To say that the last few days in the College were weird would be an understatement. Grulmar was doing his best to keep himself confined in his room, far away from Äelberon. What happened down in the Midden between them was lying heavily on Grulmar's mind. On one side he felt ashamed for all what he said, what he did. But on the other hand he felt like it had to be said, he had to let out all the frustration he was experiencing.
He wanted to apoligize to Äelberon, but...he couldn't face him. Maybe they are really keepin' knowledge from me. Maybe not. Doesn't change the fact that for them I'm just a nuisance. Stupid Orc, apprentice that bungles everythin'. They don't have to say it, I see it in their faces. Those sideways looks…
One would think that he would get used to it after seeing that his whole life but...he thought the College would be different. They are just afraid to teach me anythin' meaningful. Worried about what I could do with the knowledge. Well...I'll figure it on my own. As I always did.
So he did his own research into Mysticism. He encountered a mention that the Soul Trap spell was part of that School and normally he wouldn't bother digging deeper into that subject considering the spell reeked of Necromancy - which was over the line for Grulmar. Something about it was irritating him. The abuse of dead corpses? Their souls? It was hard to say, but Necromancy - as well as summoning Daedra - was against his moral compass. They can say what they want, but raisin' corpses is just...sick. And dealin' with Daedra? Absolutely horseshit. How can anyone do that? It never ends well. Never!
But then he realized that there might be something he's missing, some piece of a puzzle leading towards power. He wasn't really about to study Necromancy and Conjuration, nothing like that, but denying its existence, looking the other way without actually understanding it would be...ignorance. And so he started looking into the subject of souls. They were, after all, used for Enchanting but Grulmar's mind was already wondering for what other purposes could the souls be used. All just hypotheticaly of course.
Knowledge is power. Just because I'll know the theory doesn't mean I'll be castin' those spells.
He opened one of the books he brought to his room from the Arcaneum - being careful to avoid both Äelberon and Urag. Why? Well, he certainly didn't want to hear another lesson from either of them. He sighed and focused on the book, interested in what the text could tell him about souls.
The nature of the soul is not knowable. Every wizard that has attempted it vanishes without a trace. What can be known is that souls are a source of mystic energy that can be harvested.
Promisin' start. Harvested for what precisely?
Every creature, living or dead, is powered by a soul. Without it, they are just lumps of flesh or piles of bones. This animating force can be contained within a soul gem, if the soul gem has the capacity. From the gem, the power can be used to power magical items.
Centuries of experimentation has demonstrated that there are black souls and white souls. Only the rare black soul gem can hold the soul of a higher creature, such as a man or an elf. While the souls of lesser creatures can be captured by gems of many colors, they are all categorized as white soul gems. Hence the division of souls into black and white.
White souls are far safer than black souls, although not as powerful. Beginning students of Mysticism should not dabble in black souls or black soul gems. Even if one were to ignore the guild strictures against the necromantic arts used to power black soul gems, it is dangerous to the caster to handle them for long. If the gem is not precisely the size of the encased soul, small bits of the caster's soul may leak into the gem when it is touched.
White and black souls. But...how does one figure out which soul has greater potency? Speakin' about white souls here of course. And what about goblins and giants? Draugr? Those are rational creatures...more or less. Not very far from Orcs to most people. So if Orcs have black souls why do goblins have white?
It was an interesting question, but the text didn't answer what was Grulmar interested in. The prospect of trapping the soul of a living being, preventing it from going to - wherever a soul goes after death - wasn't really appealing to Grulmar, because it was quite a high price for power. But if the power is great enough...is any price high?
The first book didn't hold much information beside something he already knew, so he opened another one, Soul Trapping 1: An Introduction by Warlock Elynion. Like if somethin' from someone called Warlock could be good. Really, what's the deal with callin' yerself a Warlock? It's like proclaimin' to the whole world that ya are dabblin' in dark arts.
Pardon the lengthy discussion of morality to follow. We shall reach the meat of this meal—the actual procedure of soul-trapping—soon enough. I was compelled to include an introductory chapter to this revised version of "Soul-Trapping" after the ethical arguments that sprang from the publication of the first edition.
