Necromancer

A Necromancer is a magician who practices darker arts, in particularly that involving the dead. Necromancy stems from the idea that murder can be used as a source of magic.

Initially, this discovery was kept a secret among ancient magic bloodlines and was used only to combat the Faerie. However, the secret soon leaked out and became more available to the magician populace. The great danger lies in how simple the necromancy ritual is so that even a magician with some working background on the ritual could perform it. To prevent potential necromancers from performing the said ritual, Whitehall continually reminds their students of every "necromantic failure."

Some who had pursued necromancy (including kings and princesses) merely desired more power, and some desire to use it for good intentions, but were overcome either by enemies, their own people, or the very power they tapped into. Necromancers are not the same as Dark Wizards, who merely practice magic with evil intentions. Necromancy itself is listed under the Black Arts, and are hence forbidden.

Effects of Necromancy
A necromancer must channel his magic through his mind, and hence from the first instance, he will begin to fall into insanity. The madness that overcomes them can be somewhat managed through the bilocation spell splitting into two thus sharing the madness between two minds. What's more, the magic will start to replace the necromancer's body, causing them to look older and much more corpse-like. When Emily first meets Shadye in Schooled in Magic, he is not only in haggard condition, but is already insane.

Because of these effects, the necromancer must seek more magic to control the magic he already has, causing him to seek out more and more victims. Some necromancers resolve this by "farming" human slaves, while others attack the Allied Lands or fellow necromancers.

Many necromancers have been poisoned after their faculties were lost; to prevent this from being a potential threat, many necromancers enslave those around them. Ironically, the more and more the magic eats away at them, the more and more powerful a necromancer becomes, and the harder and harder it becomes for them to kill.

Organization
Outside of the Allied Lands, the necromancers are one of the most serious power blocs within the Schooled in Magic world, and each necromancer could be considered a Lone Power. However, due to the nature of necromancy (see above), as well as a general disorganization, the necromancers often fight among themselves in addition to the Allied Lands. Had the necromancers been far more organized, they would have overrun the Allied Lands long ago.