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I have received a letter from a trusted companion, and heard an interesting story recently. I send them together as I fear they might be related.

-- Isam Dhur in a dispatch to the Swords of Light

My Friend,

I have an interesting tale to tell, one which I think may have important bearing on your friends. All I know of this is what has been told me by my friend, here referred to as a Survivor.

In the North East of the Twilight Peaks the Scourge destroyed all life. The mountains have become a barren, lifeless, dust-covered waste. Buried under a box canyon in this waste is Kaer Tallin. Several Name-Givers wander Barsaive claiming descent from those that weathered the Scourge in that kaer. They tell the tale of how the kaer was almost breached during the Scourge, but the kaers greatest Wizards and Nethermancers, for they possessed several powerful adepts of both these disciplines, went through a great blood ritual to summon a powerful spirit from the Netherworlds. This spirit was bound to the Kaer, and fueled its magic wards. Through the life sacrifice of its greatest heroes, Kaer Tallin purchased protection through the Scourge.

When the Survivors, as those who claim descent from this kaer call themselves, encounter one who seems to truly have the will and desire to destroy the Horrors they will lead them to Kaer Tallin and through the magical maze guarding the entrance. I am one who was taken. Inside I met a spirit, it appeared as a small cat, actually. I'm not familiar with the ways of spirits, but this appeared absurd. The spirit explained it could only exist on our world by possessing a creature of this world. It wasn't willing to take a Name-Giver. It offered aid to me, as it will to any who prove themselves against the Horrors. It would grant me some small power, in exchange for the power it needed to survive, a bit of blood.

I was understandably hesitant. Its not every day a spirit asks you for blood. It sounded too much the deal a Horror would make to enslave someone, and I declined. The spirit understood, and bid me luck. The Survivor who lead me to the kaer remains with me, and is in fact a good friend. He has worked with me in destroying several minor Horrors in the past, and we are presently working on finding that information you asked me to gather.

Tsarnak's Sacrifice

You've all heard of Tsarnak the T'skrang, I'm sure. How he journeyed to the Netherworlds themselves to fight Horrors, recovered the ancient blade Dmok-Nom, and was even once returned from death by a dragon. The stories place him in any and all of the disciplines, though they all agree he could use magic as a nethermancer. Haven't heard many new stories about him lately have you? Didn't think so. He's dead.

Takes a lot to kill a hero like Tsarnak, and apparently even more to keep him dead. He's gone for good this time though. Gave himself up to the magic, sacrificed himself and his blood all to build a spell the likes of which were lost to the Scourge.

A Horror laired deep in the Twilight Peaks. Big, evil, nasty, lots of teeth, the type who's pint you don't even think of touching when he turns his back. This Horror had apparently picked a personal fight with Tsarnak, gone out of its way to take the piss out of him somehow, and now Tsarnak was onto it. Well, Tsarnak took his friends, Fannon and Marcus the Swordmasters, Arimai the Weaponsmith, Durgan the Elementalist, and even the dragon Terryphin. He pulled in some serious favors to pull together this crew, but you couldn't ask for better, Wardens or high Journeymen all, and a bloody dragon!

This wily Horror was onto Tsarnak though. It decided to end the thing here, and destroy him. It called out to its servants throughout Barsaive, calling them home, calling them to their master. Constructs, creatures, corrupted Name-Givers, even lesser Horrors were called to ambush these heroes at the Horrors lair. By the time Tsarnak arrived, a small army of corruption awaited just inside the entrance to the Horror's lair.

Arimai, that stout Windling, flew ahead of his friends, alone into the mouth of the lair. We all know Windlings get a little too curious for themselves. Don't take offense over there, and stop looking through your mate's bag! There now, Arimai alone entered the mouth of the ambush. As tempting as he was, the minions of the Horror knew they needed their ambush to destroy these mighty foes, so they let the Windling through. Arimai, quick, and strong of mind if not body, spied out the ambush, but hid his realization. He flew back and forth in the great entrance, apparently waiting for his friends. How few know that Arimai studied with the Wind-Dancers and learned their wing speech. This saved them all, for Terryphin, that dragon, knew the talk and the ambush was revealed.

Tsarnak realized all hope of destroying the Horror was lost. The host assembled inside was too great, as mighty as this company might be, they couldn't hope to battle through all of this and still defeat the Horror itself. Tsarnak made a plan.

Marcus, Fannon, and Terryphin bolted inside at a sprint. Their speed caught their enemies by surprise and they gained a toehold into the Horrors lair. These mighty Swordmasters, and the dragon itself, held off the horde in their small toehold, only ten feet into the lair. The fighting that passed, and the feats of courage, can never be properly described, except to say that Fannon and Marcus both fought to their deaths, never letting themselves be pushed back even an inch to where Tsarnak and Durgan prepared a mighty spell. Their blades moved as light itself through shadows, they held back the black velvet curtain of evil trying to destroy Tsarnak before he could complete his spell.

