Leveren

In a nutshell, Liches in HV are “powerful undead mages, seething with hatred for all forms of life. They bring plague to the lands they tread upon, creating dreadful death clouds to strike their enemies from afar.”

In Heroes VI and VII, a high-ranking necromancer can become one by consuming “a life-prolonging elixir that is milked from the venom of the Namtarus, Asha’s sacred spider spirits, that they must mix with their food. This ‘treatment’ turns them into Asakkus, or ‘Liches’, their bodies desiccated but now freed from the passions of the flesh. They keep aging however, until they resemble little more than walking mummies. The venom mixture also colors their entire eyes bright green.”

As for Archliches, the main upgrade, they’re practically the same thing, expect they can also “cast curses and weakening spells upon entire enemy armies” in HV.

In HVI and HVII, they “are given this title when they have continued ‘living’ beyond what their physical shell would have normally permitted. Though this passage might seem arbitrary, it is not, for a Lich feels the moment pass when death should have come. As they journey beyond the sacred cycle of life and death, they gain comprehension of greater powers, some which can be used to sap the lifeforce of living creatures.”

As for Lich Masters (who only appear in HV as an alt upgrade): “On their death, the most experienced necromancers have the honour of becoming Lich Masters, elite troops of the armies of Heresh.” I can only imagine them to be somewhat similar to Archliches, except way more powerful (and way fewer in number).

Maybe they could act as some kind of leader figure for other Liches—or perhaps they’re the ones who oversee the process of creating more of them, deciding on any adjustments to make to the venom in order to improve the transformation process...? I’m not entirely set on any particular idea for them.

Ever since I first read all that, I asked myself: why specify that they hate all forms of life?

What if it’s a side effect of the venom? What if they aren’t just aging and decomposing on the outside (physically), but are also rotting on the inside (in a psychological way)? Not only are their bodies unable to function the way those of mortals are, the way they feel and process emotions will inevitably differ as well—which gets translated to a lingering hatred, resentment, or something else.

What if this extends to every other facet of unlife, as well? Perhaps they become remarkably prickly people, more irritable or prone to certain negative emotions in general. And they’re not afraid to retaliate against those they deem deserving of their ire.

But to control this aspect of oneself, to be patient and kind and understanding, takes strength and dedication—it’s a fight that doesn’t get easier with the passage of time.

It could also simply depend on the individual’s pre-established personality. Perhaps people who (aspire to) become Liches are more likely to have had a hatred of the living before going through with the transformation. Something that was already in them is just getting worse, as opposed to appearing out of seemingly nowhere.

Personally, I believe it can be a mix of both. Maybe becoming a Lich doesn’t simply change who someone is, but moreso reinforces beliefs and perceptions they’ve already had—or provides a change of perspective as they learn a completely new way of (un)life. Maybe some do, in fact, hate the living, while others don’t. Maybe it’s just… complicated. It’s different for every Lich.

Also, why take up four tiles on the battlefield (in HV) if they’re also formerly humans (or any other kind of creature they could’ve been)?

In my opinion, it is (or can be) because many Liches are indeed taller and bigger than most other types of necromancers. As time goes on, what remains of their mortal shell becomes more and more “distorted” by the very thing that made them this way.

It’s essentially another side effect of the poison: the more they unlive, the more powerful they get, the less human they look.

Kudur, As A Lich:

With that said, Kudur is a bit different from the other (Arch)Liches. I like to think of him as much taller and much less human-looking as a result of unliving a lot longer than most other necromancers.

How long? According to his wiki page, he was Belketh’s apprentice, and Belketh unlived for centuries until his final death in 822 YSD—and since there is literally no information about Kudur beyond his appearance in The Refugee scenario, he could technically have unlived for any amount of time.

I believe it would be interesting if he, and perhaps Naadir as well, had been around from the beginning, ever since their Master first rediscovered necromancy. This means they would’ve both present when HVI took place—but weren’t important, powerful, or otherwise notable enough to appear in the list of featured/playable characters.

Perhaps at the time, they would’ve moreso been at the beginning of their respective journeys as necromancers—too early to start making a name for themselves.

There’s also a second reason for me to say this: what if Kudur became a Lich way back when, before the Namtarus came into the picture—before there was any venom to consume?

Instead, Belketh used a spell to convert him, a complex one he reworked/modified (or even designed) based on his findings in the Revelations of the Seventh Dragon, an ancient manuscript containing the teachings of Sar-Elam.

Taking it a step further; what if Kudur was one of the first Liches to have ever made? Meaning he was one of the first people on whom Belketh used that spell—so it came with more side effects than the current method.

Although Belketh did continue to rework and improve it based on what he learned from using it, he can’t change what had become of Kudur (and of Naadir, by extension).

However, once the Namtaru venom was discovered, the spider cult prioritized it because it was an “easier” (less risky and overall more convenient) alternative to the spell, which required much more power and mana than most necromancers could manage—making Belketh one of the only people who could perform it well, or at all.

In essence, not only does Kudur look much less human than his fellow Liches, he’s also unliving with the side-effects of the spell—basically a more severe set of downsides than if he had waited for the venom method to be developed. For example; he can’t eat food even if he wants to, since his body wouldn’t be able to process it the way even most others of his kind can.

