The Liches of the True Black Hand are what remains of puissant and evil mortal mages (usually, by not restricted to, Euthanatoi that have succumbed to Jhor) who have sworn themselves to the Tal’Mahe’Ra’s cause and employed soul-excoriating rituals in order to preserve themselves the state of hellish immortality conferred by vampirism. There are only three Liches at a time, if an aspirant wants to join them, he has to destroy one of the current Liches. Although the Embrace extinguishes the spark of cosmic enlightenment that allows true mages to impose their wills on the world, it doesn’t destroy the knowledge that these wicked creatures accumulated before joining the ranks of the Damned.