Llothakekr

Warriors bound to the Eldritch. They wield special lances that inflict a doom upon those they do not kill. They are the mortal soldiers of the Eldritch armies.

Doomed Warriors

Some soldiers in dire circumstances will turn to fell powers to save their lives. To become a llothakekr, first, the warrior - which can be any kind of warrior previously - must face certain death and flinch. They must beg for salvation from death from any power, and they must do so within range of the ever-listening Eldritch or one of their powerful servants. If they have some relation to the Eldritch or some knowledge of them, if the Eldritch somehow enters their mind in this moment, if some unbidden memory arises of forbidden knowledge, then all the better, but it can be as simple as a redeemer overhearing such a request in a time of impending doom.

"We arrived moments too late. The shelling lay waste to everything for miles around in a single volley. Our forces hit the artillery nests and wiped them out, but that first volley sent thousands to their doom. After the bloody work was done, the heartbreaking work began - we were sent into the blast zone to see what we could do and report back. And what we found shocked us: a single survivor, Sgt. Randolph Green." - from the journals of Cpl. Markos Kokkinos

Eldritch Quest

If the warrior begs for salvation and an Eldritch or their servants hear, then a deal must be made. The Eldritch, usually through visions, imagery, or obscure messages, makes an offer: become one of the llothakekr or face the death that awaits you. If the warrior accepts, the Eldritch's power will be exerted, and the warrior will awaken, unscathed, often surrounded by their dead brothers-in-arms. If the offer was presented by a servant of the Eldritch who was present, they will step forward and speak with the potential lloathakekr. If it was a communication with the Eldritch by some obscure means, then they will be driven by unseen pressures, whispers in their ears, and hallucinations out of the corner of their eyes. These urges or the servant will present them with a quest to pay for their salvation. Almost always, they potential llothakekr is sent to find a fragment of an Eldritch Name.

If the one who was saved refuses the quest, they are bombarded by voices, images, and more to force them to go. If they keep refusing somehow, they will eventually die horribly and be given to the Eldritch to feed upon.

"No blemish, no scrape, not even so much as a bruise marked Sgt. Green's body. He seemed dazed, but it was almost more awe. We took him back to the hospital tent, but before he could be fully examined and cared for, the man simply disappeared. The nurses said he seemed 'twitchy' and muttered about a temple beneath the sea. They assumed it was shellshock." - from the journals of Cpl. Markos Kokkinos

Name Fragments

Fragments of Eldritch Names are found in strange, forbidden spaces around the world, sealed away or forgotten, remnants of ancient wars that saw the Eldritch held at bay. The Eldritch know the places to send their potential servants, and they drive them there. Many are beneath the sea, but some are in remote deserts or mountains, beneath ancient cities, or in grim forests surrounded by evil powers. Finding them is simply a matter of finding the means to reach them. The Eldritch provide the power to repel the guardians of the Names or the natural powers that may seek to ward off visitors. As the candidate gets closer, their connection to the Eldritch will grow, and they will gain the power to repel celestial energies or cause pain and horror and doom to come to anyone in their way. Once they find the Name fragment, usually hidden in etchings in the stones of ancient temples or in the glass of shattered temple windows or some other unlikely place, when they find the Name fragment, they must figure out how to pronounce it (the Eldrtich provide the transliteration, but pronunciation is always trickier). Usually, they try a dozen times or more before they perfect it, and then, its power is theirs.

"What a remarkable thing it was. When our team entered the ruins, we expected nothing but seaweed and schools of fish. The area is known for its huge manta rays, of course. Guided by the roughest merman I have ever met, we swam deep into the waters off the coast of Dekel. We knew the ruins were once home to followers of some ancient and foul religion, so we had brought along with us a notable warrior or two. What we found, though, we could never have anticipated. Yes, the manta rays were impressive, and the beds of seaweed seemed more eerie and unnerving than one might expect from something commonly mixed into the dinners of the locals. But what we found? A human being, standing amidst the ruins, looking at a dark corner of the broken hall we were in, muttering to himself. He had no visible means of surviving under water. No visible magical ornament to let him breath, repel the cold, or stave off the crushing weight of the waters. He was dressed in the uniform of some Jesenyan military, and through the haze of the waters, we could see madness in his eyes. When he saw us, he screamed not in terror but in rage. The waters around us boiled instantly, and many of us suffered considerable physical pain. I myself had second degree burns all down my left side. When the roil of the waters calmed, he was nowhere to be seen." - a report on the expedition to Teantanimth Temple in the Sea of Stars

