Post by The Game Master on Mar 27, 2013 19:27:17 GMT -8
Hollows
These creatures are the thing of nightmares. Beings without souls, they wander forever with an insatiable desire for fulfillment of some sort. The lack of souls makes them hunger for the souls of others, and often they'll seem harmless until they attack and kill. Most often they look like humans that have gone through Hell and back—it is what they are, in a way, yet alive and not dead. There is no substance to them; they are vessels filled with nothing. They way they amble along resembles what the undead would look like if they existed—that is, when they still look like humans.
Hollows, over time, mutate. Their appearance changes so much that they no longer resemble the form they once held. Limbs become twisted and their skin turns dark. Their size changes and their features become exaggerated. They start to look less like anything and more like creatures from the worst nightmares. They're mindless, ruthless, bloody thirsty, and most of all, they're hungry.
No one's entirely sure where Hollows came from. It's said that a shamed witch had cursed her accuser before she was sentenced to death and ended up taking his soul with her to the depths of Hell. This man, soulless and hungry, murdered then consumed the souls of many a people in his village, which was consequently abandoned as the citizens could not drive him out. The man, in search of more souls to feed on, moved from place to place. How the condition spread is up for speculation, but the most accepted idea is that sometimes the victims are not completely killed when their souls are taken, becoming Hollows themselves in that way.
The reason that so little is known about Hollows is due to the fact that Hollows are completely incapable of communication. They screech, roar, and growl like animals, but interactions with other Hollows have yet to be observed, so it is not known what those sounds mean. Many have speculated that those are signals to other Hollows that might be nearby of a potential soul, but Hollows appear to be completely solitary.
Never meddle with Hollows. There is no known way of killing them. Many have tried to do so and all have failed. These creatures are not creatures of the dead--they are perfectly still alive, and most magicians are killed before they even get the chance to attempt high power spells.
No need to fear, though. Hollows are easy to spot unless they still resemble humans, and even then it is still relatively easy to identify them by their walking patterns: slow, stumbling, and sometimes on all fours. The chances of coming face to face with one are slim, anyway, as a good many seem to vanish over time.
