An anonymous letter from the acolytes of Amerthas

We found your gargoyle.

You do not know us, but we are the followers of the First Necromancer Amerthas. Our Lord's demise was years ago - but we continue his work.

His sacred mission: to redeem the Art of Necromancy from abuse and stigma. And so it is ours.

You may or may not remember him, but we know you and yours were some of the last to see and speak to him before his end.

During that time he entrusted one of his charges unto you; the Faeling Bogart, Pazrael "Pazuzzu" Nabassu.

pazrael was found and identified by us in the possession of a man who had bought a "Cursed Gargoyle Statue". He was convinced the "statue" had brought some sort of poltiergeist into his house; well, he wasn't far off.

The collector eagerly passed the 'statue' to our custody, and upon recognizing a number of us he assumed Fae form and began asking for his "Pwama". He has been securely and covertly delivered via a small wooden box to your hall in Gorowyn. We unlocked and loosened the box lid, and left, knowing he was capable of getting out on his own from there.

You are welcome.

[a mark depicting an hourglass filled with bones is present in place of a proper signature]

The Black Market

Roughly once a month, or whenever we can get away with it, we send some of our hands to scout and participate in the Black Market, hosted by House Shaw'dal.

This month's market will take place from 8pm to 10pm EST, in Torryn's Hua Mein Retreat on the 27th.

Known attractions:

- Kezzath's battle arena
- Metarrah's notorious cards
- Honest Miesha's New Used Bed Emporium
- Djinn fortunes
- Custom Monochrome Portraits by A Skilled Limner (Ariahdnia)
- Bardic music
- Pie
- Gambling!

Preliminary report on ocular mechamagical detection to Vigiles Amicae Council

The lands of Velious have been fraught with altered beasts and plants. In response to that and other interesting phenomena, I have worked with gnomes stranded in the region to produce a set mechamagical field ocular observers. The basic design and function draft will be included on the schematics included. The purpose has been to observe the magical field resonance theorized to surround all things and support their natures.

Initial findings have been intriguing.
As hypothesized, magicka flows through things in accordance with the material of a thing. The field of the coldain is different than the field of velium, for instance.
The surprise came in with the discovery that the state of a thing also influences the field. A mage casting passive spells has a different effect from casting active spells has a different effect from doing nothing magical at all.

The small sampling of tests indicates that there is many similarities, and cataloging them will permit understanding the field theory better. For now, however, the oculars do not permit the wearer to easily distinguish the mundane ground from the air easily, so testing has only stayed in controlled environments.

Note: a fatal flaw was intentionally left in the schematic.
I deemed this appropriate to reduce the risk of intentional interception. Chevanima should be able to decipher it. Let the unit function for one quarter of a mark to ensure it works properly before use.

Diplomat Folodu Amrunrosse

Selections from: Notes on Diverse Magicka - Hematurgy

Notes on Diverse Magicka

by

Legatus Pax Sytan Fiac

---

Author's note:

This is a series dedicated to informing those with limited or non-extant abilities in arcana on the various forms of magic and their uses. This is not intended as an in depth study, nor does it go into all details. For many, the usage of leylines or nodes will never manifest, nor will the finesse to guide the blood magicka explicitly.

This discourse will cover the concepts of similarities and differences among the branches, and peel back some of the mysteries.

The first section will cover my specialties of hematurgy and necromancy.
The second will cover natural magicka.
The third will touch on the psionic talents.
The fourth will delve into the divine controversy.
The fifth will touch upon the delicate and complex question of void.

It is to be hoped that the interested student will find the more technical treatises on the above topics more readily accessible for this humble offering. Any errors or elisions in this work must be attributed to the difficulty of enumerating in plain language what becomes a nearly reflexive, intuitive impulse for the grand adept.

---

In part one, hematurgy and necromancy were compared and contrasted as far as styles. In part two, we will cover hematurgy in regards to ritual, intention, and connection, all interacting with spell casting.

As discussed, ritual is not entire necessary to cast in hematurgical works. Ritual therefore is a way to set the mind on the intention and connection. It engages a target to hold certain properties, such remembering flesh that is whole, or flesh that has been cut. Even if such casting does not yield visible results, your target believing they have no way to close their hand, or have experienced death, will be affected.

The full effect of the spell will be enhanced by how connected the caster is - as such, even correctly imagining who the target is will cause connection and empathy. A close friend or lover will respond accordingly - and I have mentioned enemies as well. It takes knowing and identifying your enemy to have such a strong opinion of them.

"Othering", of course, makes the working not have as big an effect, but the affected target has less connection to respond with some spell of their own. As stated, heavy arms specialists tend to be weak caster, and this is precisely why.

Because hematurgical works respond to such varying stimuli, most mages are frustrated by attempting it, as their own natural powers are more predictable.

Setting the limitations aside, hematurgical healing is quite dramatic and can be quite refined. It can, under the best circumstances, rebuild pelvic bones. The process is slow and never perfect, yet has far more refinement than divine castings.

