Takulev the Undying’s earliest memory is drowning to death in the Swamps of Mordun. Traumatized by the entire ordeal, he can still recall the feeling of rotten wood crunching underfoot as the old bridge gave way. Then came the eerie silence as he plummeted for a half second towards the icy water, which still sends a chill down his spine. The worst part was feeling the strength ebb from his limbs as he thrashed, trying and failing to keep his head above the muddy water.
He would have died, and in fact he did. Fished from the river and revived by a passing wizard named Samray, Takulev spent the next several years regaining the use of his newly deceased body. Alone and often lonely, Takulev had to learn to use magic to animate himself in order to achieve some semblance of life.
Takulev rose again, but whatever part of him once felt pain, fear, affection, or remorse remained behind in the swamp. He has existed ever since in a state of permanent undeath, his body stubbornly refusing to die and his lifeforce sustained by pure ambition. Over the centuries, Takulev has become a master of necromancy, assembling a vast knowledge of forbidden rituals through which he summons minions and maintains his own body.
Asked about his fate, Takulev has mixed opinions. In the past he has cursed Samray bitterly for reviving him, but even in undeath he admits that conscious existence has a certain strange-but-undeniable charm. If nothing else, there's always the excitement and triumph of enduring to the end, to find out what the future holds. But beyond this, Takulev admits that his life his often bleak. He cannot smell or taste, and food and drink bring him no pleasure.
What Takulev actually wants is considerably harder to determine. He has accumulated forbidden grimoires, robbed the tombs of demons, and ventured repeatedly into the Abyss in pursuit of its legendary wealth. Gold alone seems unlikely to motivate a creature with no appetite for luxury, and Takulev has never explained what he intends to do with the riches he possesses. Some believe he is preparing a ritual capable of restoring what he lost in the Swamps of Mordun; others suspect he is assembling the components of a horrific spell, though exactly which spell remains a subject of debate. Takulev outright refuses to confirm or deny any of these theories. Whatever his purpose, an undying necromancer with limitless patience, no fear of death, and an army of abominations probably has motives that are better left unknown.