The Pyre Dancers

For more than a year, the villages of Northern Pendrell have been terrorised by a brood of spirits named the Pyre Dancers. The close proximity to the enormous Verge that is the Aelvinwoode means that there are more spirits roaming this realm than perhaps anywhere else. The Pyre Dancers are more than just roaming spirits though. These malicious entities have developed a terrible way of acquiring  the Essence they need to feed and grow stronger.

They create witch trials.

Shadows and dust

Death is one of the very few things one can rely on, although after the war death is perhaps not as reliable as it once was. People still die, but it has become common knowledge that all is not well in the Underworld; the god of the dead was killed during the War of Enlightenment, and the vast darkness of the Abyss rose to engulf whole regions of the Underworld. The result is a world where the dead often do not pass on, instead crossing back into the world of the living. This has led to a change in burial customs all across Eria, with magic and superstition mixing to form elaborate, and often gruesome, rituals aimed at keeping the souls of the dead from returning.

Brave new world

Before the War of Enlightenemnt the Duchy of Diemed, located in the Traen valley east of Wezell, was one of the most prosperous in the Empire. When a powerful plague demon was deployed by the Alliance of the Deep this was changed forever. The plague that struck the area turned people into walking dead  whose soul focus was to consume living flesh. Today the region is simply known as the Redlands, a wild and terrifying place where the material and the ethereal meet - it is considered to be a Verge. Spirits and lost souls dwell in the ruins and the living does wisely to be cautious.

A breed unto themselves

Ever since the War of Enlightenment the world has been changing. Sometimes the changes have been sudden and sometimes they've been subtle. Sometimes, as is the case with the emergence of the umbrians, the changes have been gradual and disturbing. It first started on the Redlands borders, where some newborns displayed non-human features such as horns and strange eyes. Giving birth to an umbrian often proved fatal to the mother as the horns or other inhuman features tore into her flesh. At this point is was believed that the children were in fact changelings, i.e. that the real child had been stolen by spirits and replaced by one of their own. Research into the topic soon revealed that this was not the case. They were in fact both human and spirit. Nevertheless, many such children have been, and still are, killed at birth or put out in to woods to die.

It is believed that the human soul and the spirit merge while the foetus is still in the womb, likely as the soul is drawn towards its future vessel and while it is still unattached. Some scholars believe that it is actually a matter of two ephemeral entities inhabiting the same corpus, but there is no proof for this theory. On the contrary, tests appear to support the claim that the two form different aspects of the same whole, both equally dependent on the physical body. This discovery has led the Enlightened Council to classify Umbrian as a new and distinct genus related to mankind, and in YE 1033 they were afforded the same charter rights as all other mythicals.

Fragments of Truth and Fiction III

When he had descended the stairs from the Wise Man's pagoda on the mountain's top, he came to the River of Time. Here he sat for a while, and Golden Arrow came to his side. Perhaps she already knew that her fate was set, and perhaps he too saw his own destiny in the murky waters of the river.

"Autumn is supposed to be a time of peace and reflection! Can you blame me for being a mite irritable, Master Raven? You birds do not seem to acknowledge the fact that there are other interests involved here as well. No, with you it's always, "you need to see this at once, Sir M." or "I need your signature on this piece of paper right away, Sir M.""

As the Empire collapses under the weight of war, the lands turn to martial law, where law retains any foothold at all. Bands of deserters, brigands, mercenaries, and local militia is the only power in large areas. As those living there are becoming only to aware of, might is the only thing that makes right once civilization crumbles.

Many fell creatures are drawn into light as the war between North and South rages on. Some follow the armies like carrion-birds, preying on the weak and the wayward. Others have a stake in the game itself.

The rivers of the Underworld are dark and empty places now that the King of the Dead has fallen. Many are those who lose their way; some are drawn down into the Deep, others are doomed to wander the lands of the living. Some also say that creatures who were held at bay by the Ferrymen are now creeping back into the realm of the dead.




