A Crucible's Lore: The Relentless Ones

John is back. And John is going to do a copy and paste again. This time around, it's the lore from The Skald And His Goddess blog. But John will be adding a few quotes.

Update:
This is the revamped version of Aeravor's race. There won't be many changes. Due to the plans listed here, however, John decides to revert this post to draft mode until the tweaks are done.

Dated-22 Nov 2018

Lore: The Relentless Ones

Origin:

The Relentless Ones. Beings created by an elven sellsword named Eijon de Morte. Despised, respected, and rightfully feared, such has been how the Homm'Nua viewed them. Despised because they were descended from a traitor, for de Morte is always the last name no elf ever desires. Respected because of their role in keeping the demons in check, a deed which all elves are grateful for. Rightfully feared, for they command capabilities which can slay any elf of lesser ability outright. While history has never accounted for their origin, it is worthy of note that unofficial records of their existence were dated as early as the aftermath of the War of the Three Thrones. It was also an era where tales of demons first emerged albeit intellectuals have always derided such stories as old wives' tales meant to scare the gullible and children into doing good. But ask the elves and they'd tell you otherwise. For demons are both a part of us and our worst foes ever. Should the lesser races fall, the Homm'Nua will surely be next. After the Homm'Nua, no one knows what they will do next.

Where in the name...:

The elves have a certain knowledge concerning them. Whether it is because of any racial connection is something never revealed despite both races sharing common features. Both people have always kept a distance from each other. Indeed the only thing separating the Wolves of Gastony from the Homm'Nua lies in the colour of their hair, which is always as white as the purest snow.

According to the History of Three Kingdoms written by the historian Tabarius Glayn, Edmonte II, the High Lord during that time, sealed a royal edict giving the fief of Gastony as "a gesture of goodwill and sincerity towards my friend Eijon de Morte. He who fought for my honour undeservedly stained and nearly lost".

Present before ruler and nobles alike were sellswords either half-elven or pure. Led by a fiery half-elf Lokrina Talonarc, lover and wife of the famed hero Leorn Talonarc, every of their number possessed eyes of azure blue and hair the colour of winter snow. Pay heed to what Tabarius had to say:

{They were fighters wielding steel and powers unseen. Each boasted an aura of a wolf, members of a pack lined up rank and file behind the leader. Their eyes were of azure blue, each one's hair woven from winter's loom. They were like a force of nature promising only either aid or destruction, a storm of ice and lightning. Let no fool rile their men, neither should any take liberties with their women. Lest your throat be sliced and fire leaving nothing for the crows.}

Eijon de Morte:
It is widely accepted that he was the leader before Lokrina assumed the position. Concerning his fate, some said he might have left behind his followers to pursue a life of peace while others insisted that he most likely died a violent death. After all, those living by the sword rarely find peace with and in themselves. Either way, anything written beyond the boundaries of history can never ever be verified. What is true with nary a doubt, though, is that this was a friend of Edmonte II, the Vengeful King.

Capabilities:

The few who have witnessed how these individuals fight attested to the seemingly insane: They possess the ability to teleport at will. At the same time, their technique is one of refined savagery where bestial aggression, fluid strokes, and lethal force are involved.

At the same time, it is whispered that they have the ability to mask themselves. Most likely via some sort of magic, they are said to have the innate ability to cast some sort of illusion over themselves where they can effectively assume the guise of any visage of any race.

As for the most absurd of claims, rumours have it that they are intended as a natural counterforce against demons, that this has always been the only reason for their existence. A statement which has earned many a sneering look from scholars and the knowledgeable but never from the Homm'Nua.

Three powers in force:
Bind-Magic is never the answer to getting things done but it helps. Binding involves tying down the individual to what defines the physical world. This is done via one rune being used on the target with the other applied on the Circle of Steel responsible for justifying the existence of Reality. This results in either physical alteration on a temporary basis or the target being shackled. Not by visible bonds but invisible chains. Not externally but internally. However, Binding can only be used on a Relentless One.

