Living Darkness

Summary

When late at night the moon is gone and stars are blocked from view.
Be wary of a lack of sound as darkness comes for you.

All those who travel regularly are familiar with this warning as those who fail to heed it tend not to be seen again. There are many dangers that can befall travellers but one of the most feared is the living darkness. This inexplicable force haunts the countryside attacking travellers who aren't wise enough to have light available.
The darkness only appears when there is no light in the sky, most commonly on cloudy moonless nights. Animals can sense it's presence and one of the first things that heralds it's approach is the total absence of noise from any animals. This is accompanied by other sounds like wind and rain becoming muted. If the darkness finds any travellers without light to protect them it engulfs them, draining the life from them.
The darkness can be repelled by light, and one of the jobs of those on watch at night is to light torches or build up a campfire if they think the darkness may be approaching. The darkness is also reputed to be unable to enter buildings which leads many winter travellers to take pains to reach an inn or at least a barn rather than camping out.
Reports of the darkness mostly come from the north-east region of the Kingdom of Caresnas where there are less settlements and travellers are more likely to need to camp out. Attempts to hunt the darkness have so far ended in failure.

This was written for Spooktober 2022 for the Darkness prompt. Other Spooktober articles can be found in the Tremanac Spooktober 2022 page.

Related Species

• Human

Related Organizations

• Kingdom of Caresnas

That the darkness exists is unquestioned. Bodies have been found with the life drained from them, but with no signs of injury. The few survivors who have escaped by light a torch at the last minute have described the world around them becoming muted and a sense of pressure. When they have managed to create a light they have seen a retreating region of deeper shadows which is far closer than it should be given the light.