[Picture source: 1 Håvard Legreid; 2 BibliOdyssey; 3 Onlinekunst.de;4 Keith Thompson; 5 Eleni Tsami]

Nobilitas Adumbrae I

The city of Fork lies where the river Mist meets the Traen. It was amongst the first Diemedan cities to fall to the Red Death. Its population had little warning before the zombies were among them, and few who did not flee survived. In its heyday it was a prosperous centre of trade on the region's rivers. Over the last few months, Fork has been plundered and burned at least twice. As with the rest of the Redlands, the Hegemony of Man has been torn asunder, and here no mortal lord rules the land.

Today it has fallen under the Dominion of the Raven King, mostly due to Schensal, now Count of the Fork -- a crafty Hobgoblin of a certain renown. In local folklore, Schensal is known as a rude and greedy, but ultimately kind-hearted figure, often as not meeting out some sort of justice to the deserving. As far as anyone knows, this entity physically stepped onto Argos in the early Autumn of YE 1022, and he now holds a court involving both spirits, geists and other supernaturals. While he does not directly influence the city's slowly returning mortal society, he makes sure that those who dwell in his fiefdom pay him respect, and that he receives his cut of the profits being made.

Schensal
Rank 3 Preternatural

Attributes
Power 7
Finesse 6
Resistance 8

Willpower 15
Speed 28 (+5 species factor)
Defence 7
Size 6

Essence 20 (maximum)
Corpus 14

Influences
Misfortune 3, Fright 1


Numina*
Fearstruck, Greater Influence, Harrow, Hibernate, Materialize, Regenerate, Treshold

*(Power + Finesse vs. Presence + Composure + supernatural tolerance)

Ban
Unknown


[Picture source: Omar Rayyan]

Denizens of the Shadowrealms

"When I was a child, my grandmother told me stories. I thought myself a clever one, and knew she only wished to scare me. I knew that when I grew up, I would not be afraid of hags and marsh-wights. What a fool I was."

"Allow me to introduce myself, good sir. I am sir Malkemus of Geistwald, knight of this realm. You may not think much of it, but I can assure you that you'd do wisely to turn around and leave. Your kind are not welcome, and you may say my rudeness is for your protection. Good day, good sir." 

"Be wary of the little men, for they are cruel and have a wicket wit. Their delight is suffering and pain, and honesty to them is but a joke. They hate humans more than happiness, so should you hear their laughter, quickly turn away."

"Heed the King's Oath! Do not enter the Elfswood, for while the elf has left, the forest is awake. Strange things stalk the gloom, and none are friend to man or steel or fire."

"Aye, friend, 'tis a grim job, but every job needs doing. Every year there's more of 'em, and his Lordship wants his woods pure, so he does. So I set my traps each eve, and gather 'em come morn. A ha' crown for a fairy, three quarter for a gnome. Besides, next you know a child goes missing. Then you'll all come a howlin'."

[Picture source: 1 Vanja Todoric; 2 Omar Rayyan; 3 Adrian Smith; 4 unknown; 5 Steven Stahlberg]

The Erian Shadowrealms

Blind folk see the fairies.
Oh, better far than we,
Who miss the shining of their wings
Because our eyes are filled with things
We do not wish to see.

~Rose Fyleman

Beyond the Gauntlet lies the Shadow Realms. Here, in the Near Umbra, the landscape resembles that of the material world, the Terra Firma. Everything here is a mirror of the world of men, or rather, it is a mirror of that which has an essence. New constructions will at best appear as pale shadows of their material forms, and the spirit of the old tree that was recently cut down, may take decades to finally wither and die. This is also the realm of the Lesser Spirits.

