his heart rose or sank. On one hand he finally got to his destination, on the other hand his destination was... the home of a necromancer.

Suddenly he heard a noise that immediately sent tingles down his spine, archaic survival instincts suddenly flaring as some animalistic part of his brain recognized the noise before he did.
He turned towards the sound of 4 pawed legs padding hard against the dusty inhospitable landscape of the Stormwastes.

He had heard of monsters roaming the wastes, beasts that by virtue of their sheer power managed to survive in the most inhospitable ruins near Rharne, predators that had little to no challengers, save for the most skilled, brave, or foolish.

He quickle stumbled backward, fumbling at his knapsack for his crossbow. He tugged the string backward and found incredible resistance. Why did they make the crossbow so hard to draw?
The beast began to draw closer, a dashing blur with bared teeth, claws and a strange glimmering fur.

"Lumen Wolf"

, he realized, having heard a few stories about these beasts. He had never seen one up close before, but there was no doubt about it.

He drew the string back hard, bracing the butt of the crossbow clumsily against his abdomen. It hurt, the pressure easily overpowering his weak abdominal muscles, digging in painfully.
He only got about halfway down the length of the crossbow before the string snapped back forward, the bolt flying out in a weak arc into the dusty soil.
"Sard! I should have practiced before bringing this stupid crossbow with me"
Netzach drew his only other weapon, the dagger, and held it in a reverse-grip. The long length of the blade a small soothing balm of reassurance against the tremendous pressure of fear that the beast before him represented.

The Lumen Wolf slowed down, then halted. Netzach moved back slightly, his feet skidding in the dusty sand, firmly planted against the treacherously shifting soil under him.

The Lumen Wolf just stood there, staring at him. It didn't howl, nor growl nor bark. It didn't leap on him nor bore its claws against him. It just stared.
Netzach then noticed some things. Its fur seemed to be fixed in emitting one color, which was different from the tales of shimmering splendour that they would emit. The wolf also seemed to be oddly still, it stood there in perfect silence, almost like a statue.

As he calmed down he began to notice stitches, like someone had sown the rent flesh of the wolf back together.

"Are you... Did the Old man send you?"

The wolf responded with a single nod of its head.

Netzach realized that the wolf was a thrall, a beast risen from the dead by necromantic powers.
Lowering his dagger, the wolf stiffly spun around and began to slowly pad towards the hills housing the entrances to the Umbral Caverns.

Netzach hesitated for a second, before following the wolf, stopping only to grab the crossbow bolt buried in the dust.

Although unsettling, Netzach felt a sense of reassurance and security in following the lead of the undead wolf.
"Sure beats trying to wander around the Caverns and finding the Old man for myself...."

[Netzach Embersoul]

In the Umbral Caverns

The cave entrance opened into a large atrium, with tunnels sprawling off into countless directions. The wolf... thrall before him continued to silently pad forward.

They entered another opening, this time leading into a large tunnel. It seemed to go on and on for bits, winding left and right.
Just as he was wondering if this Wolf was even leading him anywhere, he had arrived.

First was the smell, the pure stench of a dozen rotting corpses. Thralls. A familiar scent.
Ugh, he was probably the only person in all of Rharne that could say that scent was familiar
As the tunnel opened up into another chamber, he saw a group of the thralls, standing in two columns side by side, facing each other with a gap of a few feet apart, almost in a mockery of an army lining up to greet a guest of great honor coming to their city.

Clap, clap, clap

Came a familiar sound, the clapping of two leathery hands, almost mockingly, followed by a voice that sounded like a dying whisper and a roar of anger all at once.


"Finally, my apprentice returns to his Master! And so we shall finally begin his tutelage in the necromantic arts!"
The Old man grinned. An expression that somehow seemed inhuman on his weathered face, sending a shiver down Netzach's spine.

"I have come to learn more... Master."
His jaw tightened slightly as he spat out the word 'master'. Somehow Netzach knew that the old man enjoyed his game, and hearing Netzach call him by a title of respect against his own wishes seemed to please him even more.
"These... powers. I tried to make sense of them and... well, they are more difficult to understand than I imagined. Its like they are barely even there. You promised me that you can teach me to use magic if I came to you. And so I have come."

