This is 6 out of 7 character profiles, that will be created for my story "Medieval Cohesion".

Full name: Archimedes Kastellos
Specie: Ring-tailed lemur
Age: 34 years old
Gender: Male
Class: Mage/Lich
2nd Class: Archmage/Archlich
Weapon: Tome of Demise
Armor: Mantle

Strength ◙
Defense ◙ ◙
Dexterity ◙ ◙ ◙
Endurance ◙
Agility ◙ ◙ ◙
Magical ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙ ◙

- Abilities -

Elemental Wizardry ~ Archimedes has successfully mastered the element of fire, ice and lightning. As a highly potent spellcaster, he is capable of conjuring powerful spells shaped by these elements, that can cause massive damage to one or more enemies. Some enemies can be resistant or even immune to certain kinds of elements. Archimedes will gain access to more devastating spells, once his class has been promoted.

Transformation ~ Due to the dreadful curse of corruption, that has infested the soul of Archimedes, he can occasionally transform into the dark figure of a hideous lich. During the beginning of his journey, his undead side will only be revealed in rays of moonlight, and cannot be triggered manually. When transformed, Archimedes can no longer cast elemental magic, but will have access to a dark library of death magic.

Claws of Death ~ Most spellcasters rely too much on their magic, and prove to be completely helpless in melee combat. But if the need arises, Archimedes can force his bony claws to grow significantly, becoming razor sharp and increasing his efficiency in melee combat temporarily. The claws are particularly useful when his energy is depleted. This ability can only be used as a lich, and requires the promotion to Archlich.

Teleportation ~ To those that have mastered the magic elements, it is convenient to also manipulate time itself. With this ability, Archimedes can transfer his bodily presence from one location to the other, within a matter of seconds. This spell is excellent for evasion, but can become exhausting if used too many times in a row. Additionally, Archimedes can often access places, that are out of reach for other characters.

Winds of War ~ During his journey with the other adventurers, Archimedes will occasionally be introduced to the element of wind, an arcane power that has been neglected because of its erratic behavior. By manipulating the wind to summon great storms and tornados, Archimedes can cause great damage to larger groups of enemies. But in the hands of an inexperienced wizard, the destruction may strike friend and foe alike. This ability is first available, when Archimedes has obtained the special item, known as the "Heart of Christella"

Plague ~ The highest ranking menaces of the undead empire, stand as the greatest fear among all living creatures, as they become bringers of the "Black Death". After having evolved, Archimedes can summon an utmost lethal cloud of bacterial fumes, that are guaranteed to infect any and every living creature that makes physical contact with it. Undead units are immune to this ability, but every living unit that becomes infected, will suffer a cruel and tormenting death over short time. This ability requires the promotion to Archlich.

- Background -

Archimedes has always been a man veiled in mystery, and not much is known about his past. The few people that has shown interest in getting to know him, found it disturbingly difficult to break the ice, as he is very reluctant with becoming personally involved with others. He is a loner by nature, who carry out his own ambitions in solitude. Nobody seems to have any idea where he came from. Nor does anybody know where he is going next. Archimedes is the kind of person who prefers to keep conversations short. He will never say more than utmost necessary, and usually only speaks when being spoken to. Back in his youth, he developed an unhealthy desire for power. The reason behind this desire for power remains unknown. But since he is a ring-tailed lemur, a specie brought dangerously close to extinction, people believed that he simply sought power to ensure his own survival. Having been born with a natural talent, associated with the conjuration of arcane powers, Archimedes studied at the magic academy in the city of Zaldorama. He spend years studying, absorbing all the knowledge he could from the library. And due to his burning desire to reach his goal, Archimedes eventually surpassed the skills of his highly respected mentor, the grand wizard Sylvanis Hanx. Everyone applauded his success, and his old mentor proudly presented him as one of the top students. But even after having mastered the elements of magic, Archimedes didn’t feel the satisfaction that he was searching for. There were too many magicians out there, with powers equal to his own. He realized that the only way to become truly superior, would be to embrace the forbidden art of black magic, that only few mortals were able to fathom - the arcane powers of death and suffering.

But the dreadful black magic was not available for every fool throughout the world, who happened to desire it. Spells of darkness were only used by the notorious lich king Zervas, and the high ranking liches that served him. And if Archimedes wanted to obtain the knowledge of how to conjure black magic, he would need to steal the unholy Tome of Demise, the ancient book that contained all spells related to death. It was said, that the text written in the tome, was only visible to he who claimed to be its owner. To anyone else, the pages would appear blank, keeping the secrets reserved for he who desires it most. Everyone knew the location of the ancient tome, but few possessed the courage to obtain it, or the will to own such a dark artifact. Rumors claimed that the book was cursed, and that any mortal foolish enough to touch it, would become doomed to face a tragic fate. But Archimedes ignored these rumors, as he refused to let such superstitious bogus become an obstacle, for him to claim this significant power as his own. He knew the tome was kept in Lord Zervas’ dark library, inside the western tower of his gigantic fortress. But to get anywhere near this ancient artifact, Archimedes needed to turn a new stone, and master a skill that came unnatural for a wizard - the art of stealth. And he had no interest in settling with the second best instructor. With much difficulty, Archimedes sought out and located the traveling thief, going by the name Gary Jenkins. It took him no less than eight months to find the elusive scoundrel, but his search finally came to an end, after having tracked him down in the small village called Chalief. The aged thief had years of experience in stealth, and despite of his numerous crimes, no one had ever succeeded in bringing him to justice. He was arguably the most talented thief alive.

