Vecna

Vecna was described as a powerful wizard from Albion who became a lich. He was eventually destroyed over one thousand years ago, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive.

## Background

### Rise of the Lich

Vecna was born as a human in the year 2418 BP as a member of the untouchable caste in the city of **Rastlinburg** in Albion. He was initially trained by his mother, Mazzel, in the art of magic, before she was executed by the **Church of Yenosh** for practicing witchcraft. Vowing revenge, Vecna eventually assumed a mastery of the dark arts achieved by no mortal before or since.

Nearly one thousand years after his birth, Vecna, now a lich and ruler of a great and terrible empire (in the Necrid Wastes, a harsh and uninhabitable region of the Kaspian Desert), laid siege to the city of Rastlinburg with an army of arcane spellcasters, demons, and undead. Legend has it that Vecna was nearly slain in this battle by clerics channeling the power of **Pelor**, the god of light. The clerics unleashed a great burst of light, which hit Vecna primarily on his left side. Vecna was rescued and brought to safety by one of his generals, a powerful demon named **Malacore**.

Vecna eventually recovered. On the verge of conquering Rastlinburg, the officials of the city came before him to beg for mercy. They offered up the entire city and her wealth if only Vecna would spare the lives of its citizens. When Vecna was not satisfied, the officials offered their own lives. Vecna gave one of their number, Artau, and his family, over to his lieutenant, **Kas**, who spent the entire day torturing and murdering them before the other officials. Still unsatisfied, Vecna slaughtered all within the city, and had their heads stacked before the officials, with those of their family members prominent. Vecna then granted his mercy, granting the officials leave to depart, and promising them his protection for the rest of their lives. Rastlinburg was then sacked and destroyed by Vecna's forces.

At his empire's height, Vecna was betrayed and destroyed by his most trusted lieutenant, a vampire called Kas the Bloody-Handed, using a magical sword that Vecna himself had crafted for him, now known as the Sword of Kas. Only his left hand and his eye survived the battle, perhaps because of the previous events in Rastlinburg.

### Ascent to Godhood

Vecna did not stay gone forever, and rose as a demigod of magic and secrets in the world of Xesteria. In 763 BP, his cult helped set events in motion that would have granted him the power of a greater god, but the plan was ultimately foiled. After these events, Vecna ended up imprisoned in the demiplane of **Nowhere**, but broke free again later, emerging with the power of a greater god, after killing the god Yenosh and draining him of his power. He then broke free into Artalia City, where he came perilously close to rearranging all existence to his whims. Vecna was challenged by a collection of Ehlonna and Pelor aligned clerics led by **Augustus Pridewind**, heir to the throne of Artalia at the time. The climax of the battle with Vecna caused a swirling vortex of death to engulf much of the city, including Augustus and the majority of his forces. Those who remained were able to subdue the weakened Vecna, returning him to Nowhere greatly reduced in power, though still a lesser god. He is believed to remain there to this day.

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