Erandis Vol

Lady Illmarrow is a legend—an ancient lich said to dwell in a castle of bone and ice in the coldest regions of the Lhazaar Principalities. Some stories say that she is served by a legion of undead and that she maintains a court of vampires and ghosts in her palace of ice. Other tales claim that when anyone dies in Lhazaar, Illmarrow chooses whether to take their soul before it passes on to the Keeper and Dolurrh.

But Lady Illmarrow is no folk tale. She is the greatest necromancer in Eberron, and after centuries of silence, she is setting ancient plots into motion at last. She is the power behind the Order of the Emerald Claw, but her motives for founding the order are buried in her past. Lady Illmarrow has no interest in ruling the living. Rather, she seeks to become Queen of the Dead.

The Mark of Death. Illmarrow is a fiefdom on the isle of Farlnen—home to a community of elves exiled from Aerenal, who have practiced necromancy for centuries. But Lady Illmarrow’s roots extend far beyond her island domain.

Long ago, it was revealed that the elven line of Vol—a house that practiced the art of necromancy and bore the Dragonmark of Death—was engaged in secret blood rites with a clan of dragons. The discovery of this pact triggered an unprecedented alliance between the Sibling Kings of Aerenal and the dragons of Argonnessen. The Sibling Kings proclaimed that House Vol would be exterminated to the last member, and the Mark of Death would be eliminated from the world.

The line of Vol had long been rivals of the Undying Court, and many whisper even today that the attack on House Vol was nothing more than an excuse to eliminate a political rival. But others believe that what the Undying Court truly feared was a path shown in the Draconic Prophecy—that a child born of dragon and elf could become a godlike avatar of death.

Illmarrow Rises. Even as dragons and elves fought to destroy the line of Vol, a child was born to the house: Erandis. A scion of elf and dragon, Erandis bore a Mark of Death unlike any other. In time, it might have been her gateway to immortality and unrivaled power, but she was hunted down and killed long before she could master the mark’s magic. Her mother, Minara Vol, escaped with her daughter’s body to the icy reaches of Farlnen, far from the conflict. There, Minara unleashed all her necromantic power to raise Erandis as a lich.

As an undead being, Erandis lost the use of her dragonmark. Thus, when the diviners of Aerenal asked if the line of Vol had been exterminated and the Mark of Death destroyed, they received a vision affirming that the bloodline of Vol was no more. To the world, the last survivor of that bloodline is known as Lady Illmarrow. But in truth, she is Erandis Vol, heir to the Mark of Death.

Trapped in Undeath. When Minara restored Erandis as a lich, she hid her daughter’s phylactery, weaving enchantments into it that cause Erandis to be reborn in a random safe haven after she is destroyed. Thus, even Erandis herself doesn’t know the location or form of her phylactery.

Restoring the Mark. Though she takes great pleasure in fighting the dragons and elves who destroyed her ancestors, Lady Illmarrow has a more important goal: restoring her dragonmark and unlocking godlike powers. The agents of the Emerald Claw who serve her fight either for the good of Karrnath or for personal gain, but Illmarrow cares for nothing except increasing her necromantic knowledge and finding a way to restore her lost mark.

Source: Rising from the Last War

Keith Baker

http://keith-baker.com/erandis-vol-hot-or-not/

http://keith-baker.com/dragonmark-418-the-mark-of-death/

Discord

https://discordapp.com/channels/408560956340305921/408560956801548289/713182952011595838

Re: Vol, it's noted that tensions had been brewing between the line of Vol and the Undying Court for thousands of years. So when we talk about other elves that were "allies of the line of Vol" -- such as the Bloodsails -- that alliance was something established long before the Mark of Death even appeared, let alone the birth of Erandis.
Frankly, I don't think that the actual "battle" lasted very long at all. You're talking about the power of the Undying Court AND some help from Argonessen. How could the Line of Vol stand against that? The only thing working in their favor would be that no one would want to see Aerenal devastated the way Xen'drik was, which limited the power that they could wield.
It's established that the Cairdal Blades discovered SOMETHING that triggered the eradication of the line. Either that was the manifestation of Erandis's mark, or it was the existence of elf-dragon dragonmarked hybrids (because there may have been others who manifested a lesser mark). Either way, what we know from canon is that Erandis didn't have time to master her mark before she was killed.
So either she triggered the eradication when she manifested the mark (perhaps because it had a dramatic magical effect that couldn't be hidden), or she manifested it just as the Undying Court was wiping out her house -- proof that their hopes could be realized, but too late.
But either way, it's not like this was a fair fight that Vol ever had a chance of winning.

