Guhjdäl the Revenant

A decade ago, the druid Guhjdäl was kidnapped by a Völgr raiding party in Kandar and returned to Thrull, marked as another of that season’s sacrifices within the Sentinel Woods. Guhjdäl was a member of the Lightbringers, and one of the brightest voices of that tradition who believe that preserving life is only the first step in a necessary fight against forces that threaten the destruction of the wider world.
For her spellcasting prowess, the veteran druid was offered a place in The Prismatic Circle. Guhjdäl, for her beliefs, which she defiantly proclaimed to her captors even as she swore to never serve their evil faith, was tortured for seven days before being ritually slain. The Prismatic Circle used healing magic to keep her alive while the skin was slowly flensed from her body. When the mercy of death finally took her, Guhjdäl’s last thoughts were of her family, of lost opportunities to do good—and of revenge.

The Revenant.

Days later, with the druids departed and the remains of those sacrificed alongside her nearly stripped to the bone by wolves and crows, Guhjdäl awoke. Her body had been made whole, and the ropes that had tied her to the Sentinel Tree were torn through. The druid had no sense of what power or fate had returned her to life, and still doesn’t to this day. But she felt the magic it had left in her, elevating her spellcasting prowess to allow her to cast the powerful resurrection spell—and making it clear what she was meant to do.

Death and Life.

For ten years, Guhjdäl has moved clandestinely across Thrull, visiting the Sentinel Woods in the aftermath of sacrifices, using resurrection to bring back victims of the Prismatic Circle. Over the years, she has gathered followers to her cause, naming her order “the Revenants,” continually expanding its reach and pow- er. Fellow druids have been drawn to her mission, many successfully dedicated to reaching the heights of power required to cast resurrection themselves, with the torture inflicted on the Prismatic Circle’s victims putting them beyond the reach of other life-restoring magic. But it is the leaders of Clan Graevar, who Guhjdäl approached when first returned to life, who are perhaps most important to the order’s work, with the gems they clandestinely provide marking that clan’s hatred of the Prismatic Circle and fueling the Revenants’ magic.

Second Chances.

It isn’t known how many victims of the Prismatic Circle the Revenants have returned to life, but those who follow the actions of the group believe their resurrections might number in the thousands. After resurrecting the victims, who have been badly traumatized by their experiences, the Revenants give them what succor and guidance they can, and bring the recently raised to sanctuary settlements dedicated to protecting them, providing them new names and new lives. Many of these communities are the holds of smaller clans who had good folk taken by Prismatic Circle druids anxious to meet a sacrifice quota, and whose faith in the circle has been shattered as a result. But many smaller settlements of Clan Sýr and Clan Rune are also known to be sympathetic to the Revenants’ cause.

Army of the Returned Dead.

Many of those the Revenants save stay with the order, dedicating their skills of combat, crafting, magic, and more to Guhjdäl’s work. And as the ranks of her followers grow, the druid has begun to dream of expanding her mission beyond simply responding to the Prismatic Circle’s depredations. For with enough followers, including many bearing the stark memories of having been executed and brought back to fulfil a greater destiny, she hopes to build an army dedicated to breaking the Prismatic Circle’s power in Thrull.
The Prismatic Circle has long been aware of Guhjdäl’s work, of course, and the druid has a sentence of death hanging over her in Clan Völgr lands. But Hjadana, the Prismatic Circle’s Grand Druid, has so far eschewed orders for direct action against Guhjdäl and her followers, understanding that undoing the relatively small number of resurrections the Revenants perform is simply a matter of offering more victims to the Sentinel Woods each year.