Body Changes

Immediately upon speaking the Name fragment, the llothakekr's body begins to change. The two first changes are always that the fragment becomes tattooed on their body and that they grow some very different body part, painfully. If they are human, some animalistic feature is most common, usually a mollusc, insect, or reptile. If they are animal folk, some overgrowing is common, such as a huge head or hand. It varies greatly by species of llothakekr. Over time, as they wield Eldritch power and kill in the Name of their master(s), they begin to change even more. These changes are not always helpful.

"One night, while traveling to my cousin's for her debut, my family stopped in with one of my father's old war buddies. My father had done the sensible thing and turned his tour as an officer into a springboard for a career in shipping, but his buddy was a lifer in the military - or so my father once believed. Apparently, four years before he would have retired with full honors, he abruptly left the military (to some concern and ado, facing charges even). My father had helped smooth all this over, but I had never heard the full of it. Still, bonds forged in battle run deep, and my father wanted to see his old friend for a night.

"I can only assume this man was less ghastly and wretched when my father knew him. What we found was not the clever gadabout my father had described, nor the sober, mature officer one expects of the Galdish army. This man, this Fernand de Basseterre, he smelled of last week's milk. He answered the door to his manor house himself, and he wore what I will charitably call rags. He spoke nothing of any sense at all, and the night we spent in his hospitality was punctuated with howling, barking, and growling not from any dog, but from de Basseterre himsef. My father spent the night as a caretaker, and I would think no less of him if my suspicions that it was he I heard weeping in the night were proven true. What we saw was a broken man.

"I write of this not to degrade one already so degraded, but to relate the most... disturbing is the only word for it. The most disturbing moment, possibly of my life, when after we had had our dinner (which we made ourselves from our travel supplies), he looked me directly in the eye, spoke my full name, and told me not to take ship next month. I was astonished, for I did not realize he knew my name at all, and so I asked this pathetic thing why on Shem I should not follow up my plans. This is when he said something that has haunted my dreams since.

"He said, 'Remont Alexander de Faison, that ship will never return. The scent of your blood will draw to it, to my shame, a devil of no name or origin. When last I fought for our country, four years hence, in the valley of Turrand, our guns were not needed. The rebels fled before us, or so we thought, but when we arrived at their camp, we found it rested before a shallow cave. Seeing no reason to let such a decent camping spot go to waste, we took it over. Within the hour, as the moons lowered in the night sky, a voice emanated from the cave that chilled us all to the core. Being the officer, I knew I had to set an example, and so I volunteered to examine what might it have been. Using my sergeant's light, I slipped into the narrow pass, and there, I saw it. Nearly half again my height, with the remnants of a Talunese army uniform hanging from its form, I saw this devil. It had the claws of a bear, the taloned feet of a raptor, and armor seemingly made out of an eerie green light that seeped through the essence of me. But worst of all was the face of this thing, which I cannot even truly describe. No living thing on this world or another should appear so. Fangs it had, and it seemed to rise forever. And it had no symmetry at all, but rather, it moved like a whip. I know not what else to say. It was a horror in the translucent armor of Hell. I regret to say, I swore to all that might hear that if I survived, all that I loved would be its. To my terror, it nodded its tendril-head, and I realized I had spoken aloud. My son, I love you truly as my own, as my career prevented such for myself, and I know with certainty that just as it has taken my career, my brother, and soon my manor, it will too take you if you get on that ship. Remain ashore. Find love and happiness, for it loathes such things.'" - a letter from Remont Alexander de Faison to his brother Neven.

