In the Golden Order of the Lands Between, everything was pretty great. Everyone lived forever, there was plenty of food and money to go around, and everyone was secure in the wisdom of Queen Marika and the Erdtree. Then the Shattering happened, and everything promptly collapsed.
All of the demigods went to war, everything got torn up, and due to the absence of the very concept of Death, everyone just kind of had to sit there and take it. This situation has birthed many twisted humanoids and creatures, some of which have been having a much rougher go of things than others.
9 Sorcerer Miner – Crystals On Them, Crystals Around Them
These elderly miners were sent deep into the various mines and caves of the Lands Between to harvest valuable minerals like Glintstone. Presumably, they've been toiling in there for their entire lives, both before and after the Shattering.
Their work is all they have, and they don't react well to anyone who tries to interrupt them. The Sorcerer Miners in particular have had their already-frail bodies further deteriorated from overexposure to Glintstone, covering them in crystaline growths. Even so, they continue to work.
8 Commoners – Servitude Is All They Know
As nice as things sounded in the Golden Order, any caste-based system has its rejects, and one of the lowest groups on the totem pole are the Commoners. These average folk have been bound to servitude on the opulent streets of Leyndell, the curse of immortality robbing them of much of their reasoning abilities and leaving them gaunt and lanky.
The boards tied around their necks are a symbolic gesture signaling their eternal devotion to the Erdtree. Even as everything crumbled around them, their faith never wavered, for better or worse.
7 Mad Pumpkin Head – Maddened Fury, Barely Contained
While a Mad Pumpkin Head's choice of headwear seems a little silly, that sturdy gourd is the only thing keeping them remotely functional. The Pumpkin Heads were originally gladiatorial ogres deployed in the massive wars of the Shattering.
The constant warfare and bloodshed drove them absolutely mad, so to keep themselves calm, they wear those helmets to completely block out any visual stimuli. Of course, they can still hear everything around them, and any sudden sound, be it violent conflict or the simple buzzing of insects, can once again drive them into a bloody frenzy.
6 Chanting Winged Dame – A Sorrowful Song
As you're climbing the ravine that separates Liurnia of the Lakes from the Altus Plateau, you may hear what sounds like a human woman singing. It's definitely not a woman, though, it's a Chanting Winged Dame, luring adventures in with a song before spitting poison in their faces.
However, their song, when translated from Latin, speaks of the sorrows endured by those destined for motherhood and denied by a "Golden One." Assuming this isn't just a tune they picked up somewhere, these harpies may be disfigured humans punished by the Greater Will for unspecified crimes. Whatever it is they did, the weight of it still weighs heavy on them.
5 Wandering Noble – Unceasing, Wandering Agony
As bad as the Commoners have it, they do at least get to live in the relative safety of Leyndell. The same cannot be said for the nobles who fled the capital in search of safety from the fighting. When the entire country is enveloped in war, no place is safe, so they wandered onward.
Eventually, time took its toll, and their bodies and their minds began to break down. Groups of these Wandering Nobles can be spotted all over the Lands Between, some forcefully conscripted by local soldiers for labor, others merely dragging their feet to nowhere in particular. If they ever had an idea of where they were going, it's been long forgotten.
4 Zombie – The True Face Of Eternal Life
Eternal life often sounds nice on paper, but in practice, it can be the cruelest kind of torture. Many of the unluckiest denizens of the Lands Between have had their bodies repeatedly destroyed by the land's many horrors, only to be forced to stand right back up and keep going.
Though they can't die, the light behind their eyes has long since winked out, leaving them as nothing but shambling corpses operating on pure animalistic instinct. And the worst thing is, unlike zombies in other fictional settings, they will never truly escape their terrible fate.
3 Radahn Soldier – Stewards Of A Dying Land
All of the various groups of Lordsworn Soldiers are doing pretty badly, toiling with deteriorating bodies under masters who, in all likelihood, don't even remember they exist. Out of all the Lordsworn Groups, though, Radahn's soldiers are especially tragic because of how much they care about their master.
In his prime, Radahn was one of the most beloved of the demigods, a mighty warrior and trusted general to his men. When he was infected with Scarlet Rot, his mind deteriorated, leaving him nothing but a mindless beast, unable to recognize his men let alone command them. Even so, his soldiers guard his territory, desperate to hold on to a single fragment of the man they idolized.
2 Frenzied Villager – Chaos Boils Beneath
In the background of the Lands Between, the madness of Shabriri and the Three Fingers looms, seeking to plunge the entire world into unfettered chaos. The influence of madness makes itself known in the form of a sickly yellow flame burning in an afflicted creature's eyes. While some embrace the chaos full-on, many try their hardest to resist it.
The Frenzied Villagers who dwell in villages afflicted by the Three Fingers can often be seen contorted on the ground in agony, their hands grasping their heads in a desperate effort to keep the fire of chaos from escaping through their eyes and consuming them. It's a different kind of mania from the many undead denizens of the Lands Between; a constant struggle not to fall into the maw of chaos.
1 Omen – Shunned From Birth
Despite what their ogre-like appearances may imply, Omens are actually born to normal human parents. They are named as such because their birth is considered an omen of suffering and hardship to come. Omens born to commoners are usually either killed on the spot or sent off to die on a battlefield, while Omens born to nobles are sent to wallow away beneath the capital.
Do you know why the area underneath Leyndell is called the 'Shunning Grounds?' Because that's where Omens were sent to be shunned from society. Even Morgott, a child of Queen Marika, was banished from the city, only able to return long after her death and the city's collapse.
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