About seventeen hundred years ago the Empire of Elam rose. At its height, it controlled all the land mass of the main continent from the frozen north to the lush south, and fully across from east to west. That empire lasted some three hundred years before it fell due to mysterious circumstances. It is held by popular belief that the emperor of Elam learned the secrets of necromancy and transformed himself into a lich. Legend tells he then retreated to a hidden fortress deep in a secluded region of his empire which is now called Marlek.
The Emperor's Journey
After Emperor Marlek left the ancient empire of Elam, his fate became the stuff of legends in the World of Rodinia. Marlek’s journey eastward over the mountains was fraught with peril, but driven by his quest for immortality, he endured. In the desolate lands beyond Elam, he sought the forbidden knowledge that would grant him the power to transcend death.
It is said that Marlek found an ancient crypt, hidden deep within the wastelands, where he performed a dark ritual to become a lich—a powerful undead sorcerer. As a lich, Marlek gained the immortality he so desperately sought, but at a great cost. His humanity was stripped away, leaving him a twisted shadow of his former self, bound to the very crypt that housed his phylactery, the source of his undead life.
A Legend Is Born
Over the centuries, Marlek’s name faded from the memory of the living, and he became a mere whisper in the tales told by the fireside. Yet, some adventurers, drawn by the lure of ancient magic and the promise of untold power, still seek the lich’s crypt, hoping to uncover the secrets Marlek died to possess.
And so, Marlek’s legacy endures, not as a once-great emperor of a mighty empire, but as a cautionary tale of the price of eternal life.
