I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Argentum Firebane, scribe, mage, and royal historian to His Majesty King Leopold XXIII the Wise and Just. I am a Silver Elf of the Southern Verdant Forests, near the western boarder of Dimento. The King has tasked me to write down the history of the White Bear Wars so that future generations will have a record of the fate of the King's father, King Leopold XXII and the war that has cost so many lives and created such devastation.
The story begins with the tale of an old mage. A mage by the name of Malthorpe the Recluse. Malthrope lived in a tower just outside of a small town by the name of Vitee. The old wizard was a recluse in every sense of the word, he rarely left the tower and then only under cover of night. Local merchants were paid to deliver food and other goods to his front door where they would leave them and find payment in a small box left out for them. Inside the tower Mathrope was experimenting with the dark arts. The mage had succeeded in extending his lifespan for several decades through various forms of necromancy, wizardry, and demonology. It was for these reasons Malthrope didn't venture out. Now pushing 145 years old he could no longer delay the inevitable, he had to find another way.
Late one evening Malthrope channeled the spirit of an ancient lich that perished centuries ago. The lich told Malthrope that there was a way for him to live an entire lifetime all over again. Malthrope wanted to know how and demanded the lich tell him how this was possible. The lich wanted payment in return, he wanted Malthrope's body upon death. Malthrope thought to himself," The lich can have it, problem is I don't plan on dying anytime soon!". Malthrope readily agreed. Over next several months the lich taught the mage a new spell. The spell allowed one to transfer their soul to another living thing. The old Wizard didn't care about the risks to himself or the consequences to the target at this point, there was not much life left in his body and he was now obsessed with getting another lifetime to spend. The lich trained the mage how to perform the spell and told him the list of reagents needed, 24 diamonds from the northern steppes, an amulet of pure amber weighing no less than 12oz, sulfur, 5 rats dead no more than 48 hours, mercury, lots and lots of mercury, and finally, a new body to inhabit. When his training was done the mage gathered all the belongings his horse could carry, money, and his staff. Malthrope's staff was no ordinary staff, it was actually the shin bone of a silver dragon killed long ago in his adventuring days. The staff gleamed an almost unnatural shade of white, brighter than newly fallen snow. Runes from a long forgotten language were carved on it in a spiral pattern on the top third of the bone.
Malthrope headed north. He needed diamonds from there and he should be able to gather the other items on the way. After stopping in several towns he comes across a jeweler who specializes in amber and acquires the amulet, 14oz, perfect. At this town he is also able to get the rats, kept alive in a cage, and most of the other reagents. After two months of traveling and on the edge of the tundra Malthrope comes upon an army outpost. The soldiers are back from a raid and have the spoils of war piled up in the camp. Something else they have in abundance is captives. Malthrope spies a hearty looking young teen, maybe 14 at most. "Perfect" purrs the old wizard. He asks the commandant of the camp, "I would like to purchase one of the captives to be my servant, how much?". The commandant is not above selling any of the spoils to anyone with money, not even the captives. They reach an agreement and Malthrope collects his prize. On the journey north the mage has the boy doing menial tasks to keep up the facade that he is a slave. Malthrope has the boy wear the amulet and tells him it is the symbol of his servitude. In reality the amulet is the focal point of the spell, the bearer of the amulet is the target of the soul transfer.
Finally on the edge of the Great Northern Sea the duo reach the old Dwarven mining town of Tromderia. This town lies next to a famous diamond mine that has been in use for centuries. It is here that Malthrope obtains the last piece, the 24 northern diamonds. Now off to obtain a map of the area and to find a suitable location to perform the spell. The wizard needs about 2 hours without interruption or distractions to complete the spell. Malthrope looks at the map and finds an abandoned prospecting cave just outside of town and up against the shore. The two head off to the cave, but along the way they stop and pick up something to eat as it is getting late in the day. They find a merchant selling a northern delicacy, seal meat. They buy enough for the day and continue on.
It is now about 9:00 in the evening and it's time to start the spell. Malthrope gives the teen a drink that is laced with a sleeping potion to keep him from getting spooked and running while the spell is being cast. The boy passes out and the wizard begins to chant. In the great north there is a deadly predator, one with out equal. This animal lives a solitary life like the wizard, and is feared by all who live here. The polar bear, an apex predator who can smell it's prey, seals, from miles off, and thrives in the cold arctic night. The bear smells seal on the frigid breeze, his stomach rumbles and his mouth waters in anticipation, he begins to follow his nose.
Almost 2 hours have now passed and the spell is nearing completion. Malthrope is in a deep trance, with his spirit on fire and fighting to escape his body, he can now begin to see a light forming in the darkness. The light begins to take form, hands, legs, head, torso, it's the spirit of the boy. Malthrope's spirit reaches out through the darkness, grasping at, lurching, lunging towards the boys soul. The teen is groggy, his head is pounding, heart racing as he starts to wake up. The boy's spirit is in agony and screams out, the scream making it's way out of the boy's lips. The boy still half asleep rises up to his hands and knees, terrified, confused, and half conscious he stumbles to the mouth of the cave. The boy is slammed to the ground, white hot pain shoots out from the back of his neck, everything goes cold and black. The bear tears out the back of the boys neck and looks into the cave, chewing. The bear smelled the seal the two had brought for dinner and was now very hungry. However the bear is unable to chew through the meat, something hard is stopping his teeth.
Malthrope now sees the boys spirit change, the light now becomes more squared off, stocky, with large legs. It's too late however, his soul has already made a final lunge towards the other soul. The souls collide, they grapple, they twist. Malthrope begins to come out of the trance, he feels strange, not at all what he expected. The wizard feels powerful but has trouble standing up, his sense of smell is now incredible, and his vision is more acute than it has ever been in his life. He comes out of the trance even farther and begins to notice the truth, the horror and shock begins to set in and he realizes he is not in the body of the boy but instead he is now a polar bear. Confused, alarmed, distraught, and terrified, the mage thrashes about, "no this cannot be"! The mage looks into the cave now at his former body, lying there lifeless, wondering what happened. Then suddenly his former self begins to twitch, just a few fingers at first, then the arms, then the legs. The body begins to sit up and look around, a smile forms on it's lips. The bear looks at it and wonders, is the bear's soul in there or the boy's? The body begins to stand up on shaky legs and speaks to the bear. "Come bear, we have much to do". "That voice, I know that voice" Malthrope ponders, it's… I know this…. it's….. IT'S THE LICH!