The Valrfolk

It is said to have started with the death of the last giant, though there are those who say it started much before that. Children would be born with a mark, cursing them to be reborn after their first death, as Valrfolk. In the beginning there is little that separates them from a living being. Most are paler, with a strange darkness to their eyes. As time moves their humanity ebbs away. Their skin grows dry, eventually decomposed. Their eyes sink into their skull, empty and yellow. They lose their ability to think clearly, wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. Nothing is left of the person they were except a hollow husk, inexplicably aggressive against all life and only interested in survival.
There are two main theories as to why this happens. One is that the Valrfolk eventually loses all hope, and that their soul in a sense decomposes with the body, trapped within the shell. The other is that the body can’t take the strain of being alive so long past their first death, and so with each sequential ‘death’ it grows wearier, until it’s not human at all.
Their connection with the Old Gods is a widely disputed topic. As they grow more feral, Valrfolk also seem to grow more religious, as many of them are spotted praying over makeshift altars in the ashen planes, engaging in parodies of civilized communion, sometimes even ignoring dangers in favour of some unknown sight or distraction. It is prophesied that when the light of Caligux is at its final moments, only a member of the Valrfolk will be able to bring it back. Few but the Valrfolk themselves believe this, however, as they are shunned by the living, exiled from the kingdoms and doomed to live the remainder of their unlife in misery, waiting for madness. Few have the hope and strength to begin the journey to Aldansjord, where the secrets of the light shall be revealed.

Scientific Name

Valrfolk

Origin/Ancestry

Human