Book of The Dead

Chapter 38: Anathema

Events:

You have forged relationships and felt emotion for your fellow humans. Race: Human has reached level 11.

Use of Suppress Mind against a living mind has increased proficiency. Suppress Mind has reached level 3.

Your use of the ritual Pierce the Veil has increased proficiency. Pierce the Veil has reached level 4.

Your attempts at Sneak have increased proficiency.

Dismembering remains has increased your proficiency.

Focusing your mind to its limit has increased proficiency. Concentration has reached level 5 (Max).

Use of the Magick Bolt spell against a living creature has increased your proficiency.

The study of the dead has increased your proficiency. Corpse Appraisal has reached level 3.

You have investigated and tested ways to improve the condition of remains. Corpse Preparation has reached level 2.

Your creation of new undead has increased proficiency.

Use of Sleep has increased Proficiency.

Dominating the minds of those weaker has increased your proficiency. Suppress Mind has reached level 4.

Use of the Bone Stitching technique has increased your proficiency.

Your use and study of Death Magick has increased your proficiency. Death Magick has reached level 2.

You have raised minions and they have fought on your behalf. Necromancer has reached level 7. You have received +4 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Constitution and +2 Manipulation. At this level you may choose a Spell.

The Abyss had heard your call and delights in the dance of your thoughts. Chaos swirls around you, pleasing the Court and the Dark Ones. Your patrons are satisfied their interest has reaped rewards. So far. Anathema has reached level 5. You have received +2 Intelligence, +2 Willpower, +2 Constitution. At this level you may choose a class feat.

Name: Tyron Steelarm.

Age: 18

Race: Human (Level 11)

Class:

Necromancer (Level 7).

Sub-Classes:

1. Anathema (Level 5).
2. None
3. None (Locked)

Racial Feats:

Level 5: Steady Hand.

Level 10: Night Owl.

Attributes:

Strength:

12

Dexterity:

11

Constitution:

29

Intelligence:

39

Wisdom:

21

Willpower:

30

Charisma:

13

Manipulation:

16

Poise:

13

General Skills:

Arithmetic (Level 5)(Max)

Handwriting (Level 4)

Concentration (Level 5)(Max)

Cooking (Level 1)

Sling (Level 3)

Swordsmanship (Level 1)

Sneak (Level 3)

Butchery (Level 3)

Skill Selections Available: 1

Necromancer Skills:

Corpse Appraisal (Level 3)

Corpse Preparation (Level 2)

Death Magick (Level 2)

General Spells:

Globe of Light (Level 5)(Max)

Sleep (Level 4)

Magick Bolt (Level 4)

Necromancer Spells:

Raise Dead (Level 3)

Bone Stitching (Level 3)

Anathema Spells:

Pierce the Veil (Level 4)

Suppress Mind (Level 4)

Mysteries:

Spell Shaping (Initial): INT +3 WIS +3

Anathema level 5. Choose one of the following:

Blood Magick I - Convert a portion of blood to magick.

Rot Aura - Promote decay in an area around you.

Abyss Flesh - The extremities of your body become malleable.

Drain Life - Striking a living foe with a damaging spell will heal the caster.

Skillful Tongue - Increase persuasiveness modified by Manipulation.

Repository - Gain a Ritual to tie magick to an object.

Scent of Sin - Find others who are aligned to your patrons by scent.

Storm Vision - Enhance the sensitivity of the eye to magick.

Wall of Thought I - Improve defence against intrusive mental effects.

Favoured Child - Learn all three Commune Rituals.

Necromancer level 6. Choose an additional Spell:

Commune with Spirits - Speak to the remnants of the dead.

Death Blades - Temporarily grant your minions Death Magick attuned weapons.

Flesh Mending - Repair dead flesh.

Please choose an additional Skill:

Empower Servant - Feed mana to your minions.

This summoning ritual was dense. Tyron was drained by the sheer volume of blood that poured from his hand onto the page as the words continued to form. His initial surprise was on finally receiving another level of Human. It had been years since he last levelled his race and he was almost more shocked about that than anything that followed.

Formed bonds with other people? I guess that doesn't happen often for me.

In order to level as a human it was necessary to meet and interact with others. Tyron has always been bookish and stuck to the same group of friends and his close family, which meant he missed out on a lot of opportunities to push his race level higher. As it turned out, his friends had stabbed him right in the back and he'd abandoned his family, so basically anyone he met and grew close to was going to provide him experience on this front.

He'd been forced into it by circumstances, he supposed. Ultimately it was a good thing. Every second human level he would gain a general skill choice and if he reached level twenty he would gain access to the coveted third sub-class slot. The great advantage given to the short lived humans by the Unseen, the additional stats and skills provided by that third sub-class allowed them to rise in power quickly and contend with those who had been honing their power for hundreds of years.

