Necromancer

''This article deals with the Necromancers in Pagan. For details of the rogue mages of seen in Ultima I, see Necromancers (Non-Pagan). For the Necromancer job of Ultima Online, see Necromancy (UO).''

The Necromancers of Pagan are the servants of the Elemental Titan Lithos.

Description
The Necromancers are one of the four groups that wield titanic magic, their poiwer of Necromancy being mainly concerned with earth and death. Living on the cemetery east of Tenebrae, the people avoid them as much as possible, as many ugly and mostly untrue rumors, such as they eat dead bodies, persist. Because their primary job is to bury the dead of the land, a quite distastful work, these rumors only are strengthened. The dead buried pacify Lithos, who uses the corpses for his ever growing army of the dead. In return for these services, Lithos leaves Pagan in peace with his earthquakes and undead.

The order knows three rank levels. At the top stands the Necromancer. he or she is repsponsible for the most important task, which if done wrong could enrage Lithos. The favored student of the Necromancer - who is groomed to become the next Necromancer - is called the Scion. The other members of the order do not hold a specific name. Succession of Necromancers only happens upon death, where the First Scion had to perform the Ritual of Eternity with the Ritual Dagger to send the dying Necromancer to Lithos.

History
The order of the Necromancers came into being when a man named Moriens actually made a bargain with Lithos in that the titan would receive the dead of the land, and in turn he would no longer torment the people with earthquakes and undead attacks. Since the secret of immortality was not in Lithos' powers, he allowed the mortal Moriens tofound the order of the Necromancers, while the dead Necromancers would serve even after their demise. Even though this act did grant them the leadership of Tenebrae, the unpleasant work with corpses started to alienate them from the population. So after the Tempests trapped Hydros and gained power, the Necromancers gladly turned rulership over to them and move to the cemetery, which only helped to isolate them further from the general population of Pagan.

When the Avatar arrived in Pagan in Ultima VIII, the Necromancers were in a crisis due to their isolation from the populace. Only two members of the order were left, the elder Necromancer Lothian dying of old age. The Avatar took the place of the Scion of the last Necromancer, Vividos, and went through all rituals. However, in the end the Avatar took away the power of Necromancy from the Necromancers when retrieving the Heart of Earth from the Chapel of the Dead. With the following destruction of Lithos, the order lost its purpose.

The Way to become a Necromancer
To become a Necromancer, the following rites have to be passed:


 * The first test is simple. The candidate must retrieve two reagents. Finding these proves that they are serious, and they are then declared a student and receive the Key of the Caretaker.
 * Then the student must enter the Catacombs to learn the spells from the Ancient Necromancers, after getting the needed equipment for spellcasting.
 * Next, the student must enter the Hall of the Mountain King, avoid the numerous traps within, and meet Lithos and get his approval.
 * If the student is to be declared the prime pupil, they now must follow the ritual to inter the body of the late Necromancer.
 * Now the student is given the Key of the Scion, and has to make a pilgrimage to the Birthplace of Moriens to get a vision. After this is done, their training is complete.

Trivia

 * It actually was planned that Vividos and Lithos do react to the theft of the Heart of Earth. However, that was curt due to time constrainst, see Plot Cuts in Ultima VIII.