Fir Dorcha
The Fir Dorcha live in the fog that surround the mountain of Beinn Neimh in Rheged. They are the Dark Men of the Mountain, servants to An Dia Liath, the Grey God.
When the fogs descend from the mountain, the Fir Dorcha set forth to walk among the villages and forests of Rheged. They seek those who are outdoors alone or in small groups. Those who live in the region know to take refuge inside when the fog comes, but travelers are often caught unawares. When the Fir Dorcha find someone, they linger near them in the fog, watching them. They appear only as shadowy figures, and do not respond at first to any calls or other attempts to communicate. Once they have selected a victim, they use the fog to make sure that escape is nigh-impossible - every path leads only deeper into the misty forests. The fogs also work to seperate companions from each other, making it hard to stay together.
At first, an encounter with the Fir Dorcha is unsettling, but not dangerous. They keep pace with their target, but keep their distance and are barely visible in the fog. But after a little while, one of the Fir Dorcha will begin to imitate the way their victim moves. They match their gait and gestures, and will draw closer to their chosen person. This imitation seems benign at first, but as it progresses, the victim begins to feel chilled and weak. Their flesh grows grey and damp, and all the colors fade from their clothing and possessions. If they call out now, the Fir Dorcha will mimic their voice perfectly, echoing their cry back to them. Over the course of a few minutes, the creature will emerge from the fog as a perfect duplicate of their victim, who will have faded to a shadowy form lost in the fog. When the fog returns to the peak, the victim will be drawn along with it, unable to leave its embrace, to become another of the Dark Men.
The Fir Dorcha who has assumed their form will then go about the business of An Dia Liath. Those who emerge from the fog will abandon their posessions and families to pursue strange missions - some have undertaken to poison whole villages, while others have undertaken the construction of bizarre labyrinths of stone that adorn the mountainside. No one is certain what the aims of An Dia Liath are, but they are not in the interest of the people. The locals treat all those who emerge from the fogs with suspicion, and may even kill them to be sure that they are not Fir Dorcha about the Grey God's business.
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