Necromancy. Everybody knows what it means. Decrepit old men with esoteric names and even stranger concepts of personal hygiene wrestling with death in the deepest night. Unnatural acts, bodies or spirits snatched from their grave all in the name of power. And yes, this is the most attention grabbing form of necromancy. These are the figures who raise the dead the most. But they are not the only necromancers. In the hallowed halls and ivory towers of the Celestial University, a young student submits their dissertation on the other necromancers. The ones who raise the dead for other, more prosaic, purposes. Backed up with statistics and case studies, they hope to impress their professors. This was an outline for a story I've had on my mind for a while. The January 2025 Competition coincided quite neatly with the concept, so I thought I may as well give it a go. The work will follow the rough outline of an quasi-academic piece holding together a group of ten short stories which are the case studies in the dissertation. Feel free to comment. I've never published before, so any feedback is good feedback. Well, not any feedback: I don't know how you could possibly comment on my dress sense for instance... Let me know if you think the tags ought to be changed.