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The Pale

“Not even death will free you from my charge.”

—Attributed to Skull King, Armstrong; Testimonies of Our Modern Past Kynd by Bryna Trigs, 30216 B.M.

The Pale is the massive necrotic horde employed by the eclectic Skull King, Armstrong, who derived the name from the myth of Kharketta. Rising from the underbrush of the Tykonian jungles eight years ago, the Pale have been on an oppressive march for these ere past. The Red Miasma—an otherwordly fog which chokes out all sapient life—follows where the Pale marches, suffocating out the life of several towns and villages in West Tykonia; all collapsing quickly, or their denizens fleeing into the "saftey" of the City of Larova.

The Pale's banner, as flown by their undead legions.

Demonym: Pale, Undead, Rotters

Government: Absolute Monarchy

Language: Undeath, Ancient Undeath

Currency: N/A

Demographic: Undead

Current Leader: Skull King, Armstrong

Faction Discord: discord.gg/5HSqWRmha9

Faction Website: TBA

The banner of House Armstrong.

History

When the Pale rose from the shroud of the jungle, the City of Larova and whole of West Tykonia was just exiting from the terrors incurred by the The Conflagration. From the fires that raged across the hinterlands of West Tykonia as sparked by the Midyans, to the Pox Pyres that engulfed mounds of bodies with the City proper to contain the Painter's Pox, and the burning of the Library of Larova—Larova and Avont had entered into what some scholars had begun to consider the following decade one of recover; heralded by the stalwart banners of House Forster. However, Skull King, Armstrong's bands of undead riders rode froth: sowing chaos across West Tykonia. At first, the Pale were scant more than a nuisance in House Forster's side before

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 began using the Red Miasma, a magical fog that weakens, chokes, and ultimately kills sapient beings who breathe it.

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 majorly 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.

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 after the last stand of the remaining Forster army in the basin, accompanied by the Yarls, proved useless.

Culture

Though undead, the Pale seem to operate with a disturbing level of coordination and communication. The Skull King is believed to be an ancient necromage or undead monarch of a long-dead civilisation. His army marches in perpetual motion, carrying those it kills in wagons to resurrect them, and erecting monuments of bone and stone where they conquer.

The Pale has a hierarchy hidden within their skulls. Reports speak of undead commanders, 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 echoes of their former selves, filtered through insanity and death rather than indications of intelligence.

Military

The Pale's military is unlike any other. Relentless and ageless, their warriors never sleep, eat, or retreat. The backbone of their ranks consists of raised deceased soldiers and villagers, former victims transformed into weapons. They are seen wielding rusted steel, broken armours, and their strongest members using ancient powerful cursed swords.

At their command are specialised units: undead beasts stitched together, giant undead monsters flinging piles of bones as artillery fire, undead mages & warriors who cast unknown spells, and wraiths who fly into the 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.

The Red Miasma is not just a weapon; it's an extension of their identity. It surrounds them in an aura of dread, with a thin layer of red smoke emanating from their corpses, or their eyes lit with a red, magical light. Some believe the Miasma itself is alive, whispering to those it chokes and containing the memories of those it kills. Others claim it's a curse bound to the Skull King—a walking blight upon the world.

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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