Academic Necromancy

Necromancy.

Everybody knows what it means. Decrepit old men with esoteric names and even stranger concepts of personal hygiene wrestling with death in the deepest night. Unnatural acts, bodies or spirits snatched from their grave all in the name of power.

And yes, this is the most attention grabbing form of necromancy. These are the figures who raise the dead the most. But they are not the only necromancers.

In the hallowed halls and ivory towers of the Celestial University, a young student submits their dissertation on theothernecromancers. The ones who raise the dead for other, more prosaic, purposes. Backed up with statistics and case studies, they hope to impress their professors.

The story will follow the rough outline of an quasi-academic piece holding together a group of ten short stories which are the case studies in the dissertation.

Case Study 1 - Mavis Carter: In a respectable graveyard a figure goes to speak to the dead. 5 chapters of variable length around 12000 words in total. Gentle and light-hearted.

Case Study 2 - Alberic Hasker: Two academics are led down into the tomb of the legend that is Ulthunc the Slayer. 12 chapters, the majority of which (chapters 2d-2k) are a first person account of how Ulthunc started along the path to legendary status. Around 43000 words. Adventure, monsters and magic. There is some violence, injury and death, but I don't think it's excessively graphic.

Case Study 3 - Staslaw Collix: A young recruit to the town watch is assigned to the unusual Inspector Collix. She finds herself in the middle of a murder case. 62,000 words. Watch procedural.

Case Study 4 - Darion Hawk: Nurse Tyrea Whittler finds herself working for Doctor Hawk. He is a man who believes he is creating a new branch of medicine, but she is not so sure. Ongoing.

Feel free to comment. I've never published before, so any feedback is good feedback. Well, notanyfeedback: I don't know how you could possibly comment on my dress sense for instance...

Let me know if you think the tags ought to be changed. I did have a comedy tag, and there will be elements that will be more or less light-hearted, but it doesn't seem to fit the whole piece.