September 1st, 2019 May 22nd, 2020

Eberron Campaign Guide

Thousands of years ago, it was revealed that the elven line of Vol—a house that had long practiced the arts of necromancy, and had recently developed the Mark of Death—was engaged in secret dealings with a clan of dragons. This knowledge triggered an unprecedented alliance between Argonnessen and Aerenal, as dragon and elf worked side by side to wipe out the bloodline of Vol. The sibling kings proclaimed that the house would be exterminated to the last member, because a single drop of its blood could destroy all living things.

The war was bitter, but its result was never in doubt. The line of Vol was exterminated, and its allies from other lines fled to Khorvaire, bringing the beliefs that would form the basis of the Blood of Vol. Most assume that the elves feared the power of the Mark of Death. But a close study of the records challenges this assumption. If the mark was so deadly, how was the house defeated? In fact, elf and dragon didn’t fear what the line of Vol was; they were afraid of what it might become. In the mingling of elf and dragon, there was the potential to create something new—a being who could become the avatar of death itself.

They were right to be afraid. The war began with the birth of just such a being: Erandis, last scion of the line of Vol. Born of elf and dragon, her Mark of Death was unlike any other. In time, it could have been her gateway to immortality. But she was killed long before she could master its power. Her mother Minara refused to let her daughter die forever, and used her powers to raise Erandis as a lich, then sent her to Khorvaire with a handful of trusted allies. As an undead being, Erandis cannot use her mark; thus, the Aerenal diviners reported that the Mark of Death had been successfully destroyed. Erandis has spent thousands of years brooding over her loss, realizing the destiny that should have been hers yet being unable to seize it.

Few followers of the Blood know that Erandis exists, but those who do know revere her as the eldest and wisest of their champions. The Order of the Emerald Claw knows of her, and believes that the Queen of Death could bring glory to Karrnath. Erandis also has her own personal retinue, the elves of Illmarrow, who are fanatically devoted to her. In truth, however, Erandis has little interest in the faith she has helped to spread. It is a tool that helps her manipulate her followers, but her one desire is to achieve her personal apotheosis—to truly become the Queen of the Dead.

In most respects, Erandis appears to be a withered elf, but skeletal wings rise from her shoulders, and long talons speak of her draconic heritage.

Lore of Lady Vol

Secret Knowledge: The war that resulted in the destruction of the Mark of Death wasn’t just about the mark; it began with the revelation that a child had been born of elf and dragon. This was Erandis Vol, who was killed in the war.

The priests of Vol believe that the undead are champions of their faith. It is said that the greatest of these champions is Erandis Vol, who survives as a lich and guides the religion from the shadows.

Using Lady Vol

In many ways, Erandis is a tragic figure. Her birth caused the destruction of her house, and she has been robbed of her destiny: The mark traced across her withered flesh is as dead as she is. The only way she can redeem her family is by becoming the Queen of Death, and she is prepared to sacrifice everything she has built over the centuries to accomplish this—even destroying Eberron, if necessary.

The statistics below represent Lady Vol’s abilities in her current state. Should she succeed in her apotheosis, she will have powers rivaling a god’s. It is up to you to decide what steps are required for her to rise to this level, but it should be a serious challenge; she has been working toward it for thousands of years. She’ll need ancient artifacts, books of forgotten lore, or possibly to make deals with demonic overlords. She might create eldritch machines with the apparent goal of turning everyone in Sharn into a zombie—but the true goal of which is to weaken the borders between Eberron and Dolurrh (a goal she can achieve even in defeat). Her apotheosis should be the culmination of a long story arc. It’s also up to you to decide what happens if Erandis ascends. Will she terrorize the world until she is defeated? Or, with her destiny secured, will she retire to Dolurrh and become a worthy ruler of her new realm of death?

June 29th, 2020

Lady Illmarrow and the Blood of Vol

The Blood of Vol and Lady Illmarrow are both legacies of the line of Vol, but they aren’t one and the same. As far as the world knows, the line of Vol was exterminated. Followers of the Blood of Vol who have heard of Lady Illmarrow believe that she’s a champion of their faith, but they don’t worship or serve her. And the powers of priests of the Blood of Vol don’t come from Lady Illmarrow.

January 19th, 2020

Grisgol

The lich queen Vol uses devout agents and misguided adventurers to hunt down other liches and capture their phylacteries. Once she acquires a lich’s phylactery, Vol binds the lich’s spirit to a grisgol. Vol’s grisgols are sometimes encountered in secret temples inhabited by Blood of Vol cultists or in locations where signs of the draconic Prophecy (see page 130 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting) have manifested.