Unknown; assumed to be several hundred

The Esteemed Order of Necromancy started long ago as a means of assisting the government and other businesses. At first, most people eyed them warily, but as their reputation grew, people learned to trust them.

In the beginning, the Order offered several basic services: cheap manual labor, reliable courier services (undead don't really care what they're carrying), and even, in some cases, the most loyal guards and soldiers you could need.

The former families of the raised undead (if they had any living relatives) were compensated for the use of their loved one's corpse in such an unusual fashion, and after a period of service, the undead were destroyed to give them their final rest.

However, as time went by and the Order became more deeply involved in various aspects of city life, they slowly started raising the prices they charged for their services and the length of time they kept an individual's body, as well as reducing the compensation for the undead's former families. This happened over a long enough period that, by the time people noticed what was happening, it was too late to stop. The Order had their workers in nearly every aspect of the city's infrastructure, from general maintenance and construction to guard service to cheap labor for nearly any task.

It was at that point the Order threatened the citizens with unspeakable horrors if they did not concede to their demands. These were simple: the leaders and high-ranking members of the Order were given diplomatic immunity to all the laws of the city, and they were also given the first opportunity at any new job created in any market. If the Order accepted a job, they charged whatever fee they wished, and if the business or individual did not pay or was not able to pay in a reasonable amount of time, the Order "recruited" them. Essentially, the Order would have the offending person publicly executed and raised as another of their cheap laborers.

The order is presided over a by powerful lich and a council of five other necromancers. Only those on the Order's council are aware that the leader is a lich. To all others, he appears as a normal, living elf.

Athauric is an elven lich who once actually possessed a kind heart. Born Maeglin Tur-anion, Athauric changed his name when he moved to the city in order to fit in better with the humans there. In the city, he founded the Esteemed Order of Necromancy in an effort to turn what had always been considered a black art and make it into something that could be beneficial to the average commoner. However, over the years, his heart and soul were corrupted by his continuous use of the Necromantic arts, and he forsook the pure life for the one desiring power. He became a lich, using illusory magic during his public appearances to hide fact that he was now one of the undead himself. Because of his elven heritage, his long life span has not yet raised suspicion with the rest of the city.