Personality:

Kudur is a rather sardonic and sarcastic guy in general, who enjoys poking fun at others—in Refugee, he is seen making jabs and quips at NPCs nearly the entire time.

However, he knows to be serious when the situation calls for it— and to keep any negative comments private, to himself or between him and Naadir.

Surprisingly, it takes a lot to seriously irritate him—but once he reaches his limit, he’s Mad. Even then, he’s not impulsive to the point of hurting others without permission—though he threatened to kill and enslave the first oracle in Refugee, he never actually acted on his frustration because Naadir told him not to.

So he’s either impatient, or super patient. I’m inclined to believe the latter, since he only reached this almost-breaking point after many cutscenes, a point that took me months in-game to reach.

He’s rather distrusting of others by default; he’ll be cordial to most, but it takes time and effort to gain his trust and genuine respect—which only Belketh and Naadir have managed to do.

He doesn’t think much of the rest, even of those he mocks. As for those who deserve his ire, he enjoys retaliating against them, making the most out of any opportunity to do so.

Beneath his cold exterior lays a heart of gold; he tends to express kindness in small, subtle ways towards his allies, or at least to those he doesn’t totally disdain... but when asked about it, he’ll deny, deny, deny, and actively restrain himself from lashing out just to prove that he isn’t. He’s not a good person, he claims. Far from it.

(Okay, that last one isn’t based on anything at all, but it’s a fun what-if to think about. Plus, I already headcanon Naadir as being kind, so by that logic, it would make sense for him to spend time with someone who shares the trait, even if neither of them would put it in those words.)

Possible Backstory:

Kudur was a mage from the Seven Cities, before becoming a disciple of Belketh and a necromancer. He was already quite a tall man at the time, but the spell that helped him cross to the other side of life left him even taller, unnaturally so. Perhaps it also made him more prone to bitterness and disdain than before taking the plunge.

Despite this, he doesn’t regret the decision (which he fully agreed to), since it gave him his power, his high rank, and most importantly: a change of perspective that left him a more mature and sensible person.

I’m not sure what he would’ve been working on at the time, but maybe on something unrelated enough to not have had to talk to Naadir very often, but connected enough to give them a reason to collaborate after Belketh’s defeat.

Relationship With Naadir:

After the War of the Broken Staff, all Kudur could think about was rebuilding what was destroyed and recovering the knowledge that had been lost… and so was Naadir, supposedly, though he focused a little too much on the Revelations of the Seventh Dragon, in his humble opinion—he doubted whether such a thing still existed. He didn’t have much of a choice, seeing as there weren’t many other people left to work with, after so many final deaths among their highest ranks.

Whatever. They were going to part ways after giving up finding it anyway, which shouldn’t take too long…

However, the more they unlived together, the more they warmed up to each other—slowly and rather indirectly, learning about one another through tackling challenges together rather than purposeful interaction.

And then, it happened: they found the book. They should have parted ways, like they both swore to do, but they kept finding excuses to stay by one another’s side. There was always something to do, and they worked so well together—so they continued as they were, not daring to say anything out of fear of ruining things between them.

During the 150 years since, their budding friendship only grew stronger as they settled into a new normal, as Heresh started to stabilize and become a kingdom in its own right. Now, the thought of leaving one another seems more ridiculous than anything.

These days, they’re super close. Kudur keeps Naadir sane with his humor, and Naadir keeps Kudur in check.

Current Role:

As Naadir’s right hand, Kudur assists him with his research of the spiritual realm. He mainly works behind the scenes, ensuring their department stays up and running while the other often has to travel to recruit more ghosts and do field research.

His tasks range anywhere from organizing findings in readable documents, to managing and taking care of the spirits currently in their custody, to answering inquiries pertaining to the spiritual realm when Naadir is unavailable (otherwise, people would go to him instead), etc.

He also accompanies Naadir in his travels, sometimes, mainly to help with any task he struggles to complete on his own. It happens less often after the end of Refugee.

Despite him technically being an underling, there’s not really a solid hierarchy between the two, nor a strict expectation of servitude like most other relationships of that nature. They’re closer to equals with different roles, even though Naadir has a little more authority as the “face” everyone associates with all the advancements in that domain.

Though he is rarely seen without Naadir, Kudur is well-respected within the spider cult, and just as feared, in his own right.

Should anything happen to Naadir, it would be relatively simple for him to take over his unlife’s work, seeing as he practically already does when the other is away from home.

Last, but not Least:

He (canonically) has a deep voice that really appeals to me.

Due to it also being somewhat monotone, he tends to come across as sarcastic and demeaning even in the very few instances he doesn’t necessarily intend to.

He sometimes swears in private, around people he’s comfortable with (only with Naadir, who does the same around him).

What if he used to be conventionally attractive as a human, but didn’t hate himself for it like Naadir did? His nonchalance about it could be part of the reason why the other initially disliked him.

Maybe Arantir could have the most tattoos, despite only emerging recently (as of the beginning of Heroes 5), only because he’d ask for them — when most would wait to be offered tattoos? Perhaps he never had anyone to give them to, yet — but if he did, I imagine they would be red, like the one on his own head (as opposed to a more typical color, such as black)

Because of his hatred for the realm of the flesh, Naadir might not care for tattoos on skin — but perhaps he could research a way to carve them on someone’s soul, instead (if he hadn’t already found a way, by now)?