Village of the Damned (Into)

A remembrance of the past, or the future, oh who the hell knows with time!


A Passage from the Domdred Grimoire:

Through the ages, through times lost, are fragments of thought. Piecemeal works of an dangling mobile, an unfixed vision that changes with the hint of even a soft caressing breeze. Tonight, as well as many night the memories of nostalgia sting in a remembrance of a recent, distant past.

It seems as now I feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man, drawn down through a whirlpool, and found in an underworld......that was scribbled in a manifest so long ago, in a distant land.... Like this fellow conjurer of magic, who seemed to twist the arm of fate, and to find his destiny, is succumbed to a new and changing surroundings. Ahhh, but I digress...... That is another tale, in another time.......I have some fleeting thoughts on this.......ahem.....*cough*

Toeing the mark (another phrase lost in time), I step up to the line. Contrary to some in limited capacities of perception, being a Lich in my order does suffer passions, memories, and loss. On the contrary these are a force of compulsion, of sustaining, and of longevity. My actions, although maybe sometimes misguided, perceived as evil, and loathed in existence of paladins, in my eyes are truth etched on granite! Albeit not the truths some hold dear and devote, but truths none the less. Is not perception of truth a trickster in itself? Addled minds twisted by Order could be just as.......skewed.......for lack of better utterances. What gods do you do bidding! Are you devout and steadfast! Yet I am to be judged! Forked tongues wagged at passerby's with idle minds looking for gossip, and are easily turned into sheep. Do not be deceived, idle brains lead to addled decay and infect more so at every dusk to dawn cycle. This must be culled, and I have a cleaver to help clean up this mess. Only through destruction will this world be reborn in truth. My Lords have spoken, I have read the prophesies, I know what I must do. I must venture into the Underworld....but first, I must find followers, and then sacrifices........I know what must be done......I just need to find and gather some shattered pieces from a gem of lore.......Muhahahahahaha!

~Ravicus Domdred~ Circa 2015

 

In the early days of Sosaria, after the semi-mythical wizard Unthar first discovered the process by which initiates of the dark arts might attain immortality, liches became a common sight in the far subterranean depths of the realm's dungeons. In these days, such creatures took the form of a disembodied skull, which seemed to float in space. In the Stranger's earliest adventures during the time of Mondain's influence, the hero was commanded to slay one, at the behest of the King of the Black Dragon.

Years later, liches reemerged in the newly rechristened land of Britannia, and could often be found in the company of daemons, balrons or the lesser undead. During the early Age of Enlightenment these fiends began to venture outside of the dungeons which were once their domicile, and could on occasion were known to waylay travelers within the wilderness. With time, even their form changed, with many of them appearing in possession of full skeletal bodies.

Liches have a variety of dark powers, and often attack their foes with hurled bolts of flame and magic. Several have mastered the art of invisibility, allowing them to attack unseen. In many cases, however, the exact powers a liche exhibits will depend on the caliber of mage they were before their transformation. Adventurers ought always be wary when attacking such monsters, as their origins make them by necessity creatures of great intellect and cunning.

The Lich is an evil spellcaster who, through the necromantic arts, hath entered a state of living death in order to prolong an unholy reign on earth. Woe to the explorer who stumbles upon the lair of a lich, for the undead mage will guard its domain fiercely and attack without hesitation.

- from The First Age of Darkness (Ultima I)

This undead shade of a powerful wizard can still cast very powerful magic spells. The Lich is a most dangerous opponent under even favorable conditions.

- from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)

This is an extremely rare type of undead creature that is both dangerous and very difficult to destroy.

- from The Book of Fellowship (Ultima VII)
Liche3.gif

Occasionally, an extremely old and powerful wizard will choose not to suffer a natural death, but instead become a liche. In such cases, their bodies die, but their minds live on and animate the rotting corpse. Liches are in nearly all cases solitary, most being scholars who carry out magical research in secret. Anyone capable of becoming a liche must already be highly intelligent and a master of arcane knowledge. In most cases, a liche is also completely insane.

- from A Safe Passage Through Britannia (Ultima Underworld II)

According to myth, Unthar, an ancient mage, became consumed with pride in his magical powers and sought to use them to defy death forever. So was born, the tale goes, the first lich. No one has seen these mythic creatures of the undead and returned to tell it. Yet, the rumors persist of these lords of the deepest catacombs. Should half of the tales prove true, the lich is a horror that one's life should never witness.

- from Journal (Ultima IX)
Notable Examples
Horance the liche

Horance: formerly a peaceable poet and magician in Skara Brae, Horance eventually descended into madness following the Guardians disruption of the ethereal waves and gave over to lichedom, taking control of the dead within the city. He may be found in Ultima VII, still lording over the tortured ghosts of the town even after its destruction.

Rudolfo: the liche who terrorizes Skara Brae in the SNES Port of Ultima VII.

Morphius, Lord Umbria and Lethe (the Three): A triumvirate of Praecor Loth's former retainers who bar access to the dead king's final resting place in Ultima Underworld II.

