>and has lost 1 from several (maybe all, don't remember) of his magic schools.

Yes, after resurrection pretenders have lost 1 point in -all- magic schools. That's often a critical situation, especially for 'rainbow mages'. Some players use to take pretenders without any magic (like the Wyrm) to avoid this problem BTW. No magic, no loss upon resurrection ! Probably not a good solution for Ermor however (you have so much design pts to spend that you dont need a cheap pretender).

>Can I do anything about his afflictions?

Immortals (like the Phoenix or the Lich), Pangaea and Pangaea-like creatures (like the Medusa) heal battle afflictions automatically. Arcoscephale priestesses can heal afflictions too.
When a god reincarnates, he has a _chance_ of healing some or all of his wounds. Regenerating pretenders often come back without afflictions.
An artifact, the Chalice (Construction 8), will have a chance of curing one affliction per unit in the country. The Nature spell Gift of Health (Enchantment 5) also cures afflictions. But thats not for the demo.
Note that regeneration does not heal afflictions, it only reduces the risk of getting some in battle (so a Ring of Regeneration, for exemple, will not heal a lost eye). And regeneration does not work at all on inanimate creatures (like Golems or Crushers).

>is there any item I can craft in the demo while playing Ermor that will protect my pretender from afflictions/curses? .

No immunity.
As St Patrick said, a Ring of Regeneration will give you a good protection against afflictions (unlike most undeads, the Prince of Death is not inanimate, no problem).
There is no protection vs Curse. Not even resurrection.

>Any time I send a pretender in combat I seem to pick up at least one affliction.

The chance of getting a nasty wound depends on the hit points loss, compared to the total hp. So if a terrible blow takes 50% of the hp, this unit has 50% chance of getting an affliction at random.
With 45 hp as a base, the PoD is not a tough guy. His fear aura does not protect him from the first blow.
If you want to see him in close combat, improve his protection (armor) and/or reduce the chance of being hit (etherealness + luck, using items like Faithful, Pendant of Luck, Chain Mail of Displacement or Robe of Shadows, or using spells) and/or immobilize his opponents (vine shield immobilizes, charcoal shield burns).
Cheers