![[S_Neo_Prophetus.png|200]] ## Background Born from a schism within the broader faith of [[Corantus]], God of Death and the Judge of Souls, Neo-Prophetus formed when a sect of death-priests, necroscribes, and bonewrights began to interpret their god’s will differently. Where others saw undeath as taboo, the Neo-Prophets saw it as a sacred duty—a way to ensure that no part of the body or soul is wasted. They believe necromancy is not a corruption, but a divine gift: the ability to repurpose life’s shell for a second sacred service. They do not raise the dead frivolously, nor do they create mindless hordes. Their rites are structured, solemn, and bound by scripture. Each skeleton walks with a purpose. Each spirit rests only when its duty is complete. ### **Magic and Doctrine:** - **Necromancy is Divine** All animating magic must be accompanied by ritual invocation of Corantus. - **Souls Are Sacred** Reanimation is done only when a soul has passed fully; Neo-Prophetus does not bind souls against their will. - **No Waste in Death** Bones may walk. Skin may become parchment. Hearts may fuel lanterns. All is holy if done with reverence. **Unique Spells & Rituals:* - **Skeletal Cantor** Creates a raised skeleton whose ribs vibrate with divine sound; it recites liturgical verses that ward off malign spirits. - **Vesmarius’s Veil** Renders the caster incorporeal for 1 minute, stepping briefly into the Plane of Shadows. Usable once per long rest. - **The Ember Wake** A high ritual that allows up to 5 corpses to be temporarily raised with perfect memory and skill for 24 hours to complete one final task. ## Offices **Island of [[Black Anchor]] – Southern Lands of Kataiga** A fog-wreathed isle with black sand shores and bone-colored cliffs. Here, the Neo-Prophetus maintain their sanctified society of the living and the respectfully undead. Half-priests, half-wights, its streets are lined with black-robed necromancers and bone-shod sentinels. **The Tower on the Lake – Black Anchor** Once guarded, now claimed. When local order collapsed, the necromancers from the woodlands and private city cabals joined forces and seized the Tower, securing it with ritual wards and summoned guardians. The Tower is a fortified library of necromantic lore, bound by oath and locked to the uninitiated. Beneath the Tower sleeps a Lich of old, nameless but remembered, who rises briefly each year at daybreak on the first winter morning—a silent watcher of his legacy. ## Organizational Structures #### **The High Grim** – _Guild Master_ [[Dae-Jung Vesmarius]] Administrative head of the Tower and keeper of the Soul-Index. A being who appears mortal, but whose veins run with embalmer’s ichor. Sends emissaries, receives relics, and maintains contact with outsiders on rare occasions. #### **Choirs of Bone & Vow** Internal divisions, named as "choirs," form the sacred orders within Neo-Prophetus: - **The Vowbinders** – Rites-bound morticians and animists who ensure that every corpse raised is sanctified and tied to a divine task. - **The Ossian Scholars** – Lorekeepers and relic archivists who transcribe necromantic theology and maintain the **Soul-Canticles**. - **The Shepherds of Hollow Flame** – Combat-trained necromancers who serve as both defenders and sentinels for Black Anchor and the Tower.