By the banks of a lake of crystals in the wild forests of Thelanis, lies a broken tomb. It’s shattered casing has been broken from the inside, leaving sloping and empty slabs. Those who dare to peer in at the contents see snapped chains and mangled manacles. Whatever was put in here, did not rest easily. All around, he woods and streams are littered with bleached bones and the discarded bodies of lost adventurers. This is a place of horrors and death that seems quite at odds with the beauty of the fairy lands.
This then is the first mistake that travellers through the fairy realms are tempted to make. The plane of Thelanis is a land of stories and that includes darker tales. The Stalker is the inspiration for tales across the multiverse of an implacable brute in the woods intent on murder. It’s brutality stands in stark contrast to the surrounding beauty, but is essential in the wider context of the Realms of Delight. Without this darkness, there is no differentiation in the light.
You might think that this would make for infrequent visitors, but the lake holds a number of portals to the mortal realms, and so acts as a crossroads between Here and There. Sometimes they are used deliberately, but more often than not people stumble through from Manifest Zones in the Eldeen Reaches.
Clik here to view.
Standing nearly seven foot tall, wrapped in furs and rags, and with a metal mask stapled to its face, the Stalker is a single-minded killer. It hunts those who traverse the paths and shore of the Crystal Lake – especially those filled with joy. Laughter, joking, expressions of love – all will bring the ire of this haunter of the woods.
The Stalker is a construct, built by a lonely fey from the remains of a group of adventurers who killed her son. The details of her story are obscure, perhaps because it acts as a prelude to this one. Some believe The Mother abides in a neighbouring layer of Thelanis. If so, understanding that realm’s tale may shed light on that of the Stalker.
Her cabin still sits on the banks of the lake, wrecked by the fury of the creature as it drew its first breath. The Mother is rarely seen, but survivors occasionally mention a figure in the distance, or a sensation of being closely watched. There are tales of travellers taking a boat out onto the lake to evade the Stalker, and only the empty boat being found later.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Perhaps some of the secrets used to rebuild her son still lie scattered in the cabin. Some believe there are clues there that could unravel the Stalker. If so, that could bring peace for a time to these shores. Deciphering them could make all the difference between survival and a brutal end. Most are content to escape through one of the portals leading away from this place.
But even so, the stories of Thelanis always circle round. Even if the Stalker is defeated, it will return because the notion of a killer in the woods is so embedded in myth and history alike. The Stalker has both inspired and seems to be fuelled by the telling and retelling of these stories and perhaps will always be out there in some form.
