Kurtune was in fact a necromancer. This is particularly odd due to the fact that the majority of Bosmer normally contain

so much animosity towards necromancy that they sometimes even overshadow the furiosity of those among the Redguards.

Another point is that most Bosmer follow the code of the Green Pact, and the ever important Meat Mandate.

This meant that if a Bosmer were to kill, in hopes of raising the poor sap, it would mean that they must eat all the flesh off of the body in order to do so.

For those that do not study the art of necromancy, a potential rule of thumb is that the fresher the ingredients, the better the servant.

When I asked Kurtune, early on in my apprenticeship “why do you study the art of Necromancy if it is so looked down upon by the majority of Tamriel?”

Kurtune simply responded with “Necromancy is one of the keys to all schools of magic. Most of the fools are just too damned in the first place to realize it.

If there is any school that is evil, in its purest of forms, it would be that of the Destruction School.”

There are three major points that make up Kurtune’s philosophy: destruction is made simply for the purpose of destroying,

raising of the dead enhances one’s knowledge of Aetherius and the afterlife, and that Necromancy does in-fact strongly relate to the schools of Restoration and Alteration more so than Conjuration.

The Destruction School contains the elements of light and water; primarily with the basic spells of fire, shock, and frost.

These powers are not meant to help any of the populous of Tamriel. At its worst, it could possibly demolish all the land of this world and all the people along with it.

The most damage Necromancy has ever done is turn the dead into piles of ash, and many races prefer being turned to ash instead of a burial anyways.

It is true that undead attack the living, but this is either because they were ordered by the forces controlling them to do so, or it is due to the lack of understanding of the undead’s resurrection.

If more support was offered towards Necromancy it would be possible to communicate with spirits of the dead, and assist them in passing on into the next life

without hacking and slashing with silver and enchanted weaponry.

The populous does more harm to the spirits and bodies of the dead than a trained Necromancer will ever do.

Aetherius, the very essence of my master’s motivation. It is believed that a spirit will enter one of three locations upon their passing, if their spirits are not bound to Nirn for some particular reason.

These are: Aetherius, the Dreamsleeve, or to a realm of Oblivion. The afterlife is the unknown, but it is also power and knowledge.

Power and knowledge that can be used to save the souls sacrificed to the Daedra or tricked into their service during their stay here on Nirn.

This topic goes beyond my own scope of sight, for I am but an apprentice; however, it is unclear, to me at least; whether the undead are just corpses being manipulated with mere magic,

or if their souls return for a limited amount of time to their corporeal bodies.

Based on my past dealings with necromancy I would conclude that the soul actually returns to its body, which that alone is incredible.

The reasoning is because a freshly revived undead usually moans the phrase “help me” and once released from this spell they will say “thank you.”

It is up for debate whether the body is actually experiencing pain, since the nerves could be completely dead, or if it is the soul itself that is experiencing this pain.

This topic could be expanded upon further, but for now this is as much as I know within my current realm of study.

For the final point, the only reason why Conjuration would be the primary focus for Necromancy is because it is popularly believed that the necromancer is conjuring the soul of the deceased back into the body.

However, as I just stated that entire theory is up for debate and should not be considered any more than a hypothesis at best.

Necromancy is the goal of restoration, to heal; yet necromancy obtains an even higher form of power and is attempting to heal one’s very soul.

It is true that most necromancers resurrect petty servants and not the people themselves, but this is due to the lack of power at the mage’s disposal.

Just for the purpose of speculation what would happen if Mannimarco wished to revive an undead and allow it to pertain freewill?

Mannimarco would most likely be able to succeed. He is the master of Necromancers, the King of Worms, and the biggest figurehead of this fine art.

However, in my eyes his cause itself is deluded and he wishes for complete control over the beings he produces.

To conclude, do not follow the common methods of thought. Destruction in the wrong hands will end up as a School that is not meant for anything more than mere savages.

It of course has its uses, if used properly; but if there was an evil to exist within the schools of magic, Destruction would be further ahead than any other form.

In order to understand the world of the immortals both light and darkness must be examined. The light being Restoration, Alteration, and the rest, while Necromancy symbolizing the darker unknown.

Hopefully, this philosophy will be enjoyed and all of Tamriel will soon witness the greatness of my master Kurtune, and his teachings.