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Description
Before becoming the necromancer he is today, Ver'Rahl was a simple boy of a different name: Joseph Victorus. He lived with his father, Abraham, who owned and ran a cemetery. He would aid his father in his day-to-day tasks, and always loved the tales his dad would weave around the campfire. One particular tale that stood out to him was the one where his father (supposedly) ran into and fought off a snooping necromancer. As years passed by, Joseph grew curious in the arts of necromancy and began to secretly study its ways. The curiosity started small, with the reading of books and scrolls, but soon grew into a real interest. As he went form a boy to man, Joseph began to grow proficient in the ways of necromancy, all behind his father's back. His secret life was not revealed until his father was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Fearful over the loss of his father, Joseph told him of his studies and believed he could find a way to bring his dying father back. This news did not delight his father, rather it disgusted him. His father wished for a clean, peaceful death and was horrified that his son would want to use such vile magic. The argument turned to an all out screaming match, with Joseph unable to accept his father's coming demise. In the end, Joseph knew that he did not need his father's permission to bring him back, and would wait until his father perished to raise him. His father, though, was wise to this thought and would not let his son tamper with his soul. One night, his father tricked him and sent him away on a simple errand. When Joseph returned, his father had taken his own life by burning himself alive. Joseph was not skilled enough to raise charred bones and ash, and it was clear that his father was gone for good. This act of betrayal enraged Joseph, beginning the madness that would lead him down the darker paths of necromancy.

Over the next years, Joseph delved deeper into the dark arts and became a highly skilled necromancer. He robbed his own cemetery for subjects, and even stole a few living ones from a nearby town. Eventually, he reached a point where he believed he could transfer his soul to a new vessel. Seeking to inhabit a stronger, healthier form, Joseph set up an extremely complicated ritual that would allow it to work. The ceremony took months to set up, but he was at last close to his vision. He had secured a recently dead corpse to transfer himself into, one that was much better in all the physical aspects. Everything was going well, until he bungled the final step. In need of fresh human blood, Joseph headed to town to steal a victim. Blinded by his excitement to start this ceremony, he messed up his kidnapping attempts and was soon pursued by the town guard. Leading them back to the cemetery, he faced off against the guardsman and slew one with a hidden dagger. The flowing blood started the ritual, as Joseph was cut down by a hail of arrows. With the complex system in motion, Joseph was sure his soul would be promptly sent to the new vessel, and all would work out. Unfortunately, the fight in the graveyard upset some of his delicate rune work, causing the process to go awry. Infernal energy began to go to the wrong places, while the whole spell began to fall apart. His soul that was trapped within the spell circle began to dissipate, and Joseph lashed out in hopes of pulling himself together before he faded away. His efforts succeeded in patching himself back together, but also pulled in fragments and residues from the other bodies within the cemetery. At last, the ritual came to an explosive conclusion, causing the entire graveyard to collapse in on itself, taking Joseph with it.

Days later, Joseph awoke in the depths of the ruined cemetery, his ritual successful enough to keep him alive. The mangled process, though, put his soul in a body rotted and warped by magic and other infernal forces. At first he was distraught over his destroyed body, but the powers that flowed through his form banished those regrets. Now possessing a power stronger than he imagined, Joseph felt triumphant in his transformation. As a new beast in a new body, he took on the name Ver'Rahl, seeing this glorious moment as rebirth. Marveling in his new powers, he rebuilt his body from bones and rot. He sought to show the world his presence, when the side effects of his efforts kicked in. The soul fragments he pulled in to save himself infused his mind with dozens of voices. Voices that wailed and wept, last words of dying folk forever speaking in loop. Shards of other minds that gibbered and shrieked, filling his every waking moment with thoughts that were not his own. His attempts to impress the world with his mighty abilities ended up immolating an entire town, as his mind broke down and unleashed a spell he could not control. Weakened and driven mad by the intruding voices, Ver'Rahl stumbled away into the wilds to find a place he could focus. In the end, Ver'Rahl found a dead land that had been ravaged by ancient wars. Taking up keep in an abandoned fortress, he began his work to further understand his new abilities, as well as find a way to heal his shattered mind.

