Jesse Cox asks:

Jesse Cox asks:
1) How did this system start? Was it a clear twist on a pre-existing set of cultural practices? The pet project of some necrologist that became the basis of everything during some crisis? Something else?

2) Can you name three major events that have shaped how the Convocation of Malquort works now, such that it would be very different today if any hadn’t happened? We’re these obvious crisis points at the time?

At some point, I had exemplified an originating Prophet, but at this point this is revised to a set of people who came together in discussion. I like that.

Each had a different issue they wanted to solve, these necromancers. They divided these into four broad categories: Disease, War, Famine, and Death itself.

The Necromancer of Disease took the name Nayor The Eradicator. Before Nayor, the dead would accidentally come to life, wander a while, then fall apart. Often as they stumbled into a well. She learned the early secrets to eradicating disease through safe water, baths, and controlling wild undead. Nayor was the first to control the wild undead.

Widhos Carnage looked into warfare. Like Nayor, he first used the wild undead, using the dead of other kingdoms as emergency troops to fight defensive warfare. In a break of offenses from their neighbors, Widhos developed a means of modifying Nayor's lifeless to take a hit and carry a spear.

Akrelekai The Harvester was concerned with famine. Unable to reduce how much food people need to survive (though she tried), Akrelekai instead found ways to get food from where it was plentiful to where it was not. Later, she took the spear-wielding proto Lifeless, and extended their ability to use tools, as well as their ability to walk long distance.

Greqir The Haggard looked at what Nayor, Widhos, and Akrelekai had done. His followers pledged themselves to eradicating unintentional, wasteful death as far as they could. Gregir learned to make the Lifeless more potent as people prayed, thus making the Lifeless last longer and able to do more laborous chores.

It was Gregir who built the first tenements for the Faithful, bringing together the fresh water, defenses, food, and shelter the Lifeless could build.

Death became something those who asked for it could have, rather than something that came like a thief in the night. Accidental death still occurred, but with illness, shelter, and food.

As the number of Lifeless grew, the backbreaking labor required of it's people diminished.