The Hollow Folk
Who or what are the Hollow Folk?
The Hollow Folk were once a thriving civilization, displaced eons ago when a colossal asteroid struck their planet, skewing its orbit and plunging their world into an unforgiving chaos. For a brief time, they clung to survival, but their efforts were in vain. As their planet faced its inevitable demise, they devised a desperate escape, launching the surviving population into space aboard thousands of hastily constructed spacecraft.
Hope quickly turned to despair as they drifted aimlessly for months, then years. This was long before the advent of the Probability Suspension Drive and Improbable Distance Drives, making interstellar travel painfully slow. Exiting even a single solar system could take a lifetime. Supplies dwindled, and the lack of hope gnawed at their sanity. One by one, the citizens aboard the ships succumbed to starvation and existential dread.
The final few ships, drained of fuel, crash-landed on various asteroids within a vast asteroid field. Miraculously, they survived, eking out an existence for eons in the void. Exposure to the harsh conditions of space twisted their bodies, transforming them into semi-corporeal beings, a grotesque fusion of asteroid dust and shadow.
As the asteroid field eventually disintegrated, these forlorn entities were scattered across the Delta Space. A chance encounter with the Hollow Folk is always a possibility, and it should never be taken lightly. Their presence is a haunting reminder of a civilization lost to the void, forever wandering in the cold emptiness of space.
A victim stands outside of a Hollow Folk den awaiting their demise.
What makes them so Dangerous?
Their wails can be heard through the vacuum of space, penetrating a ship's hull with an eerie clarity. Though the wail itself can be heard without harm, you must not listen too closely, and under no circumstances should you heed the words. For if you do, you will be haunted by the horrific memories of a burning world and a people lost in the void, drifting with no hope. Pure emotions of anguish, guilt, and sorrow will wrack your mind, as the echoes of a dying civilization plead for salvation. The memories and the desperate cries for help will persist, an unending torment, until the sufferer breaks and submits to the call for a savior.
Those who succumb often find themselves drawn to the asteroids where the Hollow Folk reside, driven by a futile hope to relieve the spectral sufferers of their agony. But it is all in vain. The Hollow Folk no longer seek rescue; they crave sustenance. They no longer eat food, but instead feed off the life force of those foolish enough to visit them. One soul can sustain their hunger for quite some time.
When the Hollow Folk encircle their prey, they pile atop them, their somehow weighty bodies pinning the victim down. Over the next agonizing moments, they extract the very essence of their screaming victim, leaving behind a desiccated husk, frozen on the asteroid's surface. The macabre landscape of the asteroid is littered with these frozen husks, each a testament to the Hollow Folk's insatiable hunger.Summary
The Hollow Folk are a people whose civilization was uprooted and destroyed. Forced from their homes eons ago, they now exist as semi-corporeal beings, lurking inside hollowed-out asteroids that drift through space, haunting those unfortunate enough to come too close.
Little is known about the Hollow Folk; they've existed for as long as anyone can remember. There are countless stories about how they came to be in their current state, but no one knows which, if any, are true. Many dismiss the Hollow Folk as nothing more than an elaborate horror story. But those who believe that are gravely mistaken.
Their presence is a spectral whisper in the vastness of space, a haunting reminder of a civilization lost to time and the void. Their existence is a chilling blend of asteroid dust and shadow, a grotesque transformation born of desperation and despair. Encountering the Hollow Folk is to brush against the edge of a nightmare, a ghostly echo of a world long gone, filled with sorrow and unending torment.
One of the Hollow Folk, drained of its humanity after eons of suffering.
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