A discussion on "Restoration" and her Rival School Necromancy[]
Information[]
Presented by Mattenne DuCanne on the 4th of Sun's Dusk, 4E201.
Speech[]
I should preface this with an explanation, as it seems very sudden. As of late, I've been researching a magickal phenomena in the use of Dwemer Automatons, and came across the evidence that soul gems had been in use to help power the Automatons. That prompted me to further research soul gems, and their capabilities and their potential for a Necromantic nature. At this point, I... became consumed by my studies and didn't have time to realize that the Guild has yet to take precaution against these "Dark Arts" as the Mage's Guild has before. These arguements for and against the School of Necromancy has been made in the publishing of The Dark Arts on Trial.
I would like to take this moment to address what the nature of Necromancy is as opposed to the nature of "Restoration" magicks. With the benevolent magicks that are categorized, Restoration and other such similar magicks are an output of directing and guiding certain "Life Forces", for lack of a better term that, that are inherently beneficial to a living being with out causing permanent harm to anyone. These tend to manifest in Healing Spells, or Cure Spell.
Then there is Necromancy, which is in and of itself a perversion of everything a healer stands for. They take these "Life Forces" or energies or souls or whatever you wish to call them and they twist it beyond all recognition. They bind and enslave these souls to their will, they pervert the very nature of life by using the corpses of the deceased in profane rituals and as mindless slaves. This must not be allows to prosper anywhere it is a plague on all that we deem hallowed and good. It is the essence of Molag Bal's nature, a dominance over that which should never be bound. Necromancers think themselves above all else and openly defy the Aedric Divines. I propose that we ban the Dark Arts of Necromancy within the Guild. We can not and I will not allow this perversion to stand, for it has the potential to corrupt the purest of hearts and the wisest of minds.
Notable Comments[]
Atticus Plinius[]
Hah, I see you read the book I brougt in, Discourse on the Animunculi, what with the Dwemeri use of soul gems.
Anyway, why should we ban necromancy? We're not the Mages' Guild or the Synod. We're a haven of free thought. To be frank, if necromancy is banned amongst this Guild, politics should be barred from it. I'm thinking of a certain embassador, as always.
I've never seen any ecidence of the necromantic 'corruption' people speak of so often. It's simply power. If necromancy corrupts, so does resoration magic, by giving the wielder power of others.
As an aside, I am not a mage, although I often study magic. Thus, don't bother with accussations that I've already been 'corrupted.'
Kirk Ice-Veins[]
I'm a fellow studier of Restoration magic. I agree that Necromancy is mostly an evil and corrupted form of magic, but we can't start banning things. The more limits we put on ourselves, the less we can achieve.
I've heard your earlier arguments in which you said nothing good can come of the study of this art, but sometimes things MUST be studied so that they do not destroy us. This was almost the case roughly 200 years ago when the Mages Guild banned Necromancy. Everyone who continued to practice the dark arts did so in secret, and most were forced into hiding. By banning Necromancy the Mages Guild fueled Mannimarco's army which nearly destroyed them.
In fact there are even spells in the school of restoration that allow casters to heal the undead. Necromantic Healing is one example. This is a very useful spell and one that could not have been learned without the study of Necromancy.
There are no bans on the knowledge it takes to kill a man. Anyone in Tamriel is free to learn which veins to cut to kill effectively, but doing so without just cause is illegal. That is how we must treat the study of Necromancy. It is to be allowed, but it's use is to be limited to only when needed.
Berig Half-Heart[]
So, how, exactly, do we go about such a task? Banning and preventing necromancy? I'd love to see that kind of black magic rid of, but how?
Theodane Barnsmith[]
I'm not really sure I approve of banning any sort of magic... I can see us regulating it, perhaps, but not banning it.
Jo'rak[]
Well, I practice the Restorative magics as well. I despise Necromancy just as much as you do, but I think slightly differently than you do. I think not to completely ban the practice from the Guild, but to just restrain it. We should give permission to people to use Necromancy ONLY for research purposes, and never as training, or for practical reasons. Though I think that they should also see Theodane, or someone in his command, about what they're doing first, and make sure that they have the Guild's full permission.
Bargok gro-Nagrob[]
I like your heart, but how do you intend to fully stop people from using dark magic? It's not like you can just force everyone to stop.
And what are your thoughts on standard white souls? The kind you would get from an animal if it were to be soul trapped.