ALL content © 2017 Isabelle Davis ('Drakhenliche') unless otherwise stated. Do NOT use without permission. Meccha/Soul © E. Lai 2009

Raven, the Dracoliche
alignment: Evil

Physical Description
Raven
click for full image
Real Name Hraefen - but no one knows that.
Species Dracoliche (undead dragon who is a liche. Not to be confused with lesser dead such as zombie dragons). Was a black dragon when alive.
Sex Male
Age: ancient. Unknown
NB has no corporeal form, so the below apply to him before his decaying body was destroyed.
Length 200ft at full size, but like all dragons could size-shift
Weight no idea
Hair grey matted, tatty mane running from crown of head to base of neck, then along the backbone of his tail.
Eyes: Black and empty save for a pinpoint of unnatural green-yellow light in each that serves as a pupil.
Voice:
rasping, hoarse, insidious whisper. Has strange harmonics in it, like discordant voices are crying in the background. You hear it as much in your head as through your ears when he does speak.
Language(s): Common Tongue, Ancient Draconic, Draconic, most other languages, the ancient onces in particular.
Scars and handicaps
Physical:
Has no body of his own. A disembodied soul, mind and spirit he has found a host in F'lair Hartland - the Daemonslayer Shade. He has to comply with Shade's wishes unless he gets the chance to take control.
Emotional: None, save he hates not being in control.
Other: none known.
Background / dates / events in life
Background

Thousands upon thousands of years ago a young(ish) black dragon living in the heart of the Evermoors in Caevalonia discovered the secrets of the dark art of necromancy. As his power grew, so did his awareness of his mortality - despite the longevity of which all dragons were possessed - this was one of the psychological effects of dealing with Death Magic.

In order to preserve his life, and also to augment his power, he cast a spell upon himself, binding his soul to his body and joining the ranks of the undead as a dracoliche. In this way he could also use the more powerful spells that would otherwise destroy the body of a mere mortal caster.

Evil and corrupted by the necromancy, the dracoliche raised an army of the damned - great enough even to rival that of the Liche-King Bel-Sharoth - and waged war upon the mortal world, for little reason other than the fact that he could.

But he didn't just conquer his enemies by blindly dictating the actions of his forces from his lair: One of the things this creature of darkness was most well known for was his use of crows, rooks and other birds of ill-omen, especially ravens, as his spies throughout the land - this trait earned him the name 'Raven' (although he wasn't averse to using any individual that could be tempted by his promises of power and wealth). It was rumoured that Raven could not just speak to the birds (something that most magic users can do, given the chance), but he could actually use their senses, seeing through their eyes and listening through their ears. He could even transform himself into a raven if he wished to do things personally. For this he was feared as it meant that there was very little that escaped his attention, or that of his spies.

Back at his lair Raven had the finest artisans his forces could capture build him a structure in which he could 'live', studying magic and controlling his armies. And so the forbidding obsidian structure of Raven's Ziggurat came into being (well, a dank cave wasn't really his ideal home).

Finally the Emperor - head of the Caevalonian Empire which was pretty much exclusive to humans at that time - ordered that this menace had to be stopped. And so the Council of Wizards (although skills in magic were not as well developed in those days) were appealed to for their wisdom. As dracoliches were extremely rare and there had been none that posed a major threat in living memory, no one was sure as to what could be done. Finally a solution was decided upon ... although the dracoliche's body could be destroyed, his soul would survive and perhaps even escape the Spirit World to seek revenge as chaos dragons were well known for their unforgiving attitudes ... a magical staff was created which would absorb Raven's soul once his body was destroyed.

Four heroes were elected to complete this onerous task - and so they did, assisted by the Emperor's finest forces to punch a way in through the Evermoors. After a terrible battle Raven was destroyed, his soul assimilated into the staff, and his armies crumbled to dust without his will there to sustain them. Or so people thought. In fact, many of the dead he had raised continued to exist as the amount of magic saturating the area was more than adequate for the continued existence of the Lesser Dead such as zombies and skeletons. Greater Dead such as wraiths, wights and other liches Raven had summoned to help maintan his armies were merely freed from their service to Raven and scattered across the continent, many heading for the Desolation to the south east where the Liche King reigned.

The Ziggurat was not destroyed (although this was not for lack of trying) as the enchantments placed upon it were too strong. But it was discovered that the area around the lair was ideal land for colonization as it would also open up a road through the Evermoors making trade with the more southerly areas of Caevalonia easier (as at this time the only other route south meant a long and dangerous trek through the Desert of Shifting Sands - populated by the race of snake-men known as the Hssaar). Trade was good and soon the initial outpost grew into Caevalonia's second-greatest city (the first, of course, was the Imperial seat at Fortune City far to the north), known as Uth Lintar - which, translated, means 'Victory City'.