Mark-This is another usage of magic, this time around on any target apart from a fellow Relentless One. Like a wolf marking its territory, this ability marks out the boundary of a Relentless One's territory. If it is a party instead of an individual, then only one member using this ability is enough. The process of Marking involves four runes being used to decide the territory's boundaries. Within the designated territory, any Relentless One can freely teleport about.

Fury-Unlike Bind and Mark, Fury is less of a power and more of what a Relentless One is about. Fury can be a boon when converted to focus but potentially disastrous if left unchecked. To any Relentless One, it is both rather than either. For inner rage to them is something inherent rather than nurtured by circumstances. In this aspect, the Relentless Ones do not belong to the world they walk in. This is both the source of martial focus and the reason behind inevitable corruption.

The six runes:
Runes are the only way which magic can be used, be it thaumaturgy or metallurgy. For the Relentless Ones, there are four runes exclusive to them. Two of them are for Binding while the remaining four apply to Marking.

Binding runes-Unn ("That Which Sustains") and Rud ("That Which Strengthens")
Marking runes-Dur ("That Which Marks The North"), Mod ("That Which Marks The West"), Mag ("That Which Marks The East"), and Vid ("That Which Marks The South")

Quotes related to the Relentless Ones:

"A wolf knows best every man, but not necessarily the opposite. We don't protect the living. We merely protect the world from what is wrong with the living."

~Istel

"Men enjoy hunting wolves, their pelts as fancy cloaks and heads adorning every hall. In return, wolves devour men in the form of Relentless Ones hunting down demons. Contradiction is the husband, irony is the wife, and every living mortal is their child."

~Aor

"You call me 'friend', but you're nothing more than a small part of my life. Be the king you've always wanted to be, Edmonte. As for me, I have a job to do and it's called creation."

~Eijon de Morte

"Eijon de Morte and the Relentless Ones.. what is created will always reflect the creator. I failed to save Jinn when he decided to end his life as a hero. And now, I have to be reminded of the same mistake."

~Alaudea von Stormhearth

"Jinn el-Lish saved the world even though he's never a hero and never would be. Eijon de Morte was another Jinn and now we have the Relentless Ones. History is such a pain in the arse."

~Esche de Lancebarb

"Eijon could have taken Alaudea's offer to be part of her... shall I say, family. The same for Jinn. That's how the Homm'Nua saved the world twice."
~Ioin de Bladefort

"If the Homm'Eot are a people created from Order and the Homm'Nua a people conceived from Chaos, then the Relentless Ones are definitely a combination of both. Aeravor, do you know how much you're worth despite the obvious?"
~Erik Soaren

"Three words associated with these barbaric bastards not part of us: Bind, Mark, and Fury."
~A racial insult by the elves directed towards the Relentless Ones

"The men go forth to hunt while we the women stay back to guard. Sounds rigid, but it works."
~Alandra

"What binds them, they are able to use. What they mark, death will follow. What degrades them, this is their greatest power. Those were the words my mother told me before her time was up."
~Irevia Eliaden

"Of course the Hands and Feet would be outraged at Your Majesty's choice of paramour. The fact that they still rever Her Departed Majesty doesn't mean they respect her decision to love a traitor's son."
~Auranc de Hallstone

"Men and women crave might because it's always right. Aeravor's friends got plenty of that, though. So don't tell me to sign my death warrant."
~Deios Symon

"There are no gods, yet anybody can be one. There are no gods, but demons exist because of them. The Reverted shut themselves from what they know and the demon hunters haunt themselves with what they understand. As for the Relentless Ones, they don't give a damn."
~Lars Alterfate

P.S: This post took John a few days to finish. As a result, he realises that writing A Requiem From Winter Past may well be the only good deed he can ever hope to do.

Add P.S: John does not know that river otter wearing a turban and donning a beard. Tony Single Stark, on the other hand, is his Facebook friend.