Nearly Midnight News: December 28

Folodu: "Poor gnomes. It's either big noses, big hairs, or big breasts. Or gnomish brilliance."
Oakwyrd :: "and when you have all it's a natural disaster waiting to happen."
Nallena :: "Another word for concussively-inclined?"
Rotisin :: "Bobastic?"

"Hello and welcome to the Nearly Midnight News: Frozen Edition! Tonight we have gnomes! Figure that one out!"

Alupia :: "nearly Midnight? You're 15 minutes late!"
Rotisin :: "Bombastic"
Folodu: "Or an hour and 15 late. Or early!"
Susana :: "Very late for central! Either way, get on with it. :D"
Folodu: "And if you have a date line issue, not even night!"

"In tonight's news, The gnomes announce a new branch for Gnomeland Security. The Department of Agric. While it can be assumed they might mean farming, one can never be sure. One little typo can mean a lot between plowing for corn and plowing for hallucinogenic mushrooms. Which, we hear tell, may and may not be banned in Freeport."

Nallena :: "Silly Folodu... you don't plow for mushrooms, you poop for them."

"Close enough. And stay away from those gnomes. You don't want to know. And since sensible people are taller, you never know when they might be at it, as the distance to the ground is already questionable."

Oakwyrd :: "ha"
Susana :: "-snerk-"

"NMN: Bringing you anti-gnomic sentiment since right now! In a startling news item, Lord Mayong has opened his home graciously to all for the current Frostfell activities. In a direct quote, he states," It would please me to have you for dinner. Stop by anytime for a bite.""

Susana :: "Awww yeah, free food."
Alupia :: "*snerk*"
Susana :: "Yay!"

"While NMN staff found this to be gracious and touching, those who enjoy heavy garlic in their meals are going to be disappointed and also turned away. All gifts consisting of small particulate matter will also not be permitted, nor will the crossing of streams or other forms of running water. For those needing restroom facilities, there will be no accommodations. Remember, Mayong is your friend."

"In related news, something new has happened with Frostfell. The old wonderland village is gone replaced by desolate wastes. The citizens are frozen solid, and no life can be found. Frostfell might be cancelled unless some halfwit can be conned into working for beans or "coins" made exclusively of ice. The con is up, McScroogle! We know your game..."

Emeraven :: "I have no idea where you would find a lot of those..."

"For those who invest so many hours and months into planning for this festive event, we offer our condolences. We shall miss you, Frostfell. And all your halfwit goblins and bajillion harvests. And now for a word from our sponsors. *shuffles a paper* Ah. It seems they are all at Mayong's… Well, I am sure we will hear from them before long."

Susana :: "Lucky guys, free food"

"In a surprising turn of events, Maj'Dul declines once again to celebrate Frostfell. It seems they had the right idea with this new deathtrap holiday. It seems there was a feud with Santa Glug, who refused to deliver gifts with no snow. And now there is only Frozen Glug. The citizens might not notice, as staring at the sun is still the only occupation besides begging and playing on the Maj'Dul Volleyball team."

"Which leads to our next news article, the Maj'Dul Volleyball league has declared a cessation of its matches until such time as Santa Glug can return the regulation severed head volleyball he took last month. The league has been fraught with issues this year, and seems to always have an equipment shortage. No one really seems to know why. NMN staff begins to suspect that certain Marans might consider the equipment to be harvests in need of close inspection."

Susana :: "-sighs- Always ruining the fun."

"No one knows for sure, but the Augrens had this to say. "Qho is not here right now. He was crushed by rocks - you reported it, so you know! You go find him elsewhere. Go! Get!" Leading certain NMN staff to wonder: has Qho survived after all of this?"

Dyrimm :: "Qho is eternal."

"Anyone with information is a conspirator and will meet the same fate as that little twerp. *grumblemutters* I'll finish you yet, Qho… Ahem."

Oakwyrd :: "and your little dog too!"

"Qeynos has broken it's budget this year. It seems with all the polishing needing to happen all over the city, there are no funds left for guards, roads, or water. Known as "that sparkly city over there" to non-residents and "Who? No, I can’t see the city because I'm blind!" to the regulars, Qeynos may fall into some slight disrepair this year. Words being bandied about include "There is actually something non-reflective here?" to "Oh, I wouldn't have married you if I could see you!" There is very little else to report on this subject at this time. Please donate to your local Keep Qeynos Blindingly Bright charity today!"

"The queen is our last news item this evening. It seems Her Majesty has been banned from snowball fights because "She doesn't have the right kind of dress" per regulation code c subsection b. Which states quite clearly, "If one shall wear a dress, it must expose as much thigh as you were born into the world with". Antonia, not missing a beat, promptly threw a snowball at the judge."

Susana :: "Niiiice."

"This earned three demerits and a fine, which the city is unable to pay, as well as an afternoon in the penalty box. This brings the Lucan/Antonia rivalry to 147 demerits versus 181. Total fines charged to date could buy Deathknell twice over. For those keeping score at home, a new play symbol has been added. Please check your Nearly Midnight Guide for details."

"I am your Anchorette Folodu Amrunrosse, and this has been a Frostfellian Midnight News."