Nerull

Nerull was the evil god of death and the dead and creator of the necromancy school of magic. He was killed by the Raven Queen.

History
Nerull was born as a human in the days of the beginning of the Dawn War. He was a wizard, and one of the first non-elves to learn arcane magic from Corellon himself. His power soon drew him into the war against the primordials, where he found himself incensed over how many that allowed themselves to be killed and thus become useless for the war effort. Spending some months after a particular battle in study over mortality and the dead, Nerull created the foundation of the necromancy school of magic.

Nerull thought that his discoveries of how to use the dead to make undead servants would provide a turning point in the Dawn War, and presented his findings to the original god of the dead, Aurom. Aurom rejected Nerulls discoveries, claiming that death was a part of the natural cycle that should not be breached, which enraged Nerull. When Nerull approached other gods about his discoveries, they deferred to Aurom's judgement. Nerull gathered his armies and, just after another battle against the primordials, Nerull attacked the already wounded Aurom in a suprise assault and slew him. Nerull then seized Aurom's power and laid claim to the portfolios of death and the dead.

By giving over Aurom's many other portfolios to the other gods, Nerull ensured his place in the pantheon, but he always saw this as a sign of weakness of the other gods. Nerull made his home in the astral domain of Pluton, and sought to become king over all the gods by increasing the power he derived from gathering and trapping mortal souls. He created blights and plagues to increase death in the mortal world and thus increase his number of souls. It was during this time that he came be called the Reaper and the Hater of Life.

In time, another human wizard—a sorcerer-queen who had also learned wizardry from Corellon—perished in the Dawn War and passed into Pluton. Her soul shone brighter than any other, and Nerull’s gaze became fixed firmly on her. Enthralled, he named her Nera. Nerull showered Nera with gifts and gave her authority in Pluton to win her affection. Nera used her position to learn the god’s secret of how to use souls for power, and began to amass her own store of magical might. Soon Nera turned on Nerull, releasing the bound souls of Pluton and turning their energy against their master. Nerull fell, and the Raven Queen was born.