This article deals with the Necromancers in Pagan. For the Necromancer job of Ultima Online, see Necromancy. For details of the rogue mages of seen in Ultima I, see Necromancers (Ultima I).
Symbol of Earth
The Necromancers of Pagan are the servants of the Elemental Titan Lithos. They are one of the four groups that wield titanic magic, mainly concerned with earth and death. Living on the cemetery east of Tenebrae, the people avoid them, as many ugly and mostly untrue rumors, such as they eat dead bodies, persist.
Their primary job is to bury the dead of the land, so that they can pacify Lithos, who uses the corpses for his ever growing army of the dead. In return for these services, Lithos leaves Pagan in peace.
History[]
From the The Chronicle of Pagan, "Calming the Earth":
The elder Pagans knew it would be impossible to overcome the might of the Titans, so they sought to bargain instead. They sent a champion, Moriens, to the Hall of the Mountain King to plead with Lithos, begging him to cease his destructive quakes. In return, Lithos demanded the service of the people, even beyond life. Upon their deaths the people were to be interred, and thus conveyed to his realm for eternal slavery. In addition, ordered the hungry Mountain King, several Pagans must be given to him immediately. With this pact Lithos would not only quiet the land, but also instill within Moriens the magical powers necessary to perform rituals required to satisfy the Titan of Earth, including minor manipulation of the earth. The elders accepted the terrible price and the covenant was formed.
Moriens became the leader of the Pagans – the first in a long line of Necromancers. He established a cemetery near the newly built Tenebrae, City of eternal Twilight. He selected several elderly citizens to volunteer as Lithos’ first servants. As agreed, the tremors ended and the earth calmed.
As the decades passed, Moriens began to feel within himself the infirmity of age and its resultant illnesses. He went to Lithos and asked to have his life extended so that he might continue his work. The Mountain King explained that such was not within his power, but that there was another way to have the Pagans continue their service. He permitted Moriens to choose an Apprentice so that, upon his death, a new Necromancer would assume his position. In turn, the deceased Necromancer would enter into a different service that the other Pagans, one that involved eternal rest, where his wisdom could be called upon by other Necromancers down through the ages. Each succeeding Necromancer would, in turn, find an Apprentice to whom the powers would be passed on upon death. The earth shook no more, but still the volcano raged, the winds blew and the rains fell.
When the Avatar arrived in Pagan in Ultima VIII, the Necromancers were in a crisis. Only two of them were left, the elder Lothian dying of old age. The Avatar took the place of the learner and the last Necromancer Vividos, and went through all rituals. However, in the end the Avatar took away the power of Necromancy from the Necromancers, when retrieving the Heart of Earth from the Chapel of the Dead.
The Way to become a Necromancer[]
To become a Necromancer, the following rites have to be passed:
- The first test is simple. The candidate must retrieve two reagents. Finding these proves that they are serious, and they are then declared a student and receive the Key of the Caretaker.
- Then the student must enter the Catacombs to learn the spells from the dead Necromancers, after getting the needed equipment for spellcasting.
- Next, the student must enter the Hall of the Mountain King, avoid the numerous traps within, and meet Lithos and get his approval.
- If the student is to be declared the prime pupil, they now must follow the ritual to inter the body of the late Necromancer.
- Now the student is given the Key of the Scion, and has to make a pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Moriens to get a vision. After this is done, their training is complete.