The Wild Hunt

They say that in the darkest of times, the sky comes alive. A cavalcade of riders streaks across the sky, with the sound of their baying hounds and thunderous hoofbeats filling seemingly the entire world. They are said to be the darkest of omens, heralding death on a massive scale.
Few who have seen them have ever lived to tell the tale, and those who have were forever changed by the experience. None know who or what these riders are, only that madness and death follow in the footsteps of the Lord of the Wild Hunt.

History

The Wild Hunt has always been a part of the history of Covenant. Even such elder folk as the elves and dwarves tell that the Wild Hunt have plagued their existence from the days of their very earliest tales. Indeed, according to tales told by the black elves, the Wild Hunt heralded the coming of humans to Covenant.
Since that time they have been seen over every continent of Covenant, and made their mark up and down history. The story goes that many who see them find themselves taken by the host and cursed to join them on their eternal ride across the endless sky.
Since so few have seen them and lived to tell the tale, and most of those that have are hopelessly mad, it is hard to determine just what events were heralded by the Wild Hunt. Some believe that the Riders preceeded both the first attack by the Bjornlanders  against the kingdom of Aurand and the birth of Karad Blackheart.

Mythology & Lore

Few tales of the Wild Hunt could properly be called history. Too few of these events are known to be true. Indeed, the only things truly known about them is that they exist and show themselves in the sky where and when a great and terrible change is about to occur.
Thus, most stories told of the Raging Host are nothing more than myths. Since they are seen all across Covenant, these tales also exist all across the world. These tales rarely have any elements in common, proving to many scholars that none of them have any truth to them at all.
In Bjornland, it is believed the riders of the Wild Hunt are those souls rejected by the valkyries and not even accepted by the goddess Hel. It is said they ride the skies led by a shadowy mockery of Odin, searching for a dark and terrible place they can one day call their own. It is said that they are the ones that will inherit Covenant after Ragnarok.
The people of Acitern tell that the Lord of the Wild Hunt was once a nobleman who enjoyed hunting so much that he rejected the words of the celestials, stating that their heavens are nothing compared to the simple joys of hunting. In retribution, he was cursed to hunt through the skies eternally, capturing others as he passed so that he wouldn't suffer his curse alone.
In Kemet, they say that the Lord of the Wild Hunt was an unworthy mortal who fled Ammut with his heart in hand before she could devour it. He then spends the rest of eternity claiming one unworthy soul after another in an attempt to starve the dread creature.

Founding Date

Unknown

Type

Secret, Occult

Alternative Names

The Raging Host, The Ghost Riders, The Riders of War

Leader

Lord of the Wild Hunt