The Wild Hunt
The first sign that the Hunt is approaching is a strong sense of dread- the feeling that you're being watched. Next, you hear the haunting blast of the ethereal horns and the distant thunder of hundreds of hooves. Finally, you see it. The grey-black figures shrouded in mist, riding black steeds with antlers atop their heads. The hounds as big as horses, baring and gnashing their teeth. The poor souls swept up in their wake, screaming and kicking as they are dragged to oblivion! If you see the Hunt, my son, you'd best run for your life unless you want to join them! -Gelfwin Gideon, recounting his experiences to his son as a terrifying bedtime story.The Wild Hunt is a cavalcade of ghostly creatures that haunts Verrin's woodlands and plains. Sometimes, it is even seen flying across the sky. According to legend, it drags the unwary from their beds and transports them to another realm where they too join the Hunt's otherworldly procession. The figures that make up the Hunt are not identifiable as any of Verrin's intelligent races, as both they and their steeds bear large antlers, and are accompanied by great hunting hounds and feral werewolves. Sometimes, these beings are said to be somehow related to the Woodwatchers... Where the Woodwatchers embody nature's peace and harmony, the Wild Hunt embodies all of its rage- the bloodthirst of a hungry predator. According to some legends, Tysabian is a member, or perhaps even the leader of the Hunt. The reason for this varies depending on who you ask, but a common explanation posits that, using his powers as the avatar of Thengalir the creator, Tysabian compelled the Woodwatchers to fight against the Orcs during their invasion of the South. The Woodwatchers, who had been gifted free will by their creator Hruntir, were outraged at this abuse of their power. In their fury they seized Tysabian, and with Hruntir's power, cast him down from godhood. Some Woodwatchers, twisted by their desire for vengeance and shame about being forced to fight, became the terrifying spectres who now ride in the Wild Hunt. Now they had seen battle, their peaceful nature gave way to a fierce and unforgiving cruelty, and they were cast out by their uncorrupted brethren. Tysabian, helpless, was the first victim of these baleful spirits. He too was twisted into a ghostly rider, who now rides at the forefront of the infernal cavalcade, its ranks ever swelling with the souls of the damned. In many variations of this story, Tysabian searches for his lost blade, Talon.
Type
Secret, Occult
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