Wild Hunt (animal)
Purportedly the cursed spirits of what was once Aversaria's sixth state legion, the 'Wild Riders', the spectral phenomenon known as the Wild Hunt has haunted the plains and backwoods of Malcois for centuries, and its origin story is one of the most well-known fables of the region. Tasked almost exclusively with the hunting down of renegade slaves and quashing uprisings, the methods employed by the Wild Riders were so infamous for their viciousness that it had earned the legion several imperial censures for "Improper Conduct" (an exceptionally rare charge that it shares with only a select with other legions) during its existence. It would ultimately disappear from records in the 5th century IS, the number VI joining the ranks of the "Forbidden Numbers" that are vacant in perpetuity by imperial decree, though the reasoning behind this move and whether it is related to their folk-tale demise is lost to time.
For all their cruelty and hubris, the Wild Riders would allegedly meet a fittingly grisly end - cursed by the witch and outlaw Myra the Crow with her last words to rise from the dead when Aervalr was at its fullest and never know the rest of death. And so the Wild Hunt emerges as a ghostly horde terrorizing rural Malcois as they had done in their living heyday, sparing no Aversarian, Iyrossi, or human in general from the ghastly torments normally only thought possible in nightmares.
Purportedly the cursed spirits of what was once Aversaria's fifty-first state legion, the spectral phenomenon known as the Wild Hunt has haunted the plains and backwoods of Malcois for centuries, and its origin story is one of the most well-known fables of the region. Cursed by the witch and outlaw Myra the Crow with her last words to rise from the dead when Aervalr was at its fullest and never know the rest of death. And so the Wild Hunt emerges as a ghostly horde terrorizing rural Malcois as they had done in their living heyday, sparing no Aversarian, Iyrossi, or human in general from the ghastly torments normally only thought possible in nightmares. The Wild Hunt makes no effort to conceal itself instead burned farmsteads, smashed remains and ransacked villages are left scattered in its wake. At its head, the disgraced Legon Agros the Fierce is supposed to ride, his face obscured by an imposing antlered helm. Taking this wave of fury and steel head on would be suicide, instead to 'defeat' such a foe we will need to free them from the invisible chains, keeping them trapped among the living.
To approach this daunting task we have enlisted the help of a local shaman capable of identifying the source of a Wild Rider's curse, our surroundings becoming increasingly desolate as he, guided by spirits, leads us to the scene of this long-forgotten tragedy. Just as it seems we cannot get anymore isolated the shaman gets on his knees and touches the ground with his palm, the wind picking up and blowing violently through the leaves. We give the shaman a shovel and before long he lifts out a long, rusted chain presumably used to bind one of the Wild Riders' victims. As if the hunt can sense this however, our shouts of joy are turned to those of terror as the unmistakable sound of phantom hooves come thundering towards us.