Instability

Initial contact with the Eldritch or their servants immiedately plants delusions into the mind of the potential llothakekr. These delusions also grow. The hallucinations and voices fade as a more direct connection with the Eldritch is formed, but delusions, beliefs about reality that are at odds with actuality, grow. At the point where they are still human enough to express thought, the llothakekr usually rave on about their role in a vast cosmic conspiracy designed to make them the center of all that is.

Powers

Once the llothakekr finds the Name fragment, the Eldritch begins directing them, usually sending them to work for a powerful servant as a warrior, bodyguard, assassin, or other agent of violence. As they serve, they gain new powers:

• Uneasy presence: to be near a llothakekr even before they find the Name fragment is usually unnerving. This ranges from power of 4 at the start to power of 22 at their full power.
• Repelling gesture: before they gain their Name fragment and up until they take on their full armor, a llothakekr can repel celestial and aetherial energies at the power of 13 before the fragment and 19 after. Once they gain their armor, this power goes away.
• Fragmenting mind: if they speak the fragment aloud, anyone who hears it will face a power of 16 or lose all understanding of reality for up to 24 hours. After this initial period, for the rest of their lives, they will suffer these periods unless they are healed somehow.
• Fatesbane: a llothakekr can obliterate fate, fortune, misfortune, karma, lhair, fusei, and any form of poioumenon with any sharp part of their body (claws, talons, fangs, stingers, etc.) if it is passively imbued into something or someone. For example, someone with good luck will lose that luck if clawed by a llothakekr. Someone with a fate they cannot escape will be released from it by the fangs of the llothakekr. And so on. This frees them up to be doomed. This power cannot be used to deflect these powers being actively wielded by someone.
• Doomsblood: see Lance section below.
• Eldritch armor: see Armor section below.
• Unfathomable visage: once their body has altered beyond any recognition, some part of them will become so terrible that no one can look upon it and process it in their mind fully.
• Alabaster dust: a llothakekr can produce white dust that burns like acid by scraping their own skin and letting the detritus dry over 8 hours.
• Channeling: a llothakekr may channel the full might of the Eldrith by bellowing the Name fragment. It will cost them their own Name if they do it, but it will unleash an effect specific to which Eldritch's Name they have.
• Summon servitor: a powerful llothakekr can summon the Eldritch servitor nations with the Name fragment.
• Eldritch wave or wind: those who are based underwater can direct the currents of Eldritch energy through the water and command them as if they were limbs. If they not underwater, they do this with air/wind. If they are in an airless, waterless space, this power does not work.
• Eldritch slumber: like their masters, llothakekr ignore the passage of time on their own beings when they sleep. Thus, if they sleep 100 years, they wake up unchanged from 100 years ago.
• Untethering: the last blade/sting/etc. that forms on a llothakekr's body before they settle into a form is capable of untethering a target from reality physically and metaphysically, sending body and soul into another version of reality while their mind and heart remain reactive in our own.
• Eldritch maelstrom/windstorm: underwater, the llothakekr unleash a maelstrom of Eldritch power as their most potent attack. Above water, they unleash a windstorm of Eldritch power. In an airless, waterless space, they cannot use this power.

Inventory

The inventory of a llothakekr is a vital part of their development as a warrior.

Lance

The lance of a llothakekr is granted them immediately upon arrival at their first job as a llothakekr. Either given to them by a poweful servant or forged themselves, they will be driven by the Eldritch to make their lance. It will be made of laithol stone or alabaster hardened by etchings of the Eldritch Name. When a victim is struck by it, if their blood is spilled, they must roll WIL vs. 22 or be doomed to a specific death that will occur within 6 days. The llothakekr will only continue fighting to incapactitate after this, planning to take the victim somewhere isolated to meet their doom. If they are forced to draw more blood, they will switch tactics and simply kill the victim directly. If the victim has another poioumenonic or quasi-poioumenonic quality, such as a geas or good (or bad) luck or a specific fate, that will also be figured into their WIL roll, as that interferes with the doom.

