Arch-Lich Jend

The guildmaster of Magpie's Nest. He managed to find remnants of Dleifrag's research around the Black Lotus. He formed the guild Magpie's Nest in Duranil to procure resources from the continent and find more information about this Black Lotus - even securing a position as a Warlord of Duranil to gain the resources of allied Warlords. He managed to create an imperfect yet powerful version of the Black Lotus and made it his phylactery.

## Personality & Appearance

Jend was a calculating and ruthless leader. He wore extravagant purple robes of the archmagi that were decorated with bejeweled armor plates - secured with a belt of fire giant strength and wielded a rod of absorption that looked like a dark purple spear with an amethyst carved to look like a black hole. Despite his magical prowess, he prefers to hire or brainwash others into elaborate schemes that are difficult to trace back to him. One such example was using *dominate person* on a Vershnilan messenger headed for Srinshe, Jeezls and their twins to deliver a package for Bond, then used that messenger to make an offering to them to join him, stay out of his way, or perish with the Mark when he goes for his future plans.

## History

### The Mysterious Mine

Although the means are unknown, Jend had managed to become a powerful lich with his creation - an imperfect Black Lotus - serving as his phylactery. Upon becoming a Warlord of Duranil, he devoted his resources to turn his creation - the guild Magpie's Nest - into a formidable force to maintain his status as Warlord and to quell dissidents. He did dispatch agents to disrupt opposing guilds and make attempts to secure footholds in the magical resources of other nations. One of his most notable early attempts was sending a drow wizard "B'ryiann the Arachnomancer" to secure a mysterious mine in Avia that was once a forge of magic items in the days of Ghamida. Raven's Mark was hired by Rangrim Balderk's wife to help find him. The guild members of Raven's Mark would eventually be involved in a series of jobs that led to the defeat of the Magpie's Nest group Jend sent.

### The Clutches of Sef

When entrepreneur Jozef B. Sef sought a means to acquire the property of the slums for low prices, Jend recieved a letter from him seeking help. Jend knew of Coleen's necromancy study in catacombs underneath the slums and sent someone to steal Calos' grimoire to give to Sef. Members of Raven's Mark eventually found out that Sef was behind the undead rising in the slums, uncovered the catacombs he was using, and then used them to sneak into Sef's manor to defeat and arrest him - showing the mayor the evidence gathered. Sef never told authorities of Jend's involvement and Jend had an agent burn their correspondence before the authorities could find it.

### The Trial of the Gudfloyen

When the previous Raptor King died and the exemplars chosen to undertake the Trial of the Gudfloyen to become the next ruler of Avia were announced, Jend reached out to Acantha Aviravner. He proposed an alliance of subterfuge to kill of the other exemplars to make her Raptor Queen. He promised Duranil's allegiance to her, the use of Magpie's Nest's spymasters - including her own personal rakshasa servant. Ultimately, members of Raven's Mark overthrew Acantha's plans and elevated Alena Avihegre to Raptor Queen. With her coronation, Alena named Raven's Mark as Avia's finest adventuring guild and even relied on Marko and Jo as confidants. Acantha was imprisoned and managed to cover up her involvement with Jend to avoid treason charges.

### Veldeo's Sabotage Attempts

Realizing Raven's Mark had gotten stronger than he had anticipated, Jend realized he needed to destroy the kingdom's faith in them. At the same time, Avian nobles who wanted the Raptor Queen to be their puppet were quite disappointed in how outspoken she was - especially on the topic of enriching the hard-working people of Avia and rooting out the normalized corruption that was prevalent in Avia. Knowing that Veldeo of Miraazid would be the one these conservative nobles would rally under, Jend reached out to him and offered the aid of Magpie's Nest to help sabotage "Alena's Avia" and make Raven's Mark look like the causes of these sabotages. Although they were nearly successful in turning the populace against Raven's Mark, the combined efforts of the Raptor Queen, Avia's generals, and members of Raven's Mark defeated these ploys and cornered Veldeo in his manor. Unwilling to flee, he tried to beguile the strike force from Raven's Mark then fell in battle when they reached him. Raven's Mark would comb his manor and find his letters to Jend.

### Summoning Everast

While Raven's Mark was plotting their retaliation with the events that would set off the Battle of the Warlords, Jend had encountered tales of a being feared by deities and demonic princes alike - Evervast the Insatiable. Jend had left the task of continuing operations on the continent of Gharmidh to his most trusted guild members then traveled to Avernus with his dracolich servant - Balerion the Dead. He easily fought through the githyanki fortress that served as Avernus' gateway to where Evervast was imprisoned and began setting up an apparatus that would resurrect them and bind them to do his bidding. Deities called out for champions to gather and stop him - winding up gathering members of Raven's Mark to step in. Realizing he would be outmatched by the members of Raven's Mark, Jend decided to destabilize the apparatus and escape via a *plane shift* spell. He hoped that the detonation of the apparatus and Evervast would erase them from existence - crippling Raven's mark and allowing him to storm through Gharmidh unopposed.

### The Battle of the Warlords

In his absence, Jend learned that the alliance of Raven's Mark, Ale Mightfang, Varuni the Uniter, Merisaleth and Jekser had managed to defeat most of the other Warlords. Jend rallied Magpie's Nest and King Dorlan Boulderhill's forces with awesome displays of destructive magic that began destroying the battlements this alliance made on the ground they had taken. Realizing they would have to end Jend or watch him storm through the continent, the alliance planned to storm Magpie's nest. A strike force of Raven's Mark's most powerful members was assembled to go take him down. Despite his last stand being on his own turf, Jend was ultimately defeated. He had hoped that the party would bargain with him as his Black Lotus would cause an explosion on the scale of what wiped out Ghamida. However, Corashtai convinced the celestials of Lathander that marched alongside the alliance to imprison him and his phylactery in the most secure prison and vault on their plane - hoping to never hear from him again. Magpie's Nest fell apart shortly after with members either getting executed or fading away into obscurity.

## Powers & Abilities

### Powerful Lich

Although his specialty school of magic is never known, his grimoire carries an extensive spell list suited for various purposes such as protection, subterfuge, and destroying his opponents. He primarily uses his spells to protect himself from anticipated foes and set up his foes for powerful blasts - such as using *contingency* to cast *Otiluke's resilient sphere* when he is attacked and freezing his opponents in place with *time stop* then spending the frozen time to prepare a powerful *delayed blast fireball*. He was also capable of turning a red dragon to a dracolich that served him begrudgingly and binding a rakshasa to serve him and try to sabotage Raven's Mark - even when he was sealed away in the Celestial Plane. He even had the potential to bind Evervast - an elder god feared by all divine beings to the point where gods of good and evil made a neutral plane where neither may enter in order to imprison them.

Although he primarily relied on his magic, he also demonstrated his success with the ritual to become a lich by utilizing the capabilities of powerful undead to strike fear into the living and to rot their bodies.

### Extensive Network

With the combination of his leadership, intellect, and wealth, Jend was able to provide necessary knowledge and pushes to those who wanted to push their own agendas in Avia - even giving them resources and even courage to go up against Raven's Mark. He provided Jozef B. Sef with the knowledge of the hidden catacombs under Corvus' slums that were a necromancy workshop of great power. He also gave Veldeo of Miraazid henchman - including a rakshasa - to try to undermine the Raptor Queen Alena Avihegre.