Necromancer's Moon (Quest)

Overview
Faction: Mages Guild

Quest giver: Raminus Polus in the Arcane University at Imperial City

Reward: Advancement to Magician rank

Walkthrough
Speak to Tar-Meena in either the Mystic Archives or the Mages' Quarters in the Arcane University, about the Black Soul Gems. Once you talk to her, she will tell you to find a book entitled Necromancer's Moon within the Mystic Archives. Don't trouble yourself with looking, you'll find it on a small stool behind a desk to the right where you first walk into the Mystic Archives (it's blue). Pick it up and talk to Tar-Meena again about the book. Then speak to Raminus Polus. He'll tell you to speak with Bothiel.

Speak with Bothiel about the "Shade of the Revenant." She'll say that Falcar came in inquiring about the same subject and give you a piece of paper he had dropped. Show the paper to Raminus.

He'll ask you to leave for the Dark Fissure cave, southeast of Cheydinhal, near Vahtacen. Wait until early morning Fredas or Middas (around 12 am) and a necromancer, Worm Anchorite will come out. Kill him and take his note, or observe what he's doing. Give the information to Raminus Polus to complete the quest.

If you have an empty Grand Soul Gem, then you can do the ritual yourself. All you have to do is wait until the day the purple beam is shining on the altar (every 8th day; you'll notice it occurs on the 9th, 17th, 25th, etc.), place the empty Grand Soul Gem in the altar, and cast a Soul trap spell on it. You will get the note saying you observed the ritual and you can complete the quest. You also get a Black Soul Gem!

Alternate Solution
If you're impatient, just go into the cave and quickly kill the Worm Anchorite who is standing near the door, before he runs away. Take his note and give the information to Raminus Polus. Or, just for fun, you can clear the cave completely of all Necromancers. Every time the Shade of the Revenant occurs, the Necromancers re-spawn as if some supernatural force brought them back to life. Oh the irony.

Bugs
There is a bug if you observe the ritual and kill the anchorite and take his note. The Handwritten Note is supposed to be an alternate means of deducing how the ritual works if you did not actually observe it. However, if you did, then the game will simply recognize and draw from that when you speak to Raminus Polus, and fail to deal with the note. The note is a quest item, so you will be stuck with it forever. This is hardly game-breaking, but being unable to clean the note out of your inventory long after you're done with it can be annoying.

Sometimes downloading the Orrery content before starting this quest traps Bothiel behind the locked door of the Orrery. Deleting the content, speaking to her, and then re-downloading the content allows her to come outside. Re-downloading from Xbox Live does not cost additional points.

Journal Entries
After accepting the quest from Raminus:
 * I need to go to the Mystic Archives and speak with Tar-Meena.

After speaking with Tar-Meena:
 * Tar-Meena told me to find a book entitled "Necromancer's Moon". I need to look for it in the Mystic Archives of the Arcane University.

Upon finding and taking the book nearby:
 * I've found the book "Necromancer's Moon", and should take it to Raminus Polus after consulting with Tar-Meena.

After consulting Raminus Polus:
 * I need to find Bothiel in the Arcane University and speak with her about this "Shade of the Revenant".

After speaking to Bothiel:
 * Bothiel gave me a piece of paper Falcar dropped when he visited her about the Revenant mentioned in the Necromancer's book. I should show the note to Raminus Polus.

After showing the note to Raminus Polus:
 * I need to find Dark Fissure, south of Cheydinhal, before the next time "the Shade of the Revenant" occurs. I should be on the lookout for the "heavenly lights" mentioned in the Necromancer's book.

After killing the Worm Anchorite and reading the note on him:
 * I have found evidence of Necromancers creating Black Soul Gems at the Dark Fissure Cave, as well as other altars throughout Cyrodiil. I need to get this informtion to Raminus Polus at the Arcane University.

Reporting the information to Raminus:
 * I've told Raminus Polus everything about Necromancers and black soul gems that I have seen.