"Aha! How fortunate I am to have an apprentice so eager to learn from me!"
The Old man grinned, Netzach grit his teeth. He wasn't taking Netzach very seriously, was he? He seemed to be enjoying this almost more like a pastime. Netzach felt uneasy, feeling the dark path he willing trode upon be taken so lightly. What would happen if his 'master' grew bored of his game?

Netzach shook his head. It scarcely mattered. The Old man could play his game, so long as Netzach got taught, it didn't matter how he treated his student.

"But let us not be hasty! As this is our first meeting, aside from the Initiation. Certain pleasantries must be observed."
The Old man said as he made a flourishing gesture with one hand, his rotten patchwork robe fluttering in a movement he did to appear impressive.
"I am Hod Alumos, your Master. I shall teach you all there is to know about the dark and powerful art of Necromancy!"
Suddenly all the thralls roared, clicked and otherwise made unearthly noises, as if impressed by his rhetoric.

Hod Alumos. Netzach recalled the Necromancer had briefly introduced himself when they first met. He was thankful the old man reintroduced himself, as the name had yet to latch itself into his memory. You know, because he was busy at the time trying to NOT DIE.

"I am Netzach. Netzach Embersoul"
Netzach stated, bowing slightly. He supposed this was the part where he was to introduce himself.

"Net...zach? Hmm. Quite a mouthful isn't it. No matter, an unpronouncable name is indeed a name that suits a necromancer. Netzach! The Necromancer! Apprentice of the great Hod Allumos himself! Haha, your name sounds eldritch and arcane, yes I think it will do quite nicely."

Netzach tried not to react to his name being talked about in such an irreverent way and attempted to hasten the process towards learning whatever he could. The faster he got on with his lessons, the sooner he didn't have to be here.

"What's my first lesson... master?"

[Netzach Embersoul]

"Then let us begin."
Hod motioned to him to take a seat.

Netzach hesitated for a second. On the sharp, uneven ground? He crossed his legs and sat on the cold damp ground, trying to get as comfortable as he reasonably could on the cragged rocky surface of the cavern floor.

Hod meanwhile wordlessly gestured to his thralls, and a trill later they came out of the darkness bearing a large throne made out of bones and dessicated flesh.
His master sat triumphantly on it, and as he gestured outward the bones adorning the throne seemed to shift, flaring outward magnificently.

Netzach stared in a mixture of awe and disgust. He swallowed hard, swallowing fear down to the pit of his stomach, his mouth sour with traces of bile.
Necromancers, he thought, were incredibly scary. If he trained under Hod's tutelage, would he be the one sitting on a throne made of corpses, with thralls at his beck and call, ready to shred anyone he liked to pieces? Would he be the one evoking fear from whomever he liked, unmoved by the any other power?

His desire for power, the thing that brought him here, took over once again. And just as soon as it did, Hod began to speak;

"Tell me, Netzach, what you've experienced with your new magic? What do you know of the nature of the power you now wield?"

Netzach took a moment to organize his memories.
"The first thing I noticed is how it changed my eyes. I no longer seem to need to blink, my eyes do not burn nor water with pain, and my eyes themselves seem as though they have been sliced into small pieces and put back together."

"The Witchmarks" Hod nodded at him, hand poised under his chin, eyes gazing down patronizingly at Netzach.
"All magics have them. They are the marks the sparks of magic leave behind on our physical bodies. As you progress in magic, the magic will begin to have other strange effects on your normal state of being, as the sparks mould you into the perfect specimen of a mage."

"Mould? That's..." Netzach said with some apprehension. His imagination briefly flashing images of himself turning into a monster. What kind of being with Necromancy consider a 'perfect specimen of a mage'.

"Attunement is an exception." Hod continued, sensing his discomfort.
"Aside from its witchmark, it rarely leaves a mage changed at all, unless of course you overuse the magic. For this reason it is often called 'The Gentle Magic'"

Attunement. Netzach nodded. This must have been the name of the other magic, the one that had played hums and choruses in his mind, allowing him to 'know' things.

"Necromancy on the other hand does mutate its wielder. The mutations are, thankfully, usually subtle, at least at first. Sometimes these are changes to the nature of Necromancy itself, perhaps for example, suddenly the spark prefers to raise corpses of a particular race, making it easier while making other types of corpses harder."

