The Revenant of Smoke
The Revenant of Smoke was once a knight of Blinigen in the southern Wetteran Stadts. His name is lost to time and little is known about his life save for small details and ever-changing stories passed down by the Hessans of the area. He is said to have traveled much of the Stadts righting wrongs and fighting on behalf of many small towns and villages. To some, he was a paragon of justice and compassion. To others, namely the nobles, he was a nuisance, interfering with the laws of the nobility and the lands he entered. The nobles of the dual-towns of Ohblinigen and Suddenblinigen conspired to rid the Stadts of him for good, but risked angering the local peasant and laborer populations. They devised a plan that would see the end of the knight and leave little blame on them.
The knight was invited by the Bishop of Hartberg, also nearby, to a lone chapel on the top of a hill in the Regnerisch Hugels. He was told he would be honored for his duties and blessed by the priests there. True to his faith, the knight arrived at the chapel as requested. In truth, it was an ambush and the knight was accosted as he arrived. The nobles had trumped up false allegations that the knight was secretly a Void worshiper and was to be executed for his crimes. His pleas of innocence were ignored. Seeing that his end was near, the Knight refused to submit to the nobles and church as he knew in his heart they were lies. A skirmish ensued and many of the Soldiers there perished. In the scuffle, an incense brazier was knocked over and a fire broke out. The fire quickly consumed those in the church, the knight included.
After this tragedy, a ghostly knight began appearing on the road between Ohblinigen and Hartberg. His form is difficult to make out as his body and armor is constantly smoking and red embers spark in and around his body. He carries an large incense brazier that also smokes profusely. His presence is felt prior to his arrival. Travelers on the road recall smelling a smoldering fire minutes prior to spotting the knight. He then appears and attacks the travelers. It seems his target is the nobility and clergy. Some low-born have seen him as well, but the knight never approaches them, only watches and stays just out of clear view.
He swings the lit brazier with great strength and can knock a fully armored man clean off a horse with one swing. His touch sears flesh and sets fire to wood and cloth as if they were tinder. He does not pursue those that escape very far, but the encounter is sure to leave a haunting scar on those that run afoul of him on the road.
No one seems to know how to calm this restless spirit and his thirst for the lives of the nobility and clergy seems to be unending. Travelers in this area of Serrus would be wise to avoid the Revenant, lest they be consumed in his fire.
I saw him once. I was with me master along the road outside of the Bohn Lodge heading to Hartberg. We thought there was a camp nearby as we smelled what seemed to be a fire. By the time our wits were about us after pondering the smell our wagon was alight! Standing next to it was a smoldering soldier in armor with a large weapon on a chain. My master scant could say two words before the ghost swung his weapon and took his head clean off his shoulders. Ole' Tom and myself immediately ran as fast as we could back to the lodge. The ghost seemed to ignore us and never followed. We thank The Creator for that.