Aram-Dol: a powerful liche with an expansive territory near the Serpent's Fang keep in the Silver Seed expansion for Ultima VII Part Two

Khelereth is a liche who has made his home in dungeon Covetous, planning for great conquest once amassing his legions of the dead in Ultima IX.

Trivia

The portrayal of liches in early games as consisting of a single floating skull may be based on the demiliches of the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. These variations on typical liches have waxed in power such that most of their consciousness travels to the astral plane, while their physical bodies have deteriorated to naught but a skull.[1]
The book Artifacts of Darkness in Ultima VII references the Crown of the Liche King as being an item of note. What exactly this crown is and what powers it may have are not known.[2]
Liches were to be included in the canceled Ultima X. See Planned Monsters for Ultima X for further details.

 

"Foolish mortals cannot sway from being the amusement of the gods this day!"

~Ravicus slinks back into his Throne of Bone...........deflated again at the sight of joy........~

"What purpose does one hold when one breaks the children inside the mold?"
"The scowl on brow from truth untold....the breath escaped and forever slowed?"
"Is that howl of pain or relief?"
"Is that ecstacy, or lament and grief?"

~......Ravicus knowing that this is one of the few memories that reside from the untold centuries..............It is perhaps why they sought him out in the beginning......... Tis perhaps the reason indeed..................... ~

~Drawing on the strength of those long unforgiven memories, Ravicus Channels these feelings and binds them to his essence........or do they bind him.............~


"Should killing be pompous and bold?"
"You blame me for the blood taken by betrothed?"
"Twas her knife twisted in womb"
"Tis her deeds that wrought this gloom"
"Of the death of the child in the mold...."

~With one arm draped over the arm of the chair and a broken bottle of wine laying on the floor at the side...............Ravicus's head meets his shoulder, and the undead Lich once again succumbs to darkness...................~

 

Well! That explains things!

 

Yes! That is how I feel walking through Owl's Head. LOL

 

As always these are awesome Rav! Keep it up and in fact, why aren't they already in an in game book lol? I need to expand my library!

 

Yes where are our books. The only way for stories to be immortalized in New Britannia is by books.

 

Aye, I do plan on writing these in game! It will be fun! At the moment I have had little time to play, but oh yes, I will be an author, and have an extensive library of my works, and all of yours too!

 

Stiring again, restless.......there is no sleep for those that are forsaken.....
Glancing to and fro, his gaze falls upon the Domdred Grimoire....

Leaning back after lighting his pipe, he opens the book to a chapter that has been somewhat tiresome in reading...

"......again, starting up the mountain, as it seems an impossible climb and there in front of me was a wreck of wood, but it might provide shelter. It looked shambled and half-hardheartedly built, as if it was done by novice crafters without clue..... I ventured forth as looking for prey, these must be simpletons foraging in such an ill forsaken place... I took cover as I heard some slow drawn slurs.......

What I have stumbled upon seems like a docile nest of trolls..... Trolls do me no good, as they basically are bottom feeders, they live of scraps, they stink and are truly ugly inside and out! I decided its best not to move though as it will draw attention.... They probably never planned on anyone being around or listening and with great intent I did try to understand the guttural language they espoused. Cleaving what I could from their conversation is a demented planning of not only taking over the world, but destroying it! They are not interested in rational thinking, being they are trolls, but instead they feed themselves on irrational chatter, raising each up to a blood lust state!

I feel for the world, as I know that my world will be naught if their plan gains traction! I must summon forces to fight this blight. They are not evil, they are not good, they are without mind, and will consume anything without thinking....... I must make haste and prepare defenses.....

 

The Worm Turns......Peasants Revolt!!

Sitting by his writing station Ravicus once again takes up the pen....:

"In light of the current state of events, and the whispers of the fallen, it must be decreed. With Lord British absent from word of mouth, and Darkstarr Manning the helm, the world is indeed in Chaos. I call for the wisdom of the Great Earth Serpent of Balance! Great Earth Serpent help guide us from this maelstrom, for it is pulling in friends and foe alike! Please show Lord British the way to address his citizens to give rise to hopes and away from those that speak with forked tongues in dark corners. Malum Immortui, and the guilds wherein lies, will go against any tyranny and control from the outside! We will not be subject to boot-jack thugs or the promise of a New World Order. We will stand with the peasants, and raise forks with the oppressed, and vow to rid the world of anyone that tries to claim territory. Watch ye backs ye fork tongued sidewinders......Ye might make a good stew with ye bloated melons...."
Ravicus then sets his quill aside, and prepares for war.....

 

I must again recite my years past poem, for it is enduring, and set in stone....

The Anguish of Damnation

As winter sets in, it almost is soothing, matching my heart, cold and brooding,
as in love, nothing is moving, I am slave to master, there is no choosing.
Looking back on what has been,
seams I am one of wicked men,
many loves I had behooving, pride taketh me, a recipe for losing...

Ravicus Domdred Circa 2014