With one of his slots taken by Anathema, he prized the possibilities of that third selection even more. He had no idea what possible combinations he would consider going forward, what would pair well with his Necromancer class, or how he would get access to the training he needed, but that was something he needed to consider in the future when he had more opportunities.

As his achievements continued to appear on the page, Tyron clenched his free hand in triumph. Not only had he levelled Necromancer to seven, he'd reached his goal of increasing Anathema to five. Not only would he be able to select another feat, but the stats alone were massively important to him at this stage. With an increase of six to his intelligence, his odds of being able to sustain another four minions skyrocketed.

Everything else was like Aunt Mary's gravy, deliciousness spread on top. He'd increased his core Necromancer skills, an important milestone. The additional Constitution, Wisdom and Willpower would also give him a significant boost. Manipulation he was somewhat ambivalent about, but perhaps he could find a use for it at some point in the future.

The triplet nature of the Unseen was something he had understood from a young age. The characteristics of the body divided into three categories, each separated into power, finesse and defence. With his Intelligence reaching the height it now had, he possessed the raw power he needed to fuel his rituals and maintain a higher number of minions.

And he had selections to make, important ones. The Anathema feat list was an important milestone, one that could give him a clue as to the nature of these 'patrons' who seemed to intrude on his thoughts and delight in his suffering. In truth, he was more excited for the next Necromancer skill selection. A chance to further his mastery of his core Class and peel back the curtain on possible methods to progress.

He eagerly leaned forward over the page, bringing his summoned globe of light closer to better read the dark red characters on the page, keen to see the new selections he could pick for his class.

Flesh Mending and Empower Servant remained and as before he was not tempted at all with Flesh Mending. If anything he would rather have a spell that did the opposite and dissolved flesh, saving him from having to go through what he had done the previous day ever again. Although, even if such a choice appeared, he would probably eschew it. He had used a precious general skill choice on butchery and he couldn't afford to let that be a waste.

Empower Servant was still an interesting choice and one that he wouldn't mind choosing, but he wasn't sure if this was the right time. He was about to add four new minions to his burgeoning skeleton army and it was entirely possible that despite his current surge in power he wouldn't have the magick to empower anything. This would likely be something he would come back to in the future.

Though I'm starting to wonder if I can ever have enough magick to satisfy the demands of being a Necromancer. The more I gain, the more I want. Possibly a sub-class can solve that issue? Don't get distracted.

He turned to his new options.

Commune with Spirits made him sit straight before he slumped again to stare at the page on the ground. Obviously being a Necromancer was one thing, but a spell that would let him speak with the dead was a whole new step compared to raising lifeless minions from the remains of humans. It was something completely different, on a whole new level of power and complexity. If he were to compare it to any of his current abilities, it would be more like Pierce the Veil. A spell like this was breaking through a barrier to something that normally shouldn't be within reach.

The idea fascinated him. Also, there was a good chance it would lead to other, more interesting options down the line. If he chose this spell, which allowed him to commune with the 'remnants of the dead', it wasn't difficult to imagine what might be opened for him later. Ghosts and spirits were other, less common forms of undead that could be found. When he considered it though, who would he actually want to talk to? If he gained the ability to speak with those who had passed, was there anyone he actually needed to speak with?

If I could talk to Arihnan the Black, that might be useful.

He froze.

Could he talk to Arihnan the Black? The man had died so long ago, would there be anything left to talk to? His biggest need, his most desperate lack, was information about his class. He couldn't find any living that could help with the specifics of his Class, but what about the dead?

He quickly tried to temper his expectations. There was no chance of him being able to try and track down the grave site of the long dead necromancer. He'd fallen in his final climactic battle close to the capital, in the central province, hundreds of kilometres away. Even if he was able to track down the location, and somehow contact the spirit of Arihnan, would it even be safe to commune with such a powerful necromancer?

Better to not think about it.

The other option, death blades, was another way that he could utilise his magick to empower his minions, this time using Death Magick to improve their damage. This was a good option for several reasons, for one, it gave him another way to level Death Magick, which was important since he definitely wanted to max that skill before reaching level twenty. It suffered from the same issue Empower Servant did, though he was tempted to choose it anyway. He may not be able to use it right now, but it would surely come in handy soon.

Both options tempted him, for different reasons.

He was inclined to choose Commune with Spirits. The potential it represented was tempting to him, and gaining any chance to study the magick required to speak with the dead was an incredible temptation.

Death Blades would be more useful sooner, but in the very short term, it would likely be completely useless to him.

He went back and forth on the decision for longer than he'd like before he gave up and decided to inspect the feats on offer from the Anathema class.

