"From the black quagmire I summon thee. From the living marsh I bind thee. Rise now I command thee."
- —Part of the spell of summoning for a Fenbeast[3a]
A hulking Fenbeast of Albion
A Fenbeast is an elemental monster comprised of mud and plant matter native to Albion that can be summoned forth from that island's swamps and marshes by noble Truthsayers and evil Dark Emissaries alike to do their bidding.
Fenbeasts are roughly humanoid-shaped hulks composed of the souls and bones of creatures that were drowned in the fens and swamps of Albion as well as of the mud, wet wood, and rotting plants of the swamp itself. A small Ogham Stone is embedded in the centre of their body and holds the amorphous mass together. Fenbeasts are completely mindless, do not feel fear or pain, and are extremely strong. If their summoner is killed, they will collapse back into mud and rotting swamp detritus.
Since the Dark Emissaries fled the islands of Albion and were followed by the Truthsayers attempting to hunt them down, Fenbeasts can now be found in armies throughout the Known World -- both kinds of these druids selling their services as mercenaries.
Role[]
"They are foul creatures, crafted by sorcerous rituals at forlorn spots deep in the trackless swamps of Albion, where a previous wayfarer has lost his life. Their forms are typically made up of swamp mud and the detritus of bogs. Their cries are strange and mournful. A spell caster of sorts often accompanies a Fenbeast, but not always. The spirit that inhabits them continually seeks revenge against the living and so they kill, unabated, unless their dark master bids them otherwise. A Priest of Morr can lay one to rest, but it is no easy feat."
- —Metrious Null from On the Misty Isle[1a]
A Fenbeast of Albion
Fenbeasts are said to have originally come from the mist-shrouded island of Albion off the western coast of the Old World, an ancient land thought to have been naught but legend until a few years ago, when chance allowed for its rediscovery and word of the rich prizes that it held spread throughout the Old World. Adventurers, expeditions and raiders from every race and nation found their way to Albion's fog-covered shores where they fought to claim some of the island's "vast riches" for themselves. Rumour has it that most of them found nothing but a painful death amidst the age-old Ogham Stones that cover the isle. Ogham Stones are rune-covered rocks that supposedly channel mystical power. Imperial sages believe that it is with these Ogham Stones, in conjunction with the efforts of groups of secretive mystics, that Fenbeasts come into being.[1a]
Fenbeasts are large, sorcerous constructs assembled from mud and plant matter gathered from marshes and swamps where many have died in battle. They are unnatural creatures that reek of stagnant marshes and have the touch of the grave about them. The presence of a Fenbeast often indicates the presence of a necromancer or other kind of spellcaster, often one with grim intentions. Fenbeasts, being all but devoid of will, are not imaginative opponents, but this can change with a skilled handler.[1b]
Such is the durability of the Fenbeast that the only thing preventing its widespread use by wizards and sorcerers is the immense magical energy needed to create one out of the living earth and keeping it functioning. Away from a site of magical power, a Fenbeast will last scant minutes before consuming all the eldritch energy and crumbling to mud and rotten ruin once again.[3a]
Of course, once a Storm of Magic descends upon the mortal world, a Fenbeast's appetites are easily maintained, even by a sorcerer of little skill and less learning. Though, as with all magical constructs, a misspoken word in the Fenbeast's binding can prove quite fatal to its erstwhile master -- as a direct conduit to the Winds of Magic, a wizard can serve as a most adequate meal for a famished Fenbeast.[3a]
In the Old World[]
"It smelled of decay. Like stagnant water or loam from a foul bog. It didn’t walk so much as roll forward, rancid sludge continually dripping from its hide, corrupting the ground were it walked. Peter soiled himself and ran at the sight of it. I’ve never thought the less of him for it; most of the strength left my limbs when what passed for its gaze fell upon me. Still, I managed to get in a swipe or two, but my sword had about as much effect as it would have if I poked it into a swamp. It wasn’t until Thiokol gave it a taste of his warhammer that it really took notice of us. It killed four men before we took it down. Even when it was on the ground, it kept trying to get back up. Only when Diehl stuck a length of fine Tilean steel through its master’s backside did it stop twitching."
A Fenbeast summoned to do the bidding of a Dark Emissary.
Fenbeasts have been spotted in the Empire for several years now. Indeed, there are some sages who speculate that the first appearance of a Fenbeast was actually several years before the rediscovery of Albion. Regardless, a small number of them now roam the Old World. Reason would suggest that they would stick to the swamps but they've been seen in the forests of the Empire as well as the mountains. What they want, or even if they want at all, is a topic of some debate among sages.[1a]
Some witch hunters are concerned with the ongoing appearance of Fenbeasts in the Empire. While there are a few ancient Ogham Stones in parts of the Old World, they are dissimilar to those of Albion and all of them lie far from the few marshes of the Empire. Seeing as the majority of Fenbeasts seem to have some sort of master that drives them, this suggests that a sorcerer or more likely, a necromancer, has discovered a new way to create Fenbeasts -- a dark prospect that neither the witch hunters nor the priests of Morr like at all.[1a]
The Jade College in Altdorf famously maintains a score of Fenbeast drudges to fetch and carry for senior wizards of the order, but these are only sustained by the ceaseless chanting of several dozen apprentices.[3a]
Miniatures[]
