There were two kinds of Necromancy known to Mankind - Ebony and Ivory, black and white. 'White' Necromancy was using magic to repair flesh, more often referred to as Healing magic to avoid the stigma the word Necromancy tended to incite among the more superstitious. 'Black' Necromancy was the stereotype of the art; raising corpses to fight and serve at the caster's command. Legal Black Necromancy was mostly used by the Legions, to construct Honored Dead or raise temporary work forces in the wake of a battle. Some of the more enterprising Legions even carried the bones of their dead with them, to be temporary raised as a workforce as needed. Such bones were treated with great respect -polished and treated to endure the tests of time- which went a long way towards keeping Legion Necromancers from being burned at the stake for the desecration of corpses. It could even be used in combat, to forcibly rip energy from the living and souls from bodies.<br/><br/>On the other hand, Black Necromancy took a heavy toll on the caster's body. It fragmented the mind, throwing the barest slivers into each Risen. When the spell was terminated the sliver would return, but the metaphysical fracture never healed properly. Those who stole energy would find fragments of their victims lodged in their psyche, a constant whispering in the back of their minds. Practitioners often became sallow, unhealthy and erratic, which was why Necromancers were often stereotyped as lunatics with poor hygiene. Not that Absolom really did much to dispel that stereotype, but still.<br/><br/>Absolom rarely utilized Black Necromancy - he preferred to work with living flesh. It was a more pleasant sensation to repair damage and feel life returning to a damaged form. Still, he knew the basics. Enough to bolster the ranks with some meat shields. The temperature about him dropped abruptly, the half-dozen souls netted from the field below roiling around the gaunt spell-caster. Curling his hand into a claw in the direction of one of the nearest Deep Ones, Absolom barked a curt word in a blasphemous tongue. The Deep One screamed in agony, it's eyes erupting in a misty white light. A moment later the creature collapsed, it's sockets charred to oblivion. Swiftly, the soul was stripped of it's energy and cast into the Veil, while the stolen power was filled with a fragment of Absolom's psyche and inserted back into the corpse. A moment later, the Deep One rose again, barreling into the cluster of fish nearest to the Tent Group. Another fish went down under the Risen's claws, and was promptly raised. And another, and another.<br/><br/>"Get. Moving." Absolom snarled through gritted teeth. The sensation of Black Necromancy grated at him, an unpleasantly oily texture that wrapped itself around his mind.<br/><br/>Next, the souls in his net gave their power towards a bank of mist to cover the group. It functioned identically to the fog he had cast over the troops at Talara. They could see out with more ease than the foes could see in, and the clinging tendrils would hinder enemy movement. Gasping with the effort of his spell-casting, Absolom fell back to a knee.<br/><span style="color: #000000">Overexerting yourself? Didn't your commander tell you NOT to do that?</span>The voice uttered something between a snicker and a sigh.<span style="color: #000000">Well, keep at it. You might survive at this rate, and my brethren will feast well this eve.</span><br/><br/>Caine meanwhile had taken position between Absolom and the battlefield. His soul-rending had not gone unnoticed by one of the Oracles, who had begun to advance on them. Flanked by a pair of particularly hulking Deep Ones, the Oracle didn't even bother to redirect any of it's troops. Caine drew her short sword  and unslung her shield, striking a defensive pose.<br/><br/>"Think you can muster some spells on these three, Skeleton?"<br/><br/>"We'll see." Absolom snapped, making another sharp gesture at the trio. The Oracle screamed, eyes burning, but the hulking beasts simply charged the moment their master began to writhe. Absolom swayed forward, catching himself a few inches from the ground. New whispers swirled in his head, the croaking tongue of the Deep Ones joining in a maddening chorus. The symphony almost dulled the presence of the Daemon, but made concentrating on his spells all the harder.<br/>"Nope. You're on your own now."<br/><br/>Caine cursed, sprinting to meet the two behemoths, She ducked under the first punch, drawing a deep gash along the offender's ribs. The creature howled, lashing at her with a powerful backhand. Caine ducked low, causing the blow to strike the other Deep One. The Deep One was effectively cold-clocked, stumbling back a few steps form the POG. Rolling over, she stabbed upwards, burying her blade deep into the attacker's armpit. By some feat of strength and speed she tore it back out, rolled behind the monster, and embedded her blade to the hilt in it's back. The behemoth toppled over, ichorous blood pouring from the wound as Caine yanked at her sword. Behind her, the second Deep One was regaining it's sense.<br/><br/>"What use are you, you damn walking warp-conduit!?"