Wethzad the Unforgiving

Around two thousand years ago, at the beginning of the second age of Menune, there stood a large city named Zhalva, the Jewel of the Sands. Zhalva was a human city located in the Great Expanse of Narador and was home to some of the first human mages on Menune. Knowledge of magic was very limited to humans in the second age, and thus was treated with great caution and control.

Zhalva was home to a young, homeless orphan boy named Wethzad, who had an innate gift with magic which he discovered at a very young age, but did not know exactly what his gift was. The city was split into a lower and upper half. The lower half being known as the Commons and was home to the majority of the city's inhabitants, but was also filled with a lot of crime and poverty. The upper half of the city was known as the High Ward, and was home to the city's noble houses, the first mages, as well as the city's ruler.

In Zhalva only inhabitants of the High Ward were permitted to study and practice the arcane arts, and any in the Commons who were seen even attempting to study it were swiftly punished. Most in the Commons did not understand magic, and feared those who used it. Wethzad was viewed as a monster and feared by most of his kin in the Commons, though some would show this fear in more violent ways than others, he has had to defend himself for his life on numerous occasions against those who branded him a 'monster'. Wethzad knew that the only way for him to expand on his gift was to study within the High Ward. However, when the dirty orphan boy approached the gates of the High Ward and asked to enter, his request was not taken well.

Wethzad ended up getting into a heated debate with the guards, which eventually led to them trying to arrest him. Wethzad resisted though and ended up getting into a fight with the guards. In the commotion, Wethzad let his anger and frustration get the better of him, and ended up unleashing a powerful blast of dark energy at one of the guards, killing him. Wethzad realised what he had done and immediately turned back to flee as the other guard called for backup. Wethzad had learned the twisting streets of the Commons well and had no trouble escaping the city. However, Wethzad now faced a different obstacle. The Great Expanse.

Wethzad managed to survive in the desert for a couple of days before finally collapsing from exhaustion and dehydration. Wethzad entered a coma for a few days, before finally waking up in some hidden ruins nearby Zhalva. Upon waking, Wethzad was greeted by a group of mages, many of whom were exiles from Zhalva and other nearby towns and cities. The mages looked after Wethzad and helped train his magical abilities. Wethzad's powers eventually surpassed those of all the other mages in the cult, and as he aged, Wethzad ended up becoming the head of the group.

As leader of the cult, Wethzad found himself increasingly interested in studying demons and divination. In his research, he ended up discovering a race of Demons known as Azeozians. The Azeozians specialised in the art of divination, which greatly intrigued Wethzad, could these demons really be able to commune with the realm of the dead? Wethzad ended up devoting his cult to the Azeozians, but ended up craving even more knowledge and power, power that the Azeozians just couldn't give to him. However, an Azeozian known as Hetzudoxiel sensed the mage's lust for power, and communicated with Wethzad directly in an attempt to make a deal.

Hetzudoxiel offered Wethzad power beyond his imagination, in exchange for helping the demon with his plans. This was an offer the power hungry mage could not refuse. Wethzad first had to construct a summoning portal to bring Hetzudoxiel into Menune, which he did without question. Once the demon arrived in the ruins, he asked Wethzad to sacrifice five of his followers for an experiment. Wethzad was hesitant at first, but the offer of power was too much to refuse. Wethzad brought five of his underlings into the summoning chamber, and used his own dark magics to strike them down. Hetzudoxiel was impressed by this act of brutality, and then proceeded to channel his own dark magics into the five corpses, raising them as undead. The first act of Necromancy.

Wethzad was completely astounded at what he had just witnessed, this was a power he had to have for himself. Wethzad offered his complete devotion and service to the demon, in a hope of one day being granted these powers. Hetzudoxiel was pleased with the success of his experiment and Wethzad's willingness to aid him. As a reward, the demon gave the mage an orb of his very own blood, which he told Wethzad would be very important in the future, before returning back to his demonic realm.

After a while, Hetzudoxiel ended up becoming the First Lich and Demon Lord of the Azeozians, which were then renamed after Hetzudoxiel himself. Upon achieving this status, Hetzudoxiel then contacted Wethzad once more, granting him the knowledge of Necromancy, as well as the art of becoming a Lich, which could be enhanced and empowered by the mage infusing himself with Hetzudoxiel's Blood. Wethzad then devoted his every day to ascending to Lichdom, performing countless rituals and sacrifices upon his kin. Eventually, Wethzad succeeded. He had become the first human Lich. Wethzad renamed his cult the "Followers of the First" in honour of his ascension.

Wethzad became no ordinary Lich, though. The combined power of his own innate abilities plus the infusing of the demon's blood to his very self allowed him to gain power beyond that which any other mortal could obtain. He had become as powerful as the demons themselves, if not more powerful than some.

The first thing on Wethzad's mind after obtaining his new power was one thing. Vengeance. Vengeance upon those who feared and hated him in the Commons, and upon those who looked down on him from the High Ward. Vengeance upon Zhalva. Wethzad travelled to the outskirts of the city, concentrating all of his power and energy into one massive attack with the intent to destroy the city and annihilate all those within it. After channelling his power almost to the point of self destruction, Wethzad let loose his attack. The entire city was engulfed in a cloud of darkness almost instantly. Hellfire rained down from the darkness, incinerating all beneath it. The Lich laughed maniacally at the sound of the citizens screaming in terror and agony as the city crumbled around them.

After a few moments the chaos ended and there was silence. All that was left of the city was rubble and ash. The Lich looked upon the dead city with pride. Was this the first time in his life that he had felt some form of joy? However, the feeling would not last long. While Wethzad had become immensely powerful, he was not powerful enough to perform such an attack without a cost. The Lich had completely drained himself of all power and energy, his mortal body was shattered and his soul was pulled back into his phylactery.

Around two thousand years since this dreadful event, the location of Wethzad's Phylactery is not entirely certain to anyone. Perhaps it is better if such a powerful and monstrous thing is left lost in the sands...