Attitude - Ver'Rahl's attitude depends on the state of his broken mind. When he is calm and focused, the voices in his head grow quiet and muffled. In this state, Ver'Rahl is cruel and unrelenting. He has little care for any life that is not his own, and sees most living things as "spare parts." He is obsessed with his experiments, where he tries to craft new undead or find a cure to his madness. Anything and everything is used in his experiments, always trying out new techniques or using different species. When calm, he can devise cruel plans and come up with horrid abominations. He seeks to become master of the dead, and to tear through the kingdoms in search for the power to heal his mind. He sees himself as a defier of gods and reality, a lone rebel who dares to fight against the natural order of things. All others are mere sheep to him, so he cares not when he warps their bodies and terrorizes their minds. When dealing with victims, he often taunts and mocks them, finding enjoyment in their fear and mortal ways. He enjoys corrupting their words and tricking them, their pain only amusing him further. In some cases, Ver'Rahl has taken the role of a twisted djinn, listening to their pleas and wishes, and then twisting them into a torturous way. The maddened abomination that comes from such cruelty often has no purpose or use, but he finds the whole scenario amusing. While he does seek domination and mental stability, Ver'Rahl's motives for day to day things often have no rhyme or reason. His alien thoughts and endless voices drive him to do bizarre things, and he has even stated himself that he doesn't know why he does some things. And that is during his good days.

When irritated or angry, the voices in his head get louder and louder. As his rage grows, the voices tend to scream and mock him, causing Ver'Rahl to break down in a psychotic fit. During these times, Ver'Rahl has little control over his thoughts and actions. He often is just screaming and ranting as he fires necrotic energy wildly. In intense moments, he may unleash spells or summons that he has no knowledge of, which often cause more harm than good. These ungodly spells are beyond his imagination, and he never remembers them when he calms his mind. The creation of Darkest Knight came from one of these breakdowns, and it infuriates Ver'Rahl to no end, as he cannot remember how he made the undead juggernaut. With his unstable mind, it takes very little to set Ver'Rahl off. His tantrums can ignite for any reason, and Ver'Rahl struggles to control his own rage. When growing irritated, he frantically tries to calm himself and clear his mind, as he knows that if he allows the voices to grow louder, than he will fall into another psychotic break.

Relations - Due to his cruel ways and hatred for most living things, Ver'Rahl has very few living friends. In times he may team up with another villain, but these are very short lived and he despises every second of it. His best relations come from his undead minions, who turn to Ver'Rahl as their master and leader. The closest thing he has to a friend is his creation General Nekrosis, who was one of his first sapient undead. The militaristic ghoul follows Ver'Rahl's orders without question and equally enjoys the tortures Ver'Rahl puts his victims through. He also stands as an aid for Ver'Rahl's tantrums, helping his master calm down before he starts causing more damage. When frustrated or angry, Ver'Rahl vents to Nekrosis, ranting to his friend so that he can let the pressure off from his mind. His relation with another undead creation, though, is not so friendly. The mutilated creature known as Haceil Grubtongue is a source of annoyance to him, but Ver'Rahl makes up for that by frequently tearing the fiend apart. Grubtongue was a con man tricked by Ver'Rahl and mutated into a patchwork freak. With that, Grubtongue has nothing but disdain towards the necromancer, even though he is forced to work for him. He often mocks and insults Ver'Rahl, and is always plotting to find a way to escape his clutches. These hardly ever work, and Ver'Rahl just mangles him some more to let out his frustration. Darkest Knight is treated more as a pet than friend, but Ver'Rahl has learned his lesson when it comes to working with him. His recent creation, Vilicity, is a mixed bag for him. At times he may appear super protective of her, treating her like a prized daughter. This is because Vilicity is made of many complicated parts, and takes an ungodly amount of time to maintain and repair. Ver'Rahl does not want to spend any more time fixing her or building new limbs, so he does his best to keep her out of unnecessary harm. Other times, Ver'Rahl is annoyed with her, as her creation was one that took ungodly amounts of time and energy. Ver'Rahl sees her conception as a waste of time, and is disappointed that he only got one undead out of the whole debacle. This drives Vilicity to try and win his approval, which only annoys Ver'Rahl further. Though it may seem he treats her better than the others, he doesn't hide his annoyance towards her existence and has screamed at her plenty of times behind closed doors.

