Why did he choose to get his ears pierced? How did he become a necromancer? Does he ever get judged for either of these two things? If so, how does he respond/react to it? Where/What are the other scars from?
i definitely got carried away with these ones lmao
Why did he choose to get his ears pierced? > Upon leaving his homeland of Vindris and making the long trek to Theracarcus, Audemus was rewarded with much more freedom (and more opportunities) than he had ever before experienced in his life. He had always had a fondness for jewelry, and soon after his arrival decided to get his ears pierced for largely aesthetic reasons.
How did he become a necromancer? > Initially Audemus was only interested in pursuing a medical education, but soon after his arrival in Theracarcus, upon getting lost in research on the practice of healing via magical means (specifically via divine, clerical magic) he began to hypothesize on a parallel clinical, arcane healing devoid of divine influence. It had long been argued by necromancers that on a technical level, clerical healing was merely a form of divinely-empowered necromancy, and Audemus was interested in pursuing that line of reasoning deeper. He speculated that pure arcane healing was possible if the practitioner had a comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, medicine, and the art of manipulating life and death energies (i.e. necromancy). And he turned out to be correct!
Does he ever get judged for either of these two things? If so, how does he respond/react to it? > For having his ears pierced, no. It’s incredibly common for adults—especially those in urban settings—to get their ears pierced, regardless of gender. As for necromancy, like I mention in the Q&A, necromancy isn’t a ‘dark, forbidden magic’. It’s a field of study much like any other. The closest comparison I would draw is the way that we perceive forensic sciences. Gruesome and macabre, but a legitimate field of study for those odd and brave enough to pursue it. In Audemus’ younger years, necromancy had an air of frivolity associated with it within arcane academia because of its focus on non-arcane anthropological studies on burial rites and traditions as well as its limited applicability (raising zombies is far more taxing than it is in other fantasy settings, and most practiced necromancers can only maintain one summon at a time, if at all). Most necromancers were either permanently rooted in academia or were simply morticians, barely utilizing magic at all. During his tenure as Didact, Audemus overhauled the department and integrated a lot more anatomical, forensic, and mortuary studies into the curriculum. This lean towards practical application over theory lent some credence to the field, though many still consider it to be the least useful arcane school.
All this to say, Audemus is proud of how the perception of necromancy has subtly changed (within academia) because of his efforts, but by and large regular people still tend to perceive necromancers as overly-learned morticians/corpse-disposers… or folks who fancy death a bit too much.
Where/What are the other scars from? Audemus wouldn’t be comfortable talking about that. Some are “self-explanatory”, and he leaves it at that. The others are covered up, and will remain that way forever—so long as he has anything to say about it.
pocketbrows
Audemus
Questions from forum game:
Why did he choose to get his ears pierced? How did he become a necromancer? Does he ever get judged for either of these two things? If so, how does he respond/react to it? Where/What are the other scars from?
1 month, 1 day ago
i definitely got carried away with these ones lmao
Why did he choose to get his ears pierced?
> Upon leaving his homeland of Vindris and making the long trek to Theracarcus, Audemus was rewarded with much more freedom (and more opportunities) than he had ever before experienced in his life. He had always had a fondness for jewelry, and soon after his arrival decided to get his ears pierced for largely aesthetic reasons.
How did he become a necromancer?
> Initially Audemus was only interested in pursuing a medical education, but soon after his arrival in Theracarcus, upon getting lost in research on the practice of healing via magical means (specifically via divine, clerical magic) he began to hypothesize on a parallel clinical, arcane healing devoid of divine influence. It had long been argued by necromancers that on a technical level, clerical healing was merely a form of divinely-empowered necromancy, and Audemus was interested in pursuing that line of reasoning deeper. He speculated that pure arcane healing was possible if the practitioner had a comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, medicine, and the art of manipulating life and death energies (i.e. necromancy). And he turned out to be correct!
Does he ever get judged for either of these two things? If so, how does he respond/react to it?
> For having his ears pierced, no. It’s incredibly common for adults—especially those in urban settings—to get their ears pierced, regardless of gender. As for necromancy, like I mention in the Q&A, necromancy isn’t a ‘dark, forbidden magic’. It’s a field of study much like any other. The closest comparison I would draw is the way that we perceive forensic sciences. Gruesome and macabre, but a legitimate field of study for those odd and brave enough to pursue it. In Audemus’ younger years, necromancy had an air of frivolity associated with it within arcane academia because of its focus on non-arcane anthropological studies on burial rites and traditions as well as its limited applicability (raising zombies is far more taxing than it is in other fantasy settings, and most practiced necromancers can only maintain one summon at a time, if at all). Most necromancers were either permanently rooted in academia or were simply morticians, barely utilizing magic at all. During his tenure as Didact, Audemus overhauled the department and integrated a lot more anatomical, forensic, and mortuary studies into the curriculum. This lean towards practical application over theory lent some credence to the field, though many still consider it to be the least useful arcane school.
All this to say, Audemus is proud of how the perception of necromancy has subtly changed (within academia) because of his efforts, but by and large regular people still tend to perceive necromancers as overly-learned morticians/corpse-disposers… or folks who fancy death a bit too much.
Where/What are the other scars from?
Audemus wouldn’t be comfortable talking about that. Some are “self-explanatory”, and he leaves it at that. The others are covered up, and will remain that way forever—so long as he has anything to say about it.
1 month, 1 day ago Edited 11:44 pm