Gary Jenkins found it incredibly surprising, that someone had crossed fields and cliffs to find him, without having the intention of claiming the bounty on his head. His confusion increased even further once he learned, that the gloomy sorcerer wished to become his apprentice, to practice the art of stealth and theft. Gary seemed amused by the absurdity, connected with a renegade wizard interested in criminality. Because of this, he accepted Archimedes as his apprentice, and agreed to share his knowledge. Training a wizard for theft and stealth, was a unique challenge that the old thief just couldn’t let go. A couple of years later, Archimedes had absorbed all the knowledge that he was able to comprehend, and felt ready to continue his quest. Gary was still by far the superior thief, but Archimedes was willing to roll the dice, and challenge the dark fortress with the new abilities he had learned. Completely alone, Archimedes located the fortress of Lord Zervas and snuck inside, disguised as a cloaked necromancer. With his face hidden under the dark hood, he blended into the crowd of restless undead, and silently infiltrated the dreadful necropolis. Being closer to death than he ever dreamed of, he eventually made his way into the western tower, and found the artifact he sought in the library. It was the repulsive Tome of Demise, the key to Lord Zervas’ supremacy, the book containing all the dark spells capable of mass destruction. Archimedes grabbed the artifact with no hesitation, before making a swift escape without looking back.

Having left the wicked lich king behind in rage, Archimedes fled from the dark fortress located in the spiritual realm, with the Tome of Demise in possession. Elated by his own success, Archimedes returned to a safe and familiar environment, where he studied the contents of the ancient book. Months went by, and the wizard completely isolated himself from all social contact, while exploring the tome thoroughly. The text was written in an ancient language, that people thought was lost a few centuries ago. But Archimedes was able to translate it, although the process turned out to be very time consuming. The wizard was completely absorbed into his research, and were slow to realize that he had undergone mysterious changes, that evolved ever since he got involved with that tome. His need for rest gradually decreased, until he one day stopped sleeping at all. He completely forgot to eat and drink for days, since there was no hunger or thirst to remind him. Something was definitely not right. But the changes didn't distract him from his research, before he realized that his heart had stopped pounding. He suddenly became extremely self aware, and noticed that he had stopped breathing without thinking about it. His lungs hadn't inhaled fresh oxygen for days, maybe even weeks, but he was still alive. It felt highly unnatural, and he was alarmed by these unnerving signs. Despite his eager to continue his studies, he knew this would be foolish to ignore. Memories eventually returned to his mind, of the rumors attached to the Tome of Demise. Could he really be under the influence of a dark curse? He refused to believe it at first. But the power and immortality he obtained, might have come with a steep price, that not even Archimedes was willing to pay.

Regardless of what was going on, Archimedes refused to back out of his research, now that he had gone so far to obtain the Tome of Demise. But he decided to take a minor break, and distance himself from the ancient book for a few days. But once he had been separated from the tome for just a half day, it felt like all his energy withered away, as if an invisible force was drawing him close to death. He didn't recover before he had returned, and once again had the mysterious book within his reach. This is when he noticed, that it wasn't he who possessed the tome - it was the tome that possessed him. Somehow, a dark link had been created between Archimedes and the Tome of Demise, forcing him to keep it close at all times. Could this be the hideous curse, that everyone had been babbling about? The last traces of doubt came to an end, when Archimedes one night had a ray of moonlight enter the window, of his lonesome cottage in the mountains. His entire body altered before his eyes, and for the first time, he witnessed his own flesh melting away to reveal his true form. While gazing upon his own skeletal hands, he finally realized that the tome was slowly turning him into an undead lich, by corrupting his soul over time. This was a major setback for Archimedes. It was difficult to estimate how long it would take, for this transformation to be complete. But he knew that it was only a matter of time, before this undead form would manifest itself, and turn him into another mindless servant of Zervas. The curse had to be lifted, and time was working against him.

Archimedes abandoned his studies and started investigating, if there were any possible methods of removing this dreadful curse, before his time had expired. He had no interest in becoming a lifeless apparition, being nothing but a manipulated puppet in the hands of the lich king. But unfortunately, even after having read countless books and ancient scrolls, he only managed to locate one theory of how to lift the curse. The only documented suggestion, was to destroy the very same person who created the curse, being no other than Lord Zervas himself. If that didn't work, then nothing would. Since the lich king was recognized for being the most powerful being on earth, Archimedes knew that his fate was sealed, especially if he attempted to challenge Zervas and his forces of undead alone. But nevertheless, Archimedes decided to embark on a lonesome journey, to lift the curse or die trying. With the Tome of Demise in hand, he had a score to settle with the lich king, for having placed this hideous mark of doom upon him. Unaware what dangers lurked ahead, Archimedes kept studying the contents of the ancient tome while traveling, in hopes of being prepared for the final battle that awaits. It became his newfound ambition to master the devastating spells of death, and one day use them against Lord Zervas himself, to send him back to the infernal abyss from which he came. Despite of the malicious curse threatening to corrupt his soul, Archimedes has always felt compelled to protect the weak, and use his dark powers in the name of good. Deep down, he is not a bad person. But with every passing day, the unholy corruption alters him further, until he becomes trapped in the undead form forever. Can he manage to release himself from the curse in time, or is he destined to face his own allies in war as a relentless lich?