Netzach nodded, a clamping feeling starting form around his throat. Suddenly he became aware of how casually they were talking about corpses, and of raising the dead. Netzach tried to swallow this feeling, focusing instead on the lecture. He could not let himself be held back now, not when he came so far already.

"Lets talk about Attunement further. Have you experimented with its power?"

Netzach nodded. "I can sense a strange hum about my being in my mind. And when I focus on others for a few bits, I can sense hums around them too. It feels as though I can hear some chorus that every part of their being is always emanating, changing in response to their actions."

Hod grinned. He spread his arms proudly towards Netzach.
"Bravo! Beautiful conclusions! Indeed, that is what Attunement does. The 'hums' as you described are known as Notes. Each note is connected to the properties of whatever you are Attuned to. Together they form the 'Chorus' called Frequency.
In the beginning it will be easier to Attune to living beings, the notes of objects being too subtle for you to sense right now.
But given time you'll be able to use its power in a myriad of different ways!

First, young mage. Show me Attunement. Attune to my Frequency."

Netzach hesitated for a second, unsure of himself, then nodded.
He straightened his posture and fixed his eyes on the Old necromancer.

The humming in his mind came into focus. First quietly, like whispers in the dark recess of his mind. Then stronger.
A few bits passed. Sweat trickled down his face. He scrunched his brow, trying to bring out the hums so that it could snap into place.

"Stop."

Netzach looked up, confused. All at once the hums died out, his attention broken.

"With how much you struggle the other Necromancers might take my Apprentice for a fool.
I have forgotten to instruct you in something so basic I thought it would be obvious."
Hod smirked. Netzach twitched. It wasn't his damn fault that his teacher didn't teach him something basic. When was he supposed to learn this, when he was being eaten by an undead corpse?!

"Magic requires a firm mental focus. That falls into the purview of the art of Meditation. One can practice magic without meditation, and be quite good at it. But it will be unreliable, as your mental focus is at the whims of your emotions, your intrusive thoughts, and the flurry of the world around you.

Now you don't need to spend trials under a waterfall, meditating like some damn ascetic hermit. Off their rockers, the whole bunch of them! Just the simple things.
The technique I have used that will serve you greatly even when you master your Magics like I have is this;

First, focus on your breath. As you breathe in, clear your mind, as you breathe out, focus on the object of your attention. In this case, focus on my Frequency.
In and out. Clarity and Focus. Be patient, you will find that this does not make the process any faster, but so long as you are persistent, your focus will be unbreakable.
Do not force your mind to keep focus, it will simply slip out of your fingers."

Netzach paused for a trill, letting all of Hod's instructions sink in, before he nodded and began to implement the technique.

The hums started once again. Slowly, slowly, he teased out the humming, making it grow stronger in his mind.
Breathe in. Calm. Breathe out. Focus on the Frequency.
A few bits passed of this intense focus, then it suddenly snapped in place.

The chorus..., the Frequency that hummed around his master was... ominous.

It sounded like funeral music being played on a grand organ piano, like it resonated all around him. Gloomy and foreboding...

"Hah! Took you long enough. I forgot just how long it takes a Neophyte to attune to a frequency when compared to a powerful and experienced mage, such as yours truly."
Hod grinned as he gestured in an prideful flourish.


Netzach tried hard not to show any annoyance and simply nodded.

"Speaking of which, do be careful with your use of Attunement, unless you want to become a bloody lunatic! Overuse of any magic will incur the wrath of Overstepping. That happens when the Ether that fuels a mage's powers begins to run out, making the spark to struggle with what little ether is left, wildly mutating the mage in the proccess. While it is hard to Overstep with Attunement, I would take care not to attune more than 1 Frequency at a time, maybe 2 at most."

Netzach began to feel overwhelmed with information. He should have brought a notebook. He then asked
"What is Ether?"

"That." Hod paused, grumbling to himself.
"Is for the bespectacled buffoons up in their academies and laboratories to know. As far as I know it is some spiritual force that waters the spark, fueling its powers to interact with the world in a way that only magic can.

...It burns out the more we use it and comes back with a good night's rest.
And that is all we as Necromancers should be concerned with! Any more than that you'll have to find out for yourself, you won't find any help from me.]"

Netzach was taken aback to the sudden shift in tone. Hod really seemed to not like... academicians?

