Zhengyi Zhengyi the Witch - King was once a Red Wizard of Thay , but later became an enormously powerful lich and servant of the demon prince Orcus . In the far north of Vaasa in northeast Faerûn , Zhengyi created Castle Perilous in just one night in 1347 DR , and summoned the various goblin s , giant s and orc s of the lands to him . History . Zhengyi was born in the second half of the 900s DR , and became a Red Wizard of Thay before becoming a lich with the help of his patron , Orcus . Zhengyi ' s first known appearance on Faerûn was when he created Castle Perilous in a single night in 1347 DR . He immediately set about winning the favour of the goblin s , giant s and orc s in the area . He gained support from priests of Orcus , allowing him control of many undead creatures , and enlisted the help of the Grandfather of Assassins . A year later , in 1348 DR , Zhengyi attacked Damara . He began by occupying Bloodstone Pass , isolating a lot of mining operations crucial to Damara ' s prosperity . The armies invaded Damara itself , massacring at every opportunity . Damara fought back , and the war continued for almost a decade , until in 1357 DR , a stalemate between the armies was reached across the Ford of Goliad on the Goliad River . Zhengyi broke this stalemate by convincing the leader of the opposing army , King Virdin , that a magic wand could give him the ability to get his army safely across the river . In Damara it is believed that Virdin ' s chief lieutenant , Felix , was persuaded to defect and aid Zhengyi , who waited until the Damaran army was helpless in the river before making his move . Zhengyi brought about peace in Damara , splitting the region into six baronies which had independent rulers , but taxed them heavily , inducing great hardships as a result , which led to large - scale emigration from Damara to the south . He also appointed the Grandfather of Assassins in charge of the Galena Mountains . Zhengyi then disappeared for a while , leaving Damara in a state of disarray and strife . When he returned , he found the inhabitants of Damara had united under Gareth Dragonsbane and formed a formidable army . Zhengyi sent his army after them , and another stalemate occurred at the Ford of Goliad , the location of the first stalemate . Zhengyi lost his power when Dragonsbane and his company banished Orcus by stealing his wand . Zhengyi ' s undead army disintegrated along with Castle Perilous and the Witch - King was defeated . Zhengyi ' s relics . The Witch - King had hoarded many magical items during its existence , and after its destruction many items were discovered by determined looters . Some rumor that after the defeat of the Witch - King , remnants of himself or his spirit were scattered across the lands . The items were often cursed and quite powerful , plaguing the lands of Vaasa and Damara for years afterward . Dragon Statue . Once a grand dragon statue was discovered in the bog north of Darmshall . It grew to enormous proportions before finally sinking into the bog . Accessories . A young man found a plain gray stone with a gem - studded belt wrapped around it on the norther slopes of the Galenas . He carelessly threw aside the stone after strapping on the belt , not knowing that the stone actually was the magical trigger for the 25 fireball - enchanted rubies to enact their devastating magic - obliterating the young man in the wake . Books of Creation . Zhengyi conserved his knowledge by writing it down - several of his books have been found , most often with devastating results . These books are said to even rival Zhengyis greatest accomplishment - his lichdom . A living being triggers the " unreading " of a book . The book then starts to read itself , enacting the magic Zhengyi placed within its pages . Runes appearing in the air above the book and falling into it are translations of life energy , drawn from a spirit caught in a crystal phylactery concealed within the book . That energy fuels the construction . It serves as the living source of power in animating the defense of the construction - undead soldiers , causes the gargoyles of the castle to regenerate on their porches and brings life to flesh and iron golems . One tome was discovered by a human wizard , called Herminicle Duperdas from Heliogabalus . He was considered to be but a middling magic - user , even considered a novice among his own guild . The mage found the book and read it . But he underestimated the power of Zhengyis legacy and found himself being consumed by the tome - the book taking his magic and his life - force as its own , using it to create a tower . The mage ' s essence was then bound to the tower , as the tower bound itself to the mage , leaving Duperdas in the form of a lich guarding the tower and the book . The human assassin Artemis Entreri and his drow companion Jarlaxle went to retrieve the book , killing the lich by destroying the tome itself . Jarlaxle kept a component of the book for himself though : a small jewel human skull that was embedded in the book . When attuning his sensibilities to the skull , a non - human owner can enter the nether - world , sensing long dead human bodies , that would raise to the stone ' s bidding . Another tome was discovered by the half - orc Wingham , who gave it to his niece Arrayan for study . This tome was bound in rich black leather with designs of curling and rearing dragons etched onto the spine and cover of the book . . Arrayan started to read the book , unleashing its power and thus binding her own life - force to the book . The structure created by Arrayan ' s book seems a replica of Castle Perilous itself . The true power behind the unleashing power though was the life force of a dracolich concealed within the book .