Ulthir

Ulthir was the most powerful necromancer in the world during the Age of Piracy, and one of the Seven Pirate Warlords. With his undead Armada, he threatened to rule all of the Great Dark Sea. He was only stopped by the newly-formed Coalition at the Battle of Banecastle where he was killed, resulting in all his undead being freed from his influence.

History
Little is known about Ulthir's life before he became the Warlord known to the world today. It is speculated that he was alive before the Cascade, and devised his methods over the next centuries.

Legacy
Ulthir is sometimes known as the First Necromancer, since he was the first mortal in known history to develop arcane necromancy as it is known today - a brutal, uncaring method of magic that shatters bodies and minds, reshaping them to the caster's desire. The Rinespire does not teach necromancy to its students; this is partially to avoid another figure like Ulthir from coming to power, but it is also because little development has gone into the method besides those devised by Ulthir.

Though Ulthir was evil, he was, undoubtedly, a genius. A single mortal who conceiving of an entire magical method on their own - such a thing is unheard of in history, and has never been repeated. His necromancy survives on in his surviving collection of students, who experiment in forgotten corners of the world. Though they continue to push the method further, it is unlikely that they will ever achieve the same heights of power as Ulthir. Such a mortal appears only once in a millennium.