Acererak

Acererak
Race	Cambion (Demilich)
Gender	Male
Lifespan	Destroyed in 2970
Character Class	Wizard
Patron Deity	Nerull
Status	Unknown
Alignment	Evil

Acererak is a powerful demilich and creator of the Tomb of Horrors.

History

Though the exact date of Acererak's birth is unknown, it is believed to have been sometime in the 18th or 19th century of the Sixth Age. He was the offspring of a human woman named Valinda, and the balor known as Tarnham. Though his mother loved him, his obvious fiendish heritage made them pariahs. When he was ten years old, fearful villagers set his home ablaze, killing his mother. By the time he was an adult, he had grown into a cold, bitter man with nothing but hatred and revenge in his heart. Eventually he journeyed to Estorium, whose citizens were less fearful of his demonic aspect. He spent years there learning arcane magic, with a particular focus on necromancy, including at the hands of Ras Nsi. During this time, he decided to become a lich and developed a longterm plan of some sort. The last thing he did before his transformation into a lich was to set down a journal chronicling his life, which would be found centuries later by the wizard Gerik Desatysso.

Little is known of his precise activities during the intervening years, but by the 29th century he had become a demilich and a devotee of Nerull. By this time Acererak had also created the Tomb of Horrors. The tomb served as a massive altar to the god of death, and magical spells woven into it funneled the souls of all those slain within directly into Acererak. In order to ensure a steady flow of souls, he spread stories and rumors of the vast wealth that lay within in order to entice adventurers and treasure hunters to their deaths. It is not known how, or even if, Nerull's death in the Deity War affected Acererak's plans.

In 2959, the Challengers of the Unspeakable entered the Tomb of Horrors and destroyed Acererak, taking his soul gems to utilize in a ritual to close a portal into the Far Realm. The soul gems were eventually stolen by agents of the sorceress Theriana, but after her defeat in Estorium it is unknown what happened to the soul gems.

In 2968, resurrection spells began to fail across Syra. Leardon Sunflare's investigations led him to believe there was some sort of link with the Tomb of Horrors and sent asked fellow Brightstone Hero Flynn Cupsigh and his companions to investigate. It soon became clear that Acererak had returned. While exploring the tomb, they freed an efreet who granted them three wishes in exchange. With one of their wishes, they asked for knowledge of how Acererak could be permanently destroyed. He replied, "In the jaws of darkness, at the hour of ascension, only a great sacrifice of souls can forever destroy Acererak." At the heart of the tomb they confronted and defeated the demilich once again. Though they knew this defeat was not permanent, they nevertheless delivered his soul gems to Leardon. Leardon would later use the gems to narrow down the source of the death curse to the vicinity of the lost city of Omu.