Ortas

*"I would rather see the world burn rather than let it separate us."*

Ortas, the Romantic Necromancer, is a reclusive dark mage who lives with his partner, the Listener, who supports them as he perfects the art of bringing the dead back to life. His experiments on prolonging life - eliminating death altogether - have dire consequences both for his love, the nearby town of Honeywood, and the rest of the continent of Sarrus. In an attempt to preserve the Listener's life, he transformed himself into an undying lich and declared himself the King of Necromancers, using a ritual that shattered his soul and scattered the pieces to times and places unknown. He now rules over a similarly-transformed Honeywood, which is populated by spirits and the undead thralls of its former inhabitants

## Background

Ortas is not the original name of this character; he chose it as the new name for the lich he would become. His old name is unknown as is his family background though it has been referenced by characters in Rapture.

He first met the Listener in the library of the school where they studied. One of his fondest memories is with the Listener, in the crystalline rain among the elysium trees. He says this is the moment when he knew he was in love with them and their outlook on life was more optimistic.

## Storyline

The necromancer is introduced  as the Listener's partner whose devotion to necromancy is only outweighed by the love he bears for his partner. He has spent the evening working on an experiment when the Listener approaches him in his lab. He reminisces on when he met them as an apprentice mage and how their love has inspired him to reach for the impossible - everlasting life for the two of them.

However, his research has stalled and he tells the Listener that he will need human subjects to experiment on. He proposes using a handful villagers from the nearby town of Honeywood. Their lives, according to him, are worth so little that they are better spent as his research subjects. This upsets the Listener who calls him insane and he backs down, certain that he is in the right but unwilling to push at the implied threat that they would leave him.

He presents a peace offering of their favorite drink, which they haven't had in a while. He reiterates that he loves them wholly and completely and that it is out of love for them that he has drugged them with a sleeping draught. As the Listener fights to stay conscious, he reassures them that he is only doing this to put them in a pocket dimension while he continues his research. He recognizes that what he is doing is morally wrong but he believes that it is worth it. The Listener falls asleep and he names himself Ortas, King of Necromancers so as not to besmirch the name that they first fell in love with.

The Listener awakens some time later inside the pocket dimension and is greeted by Ortas. Time has no meaning in the pocket dimension, which is in a permanent state of beauty. The Listener is served by homini sanguine, living dolls who look like people that he considers replaceable. His research has progressed by leaps and bounds after kidnapping some people from Honeywood. The villagers, however, are resisting the number of undead that he's summoned and have given him several names, but he still refers to himself as Ortas.

He spends some time with the Listener in tender, one-sided conversation before turning to business. He implores them to take a potion that will slow down the aging process and double their lifespan. He has already done the same and is certain that there are no side-effects. The Listener refuses at first but takes the potion. Relieved, Ortas tells them once more that he loves them and always will.

Ortas visits the Listener in their pocket dimension after even more time passes. He brings grimmer news this time, that his work with the undead has attracted the attention of the capital and an army is marching upon Honeywood. He is close to completing the ritual that will grant them both eternal life, sacrificing the lives of townspeople to fuel ritual, but the impending army will break the arcane circle around the town. He is running out of time.

The necromancer bids them to sit with him and reminisce on the good times they had as these might be their last moments together. He recalls the first time he realized he was in love with the Listener, lingering in the memory until he admits to them that he made a miscalculation. The souls in Honeywood can only sustain one of them but he has a plan. He will use the town to fuel the pocket dimension and greatly expand it, turning it into "a world outside of our world" that the Listener can shape and warp as they like. However, he will not be joining them.

The Listener tries to speak up but he doesn't allow them to argue with him. Ortas promises that he will return to them, somehow, but until then he will exist in the outside world alone with his "mortality". Part of his plan will stretch across the centuries for he will allow his body to perish and pursue lichdom. He starts to say goodbye and refuses (or is denied) one last kiss and embrace. Instead he offers the Listener his heart in the name of the man they first fell in love with and asks them to keep it safe in the paradise he's built for them.

Other characters have referenced the Necromancer King but none confirm if the Listener is still alive in their pocket dimension.

