The Kerōs Man

Summary

A man dressed only in a ragged swarther (long blanket with head hole) stitched at the seams to his flesh. He has the dark head of a pentakerōs (black 5 horned horse), wild white eyes and a lipless mouth showing blunt teeth stained with dry blood. On the night before the new moon, he comes away from the forests and feild edges to a village, and will not leave until a chosen victim has been claimed. The victim hears the clopping of hooves when the sun goes down, and then at midnight he will appear before them, foaming at the mouth, and lunge forward to bite through their face. The victim is found the next morning with the front half of their head bitten cleanly through tissue and bone like a butcher’s blade through XbutterX. The only sign of their passing a deathly scream just after midnight.

Historical Basis

In the grassland villages they use keros and giant insectoid eiten (a species of beetle) a lot for transportation of goods and people. The wild 5 horned pentakeros is famed for its rarity and obsidian horns, as well as its violent nature, which is where this legend probably originated.

Spread

This legend is heard mostly through the grassland plains villages outside of the larger cites. It is almost always told with the gory details, and is more of a dark tavern corner tale rather than one for kids. The drunkenness of the tale tellers may also be the reason for the large amount of variations in the tale.

Variations & Mutation

Passed down through word of mouth, this tale has an almost infinite number of variations to the point where a single village may have 2 or 3 variations different from any other telling. This is often related to specific 'encounters' people have had, so specifics on what the kerōs man looks like or what night he attacks may differ.

Related Locations

• The Second Point, or FeatherWet