Taboo magic: Dark Arts

You told him with some hesitance, testing the waters slowly: in your own studies, you had dabbled in the dark arts, attending lessons at underground gatherings within the city. The instructors there had access to texts forbidden in the church's libraries.

The man’s face was unreadable, but his hands remained crossed under his chin, as though he was totally unaffected by the news. “Hmph. Not part of my curriculum, but sure to be useful. The saintesses will likely appreciate such a rare talent. Necromancy, demon tongue, and other such wizardry… there is an application for all of it.”

You were surprised to hear him admit that. The recruit commander ought to be as old-fashioned a church-goer as anyone in Missionaire. Could he really condone the dark arts? They were, well… dark. They were devised by demons.

“The people of Merridan to the west welcome reformed demons into their forces, from what I hear, with the blessings of Geod. Surely us using their magics is no more heretical. Still, know the weaknesses: the demons invented these magics and you must be prepared for them to counter them. Summoning devil’s flame will not work against the very creators of said magic. You’ll need to be crafty in its application.”

You planned to be. After all, you’d been as crafty as you had to be in order just to reap the fruits of such studies.