As payment for their undying loyalty to Ner'zhul, the Lich King granted them control over the furious elements of Northrend. These newly born liches possessed tremendous magical powers, yet their immortal, undead bodies were bound to the iron will of Ner'zhul. Yet, when Kil'jaeden and the Burning Legion captured these sorcerers after that world's destruction, they were transformed into twisted, spectral aberrations of their former selves. While on Draenor, Ner'zhul, the orc who would later become the Lich King, commanded a number of orcish warlocks and spellwielding death knights. This is why lich bodies look nothing like their former mortal selves, and also why one has to destroy a lich's phylactery to truly kill them as long as a lich's phylactery and soul are allowed to remain intact, the being can never truly die and will always be able to regenerate their corporeal body. Unlike many other forms of undead, a lich's soul is not imperfectly attached to its body instead, liches bind their souls to special containers known as phylacteries, which then allows them to generate a physical form. Typically appearing as large, floating, skeletal figures wrapped in long robes, they are often found in high-ranking positions within the Scourge. On Azeroth, they are usually bound to the iron will of the Lich King, they mainly wield frost magic and necromantic spells. Scourge, Burning Legion, Ebon Blade, Necrolord Covenant, House of Rituals, Independent, Cult of the Damned