Acerak Zarunkumar

"That's the problem with the people these days. They have no faith. No respect for the old ways. Me, I'm all about TRADITION!"

- Acerak Zarunkumar

At a Glance
A Tiefling from the city of Umbraforge, Acerak Zarunkumar was a priest who discovered an ancient shrine to Vecna deep beneath the sands of The Land Across the Sea. Pledging himself to the God of Undeath, Acerak studied the tomb's walls for their secret knowledge, eventually discovering the means to become a Lich -- the first mortal to do so in thousands of years.

Following Vecna's release from The Shadowfell, Acerak emerged from the tomb and began planning his master's revenge. Releasing a mass necrotic curse on the city of Tyr, Acerak raised The Bone Horde, an undead army with the mission of starting a second Necrotic War.

History
Born in the kingdom of Umbraforge, Acerak was no stranger to faith. The brother of three sisters, all priestesses, Acerak's family were devout Ioun-worshippers who believed that knowledge (and the pursuit of knowledge) facilitated a healthier spiritual life. During his graduate year of religious studies, Acerak was invited by a group of scholars on a daring expedition into the deserts of The Land Across the Sea to find the fabled Lost Library of Ioun. Excited by the notion of finding a God's temple, Acerak joined the expedition as its lone priest, earning him the jealous respect of his sisters as he set out on his dangerous journey.

The expedition started well enough, and while the sandstorms of the desert were harsh, they did nothing to deter Acerak's excitement. Delving dangerously close to Orc warband encampmentss which roamed the desert wastes, the expedition did its best to keep a low profile. Regrettably, the curiosity of some of the expedition's members would prove to be too much to overcome. As they crept across the sand dunes to get a better look at the foreign Orcs, they were spotted by a warband scout. Like lightning, the expedition was descended upon by bloodthirsty ravagers, and in the chaos of the attack and whirling sandstorm Acerak was separated from his party.

Days later, dehydrated and suffering from the heat, the fatigued Acerak was near death when unexpectedly the ground beneath him gave way, throwing Acerak down a slide of stone and sand into a deep crypt underground. Awakening from his ordeal, Acerak discovered that his way back was impassible. Panicking, Acerak collected attempted to climb out, but the distance proved too great and the eroded walls were too slick. Driven to tears, Acerak collapsed and looked about at his dark surroundings, the light in the cave revealing a temple with hundreds of carvings. Rising to his feet, Acerak cautiously approached the hieroglyphics on the walls to discover the symbol of an eye within a hand..."Please, Ioun... Gods... give me the guidance and sight to escape this fate. I am not ready to die."

- Acerak Zarunkumar

Acerak's time in the tomb had an unholy effect on the Tiefling. His discovery of the temple, a shrine long abandoned by acolytes of Undeath, tainted his thoughts and in his desire to survive Acerak began to obsess over the secrets of Undeath. The dark energies of the tomb extended his life as he studied the walls and was guided by Vecna's influence to the knowledge of a dark ritual, an ancient means to store his soul within a phylactery. This ritual would encase his soul within an object, giving him the blessing of immortality while allowing him the agency of remaining an intelligent undead Lich. Undergoing the process, the tomb lit with green flame before going hauntingly dark for several decades.

Age of Adventure
"Arise, servants of the cold dark!"

- Gabrielle Revvan

Remaining silent for decades, Acerak combed his skeletal hand across the cold symbols of the tomb's wall. Feeling the distant actions of the Cult of Vecna during the Necrotic War, Acerak refused their call to arms. Their vision, he believed, paled in comparison to the purpose Vecna had delivered to him in the tomb. Acerak wandered the crypt, feeling the energies of the Cult disappate as they dwindled and shrank into defeat.

Twenty years after the end of the Necrotic War, a sharp pain pierced Acerak's mind -- the first sensation he had felt since his transformation into a Lich. Realizing that his master was summoning him, Acerak emerged from the crypt to heed his master's call.

Approaching the warbands of Orcs (somewhat ironcially, the descendents of the very same ones who chased him into the desert) Acerak pledged himself to their mission in destroying the kingdom of Tyr. Proving his worth by besting one of the Warband Chieftanss with a wave of his hand, the warmongering Orcs had little foresight as to Acerak's plot for them.

Over weeks, Acerak sent skeletal rats into Tyr to lay down a complex interconnected web of corrupted grain. Around the same time, a group of heroes accompanied by Byron Cruentus arrived in Tyr heeding hte call of the city's defense against the marauding Orc warbandss which had been united under Acerak. As the warbandss adjusted their position, encircling Tyr, the climactic battle for its survival came on the dawn of Vecuun - The Month of Pestilence in the Argosshian Calendar. Thousands of Orcs descended onto Tyr, crashing against its walls and gates which strained under the sizablee force. Tyr's defense, which slew hundreds of Orcs, was unable to hold up against the unified warands,, and the recruited heroes ordered Tyr's inhabitants to fall back. As Orcs stormed the walls over their fallen comrades, Acerak entered the gates of Tyr with a sickle in hand, ready to unveil his grand scheme. Spotted by the heroes on Tyr's upper rise, they watched as Acerak raised his sickle and spoke a word that shook the city to its core."TRIBUTE!"

- Acerak Zarunkumar

The web of grain littered across Tyr erupted in green fire and unleashed powerful energies of undeath that surged through the kingdom, forming the sigil of Vecna that could be seen for miles. All of the Orcs and inhabitants of Tyr who had died in the initial assault were raised in undeath, turned into the monstrous Bone Horde at Acerak's command. As Vecna's mortal form appeared for a fleeting moment to smile down on the forces, the heroes watched as Acerak marched forward into Tyr's town hall to kill the last remaining survivors.

Engaged by the reaper of undeath, the heroes were able to bring down Acerak after an exceedingly long struggle that threw the Bone Horde in its entirity at them. Although victorious, Acerak's physical defeat would not mean the end of his terror. As a lich, his phylactery still existed out in the dunes, meaning that he could regenerate and return to plague the living once more. Even worse, the Bone Horde had begun to carry corrupted grain to the other cities of the mortal realm. "This war won't end in a skirmish or battle... It is attrition... And skeletons do not hunger."

- Byron Cruentus

Following the battle of Tyr, the redeemed hero Byron Cruentus travelled the world seeking to stop the shipments of necrotic grain from reaching their destinations. Despite his successes, including an encounter with a nearly regenerated Acerak whom sought to block his way, several crates remained unaccounted for, begging to ask the question as to when Acerak would again return. The Second Necrotic War would be one fought over generations and with his phylactery hidden, Acerak would continue to plague the world for just as long.