Fantasy universes are not just attracting a lot of fans. They are unusual, interesting, radically different from the usual world average person. They embody a person’s dream of miracles, magic and adventures, which are so lacking in everyday life. A fascinating world is inhabited by a wide variety of creatures, both good and bad. One of the most versatile creatures is the Lich. Is it a wizard, a necromancer, a sorcerer, or is it something inanimate and disgusting?
General definition of a creature
A lich is a necromancer who has turned into an undead. Some sources say that he did this after he left the living world, in others - he chose this path instead of death. Dark magicians have a ritual called “Eternal Night”, according to which a necromancer exchanges the life of one or more people for a special artifact - the phylactery. The sorcerer's soul is placed in it, after which he dies to be reborn in the form of a lich.
It is extremely difficult to destroy. The dark lich does not disappear completely, even if its physical shell is destroyed, it can always return to life with the help of an artifact - phylactery. A good example is Rowling's Harry Potter, where the main villain was reborn with the help of the Horcruxes. In Russian folk tales you can also find an example of phylactery - this is Koschey's chest. It is in him that his death lies. Incidentally, Koschey the Immortal is actually a vivid representative of lychees.
Translated from English, a lich is a corpse. The translation is more than accurate. The process of turning a magician into this creature is very similar to mummification, with several differences. The skin and flesh of the necromancer are so dry that they practically do not remain on the bones, and all internal organs are completely absent. They are found in the phylactery, in some sources also called the vessel of the lich.
Lich in the Heroes of Might and Magic universe
One of the strongest units in the army of the Necropolis faction is the Lich. This fallen sorcerer who made a deal with the god of death, he exchanged his soul for eternal life, thereby joining the ranks of the undead. Such lychees retained the ability to cast spells, as well as robes by which former sorcerers can be recognized in them, however, now they do not sit on them as well as before. The old fabric forever falls from their death-dried bodies. During the battle, lychees pose a serious threat to opponents; they hit several enemy units at the same time, covering them with a poisonous cloud.
As a dead creature, the undead are devoid of any fighting spirit, the person is always constant and equal to zero, has resistance to spells that control the mind. The presence of lychees in the squad, like any other warriors of the Necropolis faction, reduces the overall mood by one.
Any fan of the Heroes of Might and Magic series of games knows how convenient and good it is to get high-level shooters into the army. Lichi do a lot of damage, unlike other shooters, practically do not miss, and the force of the blow does not depend on the distance. However, when it comes to close combat, the unit receives a fine and the damage from its attacks is much lower. In order to conduct a battle as efficiently as possible, you need to understand that enemy creatures must not be allowed to approach the lich. Powerful shooters will not be able to take advantage of their main advantage and will most likely die quickly.
Lychee has in its arsenal a unique ability - a poisonous cloud. When they attack the enemy, poison spreads from him in the radius of one cell, affecting nearby units. In other words, a creature’s punch strikes nine cells at once. Cloud damage does not pass through undead, gargoyles, mechanisms, and golems.
The Lich King Warcraft
One of the brightest characters in the universe. The Lich King leads the Scourge and mentally controls his vast army of undead, seated on the Throne of Ice. The demon lord created this creature from the soul of a once-respected shaman, Ner'zhul, among the orcs. According to Kil'jaeden’s plan, the army of the dead was supposed to drain Azeroth, thereby ensuring an easy victory for the Burning Legion.
When the shaman tried to leave the dying Draenor through the crevice left from the portal, the eredar instantly grabbed it. The minion of Sargeras tore the body of the orc into small pieces, but at the same time kept his soul intact. The old shaman prayed for the opportunity to die, but Kil'jaeden did not give him such an opportunity, he said that Ner'zhul was obliged to continue to serve the interests of the Legion. He offered the orc a choice: to obey implicitly or to plunge into the abyss of terrible torment forever. The shaman knew that the threat was not unfounded, and he opted for the Legion.
The Lich King was locked up inside the Ice Throne, but at one point went against Kil'jaeden, conspiring with Prince Arthas, the man, merging with him in one piece. The war in Northrend ended in defeat for the creature, Tyrion and the warriors of the Light who were under his command were able to put an end to his reign. After Arthas died and Frostmourne was destroyed, another person accepted the power of the Lich King, but this time for good purposes. He ascended the Throne of Ice in order to restrain the terrifying power of the Scourge.