Tsarnak himself knew some things are more important than his own, or his friends', lives. He prepared for a last and final spell. As he wove the ten threads his blood streamed in ribbons about him, forming into a pattern themselves enhancing and powering this last spell. He wove his magic and blood together while first Arimai fell, then Fannon. Then Marcus fell, and finally just the Dragon, and Durgan the Elementalist held back the horde. The Horror raised its scarred, blackened head now, and pushed through its own minions to reach the heroes. But it was too late. Tsarnak's body collapsed just as the Horror reached the Dragon, and the magic he wove spread out all through the Horrors lair, sealing its walls and exits. Nothing touched by a Horror could ever leave there again. As Tsarnak dropped, Terryphin snatched Durgan up, and fled the lair of the Horror to the enraged howls of those trapped.

When you fly over the Twilight Peaks, and hear an unearthly howling coming from somewhere all around you, drop a coin for Tsarnak's Sacrifice. I'm told by great wizards that he must have given his own spirit to be trapped in the spell, so he lies there now, trapped with those he hates, forever.

Game Information

Protector works through intermediaries, and works them slowly. It manipulates them into doing what it wants over time. It will at first offer truly useful and valid information, and even secrets of where the Horrors come from. It can read the minds of any it has marked, so it possess a great deal of information, and will share this freely with those it has freshly marked. After trust has grown to be second nature, the Horror begins twisting the information. It is still accurate, but maybe an extra piece has come in that will incriminate an innocent, or force only a partial success in defeating another Horror. As it can read the minds of those it marks, it knows how hard it can push, and will remain patient. It will not show its hand.

Protector has corrupted fully a number of powerful name-givers. He uses their powers to augment his own. It will have a number of corrupted name-givers, including a high circle nethermancer who has made extensive use of the create life/alter life spells to make interesting, technically non-horror construct creatures to defend itself with. This defense will again be of a more subtle variety than crushing anyone that comes through the entry to the kaer intending to slay Protector.

Protector

Protector is a campaign level opponent. It thrives on manipulation and the building of slow terror and betrayal. The Horror lives (exists?) for the moment its victims realize what has happened to them and the damage they have done. This realization is only worth it if the wait was long and the building to betrayal careful.

Protector forces one of two eventualities on its victims. Either they wind up betraying all that they love, or they are betrayed by all that they love. Both of these ends satisfy the Horror.

Presently Protector is trapped in Kaer Tallin by the magic of Tsarnak. This doesn't particularly bother Protector, though it wouldn't pass at a chance to break free. It very much bothers the constructs, and corrupted Name-Givers trapped with protector though. Any Horror, or Horror-construct that enters the Kaer will become trapped inside. Horror-marked individuals can pass freely in and out of the kaer.

Protector is an Astral Horror, and has no material form of its own. It possesses those it marks, and bides its time patiently in almost any form. To kill the Horror it must be attacked on the Astral Plane, not an easy task. Killing the present form of the Horror only destroys that form. The Horror can travel astrally to any it has marked and attempt to possess them.

Protector's Horror Mark is very special. It can only mark those who accept something from it. Accepting power in exchange for blood magic gives the Horror a +10 bonus to its Horror Mark test. After a target is marked, Protector can learn anything it seeks from the targets mind at the cost of one karma point. Protector has a vast memory and generally prods his unknowing servants over time until it knows everything about the target. Usually it is not possible to detect this probing, but a successful Perception test against a 20, a 30 if the character has made a blood sacrifice to Protector, will allow them to realize the information is being picked out as it is being found. They remain powerless to stop it however. If confronted, Protector freely admits drawing the information, and justifies it as someone else hunting a Horror elsewhere needed it. Protector posses the power of Suppress Mark, and uses this to hide his mark in every case.

Protector's Horror Thread power is his most dangerous. This is the means by which Protector grants power to its victims. Before he can weave the initial thread, the victim must have made a blood sacrifice to Protector. As he weaves threads he grants them powers. The things Protector can grant with each rank of Horror Thread are as follows:

Increase Karma Step +2

Increase an Attribute +2

Increase a Talent +2

This does not increase the rank, merely the step at which rolls are made using that talent.

Harden the Victims skin to become chitinous

This provides 3 points of Physical Armor on top of any normally worn. It is obvious however, so Protector rarely uses this.

Elongate and harden the victims fingers into talons.

This allows Str + 6 unarmed attacks to be made. Any melee weapon use, or fine manipulation with the hands is at -3 steps. This too is obvious, and rarely used.

Grant Unnatural Life

This is slightly different form the normal Unnatural Life. The victim does become undead, but can only make additional recovery tests as per Unnatural Life at a cost of 1 karma per recovery test.

Protector can increase the Horror Thread rank only when the victim accepts aid directly from Protector, and that aid leads them to an act they will later regret. At that point Protector has the option of increasing the rank. However, Protector frequently will choose not to do this, and will almost always avoid using the last three powers.

When the Horror Thread rank equals the victim's willpower step the victim loses independence of thought and becomes a complete Horror Construct under the control of Protector. Protector will continue to use the victim in a subtle method, and often it is not immediately apparent the victim has lost control and the Horror has gained control. Protector will have by this time picked the victims mind so clean that he can reasonably imitate the actions, and ideas of the character. Any person familiar with the victim may roll perception against Protectors Social Defense in order to detect this for each day of casual contact. Obviously, anything brought out in role-playing doesn't require the roll.

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