Liliana Marduke

Written by RiverFang

We blessed few know how close the truth of life is to the reality of death. So why should we not use that reality to bring us a new truth, one free of the constructs that our first life chains us with?

— Liliana Marduke

A purple cloak, clasped tight at her throat, flutters gracefully behind her as she walks down the stairs to the catacombs that have become her haven. From the spider web of hallways, others bow their heads at the woman, their bodies shrouded in blacks and purples twisting in intricate gestures to show their allegiance. Deeper into the catacombs she goes, the sounds of screams and hollow moans gracing her face with a smile that speaks of horrors and hallowed halls. As she moves closer to the guttural screams, they slowly fade, those that were screaming bowing their heads as well, whispering forgiveness from this woman in mantras of prayer.
The dark woman who commands such reverence is known as the Queen of Death. Passerby and her order alike grant her this title with equal parts reverence and fear, knowing full well the capabilities of a powerful magic-user. Liliana Marduke dabbles in the magic of death, a necromancer of her own design. By practice and oath, she is a Cleric of Drasil, one who believes that death is an inevitable fact, but it is also a path to a greater life. Her convictions in her faith and her power in necromancy led her to the catacombs beneath the Human Empire and a following of Clerics known only as the Order of the Ashen Tree.
Even in the darkest corners of Isekai, necromancy is something that few dabble in, mostly hiding in the darkest corners with the likes of vampires and others of the night. Once a Cleric of Ygg, Liliana found the darker side of her divine magic when her brother's illness and possible death forced her away from the light magic that she had always wielded. Now, armed with the power of death, she strives to wield that power as medicine, as another way of healing those that need the strongest magics to survive. Through the Ashen Tree, she will make this vision a reality.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

The name Liliana Marduke is one that has always been synonymous with the Queen of Death. The woman did not exist before the days of the Order of the Ashen Tree, suddenly appearing in the streets of Stronghold with her band of like-minded Clerics. From the whispers on the street, it seems that her Order had existed with her at the helm under the city for decades, living in secret, but that seemed like an impossibility when the woman that presented a front of strength and smugness was no more than a Human of mere two decades.
With the infamous vampire living just miles outside of the walls of Stronghold, the residents of the city strayed away from the catacombs and those that walked from them wearing the dark colors of blacks and purples that Liliana was known for. It was assumed that she was also afflicted with the Vampiric Curse, and was nothing more than another of the pets of the Witch Queen Catherine Nightbreeze. As the rumors spread about the queen's supposed pet, the Clerics on the fringes flocked to Liliana and her Order, hoping to change the societal ideas that had been inflicted so tightly upon them as Clerics.

Flock to me my children, for we should not be locked in the same cage as the bloodsuckers for our choice of magic. Death is a part of life, and necromancy is not so far removed from the arsenal of all healers. It is our right to heal in our way, no different than the witches and herbalists of our world.

— Liliana Marduke

Unlike Alexander Cross, Liliana Marduke was not afflicted with the Vampiric Curse, nor was she one of the despised pets of the Witch Queen. Once a Cleric of the Life Domain, a family tragedy had driven her to the brink of madness, a precipice where she had found the healing uses of necromancy. Forced out of the established hospitals and other places of healing in the winding streets of Stronghold, she was forced below into the decrepit catacombs, carving out a place that was lovingly named Death's Landing by those that would come to follow her.
While the hospital of the Order of the Ashen Tree was on the fringes of Human society, it soon became a popular place to turn when grave illness or lack of the necessary funds to aid loved ones struck a family. Healing behind the closed doors of the underground hospital, the Order was known for its many successes, although often with twisted outcomes later. Families spoke of their loved ones acting like undead, but many were grateful for their still-living family members. These small successes began to change the way that many in Stronghold thought about necromancy, so much so that the Order and its list of patients often grew in exponential spurts.
The failures of the Order and their healing were few, but the Order never attributed their failures to their own work. When the use of necromancy created strong, rampaging undead, Liliana herself was quick to blame the tainted presence of Cross in the Starlit Tower. The presence of a vampire could only explain why their magic had suddenly gone so wrong when they had many successes in the past. The citizens were often quick to agree, despising the Queen and her pets. Neither the Queen nor Cross put much stock in the work that the Order was supposedly doing, but their intentions were seemingly harmless enough.

Species

Humans

Age

Unknown

Eyes

Dark

Hair

Long, black

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Fair

Height

5'10"

Weight

130 lbs

Aligned Organization

Order of the Ashen Tree

Ruled Locations

• Death's Landing

Related Historical Events

• 256 EA
  Creation of the Order of the Ashen Tree

Order of the Ashen Tree

The Order of the Ashen Tree is an order of Death Domain Clerics led by Liliana Marduke. This group is known for their faith in the pinnacle of the Death Pantheon, Drasil, and their continuous use of necromancy as a form of medicine.
Established roughly fifty years ago, the Order makes their home in a serious of catacombs under the capital of the Human Empire that are often called Death's Landing. Within the catacombs, the order makes their home, having a centralized temple and a small hospital in the catacombs that once served as burial chambers for the city's elite. Now it is a place of healing, for Liliana and her order to practice the unwanted magic that sets them apart from many casters in the world.
Death Domain Clerics are some of the select few that dabble in necromancy, leaving other casters to utilize the spells that do not deal with the reality of death. The Order believes that with these spells and this brand of magic, they can create new life, essentially granting those who wish it, a life longer than that of even the Elves.