The Black Book of Beasts and Ghouls

[Pegleg_Bob 1107]

 

IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 626 A.A

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

The Ravenmarch is said to be a place of many blessings and curses.

 

All lands are said to have many beasts of all different types, from the legends of the Hogfolk of Eos to the Tree People of the Fae. Most civilized folk, far from the borders, do not hear such tales of monsters that hunt the woods and plains. Yet the people of the Krukiv, always on the borderlands of mankind, face such creatures on a semi regular basis. Though most mythical beasts told of by the Ravenfolk are still exaggerated, it is important for these tales to be passed down to all children and newcomers to Krukiv.

 

 

Lady Kruka

It is said that during times of great hardship, when the people of Krukiv are at their most desperate, God sends down a spirit born of their pride and their horror. This spirit takes the form of a towering woman cloaked in black, known to the Ravenfolks as Lady Kruka, yet nothing else about her ever remains the same. The people of the Ravenstates claim to have seen her appear in many guises.

 

Yet most claim that Lady Kruka’s nature remains the same each time she appears, a kind, motherly woman, with a voice said to be woven of honey and steel. She is often seen accompanied by several cloaked figures, believed to be the Heroes and Saints of Man. In most illustrations, she is depicted most famously beside the Exalted Godfrey or Saint Tuvya Carrion, often holding a golden Bull’s Horn in her hands.

 

There are many legends recounting the appearances of Lady Kruka, but the most prominent tells of Bo Rostova, who is said to have spoken with the spirit after the fall of his home, upon the northern cliffs overlooking the Bitter Sea.

 

 

The Vedmak Tree

In the deepest parts of the forest, where neither God's light or Iblees’ shadows can reach, there is a tree white as the snow of the north. It is a truly neutral place in the woods, untouched by either the Void or the Heavens. This tree is said to be where witches and spirits hold dominion.

 

It is a place where the most desperate of people find themselves, seeking aid from the neutral powers of the realm. Yet any deal made here always comes with a price, ranging from a simple sacrifice of a cow to the life of one’s firstborn.

 

So many stories start or end at the Vedmak Tree. It is a place both feared and respected by all who know of it. Most even refuse to speak its name aloud, for many among the Ravenfolk believe that uttering it calls the spirits to watch over you.

 

 

Chernaya Gonchaya

Hunting along the crossroads, following thoughts close to death, the Chernaya Gonchaya, known as the Black Hound by the non Raev Ravenfolk. It is a servant of the dark. It is said to have crawled its way to Krukiv from the very depths of the Nether. No weapon can pierce its hide, and it stands as tall as a horse. Its eyes are pits that open into the greatest evils found across the planes.

 

It is said that leaving an offering of a coin, chopped liver, and vodka will appease the spirit of the hound. Yet this claim is disputed by other legends. Some say that the Chernaya Gonchaya will hunt you down no matter what, that it is the very embodiment of death, from which there is no salvation.

 

 

 

 

The Svitlyak

Around the rivers and marshes of the land, along long forgotten roads and bridges, the Svitlyak wait patiently for more souls to join their ghostly lights. These Spirits of the Dead, denied a proper pyre, are said to lure unwary travelers into traps, bogs, pits, and murky waters, so that more may join their undead glow.

 

Many legends and tales warn travelers never to stray from the road upon seeing strange lights in the distance, for most who do are doomed to meet their end beneath the pale flicker of the Svitlyak.

 

 

Koeng of the Voron

 

In the darkest of nights, when even the rays of the moon are said not to appear, a beast, once a king, emerges to feast on the flesh of the people of Krukiv. The Koeng of the Voron is said to land upon the houses of its victims, and if oils are not set out, or the offering of a dead crow given, this beast will consume you whole. Armed with a weapon granted by Ibless himself, it rips and bites until nothing remains.

 

The origins of the Koeng are shrouded in myth. The most famous tale claims it was once a King of Haense, who sold his soul to Ibless to destroy a rival realm and annihilate the ancestors of the Ravenfolk.

 

Its appearance varies from telling to telling, yet most say it takes the form of a humanoid crow, half man, half avian, in the most horrid of ways. It carries the weapon it bargained for, clutched tightly in its talons or twisted hands.

 

Drakodyny

 

A creature of pure anarchy and chaos, the Drakodyny is sometimes called by others simply the King of Madness, Chaos, Turmoil, and Disharmony. It is known to wander from land to land, spreading disorder wherever it goes, whether by bringing down an unjust lord in an act seen as heroic, or by collapsing a bridge vital for trade.

 

The appearance of the Drakodyny shifts from tale to tale, myth to myth. Yet most agree that it bears the head of a horse, while every other feature changes as fluidly as water, never the same twice, never still, a form born of madness itself.

 

In some places, small shrines are kept to the Drakodyny, either to ward the beast away or to pray for its chaos, hoping it might bring change to the world. Yet most know that to pray to the Drakodyny is a double edged sword, for its blessing always brings ruin in equal measure.

 

 

 

The Smiling Hare

 

In the old and now ruined city of Caerfran, one of the first homes of the Ravenfolk, there dwells a beast of clockwork and burned, molten metal. Believed to have been left behind when the Skanarri burned the city to the ground, rumors still whisper that the Smiling Hare has followed the Ravenfolk to their new home.

 

Most who claim to have seen the beast say it rips and tears apart any it can reach before vanishing back into the night. It is said that within its metal shell echo the cries of the slain Volten, the ones whose spirits inhabited the beast, along with all who have since been slain by the Smiling Hare.

 

The Pryvyd Kurka

 

On the farthest roads of the land, travelers whisper tales of the Pryvyd Kurka. It is said to squawk from the deepest reaches of the forest, yet none have ever found the source of its cry. The only thing any claim to see is a faint scattering of white feathers upon the ground.

 

Unlike most Kurka, known in the common tongue as chickens, the Pryvyd Kurka is said to lay eggs of aurum and precious gems. Others, however, claim it does no such thing, acting instead like a spirit of the dead rather than a living creature.

 

Yet all who have sought to capture it, or to claim its fabled eggs, have met only misfortune, from the death of a loved one to the loss of a home. No sane person dares to seek the Pryvyd Kurka, for all know that to chase it is to invite ruin.

[!]

Turing the final page you read.

Spoiler

 

To my dear readers who have read this text

 

I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading through this book of mythical creatures. I have written down most of the beasts and other such things I have heard in stories from the Krukivichi, or more commonly known as the Ravenfolk. While most of these creatures seem to be of a fictional nature, I do believe that a few of them could truly be out there. 

May God be with you on your travels, dear reader.

Written by L.M. Rad

 

 

 

[PrinceTheDM 275]

Elijah simply beamed as he finally finished reading the entirety of the book. "More and more curious things to research... I can't wait!" He said with excited glee. 

[Ardory 2978]

Spoiler

I thought this was going to be yet another metagame CA and creature post at first, but this is actually really good. We need more like this.

 

[Xein000 264]

Spoiler

I like this, hopefully there will be events to go along with these tales.