The COLLECTOR is a trader who participates in what is effectively a magical black market and underground research circuit, referred to as the Black Rail.

The Black Rail is somewhat of a criminal organization, at least according to the Lantern-Bearers and Starpeak, though the Verdant Grasp maintains a quiet relationship with them. Their primary concerns are 'forbidden' forms of magic, their research, and their preservation. The name Black Rail is informal, and there's no specific title for them, though this is the most common one. Nicknames include Graverobbers and Sun Watchers.

They are best known for their trade in corpses, whether of animals or people. Their hold on this market is so robust that anatomists and surgeons often work with or as part of the Black Rail, and it is through the Black Rail's 'founding' member, a Vos named Alaila, that surgery was invented. Despite their nicknames, the Black Rail does not rob graves; they instead purchase bodies from the families of the dead, or take unburied corpses which they find unattended or forgotten.

The Black Rail historically started as a much different thing; it was a network of anatomists and surgeons, at which time it was known as the Surgeon's Symposium. However, their access to corpses donated for medical purposes fostered a relationship with opportunistic necromancers and others, who would take the corpses when they were no longer needed.

Now, the Rail is known as a safe-haven for all manners of taboo magic, but especially for necromancy. The core sect of the Rail is fairly strict about the ethics of its members, though it has occasional dealings with... less savory groups. The Rail is so well known that some people will arrange to sell their corpses to the Rail upon their death, or may leave behind wills bidding family members to sell their corpses, as the Rail pays handsomely especially for fresh corpses.

The Rail also trades in in-tact animal corpses, for necromancers and taxidermists alike. They also study Dream magic, Dissolution magic, Exomagic, and Lacunae in general.