Him'ish's Tale

Stray stood before the woman, a deep, stern scowl across her face. The pregnant Shadowsharr priestess of Straya Magnifar, self-proclaimed Divine Queen of all her people, raised her swollen and broken face to eye her mother. She was strapped wrists and ankles to a torcher and execution device known as “The Tree of Truth.” It lives up to its name. Leather straps bound the woman’s wrists to either side of a large wooden beam. Tied so that the back of her hands was pressed flat against the wood, causing enormous stress to be exerted upon all the joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles of her upper torso. A 3-foot long spike was then driven through her wrist, through the beam and again, through her opposite wrist. A rope wrapped around the skewer reached to the top of the shaft. At which point, it wound its way through a series of pulleys designed to render the work of inflicting pain and death, a less grueling a task — the tortuous binding, duplicated at her ankles. The beam divided into three sections. A leather chin strap attached to the shaft forced her head up, causing additional strain on her aching joints and cramping muscles, while two more leather straps attached to the center section of the pole, forced her shoulders down. At the bottom of the center section, another set of straps lashed across her groin, pressing her hips tightly in place. The ropes were then, top and bottom, wound around a spindle attached to a wheel.








Him’ish Dreadwalker: Formerly of house Blackheart, son of Straya, queen of the Shadowsharr (Shadow Elves). His wet nurse saved his life before the sacrifice that would have implanted a demon spawn into his body and begun the transformative process which would have, throughout his childhood and adolescence, which for elves is around 50 years or so, caused him to become an inferno-lich. A fisher family raised him until his innate powers manifest. These powers are the result of his elven heritage and a demonic influence associated with Straya and her possession by an Arch Demon. (Elvish DNA is, in fact, TNA with the third strand of Nucleic acid being that which is necessary for the “sorcerer” powers of the elves and Half-elves. This third strand also bars elves from tapping the “Magi-sphere,” which surrounds the world and grants access to those who study the arcane arts to magical abilities. Within the bloodline of the Blackheart, pedigree is an alien (demonic) genetic precursor that allows for easy and total incorporation of demon spawn into the children of Straya. This precursor grants for the ability to tap into infernal realms and draw additional power but without full access to the power of Infurnace. Full access only is achieved through possession by spawn. Total control has a cost, though, as it impedes and most often entirely blocks access to the innate genetic sorcery of the elven heritage). Him’ish not being infused with a spawn has the following effects. He has full access to the sorcerous power of his elven heritage as well as the demonic precursor also and perhaps most importantly, the precursor which accesses the infernos through the magi-sphere allows him to tap the inherent magic of the world. Spawn infusion would block this access to the Magi-sphere in favor of the Infernos, but in Him’ish’s case, that block is not present, making him unique and very powerful. Along with this immense power comes terrible costs. Him’ish is a sociopath, he has bouts of extreme anger, and he finds the release of that rage euphoric in a way only those who have experienced the effects of a powerful hallucinogen such as Dragon’s weed or Black blood can relate. With the help of his wife and often fierce rival Esther Farrowlight, Him’ish has developed a new meditation technique that has allowed him to access all three elements of his power simultaneously and to manipulate that power in ways never fathomed.











Him’ish’s hand reached toward the boy. Long blond hair, dirty and oily splayed across his blood-smeared face as the street urchin sprang from his prone and defenseless position to his backside. His brown eyes widening as he found the hand descending towards him burst into green flame. Two green tendrils resembling snakes emerged from his forearm. They writhed their way through the ever-growing flames. As they appeared, they too were ablaze. They reared back like vipers prepared to strike. The heads of the serpent-like appendages opened wide, exposing rows of needle-sharp teeth. A jet of green flame erupted from the mows that appeared to be poised to strike his gaping brown pools. Tears welled up and spilled from the terror-stricken kid, and he forced his eyes shut and turned his head in anticipation of horrific pain. Him’ish felt the hot breath on his neck before the sound of a young women’s voice floated to his ear. “You need to stop what you are doing,” Katt whispered in a tone calm and ice cold. He thought briefly of his options, but as if hearing his thoughts, Katterine pushed her blade into the small of his back and turned it slightly. An almost imperceptible sizzling sound was audible to his acute elfin ears, and the heat of firing nerves spread like fire through his back muscles. They were instantly cramped and nearly jolted him reflexively to his knees. His mind went instantly blank. The green flames died away, and the tendrils retracted into his forearm. The boy scrambled to his feet and ran smack into the armor-clad form of Katt’s patrol mate Esther Farrowlight. Leading with his head, he nearly knocked himself out with the blow. back on his ass now, the boy shook the cobwebs from his mind. “Torgill Grain grower, she said with a stern but amused resonance, “I think your mother is looking for you.” Torgill grew a big grin on his face as he recognized the voice. Looking up through blurry eyes, the image of Esther became evident with time. Smiling back at the boy, she offered him a hand up. And thus, the four original members of the Reavers all meet for the first time.