Subordinates - Due to his twisted experiments, Ver'Rahl rules over legions of undead creatures and horrible abominations. With his mutating powers and constantly shifting mind, hardly any of the creatures look similar to one another. Often he will have a star creation that he recently made that will be the center of his efforts. This new creation will be the one he bases his attack strategies on, and often flies into a fit of rage when it is destroyed. Outside of his constantly changing roster of freaks and mutants, he often has Nekrosis, Haceil, Darkest Knight and Vilicity within his ranks. All turn to him for orders and commands, with some being more disgruntled with the whole affair than others.

Abilities - Due to the magic overload that birthed him, Ver'Rahl is steeped in necrotic energy. Not only can he fire blasts of it from his hands and head, but his very presence seems to emanate it. Anything touched by his magic is warped and mutated, which causes most of his creations to come out as twisted fiends. While other necromancers can raise simple zombies, anything Ver'Rahl makes will often mutate into some alien being, even when he isn't trying. When fighting, he often relies on rotting, green blasts to destroy his foes, never delving into any other element. His most powerful abilities are the ones he cannot control. When enraged, his crazed mind will unleash devastating spells and create unstoppable abominations against his will. His first mental breakdown caused an entire town to be incinerated in a sea of green fire, and that is one example of many. Ver'Rahl has no say over what happens during his rampages, but they often turn an enemy's victory into a twisted horror show of death and disease. To fuel these magical tirades, Ver'Rahl creates and dons false heads made of bone and mana. These skeletal heads act as a secondary mana pool that he can charge with energy. As he fights or works, the energy within the head will slowly grow, giving him another energy source during complicated spells or destructive rants. In a pinch, he can throw the head at others and detonate it. This is usually when he needs to flee and requires a distraction.

As an undead, Ver'Rahl is not harmed by most injuries that could kill the living. His body hardly feels pain, which keeps him from flinching or reacting to devastating wounds. While foes can tear into his flesh and mangle his body, he still lives and is able to patch himself together. Disemboweling, eviscerating, and decapitating hardly slow him down. If one truly wants to slay him, they will most likely have to burn his body to ash.

Tools - Most of Ver'Rahl's efforts are done by magic and necromancy. He rarely carries weapons with him, though he does have a staff that he will occasionally wield. His time on the battlefield has him mostly relying on undead soldiers. When in his fortress, though, he has a variety of tools and contraptions to aid in his experiments. Cauldrons, operating slabs and various sharp tools are used for mutations and dissections. He often creates undead helpers to aid in his efforts. Creatures that can disassemble corpses for spare parts and simple minded workers who can patch together common soldiers to bolster his forces. When it comes to creating quick and easy monsters, he uses sharp, green crystals that are infused with his energy. A simple jab and twist into a corpse or foe will release the necrotic magic and mutate them instantly. These are used to create quick creatures on the battlefield with little effort, or to power some of his more complex creations.

Weaknesses - While it can be an uncontrollable strength at times, Ver'Rahl's fragmented mind is his greatest weakness. He is already dwelling on the brink of madness most of the time, so it takes very little to set him off. If his plans start to fail, or enemies begin to frustrate, it won't be long before he falls into another psychotic frenzy. During these times, there is little logic or reasoning, which further unravels his plans. He often will lash out and destroy anything nearby, which includes his soldiers or allies. If whipped into a high enough frenzy, he may unintentionally unleash spells that he has no knowledge of and has zero control over. In times, he may summon beasts or entities that he cannot control, adding more chaos to the scene. Taunts and mockery works extremely well against him, but its effects will be unpredictable. His furious episodes are a good way to weaken him, as such erratic spells will drain his energy and leave him vulnerable. As an undead, he is weak to holy based spells and other rituals that may weaken them. Since his body is in a constant state of rot, he is not physically strong and can be damaged quite easily. His arms and hands may be easily snapped off by a strong foe, and strikes can often puncture his putrid flesh. His false head can also be used against him. Since it is a secondary mana pool, destroying it will eliminate a large energy source for him. The explosion that comes from its destruction can harm him if he cannot get the damaged object away from him fast enough.

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And here is the psychotic and monstrous necromancer, Ver'Rahl. Quite the nasty fellow...

Edit: Updated Ver'Rahl's attitude towards Vilicity, as her backstory took quite a turn when I was writing it.

