Early History
Crowle Parlow grew up in Sumner during a time of immense stress and anxiety. His nation, Heldrin, in which Sumner was the capital was in a tense cold war with their neighbour to the west Roseport. And to make matters worse, their eternal rivals to the north Aldelgis had been building more army barracks near their shared borders. Including a large gated barracks where the main trade route once stood, officially barring entrance from any outsiders.
This tension is how Parlow would spend his youth, and really his entire life within, it would shape who he would become and eventually fuel his nationalism and addiction to serve his country.
Parlow's parents were also extremely patriotic to Heldrin and to the king and pushed Parlow to serve the country in the best way he could. Parlow who was not physically strong would study hard and become intellectually strong, easily outpacing his cohorts in early education.
Eventually, this would lead Parlow, aged 18, to enroll in the Royal Willheim Erneis College, a new educational college that had only been open a few years and was dedicated to Heldrin's current king.
Parlow as a young man, he was always pale and somewhat thin.
The Royal Willheim Erneis College still stands to this day several hundred years later. And inspiring individuals such as
Doctor Rowan Roux have attended the institution.
Parlow would spend the next four years in the college, and would quietly and rather uneventfully earn a doctorate in history and arcane studies here. Though he would not be taught any real magic here, just the study and history behind it. His real magic education would come shortly afterwards though, once his doctorate was achieved he would enroll himself in the equally prestigious Sumner Sorcerers College. Parlow has already begun to dabble in the arcane casting arts here and there, teaching himself to light candles and create whispering sounds and the like. But would learn much much more during his time at the Sumner Sorcerers College.
He would end up spending the next two decades of his life here, first earning his Sorcerous and Magicks Degree in three short years, much faster than the usual five it took most at the time. But would be quickly hired on by the college as an understudy and researcher, helping professors teaching classes during the day and then joining the college's council to assist in spell development and research. Parlow would be extremely good at this and within five years was teaching as a full-time professor and continuing his duties as spell researcher.
Parlow during his early years tenured at the Sumner Sorcerers College.
And despite being a well-respected, though strict teacher, he would yearn to serve his country more directly and would apply to join to king's Royal Court. At age 42 he would be accepted into the courts as one of a dozen royal sorcerer advisors.
Giving advice on all things magic related, including, how to elevate the army's strength using magical means to give them a leg up in their war against Roseport.
Parlow revelled in this position, making suggestions at every turn, both grand and small anything he could do to make an impact and serve his country. Anything to defeat Roseport.
But to his dismay, his ideas would reach the ears of no one, especially not the king. He did not gain much renown or respect in court and was often just a background player that was frequently ignored. He would spend six full years trying and failing to be heard.
Growing more and more frustrated and desperate as time went on Parlow began to feel like his time was quickly coming to a close. Young up-and-comers were passing him by with ease. He felt that his time was waning and regretfully limited. Most adults in that era only lived to about sixty, and Parlow was now close to his fifties. He needed a way to serve his country better, to be heard, and make an impact. Something extreme needed to happen that could help them subjugate not only Roseport but all their enemies. Maybe even take over
The Empire of Aldelgis one day, Heldrin's sworn and bitter rivals. An idea like that would get him heard. But he would need time, time and a source of power that could not be ignored.
Delving into Necromancy
Parlow becoming more and more desperate to find a way to serve his nation in his aging body would gather any and all intel on radical forms of magic. Eventually, he would stumble upon an old manuscript, said to have been written by a necromancer a thousand years ago. The manuscript taught the basics of what necromancy was, including the rituals and required components to achieve certain spells. Spells that could allow a mage to commune with the dead, and even raise them as bound slaves.
Once Parlow began to delve into necromancy, became gaunter and would form extremely sunken eyes. He brushed off those that showed concern saying it was merely a cosmetic affliction.
This spun Parlow's mind into endless thoughts and possibilities, so many things he could achieve for the nation. Being able to speak to a dead soldier or spy of an enemy, forcing them to magical spill their country's secrets. Stitch together and reanimate dying and lost soldiers.
And even more so, more radically so, he could potentially raise an entire army of skeletal and undead creatures and march them into battle on the behalf of his king. An army whose resources could not be quelled, soldiers could be endlessly replenished simply by raising them again and again or sourcing them by other means even.
They could collect the defeated, grow their army even larger, or just source them from the poor and homeless. Thousands of them died in the city yearly, and could easily be dug up and put to use, it would be their way of repaying society.
