Sorcery in The Silent War. It revolves around summoning demons, Mind Rape and gruesome curses, and works better if human sacrifice is involved. It is also stated to corrupt anyone using it, explaining the general mindset of the Brotherhood of the Pit. Later editions have a wide range of spells tagged [evil]. Many are poorly explained (Animate Dead uses raw energy to create a non-sapient construct, while golems, which involve enslaving a sapient being, have no such tag) have it for no reason whatsoever (such as Deathwatch, which basically says if a person is dead, near dead or alive). Later source books state that undead exude negative energy, and so make the world a worse place just by existing. That's just one spell. Moving into modern, and post-modern times we find Goya, Bacon, Bourgeois, Hirst and countless others producing work that would not look out of place in an exhibition of Dark Art and yet it is certain that these artists would not have considered themselves within the grouping of work we are discussing. Basically, The Dark Arts are any science, discipline, magic, or martial combat style note (or all of the above, as a Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot of Supernatural Martial Arts and Crafts From Technology) that is deemed by society in general and the establishment in particular as a Bad Idea. ® (For some reason, actual artistic techniques are rarely considered a Dark Art (though the Wax Museum Morgue comes pretty darn close.)

Necromancy. Although it is not evil or corrupting in itself and some spells can actually be used for good, it almost always involves gruesome rituals or blood sacrifice. And its foremost practitioners (but not the only ones, and not even the first ones) are the Deathlords and Abyssal Exalted, who are evil by most standards.Refinement of Flux for the Prometheans, which is based around rejecting humanity and accepting one's monstrous side. Centimani, as they're called, often twist themselves into hideous mutations, and due to the nature of Vitriol, can no longer gain it normally - forcing them to rely on lacuna, a form of Mind Rape that Prometheans view in much the same terms as actual rape. It invokes dangerous forces, beings, and entities which are impossible to control once released, and which tend to hold a grudge about being forced into service — if they were ever really under the user's control to begin with and not just giving them the rope to hang themselves with.

For a considerable time in Larry Niven's Known Space history, almost all technological research was considered this. The Earth government suppressed any new technology that could be weaponized, which turned out to be everything.

Sagittarius

The Dying Cubs camp of the Red Talons practices a rite that "feeds" the earth with the pain of a tortured human. The rite cleanses the land and lowers the Gauntlet of the immediate area, but the effects are temporary. Moreover, spiritual guardians of the region will no longer defend the land against Wyrm incursions. I contend that we must view Dark Art as a movement, as we do Surrealism, Expressionism, or the Pre Raphaelites, and that to do this, we must define the attributes of Dark Art that set it apart from other aesthetically similar works. Demonology in general is seen as a dangerous, risky and best avoided field of study. The line between demonology (using demons) and infernalism (being used by demons) is thin, it is easier to summon a demon than to control it or to banish it, and during the First Age the sorcerers of the whole world had to to gather for a great feast every Calibration night just to make sure none of them attempted the dreaded ritual to summon a Third Circle demon (which can only be done during that night). In Forgotten Realms there are prohibitions from the gods of magic (covering Fantastic Nuke, endangering of the world's magical circuit and a few crimes against the magic-using community) plus whatever local laws and traditions don't approve, typically including the most unpleasant forms of necromancy and/or using wild magic in populated areas. From what is known about the elven kingdom of Cormanthyr, it prohibited some enchantments that allow massive binding of magical items and creatures, some blood magics, using mass-destruction and later also selective spells in modes aimed to harm elves or "allied" beings. A few areas don't approve arcane magic at all, claiming it's " dishonorable", but in fact it's the places when magic may attract a curious spell-grub, and no one wants that anywhere around.

In Pact, Diabolism is seen as this because making a Deal with the Devil tends to cause damage to the world itself and nothing good comes from it. Dark Sun defilers aren't tolerated by anyone including most other defilers, because their magic is fueled by draining the life-force of every living thing around them, and centuries of using magic this way resulted in the world of Athas becoming a harsh and inhospitable wasteland. All magic is looked upon with at least some suspicion because of this. Answers to questions such as these have the potential to direct and focus those who make Dark Art beyond the creation of their next piece, or may conclude that such questions are irrelevant and we simply want to stand together to support the making of monsters. Depending on the setting and exact location there, any use of magic can become this if the local authorities decide to forbid it (usually on pain of death). General bans on arcane magic aren't unknown in some places, though in at least one famous case (Mystara's wizard-ruled Principalities of Glantri) that's replaced with a strict prohibition on clerical magic instead.The huge majority of people who get interested in runes and bone charms just end up fascinated and obsessed with them, usually to the point of madness, paranoia, murder and death. You found plenty of examples of such people in the game. Bazil Broketail: The Masters of Padmasa along with their servants practice magic which involves drawing blood, inflicting pain or killing to work. It's used for creating horrific war monsters. Negima! Magister Negi Magi: Magia Erebea is powered by nasty stuff. Negi isn't even human anymore due to overuse of it. In fact, Evangeline started teaching it to him because she wanted to corrupt him into her "mini boss" flunkie. The Dark Souls games have variously treated Pyromancy and Hexes as dark and nefarious. Pyromancy was seen as unrefined and wild in the first game, with practitioners from the Great Swamp being stigmatized for using it. It didn't help that there is a history of practitioners literally burning themselves to death or descending into madness. The corruption of the Witch of Izalith when she used her Soul of Flame to try to create a substitute for the First Flame (and dooming herself and the citizens of the city of Lost Izalith to become demons in the process) may have had something to do with that. It seems on the surface, that a definition of Dark Art should be relatively simple, since those that purport to create it share many traits as artists and interests as individuals. However, it cannot be said that all paintings of skulls are Dark Art, and since the presence of ‘dark’ themes are a constant in creative work throughout history, we must find a way to reconcile this with what is a relatively new field of work.

Not to be confused with shadow magic, which allows the user to bend and make darkness and shadows via magic; this tends to be morally neutral, maybe leaning slightly towards evil. All the products end up Going Horribly Wrong, or worse, Horribly Right. Robots rebel, resurrections are botched, superpowers cause insanity and death. Basically, if you can build a Fantastic Aesop out of it, it's this. So, just who practices the Dark Arts in spite of all these dangers? Lots of people/things! If it's magical, then an Evil Sorcerer, if it's a science, then a Mad Scientist of course, and if it's a martial art, then the Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy is likely to know it. Expect them to learn their craft in the Academy of Evil. If any kind of magic/science is considered to be the Dark Arts, you have Magic Is Evil or Science Is Bad. Although it sounds utterly redundant to say, the point must be made that Dark Art conveys something dark to its audience. A Dark Art sculpture of a wilting flower is not conveying a sense of Wabi Sabi, a seascape is not providing a sense of majesty or adventure, a beautiful portrait is not simply a faithful reproduction of the sitter. What this ‘darkness’ is remains a complex question, although I personally lean towards a psychological framing, with anxieties, desires, and implications of the ‘Shadow’ being reflected through the cultural focus of the monster, and unconsciously communicated through colour, composition, and mark making. In other words, if there are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, you can expect someone to have thought it would be cool to make an easy to read how-to book on it. The "Dark" Art might not necessarily be evil or dangerous, but there's always at least some cause to consider these powers/skills inherently hazardous, if potent, and not to be left open for everyone to learn.Some Red Talons learn a gift that allows them to regain rage or gnosis when they spill another being's blood upon the earth. The gift is taught by decay spirits and banes.