Tabian

For a tidy 11111t. Turns out her name (she came with it) means "Expose." I kind of like that. It seems really fitting for a light dragon.

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Long, long ago, before Pearlcatchers existed, the Lightweaver created the Imperials. They were magnificent dragons created to outshine all others created by the other deities, brimming with life and surging with magic. Where the other deities created their dragons with a steady hand and an even heart, the Lightweaver threw everything into creating her own, holding nothing back. They were the jewels in her crown and the joy in her heart. She radiated her love for them, and she gloried in her precious children.

But the Imperials were not immortal. And so, the first of the lights began to snuff out. For the Lightweaver, who never aged, the little, precious lights of life disappearing was agonizing. She had loved them too dearly. And so, a part of her, despite knowing that this was merely a part of being mortal, rejected their deaths. A strand of her will forbade their lights from fading. Despite the natural order of things, she turned death away at the door, forcing her creation into an unnatural existence...and then came the horror.

Emperors. Corpses of her children surging with magic, forcing strength into them, and twisting them into fragmented and restless versions of their previous selves. It had been a mistake. What was once the utmost pride of the Lightweaver turned into her shame. Unable to stop the monsters she had inadvertently created on her own, the Lightweaver enlisted the help of her fellow deities. Together, they brought the monsters down and laid her children to rest once more. Then, still loving those Imperials who yet lived but crippled by the shame of her mistake, the Lightweaver created Pearlcatchers, wishing yet unable to forget the terror her love had brought upon Sornieth.

It is thought that the Lightweaver confided in the Shadowbinder at some point, explaining why Pearlcatchers resemble Veilspuns. It's said that the Lightweaver was cowed by her mistake, and so sought to create a dragon somewhat similar to those of her more even-handed sister. Whether this is true or not, however, is impossible to say.

What is certain, however, is that while the Plaguebringer detests the undead and the Shadowbinder's own history is shrouded in mystery, the originator of necromancy is none other than the Lightweaver herself...and it was born of love.

"Necromancy is not some evil to be feared, nor some art of darkness. It is our inheritance!" Tabian proclaimed to the stunned members of the forum. She was giving a presentation to propose a new venture into the study of magic, being a relatively minor member of the Magicks and Sciences Association: Sunbeam Ruins Branch.

"How can you claim that after just recanting the history of the Emperor dragons?!" incredulously demanded one of the listeners and potential sponsors.

"Have you forgotten that we're trying to deal with one even as we speak?!" shrilly cried out another, speaking of the dreaded Luminax who terrorized the Emperor's Wake.

Tabian tried to assuage the fast-growing revolt of the crowd, but she could hardly hear her own voice. She had prepared for resistance but there was nothing stopping her from being glared at from across the hall even after she'd been run out of the auditorium. No one would listen to reason. It was her firm belief that the reason Emperors existed was not because necromancy on the whole was bad, but rather because it had not been wielded properly. She was certain that if channeled in a focused stream, taking factors into consideration which had not previously been, then it could be used for the good of society on the whole.

She believed that life demanded life, and so they could use necromancy to move life from one form to another. Deadly criminals who would commit murder and therefore would be executed anyway could be siphoned from, and their light could instead be given to good dragons who deserved another chance at life. Should the innocent continue to die and the lives of criminals be wasted when this was the most precious resource there was?

But she hadn't even gotten far enough in her presentation to show her position and ideas to the sponsors. And so, the magical researcher gave up presenting in the forum. She tried going to specific individuals and presenting her theories, figuring that without the mob mentality and concerns about keeping up appearances that she could find someone willing to fund her work. Unfortunately, the best she got from these dragons was sympathetic well-wishes.

Driven to desperation, she even began seeking out a cult of knowledge-seeking Pearlcatchers called Black Pearls when she managed to get in contact with an associate of theirs: a criminal, yet scientific and magical genius named Albus. He was intrigued by her theory and sympathetic to her story, despite how cold and calculating he seemed. He spoke with a refreshing practicality, and though his single-minded focus on improvement and resulting ignorance of commonplace morality would have typically been somewhat unsettling, after Tabian's experiences with being turned down and ignored because of such things, his approach truthfully came as a relief. And so, when he offered to contribute how he could in her studies into necromancy, she enthusiastically jumped on the chance he presented to her: illegal as it may have been, their distant partnership and agreement to trade useful findings began then and there.

-Continued from the perspective of a necromancer named Aurion-

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