That Which is in Death Shall Grant Life Without End

An alchemist has been secretly working with a necromancer to see what effects, if any, a newly-discovered mushroom will have on the undead. Even small doses of heavily diluted preparations have proven fatal to humans. But what if the human is already dead?

Some of the constituents point toward this particular fungus having mystical powers. This hypothesis is due to a similar, though inactive, component that has been found in ancient magickal artifacts. Perhaps this holds the secrets to mind control. Invisibility. Eternal life. Flight. Or so many other abilities.

The necromancer summons forth one of the dead to participate in the first trial. Test Subject #1 is a recently deceased man. The alchemist provides instructions and hands a small vial of glowing liquid to the undead man, then she hides behind a thick pane of glass. Safety first, you know.

Test Subject #1 sits down and drinks the vial, just as instructed. After about 30 seconds he begins to glow all the colors of the rainbow, shifting and morphing. All at once he explodes in a ball of brilliant light. The first test is a failure.

A second corpse is brought in by the necromancer. Another male, but this time in an active state of decay - still fleshy with some bones starting to peek through. The alchemist makes some adjustments to the formula before handing it over to Test Subject #2. This corpse changes colors just like the last one, but also sprouts something that looks like small wings from his back. Then he explodes in a glorious blaze. Another failure, but showing some promise.

The alchemist asks if some more skeletal remains could be reanimated and brought in. Perhaps it is the fleshy bits causing an issue. The necromancer grumbles something about not being an 'errand boy' as he leaves.

Upon his return, the alchemist is pleased that two test subjects were brought in. One is just a skeleton, which is what she asked for. The other is a very fresh cadaver.The necromancer states that he brought the most decayed and least decayed bodies he could find. They are labelled Test Subject #3 and #4, respectively.

The alchemist instructs both of them to drink the vial at the same time. Then she and the necromancer step behind the pane of glass. Both subjects drink the vial at the same time. Both begin to rapidly change colors. The alchemist lets out a frustrated sigh since she already knows what this will lead to. Test Subject #4, the fresh corpse, explodes.

Test Subject #3, however, sprouts large skeletal wings...and does NOT explode. Perhaps flesh is the issue. Enamoured with this breakthrough, the alchemist begins running tests on the skeleton. It isn't long before she realizes that it can regenerate - if part of a bone is cut out it regrows almost immediately.

This leads to some interesting (read: unethical) tests on live humans. Ingesting even a small amount of ground up bone has the power to miraculously heal every condition that was tested. Could this skeletal angel be the secret to eternal life? Time shall reveal.

This album was created as part of the October Dungeon Shamble with the following criteria:

Time: Oct 1st - Oct 31st
Number of songs: 8-11
Album length: 15-23 minutes
Number of instruments/patches: 8 (drums count as 1, not several)
Style: halloween/spooky/pumpkin synth
Theme (choose one): the uses of mushrooms - herbal, medicinal, magical, or otherwise OR the dead have began to walk to earth...and have a dance party
Special (optional): add at least a little bit of distortion/fuzz/overdrive/etc to each instrument