Introductions to the characters of Ordeal of Murmurs
Machik
A man turned dog at a young age by the onsetting maledictions of the dead all-seers. Now barely spends time in his dog form as his human one is unstable and he's afraid he won't be able to return to it's already fragile state — forcing him to remain in it as to not lose more of himself than he has. Machik keeps to himself whenever possible, avoiding large crowds and sticking to places searched thoroughly by merchants in the cities, and incompletely by travellers seeking to explore areas untouched.
He wishes to sail the Western Seas, to see the Archipelago of the farthest continent South, Ehlsud. But these are still covets he is yet to bring to life, first wanting to find his named sister who, too, was turned by the malediction. And to turn back human.
Vayda
The last knight of the Susurration Order, in search of memories lost and hindered, going as far as The Crows Ravine to ask for guidance from The Council uninvited.
Vayda isn't left untouched by the influence the dead all-seers have spread upon the lands, and has since been losing her muscle. Her arm, both legs: one to its ankle and the other to the knee, have rotted away and are now nothing but bone.
Though she has come upon such areas and peoples who have been affected more greatly than she, she still mourns her loss of self in the harsh world she faces alone.
The Knight of Earthly Remains — Vaughan
The bone and clay armour knight of the House Ehliyr. He's under the Houses' knighthood, the Buried Rhizome, which serves, and lives, in the catacombs below the residency. The House Ehliyr practices Defilid magic, which inorganically fuses the dead-bodies of the knights and earthly wares that soon force them to unite.
Vaughan fell to the same fate almost 5 decades ago, slain aged only 41, since then, he's been knit together by the clay from the marshes, south of the Ehliyr lands, and his own bones and flesh. As well as the riches of the catacombs. His soul and muscle bound to the knighthood and those of the House of Ehliyr.
Irfan and Yaran
Irfan is a leper priest, who's slowly dying due to the onsetting curse of the sorcerers passed. He serves in a chapel of the Masfeh’thel Reliquary in the North-Western region of the continent. Though many have begun to leave the lands due to the spreading maledictions, Irfan and the chapels keepers continue to inhabit and care for the quiet convent and its records.
Yaran strictly follows the Masfeh’thel Reliquary's rules, his strive for knowledge and scriptures has left him to stay and tend to the almost empty walls, it's dying residents, and abandoned animals and land left by the people of the town. They try to maintain as much as possible, and constantly act as messenger as the scriptures are slowly being delivered down South to the less affected monastaries.
Yaran peels apple skins off with a black knife they claim is made of an ore that fell from the sky.
St. Morcant, St. Ade and St. Geue
Three of the fifteen wizards and all-seers of the Crows Ravine — they have sat at the seats of the high council since their 20th autumn. They are rid of their names - and must be referred to either by their status or Saint name. For every time a member dies, the rest of the council cuts their hair and lets it grow back out until the next death.
St Moracant — The Shoulders of the High Council — she’s one of the last known users of the fallen stars, an all-seer of the north.
St. Ade — The Ribbed Collar — the Neck of the High Council — mostly gets compared to the Barely Spoken wizard, for his power is much stronger than that of the actually chosen for the title.
Though the two have never met, The Ribbed Collar does harbour distaste and abhors the young wizard of gentle word, and lost carvings.
St Geue — The Jaw of the High Council — The youngest member of the High Council goes hand in hand with St. Quicwyn in many of the council's decisions and contemplations.
Three of the council: St. Ade, The Neck of the High Council, St. Geue, The Jaw of the High Council, and St. Morcant, The Shoulders of the High Council
A place of the high word and old magic. Not many people travel to this closed-off city.
In it sits the council of the Fifteen. Delirious in their choices, they’re feared by the townsfolk and many of the people who live in those mountains, though their decisions are generally favourable.
Many kings send their best knights and messengers there to deliver the word to the council, who then decide the fate of many who live upon the lands beyond the horizon. There have been talks of whether or not they control more than the course of a decision but also history in itself, though that can be left out of the conversation as the oldest of the council has only turned 107.
The Crows Ravine also welcomes kings into its halls, for they come to gather all and every time threats from the distant North Ocean come or when the council has decided to host a gathering.
A place of rest, The Crows Ravine is also seen as the oldest cemetery on the continents.
The red earth that the resting place is erected on has been said to be raised blood of those first buried — to keep watch over those who come to lay rest after. Legend has it that there are many artefacts of old that have power above what can be preformed, and are rumoured to raise the dead and heal the living.
The burial grounds are to be entered only by the Head and both Hands of the council; they tend to the grounds and those buried. Any trespassers on these sacred grounds are to be executed in front of the high council and any leaders present, and left out for the entire town to see. Later the criminals are buried at the bottom of the mountain range.
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Beyond the Crows Ravine are stretches of untamed steppes and dark forests at the foot of the mountain pass that stretch over to the horizon's edge. The Eastern Wastelands boast nothing but bogs, sludge, and silt. Abandoned rock formations of old, and haze for miles on end that forces travellers to guess their times of day while making their way through the freezing marshes.
Even further east, there are also deep pools of dark and murky water in formations inorganic to these lands, and no trees to shield those wandering. Yet splinters of wood constantly get moved around by the strong winds, and if not careful enough, some may leave more than scars and scabs.
Yonder that none have come back, let alone to document the terrains of such lands that are yet to be beheld beyond the fog.
The last Pillar Gates at the edge of the Eastern Wastelands.
The last remaining Pillar Gate in the Wastelands The barren land beyond the gate is that of the dead; passing through as a living soul goes against nature itself. In between the pillars, one may witness a time they strive for but that wasn't, isn't, and won't be.
Children of foresight are, by myth, said to have inherited their visions from these gates. It states that if one such child passes through them, the power will be exchanged for something of significance, though that remains speculation as no child has set foot on the Wastelands.
Ywain, a follower of the Masfeh’thel Reliquary, and Eir, the last child of foresight.
These children are rare, and there has been no documentation of their survival past early pre-adulthood.
Many possess multiple eyes, usually up to three extra, while monocular vision has been sighted in less than a handful since the discovery of the foresight children. These children can sense and reenact coming events, as well as change their appearance to that of the one most longed for by the seer — though only in the eyes of the latter.
Many die of health complications, growing weaker and becoming almost paper-like in appearance, with frail, flakey skin and shallow breathing. In these times, they're more likely to give accurate and big prophecies that will occur in the future that aren't tied to their lifespan or those of the people around them. Many have prophesied of events that have come to be, of kings' failures and histories lost.
The most recent child of foresight in over 70 years, named Eir at birth, has been kept hidden by a follower of the Masfeh’thel Reliquary. Disguised as a traveller, the keeper of solemn words of the sinistral numen, they carry Eir over to the lands beyond The Eastern Wastelands.
There has been no prophecy foretold by any child that has not occurred in time present or departed.
