Dear Denizens of Issilith!
A scholar and a leader of the famous elite mercenary tracking squad. Not necessarily attributes one would put together. But that was Reina in a nutshell. Driven by the thrill and with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, her skillset was more than enough to give her team a significant edge in tracking all kinds of marks. Until one day….
Reina’s squad started to receive very peculiar reports. It first started with a farmhand that was found dead in the middle of the field, drained of blood. While blood-sucking creatures aren’t so unusual to find here, nothing else suggested they were the ones responsible. Tracks found nearby pointed to a grarg, but this wasn’t how the grarg’s victim would look like. Everything they found was either inconclusive or contradictory. And a few weeks later, the same story. Only this time, the attacker left an eyewitness. The creature was described as shrouded in darkness, with two short red streaks that were probably its eyes. The witness also claimed they were frozen in place due to some force the creature used. It could easily be because of fear, but Reina will take any clue she can. Due to its description, they’ve aptly dubbed the creature Shadowstalk but they still couldn’t identify the attacker.
Months later - a breakthrough. As the attacks became more frequent, Shadowstalk was bound to make a mistake. And Reina and her squad waited prepared. Near one of the victims, they’ve found the clues that may help them track the beast back to its lair. This was the opportunity they waited for months! But before they’ll set out to find it, Reina needed to spend a few days extensively researching while her squad prepared for the hunt in front of them.
They’ve left the Drakkorith Empire and started to track the creature over the Vast Marsh trying to find its lair. And every time they thought they’ve found it, it turned out to be nothing more than its temporary hiding spot. And they’d continue their search every time. Even when their path started to go into the Cursed Woods, the territory of the mighty Vestige witches, they kept going until they reached the border between the Cursed Woods and Ancient Graveyard. Everything pointed to a large crypt that the Shadowstalk was most likely using as its primary lair. The one located on the border of this eerie place. So they’ve set up a camp nearby to rest before they confront Shadowstalk. After all, they might be fools for going into The Graveyard of their own will, but they are not stupid fools.
With the first dawning light, they set out to find the Shadowstalk. It didn’t take them long before they located the crypt. There were clear grarg tracks at the entrance, so this had to be the place. Cautiously, they went in. The walls of the crypt were covered in cobwebs and a dark fog engulfed the floor beneath them. It looked like something was laying in the middle of the room, amidst all that fog. As they slowly got closer, they recognized a grarg and it looked like it was sleeping soundly. Its size matched their expectations and the tracks around matched the ones they’ve followed all across Solgard. So they went closer to check. If this was Shadowstalk they have to eliminate it, fast. No one wants to stay in the Graveyard longer than needed. But as they got closer, it became apparent that the grarg was actually dead, and it didn’t take long before Reina realised that it wasn’t just dead, it was an old carcass, older than any of the tracks they were trailing. Confused by this conundrum, the squad started to question if this was indeed the right place, and at that moment the fog started to move. As the mist started to rise and violently swirl around the crypt, a sinister feeling washed over them. It looks like their true enemy has yet to show itself.
The mist formed spear-like shapes and pierced through Reina’s teammates. Even though it didn’t leave any marks on their body, as the mist became more crimson, Reina’s squad started to fall to the ground one by one. The swirling mist now concentrated in one spot in front of her. Without a shadow of a doubt, Reina now knew what they’d been hunting. Or more precisely, what has been hunting them. It was sangronarch, a malevolent spirit that can take over other creatures giving them supernatural powers and a hunger for blood. It must have lured them back to its crypt, the source of its power, so it can make Reina its new host. That is the only explanation for why Reina is still standing. Physical weapons can’t harm ephemeral foes, but her being scared would only help sangronarch. As the spirit extended its long, shadowy arms toward Reina, it established a mental link so it can feed on her feelings of dread and hopelessness while slowly taking over its new host. It relished every second until it felt a massive change in her emotions. Dread became excitement, hopelessness transformed into determination, and in a split second, the attacker was the one feeling fear. At that moment, Reina swung her scythe and with one swift, precise strike, she killed the spirit.
Reina suspected sangronarch to be a culprit behind the attacks after they’ve become more frequent so she did her research. And good thing she did since now she knew how to defeat her enemy. And not just that, she can even try to take its power for herself if she timed her actions right. Which is exactly what she did. When the sangronarch transfers its power to a new host, it will become vulnerable for a very short time. So she knew that was time to strike.
Now, with a new power coursing through her veins, Reina felt as though the whole ordeal was worth it. She is now the first sentient being that managed to stole sangronarch’s power. But she can’t let anyone know what happened, otherwise she would be publicly executed. However, Reina can keep her secret. She even joined the Drakkorith military, quickly progressing through the ranks until she became a general. Now you can always find her on the front lines of battle, where the battle is most intense, where no one will notice her feeding on the frenzy of battle to keep her bloodthirst under control.
Yours truly,
Games Revolted