Mage School: Twilight Star

Home: Swamleverc

Enrollment: ~750

Motto: "In Death You Serve"

Every negative stereotype ever held about necromancers rings true for the mage school of the Twilight Star. On the tiny island off the western coast of Dradehalia and eastern coast of war-torn Chidia, in the city of Swamleverc, masters of the undead routinely and collectively explore the depths of necromantic powers. It's not quire sure when the school arrived on the island, having been thought to have been exterminated a millennia ago, but either the Dread Emperor lacks the resources to dismantle the school, has a secret pact with them, or simply chooses not to bother. The local populace labors in quiet terror, afraid to rise up against the black-robed masters that stroll through their streets during the day (and practice unspeakable horrors at night, or so the rumors claim); the city watch investigates no missing person or murder case without checking with the masters of the Twilight Star first, and more than once a citizen has thought they recognized one of the pale figures moving around in the night.

Membership

Membership in the Twilight Star is open to any who would explore the powers of the undead; necromancers, pale masters, and some Death domain find a welcome home here. Long Death monks are often seen in their company, and many believe that there is a monastery of that tradition on the island. Assassins are often employed by the school, but none have ever been accepted within its halls (unless multiclassed). Any other class is generally either encouraged to find acceptance elsewhere, or considered for experimentation.

Tendencies

Contrary to popular belief, not all of the Twilight's Star magi are evil--some in fact see the undead as a powerful and untapped resource that deserves deeper exploration as service to the living--but those that aren't are clearly in the minority. Contrary to the canonical "insane loner" stereotype of the necromancer, however, Twilight Star magi are quite comfortable working together, seem quite sane (aside from their chosen profession, that is), and have no deep desire to conquer the world. (Most of them, anyway.) The magi of the Twilight Star understand that real power lies not in mundane conquest of land, but in the conquest of death via unlife.

Most Twilight Star towers are no larger than a half-dozen in size, and usually made up of one Master, one Journeyman, and several apprentices.

Connections

In most of the nations of the west and north, the Twilight Star school is illegal, and its students (and particularly its instructors) are openly hunted and arrested. Although participation itself is not a crime, most of the nations of the west and north have laws against almost anything the Twilight Star does (including practicing necromancy on non-sentient creatures and beasts), and usually an investigator can find evidence enough for a conviction.

In the east, among the Hordes, the Twilight Star has a deeper meaning, simultaneously more respectful and more fearful--for many centuries, Hordish wizards practiced necromancy as part of their incessant wars with the Firstborn, and that reverance and fear carries over to this day. Because the Twilight Star is not openly hunted here, many schools have lived here in (relative) peace. However, many of the Hordes have long memories, and no Hordish chieftain or mayor has ever arrested anyone when a mob has burned a Twilight Star school to the ground on nothing more than rumor. (In fact, it's not unusual for a chieftain or mayor to start said rumors, if the Twilight Star school isn't willing to become a wary ally.)

In the south, open practice of necromancy is ostensibly illegal, but rumors whisper that the Dread Emperor is a secret backer of the school, and that the school is welcome within Dradehalia, so long as it is kept secret from commonfolks' knowledge.

Despite the fact that the Night's Blessing school despises them, Twilight Star magi have no strong feelings toward their sister school of necromancy--in fact, many Twilight Star members have a second set of robes in the Night's Blessing colors and heraldry handy in their chests for when they need a good cover story or explanation. In fact, many Twilight Star members are former Night's Blessing, cast out from their former school for crossing lines that the former school views as "too far". Many's the night that Twilight Star magi gather and tell stories of "pranks" they've pulled on their sister school, such as traveling a thousand miles to raise a graveyard full of kobold bodies to dance around the Night's Blessing tower in an Alalihatian town during a nighttime festival. (The fact that the dancing kobold skeletons led to a riot that burned down the Night's Blessing tower and killed fifteen magi of that school is merely an unfortunate detail to most Twilight Star members.)

Restricted Spells