BERKNIPBerknip, the famous necromancer of the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries who led a life designed to confound all attempts at explanation, was born in the year 662 GUE. By the age of three, this mere child had already given the world five new spells. Most wizards had only dreamed of finding one, and already was he at par with the great Bizboz.
Krepkit, one of the primary enchanters of the days, believed that Berknip could potentially give magic back to the world. Not mere tricks, like the tying of shoelaces, or even kindling a fire, but truly magnificent magic. Krepkit summoned many others from all across the Westlands to gather with him at Borphee in anticipation of this great revival. In those days, this was the only place in all of Zork where a group of wizards and enchanters had dared to come together to share studies and do research. It was the only guild of its kind anywhere. For the most part, it was because wizards of those days were notoriously uncooperative, stingy and private characters. Most of them would rather have given their mothers the flu than to give away the secrets of a spell. Krepkit helped design and build the Borphee guild hall. His dream was for wizards’ guilds all over Quendor. But the schemes of Pseudo-Duncanthrax were soon to place these academic achievements on hold.
In 665 GUE, following Antharia's attack on Fort Griffspotter, Pseudo-Duncanthrax sought to initiate a counterstrike. Part of his plan involved using the wizards of the recently established Borphee Guild. They refused. Knowing that Berknip was the heart and soul of their guild, Pseudo-Duncanthrax took him prisoner. His ransom for the return of their precious magician was their cooperation in the upcoming battle against Antharia. The wizards would have done anything for Berknip and anything to protect him. All of their attempts to rescue him with AIMFIZ failed. And though they did not like Pseudo-Duncanthrax any more than any other ruthless king, but while he held Berknip hostage, he commanded their loyalty.
Quendor won against the island-nation of Antharia. But this was not the end of the evil king's plans. In 668 GUE, Pseudo-Duncanthrax required the energy of the seven most powerful wizards of the Borphee Guild in unison with every living being to complete his mammoth vision of construction a Great Underground Empire, complete with a massive highway system. In order to maintain control of Krepkit and the other six most powerful wizards, the king continued to hold Berknip hostage, although he relocated the child to Antharia, thereby manipulating them to use their powerful KATPIL spells to move earth wherever he wished. The king coaxed the remainder of the populace into laboring for the highways with a cache of VAXUM scrolls.
After Pseudo-Duncanthrax had been exposed and the rightful Duncanthrax reinstated upon the throne, all of the lesser wizards of the guild, including Berknip were freed from their imprisonment on the island. It was shortly after that time that Berknip created his sixth new spell.
It is uncertain how many spells Berknip created over the course of his lifetime, or if his revived magic as Krepkit and the others had anticipated. His life paused temporarily in 750, only to be resumed again in 841. He was survived in 750 GUE by seven children and 39 grandchildren, but he has since out-relived them all. In 966 GUE he was the oldest active necromancer; it is uncertain how long he lived after that date.
Berknip was an odd man, inexplicably afraid of swords and powdered milk. His greatest skill was assisting historical biographers, and his hobbies included making and collecting antiques. Being a vegetarian, he was noted for his adaptation of the NITFOL spell for raw oysters and crispy whole fish. This man's Double Fanucci handicap was unmeasurable, due to his odd life, and his favorite saying was, "No one weeps for a necromancer."
| SOURCE(S): Spellbreaker (trading cards), The Lost City of Zork |