Description
Before becoming the necromancer he is today, Ver'Rahl was a simple boy of a different name: Joseph Victorus. He lived with his father, Abraham, who owned and ran a cemetery. He would aid his father in his day-to-day tasks, and always loved the tales his dad would weave around the campfire. One particular tale that stood out to him was the one where his father (supposedly) ran into and fought off a snooping necromancer. As years passed by, Joseph grew curious in the arts of necromancy and began to secretly study its ways. The curiosity started small, with the reading of books and scrolls, but soon grew into a real interest. As he went form a boy to man, Joseph began to grow proficient in the ways of necromancy, all behind his father's back. His secret life was not revealed until his father was diagnosed with a fatal illness. Fearful over the loss of his father, Joseph told him of his studies and believed he could find a way to bring his dying father back. This news did not delight his father, rather it disgusted him. His father wished for a clean, peaceful death and was horrified that his son would want to use such vile magic. The argument turned to an all out screaming match, with Joseph unable to accept his father's coming demise. In the end, Joseph knew that he did not need his father's permission to bring him back, and would wait until his father perished to raise him. His father, though, was wise to this thought and would not let his son tamper with his soul. One night, his father tricked him and sent him away on a simple errand. When Joseph returned, his father had taken his own life by burning himself alive. Joseph was not skilled enough to raise charred bones and ash, and it was clear that his father was gone for good. This act of betrayal enraged Joseph, beginning the madness that would lead him down the darker paths of necromancy.

Over the next years, Joseph delved deeper into the dark arts and became a highly skilled necromancer. He robbed his own cemetery for subjects, and even stole a few living ones from a nearby town. Eventually, he reached a point where he believed he could transfer his soul to a new vessel. Seeking to inhabit a stronger, healthier form, Joseph set up an extremely complicated ritual that would allow it to work. The ceremony took months to set up, but he was at last close to his vision. He had secured a recently dead corpse to transfer himself into, one that was much better in all the physical aspects. Everything was going well, until he bungled the final step. In need of fresh human blood, Joseph headed to town to steal a victim. Blinded by his excitement to start this ceremony, he messed up his kidnapping attempts and was soon pursued by the town guard. Leading them back to the cemetery, he faced off against the guardsman and slew one with a hidden dagger. The flowing blood started the ritual, as Joseph was cut down by a hail of arrows. With the complex system in motion, Joseph was sure his soul would be promptly sent to the new vessel, and all would work out. Unfortunately, the fight in the graveyard upset some of his delicate rune work, causing the process to go awry. Infernal energy began to go to the wrong places, while the whole spell began to fall apart. His soul that was trapped within the spell circle began to dissipate, and Joseph lashed out in hopes of pulling himself together before he faded away. His efforts succeeded in patching himself back together, but also pulled in fragments and residues from the other bodies within the cemetery. At last, the ritual came to an explosive conclusion, causing the entire graveyard to collapse in on itself, taking Joseph with it.

Days later, Joseph awoke in the depths of the ruined cemetery, his ritual successful enough to keep him alive. The mangled process, though, put his soul in a body rotted and warped by magic and other infernal forces. At first he was distraught over his destroyed body, but the powers that flowed through his form banished those regrets. Now possessing a power stronger than he imagined, Joseph felt triumphant in his transformation. As a new beast in a new body, he took on the name Ver'Rahl, seeing this glorious moment as rebirth. Marveling in his new powers, he rebuilt his body from bones and rot. He sought to show the world his presence, when the side effects of his efforts kicked in. The soul fragments he pulled in to save himself infused his mind with dozens of voices. Voices that wailed and wept, last words of dying folk forever speaking in loop. Shards of other minds that gibbered and shrieked, filling his every waking moment with thoughts that were not his own. His attempts to impress the world with his mighty abilities ended up immolating an entire town, as his mind broke down and unleashed a spell he could not control. Weakened and driven mad by the intruding voices, Ver'Rahl stumbled away into the wilds to find a place he could focus. In the end, Ver'Rahl found a dead land that had been ravaged by ancient wars. Taking up keep in an abandoned fortress, he began his work to further understand his new abilities, as well as find a way to heal his shattered mind.

