Necromancer

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"You abomination!"
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For the magic that Necromancers use, see Necromancy.

Necromancers, such as Solomon Wreath, are a group of people who study Necromancy. They are mainly located in the Temple.

ValkyrieMC — Valkyrie Cain, a user of Necromancy

Necromancy[]

Main article: Necromancy

Necromancy is an Adept discipline. Necromancers store all of their power in a certain object they own. Lord Vile stored his power in his armor, which Baron Vengeous spent so long looking for as it had the powers of the greatest Necromancer to ever live. In The Faceless Ones, it is said that Solomon Wreath stores his in his cane, and his two companion Necromacers store theirs in a cloak and a pair of flint-lock pistols, respectively. If not stored in an object, the user is not able to focus the power, as said by Melancholia in Death Bringer. If the object is broken, the magic will simply return to the user until they store it in another object, as said by Wreath at the end of The Faceless Ones.

Destruction of Objects[]

In The Faceless Ones, Valkyrie is given Wreath's cane when he becomes too badly wounded to fight. Whilst she successfully uses it against the Faceless One, it is broken and shatters into tiny pieces. However Wreath is not upset, as when a Necromancer loses their object of power, the power flows back into the Necromancer until they can transfer it into a new object.

Notably, Wreath selected another cane, identical to his last one, in which to store his power.

Magic and abilities[]

The Necromancers in Skulduggery Pleasant had the power to control death. Serpine used Necromancer methods to make the White Cleaver, and it was implied that they would be able to further stretch those powers. Morwenna Crow was a Necromancer.

For offensive purposes, they control Shadows to do their damage. The shadows seem to congregate in their chosen weapon - for example, Wreath's cane is shrouded in darkness, and when it strikes it seems to inflict the darkness upon whatever it comes into contact with. Other forms of combat by shadows can be found in Wreath's male companion's pistol, which fires bullets made from shadows, the female companion who has a cloak made of shadows and Valkyrie's ring. Serpine however, instead of manipulating shadows is able to torture and kill people by pointing at people with his skinless right hand. It is also known that when dead people, for example when Valkyrie was with Nye, use Necromancy they can't fully control it.

Another ability is shadow walking, this is a power similar to teleportation, but with a much shorter range, it is shown that the caster creates a wall of shadow and steps into it, appearing somewhere else. In Death Bringer Melancholia St Clair seems to be able to shadow walk further than any other Necromancer.

Another ability that Necromancers can potentially have is nicknamed Death Bubble. It involves the necromancer reaching out to the person around them in a bubble like fashion, and then drawing the bubble back in, taking their lives with the bubble. Only two known people have achieved this: Vile and Melancholia.

It also is implied that Necromancers with potentially Death Bringer power levels contain their powers in an object that is easy to use and access, as Valkyrie used a ring which easily remains on the hand, Vile had his armor, which remained on him at all times, and Melancholia St Clair had her necromancy inside her. Comparing this to Vandameer Craven who stored his magic in an amulet, Dragonclaw who held it in a dagger and Wreath who held it in his cane, Cain, Vile and Melancholia all had their magic on easy access, and would have been able to act subtly and discreetly, whereas Wreath would have to point his cane.

Beliefs[]

Main Article: The Death Bringer

In the fourth book, the Necromancer faith is slightly explored, through Skulduggery's harrassing Wreath about it, and the concept of their saviour, the Death Bringer, is explored. They believe that one day, a Necromancer will appear who is so powerful, they will be able to break the wall between life and death, by killing half the population of the earth. Very little more is said, and the idea is left as slightly nonsensical. However, it is said that only two Necromancers have ever shown enough promise to possibly be the Death Bringer - Lord Vile, who betrayed them, and Valkyrie herself. Lord Vile, it is revealed, is Skulduggery, overwhelmed by hatred, brought to life by the High Priest. Vandameer Craven does not believe that Valkyrie is the Death Bringer, but Melancholia St Clair is. In Death Bringer, Melancholia experiances the surge, and as Craven etches powerful symbols into her, her magic travels around her body in a loop, enhancing her power. She becomes the Death Bringer. However, the loop is unstable and she cannot take the power rushing around her body. They appear to live aecetic lifestyles inside the Temple, with some spending their lives inside its walls. Vandameer Craven mentions that one of the basic Necromancer tenets is "To suffer is to live" although both he and High Priest Tenebrae wear thermals under their robes in the cold Temple.