Create Undead Army
The addition to the game "World War II: Leach" 3.3.5 version gave fans a full and fascinating chapter in the history of Azeroth. It began with the sending of the Lich King to the northern mainland, called Northrend. It was here that Ner'zhul began to gather the Scourge, whose purpose in existence was to weaken Azeroth so that the army of the Burning Legion would not have problems capturing this world. The undead horde could not be defeated, unlike the orcs. The ice throne, in which the Lich King was imprisoned, was additionally guarded by special warriors who carefully monitored his actions. Arriving in a kind of dungeon, the former orcish shaman mastered the received power, gradually subjugating the inhabitants of the mainland. A plague was released from the Throne, turning every living creature into undead. Mentally controlling the creatures created, Lich King captured a huge portion of the continent. With each absorbed soul, his own power increased.
After the Scourge covered almost the entire mainland, Ner'zhul received an order: to begin preparing Azeroth for the invasion of the Legion. Taking advantage of his power, he sent a call around the world, planning to reach out to hearts, somewhere deep inside the rotting from darkness. One of the most powerful magicians of the Kirin Tor fell under the influence of the Lich King, he led the new Cult of the Damned, which later brought together mortals, worshiping Ner'zhul as a deity. Adepts studied the art of necromancy. Having created the appearance of order execution, the shaman began to look for an opportunity to free himself from the captivity of the Ice Throne.
The fall of Lordaeron
With each chapter, the history of the World of Warcraft universe becomes only more interesting. The Lich and the Cult of the Damned created by his subordinates could not stay idle for a long time. They made the first move in the war, sending plague to the lands of Lordaeron. Prince Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore join forces to eliminate the threat. When the undead armies began to terrorize the inhabitants of the kingdom, the only son of Terenas became the head of the struggle against them. Ner'zhul made a network of intrigues, falling into which Arthas kills the necromancer who led the Cult, but this did not stop the growth of the army of the dead. Each dead soldier rose in the form of a warrior on the side of the enemy. The prince was cornered. Trying to find a way to solve the problem, he gives the order to kill every inhabitant of the infected city, thereby preventing the Scourge from expanding further. Close friends of Arthas noted that every act he committed kills a person in him.
However, this is far from the end of this chapter of the Wow game. Leach thought out every detail of his insidious plan. Arthas tracked the source of the plague, arriving at the correct conclusion about his whereabouts. On the way to Northrend, the prince meets a dwarf, who is his mentor. That led him to the greatest weapon, thanks to which you can put an end to the fight against evil. Desiring to protect his people, Arthas took possession of Ice Speed, an ancient and dangerous runic sword. Giving the master power, he simultaneously deprives him of his soul. The prince killed his mentor, and after he got to Mal'Ganis, whom he considered the culprit of the attacks. The most dangerous guard over the orcish shaman was dead, and Arthas turned into a death knight, obeying the Lich King. The former prince led the campaign against his native kingdom, during which he personally killed his father.
Plaguelands War
The Lich King (Warcraft) soon began to openly confront the forces of the Burning Legion, thereby incurring the wrath of Kil'jaeden. At the most dangerous moment for himself, he was deprived of power, while the servants of Eridar had almost reached the former orc, intending to punish for betrayal. Panicked, Ner'zhul called for help from his very best creation, Arthas. The loss of power of the Lich King also affected the former prince, his own witchcraft, in particular, control over evil spirits, weakened, as a result of which a civil war broke out in Lordaeron. Half of the army, under the command of Sylvanas, escaped from the tyranny of an orcish shaman, realizing what monsters it had turned into after death. Arthas responded to the call of the creator and left the Scourge, going to Northrend, to help the Lich King.
Intending to save his creator, the former prince of Lordaeron arrived in the northern lands, but was ambushed by blood elves and naga, obeying Illidan. With the help of the Nerubians and Anub'arak, the king who leads them, the death knight escaped from the encirclement of a former elf squad. Hiding in underground tunnels, Arthas hurried to the Throne of Ice, intending to protect him from the threat.
Triumph of the Lich King
The plot of the game "VoB: Lich King" approach its climax. Prince Arthas continued to walk toward his goal, but the elven prince Kael'thas stood in his way. He told the death knight that Jaina Proudmoore was now experiencing very different feelings for him, and this news made the former heir to the throne of Lordaeron hesitate. Opponents clashed. Kael'thas fought with a runic sword, reforged from his father's weapons, but Frostmourne did not give slack, and the elven prince had to retreat. Arthas continued on his way to the Throne of Ice, in which its creator sat helplessly.
