It is a curious thing when Crawling Hands find themselves without a master. However they become parted --- their master dies from age or enemy, or he abandons them or even when the servant mistakenly (or purposefully) kill their master, all ends to the same: a being whose entire purpose is a servant has nothing to serve. And so what follows is a miserable yet not entirely unexpected pathology.

These severed hands, animated by dark sorcery, foul necromancy, horrid sacrifices, or ancient curses, are brought into such being to serve their master's will. When a hand loses that master, it is driven by a profound sense of loneliness and a desperate need for belonging and purpose. They become overwhelmed with grief, angst, and longing; possessed by a manic scuttering to fulfill something that no longer is there. It drives them mad, some turning their grief inward, thrashing themselves violently until they become nothing but rawed down nubs. In these throes, which for some may last years, the cries of hands who have entered such misery would be agonizing to any who hear it.

If enough time passes where no new master comes upon them it is often that Hands, having no one to direct them and no one to cling to, will develop attachment to objects or artifacts, or some sort of special relic, that radiates power or significance. This will soothe their anguish by giving them something to protect as well as something to revere.

The selection a Hand undergoes towards such an artifact is largely unknown but there seems to be a pattern that it might involve a form of magical resonance, where the hand detects a trace of the energy the object once carried from its master. Once bonded, the hand often becomes fiercely protective of the item, guarding it as if it were its new master. These hands, once bonded to an artifact, may lead stealthy adventurers to hidden treasures or lost knowledge. However, they can also become deadly ends: a person trying to take the relic or object so protected by a Crawling Hand can lead to one's demise. For driven by an unyielding devotion to the precious thing they love most they will defend it to the death and chase one to the ends of the earth who has taken it.

Notable Instances of this in the Kha'labal Region:

1: The Hand of Rakkar: After a millenium from the war in the ruinous depths of the ancient city Ankrahmun, a Crawling Hand was found clutching a broken amulet. The amulet, once belonging to a powerful sorcerer, seemed to pulsate with residual magic, attracting the hand to its presence.

2: The Staff of Ran-Shaar: Deep within the crypts of the forgotten Pharaoh Ran-Shaar, explorers discovered a Hand that had intertwined its fingers with a scepter of immense power. The staff, of brown wood and shaped into a Cobra, and believed to be powerful in death and earth magic, became the hand's new obsession.

3: The Cursed Scroll of Nefara: In a hidden library, a masterless Hand was discovered endlessly tracing the runes on a cursed scroll. The scroll's dark enchantments appeared to captivate the hand, binding it to the ancient parchment.