It didn't take long of inspecting the list to realise that the feats were themed around each of the three different factions his 'patrons' belonged to. Blood Magick, Drain Life and Scent of Sin were clearly from the Court, Abyss Flesh, Repository and Wall of Thought were Abyss, and Rot Aura, Skillful Tongue and Storm Vision were of the Dark Ones. The final feat Favoured Child, was clearly a generic offering, essentially giving an additional two class spells, but only specific ones.

Despite being the least interesting feat, Favoured Child did pique his interest. The title and the effect screamed to him of unlocking an interesting class evolution. He'd considered selecting all three of the starting rituals for this purpose anyway, and this would allow him to take them with one feat selection instead of two spell choices. It would only be worth it if the feats themselves were less interesting and he could spare one of his four selections.

Several were immediately interesting to him.

Blood Magick could potentially provide him at least a partial solution to his magick woes. Trading his own blood didn't sound amazing, but his extremely high Constitution gave him the ability to endure punishment a normal mage couldn't hope to survive, and this feat might be a way for him to leverage that advantage. Wall of Thought I tempted him dearly, particularly after his recent experience with Peirce the Veil. Being able to create another layer of defence around his mind would be extremely welcome, though doing so through a feat…

It may be possible for him to create such a defence using other means. His focus and the changes he'd made to his ritual circle had been of immense help. If he continued to develop his understanding of magick as it pertained to the mind… this could become a dead feat.

He reluctantly turned away from Wall of Thought and considered Skillful Tongue. He had no real interest in being persuasive. It certainly wasn't something he naturally excelled in. There were some Classes who could literally talk the birds from the trees and their ability to manipulate others bordered on mind control. At least, he'd heard of such things from his parents. Apparently the restrictions around such individuals were extreme.

The only reason he considered this feat at all was that it would give him some outlet for his Manipulation. At the moment he gained no real benefit from it and had no idea why it increased with each Necromancer level. He supposed he would find out eventually, the Unseen didn't do anything without a purpose. Hopefully whatever came up would be a better outlet than this, he didn't think he'd choose it.

Rot Aura… was odd. Although it would perhaps give him a way to remove flesh without having to resort to butchery, he'd already decided he wouldn't take anything for that reason. Other than that, wouldn't this make him a target? If fruit went off when he walked by, or dead animals dissolved to nothing in his presence… Tyron could see a good reason to take this selection, which likely meant it was more powerful than he was giving it credit for. Unusual choices were often more potent to make up for their lack of apparent utility. Even so, he couldn't waste a slot on it.

Storm Vision was fascinating, but was another example of a feat that was frustratingly lacking in description. What exactly did it mean? Would seeing magick make him better at casting in any way? If not, why would he care?

Scent of Sin would help him identify others who were loyal to his 'patrons'. He didn't want to depend on the beings who had put the Anathema sub class on him, but he couldn't deny that being able to find others who might be willing to go out of their way to help him wasn't tempting. He was essentially a pariah from society the moment anyone identified him and he couldn't go anywhere or do anything that would require him to produce a status. This would give him a way to find potential allies, which may very well save his life. He would consider it for later.

Repository. This was fascinating. A feat that provided a ritual. It wasn't uncommon, and the rituals that were granted in this way were often powerful. As someone who loved intricate spellwork, he was exceptionally tempted despite the fact he had no real clue what the ritual would allow him to do. Bind magick to objects? In what way? Could he pour his own magick into an object and then draw it out again later, creating magick storage? Such a thing would be exceptionally useful. If he had a reservoir of power to draw on, he could use it to fuel abilities like Empower Servant or Death Blades when his minions were in a pinch.

Or perhaps he could use it to fuse magick into the bones of his minions as he prepared to raise them.

He was intrigued.

Drain Life was another feat with a great deal of utility. He wasn't capable of healing himself. If he were injured, he would be in real trouble, since he couldn't return to town he'd be on his own to try and fix whatever had happened to him. With this feat, he'd at least have a way to repair himself, even if it was a slightly distasteful method.

Tyron frowned to himself.

A lot of the options provided were good. That was unusual. Generally speaking, sub-classes were inferior to main classes, but Anathema had proven to be strong in its own right. The choices he'd been given at level four were strong spells, and now the feat list had a number of valid and strong abilities. Even the bonuses per level were higher than they should be, giving the same number as his main class.

He couldn't refuse such benefits in his situation, in fact they'd likely saved him multiple times already, but he distrusted anything that was better than it should be. Even so, it wasn't as if he could refuse to make a selection.

Ultimately, he placed a mark next to Commune with Spirits and Repository.

They seemed like the selections that would most likely lead to him being able to create better undead, and ultimately that was his primary focus. No doubt as he levelled he would give serious consideration to the abilities he'd passed on today, but for now they were left alone.

As he finalised the ritual, the vast rush of power the Unseen swept into him and he fell backwards, his vision failing as his consciousness faded away.

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