I don't know if this will make things clear, but it will certainly give you more knowledge about this world... :)
Making things clear Fabian set his knife and fork down and allowed himself a small sigh of pleasure. He reached for his glass, which was nearly empty, and finished the last, slightly watery, dregs. Dread waved at the waiter and indicated the glasses with a sweep of his hand and the waiter, still enthusiastic beyond requirements, disappeared inside. "I saw the Civil Militia yesterday," said Fabian as a memory surfaced. "I hope they didn't see you," said Dread. He finished up a last half of tomato and belched gently. "The Emperor is phasing them out and they don't like it. The best of them have already been transferred to either the Imperial Police or the Imperial Army and they can see that the writing is on the wall for the rest of them." "They were clearing out a nest of Rust Elves," said Fabian. "At least, that's what my driver said. They were blocking the road to do so." "You have a driver? I thought you didn't care for the privileges of rank." The waiter set the new drinks down and cleared the glasses and plates with brisk efficiency. "Taxi driver," said Fabian. "I think she was Elven heritage her-- well, actually I'm sure of it, I could pretty much see where her extra arms were bound." "We don't get many Elves or Elven-heritage in the navies," said Dread sounding thoughtful. He sipped his drink and stared out at the cityscape around them. "They're not much use after the first time." "The first time?" Fabian picked his glass up and wondered if he would get any reading done this afternoon after everything he'd had to drink. "How many times do you employ them?"
"Hah! No, I mean that they don't resurrect well. Humans you can zombify so easily you'd think they were made for it. And when the zombie goes down you can usually haul it back up again with a slightly stronger spell, though it's a bit slower, bit more worn out. Some of the big ones will go a third time, and then you dump the corpses in a barrel of quicklime and when the flesh is off, animate it as a skeleton. They're good for a couple of goes as well so long as the big bones aren't too badly damaged. You can pretty much get nine lives out of a human sailor. But the elves seem to resist it somehow. Bad souls I think, they don't see to bind very well back to the body." Fabian set his glass down feeling the usual urge to start pulling things apart and digging for an answer to the problem. "Better minds have thought about this," said Dread quickly, but not quickly enough. "Why do you need a soul at all?" said Fabian. "Surely the soul is the thing that makes them human, not a zombie? And where would an animated skeleton put a soul anyway? Inside the skull, somehow?" Dread groaned and gulped his drink. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, forcing the waiter to dodge backwards and the slide the small tin tray containing the bill onto the other side of the table. "You can't have a reanimated body without a soul," he said. "That's basic necromancy." "Why? I don't get what the soul does," said Fabian. "Well," said Dread. "It..." the pause went on for long enough for Fabian to pick up the bill, note the amount with a certain amount of satisfaction, and hold it up to his tablet. The QR-code reader beeped once and Fabian tapped on the pay icon that appeared and set the bill back down. Across the terrace the waiter caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up. "Well," said Dread, sounding annoyed. "We're always taught that the soul is a necessary part of necromancy but the more I think about it, the more I think that the key point is actually that you can't animate something that has never had a soul. So it sort of makes sense that you can't rezombify something if you didn't keep its soul with it in the first place. Sort of...." "Why?" Dread glared at Fabian. "You are not a three-year old," he said. "And you've distracted me and paid the bill, haven't you?" "That's right and maybe," said Fabian. "Although maybe not in that order." "Let me think about this," said Dread. "There must be a reason for the soul to be kept, but I can't say I've ever used a soul after I've brought a crew back up to strength." Fabian shuddered. "What's it like, being on a ship full of zombies and skeletons?" he said. "It seems a bit icky to me." "Smelly, for the most part," said Dread.
That is some fascinating background. More than a touch horrifying, but I can't deny finding the reanimation process captivating. And yes, I think I would have a similar question to Fabian's at the end there, though I'm not sure I'd dare ask it.