Soul-trapping is the art of taking a creature's soul upon death and confining it in an appropriately-sized phylactery. Throughout the history of magic, mages and philosophers alike have battled back and forth about the morality of the art.
No shit… I wonder what excuses are people usin'...
Some mages would argue that, once dead and soul-trapped, a creature's spirit is merely an echo of its previous life, no longer aware of what goes on around it. Even those rare individuals who become phantasmal hunters lurking the darkness of Tamriel are nothing more than predators acting on natural impulses. To these mages, once dead, an individual loses some spark, some intangible element in biological death, that cannot be regained. As such, they argue, soul-trapping is not unethical. In fact, it's a waste of resources to leave the soul of the deceased free.
Yeah, sure. So what they call a soul is just a residual energy while the real soul - or spirit? - leaves to the beyond. I could live with that. But that's just one side of the story right?
Of course, we the living, being still alive, can never know for certain. Theories regarding the afterlife are myriad, but even the most powerful mages in Tamriel have never returned from death's reach to report their level of awareness in that state. As such, there are those in the communities of Tamriel, both magical and not, that decry the use of soul-trapping spells. The eccentric Archmagus Elomion of the First Era famously asked, "Would you like to spend your afterlife powering my levitation staff?" The Archmagus claimed to never have used a soul-trapping spell in all his years.
Well...for some it might be a better afterlife than what would they normally get...So, I've heard the arguments, but what about some proofs? Actually, can there even be any kind of proof? No one has returned from the death to tell the tale about it, but...we've seen ghosts. Wraiths. But they seemed to be mindless and hungry beings, just shadows of their former selves.
And what about the other ghosts? Because we've actually met a real ghost who managed to retain all what makes one a person. Katria. She fought even the death so she could reach the bloody Forge...
Adding some weight to that argument is the rumor that one such soul has retained a very mortal sentience in its entrapment. If rumors are true, the Altmeri royalty have utilized an advanced form of soul-trapping to imprison some ancient High Kinlord for the duration of his afterlife (perhaps one of the Rilises—that lot is notoriously manic, and their souls must be doubly so). The High Kinlord has reportedly maintained his (its?) faculties, taunting and jeering his keepers on a daily basis. I don't know where this Kinlord might be, and I don't want to know. I'd like to keep my head. But his very existence speaks to how aware a soul can be, and the morality of soul-trapping can be further postulated from there.
Good try, friend. Good try. This might sound like a good argument but ya said it right at the beginning. “Altmeri royalty have utilized an advanced from of soul-trappin' to imprison…”
So what did they imprison? The High Kinlord along with his soul or just his soul? Did they kill him and trap his soul? Clearly, they've done somethin' completely different from regular soul-trappin'. Maybe the Kinlord couldn't really die because of his deal with Daedra...who knows? Actually...who cares?
What do I believe about the subject? I've written ten volumes on trapping souls: instructional, theoretical, and historical in nature, and I cannot answer that question. It is my belief that you won't be able to, either. But what you can answer is whether the material I teach in the following volumes is worth using. All I ask is that you read them.
Yeah, sure. Once I get to Summerset Isles, go through the ruins of Crystal Tower and dig out all the other volumes, I'll do precisely that.
Grulmar growled when he felt his mood change again and he noticed his hands were beginning to shake again. He very well knew the symptoms, but he really didn't expect it to work this way. “I haven't cast a single spell today,” he whispered. Why do I need another bloody dose? He reached to his belt and pulled out potion of Magicka and took a proper swig. Immeditely, he felt energy crackling through his body, bright blue light flashing behind his eyes and he shook his head. “Damn,” he chuckled, his head dizzy. “You really did a fine job with this one. Like getting hit by a thunderbolt. Except without the burns, right?” he laughed.
His hands weren't shaking anymore and his head was as clear as ever, his eyes literally couldn't stay closed, they had to be focused on something. And his mind too. So he opened another book he brought.
Mages Guild Memorandum: Confidential, Magisters Only
From Vanus Galerion, Archmagister Emeritus
If you pay attention to the popular fads and fashions of spellcasting in your guildhalls, you have doubtless noticed the recent surge of interest in the discipline of "soul trapping." Unlike most of the passing fancies that come and go among the magical fraternity, I consider this particular vogue alarming and dangerous.
