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Mon 30th May 2022 08:26

Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 1

by Midnight Erebus

This record are my notes about creatures I have fought in the past and the environment they reside in. While I doubt the creatures of this world of Luminal share much resemblance to that which I am familiar, I find it important to review my past encounters from time to time and reflect on the friends I've lost and the lessons learned in my battles.
 
Ice Banshee
"The Soul Reaver"
This ghostly creature is a native to the Banshee Mountains, a far north mountainous region flooded with festering life and ice magics. The result is that all who die here rise as not only the undead, but frozen and especially dangerous versions of them if their bodies are not burned within a week. The Ice Banshee is an undead that has risen from a drowned woman, trapped at the bottom of a frozen lake. There are only three ways to destroy them. Fire, magic, or destroying the heart of their corpse. The last one is near impossible without a seer as finding the body in a frozen lake is near impossible, and even then so much as touching their body causes the banshee to teleport to defend it.
 
As for the ghost itself, it's touch freezes the flow of mana within the body, which in turn cause the body to freeze. If it touches your heart, your entire body will freeze instantly, all the way to the core. Only two ways to protect from this, block their touch with magic, or trigger a controlled mana burn. For reference, mana burn is the burning of one's mana, the very thing the banshee tries to freeze. This is generally a terrible idea as triggering mana burn is not only a death sentence in most cases, but will consume the very soul. It is considered the ultimate sacrifice in my world. Typically this is triggered by absorbing the power of a mana stone directly. Typically these stones are processed through magical items, but concentrating on them can cause one to absorb it directly. If you use a small enough shard, this process is more like a short spark that will protect you from the banshee's touch briefly rather the raging inferno that normally triggers. The measurement has to be precise however and I am not familiar enough with mana stone to make that judgment.
 
The ice banshee was my trial hunt. The hunt undertaken with other young hunters to be considered true hunters of the village. We were young and we were cocky. The leader of the group was my childhood bully, Katid Goldmane. The Goldmanes where a family who didn't appreciate outsiders like myself. Dwarves were the only ones welcomed as far as they were concerned, and their son was no exception to that. Still, they were forced to take me with them. He was the first one to die, the banshee flying straight through his entire body as it rose up from the lake.
 
My best friend, Notroc Giantheart was with us as well. He was a fiercely loyal, firey haired hulk of a dwarf that would always run to me screaming his battle cry whenever Katid and his gang would start a fight with me. His fists would fly with the ferocity of a giant and we grew to be quite the team. He unfortunately fell next, his face swiped at by the banshee's claws, leaving frozen gashes that went halfway through his skull. I still drink to this man whenever I can find his favorite mead. A cyser with just the slightest hint of mint. I've been seeking something similar ever since I arrived on Luminal.
 
I was the next target. The banshee reached for my chest, pressing into my ribcage. I took a gamble and gathered shadows within my own body to block it, which lasted long enough for Katid's right-hand man, Hargak Underbrew, to slice off the banshee's arm with his enchanted axe as he screamed in rage at losing two friends (I would later learn that he and Notroc had something of a relationship when neither I or Katid were around). Banshees can regenerate as long as they have mana so his strike wasn't enough to disable in, but he was able to fend it off while our healer, silver-haired young dwarf woman by the name of Kalolin Ashforge was able to help me get back to my feet.
 
Us three then battled the banshee together. Hargak kept the banshee's attention with his fury. Kalolin would provide protection spells and unleash holy bolts of magic when the opportunities arose. I would use my shadows to restrain the banshee and strike at any openings provided. Eventually I managed to pin it down entirely, giving Kalolin the opportunity to enchant Katid's axe with all her remaining power and unleash the final blow, causing a scream to erupt from the lake as the banshee's body rose out of it and burned in azure flames, leaving behind a crystalized heart of pure ice magic. This was what we brought home as our trophy, along with the bodies of our fallen comrades, burned in a funeral pyre to ensure they would not rise again as our foes. I still have the scar from that day on my chest, aching whenever the temperature changes drastically. No fur grows there anymore, it is just a hand shaped burn.

Continue reading...

  1. First Day on the Wanderpus
  2. The Results of Midnight's Final Exam
  3. After Action Report: Destruction of the HTTP Wanderpus
  4. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 3
  5. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 2
  6. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 1
  7. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 4
  8. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 5
  9. Midnight Erebus's Bestiary, Page 6
  10. Midnight's Old Journal, 12/23/3540
    23rd Day of the 12th Month, 3540 AM
  11. Midnight's Old Journal, 01/01/3541
    1st Day of the 1st Month, 3541 AM
  12. To Liminal's Moon
  13. Midnight's Old Journal, 05/11/3541
    11th Day of the 5th Month, 3541 AM
  14. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 1 - The Basics & Growing Up
  15. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 2 - Past Influences, Beliefs and Opinions
  16. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 3 - Relationships with Others, Likes and Dislikes
  17. 100 Questions About Midnight, Part 4 - Self Images and Etc.
  18. The Storm
  19. After Mission Report: The Floating Island
  20. Midnight's Private Journal: After Legends Rise
  21. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Pot & Kettle
  22. Midnight's Personal Journal: After Call My Name
  23. Expanded Questions About Midnight - The HTML Wanderpus
  24. Midnight's Private Journal: After The Ascension
  25. Midnight's Private Journal: After Ante Up
  26. Midnight's Private Journal: After Teeth
  27. Midnight's Notes: The World Fair
  28. Midnight's Journal: After Hello Tomorrow
  29. Midnight's Journal: After Pretty Little Things
  30. Midnight's Journal: An Interesting New Sword
  31. Midnight's Journal: After R.Y.L.A.H.
  32. Midnight's Journal: After Diners, Dungeons & Dives
  33. Midnight's Journal: After Palm Reader
  34. Midnight's Journal: After Bookwyrm
  35. Midnight's Journal: After Veldt
  36. Midnight's Journal: After Where You'll Find Me Now
  37. Midnight's Journal: After A Bard's Tale
  38. Midnight's Journal: After Valhalla's Calling
  39. Midnight's Journal: After Broken
  40. Midnight's Journal: After They Know Me
  41. Midnight's Journal: After Welcome to the World
  42. Midnight's Journal: After Villainous Thing
  43. Midnight's Journal: After Curses
  44. Midnight's Journal: "The Librarian's Defeat"
  45. Midnight's Journal: "The World Changes"
  46. Midnight's Journal: After Sleep is for the Weak
  47. Midnight's Journal: After creature
  48. Midnight's Journal: After Dear Fellow Traveler
  49. Midnight's Report: After Love From The Other Side
  50. Midnight's Report: Handclap
  51. Midnight's Journal: A Story to a Giant
  52. Midnight's Journal: Constellations
  53. Midnight's Report: Wolf
  54. Midnight's Report: Of Bees and Bones
  55. Midnight's Report: Building Steam (Flower and Geoff)
  56. Midnight's Report: Nothing Breaks Like a Heart Ep. 1

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 03:10, Nov 15 2024