"My own mentor used to be a scholar of sorts too." He said after a bit's pause. His voice softening a bit.
"His questioning did serve him well in his art. For some Necromancers they find it useful to gain knowledge outside of just how to use the magic they have. Tactics, Strategy, Politics. If that sort of thing suits your fancy, then perhaps you should try visiting a library. It might do you some good.

But regardless, your true power and might comes from Necromancy. You would do well to remember that."
Hod changed his tone at the end, tightening his jaw with a sterness to his voice.

Netzach quickly nodded, agreeing simply so that he didn't provoke his anger.

"Right. Well. First and foremost. Let us teach you how to use this."

Suddenly Hod's Frequency seemed garbled and warped. Like the Notes themselves were being played on an instrument that was out of tune.

Netzach stared, wide eyed. "What did you... How did you do that?

Hod clapped and laughed, applauding his own talent.

"Just a simple little trick called Static, my dear Netzach. It is the one of the first techniques learned in Attunement and, as you can sense, it allows one to garble their own Frequency, making it hard to glean information from. This technique even works against other powers that may seek to glean information about you,. And as I'm sure you may expect, they will not be glad to find out you are a Necromancer."

Netzach agreed, this power was a must have. It hadn't yet occurred to him that there might be others with Attunement out there, or perhaps other powers, who could just as easily peer into him as he did with others.

"First, focus on your own Frequency. Will it to become Static, to become unreadable to any who dare delve upon your secrets!]"

Netzach closed his eyes and focused, bringing his own Frequency into full focus. Then he mentally willed his Frequency to warp and change, similar to what he felt Hod do.
Again, he took his time, trying not to rush. But surprisingly his Frequency reacted quickly, muddling the Notes within it.
He blanketed his entire Frequency with Static, making sure not leave anything un-muddled and un-occluded, getting as close to Hod's display of Static as possible.

"I think I... Yeah, I think I did it." Netzach said.

"Good. Practice Static from time to time, but be careful of not Overstepping. Your Static will not really be worth the cost to your pool of Ether.
For now you'll want to keep Frequencies attuned for as little time as possible. Learn as many notes as you can and broaden your skill with Attunement."

Netzach focused on detaching his connection to Hod's frequency, like mentally snuffing out a candle. The Frequency in his mind died out.
This was easy for him, almost intuitive. As if some part of his mind was happy to be able to rest.

"That was good. Very well done, young mageling. Next, show me Necromancy."

Hod motioned with one hand and what appeared to be the skeleton of a rat came skittering over.
Netzach almost fell backward as the little thing approached fast. Corpses were one thing, he had animated a vermin himself. But seeing a skeleton move impossibly on its own, without any muscles or sinews to tug at its frame, touched some horrid fearful center of his mind.

It skittered infront of Ruach, between him and Hod. Then promptly fell limp with a clatter, presumably as Hod severed his control over it.
Netzach stared at it, and instinctively passed his palm over it. An ebb of ether, a tug of an invisible tether. Suddenly the rat's skeleton came alive again, only more sluggish and uncoordinated.

"How come when I put it under my control it moves so... strangely?"

"It is the difference between a Master Necromancer and a fledgling novice, my dear apprentice. Practice, and a bit of talent, will allow you to imitate the life that once inhabited the form."
Hod said, not missing the chance to praise himself a bit. He smirked and grinned smugly.

Netzach simply nodded, choosing to focus on the actually useful lesson that was mixed in with all that arrogance.

"Much like Attunement, Necromancy too has a limit on how many Thralls one can control. Exceeding that limit brings Overstepping. Once again, my dearest apprentice, I must warn you against keeping Thrall more than one corpse at a time. Necromancy especially has particularly nasty ways of punishing an overzealous mage. Even I dare not keep more than half the thralls I can keep under my control at one time."

Hod said, seemingly enjoying playing the part of the teacher patronizingly warning his students on something incredibly basic.
It felt like Netzach was being told not to put his fingers in an open flame. Yet he did not feel as though the warning was unneeded. He was thankful his own fears kept him form experimenting with his powers too aggressively.

"Now, creating thralls with Necromancy is fairly intuitive. But that is not all a Necromancer can do. For instance, is the power of what is simply known as "Preserve".

