Study

Study of the Will-o-Wisp

Today, I will be seeking out Will-o-Wisps in the Feymarsh, about a three-hour travel from Prylea. Some travellers at the inn insisted they have spotted them there, and the villagers are getting a bit uncomfortable not knowing for sure if these creatures are indeed at large. So of course, I offered to go out and investigate this. Since the villagers have realized I'm a Necromancer, requests to investigate undead activity have been pouring in. Most of them provide great research opportunities to the behaviour of stray undead, and this one is no different. It wasn't long until I indeed found a Wisp. When I didn't follow it, it floated towards me, and gladly remained near me.

Wisps are best found during the night, since they are easier to spot in the dark. Their natural habitat is a marsh or swamp-like environment, though they have been sighted near lakes and general bodies of water. The legends of Wisps leading adventurers astray are true in a way, but the reason behind it is not completely evil. Usually the Wisp just wants to play, and doesn't realize it has lead the adventurer to their death. The phenomenon of one of these adventurers coming back as a member of stray undead hordes is the Wisp realizing its mistake, and desperately trying to revive the victim. Some Wisps, on the other hand, consciously lead travelers to their untimely demise. Out of safety reasons, I am yet to study this second kind of Wisp.

Wisps are surprisingly friendly to Necromancers, it seems. Perhaps because they realize the will of a mage can be hard to bend, and thus it is harder to lose their new-found friend in the marshes. Wisps emanate a certain warmth when you hold them, and this one playfully hops around while I'm writing my findings on it. I guess this one is of the friendlier sort. I wish I could take it back to Prylea, but Wisps remain a very volatile force, which Necromancers are yet to control properly. Should they finally manage, Wisps can be a fantastic addition to an undead army, able to reanimate a dead body from a distance while the Necromancer has time for other matters. For now, I'll apply a magic tag to follow this little guy. It won't damage his natural magic balance in any way, just a simple spell so I can see exactly how it behaves from the comfort of my basement workplace.  I thank the invention of the crystal ball, makes things so much easier. Now that I mention it; I should head home and check how Roger is doing. And report back to the person who requested me to investigate the Wisps. They'll be glad to hear the variation found in the Feymarsh are basically harmless, as long as they're not followed.

~Sayen