"Harmon had escaped the fight with the thing with a serious shoulder wound, but we were confident he would recover. Our medical team was quick in response, and the thing seemed to retreat immediately to let us in. That week, he was had lost his usual smiling, happy demeanor, however, and he spoke often of knowing he had not truly escaped death. He knew. He was certain. We tried to show him proof, pointing out how well his wound was healing, but he only said it wasn't the wound. Before the week was out, we were attacked again, this time by Galdish regulars. In the ensuing conflict, a stray bullet - perhaps from our own side - went through his head..." - report from Nurse Tarna Wilhelm in the Kerupene-Galdish wars

Hammer

After many centuries of service, a llothakekr will make a hammer from laithol, stannum, and the bones of many of their victims. In a ceremony invoking the Name fragment, they will coalesce these materials and create a massive warhammer that glows green with Eldritch power. This hammer does not replace the lance, but is used in close melee to completely obliterate targets, as each blow of the hammer hits with the force of a bomb.

Armor

Early in their service, the llothakekr will be overwhelmed by Eldritch power and be granted the armor of the doomed. The armor is heavy plate made of green Eldritch light, translucent so that the body contortions of the the Eldritch may be seen below. The armor repels all celestial and aetherial attacks and passive energies at power 22.

Helmet

When they are many centuries into service, before they make their hammer, they make their helmet. The helmet is not made of light, but of solid stannum and bone. It is different for each Eldritch, assuming they have a head. The helmet will allow them to see into the cosmos for vast distances and will give them their powers over wind or water.

Shield

If they have no head, they will definitely be formed such that a shield with the same powers and qualities may be formed. To see into the cosmos, the llothakekr will have to look into the reflective outer surface of the shield.

Wings or Fins

If a llothakekr has wings or fins, they will not be granted these. If they do not have them, sometime after they have made their hammer, they will be able to form wings or fins from the bones and flesh of their dead enemies that are functional but part of their armor, not their bodies.

Progression

Here's how long it takes to reach each stage of the llothakekr:

1. Near-death experience: start. Gain uneasy presence and repelling gesture power. Begin mental deterioration.
2. Quest: usually about six weeks to three months. Gain fragmenting mind power. Begin bodily transformation. Gain fatesbane power.
3. Entering service: usually about another two months. Gain lance and doomsblood power.
4. One year in service: Gain armor and Eldritch armor power. Lose repelling gesture power. Continue bodily transformation and mental deterioration.
5. Second to fifth year in service: Continue bodily transformation and mental deterioration. Gain alabaster dust power.
6. Sixth to 100th year in service: Continue bodily transformation and mental deterioration. Gain unfathomable visage and Eldritch wave/wind powers. Lose all semblance of mental stability.
7. Second to third century in service: Continue bodily transformation. Gain channeling and summon servitor powers. Gain helmet or shield.
8. Fourth to seventh century in service: Continue bodily transformation. Gain hammer. Gain untethering. Stop forming claws, stings, or blades in the body.
9. Eighth to tenth century in service: Finish bodily transformation. Gain wings or fins. Gain Eldritch maelstrom or windstorm.

Variations

Some variations include

• Illokenep: llothakekr who ride great winged Eldritch monsters.
• Nathudda: llothakekr whose hammer is a siege weapon instead.
• Rayrider: illokenep who ride giant manta rays.

Societal Role

As warriors who deform into Eldritch beings, they are not able to maintain the hidden presence needed to be part of the Church of the Redeemer. Instead, they are the troops, bodyguards, assassins, knights, and other perpetrators of violence who serve the Eldritch more openly, and thus must hide themselves away remotely unless needed. Those few who know of them either revere them as fellow followers of the Eldritch or fellow wielders of the infernal, hate them as the dangers to Shem that they are, fear them as the dangers to Shem that they are, fear them as unexplained monsters they have heard of or encountered, or actively seek to destroy them. There is no state action against them outside of countries which outlaw the use of Eldritch energies.

Skills

Llothakekr typically have the skills of warriors:

• Tactics
• Hunting
• Survival
• Direction sense
• Broken memory (past)
• Perfect memory (since transformation)

Stats

Modifiers from base of species/nation:

PRO +7
ATH +6
STR +9
AWA +3 Senses +6
WIL +5
STH -2
PRS -5 Intimidation +12