Witch-King

As a shade, this current Witch-King is nothing but a remnant of his true self. There the doubt regarding his current visage being a true reflection of himself or a disguise. Currently, he appears to be a strong humanoid man in dark robes decorated with skulls and bones. His face is kept hidden beneath a hood, but crimson eyes sometimes appear within its darkness. His physical form seemed to be a long rotted skeleton with shattered arcane items and broken bones.

Historical records show that the Witch-King had great arcane talents and pursued research into various other elements as well. He was most notable for his research into dragons and their innate powers, possibly seeking to replicate such magics with his own form. He employed and raised many such draconic creatures and may have experimented with creating new types, such as the strange creature seen in his demiplane's swamps. He also researched the powers of celestials and fiends, while venturing to far off boundaries to look into aberrations. The remnants of the battles in his demiplane suggest an enormous amount of power, by modern standards, were once commanded by the Witch-King. The equipment in his vault suggested that what he wielded in battle must have been incredibly powerful as well. Even after many centuries, he was able to maintain a fragment of his form and power on the chance that he may find life again.    His fragment had many interesting powers that could be a reflection of his own. These included the ability to influence others and invoke his will upon them. His eyesight was enhanced to pick up minor details and even see through illusions for a time being. He held an immense knowledge of magics ranging outside of the normal capabilities of a learned mage, even able to replicate elements of divine and natural magic. His demiplane suggests a great deal of arcane mastery and finesse as well, in order to have constructed such a location. Some of the creatures found were unique, suggesting he had either gone out and captured them from exotic locations or created them himself.

During their initial research with the Cobalt Soul and later with Winsome Landy, Invictus FISH learned that the Witch-King was a powerful archmage from pre-Divergence times. He rose to fame during the Age of Arcanum as a powerful independent archmage, not tied to any of the specific cities or kingdoms. He was noted to be an ambitious and talented individual, mastering many forms of standard magic and researching more unique paths of power. Notably, he experimented a great deal with dragon's and their innate properties. At one point, he even garnered the attention of Tiamat following a battle with a powerful chromatic dragon.    The Witch-King developed a powerful mobile base of operations, which was based on a personal demiplane he had constructed. He amassed followers and apprentices to further bolster his forces. He continued to experiment with other creatures as well, including celestials and fiends, and even going to the far borders of the known planes to hunt strange alien creatures. Like many in the Age of Arcanum, the Witch-King grew obsessed with the concept of reaching higher peaks of power, and ascending to divinity following the rise of the Raven Queen. However, he demonstrated far greater patience than his peers, as many ended up destroying themselves in their pursuits. Still, his ambitious pursuits and disregard for morals garnered him many enemies amongst the more heroic individuals of the era.   Once the Calamity began, the Witch-King leveraged his connection with the forces of Tiamat to side with the Betrayer Gods. Rather than for worship, he seemed to find more freedom in the world they offered and so choose to work with them for the time being. He mentioned that he would never be the servant of another, and instead chose to pursue his own goals. Alongside his long term ally Taaruberaax, the Witch-King caused a great deal of chaos for many during the Calamity. He would leverage his mobile demiplane to swoop in following fights or disasters, quickly working to grab what items, wealth, and knowledge he could before disappearing once again. This continued for some time, before a group of heroes decided to end his story. The Arcane Triumvirate was formed, an alliance between three powerful individuals, Vanya, Olexium, and Cadius, to stop him. They let a full scale assault against the Witch-King, catching him by surprise since he had expected them to pursue other threats. A grueling battle ensued that ended with many slain and the forces of the Witch-King decimated. Taaruberaax was imprisoned and the Witch-King was slain, leaving but a fragment of his power behind.   Eventually, his demiplane was deemed a dangerous resources and sealed by the efforts of the gods and their followers, possibly before the creation of the Divine Gate. His demiplane was initially sealed with enchantments from Pelor, Sehanine, and Kord, before Melora had her followers later place the demiplane upon the cursed island of Isstik and adding her own barriers. For the centuries following the Divergence, the hidden island of Isstik and its cursed guardian prevented anyone from returning with the location of the vault. Only the old records were left to reference its last known position, traveling over the Lucidian Ocean.    The Heralds of the New Dawn somehow discovered the possibility of the Witch-King's vault being the last known location of the Betrayer Arm, Will of the Talon. The Pirate Lord Rahar was enlisted to help discover the location of this demiplane, since it had last been seen over the Lucidian Ocean. Eventually, one of his crews did discover it, but Rahar was slain soon after by Invictus FISH. The Heralds worked alongside Invictus FISH to rediscover the island and the sealed vault. When the party finally made their way to the throne room, they were greeted by a fragment of the archamge's power, left embedded within the demiplane. He decided that he would allow them access to the vault if they could prove themselves and complete a task for him. Upon the party's loss, the Witch-King chose Eldan to take on a piece of his power, not wishing any of the characters with divine connections to hold it.    In the subsequent weeks, Eldan discovered that this fragment had granted him additional powers and almost seemed to be a living piece of the archmage. It seemed to grant powers in exchange for some sort of physical sacrifice, like a creature's blood or bones. However, the Witch-King later spoke with Eldan, requesting him to bring back the fragment to the vault as he had grown weaker without it. Upon their return, the Witch-King fulfilled his promise and took back the fragment. He warned the party as well that others had arrived since. This was later revealed to have been the Heralds, who had broken through the various enchantments over the demiplane. With some sort of accord struck between the Witch-King and the Heralds, there may be other plans put in motion by the long dead archmage.