.: Broken Empires :.: WIGHTS

Most of what you know about Wights has been relayed to you by the outcast Guig (the Black Skull of the Leonera). Plying him with gold and strong wine has made him forthcoming about his folk, though he remains evasive (or simply ignorant) on some details. Whether anything he says can be trusted is another question entirely...

DESCRIPTION

The creatures known as the Wights of Duatha are not undead revenants as many believe. Rather, they are a race of living men, massive yet stooped, with long sinuous limbs, rough ashen skin, and hair that is either as black as tar or as colourless as ash. Their visages are gaunt and contorted, with pale or yellowish eyes, and sharp marbled teeth. Standing straight, most Wights would reach seven feet tall, though their bent frames tend to prevent this.

Wights are extraordinarily strong and very tough. They will often shrug off deep wounds, and it is unknown whether they even feel pain as humans do. Even so, their metabolisms are rather slow and their wounds are not quick to heal. They seem to relish cultivating the marks of their battles in the form of scars and old gashes.

These grim beings have sharp senses - they can see in almost complete darkness, and identify prey by scent. Wights will readily eat any flesh, raw or cooked, fresh or rotten, and are highly resistant to infection and disease. They very much dislike sunlight, and will usually balk if exposed to the brightness of day.

SOCIETY

Wights have long lived underground in their own secret communities, venturing close to the surface only to pillage burial mounds and to steal livestock or children for food. Wights do not build or craft what they can easily loot or scavenge, but they are nonetheless cunning, speak many languages, and often know secrets lost to the ages. It is said that Wights have access to an underworld of subterranean tunnel networks that stretch beneath many of the oldest cities in Duatha.

Wights are relatively few in number. Larger groups are usually temporary - individuals may form gangs for specific ventures. There are females among the Wights, but seemingly no children, and it is unclear whether they form family bonds or even produce offspring. While it is believed they must live longer than humans, Wights may not even know their true ages; being primarily underground dwellers, Wights seem to have a distorted sense of the passage of time.

Due to their appearance, points of egress (often old tombs or catacombs), and tendency to vest themselves in ransacked burial finery, Wights are often taken as the malevolent spirits of the old Duathan race. This may be close to the truth however, as Wights themselves often claim lineage to the Titans of old, and that they have been twisted by their eons of hiding underground. However, Wights are also particularly untrustworthy, so this claim may be suspect.

AGRIVAINE, KING OF WIGHTS

Graybarrow is one of the oldest cities in Clarion. In ancient times, it was a Duathan citadel called Thuir, but now little remains... at least on the surface. According to Guig, a large colony of Wights has been gathering in the catacombs under the city for some time.

Leading them is the one who calls himself King Agrivaine, a charismatic (and possibly quite mad) Wight who preaches a gospel of Duathan heritage. Taking the name of a great king out of legend, he claims that Wights have forgotten their former glory as lords of the above-world, and that it is their destiny to reclaim that greatness by seizing their castles, lands, and cities from the weakling surface men.

Guig is far too cynical and pragmatic to put his faith in such things. He knows his folk are too petty and selfish to pledge themselves to any grander cause. Even so, by delving into the apocryphal myth-making of his people, Agrivaine has attracted many to his banner. The prophecy of the Black Sun has always resonated with the dark-dwelling Wights, and Agrivaine may truly believe that he is the reincarnation of the Duathan King of Thuir.