#Yes I’m aware your brain has a way of regenerating neurons but it’s completely different from the ‘constant regeneration’ referred to

[honorthysalad]

Um actually Yoshiki 🤓 that’s NOT true. The neurons in your brain don’t undergo mitosis (which is what Asako is talking about.) Therefore, one part of you remains the same.

They actually had ‘Hikaru’ be asleep during this scene because he, as a brainsnatcher [or at least aware enough of the make up of the human body to be able to undergo mass cell division and repair injuries in a short amount of time], would know this, and if he corrected Yoshiki on some stupid useless piece of information, he’d simply grow too powerful.

[true-neutral-earth-elf]

Necromancy in Earthblood society: headcanons and theories

( Wow, haven’t posted one of these before. Let’s see how it goes!)

Personally, I don’t believe necromancy is as unnatural - dare I say, unrealistic- and completely revolting in the tdp world as it is in D&D, any zombie-esque story, or Frankenstein (yes, I consider that a form of necromancy; get used to it). My reasons for claiming these examples as “unrealistic” is largely due to the use of corpses that are already in a state of decay. Rigor Mortis, the state in which a corpse’s muscles and joints stiffen due to the lack of oxygen needed to produce the chemical compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is necessary for the relaxation of muscle fibers, sets in 2-6 hrs -depending on body size, sex, physique, environmental condition, etc.- and ends only when the muscle fibers themselves begin to decay. This means that a corpse is physically incapable of unassisted movement, much less eating/digesting brains. So, in order to avoid this mistake (which can be easily identified by looking up rigor mortis in Wikipedia or, you know, a freaking book! Mary Shelley lived in a time when this information was either difficult to find or being discovered; what’s Hollywood’s excuse?) a necromancer would have to do one of two things: require a really, really fresh corpse (like in the 1968 version of, “Night of the Living Dead” (the corpses had to have died recently in order to be reanimated));or be able to revive the organism on a cellular level, this would also require the necromancer to stimulate rapid cell reproduction in order to keep the revived cells from immediately dying due to the lack of oxygen, again. I have yet to watch or read anything that applies the latter form of necromancy (if you know of any, please leave a suggestion in the comments), or at least acknowledges it’s application. This is one of the first reason why I hope to god it’s implemented in, “The Dragon Prince,” universe. The second is how it can also be applied as a form of healing. That’s right my DMs and adventurers, your healer can theoretically use their abilities for necromancy and vice versa; let that sink in for a moment. This would further support my belief that Earth mages are capable of healing, just a different form of healing than would be used by Sun and Ocean Healers (I’ll write a post to further discuss what these different forms of healing are, I swear). Anyways.... that’s theory/headcanon thingy #1 of this list. (Just gonna tag @dragonprinceofficial , in case anyone finds this particularly interesting....couldn’t hurt, right?)

Necromancy, of this sort, cannot bring dead loved ones back. The brain is one of the first organs to decay minutes after death, which means that the memories stored within those neurons would be lost; even if those cells were revived, the explicit and possibly implicit memories of the subject would likely never return. Of course, since this is probably an exhausting process and would require a lot of time to complete, the necromancer would have to prioritize the neurons responsible for respiration and circulation of blood in order to keep the revived cells alive throughout the ordeal (kind of like an internal, natural life support machine...actually, if Xadia has the technology for life support machines that would take a load off of the necromancer/s; instead of immediately worrying over the neurons, they could focus on regenerating the major organs then go back to the brain later on......wait, no, that’s a tangent...getting back to the point), which means that even if the person died only a little while before, it would take even more time for the necromancer to finally regenerate the parts of the brain believed to store explicit/implicit memories. This isn’t taking the spirit of the subject into consideration. We know that spirits do exist within the tdp universe, the creators have even stated that it’s possible to communicate with these spirits via moon magic (though they also stated that some most magical abilities are not exclusive to a single primal source, but that’s not important right now). But can an earth mage call the spirit of the individual back into the body? I’m going to assume not since spirits or souls are not typically considered part of the “natural-earthy” world, but the ethereal one. (I am not in any way an expert in neurology, biology, anatomy, or any other scientific field. All of the above is based on my very limited memory of anatomy class and quick fact checks. Do not quote me on anything. If you are an expert and see a mistake, please, correct me.)

For the reasons previously mentioned, I believe Earthblood elves would outlaw the resurrection of the recently deceased; for the sake of the individual’s family and friends. It’s too much for grieving loved ones to handle, even if necromancy is normalized within their society. Perhaps resurrecting elves, period, is taboo, simply because of ethical concerns. Of course, some, if not many, would likely disregard the established laws in favor of exploring new regenerative spells; perhaps, even attempting to create chimeras from multiple corpses. If my assumption that Druidic orders exist within Xadia is correct, then it is likely that mages whom dabble in this practice are either excommunicated, rejected, or forced to hide their research and experiments by their elders.

All mages gifted with Life-earth magic (spells that focus on flora and fauna) have the ability to learn necromantic spells. Botanical mages have an easier time with necromatic spells, that’s how they revive dead plants. However, neither party can preform necromatic spells in a different field (Botanical mages can’t revive animals, and Zoological mages can’t revive plants).

NECROMANCY IS FREAKING HARD!!!! You know the amount of studying it takes to keep humans alive? Doctors are required to have an intimate understanding of bodily functions, including cellular reproduction. Healers in the tdp universe would probably also require this knowledge along with spells and accompanying runes. But you see, the healer’s patient is alive. That means that their body is, for the most part, keeping itself alive. Which allows the healer to focus on the main issue. The necromancer is literally bringing their subject back from the dead. They not only need to know how the body works, or which spells will sustain the subject; but also which parts need to be revived first, which other organs are required to keep others alive, which veins and arteries to reconstruct, how many capillaries will be needed to deposit nutrients to the revived cells, how to reconstruct an organ from literal mush, which bacteria is good for the subject and which needs to be purged, and the list goes on, and on! Necromancers need to be a specialist of specialists, in a medical sense, in order to make a reasonably functional being. Then, one has to take into account the amount of magical, mental, and physical energy required from the mage to perform each and everyone of the spells on every single structure within the body in succession. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was why dark magic was created in the first place! I’m not even sure Aaravos could pull something like this off by himself. Of course, if the mage doesn’t want a self aware lackey, they could cut corners in regards to the construction of the brain; possibly leave out the appendix, one of the kidneys, maybe part of a lung, probably the voice box, hair, pituitary glands (in regards to human subject)....if longevity isn’t a priority of the caster, then there’s much that can be ignored to save time. It’s quite possible that, in the end, the reanimated subject won’t even appear as they were meant to.

I might add a second part to this list later on, only time will tell. Feel free to ask any questions regarding this and other post, or add any of your own headcanons/theories; I’d love to hear from y’all! I hope y’all enjoyed.

Thank you for reading!