Overview
Darkness creatures are hostile beings that emerge from darkness, corrupted land, and darkness outbreaks. They include umbral stalkers, ebon wraiths, harbingers, serpent-like creatures, wolf-like creatures, half-formed humanoid things, swarms, and shadowed beasts.
They threaten villages, farmlands, city gates, and expeditions through the Land of Darkness. Stronger forms can force dangerous essence draining.
Forms
Umbral stalkers are skeletal, wolf-like darkness creatures that often attack in packs. Ebon wraiths are ghostly darkness creatures that create mental illusions. Harbingers are powerful, high-ranking darkness creatures, and some are former high-ranking mages corrupted by darkness. Darkness creatures also take serpent-like, wolf-like, half-formed humanoid, swarm, and shadowed-beast forms.
Darkness outbreaks bring hostile beings with varied origins, body plans, abilities, and intelligence.
Activity
Darkness creatures appear when darkness advances or returns. They chase civilians through fields, attack smaller villages, pressure border cities such as Dravemir and Velundra, and guard or roam corrupted routes. Their numbers and attacks rise during darkness outbreaks and border advances; after Eira takes the shard, darkness creatures stop appearing for a time and Aldar uses the quiet to hold a new Xalmyrran tournament and recruit stronger fighters.
Powerful magic can destroy them. Thalion disintegrates creatures of darkness with golden lightning to protect a village, Brynor scatters them with stone attacks inside purple haze, and Aurion burns through swarms with cosmic force. Weaknesses vary by subtype.
Origins
The Land of Darkness can transform people, criminals, explorers, and lost animals into darkness creatures. Kheran becomes a harbinger through this process.
Darkness can also create darkness creatures outside the Land of Darkness. Ebon wraiths can arise from people killed in a corrupted village. Umbral stalkers and darkness beasts can emerge from darkness-affected territory.