THE SKAAB Necro-alchemy is much more of an art than ghoulcalling. One who practices the art of creating skaabs is called a skaberen. The true goal of the skaberen is to create life, an undertaking which usually produces malformed "offspring" rather than true life. There are four steps to producing a skaab. Corpus Creare, also known as "corpse cobbling," is the collecting of various anatomical parts from corpses from which the skaab will be constructed. This is usually performed by paid grave robbers or homunculi under the skaberen's charge. In some cases, even the limbs of beasts are used for the construct; if a human arm is not available, a horse's leg can suffice. Patin Ligitus, or rune-bonds, are the "binding plates" used to join various anatomical features together. These are plates of copper and/or brass, with silver-inlaid runes scribed on them. They provide an arcane bridge of sorts between disparate parts gathered by corpse-cobbling. Viscus Vitae, or vital fluid, is the key to the skaberen's art. Viscus vitae is created by mixing a large quantity of lamp oil with the slightest pinch of the dried blood of an angel. Once a perfect mixture of viscus vitae is created, any blood remaining in the corpse is replaced with vital oil, via transfusion. As a result, skaab are often highly flammable. Vox Quietus, translated as "the silent word," is the final step in creating a skaab. The skaberen whispers a fairly lengthy incantation over the corpse which awakens the creature, but in a much calmer manner that that which is used by ghoulcallers. Once awakened, the skaab is in a calm, "tabula rasa" state, which allows the alchemist to begin the long task of re-educating the creature. In the eyes of a skaberen, the technique used by ghoulcallers is crude, heretical, and provides unacceptable results. Skaberen usually ply their trade in remote and inhospitable places, since they are viewed as blasphemers by commoners and clergy. Skaberen often become obsessed hermits who surround themselves with ancient scrolls and books, phials of rare noxious liquids, glass jars full of pickled organs, anatomical charts for both human and beast, rune-engraved skeletal remains, and small anvils and hammers for inscribing runes on brass and copper plates.