Attitude - Ver'Rahl's attitude depends on the state of his broken mind. When he is calm and focused, the voices in his head grow quiet and muffled. In this state, Ver'Rahl is cruel and unrelenting. He has little care for any life that is not his own, and sees most living things as "spare parts." He is obsessed with his experiments, where he tries to craft new undead or find a cure to his madness. Anything and everything is used in his experiments, always trying out new techniques or using different species. When calm, he can devise cruel plans and come up with horrid abominations. He seeks to become master of the dead, and to tear through the kingdoms in search for the power to heal his mind. He sees himself as a defier of gods and reality, a lone rebel who dares to fight against the natural order of things. All others are mere sheep to him, so he cares not when he warps their bodies and terrorizes their minds. When dealing with victims, he often taunts and mocks them, finding enjoyment in their fear and mortal ways. He enjoys corrupting their words and tricking them, their pain only amusing him further. In some cases, Ver'Rahl has taken the role of a twisted djinn, listening to their pleas and wishes, and then twisting them into a torturous way. The maddened abomination that comes from such cruelty often has no purpose or use, but he finds the whole scenario amusing. While he does seek domination and mental stability, Ver'Rahl's motives for day to day things often have no rhyme or reason. His alien thoughts and endless voices drive him to do bizarre things, and he has even stated himself that he doesn't know why he does some things. And that is during his good days.

When irritated or angry, the voices in his head get louder and louder. As his rage grows, the voices tend to scream and mock him, causing Ver'Rahl to break down in a psychotic fit. During these times, Ver'Rahl has little control over his thoughts and actions. He often is just screaming and ranting as he fires necrotic energy wildly. In intense moments, he may unleash spells or summons that he has no knowledge of, which often cause more harm than good. These ungodly spells are beyond his imagination, and he never remembers them when he calms his mind. The creation of Darkest Knight came from one of these breakdowns, and it infuriates Ver'Rahl to no end, as he cannot remember how he made the undead juggernaut. With his unstable mind, it takes very little to set Ver'Rahl off. His tantrums can ignite for any reason, and Ver'Rahl struggles to control his own rage. When growing irritated, he frantically tries to calm himself and clear his mind, as he knows that if he allows the voices to grow louder, than he will fall into another psychotic break.

Relations - Due to his cruel ways and hatred for most living things, Ver'Rahl has very few living friends. In times he may team up with another villain, but these are very short lived and he despises every second of it. His best relations come from his undead minions, who turn to Ver'Rahl as their master and leader. The closest thing he has to a friend is his creation General Nekrosis, who was one of his first sapient undead. The militaristic ghoul follows Ver'Rahl's orders without question and equally enjoys the tortures Ver'Rahl puts his victims through. He also stands as an aid for Ver'Rahl's tantrums, helping his master calm down before he starts causing more damage. When frustrated or angry, Ver'Rahl vents to Nekrosis, ranting to his friend so that he can let the pressure off from his mind. His relation with another undead creation, though, is not so friendly. The mutilated creature known as Haceil Grubtongue is a source of annoyance to him, but Ver'Rahl makes up for that by frequently tearing the fiend apart. Grubtongue was a con man tricked by Ver'Rahl and mutated into a patchwork freak. With that, Grubtongue has nothing but disdain towards the necromancer, even though he is forced to work for him. He often mocks and insults Ver'Rahl, and is always plotting to find a way to escape his clutches. These hardly ever work, and Ver'Rahl just mangles him some more to let out his frustration. Darkest Knight is treated more as a pet than friend, but Ver'Rahl has learned his lesson when it comes to working with him. His recent creation, Vilicity, is a mixed bag for him. At times he may appear super protective of her, treating her like a prized daughter. This is because Vilicity is made of many complicated parts, and takes an ungodly amount of time to maintain and repair. Ver'Rahl does not want to spend any more time fixing her or building new limbs, so he does his best to keep her out of unnecessary harm. Other times, Ver'Rahl is annoyed with her, as her creation was one that took ungodly amounts of time and energy. Ver'Rahl sees her conception as a waste of time, and is disappointed that he only got one undead out of the whole debacle. This drives Vilicity to try and win his approval, which only annoys Ver'Rahl further. Though it may seem he treats her better than the others, he doesn't hide his annoyance towards her existence and has screamed at her plenty of times behind closed doors.

