Aumvor the Undying

Since abandoning his keep in the Lonely Moor over seventeen centuries ago, Aumvor has laired in the depths of the Endless Caverns, far below the sheltering boughs of the High Forest and the forested slopes of the southwestern Star Mounts. The lich has claimed a series of limestone caverns carved by a forgotten clan of Ammarindaran dwarves, which are periodically enveloped from below by a long arm of Araumycos.

Access to the lich’s lair is restricted to tunnels flooded by a tributary of the Unicorn Run that rises as a spring near the river’s headwaters. As a result, anyone approaching the complex must survive passage through bitingly cold waters without access to air. The walls of the lair are lined with naturally occurring veins of lead and painted with gorgon’s blood to render teleportation into or out of the complex impossible. A one-way portal in the heart of the lair exits into the bowels of Aumvor’s old keep in the Lonely Moor, but the lich has never found cause to use it.

Aumvor’s quarters are richly appointed with the trappings of a highborn Netherese archmage. The lich’s servants scour ruins across the North in search of heirlooms dating back to the Netherese diaspora. Aumvor particularly prizes tapestries and sculptures depicting scenes of Netherese society from his youth. The lich also maintains extensive laboratories, well stocked with the decaying corpses of his experimental subjects.

The lich’s storerooms house all manner of magical treasures forged by Netherese artisans. Some of the more legendary artifacts he is believed to hold or have held in his living vault include the Alicorn Diadem of Sharrven, the Bonestaff of Sadebreth, the Crown of Horns, the Jewel Cage of Congenio, and the pyramid-shaped Tear of Ascore. In addition, Aumvor is believed to own a massive library of spell tomes, most of them acquired from dozens of crypts scattered across the North by the first wave of Netherese emigrants.

Aumvor is personally attended by several dozen absolutely loyal servitors and guards, including both living zombies and various other types of undead. On rare occasions the lich has taken a living apprentice, assuming the student shows great promise and is of Netherese heritage, but few survive the apprenticeship. Those who do not are usually transformed into spectral mages and forced to serve the Undying One for eternity.

Aumvor claims all of the Endless Caverns as his domain, although several other powerful creatures (such as Grimnosthtasdrano, the “Riddling Dragon”) and factions (such as a band of illithids and drow slavers) would strongly contest such a claim should the lich choose to try to enforce it. In practice, Aumvor holds sway over the northwest quarter of the Endless Caverns, and his creations wander freely in this region, far from the unwelcome light of day.

As one of the last surviving arcanists of fallen Netheril—if a lich can truly said to be “surviving”—Aumvor hoards every scrap of knowledge he can acquire regarding his long-dead homeland, in preparation for the day when Netheril rises anew under his stewardship. The lich is wise enough to realize that founding a petty kingdom and calling it Netheril will never recapture the glories of that which was lost. So Aumvor seeks to rekindle the culture of magical experimentation and investigation that grew up in the early days of Netheril and thus seed the rebirth of a culture of magecraft that will grow to rule all of Faerûn. He also labors to escape Mystra’s strictures on the most powerful workings of the Art, and thereby to remove the limits he feels might eventually stifle his Netherese empire reborn. Above all else, Aumvor sees keeping himself “alive” as of chief importance, for he is convinced that only he has the vision and the drive to see his plan through.

For centuries, Aumvor has quietly observed promising candidates of strong Netherese bloodlines and placed scrolls and tomes of simple spells where they will be discovered by those showing promise in the Art. Through his agents, Aumvor has then subtly encouraged such individuals to master ancient Netherese traditions and then teach their insights to others he directs to their door. Although Aumvor’s actions in this regard are not unlike that of Mystra’s servitors, the lich’s intent is far more sinister, for he deliberately encourages those of Netherese descent who rebel against any limitation on their workings of the Art.

As an extension of this approach, Aumvor has also labored from the shadows to start schools of wizardry in the lands of the Netherese diaspora. Evidence of his guiding hand is seen in Briel’s School of the Arcane in Baldur’s Gate, the Brotherhood of the Black Hand in Ascalhorn, and Ulcaster’s School of Conjuration in Beregost. However, the legacy of such efforts has largely been one of spectacular failure, and from such bitter lessons Aumvor has concluded that he must concentrate his efforts on nurturing the master/apprentice relationship, the linchpin on which the culture of Netherese magecraft was built.

Perhaps most disquieting of the lich’s deeds was Aumvor’s attempt to claim Laeral Silverhand as his bride by placing the Crown of Horns where it would be discovered by the Nine adventuring band. It is unclear whether the lich sought to tempt the Witch-Queen of the North with access to lost Netherese magics or simply to bind her will to his, but the plot failed spectacularly when Laeral descended into madness, thanks to the magical conflict between the artifact and Mystra’s silver fire, and turned on her companions. Although Khelben eventually rescued Laeral from the stronghold of the Nine, neither archmage ever learned of Aumvor’s culpability, or the Lord and Lady of Blackstaff Tower would have sought revenge on the Undying One long ago.

Although Aumvor has yet to escape Mystra’s strictures on the lost spells of yore, his research into epic spellcasting has proven productive. Fruits of the lich’s study include such spells as Aumvor’s fragmented phylactery and Aumvor’s soulshatter. Aumvor’s greatest success is, of course, ensuring his continued survival. His creation of living zombies sustained him for centuries, until he was forced to embrace lichdom. However, his all-consuming paranoia and careful cunning have done more to ensure his continued survival than even his magic.

Aumvor is heir to the great tradition of Netherese magic and a skilled practitioner in the Art. The Undying One has created innumerable spells and magic items over the centuries, and he continues his ceaseless experimentation. Two epic spells of note include Aumvor’s fragmented phylactery and Aumvor’s soulshatter.

Aumvor’s phylactery is the rune-inscribed skeleton of Dethed, a former apprentice of Ioulaum and rival of Aumvor. Aumvor has cast his fragmented phylactery spell on his phylactery repeatedly, and scattered the individual bones of Dethed in caches hidden throughout the Endless Caverns (as well as a few in locations farther afield). Most of the 206 bones have been cloaked against all manner of divination, including detection for magic, for undead, or for location of Dethed’s remains.

The return of the Shadovar to the Realms has disrupted many of Aumvor’s plans, but also provided the Undying One with great opportunities. The lich has yet to approach the inhabitants of Shade or make himself known to them. Instead, he has chosen to observe the shades as they investigate many sites he has already plundered. Of course, the Shadovar also pose a great threat to the lich, for he holds much of the lost Netherese lore that they seek, and, once they become aware of his position, the Princes of Shade might well hunt him down without mercy.