Dark Tome of Necromancy
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| Discovered By | Jost Nabarl |
| Discovery Date | September 5 2011 |
| Discovery Location | Nidalery, Colonies |
| Abilities | Prestige +4 |
| Current Owner | Vladamire Abjur |
The following is believed to be an internally sent letter from the religious order known as the Apostles of the Abyss. The truth of the following is subject to interpretation.
To all elder members of the Apostles of the Abyss
Re: Report of my latest acquisition.
Greetings Brothers, I have obtained the object we discussed from the agent. He was unwilling to speak of where he got the Tome, but was quite willing to part with it when he saw the shine of the gold I offered. I have to say, even though I have a great deal of experience with such objects, this particular one is greatly interesting to me as it is probably the most complete single reference on the subject I have ever possessed and is of extreme age also. I doubt that adventurer Jost even knew what he had, it's very possible that this might have even belonged to the Great Lich King at one point! A brief investigation of the contents have shown me rites I thought were created after this book appears to have been penned, which makes me wonder if it's creator also created those rites.
Regarding the book itself: The Dark Tome of Necromancy is a thick illuminated manuscript detailing rites in that forbidden school of the magical arts. The Tome measures some 12" by 10" by 4" and is much heavier than one would expect of a book it's size and materials. The cover of the Tome is made of a dark colored smooth leather stretched taunt over thin plates of bone. The outside of the cover bears only a stylized "D" imprinted into the leather of the spine, giving no hint of the contents. The pages are bound to the spine with sinew.
The pages themselves are made of what seems to be K'laf, likely goat, a type of vellum sometimes (though very rarely) used by necromancers for such documents and suggests that the author might have been of a religious bent, as that type of vellum is more typically used for those types of texts. Each page bears marginalia, mostly images matching the rituals spoken of in the matching writing, although the author of the Tome has, in places, added additional comments there as well. These comments show an enlightened madness, truly he was a man driven to master the art of Necromancy. His distillation of arcane knowledge makes for interesting reading for those like ourselves, and I have hand-copied and included several of the more interesting comments for our brothers study with this letter. The ink used is dark, slightly black-bluish in color, and has a distinctive reflective quality that makes it seem not quite dry in appearance.
The contents of the Tome start with a list of peers the author consulted for the work. I recognized several names from other, lesser, texts on the subject and it seems a few of my ancestors were also involved. The Tome begins slowly, with fairly minor rituals. Striking an enemy with a mild illness and the like, although a rather amusing cantrip that temporarily gives animation to the skeletal remains of a small animal (such as a cat, or a plate of chicken bones) that I was previously unfamiliar with is also described. After several pages of such rites there is a full page of miniature illustrations depicting scenes of life in Outer Tilog City. This is followed by several pages of more complex rituals, another page of miniatures, and so on repeated. The sheer number of rites contained within this book make cataloging them a task bigger than can be contained in this missive. Of note are mentions of "Arak Castle" and the "Lendan Stones" I will continue to study the Tome and will report additional information as it becomes known to me.
Vladamire Abjur, Viscount of Hulaferd, Marshal of the Band of Ghouls, Fiends and Abominations