So many things to achieve and learn, so many possible ways to serve his country and become one of its greatest mages.
And to Parlow's shock and amazing, the best secrete of all was instilled in this manuscript. The blueprints on how to turn oneself into a lich, an immortal being of immense magical might and prowess. Though the stages were incomplete, the necromancer of the manuscript failed to accomplish the feat. Much research needed to be conducted still. But Parlow was a willing subject, and his becoming a lich would soon consume his life. And cause his downfall.
Parlow would continue his duties as a mage advisor on the council but would step back and become quieter while he did his research. He would spend an additional twelve-plus years conducting his own personal research, learning the ways of a necromancer, and writing it all down in a series of
journals that would become infamous.
Diary of an Aspiring Lich and Death
During these twelve years, Parlow would consume any text and teachings of necromancy he could find. He would begin to experiment on himself first. Deadening his limbs on purpose with special necrotic and corrosive tinctures before reviving them using newly researched necromantic spells. Soon he would escalate his research, stealing corpses from nearby cemeteries, and even several dozen fresh corpses of the homeless and the poor.
In the latter case offering the bereaving families a few coins ' bereavements' acting as an 'official' sympathizer of the state before absconding with the corpse and a promise to bury their deceased in a state cemetery. The families would never be able to find their loved ones' gravesites, as Parlow had no intention of doing as he said.
Instead, he would use these bodies in spell research and experiments. First, he would learn how to resurrect these bodies, but it would only last a short while. A few minutes at first, then with time and practice a few hours and then eventually days or weeks long as long as he continued to pump spells into them. If he didn't they would collapse into piles of rotting flesh and stagnant refuse.
Once he mastered this he turned to further grotesque experiments, sawing off limbs and constructing monstrosities that he would attempt to raise as servants. All of this was under the justification that it would eventually serve his nation and that his army of undead creatures would only help Heldrin defeat his enemies.
Parlow during his later years would strike a haunting figure.
All the while he continued his research into lichdom, and would occasionally cast various spells on himself to push himself more and more towards becoming a lich himself.
During this time, he would keep extensive notes in a series of several journals that would become known as
The Diary of an Aspiring Lich. Heavily edited versions would reach the general public several hundred years later to serve as a cautionary tale against necromancy. Though some say it otherwise and began to worship Parlow as a potential saviour of the realm. These people would become known as the
The Crowle Community for Necromantic Research and History, and would even gain access to less edited versions of Parlow's Journals.
Unfortunately for Parlow, his behaviour in court would become more and more erratic and bizarre and he would be dismissed from his position.
Aghast and disgusted by his king's decision he threw himself further into his research, determined to achieve his goals and show them what they were missing in his research.
But, he wouldn't have long to do so, as shortly after his dismissal a guard contingent, including several mages were sent to investigate strange noises and smells from Parlow's abode.
The collected group sent by the king's court would break into Parlow's home when he wouldn't answer their calls.
Inside they would find all of Parlow's research hidden underground in a secret series of chambers. Panicked Parlow would order his servants of the undead to attack the group while he attempted to flee. Several guards were killed but the might of the mages present were able to subdue Parlow. Parlow did not himself retaliate, and eventually submitted to his jailors.
Parlow would be sentenced to life imprisonment for his gross actions, and new laws banning the practice of necromancy would be established in Heldrin. Laws that sit to this day, and which the Crowle Community constantly sits on a fine line.
Doctor Crowle Parlow would die several months after his imprisonment, in -12 ToR (Time of Roses), starved in his jail cell after his guards 'forgot' to feed him for a few weeks. Parlow had become a shell in his search for immortality and the cost of necromantic powers, becoming frail and gaunt even before his short time in prison. Ironically his dream of defeating Roseport and taking them by force would never happen. Only a few short years later, the Time of Roses would officially come to an end with Roseport officially agreeing to become a part of the Nation of Heldrin. Due in part to the aftereffects of the
The War of Dredarek that spanned between -8 ToR and -5 ToR. This new era would be called The Era of Crowns.
An interesting take on the prompt, as the doctor is but a misunderstood man with good intent (for his kingdom at least). I really liked the image descriptions and the summary at the beginning, very handy with lengthy articles to hook the reader from the get-go!
Thanks! And yeah, a lot of my articles tend to get a little wordy so I like to include a small summary near the top on most of them haha.