Lichdom

The process of becoming a Lich, where one tears the very soul from their being, twisting it into a mockery of life and storing it within a vessel.

History

Amnul, the First Lich, experimented with severing the union between mind body and soul long before his thoughts turned to conquest. Amnul would come to learn that one could survive without a soul so long as it remained intact. the process took decades to perfect, spawning dozens of lesser soul less husks that Amnul would use to defend his Kingdom of Khoven. By severing the Connection between his own Body, mind, and Soul, Amnul was able to store his spirit safely away to prevent his total destruction in the worst case scenario, even death by old age was now no longer a threat. Amnul instructed his Inner Circle on how to ascend to Lichdom, overseeing their rituals and sheltering away their phylactery, the vassal which now housed their souls. variations of the ritual exist where the Phylactery is replaced by another living mortal, a sentient weapon, and a particularly bold attempt to bind ones soul to a Song to be sung by people over the ages. while that experiment proved successful, if there was no one signing the song the spirit was obliterated and the lich died.

Execution

To become a lich one must sever their connection to their spirit. this occurs during several stages, where one systematically destroyed all connection to their mortal life, generally this is represented by slaying those closest to you during your living life. then one must draw great power from the Ley Lines, using ancient Circle Magic perfected by the Khoven creating a temporary Focus point to draw enough magic power to preform the ritual. The Lich to be then consumes a specialized poison that slowly withers their body to nothingness, a painful process but one that is specifically targeted to leave the mind and spirit intact. as the life slowly ebbs away from the Lich to be, they must recant an incantation to bind their spirits to a new vassal, spoken with their final dying breath it must be calculated carefully lest the Lich die before the incantation is finished.

Components and tools

A suitable Phylactery to house their spirit, this can be anything capable of sustaining the magic and soul within, most often a metal urn. A vial of poison called Ebon Blight, which slowly causes the body to atrophy and wither away. it turns the flesh pallid and the lips blue during the process. While other poisons and methods of death can be used, Ebon Blight is preferred for its exact timing, slaying the imbiber exactly twenty-eight hours from consumption.

Participants

A would be Lich often has a number of supplicants and trusted allies to defend themselves during their vulnerable transition from life to undeath, though particularly powerful people such as Amnul chose to instead bind a number of Demons and Elementals to his service during his Ritual.