Of all esoteric and forbidden practices, Necromancy is the most spiritually despicable and may condemn the Operator to eternal death of the spirit, or perpetual servitude to the forces of decay and dissolution in the voyages of the animating Nomen. We speak here of the ancient rituals communicating with or summoning the Dead, primarily for divination-- gaining hidden knowledge or foretelling the future-- or manipulating life forces. Historically rooted in Assyrian, Babylonian, and Greek traditions, it is frequently associated with the most reprehensible spectra of Black magic, raising the unwilling dead and abnegating all ordained and just essence. We know of many varieties. There have been Spirit Summoners, like the Biblical Witch of Endor, who specialized in the calling up of the deceased as apparitions or visions to gain information. Others have called themselves Death Knights, who vilely used Necromantic magic vampirically to drain the vital force from others to empower themselves or heal. Still different are the unwholesome Operators we name Liches, undead Lords who have, or are seeking, immortality, often known for commanding legions of revenants or skeletons. These are Soul Manipulators who specialize in moving, storing, or binding souls into objects (like the Golem of Prague) or other bodies. Ritualistic Circles performed in desolate locations, usually graveyards or ruins, to protect the practitioner, may be employed, using parts of corpses as ingredients in charms.
Originating with ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Graeco-Roman practices, universally condemned by major religions as an abomination or blasphemy, this evil science is rightfully disdained by those who are not fatally, spiritually corrupt beyond redemption. And it often appears ineffective, as is sometimes the effort to raise this show from the dead.