This time, Illidan was waiting for him at the very finish. He did not hesitate to resort to the help of new demonic forces, and this practically ensured victory for the former elf, but Arthas was able to seize the moment and turn the course of the battle in his favor, seriously injuring his opponent. The death knight could finish off the enemy, but the place turned his back and went to the Throne of Ice, ordering Illidan to leave Azeroth forever and forget about the existence of this world.
Arthas was able to penetrate the glacier. The first thing that caught his eye was a random blue whirlwind, chained with magic chains to the top of the dungeon. The fallen prince took the first step, intending to climb the stairs, but in his mind the voices of his family, friends and the woman he once loved sounded, the knight ignored all this. The only one he listened to was the dying Ner'zhul, asking for his release.
With a loud cry, Arthas hit Frostmourne in chains that fettered the Lich King, and they exploded along with the dungeon. The helmet of the orcish shaman fell next to the fallen prince, and he without hesitation put it on. In the next instant, the soul of Ner'zhul and Arthas merged into a single whole, and thus the plan of the Lich King finally came to an end.
Arthas's Death
While Arthas ruled the undead, he managed to bring the world a lot of trouble, but the story of the game “WoW: Lich” ends with the death of a tyrant. Once surrounded, he crossed the Frostmourne with the Incinerator of Tyrion, and this time the terrifying gun broke. The souls absorbed by him broke free and attacked the Lich King. The ghost of his father helped finish off Arthas. Towards the end of the battle, he leaned toward the dying heir to the throne of Lordaeron and closed his eyes to his son. The troubles that befell Azeroth did not end there. Before disappearing, the ghost informed Tyrion that the Scourge, having lost one who could command it, was doubly dangerous. An uncontrolled undead army could easily destroy this world. Tyrion raised Arthas' helmet and was about to take the place of the Lich King, but Bolvar Fordragon stopped his friend. He said that this world had long since become a stranger to him, and he was ready to sacrifice himself. After hesitating, the Commander-in-Chief put on his helmet on Bolvar, and he began to be fettered by a crust of ice. The last thing he conveyed to the world was the news that the Lich King had died, taking with him to the grave and at the same time.
"Dark Avery. Lich"
A series of books by Ivan Saturday tells about students spending time in an online game with a complete immersion in cyber reality. The main character could not achieve anything in his life, his knowledge and skills were not in demand, but everything changed when he tried to earn money with the help of new fun, taking himself a nickname Lich. Then he did not know that the idea would work, yesterday's student will be able to earn a decent amount, meet his girlfriend and lead the list of the best players. One name of this man terrifies the strongest representatives of this world.
Etrian
In one of the most famous games, there is also a hero called “Leach”. Dota 2 is interesting not only in matches, but also in the stories of the characters.
When Etrian was still alive, he did not think to become a Lich, the magician had enough power, which he achieved on his own. Spells created by him could choke large cities into ice, or hug an entire power with a blizzard. But the sorcerer possessed not only great power, but also a crowd of envious people who did not want to put up with his capabilities. A small group of magicians for a long time prepared a plan to assassinate the hero, they thought through every detail, and the idea worked. Amateurs were able to catch Etrian, disarm and charm in enchanted chains. Satisfied with the perfect thing, they threw the magician into the dark waters of the bottomless lake, the captive could not escape from the trap under such conditions, with all his might. Etrian slowly fell down over the course of the whole year, but the body of the sorcerer caught on a rocky ledge in the wall, where he continued to be. Dead, but miraculously not rotting.
Several years passed before the necromancer Anchil, who liked to engage in various kinds of research, wanted to find out if the bottomless lake was really endless in depth. He organized an expedition. The first thing Anhil did was to plunge into the water. He hooked the corpse of Etrian. The necromancer was very happy about the find and hastened to raise it to the surface. Many years have passed since the day of the death of the great magician, and no one could warn Anchil about the dangers lurking in the depths of dark waters. The young necromancer removed the chains from the corpse and resurrected Etrian. Anchil realized his mistake too late, only when Leach opened his eyes and snapped his fingers, tearing the naive wizard into small pieces.
In the game, character abilities are also extremely useful. Acting as a support, a support hero, he helps the allies by strengthening their armor, depriving enemies of their experience by eating creeps, slowing down the opponent and causing a huge amount of damage to the fight, due to his ultimate.
In general, a character like Leach in any existing fantasy universe is a very curious creature. A mage who sacrificed his life for the sake of enhancing power is truly interesting, he definitely inspires terror in the hearts of enemies, and deserves a high position in the created history.