These spirits are not necessarily lesser than those found in the Ethereal Planes or in the Underworld. Instead, they are more bound to the forms that rule the Material Plane. They are the woodland spirits, the animal-spirits, nymphs, knockers, gnomes, necks, and nisse. They are bound to realms in the Near Umbra, often a forest, a swamp, a river, a mountain, or other such areas where man hasn't driven the spirits away. Should these areas become settled or otherwise regulated -- a swamp may be drained, a river dammed, a forest cut down -- the native spirits will either wither and die, or they may drift deeper into the Umbra and forget their former manifestations. Some have gone mad and hateful.




There are many legends of the Lesser Spirits, and in the olden days, it was common to respect the local spirits. In the Hegemony of Man, these practises have long been seen as primitive at best, and heretical at worst. Those who still venerate those who live beyond do so in secret, lest they become accused of witchcraft, paganism, or worship of malevolent entities.


As a rule, it can be said that as the landscape is bound and shaped by man, the Gauntlet will thicken, and the Shadowrealm will become more of a shadow than a living world onto itself. Such is the case in Eria today, and there are but a few areas where the spirits still live close to the world of man. This may be changing as magic returns to the world, but spirits are still officially seen as naturally hostile, unwanted, and enemies of progress, in all the Erian realms.


One of the greatest influences on the Near Umbra these days is the the Flood's arrival. This nation has a deeply rooted relationship with both their own spirits and those native to the lands they travel through. Combined with an ingrained distrust towards science and technology, this has led to an upsurge in spiritual activity in conquered areas. One ambassador to the Flood wrote of having taken part in a ceremony intended on awakening the spirit of a river. As the report goes, this involved tearing down no less than five bridges and three mills.


There are two other events that also greatly influence that which lies beyond the Gauntlet. One is the Elven Scourge that led to large tracts of Pendrell being swallowed by the Elfwood, and the subsequent banishment of the Ministerium from the southern parts of the realm. Over the summer, many have turned to the Younger Gods for comfort and protection, but some, especially in rural areas, have returned to ancient druidic practises. So far, King Rowar II has turned a blind eye to these activities. The second development is that of the Redlands. With the evacuation and wide-spread mortality of the Duchy of Diemed, and with the Blight in Zalburg, the Gauntlet has been severely weakened. The Syndicate has set down a committee tasked with developing a strategy for reaffirming reality in this area.

See also:
Metaphysical Topography

[Picture source: 1 Omar Rayyan; 2 Simon Favreau McNulty; 3 unknown]

Metaphysical Topography

The fabric of the multiverse is made up of five different planes, the Prime Material, the three ethereal planes, the Astral, the Shadow and the Underworld, and the Abyss.  Each of these abide by its own laws, and denizens of one may not act without impunity in another, even if they may at places overlap. The barrier between the Prime Material and the Umbral planes is called the Gauntlet.

The entities that dwell in the ethereal planes are often referred to collectively as spirits, although anyone who have studied the matter will agree that this is a far too generic term. Still, most of the ethereal beings share a common trait -- they lack a permanent physical manifestation, something that hampers their abilities to interact with the Prime Material.

Ancient myth tells us that before the Fall all the planes existed in harmony; spirits, humans, ghosts of the dead, gods, avatars and elves, all existing side by side. If the oldest sources are to be believed, each knew their place in the metaphysical framework of Creation. While this didn't mean that all were equal, interactions between the realms were guided by the Compact.

The details of this Compact has been lost in the mists of time, and some claim that the existence of such a thing is nothing by retrospective romanticism. Still, the Batini believe that the Bans, Boons and Contracts that govern many ethereal denizens' interaction with the Prime Material Plane stems from this ancient Compact.

The topography of the ethereal planes are not easily quantifiable in terms understandable by man. Concepts like space, time and matter all adhere to different rules than in the Prime Material. There are also different realms within the planes, some being in a state of constant flux, others utterly unchangeable.

Most knowledge of the realms beyond the Gauntlet has been lost, or destroyed in the Great Purge following the Covenant, and much has never been known by anyone born by woman. There are also things so unfathomable that the knowledge of which will break the mind of those who learn it.

