I think about Mercymorn the anatomist like minimum 23.5 hours a day specifically because of all of the Lyctors who collaborated on the Eightfold Word, she was the one whose necromantic art was immediately rendered redundant by achieving Lyctorhood. You no longer have to siphon your cavalier because you're burning her soul in your own chest. You no longer need to siphon anybody else's soul because you're already running on a supercharged battery and are leagues more powerful physically and necromantically than the average person could imagine. So once you've done it, and it's finished, you no longer need it at all ⁠— and you move on to spend the next myriad perfecting something you'd barely touched before to the tiniest detail, because you no longer need the skill you've honed for centuries, and because if you engage in spirit work after eating your cavalier's soul the grief will make you absolutely fucking insane.

griddlehark rlly is insane bc all they do is have a constant back-and-forth of “please kill me please just fucking kill me end my life please please please” and everyone’s just like yeah. this ship, this is the one