The Flameskull

The Flameskull was once a powerful paladin named Arannis Vallos, who served as one of the key defenders of the Forge of Spells during the mine’s golden age. Arannis was renowned for his mastery of divine evocation magic, his fiery temper matched only by his passion for magical creation. When the invasion of Wave Echo Cave began, Arannis stood alongside other wizards, warriors, and craftsmen to protect the forge from destruction. However, in the final chaotic moments of the battle, he was struck down, his body consumed by the very flames he wielded so skillfully in life.
After the evil army's victory and the cave’s abandonment, residual arcane energy, combined with necromantic forces wielded by Mormesk the Wraith, transformed Arannis’s skull into a Flameskull. Bound to the cave by dark magic, Arannis’s fiery spirit lingers, corrupted by centuries of undeath. Now consumed by madness, the Flameskull continues to guard the Forge of Spells, driven by the remnants of its original purpose: to protect the forge from intruders. Though warped by time, it still wields powerful evocation magic, unleashing fire upon any who dare enter its domain, ensuring that the magic of Wave Echo Cave remains sealed away from the world.