Xul (The Servant)

Xul, the Cryptic Necromancer, is a powerful member of the secretive Priests of Rathma, or the Necromancers, and fights to preserve the delicate balance between order and chaos.

Biography
Xul was born and indoctrinated into the Priests of Rathma at an early age, and possessed great talents in necromancy.

Hunting Diablo
Xul allied with a group of fellow heroes, and pursued the Dark Wanderer — a vessel for the Lord of Terror. It culminated with the defeat of the Prime Evils, but also much loss, including the destruction of the Worldstone. Despite the warnings of the Horadric scholar Deckard Cain as to what the event might portend for Sanctuary, the heroes disbanded and returned to their homes and families. Despite this, Cain would look favorably upon Xul in later years.

Apprentices
Now a master necromancer, given the nickname of "Necromaster", Xul returned to the Priests of Rathma cloaked in foreign garb. He chose to mentor an apprentice, a promising student named Mehtan. Mehtan looked favorably upon his master and continued to seek to preserve the Balance.

When Mehtan was well trained and quickly began to rise through the ranks, Xul took on Lethes as an apprentice. However, their relationship was strained, and Lethes believed that Xul was jealous of her, seeking to suppress her potential. Xul, in return, noted that Lethes had a disregard for life, and taught her at least one "painful lesson." Eventually, Lethes abandoned the Priests of Rathma. She would later claim that Xul had attempted to kill her, but could not (or would not) do it.

Ashwold Cemetery
Xul caught up to Lethes in Ashwold Cemetery, where he found her torturing a member of the Wortham Guard. She revealed that she was seeking the power of the Worldstone, and wanted to know the location of Queen Asylla's tomb. She summoned undead minions to cover her escape, as the creature attacked Xul. He was aided by a group of heroes, whom he thanked for their aid. He headed after Lethes, while leaving them to tend to the wounded guard.

Xul found the body of Asylla's handmaiden, killed by Lethes. He was joined by the heroes he had encountered earlier, before summoning the woman's spirit. The handmaiden revealed that she had been tortured into revealing the tomb's location, before Lethes had killed her. She in turn revealed its location to Xul and the heroes. Xul told the heroes to pursue Lethes, while he remained to ensure that the handmaiden's body was properly interred.

Xul caught up with the heroes at Ashwold Manor, having traced a surge of energy to the structure. There, he and the heroes discovered necrotic barriers erected by Lethes, along with a trio of Golems. He ordered the heroes to destroy the Golems in order to lower the barriers.

Xul confronted Lethes outside the manor, where she was summoning Asylla's spirit. They engaged in a battle of wills, with Xul trying to disrupt Lethes's summoning (Lethes herself was inside the summoning circle, and apparently immune to harm). She intended to use Asylla's spirit as a conduit to gain ownership of Leoric's soul, and through it, the power Diablo had left behind. Xul's allies arrived, and while they were able to defeat the simulacrum Lethes summoned, they couldn't harm her. Xul ordered them to enter the manor and slay Leoric, which in doing so would break the tether.

The hero(es) were successful in breaking the tether, but outside, history repeated itself, as Xul found himself unable (or unwilling) to kill Lethes. She, however, was perfectly willing to wound him and flee. The hero(es) returned, and Xul told them what happened. He refused to be tended to and sent them off in pursuit of his former apprentice. Xul followed after them, arriving in time to see Lethes explode in a torrent of blood. However, he was skeptical that she was dead, stating "no body, not dead." He resolved to follow after her, and thanked the hero(es) for their trouble.

Xul did eventually find Lethes, or rather her body. Ashamed that he had failed to stop her before hand, and in accordance with Mendeln's decrees, he inlaid his army with Lethes bones. They armor served as a symbol of his mastery over death and the helm as a grim reminder that death surrounds us all, and as a constant reminder of what he had failed to do.

Deathspeaker
For several years, Xul wandered sanctuary in his grim visage, before eventually returning to the Necropolis, although he never took up another apprentice. During the Reaper's genocide, the leaders of the Necromancers were killed, and Xul became the Deathspeaker of the order, for a short period. Eventually, Saresa became the new Deathspeaker, while Xul remained a powerful figure among the Priests of Rathma.

During the great war against the demons, Xul was a pivotal leader of the Necromancers in various battlefields, and continues to help Saresa lead the order.

Personality and Traits
Hailing from the southern swamps, long hours of study in dank mausoleums made Xul's skin pale and corpselike, his figure, skeletal, and most people shunned him for his particular looks and ways. Though his goals were often aligned with the forces of Light, some did not think that these ends could justify his foul means. Regardless, Xul continues on his mission to preserve balance, though the weight of so many hard choices has wearied him down. Even to those close to him, Xul can be quite mysterious, and is not very open about his emotions. He feels great shame in those he has failed, particularly in preventing Lethes from going down her dark path.

Xul is a skilled necromancer and powerful death magic user. Xul will sap the strength of his enemies, block their escape, and direct his spectral scythe with lethal accuracy. Those who fall before the necromancer find no peace even in death, rising again as skeletal servants bound to do their master’s bidding.