Lich

A lich sometimes spelled liche, cognate to Dutch lijk and German Leiche, (both meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a deliberate transformation, as a powerful magician or king striving for eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind his intellect to his animated corpse and thereby achieve a form of immortality. Liches are usually clearly cadaverous, their bodies desiccated or even completely skeletal. Liches often hold power over hordes of lesser undead creatures, using them as soldiers and servants.
Unlike Ghosts, which are incorporeal and vary wildly as to intellect, or zombies, which while they have bodies are mindless or nearly so, part of a hivemind and/or under the control of some magician, a lich retains independent thought and is usually at least as intelligent as it was prior to its transformation. Liches can be distinguished from other undead by their phylactery - an item of the Lich's choosing into which they imbue their soul, giving them immortality until the phylactery is destroyed.
==Recent Events== 
*The outbreak in the Superstition Mountains is now known to have been caused by a lich and his undead army caught in a dimensional inversion. The lich was destroyed. (This was also the first encounter with the type G Zombie.) Its name was never known.
*A lich was infecting women with various unusual magical "problems" like floating orgasms in public for its own amusement. This lich was again destroyed, with help from the lich community. Its name was never known.
*Basha Daughter out of Shadow, an Ancient Babylonian priestess of Nergal from the time of Nebuchadnezzar II offered help in getting rid of the above problem. She is no longer a lich.
*Sir Robert DuPaul d'Avalon, late a Crusader, warned of a magical danger in Vista City. He was named as cursed by his own hand by Basha. She laid him to rest, naming him a friend.
* Ari Sigroinson A lich in Oklahoma found incidental to the Primary investigation. He dates from the Viking age. This one has slipped back into obscurity. We still have contact information.
* Maya Starweaver Saratoga, NY -- Once noted psychic and long time recluse. Apparently she died and never noticed. Not one of the imports. She was resurrected and healed of the health issues that killed her. She has become a PSA pusher. A woman with a credibility field.
One possible Lich:
*A survivor of a Team Alpha lair reported they destroyed their own base to prevent a dead man in mezzo-american style gear from rising with its undead minions. Now we officially do not like Team Alpha, but for once I think we can be thankful for their sacrifice.
==Bureau 13 File==
Liches were once considered one of the rarest of the things you don't want to meet. It turns out this is not the case. They are, while rare, a lot more common than you think, and there are 248 in the United States alone. It seems the USA is a good place to get away from the torch and pitchfork mob, dig in, and hide.
Most Liches are not interested in seeking temporal power or attention. Those that are so interested are the kind that get destroyed quickly. The current population is interested in not gaining attention, and existing their undeath without comment. We see no reason not to let them. Obviously law breaking undead need to be stopped.
The Bureau has tenuous contacts into this most secretive of communities. Those liches in the United States are here because they do not want attention. They are willing to see they don't get attention including outing attention whores.
Category:Creatures
Category:Supernatural
Category:Bureau 13