The Herald of the Wild Hunt
"And when once more comes the season of fright
Don't leave your house alone;
Shut your doors and windows tight
When you see the shimmer at night
And hide from the groan
Of the Wild Hunt."
The Herald is a mythical being that resembles a stag, boasting marble-like horns that glimmer white in the depths of the forest. It has been described by witnesses as towering over other deer, with a body twice the size of its kin and with a distinct greish-white fur that stands out in the middle of the night. However, its body is actually a mirage created by mana; the creature is incorporeal, it exists solely as a large quantity of mana that flows through the forest that has been chosen as hunting ground for the Wild Hunt. Its appearance is determined by the qualities of mana; depending on realm, time of year and fluctuations in the manastreams, its body can take any form, from skeletal and ghastly to strong and well-defined, with thick fur or slim and slender, with horns large or small, straight or curly. Because it is immaterial, most would describe an encounter with The Herald as eerie and otherworldy.
Although a rare occurence, the presence of the Herald marks the arrival of an Incarnation of the Celestial Artiakimmis, the Aspect of Nature, as well as the beginning of the Wild Hunt. This event occurs once every decade, but, across all of Aclara, only one Wild Hunt can occur at a time, making it very unlikely to take place on the same plane two consecutive times. Every realm has its own stories and myths associated with both the Wild Hunt and the Herald in particular. Rumors say its cold blue gaze can steal your soul, and that the stag will follow the first hunter it sees back to their home and kill them when they fall asleep. Others say that dawns with white fur are children that have followed the Herald into the woods, never to be seen by their families again.
Hunters should always pay attention to any unusual behavior from wild animals when the time for a Wild Hunt is coming. Animals with faint white markings should be avoided at all costs; they have been inscribed by the Herald with the Mark of Prey and will serve as targets during the event. Killing a marked being will curse the hunter, morphing their body into that of a wild animal, as well as marking them for the Wild Hunt. If they survive the event, they will be granted the choice of joining the Celestial's procession, travelling across the realms as a mental construct that takes shape using the manastreams, similarly to the Herald. They may choose to revert to their original form, as long as they never hunt again; the mark will change its shape and will remain on their bodies for the rest of their lives.
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