The Oranok

In the Felsaedan states children that have a tendancy to wander are kept in line with stories of the Oranok, a powerful ghost that stalks the night and to whom the moons are slaves. This ghost most often takes the form of a wailing woman, her body completely hidden by a shroud made fron the night itself. The creatures wails can be heard from some distance, and one can learn that it is stalking the night if the moons seem to randomly change phases. If you become aware of its presence it is best to run straight to your home, or the home of someone you trust. No matter what you do you must not enter an unknown building or the home of a stranger, as it is said the Oranok may set traps for you in buildings for its prey, but that these traps are useless against someone in their own home or a home of someone they share a bond with. If the wailing lies between the traveller and safety they must hide and silently prey to Mayreign to craft them their own veil of night until the sound passes, and once it does immediately run for home. When the creature draws close enough you may see a pair of broken, white horns that shine brighter than the moons that stand out from the darkness, however staring for too long may alert the creature. It is best that if you see these horns you move away from them, out of sight. Failing to do so risks being seen by the Oranok. If one is seen the creatue will open its cloak, revealing a gaunt face that is either that of a Human or Ja'goroan (depending on the teller) above white robes. The creature begins to wail even louder at this point, and it seems to move in and out of the moonlight, disapearing into and reapearing from the darkness. Its movement are almost untraceable and its wail will begin to sound as if it is coming from all around you, at which point it is too late. The creature will lunge at their victim and bite into their flesh, deep enough to hurt them but not to do any serious damage, or at least not in one bite. The victim will either be taken by the urge to flee or freeze in place, in either case they will be inflicted by the creature sinking its teeth into them, disapearing and then reapearing from another position and repeating the prossess. With each bite the target will grow weaker until they collapse from exhaustion, however what happens after this point varies between legends. Most result in it opening its cloak wide enough to wrap itself and the victim, engulfing the two of them and disapearing into the night. Many tellers simply skip to this part, as the alternative version is far more brutal. An alternate version of the story gives the Oranok a far more tragic backstory, and far more gruesome methods. According to this telling the Oranok was once a powerful soldier, born before the first age. When the Tiorathans invaded in the first age they would lead the charge against them, taking the lives of slaves and Tiorathans alike. Wherever the steel tide tried to engulf they would stand against the crushing might of their foe. However their brother, a scribe, grew jealous of them. Before the war, when soldiers earned less fame than scholars he had been the favoured sibling. The one who would become the Oranok did not mind, loving them no less. However when the time came their brother could not be as graceful and humble as they were, and attempted to show the world how weak they really were. The brother would tell a devil that stood almost twice as tall as a man where the future Oranok would camp one night, and the devil, being a servant of Tiorath, would lead many berserkers to the place where they slept. Finding the woman fast asleep the berserkers attacked, however she awoke and killed them. Unfortunately this distraction proved enough for the devil to slit her throat. However the devil saw a use in her, and refused to let her die even when her body failed. Instead he told her who had betrayed her. Enraged she swore a vow of vengeance against her brother and begged the Tiorathan devil to spare her. He agreed on the condition that every night she bring him the souls of those who would stand against Tiorath. It pained her, but her soul, warped by the pain of betrayal would not allow her to deny the creature. Bowing to it she was gifted a cloak it cut from the night sky with one of its seven long fingers. As the cloak rested on her shoulders her wounds began to ache, and yet her strength increased ten fold. Every injury she endured only empowering her further, Her name began to slip from her mind, and when she asked the devil her name he told her it was Oranok, and that she belonged to him. Every night from then on she would hunt for her brother, taking unfortunate souls for her master. However her brother soon caught wind of this, and crafted his own cloak that he could wear directly over his skin. This cloak would allow him to take the form of another, becoming indescernable from the skin of another individual. Being a proud man he would brag about cheating his sister of her kill in a tavern one night. The Oranok would hear him boasting, however she could not reach him inside of a friendly aboad. However she would not let his trickery stop her, and from that night on once her victims became exhausted she would reveal her nails, sharpened into claws, and remove their skin in one piece hoping to find her brother underneath, before taking the skinless but still living victim to her fiendish master. If she finds her sibling her curse will end, but until then she is said to hang the skin on a tree on any lonely road, hoping her brother sees it and remembers that she is still looking for him, so that he forever fears the day they meet again.

Summary

The Oranok seems to borrow some of its features from history, however in its current form the myth seeks to prevent children from wandering out into the night. If a child should wander into the dark alone it is hoped that they will become frightened by memories of the tale and travel home or too a trusted family friend rather than endangering themselves by entering a strangers home, hence the specification that the Oranok may set traps in houses you pass when running from it.

Historical Basis

Although the legend is believed to be fantastical the entity known as the Oranok may have its roots in history, a particularly dark era at that. Some scholars have cited some simularities between the entities powers and those gifted to members of a real martial order. However what is strange is that this order is not from Felsaed where the story is traditionally told, but from the Seltien kingdoms. The creature may have been inspired by an Attarine of the Changing Moons Maegar, and if so been based on an individual who was really betrayed at some point in history. The devil from the story may have been inspired by a mixture of Tiorathan captains and the impressive berserkers of the first age, and the 'cloth' they clad the Oranok in may have been mail forged from the dreaded Blackened Tiorathan Steel. This would go to explain its abnormal strength and durability, as well as its savage nature. Some believe that the Oranok was once a very real creauture, and others claim that not only was it real, but that it is still alive, kept intact over the centuries by the unnatural power of a wraithblight.

Telling / Prose

San'akeid and the Oranok

Related Ethnicities