The Mourning One
R J O K K R
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Ht: 6'2 / Wt: 165 / Hair: red & grey / Eyes: copper
Age: unknown / Creed: unknown
My kind lived in harmony with this world
Long before mortal men, before even the Duathan
We gave ourselves to it, bound ourselves to its cycles
The Great Spirits here were awakened
By a breath of life from beyond the Veil
They are everlasting.
Your folk are but a passing affliction.
A season of storms and locusts and fire, consuming all
A destructive whim of wanton gods
Just as the sun sets, you will vanish from the world.
Not only you, but all your progeny, all you have built,
All the dreams you have dreamt of yourselves.
I will be sure of it.
Description
Rjokkr appears as an wizened human-like figure, clutching a crooked wooden stave carved with druidic symbols and sprouting a handful of dry leaves. He is dressed in ragged robes that are a motley of a dozen rough-spun fabrics (and a few rich ones as well).
His hair is long and tangled, with streaks of ginger and stony grey. His face is gnarled with age, with skin a seemingly unhealthy ashen tone. His eyes are dark and recessed, but for a faint flicker, and he wears a perpetual grimace of grief and bitterness on his deeply lined face.
Although appearing in the guise of an old druid, it is now clear that he is something much more, a Fae-like creature of unusual power, or perhaps the scion of some primordial spirit.
Although appearing in the guise of an old druid, it is now clear that he is something much more, a Fae-like creature of unusual power, or perhaps the scion of some primordial spirit.
Folklore
“I have been called by many names, perhaps some known to you.
But as I am now, Rjokkr is as good a name as any."
The name Rjokkr corresponds to a mysterious figure from Ymirish legend, translating simply as “the twilight man" in the norther tongue. He is not worshipped, nor affiliated with their gods - his tales hearken from even older traditions, linked with the world of spirits and Fae. He is usually depicted as a foreboding specter who augers misfortune or death.
As one who presides over endings, Rjokkr may appear to those soon to die, or as a harbinger of shipwrecks, plagues, fires, or other calamities. He is also sometimes associated with the coming of winter, and as such, with the death-rebirth cycles of nature. However in some tales, this being does not relinquish his morbid grasp willingly, but must be rebuked by a higher power.
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As one who presides over endings, Rjokkr may appear to those soon to die, or as a harbinger of shipwrecks, plagues, fires, or other calamities. He is also sometimes associated with the coming of winter, and as such, with the death-rebirth cycles of nature. However in some tales, this being does not relinquish his morbid grasp willingly, but must be rebuked by a higher power.
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Recent Events
When first encountered at Lake Zauber, the creature calling itself Rjokkr reproached the party for their part in the destruction of the Cloud Mother, and for their careless treatment of the Heart of Spite they carried. He counseled the return of the heart to the Dusk Prince, and claimed that the power of the curse could only be undone once he was made whole again. He also indicated that then and only then should the Dusk Prince be destroyed.
The party asked Rjokkr to intercede with Lord Vermillion (who they believed was the Dusk Prince). He reluctantly agreed, but seemingly did not fulfill this request. When the Dusk Prince signed a binding oath in return for his heart, he said of Rjokkr:
The party asked Rjokkr to intercede with Lord Vermillion (who they believed was the Dusk Prince). He reluctantly agreed, but seemingly did not fulfill this request. When the Dusk Prince signed a binding oath in return for his heart, he said of Rjokkr:
“He is his own creature. No leash binds him now. His will is his own. He is not as strong as I, but he is resourceful, and he will certainly make himself your adversary, for he feels deeply the wounds left upon this world by you and your folk... and by me. I am confident he will find you again... but no business will it be of mine, for I am bound to neither hinder nor help your kind forevermore."
Rjokkr has since made his malevolent intentions clear. He provided information to the vengeful nobles of the Silver Court on the Party's whereabouts. Later, while wearing the guise of an influential Moonfae elder, he precipitated a further altercation between the Party and a gathering of earthbound Moon Elf leaders.
When his subterfuge was revealed, Rjokkr declaimed:
I am the Darkening SkyThe Dying of the LightThe Ending of an AgeI am he who eats the hopes of MenSo when Night comes as it willThere shall be only Despair.
Although he eagerly portends the doom of humanity in whole, Rjokkr's enmity with the Party seems to be a form of personal vendetta. To face them, Rjokkr manifested a monstrous, ephemeral form of great power, with control over various elements.
It is theorized that Rjokkr's mystical abilities are most potent in the brief moments of fading twilight between day and night. In this state, he was able to withstand the combined efforts of the Party, the Viridian Knight, and Ayyuzan the Floating Moon.
Rjokkr was only finally driven away by the timely arrival of the Lord Vermillion. Rjokkr cried out in rage and confusion that he could not face Vermillion, and was seemingly forced to flee immediately.
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