From a young age, Solomon’s destiny was clear; he was no ordinary child. Born into a prestigious family of wizards, his affinity for the arcane arts blossomed early. His fingers danced with sparks of magic, and his mind was a labyrinth of spells and enchantments.

Solomon’s life was a tapestry of spellbooks and ancient scrolls, each day unraveling new mysteries of the universe. But as he grew, so did his ambition. He craved knowledge that lay beyond the mortal coil, secrets whispered only in the darkest corners of existence. His heart yearned for immortality, a desire that gnawed at his very soul.

Whispers of the Sacred Flame reached Solomon’s ears, tales of a mystical fire that granted eternal life to those brave enough to embrace it. Legends spoke of its location, hidden deep within treacherous lands, guarded by fierce, otherworldly entities. Most deemed the journey impossible, but for Solomon, it was a calling he could not ignore.

Determined, Solomon set forth on his quest, leaving behind the comforts of his home and the safety of his studies. His journey was fraught with peril. He traversed desolate landscapes, battled monstrous creatures, and deciphered cryptic runes that barred his way. Each step brought him closer to the Sacred Flame, yet each step also stripped away a piece of his humanity.

Finally, after years of relentless pursuit, Solomon stood before the Sacred Flame. Its flickering light cast eerie shadows, and its heat seemed to burn not just flesh, but the very essence of one’s being. Solomon, undeterred by the legends of its transformative power, stepped into the flame.

The fire consumed him, pain like he had never known searing through his body. He felt his flesh melt away, his bones crack and reshape. Yet, amidst the agony, he felt a surge of power unlike anything he had ever experienced. When he emerged, he was no longer the man he once was. He had become a Lich, an undead sorcerer of immense power. His eyes glowed with a sinister red light, and his once handsome face was now a grotesque mask of decay.

As the Lich Despot, Solomon’s first act was to summon the Death Cloud. A swirling storm of dark energy, the Death Cloud became his symbol, heralding his arrival and spreading fear across the land. Under its shadow, Solomon’s dominion expanded. Villages fell, kingdoms crumbled, and the living trembled at the mere mention of his name.

The transformation that granted Solomon immortality also twisted his soul. Where once there had been a thirst for knowledge, now there was only a hunger for power. He raised an army of the undead, skeletal warriors and spectral beings bound to his will. His reign was one of terror, his decrees enforced by the ever-present Death Cloud.

The lands under Solomon’s control were plunged into perpetual twilight. The sun’s rays were a distant memory, the world bathed in an eternal, eerie dusk. The living whispered tales of his dark deeds, of entire villages sacrificed to fuel his necromantic rituals.

Sami. Liches. A Djinn.

Not all villains are truly bad, and not all heroes are actually good.

Not all that are magic remain so, and not all that are of might come from it.

And that is the story of Sami. An ancient Djinn, for eons locked in a lamp, he was but a servant to all lucky enough to stumble upon his jail. Legends say Sami was one of the first of the wish granting spirits. Such was his power that he could make almost any desire come true, as per his eternal greeting:

Three wishes, to be exact. And ixnay on the wishing for more wishes. That's all.

Sami, the Djinn. Every. Djinn. Time.

Alas, it isn't only power and magic that he honed over the millennia in his cursed prison. With every wish given, Sami learned more and more of the mortal world and its occult legends.

He discovered that some souls are only loosely bound to their fragile bodies, often as a result of the dark arts -- Necromancy. Some souls are fragmented, and have fractions of their being hosted in phylacteries, personal items securing the life force of a lich, a wizard of forbidden magics. The Djinn realized that with a cleverly worded wish and a willing dark arts practitioner to assist him, he could escape his prison.

Eons passed but an opportunity finally appeared. A dying Lich, Kain, found Sami's lamp near Zaros Oasis with too little life force left to continue his journey and too much thirst for revenge to let go. Not even the Djinn's wishes could stitch together what little soul he had left into more time... but it could help return the favor to those that wronged the Lich. With all three wishes, a dark ritual, forbidden knowledge, the Djinn's lamp, a source of primal life from a golden jaguar, The Zaros Oasis' emblematic animal, and the remainder of Kain's life force, the unlikely duo cast a reverse Imprisonment spell. Sami's prison lamp turned into his own phylactery, his spirit into flesh, his magics reduced to a Brimstone rune, and the jaguar into the Lich's ultimate cursed vessel and final resting place. His previous bonds weakened, Sami could now roam the mortal world, a wish he craved for ages.

Yet, this was no gift. The bargain struck between the desert spirit and the undead wizard bound Sami to a quest. His newfound freedom was conditional on his loyalty to those practicing Lichdom and on avenging his ghastly savior. The final bond was forged between the new human and the giant feline. The apex predator was to watch over, guard, and assist Sami in his endeavor, as well as ensure that Kain's final wish for revenge is fulfilled. Would the cat be a friend or a warden? Only Sami's future journey would reveal the answer.

And thus Sami, Hero of Liches, blessed with freedom and cursed with a dark oath, set out to fulfill his quest lest he be returned to his damned jail. Alongside his cursed golden jaguar that he named Kain in honor of his rescuer, Sami ventured forth into the Runiverse.