Black Flame Order

The Black Flame Order are the official Necromancers of the Empire. They study the mysteries of death and the soul. Of all the Divisions within the Imperial Mage's Legion, they are the smallest, but the most feared. There are only ever approximately 50 members at any time, with around 20 on active duty. THeir uniform, recognized throughout the Empire, is of all black, with flared sleeves and a rising collar with a rank insignia in silver on it. Their emblem is an outline of flame in dull silver thread (meant to resemble their weapon of choice, a dull black flame turns flesh to grey dust).

They perform several important duties for the empire. The first is to search out and capture rogue Necromancers, as only Necromancers affiliated with the Black Flame Order are allowed to practice the art in the empire. The second, called upon more rarely, is the questioning of recently deceased persons. If it can be done within the 2 day window before the soul departs, the Necromancer can communicate with the soul. The Empire uses this as sparingly as possible, as it very dangerous, and runs the risk killing the Necromancer and setting a Wraith free upon the Empire.

The last, and perhaps most routine duty of the Black Flame Order is the creation of the Imperial undead and their management. Undeath is used as a form of capital punishment in the Empire, primarily for the crimes of treason and desertion. Some heinous murders and rapes have also been punished in this manner. The convicted is given over to the Order, where they ritually kill and raise him, with enough intelligence and memory to know who he was and that he is being punished. The sentence is for, literally, eternity. These undead are used in massive construction projects, where their strength and stamina are valuable. They are also used in high risk magical experiments, or in areas that are dangerous or toxic for humans.

They are conditioned to obey only members of the Order, and one is always present to oversee their usage.

In times of war, the Order is sometimes used in combat, where their spells can cause entire groups of people to simply drop dead in their tracks.

One reason the practice of Necromancy is so restrictive in the Empire is due to the possibility of the creation of Liches. When a Mage is raised as an undead, the resulting creature retains all of their intelligence, their link to the Imperial Machine, and all of their skills in magic, plus they gain direct access to necromantic energy. And, like all undead, they do not age. There have only been a few Liches in the history of the Empire, but each one has caused a great deal of death and destruction.