Biography[]

The Merryn Sigil[]

Twelve hundred years ago the highest Clerics of the Necromancer Order got together and constructed a Sigil which bestows its users incredible strength and complete utter invulnerability

The War[]

At first they were on the side of the sanctuary but later on they declared themselves neutral.

Skulduggery Pleasant[]

It is suggested in The Faceless Ones by Wreath that necromancy was actually responsible for bringing the White Cleaver to life.

Playing With Fire[]

In Playing With Fire, Baron Vengeous seeks the armour of Lord Vile which has Necromancer powers. Apart from this, there are no direct mentions of Necromancers.

The Faceless Ones[]

In The Faceless Ones, the Necromancers had a slightly nicer role. Early in the book Skulduggery Pleasant takes Valkyrie Cain to meet Solomon Wreath, and he acts very kindly towards her - as she continually states, "like an equal". Skulduggery gives her a warning about him similar to the warning about China Sorrows - that he is not to be trusted. Once again, however, Valkyrie pays little attention.

Later on in the book, Wreath's anonymous companions are introduced properly for the first time, and it is discovered that the White Cleaver had also joined their little group. The Necromancers accompany Skulduggery's group to the final battle against the Faceless Ones - however their motive remains a mystery.

During the battle against the Faceless Ones, Skulduggery is pulled into the portal to the world of the Faceless Ones. Wreath seems strangely apathetic about this.

In the final chapter of The Faceless Ones, Wreath has a discussion with Valkyrie, and tries to subtly encourage her to change her discipline to Necromancy - he also suggests that if she does he will help her get Skulduggery back.

Dark Days[]

In Dark Days, Necromancers have an even larger role. As Valkyrie needed more power to save Skulduggery, she accepted Wreath's invitation to become a Necromancer, storing her power in a ring. Very early in the book, she shows a preference to shadow magic over Elemental magic, and chooses to use her ring instead of her magic to fight off an attack from Remus Crux. This could be, however, to minimise damage that could be done using fire and air magic.

More Necromancers are introduced during the course of the book, and their lair, the Temple, is shown. Solomon Wreath is shown to be a lot less influential than he had been previously, and his role as an ambassador is insinuated. High Priest Tenebrae is shown to be the Necromancers' "leader", and is advised by the obnoxious conformist Vandameer Craven, and the silent Nathanial Quiver.

They are also beginning to believe that Valkyrie may be the Death Bringer who is the fabeled Necromancer that is powerful enough to blur the lines between life and death.

Mortal Coil[]

At the beginning of Mortal Coil the Necromancers plan to release a Remnant to possess Finbar Wrong so he may tell them if Valkyrie is indeed the Death Bringer, as he has only been having visions of Darquesse and the end of the world. However the Remnant escapes and begins its plot to free its brothers and sisters who are still trapped in the Midnight Hotel because of the visions the Remnant saw while possessing Finbar.

Death Bringer[]

Necromancers play a large role in the final book in the Necromancy story arc. Cleric Craven used Melancholia as a catalyst for The Death Bringer, a powerful necromancer who could induce The Passage, a powerful spell that blocks death. The Necromancy Order is shattered as The Sanctuary leads a raid on The Temple. Craven kills the High Priest and uses Melancholia to intimidate the other Necromancers. But both are finally defeated by Skulduggery and Valkyrie.

The Maleficent Seven[]

After the failed attempt to use Melancholia as the Death Bringer, Irish Necromancers left the order or moved to the temples of other countries. Kaiven is in the employment of mobster Jackie Earl.

Resurrection[]

A discussion breaks out about the morality of Necromancers, and many students of Corrival Academy consider them in a relatively bad light. Militsa Gnosis, a Scottish Necromancer, teaches in the school

Known Necromancers[]

For a full list, see Category:Necromancers