The Prime Material Plane

The physical world, or worlds, if you believe the words of certain Outsiders, are found on this plane of existence. The Prime Material plane is the home of all things living, and all things physical. It is the plane on which the world of Argos nestles, and the natural home of man, beasts, mountains and forests. The Wise argue that the Prime Material binds the three ethereal realms to existence, and that should the one cease to exist, the three would unravel. They say that this is where the Circle of Creation continuously unfolds, death following birth, and destruction following creation, over and over again; without this, the rest would be nothing.

The soul of man is bound to the Prime Material Plane at birth, and passes beyond at death. This, the Temple of Man Supreme argues, proves the blessed nature of man, for no other entity is part of all Creation in such a manner, and man is alone amongst all created in having both an eternal soul and a corruptible flesh.

The Ethereal Planes

The Shadowrealms

When someone passes through the Gauntlet from the Prime Material, they enter the Shadow. Everything native to the Shadowrealm is composed of ephemeral spirit, and here all spirits are alive. Of all the ethereal planes, this is the one that is closest to the to physical reality.

Closest to the Gauntlet the metaphysical landscape will resemble that on the other side, but places with a strong resonance will appear more physical, while those without might be missing all together.

As one travels deeper into the Shadowrealm, the surroundings will become more primordial, and man-made structures will become few and far between.

It is said that there are caves or dark passages in the Shadowrealms that leads down to the Underworld, or even to the Abyss.

The Underworld

Death comes to all who live, so goes the saying. This plane is anathema to life, and the living is not welcome here. The landscape may be made up of cavernous grottos, labyrinthine tunnels, or vast empty plains. What is constant is the feeling of absence. Absence of self, of hope, of colour. Absence.

Deep within the Underworld runs the River Styx, and many dead are put to their final rest with two coins to pay the Ferryman for passage to the Shores of Dìs. Now that the god of death has been slain, most of the dead never reach the Farthest Shore, instead becoming Lost, or worse, they are drawn into the cold river and swept out to the Deep.

Beneath the Underworld lies the Abyss, and now many of the foul beings from that blasphemous plane creep into the Land of the Dead.

The Astral Plane

This is the demesne of abstract concepts, of gods, and of beings so different from us that we cannot begin to understand them. Legends tell of great magicians who set out to explore these realms, only to become lost to the world for all time.

Amongst other things, this is where the gods make their home. Examples of divine realms are Ethelingagard and the Dreaming. Other such realms have drifted too deep in the Umbra to be reached, or abandoned to entropy and roaming spirits when the man killed his gods in the Second Age.

There are two major theories regarding the nature of the Astral Realms. The Humanists claim that it exists within the soul of man, that it is in fact the consciousness of the Enlightened mind. This theory states that by going deep enough, one may get to the very core of one's being, and thus to the core of Creation itself. The Hermetics hold this to be untrue, and instead see the Astral Realm as the sum of the consciousness of all of Creation.

The Abyss

With the Fall of the Exarch, the Tapestry was torn, and the balance was forever upset. The Speakers of Mÿn believe that before the Fall, there was no Abyss. They claim that the Things That Must Not Be comes from outside of Creation, and that such was the havoc wrought by their coming that everything was forever thrown into madness and chaos.

From the Abyss, dark things crawl forth, and foul things seep into the fabric of everything that comes into contact with it. Deep in its darkest depths the Lord of the Locust, Great Cthulhu, lies stirring, dreaming vile things into Creation.

Of all the Umbral Planes, the Abyss is the easiest to access from the Prime Material.

The Abyss and Paradox

There are ancient scrolls that speak of the Dawn of Man, when Hermes stole the fire of the gods. In these early days all things were in Harmony, and Paradox did not exist. Then came the Fall, and the Fabric of Creation was forever corrupted. Regardless of the truth in this, the insanity that often claim those magicians who disregard the dangers of vulgar magic lends weight to the argument.

[Artist 1 Tomasz Maronski; 2 Kirsi Salonen]