During the Chalcedorian crusades of Rhy'Din; I was often in-charge of expelling the reanimated dead from corrupted monasteries and other locations. I rarely placed much thought into the bony henchmen I'd smash with my bastard sword or gavel; however, after my kingdom collapsed and I brought my services to the countryside, I started researching the nature of these undead foes in greater detail.



To my surprise, I discovered an unusual heirarchy of undead minions; I was taught in divinity school that skeletal infestations usually had what are known as Lichia commanding their minds; which are simply the Necromancers themselves who eventually gave up their own flesh for greater supremacy as the immortal reborn.



Indeed, I encountered many of these "Liches" during my years, and often they would attempt to engage me in some sort of vocal dialogue, shortly before I would banish them with my blades, which indicated a degree of intelligence beyond a one-track mind of destruction. In later years, I became curious about these beings; and if their origins were really as simplistic as the common theory of cursed sorcerors, or if there was a greater order to which these living-dead commanders thrived.



I journeyed once to a hollow crypt where there were rumors of a lich hiding within. After some struggle, I managed to subdue and capture the creature; it was a skeletal form wearing very elegant human attire, with jewelry and fine silk. Using wards to keep its magic at bay, I managed to bring it to my cottage, where I tied it with mithril cording to a wooden beam in my attic. I pulled up a chair, and proceeded to interrogate it for several days.



During my interrogation, I discovered some very unusual things. It would seem that the most powerful of undead actually communicate and base their powers out of an apparent undead-dimension, this was place a described to me as the "Van'Ci", and the lich (whose name was Lorfas) spoke quite fondly of it.



The Lich explained to me that in the Van'Ci, there are millions of souls desiring-- for some reason or another-- to return to the physical dimension to exact their revenge on mortals. The Lich explained that most of the time the living dead do not contain the actual souls of the departed individual; but new and vengeful souls are drawn in from the Van'Ci. However, Lorfas pointed out that by haunting these bones, they would still pick up memories or thoughts of the former inhabitant, explaining the illusion that the undead are the actual people who died.



I interrogated Lorfas even further about the nature of this unholy world; and I learned that it was a netherworld created by some much greater, foul entity. In a way, it sounded like a paradisical place for these Lichia to gather. I learned that so long as a Lich resides within the world of the Van'Ci, they do not have their terrible, rotted or skeletal appearances; but they look as normal sorcerors or wizards do, and they partake in great indulgences and debauchery in their world, the likes of which the mortal realm could never mimic, according to Lorfas.



When a dark mage rises to the level of lich-hood, he or she claims the power to travel between alternate dimensions; such as this reported Van'Ci, simultaneous to their evil tyranny in our realm; this is due to the expanded mind of the Lich; and is a testimony to the great danger of uncontrolled sorcery and the grim fates of those mages who become corrupted, and are not delivered from their evil with my blade soon enough.



The origin, and exact nature, of this Van'Ci remains a mystery to me. For instance, what does the name mean, and where did it come from? These are questions I hope to find the answer to with further research. However, I am certain that it is part of a wider order which I have found traces of across my dealings in the multiverse; often, I discover the insignia of a four-sided goblet, with an eye or similar rune inscribed in the center; as a favored possession of liches and other undead foes; a hallmark that recognizes an allegiance to the Van'Ci and its so-called-god, a creature refered to as The Holy Mind, but despite further inquiry, Lorfas would not expulge deeper details.



When Lorfas had no more information to share with me, and I grew weary of administering the psychic torture, I quickly annihilated it with my blessed sword. However, I had a morbid feeling that the spirit of this lich was not destroyed, rather it probably shot back into the Van'Ci, where it will drift as a cursed spirit until it is ready to possess another corpse. It should be the goal of all Paladins to find the origin--the source--of this evil, and dismantle it, so this hideous invention is permanently ended.