3 comments:
I don't know if this will make things clear, but it will certainly give you more knowledge about this world... :)
Making things clear
Fabian set his knife and fork down and allowed himself a small sigh of pleasure. He reached for his glass, which was nearly empty, and finished the last, slightly watery, dregs. Dread waved at the waiter and indicated the glasses with a sweep of his hand and the waiter, still enthusiastic beyond requirements, disappeared inside.
"I saw the Civil Militia yesterday," said Fabian as a memory surfaced.
"I hope they didn't see you," said Dread. He finished up a last half of tomato and belched gently. "The Emperor is phasing them out and they don't like it. The best of them have already been transferred to either the Imperial Police or the Imperial Army and they can see that the writing is on the wall for the rest of them."
"They were clearing out a nest of Rust Elves," said Fabian. "At least, that's what my driver said. They were blocking the road to do so."
"You have a driver? I thought you didn't care for the privileges of rank." The waiter set the new drinks down and cleared the glasses and plates with brisk efficiency.
"Taxi driver," said Fabian. "I think she was Elven heritage her-- well, actually I'm sure of it, I could pretty much see where her extra arms were bound."
"We don't get many Elves or Elven-heritage in the navies," said Dread sounding thoughtful. He sipped his drink and stared out at the cityscape around them. "They're not much use after the first time."
"The first time?" Fabian picked his glass up and wondered if he would get any reading done this afternoon after everything he'd had to drink. "How many times do you employ them?"
"Hah! No, I mean that they don't resurrect well. Humans you can zombify so easily you'd think they were made for it. And when the zombie goes down you can usually haul it back up again with a slightly stronger spell, though it's a bit slower, bit more worn out. Some of the big ones will go a third time, and then you dump the corpses in a barrel of quicklime and when the flesh is off, animate it as a skeleton. They're good for a couple of goes as well so long as the big bones aren't too badly damaged. You can pretty much get nine lives out of a human sailor. But the elves seem to resist it somehow. Bad souls I think, they don't see to bind very well back to the body."
Fabian set his glass down feeling the usual urge to start pulling things apart and digging for an answer to the problem.
"Better minds have thought about this," said Dread quickly, but not quickly enough.
"Why do you need a soul at all?" said Fabian. "Surely the soul is the thing that makes them human, not a zombie? And where would an animated skeleton put a soul anyway? Inside the skull, somehow?"
Dread groaned and gulped his drink. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, forcing the waiter to dodge backwards and the slide the small tin tray containing the bill onto the other side of the table.
"You can't have a reanimated body without a soul," he said. "That's basic necromancy."
"Why? I don't get what the soul does," said Fabian.
"Well," said Dread. "It..." the pause went on for long enough for Fabian to pick up the bill, note the amount with a certain amount of satisfaction, and hold it up to his tablet. The QR-code reader beeped once and Fabian tapped on the pay icon that appeared and set the bill back down. Across the terrace the waiter caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Well," said Dread, sounding annoyed. "We're always taught that the soul is a necessary part of necromancy but the more I think about it, the more I think that the key point is actually that you can't animate something that has never had a soul. So it sort of makes sense that you can't rezombify something if you didn't keep its soul with it in the first place. Sort of...."
"Why?"
Dread glared at Fabian. "You are not a three-year old," he said. "And you've distracted me and paid the bill, haven't you?"
"That's right and maybe," said Fabian. "Although maybe not in that order."
"Let me think about this," said Dread. "There must be a reason for the soul to be kept, but I can't say I've ever used a soul after I've brought a crew back up to strength."
Fabian shuddered. "What's it like, being on a ship full of zombies and skeletons?" he said. "It seems a bit icky to me."
"Smelly, for the most part," said Dread.
Greg - then I shall be satisfied :)
That is some fascinating background. More than a touch horrifying, but I can't deny finding the reanimation process captivating. And yes, I think I would have a similar question to Fabian's at the end there, though I'm not sure I'd dare ask it.
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