But Raven's shadow was not yet gone from the land as the artifact - now known as the Raven Staff - fell into the hands of a corrupt member of the Council of Wizards. The Staff allowed the user to tap into Raven's power. After an attempt on the Emperor's life the Councillor was stopped and the Staff retrieved. But more incidents involving the Staff falling into the wrong hands occurred - it was almost as if the Staff was actively seeking them out.

Finally it was decided that the Staff should be rendered useless to prevent such events from happening again. Although it could never be completely destroyed, the Raven Staff could be separated into two parts - the shaft and the headpiece - which, on their own, were not very powerful at all. And in order to prevent the two parts from ever being reunited, the headpiece was cast into a magical vortex, sending it to another world ... perhaps even another reality. The shaft was hidden somewhere in Caevalonia and all records of the Staff were either hidden or destroyed in the hope that the relic would be forgotten over time.

For millennia the Raven Staff remain forgotten - until a certain undead werewolf by the name of F'lair Hartland discovered it. Now, after certain events which took place in San Francisco, Earth (see 'Unkindness of Ravens'), Raven exists in the mortal plane once more. Or at least his soul does.

Also, Uth Lintar was a rather unfortunate name for the city really, as it was the first place to be destroyed when the immense dragon Syrax Bloodbane went on the rampage. Now the ruins form part of his lair and are known as Uth Nagor - the 'Forsaken City'.

Birthplace: the Evermoors
Current Location Resides in the place Shade's soul should be. Occasionally surfaces in F'lair's mind to make his presence known or to voice his opinion on things. His traditional home was the great Ziggurat of Uth Nagor, which he has allowed Shade and Soul to make their home.
Previous occupation(s)? Evil Dracoliche.
Current occupation evil dracoliche trying to think of a way to restore his original form to himself.
Psychological Profile / Other Info
Philosophy of Life The only useful mortals are dead mortals. The point of life is to become dead,
Ambitions To find a way to restore himself to his original corporeal form.
Fantasies/Daydreams unknown - and you probably wouldn't want to know anyway. Probably involves everything being dead. Would quite like to rule the Spirit World...
Favourite Colour black
Deity None. Closest thing to a deity he has is the demigod Ra-Sep-Re-Tay
Closest Friends doesn't have friends. The closest thing he has to friends are the Daemonslayers
Friends see above.
Acquaintances -
Enemies Wizards. But they all think he was destroyed millenia ago.
Worst Enemies see above.
Fighting Method Magical means. Summoning undead to fight his enemies for him. In his corporeal form he used to be able to employ traditional dragon attacks, too.
Is Afraid of death and what comes after - hence the 'undead' option.
Sees self as Undead tyrant of unsurpassed ability. Feared.
Is seen as An annoying voice in Shade's head. Most other people have forgotten about him or only know of him as a distant, obscure myth.
Best Character Traits Raven has almost no redeeming features. However, he does feel a vague sense of attatchment to Shade and the Daemonslayers and makes a vague effort to be helpful if and when he feels like it. Finds their activities mildly of interest.
Most Important Thing to Know about Character Raven is Shade's 'constant companion' but F'lair flatly refuses to use the 'liche's necromantic abilities. However, if his host gets knocked unconscious, or loses to control and becomes open to suggestion, then Raven will often take over, using both his and Shade's abilities. Although he has helped the other two Daemonslayers on previous occasions, there is no guarantee that he will always to that. Raven can 'jump ship' to another body if he so wishes, but he always comes back to F'lair as he is the most suitable host due to being undead and not having a soul for Raven to have to fight against. Raven can't take control if Shade is in his wereform, though,
Darkest Secret unknown
How character reacts to peers’ view of them Does not like being made fun of.
How character sees others (besides friends) Sees others as things to be used to further his own ends.
How far will character go to get what he/she wants: Raven is prepared to be patient, and wait for as long as necessary for his opportunities.
Current Issues?
Present Issues: The whole 'not having a body and having to settled for part-time possession instead' thing...
How it will get worse / resolve: F'lair is, very slowly but steadily losing his grip on sanity and on what's left of his humanity, making it easier for Raven to take control. But if his host loses it all together then Raven fears he may become an unsuitable host and so does his best to keep Shade together on a delicate balance.
No particular plotlines involved.