Subordinates - Due to his twisted experiments, Ver'Rahl rules over legions of undead creatures and horrible abominations. With his mutating powers and constantly shifting mind, hardly any of the creatures look similar to one another. Often he will have a star creation that he recently made that will be the center of his efforts. This new creation will be the one he bases his attack strategies on, and often flies into a fit of rage when it is destroyed. Outside of his constantly changing roster of freaks and mutants, he often has Nekrosis, Haceil, Darkest Knight and Vilicity within his ranks. All turn to him for orders and commands, with some being more disgruntled with the whole affair than others.

Abilities - Due to the magic overload that birthed him, Ver'Rahl is steeped in necrotic energy. Not only can he fire blasts of it from his hands and head, but his very presence seems to emanate it. Anything touched by his magic is warped and mutated, which causes most of his creations to come out as twisted fiends. While other necromancers can raise simple zombies, anything Ver'Rahl makes will often mutate into some alien being, even when he isn't trying. When fighting, he often relies on rotting, green blasts to destroy his foes, never delving into any other element. His most powerful abilities are the ones he cannot control. When enraged, his crazed mind will unleash devastating spells and create unstoppable abominations against his will. His first mental breakdown caused an entire town to be incinerated in a sea of green fire, and that is one example of many. Ver'Rahl has no say over what happens during his rampages, but they often turn an enemy's victory into a twisted horror show of death and disease. To fuel these magical tirades, Ver'Rahl creates and dons false heads made of bone and mana. These skeletal heads act as a secondary mana pool that he can charge with energy. As he fights or works, the energy within the head will slowly grow, giving him another energy source during complicated spells or destructive rants. In a pinch, he can throw the head at others and detonate it. This is usually when he needs to flee and requires a distraction.

As an undead, Ver'Rahl is not harmed by most injuries that could kill the living. His body hardly feels pain, which keeps him from flinching or reacting to devastating wounds. While foes can tear into his flesh and mangle his body, he still lives and is able to patch himself together. Disemboweling, eviscerating, and decapitating hardly slow him down. If one truly wants to slay him, they will most likely have to burn his body to ash.

Tools - Most of Ver'Rahl's efforts are done by magic and necromancy. He rarely carries weapons with him, though he does have a staff that he will occasionally wield. His time on the battlefield has him mostly relying on undead soldiers. When in his fortress, though, he has a variety of tools and contraptions to aid in his experiments. Cauldrons, operating slabs and various sharp tools are used for mutations and dissections. He often creates undead helpers to aid in his efforts. Creatures that can disassemble corpses for spare parts and simple minded workers who can patch together common soldiers to bolster his forces. When it comes to creating quick and easy monsters, he uses sharp, green crystals that are infused with his energy. A simple jab and twist into a corpse or foe will release the necrotic magic and mutate them instantly. These are used to create quick creatures on the battlefield with little effort, or to power some of his more complex creations.

Weaknesses - While it can be an uncontrollable strength at times, Ver'Rahl's fragmented mind is his greatest weakness. He is already dwelling on the brink of madness most of the time, so it takes very little to set him off. If his plans start to fail, or enemies begin to frustrate, it won't be long before he falls into another psychotic frenzy. During these times, there is little logic or reasoning, which further unravels his plans. He often will lash out and destroy anything nearby, which includes his soldiers or allies. If whipped into a high enough frenzy, he may unintentionally unleash spells that he has no knowledge of and has zero control over. In times, he may summon beasts or entities that he cannot control, adding more chaos to the scene. Taunts and mockery works extremely well against him, but its effects will be unpredictable. His furious episodes are a good way to weaken him, as such erratic spells will drain his energy and leave him vulnerable. As an undead, he is weak to holy based spells and other rituals that may weaken them. Since his body is in a constant state of rot, he is not physically strong and can be damaged quite easily. His arms and hands may be easily snapped off by a strong foe, and strikes can often puncture his putrid flesh. His false head can also be used against him. Since it is a secondary mana pool, destroying it will eliminate a large energy source for him. The explosion that comes from its destruction can harm him if he cannot get the damaged object away from him fast enough.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

And here is the psychotic and monstrous necromancer, Ver'Rahl. Quite the nasty fellow...

Edit: Updated Ver'Rahl's attitude towards Vilicity, as her backstory took quite a turn when I was writing it.