It is hard power to demonstrate, not for its difficulty but due to the nature of the power of stalling decay being not an instantaneously obvious one.
Preserve can be used to stall decay and rot, allowing one to preserve living matter from rotting. This is often used to preserve Thralls from decaying into nothing, a freshly killed thrall can be kept in a near perfect condition for as long as a Necromancer wishes, with regular application of this power."

Netzach recalled how the Lumen wolf appeared to be living at first glance. That must have been the doing of Preserve

"But that is not the only use of its power. A Necromancer must be very resourceful with their magic. Preserve has been used to preserve rations from rotting in Necromancer's lairs. Sometimes it can be used to stop the progress of certain diseases or powers that cause a necrotic blight to spread. Famously, Preserve has been used to keep up the Necromancer's youthful appearance. But as you can see, some of us don't bloody care how we look. Hahaha!"
Hod said, laughing hoarsely, almost bitterly.

"For a start, you can practice by casting Preserve on some fruit, and trying to make it not rot."

Netzach nodded in agreement. That seemed a lot less potentially dangerous than raising the dead in his house and trying to keep it Preserved.

"I suppose that concludes all I have to teach you at the moment. I can sense you are not packed for an extended stay. Next time, do stay for a few days to train, my dear apprentice. I do enjoy your company so."

Netzach felt a shiver down his spine. He intensely disliked the idea of staying with a Necromancer for any longer than he absolutely had to.

"I'll... be sure to pack more heavily next time."

Netzach said as he gave in. It was not a good idea to cross the Old man right off the bat. Besides, perhaps an extended stay meant more time learning directly under him.

"You may now leave, my apprentice. I have a great many expectations for you, but first, we must make you powerful. Practice well. Keep your head down, and attract no attention to yourself. One other thing, do not raise any mortals under any circumstance. Stick to small animals, like vermin or game, and even then, be careful not to arouse suspicion when acquiring the vermin carcasses."

Netzach nodded in silence, understanding just how much danger he was in. Yet at the same time, he felt excited. He was in possession of one of the most feared powers in the world. Nobody knew it right now, but one day they would all learn to fear and respect the name Netzach Embersoul!

Finding himself unexpectedly grinning to his own fantasies, Netzach got up and turned to leave.
The lumen wolf was there at the entrance to the chamber, ready to guide him back out.
As his footsteps echoed in the tunnels of the Umbral Caverns, Netzach heard Hod say his parting farewells behind him.

"Seize power by your own hands, Netzach Embersoul, Necromancer of Rharne."

[Netzach Embersoul]

Rewards Requested

Notes/Warnings: Standard Necromancy stuff. Otherwise none.

Thread: [The Umbral Caverns] The first step on the Dark Path.
City/Area: The Stormlands

Renown: Preferably none. Netzach tried his best to not gain any attention.
Wealth Points: None
Collaboration: No
Local Language Thread? No

!	Message from: Pig Boy
	Done!

[Pig Boy]

Netzach Embersoul

Feedback

This was a well written adventure, and lots of words. I always appreciate an extended solo

The venture to the Stormwastes and the Umbral Caves were suitably challenging, I'd say, and the idea that Hod was looking out for any signs f his apprentice were not at all far fetched. Mentor and Mentee often have a sort of bond, whether born of Attunement or another discipline. There are ways they can contact and keep tabs on the other.

That aside the actual teachings were really solid. You seem to have a very good grasp of how necromancy works, or rather Hod does

It's interesting how such a academically incurious mage still has a lot of value for his initiated. As it should be usually. He represents not just a rare successful initiation, but also an expansion of his power base, if he is successful in keeping him to heel while molding him into a lieutenant.

Hod gives a lot of good lessons, and I enjoyed the way he was characterized throughout, as a mage who dislikes and dismisses academics, and likes to focus on the art and practical expression of necromancy, rather than the theory behind it. It seems to have served him well enough, anyway.

Great work!

Rewards

• XP: 10

Knowledges

• Attunement: Attunement is the Gentle Magic
• Attunement: Basic theory and terminologies of Attunement
• Meditation: Magic requires firm mental focus, that meditation can give.
• Attunement: Technique:Static
• Necromancy: With practice, slow sluggish thralls can be made to move more lifelike.
• Necromancy: Technique:Preserve