There are reasons why soul trapping has never been part of the core curriculum of the Mages Guild, taught to only the most experienced and dependable wizards, and then only for certain specific uses. First of all, it is technically a subset of necromancy, and on that basis alone it should be abhorred. (Except, as mentioned, for certain special cases, and then only under controlled conditions.) Second, it is a magical technology that practically invites abuse, especially when employed to trap the souls of sentient mortals. It is the sort of arcane practice that the public fears most, and is likely to result in local bans on the organized teaching of magic, and if that happens all our work in establishing the Guild will have been in vain.
Subset of necromancy, eh? So necromancy abuses souls then?
The fact that soul trapping is now common knowledge among Tamriel's magery, to the point where so-called "Mystics" sell soul gems of various sizes in every market and bazaar, is a problem that can be laid squarely at the feet of the iniquitous Mannimarco and his Order of the Black Worm. It is all part of his program to make necromancy seem commonplace and almost harmless. In some parts of Tamriel, notably Cyrodiil, the vile practice of necromancy has even become accepted as a valid, and legally tolerated, magical discipline. What our old mentor Iachesis would have to say about this pernicious development I hate to think.
Iachesis? Well, dear Vanus Galerion, ya haven’t met Sir Shiny the Saint yet…
So what are we to do about it? I have been giving the matter some hard thought, in between rooting out cells of the ever-burgeoning Worm Cult, and I think at this point the only way to gain control over soul-trapping is to co-opt the practice. Therefore I propose the Mages Guild codify and systematize the various soul-trapping magics into a common grimoire of a few reliable spells, and then teach our members that these, and only these, are the legal and authorized methods for trapping souls.
Huh. Smart move. Can’t prevent it, control it instead. How many times does that actually work?
Furthermore, I propose that for the purposes of soul trapping we categorize all souls into two classes: the legal, or "White" souls, those smaller essences that are captured from beasts and animals, and illegal, or "Black" souls, which are derived from sentient mortals. And we will teach only those spells that can capture White souls, forbidding our students to use the larger soul gems on sentients.
It will take several generations, and the suppression of the Worm Cult, for this dichotomy to become the pan-Tamrielic standard for soul trapping. But if the Mages Guild can't take the long view for the good of Tamriel, who can?
Alright, this is interestin’. So white and black souls are just an artificial construct like the Schools of Magic. No, wait. There’s no way Galerion would be able to pull it out of his arse just like that without proper research.
But it still didn’t answer his question whether Soul Trap spells traps real souls or just the energy.
Hmm. The ghosts. From what I heard, wraiths and such can be soul trapped and they contain a white soul. Why? Is it because they’re just mere echoes of themselves and their soul has already left? Or did their soul leave and all that remains is energy?
And what about Katria? If someone tried to Soul Trap her what would be the result? Black soul because her soul hasn’t diminished? Or white soul because her soul already left and she is just powerful conduit of energy driven by emotion?
Someone knocked on the door and Grulmar jumped in fright, dropping the book on the ground. “Shit!” he cursed and then turned to the door. “Can't ya read the sign on the door, ya Malacath's shit-smeared piece of pissed snowball?! Don't bother me!”
Athis poked his head into his room and frowned at Grulmar. “You have a visiter,” he said and Grulmar frowned in return.
Visiter? Who in the Oblivion would want to visit me here? Grulmar got up from his chair and headed towards the door. “If that's the stupid Nord with only one properly workin' arm - and fortunately, it's the right hand, so he can still wank -”
“I heard that with the left hand it's like from a stranger,” Athis interrupted him and Grulmar just stared at him. For at least several seconds. Don't know if I should laugh or cry… “I bet ya know that, Ash,” he sneered. “So who is it then? Erik the so called 'Talon-Hand'?”
Athis chuckled and then winked at Grulmar with mischief in his eyes. “A visitor. You'll see.”
Sources used in this Lesson: Souls, Black and White, Soul Trapping I: An Introduction, Guild Memo on Soul Trapping
Comments
I jest, I jest.