Necromancer Literature
Necromancer Literature can be divided into four distinct categories: general, Endu Epics, Classical, and NeoClassical. The general category refers to things that are written by necromancers and about the necromancer perspective, this is very broad. The other categories refer to specific time periods and focus on specific themes.
The Endu Epics were written during the earliest eras of Necromancy, near the Age of Darkness and definitely within the first few centuries of the first Chaotic Period of the Mage Wars. There are dozens, possibly hundreds of such epics, many of which form the basis for the holy scriptures of the necromancer religion. The term "Endu Epic" refers explicity to texts written when Endu was the only written or spoken language of necromancers. A curious side-note means the authorship of the Endu Epics must predate the Golden Age of Necromancy.
Classical Necromancer Literature refers to texts written during the Golden Age of Necromancy. Though Endu was still a thriving language at the time, its limited nature made Common a much more popular choice. The wider word selection and conventions such as rhythming made it possible to communicate much more complex ideas and themes than could be rendered in Endu. Popular classical texts took a blended approach; since most readers at the time were fluent in both Endu and Common, authors would make use of both languages, taking the strongest parts of each. Classical necromancer literature was likely to be copied down through the ages, making for some of the oldest extant texts. This allowed modern scholars to deduce that the dialect of Common spoken by early necromancers was actually closer to Standard. A linguistic puzzle, as Standard was a long-dead language by the time the first necromancers lived.
NeoClassic necromancer literature was composed during the Golden Age. It imitates the Classical style but is typically written entirely in Common. Neoclassical is almost exclusively fiction, though some of it is semi-biographical. While the subject and themes are heavily varied, what distinguishes "NeoClassical Necromancer Literature" from simply "books written by necromancers" is that the subject always focuses on the world through a necromancer's perspective. During the NeoClassical period, necromancer literature first gained a wider audience. This in turn helped pave the way for the Green Temple. Within the temple construct, the arts flourished, while necromancers themselves had little concept of copyright laws or even credit. A large temple might have dozens of writers and poets who all worked together to produce the highest quality literature possible. When these books make it outside the temple, they would be copied and sold often quite cheaply as no royalties needed to be paid. Non-necromancers first exposure to necromancy was often in the form of well-written, inexpensive novels that became very popular. Thus, when necromancers branched out and began to build new temples, they were often welcomed.
Though necromancer literature continued to be written all throughout the Ages of the Alliance, the three specific cycles of Endu Epics, Classic, and NeoClassic, are considered to be the heights of the artform.
