Skartorsis

There was a time when Skartorsis was not one of the greatest necromancers of the modern age, but a mere destitute hedge-wizard, peddling simple elixirs and petty spells to the gullible inhabitants of the peasant villages he passed through. That time is now long gone and, by the will of Skartorsis, will be forgotten by all but him. Forgotten, also, will be the fact that on his wandering travels, Skartorsis discovered an ancient book of necromantic magics in a tomb he was using as shelter one night, during a raging storm. The wizard dared utter one of the incantations within, and accidentally unleashed a plague of the walking dead on the surrounding villages. Most minor necromancers lead short and miserable lives, soon becoming the victims of one of their own spells, a rival partitioner of the unholy arts, enraged villagers, or roving inquisitors. Skartorsis, however, was one of the lucky ones, or was being coached by an even higher, darker power. He was able to escape the clutches of the dead he had accidentally raised, then trap one and learn the correct spells to force it to obey. Becoming a puppetmaster appealed to one such as Skartorsis, who had spent his early life so downtrodden, and he found he had a natural aptitude for necromancy. It was not long before he was summoning the dead from further afield and setting them loose on unsuspecting hamlets to see what they would do. His abilities did not go unnoticed for long, either by the forces of light or darkness. A witch hunter from the Church of Lumaya tracked him down and would have slain him were it not for the timely arrival of Necrotos, an infamous practitioner of black magic then operating in Anhelt. Skartorsis accepted the offer of an impromptu alliance, and together they slew the witch hunter. In the battle's aftermath, Skartorsis agreed to become Necrotos's apprentice. Necrotos mentored Skartorsis for many years, until he finally went a step too far. Skartorsis was able to seize the Crown of the Empty Tomb from the brow of an Undead ruler named Moresh. Necrotos demanded Skartorsis surrender the crown to him, which Skartorsis refused to do. A titanic battle ensued, a clash that rent the night and caused the dead to burrow up from their graves for leagues around. At the end, Skartorsis was triumphant. As befitted a sorcerer who sought to cheat death, Skartorsis did not slay Necrotos or banish his soul. Instead, he beheaded him, and cast all manner of curses upon the flensed skull, forcing it to eternally gibber its secrets to Skartorsis, as well as acting as a locus for his own black magics. Between Necrotos's skull and the Crown of the Empty Tomb, Skartorsis had all the tools he needed to become one of the most dread figures in Teleria. All of these events passed centuries ago, and Skartorsis has lived up to his ambitions. The days of his meager existence as a mortal conjurer are long gone. Now, he is capable of raising entire armies of Undead minions, blasting foes with coruscating green death-energies, or causing them to age decades in the space of a heartbeat. Besides a legion of skeletal warriors, wayward spirits, poltergeists, and cruel shades have come to follow him wherever he treads. To those who know of him, it seems as though Skartorsis has mastered death, that he has transcended to a higher plane of reality. Certainly Skartorsis himself, secure in his arrogance and bolstered by Necrotos's whisperings, believes as much. What he did not realize was that Necrotos was not wholly subservient to him - over time, the older necromancer hoped to reclaim both his body, and his control over his former apprentice. Skartorsis's abilities are highly sought after by other Undead, and he is prized not only as a necromancer without equal, but also as an advisor and ally. On the battlefield, Skartorsis' magics can be the undoing of the foe or the making of a friend. His abilities, aided by Necrotos' unwilling, rasping chants and the focusing power of his crown, are more than a match for almost any sorcerous trickery his enemies might employ. Skartorsis demands a high price for any alliance, however, and even powerful vampires or skeletal warlords have found themselves kneeling in homage to the great necromancer. Some of the restless spirits and ghosts that perpetually surround him even whisper that Skartorsis seeks to one day become the greatest of all Undead, bringing every lost spirit and wandering soul together into one final, cataclysmic mortis-spell that will see him break the last shackles of existence and transcend into everlasting godhood. Perhaps this supposed ambition will come to fruition, or perhaps, ultimately, Necrotos' supposed knowledge will lead his treacherous pupil to eventual destruction.