Ilyo

Ilyo is a notorious legendary lich whose partial ancient-arcanist inheritance leads him to a hidden floating city. Leylin Farlier captures the lich's phylactery and turns an unwilling rival into Thultanthar's necromancer, operator, and technical steward.

Biography

Notoriety and the floating-city hunt

Paladins track Ilyo to ancient ruins after a leaked soul experiment attributed to him kills half a kingdom. His reputation rests on a long undead career, a kingdom of undead, and participation in multiple holy wars. Partial arcanist knowledge lets him recognize the ruins' true value and penetrate the dimensional fortress before most competitors. He rides a bone dragon and fights both the legendary paladin pursuing him and the automated defenses guarding the city. (Chapters 969–972)

A rival who refuses ordinary surrender

Leylin takes control of the floating city and eliminates or overawes the other legendary contenders. Ilyo values the lost arcanists' knowledge enough to remain defiant and does not accept service simply because Leylin is stronger. The lich believes bodily destruction cannot permanently compel him while his soul vessel remains hidden. That confidence collapses when Leylin reveals the phylactery: a purple-gold coin concealed among collectors rather than in an obvious necromantic sanctuary. (Chapters 974–976)

Service secured by the phylactery

Control of the coin lets Leylin destroy, imprison, or continually threaten Ilyo's continued existence. Faced with that leverage, the lich pledges service while openly resenting the loss of freedom. The arrangement is coercive rather than loyal conversion. Ilyo obeys because permanent captivity or destruction is worse than working for a master who can also provide access to the floating city and its ancient systems. (Chapters 975–976)

Necromancer and steward of Thultanthar

Ilyo performs concealed missions and uses conventional death magic to redirect suspicion, becoming a useful public suspect when Leylin wants the city's theft obscured. He later manages Thultanthar with the city spirit Shaylin, prepares it for movement in the divine war, and inventories captured resources after Leylin's apotheosis. His partial inheritance becomes practical stewardship: the former seeker of a floating city is made responsible for operating the one he failed to seize. (Chapters 981, 988, 1015, and 1127–1132)

Appearance and personality

Ilyo is a crystal skeleton with dark fire burning in his eye sockets. In later service he wears a formal black suit, creating a deliberate contrast between courtly presentation and undead anatomy.

He is proud, theatrical, acquisitive toward arcane knowledge, and confident in the survival mechanism that normally protects a lich. He yields only when Leylin demonstrates control over that mechanism. Ilyo's later competence does not imply affection for his master; it shows that resentment and reliable work can coexist under absolute leverage. (Chapters 969–1132)

Magic, bloodline, and abilities

Legendary lich and necromancy

Ilyo is a high-ranked legendary necromancer with centuries of experience, an undead kingdom, and multiple holy wars behind him. He can cast bone walls, bone lances, concealment, and other high-level death magic, using summoned or created undead to extend his reach. The source establishes breadth and rank but not an exhaustive spellbook. His death magic can create convincing traces for misdirection, though opponents familiar with him may also use that reputation to identify or frame him. (Chapters 969–988)

Phylactery-based survival

Ilyo's continued existence is anchored to a phylactery shaped as a purple-gold coin. Bodily destruction does not reliably end a lich while that soul vessel remains intact and hidden. The same separation is a critical weakness: anyone controlling the coin can threaten the truesoul directly and compel behavior that ordinary force cannot secure. Leylin's custody turns immortality from protection into a chain. The corpus does not show Ilyo recovering independent control of the vessel. (Chapters 974–976)

Ancient-arcanist knowledge

Ilyo possesses a partial inheritance from ancient arcanists, enough to recognize dimensional architecture, enter the floating city's defenses, and contribute to later operation and study. His knowledge is incomplete; it does not let him override the city's spirit, defeat Leylin's control, or claim the fortress unaided. Working with Shaylin and Leylin's broader resources makes that expertise more effective than it was during the initial contest. (Chapters 969–976 and 1015–1132)

Undead forces and external infrastructure

The bone dragon is an undead mount and combat resource, not Ilyo's biological transformation. His undead kingdom, Thultanthar, Shaylin, captured resources, and the city's weapon systems are likewise external forces he commands or administers. The phylactery is a separate item carrying his soul, while his spells and legendary cultivation remain personal capabilities. (Chapters 969–1132)

Relationships

• Leylin Farlier: Master who captures Ilyo's phylactery and uses him as Thultanthar's necromancer and steward.
• Alustriel: Northern ruler whose allied paladins pursue Ilyo as a notorious enemy.
• Shaylin: Floating-city spirit with whom Ilyo manages and prepares Thultanthar under Leylin's authority.
• Legendary paladin: Pursuer whose conflict with Ilyo continues into the struggle for the floating city.

Items

• Purple-gold coin phylactery: Ilyo's soul vessel, hidden among collectors and later controlled by Leylin. Its survival enables lich persistence; enemy custody enables coercion. (Chapter 975)
• Bone dragon: Undead mount used during the struggle for the floating city. It is a created companion or resource rather than part of Ilyo's body. (Chapters 970–971)
• Thultanthar: Floating city Ilyo helps operate after subjugation; ownership and supreme control belong to Leylin.