Banshees

Banshees are one of the most widely known and regarded phenomena found across the world of Veska. To humans, the banshee's wail is done to signal the death of somebody beloved. To those that are familiar with Fae, they are the mourning guides of the dearly departed. The Banshees are given the grim task of ferrying mortal souls off into the afterlife, while also ensuring that mortal bodies are given proper burials, lest they spawn as restless spirits.

When you see a Banshee's tears
May they wash away your fears
For when a good man meets their grave
Then a good mourning they shall be gave.

Summary

Banshees are the handmaidens of Ceana, tasked with ferrying the dead to the afterlife. They are often described as pallid women dressed in translucent, flowing dresses that resembles a wispy mist more than cloth, with a featureless body hidden beneath swirling fog. Their face is the only discernible feature, and is almost always caught in a state of duress. They are sighted worldwide, particularly when murders or early deaths occur.

Handmaidens of the Dead

As handmaidens of Ceana, Banshees are given the duty of ensuring the dead are given a fair burial. They do this by weaving rags out from their fog-like dresses, which thickens into proper cloth for them to clean and care for the bodies. A Banshee is also both blessed and cursed with the ability to see a corpse's final moments. This harrowing sight brings tragedy to the Banshee, causing them to mourn for the victim as they recollect the last memories. If the victim was slaughtered in a particularly heinous or foul way, a Banshee's tears will shed red to reflect that.

Banshees are most known for their tendency to cry or sob. Though a harrowing sight to see, it is actually a positive thing for a Banshee to cry over the dearly departed. Thy sob because they are repulsed at the idea of a good person dying. If a Banshee does not cry, it is a sign that the body deserves their grave.

A Wail on the other hand, is a very harrowing, but rare sight. It is less often seen, but heard, for a shrieking Banshee's shrill screams are loud enough to leave ears ringing. It is a sign that the Banshee is so disgusted with the victim's death, that they wish for them to be avenged. Not only is this done out of disgust for what they've been forced to witness, but it is an omen that they must be remembered or avenged, lest their spirit be restless.

Tragically, a Banshee's creation is tied to this untimely demise; they are the spirits of those that craved vengeance for their unfair death, but were never given their retribution.

A Banshee's Visit

Banshees are sometimes given the nickname 'Window Wailer' due to their tendency to appear at the window of a family's home. When sighted, they will either weep red or blue tears to reflect the fate of their victim, before fading away from sight. Alternatively; a Banshee will Wail directly into the home, signalling that their loved one needs to be avenged in order to prevent them from living a tragic afterlife.

Historical Basis

There are many travesties throughout history that has resulted in mass Banshee sightings. Examples are given below.

The Purge of Asenboll

The Purging of Asenboll remains as one of the greatest tragedies in Elven and Fianni history. Carried out by the Scarlet Circle The event began when the circle found its inhabitants to carry The Blood Curse. Despite very few actually carrying the sickness, Lachtna, their leader, lead his druids to the dormant volcano at the center to erupt, burying its inhabitants in ash. Survivors fleeing the sight were surrounded by encroaching members of the circle, incinerated on grounds of potentially carrying the curse.

The travesty has lead to not just a constant wailing of Banshees in the old city, but for Ceana herself to have been famously sighted scrubbing the ashen remains of Asenbolls citizens. A handful of lucky survivors claim her to have assisted them in escaping, while members of the circle actually claim that they've seen Ceana herself wail over the needless loss of life.

To this day, it's said that Banshees can be seen listlessly wandering through piles of ash, rummaging through heaps in hopes of finding the buried remains of the countless victims that died from the volcano's eruption.

Slaughtering of the Dogs

While Mordencrast is a grim place in and on itself, the infamous 'Slaughtering of the Dogs' highlights the cruelty of the country's former monarch. During house Volteroy's reign, they were known to have a band of sellswords that pledged fealty to their rule.

For reasons unknown, the entire band was lured into a feast that served as their demise. The Volteroys slaughtered the band and left them for dead. Shortly after the deed was done, the men under Volteroy's rule complained about incessant howling in the night. It's said that even though their deaths are greatly remembered, the knights of the band are now left wandering as vengeful spirits.

Massacre at Galdslann

The human crusades are marred with recorded Banshee sightings, and countless reports of wailing. One particular event happened in Galdslann, where the Holy Church sent templars to purge the Elven inhabitants from the city. The event lead to countless innocent lives being lost with very few survivors to even recollect the tale, but all can remember the sightings of wispy, pale skinned women converging at the edge of the cliff.

Unfortunately, very few can account for what happened after. As if the very memory of the event was sheared from existence, the next night lead to all the templars being found laid to rest in a famous Ceana sighting; her banshees were seen wandering through the massacre, sorting the civilians into a neat pile while Ceana personally tended to all the bodies of the deceased templar men. It's still unknown whether or not Ceana was personally responsible for the murder of the Churchmen, but most of her faith insist that it's definitely not the case, for Ceana and her Banshees only ever personally interact with the affairs of mortals during Weeper's Rest.

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