| abstract | - King Gauldoth the Half-Dead (Heroes IV official bio) is the founder and ruler of the kingdom of Nekross, and one of the six protagonists of Heroes of Might and Magic IV. As a quick-witted yet even-tempered and reserved Necromancer, he is unique among his predecessors in actively seeking positive relations with fellow rulers, determined to outlast them rather than incite their wrath. As a result of his nature, he acts to reconcile life and death whenever possible; he is also firmly opposed to generic necromantic ideals, such as madly questing for power and worldly domination (or destruction). While attempting to rescue his master Kalibarr from the ruins of the Necromantic Order's headquarters during the Reckoning, Gauldoth sustained grevious burns. Dying and desperate to survive, he cheated death by frantically reading an incantation in the Order's library. The spell allowed him to survive, but not in his original form; he was left literally half-dead, with the right side of his body Undead and sustained only by magic, the left side Human, organic and alive as before. A deeply philosophical, reflective and calculative individual, Gauldoth tends to blame and question the Universe itself for his self-contradictory existence, openly decrying its machinations and inviting it to "show me your secrets". Initially met with revulsion and prejudice among the people of Axeoth, he quickly claimed ironic revenge on his pursuers, establishing Nekross and building it into one of Iranese's pivotal realms. His primary idealogy is simple: "Play the middle if you want to survive."
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