Vermissa

Vermissa, also known as The Undying One, the Queen of Worms, and Matron of Ghouls, was an ancient lich inhabiting the island of Sahu in the Crowded Sea in the early 1400s DR.

Description
Vermissa's body was remarkably well-preserved given her age. She retained the figure of a voluptuous young woman. In contrast, her face appeared to carry all of the ravages of time where her withered skin was stretched tight over her skull. Infernal flames burned bright in her empty eye sockets.

Vermissa often used magic to disguise her appearance and could suppress other physical attributes of liches, such as chill touch and fear aura, at will.

Her voice was often soft and sweet when entertaining visitors, in which she enjoyed singing. However, if enraged, her voice assumed a malevolent tone that bespoke of true infernal power.

Personality
Vermissa was a master manipulator and politician with the patience and long-term planning of a true immortal.

Possessions
Vermissa had access to a range of powerful items including a purple gown that was actually an enchanted robe of eyes, a gold earring that was an ioun stone, a ring of protection +3, a ring of spell storing, a staff of withering, a gold armband that was a talisman of divining, and a trio of handglyphs of power.

Vermissa's most unique item was a valuable electrum choker that was adorned with a lavish emerald that served as a helm of telepathy. The choker was covered with writhing worms.

History
Vermissa lived on Sahu as a mortal when the first Necromancer Kings rose to power. Her founding of the Cult of Worms directly challenged the power of Uruk. Aware of Vermissa's power and devotion to her foul god Thasmudyan, Uruk and eight of his barons decided a direct confrontation was suicide. Instead they lured Vermissa to the Garden of Eternity where they trapped her inside with nine seals of power.

Uruk and his barons left Vermissa to die, but Thasmudyan had different plans for his Chosen. Thasmudyan granted his high priestess the gift of lichdom, allowing her to endure long after Uruk and his future successors had faded to dust. Under her guidance the Cult of Worms gained unfounded influence and prosperity, but all of that diminished greatly after her imprisonment.

Activities
Though she was prevented from leaving the Garden of Eternity, others could enter and leave at any time. This allowed Vermissa to rebuild the Cult of Worms to carry out her plans in the world above, not just on Sahu, but even extending to mainland Zakhara.

Outside of the Cult of Worms, Vermissa entered into a mutually beneficial bargain with the philosopher Kazerabet. In exchange for access to Vermissa's impressive library and aid in becoming a lich, Kazerabet agreed to destroy one of the nine glyphs that kept her imprisoned.

Through her pawn Pizentios, Vermissa built a school of necromancers on Sahu that she would use to find and destroy all remaining seals of power so she could attain her ultimate freedom.

Skills & Abilities
In addition to her powers as a high priestess and lich, Vermissa could project herself into any undead on Sahu, allowing her to see through their eyes.