Ethric
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Story
Also called Ethric the Mad. Sandro's former master, who trained him to be a warlock and objected to him becoming a necromancer. Decades later, Ethric alerted Gem to the fact that Sandro was constructing powerful necromantic artifacts. In an attempt to thwart Sandro, he sent word to Sandro's enemies of his location and the fact that he possessed powerful artifacts.
In Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, he can be found as a lich at the Tomb of Ethric the Mad. Ethric is described as simultaneously being the world's first lich and necromancer.
Appearances
Ethric is also mentioned in Sandro's biography.
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Relations to other heroes
Ethric the Mad
Fans have debated whether Ethric of Bracada (Wizard/Warlock) and Ethric the Mad (Lich) were the same person or not. This was settled by Jennifer Bullard, a member of the Might and Magic team, who stated in an interview that yes, they were.
It can be surmised that Ethric has had an alter-ego of a mortal Bracadan wizard and warlock for a considerable time, the general public apparently being unaware that he is actually Ethric the Mad and not just his namesake. In a similar fashion, Sandro is shown to be using an illusion to disguise him being a lich when dealing with people like Gem and Crag Hack. It is not made clear whether Jabarkas is Ethric's actual brother, or if this is part of the cover story. The latter is very likely, since lore implies that, as the first necromancer, Ethric should be centuries old.
There are references to Ethric having multiple character classes.
- Wizard/Lich: Sandro's biography says that Ethric taught him Necromancy and was originally a Wizard, then later became a Lich.
- Wizard: Driving for the Boots: Gem mentions needing to write to Ethric in Bracada.
- Warlock: Poison Fit for a King: Sandro refers to Ethric as a Warlock.
- Warlock: Master: He appears as a Warlock.
- Lich: Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor, and Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era all depict Ethric as a necromancer lich.
Trivia
- Armor of the Damned and Cloak of the Undead King once belonged to Ethric, since Jeddite's stated goal in Target is to return them to him. This is an apparent hint at this Ethric actually being Ethric the Mad, as later directly confirmed by Jennifer Bullard. It is also possible, though not confirmed, that the two artifacts, reassembled by Sandro, were originally created by Ethric.
- A force of liches attacks Sandro in Master, further hinting at Ethric's true nature.
- Yet another hint comes from Poison Fit for a King, where Ethric is described as "mad" in Sandro's nightmare.
- The fact that Sandro's bio remains unchanged all throughout The Shadow of Death (whereas Gem and Yog have their bios changed in their initial campaignn), stating that he was a pupil of the lich Ethric, corroborates the above hints.
- Ethric is killed as part of a side quest in Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven. His skull is brought by the game's protagonists to Gabriel Cartman, an alchemist in the city of Free Haven. By studying the first lich's, he hopes to find a way to reverse the process of one's transformation into a lich.