Written after the initial creation.

"A forewarning for the reader;

The knowledge within these pages is not meant for the faint of heart. In its very essence, the process of Viduus Magic does more than simply take the life of its victim, but stops any chance of the afterlife for them. Destruction, absolute consumption of the soul, makes the use of Viduus techniques a mortal sin that no deity shall ever forgive. I have attempted multiple times to destroy the contents of the book, and none have managed thus far; so this is my first and final warning.

Do not use what you learn here. Understand that not all knowledge should be brought back to light.

Forgive me, Naspar."

Following such, the introduction offers nothing more. This exists as the single portion of the book that holds no cipher, nor withheld message, and the easiest for any passing scholar to understand. After this, nothing but a lone symbol is offered before the book itself begins;

The first section spans well over two hundred pages, discussing every facet of the soul and what it entails. High level theoretical magics are often referenced as if elementary, with hard to follow examples and even more magic technobabble. However, the majority of it is if tested could be found true, and the book serves as an excellent source for any mage's archive.

An excerpt reads as follows -

"- one may even find the Soul to be that of oil, a vicious, thick membrane holding all that a person is or ever will be. Within every magic they have ever touched upon is expressed, with those of stronger will and character often containing stronger, more powerful souls compared to so many others. This has often been listed as causation of the symptom of grandstanding and heroics; with those of great soul capacity often going down in history with exceptional appreciation.

Mages in this same regard can often be judged off soul capacity, though they contain within them something more external. Magic osmosis, using what is connected to their soul to manipulate the latent energy that exists the worlds. Be it lay lines of concentration, latent potential, it does not matter; the very power of a mage comes from their soul's connection to the outside world.

Broken down into four distinct parts, the soul can be seen in numerous forms. First, Corpus, the body; a section of the soul outermost, and easily grabbed. It is seen in spells that are 'bloodied', when one sacrifices their own flesh for the sake of casting, which is notably crude. More experienced, but still crude, mages use life surrounding them to do much the same with reasonable returns, but their ego for such an act is irredeemable.

The second, Animo, is the mind; a level of the soul where magical concentrations increase ten fold from the body, and too its difficult to draw on grows exponentially. Where the Corpus could bring a body to life, the Animo is capable of bringing many, but disruption of it begins the degradation of the soul. Committing to the Animo requires more than want, but the incredulous techniques of the first to touch the soul in their most basic form. A dangerous means, but the beginning of the technique.

Third, the Sedibus, the outer soul; within contains the strongest concentration of magic one will likely ever see. Exponentially stronger than the Animo and Corpus, the Sedibus sees everything a soul is or will ever be, and is required for the soul to exist. Without it, a soul with degrade at an extremely fast rate, becoming nothing in fractions of a second. Yet, with this high concentration of power, a singularity is formed, and to touch upon it requires more years to perfect than many will ever have. Its very nature requires such a domination of magic that only a very few mortals throughout history have ever touched upon them; and they were legendary for their actions.

Last, the Deus; that which is untouched but by the divine. The inner soul, so concentrated that it holds all the other forms together in diminishing means, and so potent that no mortal has ever seen how much magic they contain. It is what gods look to hold in wars, as it is their fuel, their candlelight and their food; and how they go about touching such is unknown to all but the greatest divines. The Deus is a wealth to the gods, and is unknown to man; but should a mortal ever find its use, then they shall be forever revered as a god. The Deus will be the only portion of the soul undisclosed in this tome, for it s depth is unknown even to myself.

Breaching these layered 'membranes', forcing reverse osmosis of the soul and its contents is to pull from the very core of magic; and it is a process which is far more difficult than any 'vampiric' mage would ever admit. Using the small amounts of energy in the Corpus itself is pittance compared to the efficiency of the Animo and its contemporary portions, but in the same manner that the soul is many times the power of life alone, so to is it far more difficult to harness in utilizing magic. In this-"

The book continues on, explaining the purpose of the book and more proof of the Soul being not only nigh impossible to siphon energy from, but a singularity of energy. This continues until concluding, with an odd transition between the two discussing how Viduus is not the first to discover this method of sacrifice, and that transcendental entities utilize this exact science more often than anyone cares to understand now. Much of this appears to be raving, but a certain etiquette is upheld through much of the text, giving it a disturbing amount of credibility.
​

One hundred and thirty six pages discuss the difficulty of actually drawing on the potential of the soul. The metaphors are few and far between, and reads extremely dry to most standards; however at the end it determines a few core elements universal to all souls and their makeup.

The first law is that of concentration. Each soul holds within it a massive amount of magic, but at such a level and degree that it forms a singularity that can not be drawn on by all standard forms of magic. In a sense, the actual level of magic in a soul is non applicable because it holds together so tightly that most would consider it a single entity in its entirety; a perfect example being necromancy and revivals taking the soul as a whole, allowing an unperturbed personality reforming in the subject post-mortem. This does not apply to low level necromancy, where souls are not present, but rather magical simulation of a faux soul.

The second law is that of degradation. Every soul will degrade, following the laws of magic, and entropy will always take control; however there is a measurable level of degradation, entirely based on the initial concentration of magic present, and the strength of the Deus. Souls with more power tend to last far longer, while lesser souls tend to last a measly comparison. This is true in all cases but those kept alive by external sources; refreshing magic being a prime example in liches and other soul manipulators.

The third and final law is that of soul apoptosis. Once a soul has been penetrated past the Animo, utilized and disrupted in magic, it will disperse quickly and destructively. The death of the individual happens in a way people may not know or understand, where the body continues to operate but the individual ceases all higher functions. Once utilized, the soul reintegrates with the latent magic around it, never to be collected again. The fundamental entity of a soul as we know it is destroyed, and reincarnation is useless after a soul has been turned into a catalyst for a spell.

Various foot notes speak of alterations to soul magic to maintain them, most notably in the existence of an artifact known as The Shattered Eye; a relatively unknown amulet that holds the culmination of thousands of souls, and has been used by some of the greatest legends in history for various purposes. Word speaks of notable other duplicates, or purpose built entities similar, but many show no signs of appearance in modern society, and are likely lost to the annals of history.
​

​