The Pale

"RAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

— Undead Henchman

The massive undead army under the mysterious Skull King is known as The Pale. A relentless force of resurrected beasts, skeletal warriors, and other necrotic horrors. Several villages in West Tykonia collapsed quickly, and thousands of people have died as a result. The appearance of the Red Miasma—a fog that kills all sapient things by choking them—unveiled the full extent of The Pale's power, which had previously been believed to be a minor threat restricted to jungle raids.

Their objective is the destruction of the City of Larova and the subjugation of all local life. As the miasma now permeates every known biome, hope wanes, and the armies of the living become smaller every day.

History

Eight years ago, West Tykonia was in the middle of a golden age. Larova and Avont were beacons of knowledge and power during this time of cultural growth, economic prosperity, and political stability. During this time of peace, both cities' grand libraries mysteriously caught fire, and a plague broke out soon after—these events are still not fully understood.

Not long after, the Skull King came out of the jungle, leading small groups of skeletal raiders. At first, the Pale were seen as a minor problem in the area, but they quickly became a major threat to life when their troops started using the Red Miasma, a magical fog that weakens, chokes, and eventually kills everything that breaths it.

Demonym: Pale

Government: Absolute Monarchy

Language: Undeath

Currency: N/A

Demographic: Undead

Current Leader: Skull King, Armstrong

The army grew exponentially as it laid waste to outlying villages, converting the dead into new soldiers. In response, the Forsters—Larova’s ruling house—gathered a coalition of knights and noble retainers and marched into the swamplands to intercept The Pale. The confrontation, now known as the Battle of the Bog, ended in catastrophe. The undead overwhelmed the knights, and the Forster army was annihilated.

The loss devastated the region and shattered public confidence in the Forster regime. Within days, the people of Larova rose in revolt, toppling the weakened royal house. The Ingeld family—wealthy gold mine owners—seized power in the chaos, assuming the throne just two weeks ago.

But there was no time to celebrate. Just a week after the fall of the Forsters, the Skeletal army began advancing into the grasslands, cutting off communication with East Tykonia and Avont entirely. Refugees have flooded into Larova, now overcrowded and suffocating under the looming threat of the miasma.

Culture

Though undead, the Pale seem to operate with a disturbing level of coordination and communication. The Skull King is more than a simple necromancer—he is believed to be an ancient warlock or undead monarch of a long-dead civilisation. His army does not merely fight—it marches in perpetual motion, carrying those it kills in wagons to resurrect them, and erecting monuments of bone and iron where they conquer.

The Red Miasma is more than a weapon; it is an extension of their army & identity. It surrounds them like an aura of reverence and dread, as a thin layer of red smoke emanates from their empty insides, or their eyes are lit with a red, magical light. Some believe the miasma is alive, whispering to those it chokes & wiping memories of those it kills. Others claim the fog is a curse bound to the Skull King's soul—a walking blight upon the world.

If The Pale has a hierarchy, it is hidden inside their skulls. Reports speak of skeletal commanders, robed mages, and monsters stitched from dozens of corpses—though all take orders from the Skull King alone, whose voice is always obeyed.

Even though they look awful and are eerily quiet when they are all together, many of the Pale can talk. But their minds are slow and not very good. They often speak in broken sentences that sound like old memories, idioms that don't make sense, or thoughts that aren't fully formed. They are smart enough to talk to the living, make fun of them, or even try to insult them, but their words are slurred by confusion and necrotic decay. Their sense of logic is tenuous, their humour warped, and their intentions rarely clear. Because of this, they have a particularly unnerving presence: corpses that speak with a peculiar curiosity and shards of a life they no longer comprehend, rather than with malice.

Adventurers and city guards have reported Pale who quarrel, attempt to wear helmets or jewellery inverted, or even give other Undead bones as presents. These behaviours are the echo of their former selves, filtered through insanity and death, rather than indications of intelligence.

Military

The Pale's military is unlike any other. Deathless and tireless, their skeletal warriors never sleep, never eat, or retreat. The backbone of their ranks consists of raised soldiers and villagers—former victims transformed into unholy weapons. They wield rusted steel, warped bone, and ancient runes.

At their command are specialised units: undead beasts of burden; giant undead monsters flinging piles of bones as artillery fire; undead mages & warriors who chant forbidden warcries; and ghosts who fly into miasma only to reappear behind enemy lines.

But the most significant advantage the Pale holds is the Red Miasma. While conventional forces fall to their knees due to its choking ability and confusion, the Pale grows stronger. Magic becomes unreliable, blades falter, and morale crumbles. The miasma ensures The Pale's slow, suffocating advance, like the closing lid of a coffin.

The fall of the Forsters at the Battle of the Bog left no significant resistance. With the grasslands now lost and Larova surrounded, only the city walls and the will of its people stand between the living and the end.

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