Nekros

''“Do you truly think to destroy me? Foolish fleshling, I am immortal here. The attempt of striking against me is as futile as striking an ATEDA itself.”''



Nekros, an Echmer Lich, is a powerful necromancer and the enemy of all living sentient races on Yneslea as well as the rest of Nirn. He is also known by the titles Lord of the Rotting Darkness, Ravisher of Souls, and the Wraith Behind The Shadow. When he was younger he was once known by his birth name Asklepios. Born in the 230th of the Second Aeon he succeeded in separating his AE from his soul and body, effectively achieving an unique form of lichdom. He currently resides within his Exilium, which generates a his own personal pocket realm where he can perform his dark experiments largely undisturbed.

Childhood and Early Years
Asklepios was born in Sect Os, a well-respected Echmer family in the Urb of Oexra’numsaz. It was clear from a very young age that he would grow up to do great things, with his family members noting he had always been filled with a desire to learn. His greatest interests were alchemy and anatomy, which brought him to the full attention of the Echmer race when he debunked and reformed the Herbarium of the Neglectful Acceptance at only fourteen years of age. This act secured him a position of authority in the Acceptance once he finished his ten years in the Institution.

Graduation and Start of Darkness
At the age of eight (a full adult under Echmer law) Asklepios left the Institution and joined the Neglectful Acceptance to further his studies into anatomy and physiology. He began to conduct independent trials on the wildlife of the Dweech, dissecting them to analyze the ways the body functioned, especially regarding magicka and the soul. Many praised him for his daring and initiative in his research; unknown to his colleagues however was that Asklepios was secretly reading into necromancy, an art universally reviled by all Echmer. Having been branded by REVE-WUM (Mannimarco/Revenant) and the IDE-MAS (Ideal Masters) as one of their servants in the mortal plane, he received tutorage from them on controlling corpses and souls. The end goals of the corrupted Echmer was to become undead in order to continue studying death-magick well into eternity.

REVE-WUM and the IDE-MAS needed one final display of his loyalty however before revealing to him the secrets of lichdom: they wanted his entire family’s souls trapped within black soul gems as offerings. His compassion having long since left him, Asklepios brutally massacred his entire bloodline in their home (he especially left a more horrifying fate for his cousin Ophelos because of their intense hatred of one another, whose soul he sent to wander the Soul Cairn aimlessly). Leaving a message in their blood on the wall, he discarded his birth name and assumed the vile title of Nekros and fled into the darkest reaches of the Dweech.

Lichdom and Conquest
The necromancer discovered a forgotten Protoechi ruin in the darkness, which he immediately transformed into a new home (he also discovered a great deal of ancient contraptions within it, one of which being an Exilium). Although REVE-WUM and the IDE-MAS had yielded their knowledge to him as agreed for his services, Nekros discovered that due to Echmer souls being drawn to the Void upon death (thus ceasing to exist) the Tamrielic form of lichdom would not work for him. He instead began to work on a new form of undeath, something unique for his own people. Eventually he devised a way of severing his AE (spirit) – which contained his mind, personality, and memories – from his soul and bound them within a phylactery. As long as he wore the phylactery (and the object wasn’t destroyed) his corpse would remain active indefinitely. He eventually used this painful process on himself and ascended into lichdom, becoming a trusted ally of both REVE-WUM and the IDE-MAS.

Seeking to eventually transform the entire population of Yneslea into undead (which in his mind was the ultimate state a person could hope to attain), he began to capture and persuade young Echmer to his belief system. These misguided individuals formed the Brotherhood of the Bloody Skull and began to venerate/quasi-worship Nekros as a demigod. The Lord of the Rotting Darkness began to terrorize both the Dweech and the surface of the archipelago with undead abominations and his followers, with his sigil (the aforementioned Bloody Skull) soon becoming the most feared mark in the entirety of Yneslea. The necromancer made sure to randomly attack places, which he hoped would confuse the Council of Dull Chimes so they wouldn’t be able to predict his movements. And it was in this confusion that Nekros finally made his move.

War and Fall
In 2A 261 Nekros traveled to the island of Pasgaviati with half of his army in hopes of persuading Magus-Premier Aar ō n (the vampire leader of the Elemental Sodality and fellow undead) to his side. When the Magus-Premier refused, repulsed by Nekros’ depravity, the Ravisher of Souls ordered his forces to attack Mustikos’arcere in the Battle of Pasgaviati. Nekros and Aar ō n immediately transported themselves to an open field to commence a battle of magic, bending the primal forces of the world to their very will.

To keep the Council of Dull Chimes from aiding Mustikos’arcere the other half of Nekros’ army attacks his former home of Oexra’numsaz in the Siege of Death. The Shattering Fusion rallies the Echmer army and a battle for the ages begin. Nekros and his ilk fights ferociously, committing all of their strength and power to both the Urb and Mustikos’arcere. The necromancer would have been victorious if the Hidden Perception hadn’t devised a brilliant plan. As soon as the citizens were evacuated from Oexra’numsaz, oil was flooded throughout the city and lit on fire. Most of Nekros’ army burnt to smoldering ashes (although a few escaped), which weakened the necromancer himself. Aar ō n was then able to gain the upper-hand during their duel, and lit Nekros in an inferno before throwing the necromancer into the Bitter Sea. While many celebrated the death of the necromancer Aar ō n himself believed that his foe had survived, for he had “become more than mere mortal”.

And the Magus-Premier was right; Nekros was far from dead. Having placed several charms upon his phylactery to the point where it was virtually indestructible, the necromancer survived and made his way back to his Protoechi Stronghold. With his entire army either turned to ash or captured, Nekros saw no other way but to take his Exilium to a hidden place and enter it, creating a pocket realm in Oblivion so he could continue his necromantic rituals until the end of time.

Legacy
Although Nekros hasn’t been seen on Yneslea in more than a thousand years his presence is still felt by the Echmer populace all the way into the Fourth Aeon. He has become somewhat of evil folk figure in Echmer legend, appearing as the “Wraith Behind The Moon” to corrupt Echmer (particularly children) into committing amoral acts. His name has become a common curse to the Bat Elves (“May Nekros steal you!”, “I hope Nekros eyes your spirit tonight!”), and many ancient legends and fabled artifacts (like the Nekrosarkophagos) have even been unintentionally modified to include the reviled figure.

 When MOBAL (Molag Bal) attempted to draw Nirn into Coldharbour with his Dark Anchors back in 2A 279 the Brotherhood of the Bloody Skull outcasts resurfaced in order to aid the ATEDA in his plight supposedly at the will of Nekros, but the Lord of the Rotting Darkness himself actually didn’t reappear in order to lead his followers.

Necromancer’s Recluse
Necromancer’s Recluse is the Pocket Realm of Oblivion that Nekros’ Exilium generates, taking on the form of a grisly dungeon with containing trapped souls, vampires, werewolves, and various undead. Here the Lord of Rotting Darkness continues his experiments without interruption, and the screaming is said to never end.