Magesea:Hard Questions for Blackwell
Who Are You?
I am Malhar the Undying, Second Master of the Blackwell Necropolis. In days past, I led an army into battle against the forces of Bloodstone. But now, I am content to sit on the Council of Blackwell. And you are either very brave, or foolish enough not to realize you should be frightened. But since you are here, and retain enough wit to ask questions, I shall answer you out of boredom.
Who Are We?
We are subjects of the Sovereign Council of Bone. Outsiders refer to us as the Necromancers. Of course, they are imprecise; only a small fraction of us are actual Necromancers. The rest of you are ordinary people, both living and dead.
That is what sets us apart from others. The state of the body is irrelevant. It is the soul that is recognized as the person. Here, a ghost is an ordinary citizen, same as you. The only difference between you is the state of your bodies.
We are the survivors and descendants of the army sent by Darkhold to fight in the great Magewar. Since our home was destroyed during the war, we had to find a new place to live. We settled here, displacing or absorbing all who were here before us. We have been here ever since.
Are We A Great People?
Of course we are. We survived the destruction of our home and carved out another piece of the world. If we were not a great people, we would not have been able to do so. Among us, there are more that remember ancient days than there are among any other people. Others have to rely on written records or the memories souls carry with them each incarnation. There are those among us who remember because we haven't died since the events.
What Is The Difference Between Men And Women?
Among the living, men do most of the labor, and women bear children. Women must be protected from harm, for children are precious. It is through the birth of children that souls re-enter the world. We, more than most, understand the importance of this.
Among the dead, there is no difference between men and women. Any relevant differences between men and women end with the death of the body.
Where Do We Live?
We live in the town of Blackwell, at the edge of the Desolation of the Duel. It is named for the deep well at the edge of the Acropolis. Blackwell is separated into two parts: the Acropolis and the Necropolis. The living reside in the Acropolis, while the dead reside in the Necropolis.
How Do We Live?
We live much like anyone else, I suppose. We have always been short of manpower, so most menial labor is performed by mindless dead servants, nearly all of them skeletons. Zombies are too prone to disease to be used for anything other than soldiers, and mummies are too expensive for common use. Although there are exceptions, the living mostly do only those things that the dead cannot.
What Is Important In My Life?
You must contribute to our people in some meaningful fashion. In this you have no choice. Even if you do not contribute in life, the Council will ensure that you contribute in death. Do not look so frightened. This does not mean that beggars and other homeless people are rounded up and turned into slaves, although they are free to sell themselves if they wish.
As long as you follow the Law as put forth by the Council where you live, you are free to choose for yourself what else you consider important.
Who Rules Us?
The Sovereign Council of Bone rules all of us, including me. Each city has its own Council. I sit on Blackwell's, so you could say that I rule you. Smaller places have only a Magistrate to rule over them.
Councils always have an odd number of members, both living and dead. A Magistrate can be either, but is usually living.
What Makes A Person Great?
Service to the Council makes one great. Mastering the art of necromancy makes one great. Accomplishing deeds for which you will always be remembered makes one great; or infamous, as the case may be. Some don't care either way, just so long as they are remembered.
What Is Evil?
That which will bring down the orderly society we have created is evil. That which will steal or eat a soul is evil. Despite what the simpletons in other places believe, simply being dead is not evil.
What Is My Lot In Life?
That depends on what skills you have. There are farmers, artisans, merchants, and entertainers, same as anywhere else.
If you're not totally stupid and have a reasonably strong stomach, you may find a job directing unskilled labor. If you are stupid, or don't fancy ordering dead things about, you could always find a job as a servant. Many prefer the company of living servants, even though they have expensive upkeep. And foreigners almost always do.
If you can fight, it's possible to join the constabulary or become a soldier. Not all soldiers are dead. There are still plenty of tasks for which mindless automata aren't suitable.
You don't have the talent, but if you did the Seekers would take you away, and you would learn what it is to be a Necromancer yourself.
Once you're dead, your options change a bit, depending on whether your soul stays here or leaves for its next life. If your soul has departed, the Gatherers come to claim your body after the funeral. What happens to it then is up to them. Of course your family could always pay the corpse price and dispose of the body themselves.
If your soul is still around, what you do depends mostly on whether you still have your body or not. Without a body, you can't do much more than entertain, gather information, or teach. With your body, you can continue to practice whatever profession you had before death. Once dead, it is always best to move to the Necropolis as soon as possible. The living are always eager to shun one of their own once he becomes different.
How Do We Deal With Others?
Most outsiders do not understand our way of life. They fear us because they think we are evil, or have plans to eat their children. They are merely ignorant. Do not berate them for their ignorance, or otherwise provoke them. There is a fine line between anger and fear. Most outsiders fear us, but when it turns to anger they become dangerous. If you have need to deal with outsiders, make effort to lessen their fears. And take care not to turn their fear into anger. But do not bow to them. We are equal to or better than any other people who have ever lived. We bow to no one.
Who Are Our Enemies?
We have no true enemies. There are none left who could defeat us in open warfare. And after the devastation wrought by the Magewar, none who think themselves our equals would even try. Rivals and nuisances, on the other hand, are a different matter.
First and foremost among these is the Spire. Their home was not destroyed in the Magewar. This fact combined with their arrogance leads them to believe that they are the greatest people in the land. But how great can a people be who have never been tested by extreme adversity? Still, the resources contained within the Spire that predate the Magewar make them dangerous. They are not to be treated lightly.
The keepers of the Great Library are simultaneously very noble and very annoying. They have the most noble goal of gathering all information that can be found and preserving it so it does not get lost. But they have the very annoying habit of insisting that they keep the only copies, and do not freely share their knowledge. As they claim to be pacifists, and seem to have no interest in expanding their influence, they are not all that dangerous.
The barbarian tribes do not bother us much, for they are more frightened of us than anything. Still, if they were to rise up as one people and attack us, they could cause much damage to us. So it is in our best interest to keep them factionalized.
The tainted from the Devastation are more active but less organized than the barbarians, if you can believe that such a thing is even possible. Occasionally, some will wander out and attack. They are always repulsed with minimal effort, but it is something of a minor drain on resources.
Who Are Our Gods?
We follow the Soul Path, of course. Only ignorant barbarians and fools follow false gods. But not all of us agree on how to follow the Path.
Some, we call them Exorcists, think that remaining here after death is cheating the Judge. They are mistaken. The longer a soul remains in this world, the more it has to answer for when it finally does arrive before the Judge. And arrive it will. But they are too short sighted to realize this; they can't imagine the future beyond a generation or two. But they perform a valuable service in banishing demons, and ghosts that break the law, so they are tolerated.
Others, called Immortals, know that the Judge cannot be cheated. We remain here to provide a voice of age and wisdom to the short-lived among us. We are not quite so great as the stars whose name we share, but no one has yet come up with a better name to describe us. Not all Immortals have joined the ranks of the dead - many never do. And some of those who have eventually tire of this existence and pass on voluntarily.
What Is There To Do Around Here?
Well, you have already discovered the most dangerous game played by children and adolescents: entering the Necropolis, usually on a dare, and seeing how long you can remain there and still return to the Acropolis. It is a common pasttime, although it often results in injury or insanity. Fortunately for you, you seem to be harder to frighten than most.
There are also other games played by both children and adults that are not quite so dangerous, but still result in the occasional injury.
There are plenty of taverns, brothels, and other places of entertainment for the living, a few of which cater to, how shall I say, unusual appetites.
The dead have social gatherings as well, but we are not quite so fond of loud parties as you are.
Credits
Thanks to Dave T. for the Hard Questions for Blackwell.