The Pale Lord is a mortal that pursues the power of undeath, but without a desire to sacrifice too much of his own mortality in that pursuit. The ritual they undergo - either by themselves or with the help of another powerful wizard - was developed just after Nilith's ascent. It is a modification of the ritual used in becoming a lich. In this ritual, the caster's own body serves as a partial vessel for their network of spells. Through multiple steps, the body becomes partially transformed into an undead state, gaining some of the advantages of unlife. The Pale Lord, however, remains living, and as such must eat, age, and they will die as any mortal.