Spoiler:
"Let me tell you a story Livia. This story is, unfortunately, a terrible tragedy. There once was a good and powerful wizard. A wizard so accomplished that he had found himself the head of a prestigious guild of very powerful wizards guild at a very young age. With his influence he started the mages college of Agronon and he taught so many young and aspiring minds how to wield the arcane with beauty and respect. He did many great and wonderful things with his incredible abilities. After many centuries the body of the man began to give way. Even with so many charms and spells, nature eventually wins in the end. However, the man refused to accept his fate, he believed that there was a way to achieve immortality and that the arcane was the answer.
With his time limited, he poured over hundreds of tomes, spent hours summoning the greatest minds the world has to offer. Eventually, each came to the same conclusion. Man has an end and his time, no matter how long, eventually dwindles away.
For most, they accept their fate with dignity. Sadly, this wizard instead finds himself obsessed with the notion of eternal life and begins to search in places where he swore to himself he would never go. Eventually, the wizard finds a dark but powerful way to prolong his life in the form of lichdom. A lich is powerful wizard who's soul is stored in an artifact called a Phylactery. This lich, this unholy creature is one of the undead. The wizard, being as powerful as he is knew where where best to find the most powerful item to be used as a Phylactery. He then journeyed through the planes of existence and eventually found himself in the tomb of a dead god. No one knows what god this was but it was clear that this long forgotten evil was meant to be left alone and not to be disturbed. There the mage made his way inside to the burial chamber. With powerful arcane magics he removed the skull from the body of the divine being and brought it with him to the prime material plane. After completing his wicked ritual the mage retained his soul inside of this skull. Unknown to this mage were the repercussions of such actions.
After this wretched ceremony the mage vanished from the public eye. Many believed him to be consumed by the very magic that sustained him all of those years. Still others believed that he accepted his fate with dignity and left this realm to another plane to live out the rest of his days. No one would have expected that this goodly wizard had performed the darkest of arcane rituals and was now walking the planes in search for what every creature of his type craves....more power."
The high priestess pauses for a moment and finds herself deep in thought once again before looking to Livia, "Are you following me so far child?"
With his time limited, he poured over hundreds of tomes, spent hours summoning the greatest minds the world has to offer. Eventually, each came to the same conclusion. Man has an end and his time, no matter how long, eventually dwindles away.
For most, they accept their fate with dignity. Sadly, this wizard instead finds himself obsessed with the notion of eternal life and begins to search in places where he swore to himself he would never go. Eventually, the wizard finds a dark but powerful way to prolong his life in the form of lichdom. A lich is powerful wizard who's soul is stored in an artifact called a Phylactery. This lich, this unholy creature is one of the undead. The wizard, being as powerful as he is knew where where best to find the most powerful item to be used as a Phylactery. He then journeyed through the planes of existence and eventually found himself in the tomb of a dead god. No one knows what god this was but it was clear that this long forgotten evil was meant to be left alone and not to be disturbed. There the mage made his way inside to the burial chamber. With powerful arcane magics he removed the skull from the body of the divine being and brought it with him to the prime material plane. After completing his wicked ritual the mage retained his soul inside of this skull. Unknown to this mage were the repercussions of such actions.
After this wretched ceremony the mage vanished from the public eye. Many believed him to be consumed by the very magic that sustained him all of those years. Still others believed that he accepted his fate with dignity and left this realm to another plane to live out the rest of his days. No one would have expected that this goodly wizard had performed the darkest of arcane rituals and was now walking the planes in search for what every creature of his type craves....more power."
The high priestess pauses for a moment and finds herself deep in thought once again before looking to Livia, "Are you following me so far child?"
Also, I'd like to check to see if his Heraldry or Religious knowledge can help identify this strange marking... as well as determine if the stranger's story was some sort of analogy for a battle between deities. That's probably a separate religion check, right? How do I roll dice in this? ))