### The Future of the Necromancer King

A certain blood mage consults "the complete writings of the Necromancer King" that contains a ritual to grant immortality by a mass transfer of life force. His work has survived multiple arcane purges, including the most recent one, suggesting that previous attempts to erase him from history failed.

The Royal Protector references Honeywood as the first destination in the royal's diplomatic trip to deal with the local lord appropriating funds for unnecessary monster hunts.

The headless horseman reveals Honeywood has become an accursed place after the narcissistic lich king destroyed it, binding the souls of the dead to the land and covering it in a mist that traps travelers.

In Rapture, the Arcane Academy has an academic group named after him and necromancy is part of their curriculum. It's revealed that his last great work is the Tome of Ill Omen, a book written in High Draconic. This book confirms that when a person dies a small rip is made in reality to let the human soul pass from the world of the living to the world of the dead. A certain mage theorizes that if enough people die at the same time this boundary could be permanently ripped to shreds, combining the two planes of existence so all souls (except those sacrificed) could exist together in the same place.

## Personality

Ortas practices necromancy as a way to create beauty through unsavory means. As he progresses down a darker path he becomes narcissistic and delusional, proclaiming that the love he shares with the Listener is worth every life he uses for his research.

He is obsessed with extending the mortal lifespan in order to spend eternity with his beloved. Their comfort, happiness and continued existence is (supposedly) the most important thing in the world. He is hurt by their distrust in him as he loves them deeply. He is soft-spoken and never raises his voice to the Listener but their resistance against his work frustrates him.

By the third episode Ortas has recognized and acknowledges that the Listener might no longer love him due to his actions, going as far as to acknowledge that he might have gone mad. He even shows signs of regret for what he's done but finds himself too close to his goal to stop his plans. He remains deeply in love with them but holds himself back, describing himself as unworthy. He still holds to his promise not to sully the name of the man they first fell in love with.

## Trivia

### Ortas

* It's uncertain if the homini sanguine he creates are people he's killed and resurrected under his control or made out of dead flesh to look like people.
* A wine glass makes drinking potions okay, no matter what.
* Has successfully resurrected a dead rose and sparrow, the latter coming back to true life when he plucked its soul back from the veil between worlds.
* His trials and work in necromancy resulted in the destruction of Honeywood. His blood has cursed the surrounding land, which is a barren wasteland that tortures the souls of those who have died there. It is covered by a mist that traps travelers.
* He is a newly formed lich who no longer had a physical form and might have lost a few pieces of himself along the way.
* Ortas attempted to become a lich but he never fully completed the ritual. Normally the phylactery captures the lich's soul but in Ortas' case, he was unable to make one before he died. Instead, through a combination of magic and pure force of will, his soul is dragged back to the mortal world again and again. Each time losing a piece of what made him Ortas to begin with.

### The Listener

* Dislikes his research into necromancy, especially the use of humans in his experiments.
* Is horrified by Ortas's argument that their lives are the only ones that matter. Possibly rejects the idea of living an immortal life.
* Favorite drink is wine.
* It's impossible to tell if the Listener is disgusted by Ortas or fears him after they are placed in the pocket dimension.
* Is clever and witty who likes to play on words with a bright imagination.
* Is probably a mage themselves since Ortas first met them because they had the book he wanted.

### Fan Theories

* Ortas is one of the past lives the blood mage Thalvich remembers.
* As an apprentice mage Ortas trained in several magical disciplines, not just necromancy. That is how he knows how to summon and bind lesser demons, create a circle of transference, and create potions and tinctures.
* Ortas and the Listener were trained in the Arcane Academy.

## Audio References

The incomplete **Romantic Necromancer** playlist can be found here.

1. ↑ Ensnared by a Romantic Necromancer
2. ↑ A Morning With A Romantic Necromancer
3. ↑ Romantic Necromancer Gives You The World
4. ↑ Yandere Blood Mage Keeps You
5. ↑ Protected By Your Royal Servant
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Protected By A Headless Horseman
7. ↑ Flirtatious Mage Welcomes You To The Arcane Academy
8. ↑ Arrogant and Flirtatious Mages Fight For You!