Vlaakith CLVII

Vlaakith CLVII, aka Vlaakith, 157th of her name, is the githyanki lich who rules over the githyanki people as their immortal and revered undying queen.

Little is actually known about this mighty lich-queen. She claims to be the final link in an unbroken chain stretching back all the way to Vlaakith I, although skeptical sages suggest that there have actually been multiple coups in the ancient past of the githyanki people and the Vlaakith name taken up to preserve a sense of legitimacy. What is known is that she is the most ruthless, ambitious and powerhungry Vlaakith to ever mount the throne, so much so that she chose to embrace undeath as a lich and kill off any of her kin rather than allow herself to die and give the throne over. And to keep that throne, she regularly devours the souls of any githyanki who grows too powerful, transforming them into unique undead servitors to become her praetorian guard with the aid of the Crown of Corruption. Naturally, as lich-queen of the githyanki, she bears the Scepter of Ephelomon as the symbol of her power.

Vlaakith CLVII is revered amongst the githyanki; next to Gith herself, she is the closest thing that they have to a god, even if they would be aghast at openly calling her this. In fact, Vlaakith herself wishes to become a god, and has been working towards this goal for centuries. She has founded new githyanki castes that correspond to inquisitors and clerics as closely as the militant atheism of the githyanki allows, stamped out any form of religious inclination beyond reverence for her, and even learned to empower warlocks who draw their magic from her, much like the templars of the Athasian Sorcerer-Kings. She has even created life, in the form of the duthka'giths. The Incursion adventure path also presents two alternative end-games for her; either stealing the last vestige of divine lifeforce within Tu'narath itself, or consuming the essence of the dead patron goddess of the ancient proto-gith, once she has located its tomb upon Pharagos.

Despite many cosmological changes, Vlaakith CLVII actually survived into 4th edition intact. Sort of. In the default lore of 4e, Vlaakith CLVII is presented as still being the reigning lich-queen of the githyanki. However, the adventure path Scales of War takes place in an alternate timeline in which the events of "The Lich-Queen's Beloved" took place and thus Vlaakith CLVII was slain - although she comes back late into the adventure path as a unique demilich based on her spinal column.