Krogh chasing Bruno Brega under the Vaults
Even among thieves, murderers, smugglers and other criminals there are legends, stories and myths that are transmitted among their own criminal and evil class. In the Tilean city of Miragliano, one of these stories tells of a predator of the night, a bounty hunter who is hardly a man, as relentless as he is horrible who never ceases to pursue his prey, which only awaits a horrible end in case of falling into their clutches. This being is known as Krogh, an ugly name for an ugly thing.[1a]
Once, he had been a normal human, a soldier, though no one had ever known where or when. Yet something had happened to Krogh, something terrible that had slowly and insidiously consumed his humanity completely, transforming him into a mutant. The shape of his body altered into something roughly human.[1a]
He is now a tall and thin creature, and is completely cloaked in a hooded garment that reached to his thighs, to hide his misshapen body. His arms are not human at all, but were clawed, twisted and hideous. When you walk, it feels like your knees are bending back and forth at the same time. The lower part of his face is usually covered by a thick and heavy coarse cloth scarf, but above this one can see that his skin is rough and sallow, shaggy and leathery. Eyes blaze from his half-covered face, burning and glowing with orange light in the dark. And wherever it goes, it is preceded by a repulsive animal stench[1a]
Most men would have committed suicide in the face of these changes. Others would have fled into the woods to become the beasts their bodies had come to resemble. Still others would have silently waited for the witch hunters to purify them with the scourge and the flames. But Krogh had found another alternative. He left his homeland for the city-states of Tilea, where decadent and corrupt men hired unspeakable beings to accomplish the unthinkable. Krogh had not embraced the kiss of Chaos but he hadn't denied it either. Despite his warped form, his mutations had given him above-average speed and reflexes, making him able to dodge projectiles with ease, and superhuman strength with which he could tear a man apart using only his hands.[1a]
Regardless of what he once might have been, he is now just a hunter, a hunter of men with a terrible reputation. His new life as a bounty hunter had caused him to have several run-ins with Brunner, who became his main rival in his profession and one of his greatest enemies. Krogh was as ruthless as he was, but far more sadistic in his role. Falling into Brunner's hands was certainly not a pleasant fate, but it was far better than falling into Krogh's.[1a]
When he is looking for a prey, he does not hesitate to torture and mortify anyone who could give him any information, enjoying the moment and questioning him with his hoarse, stinking voice, and gurgling for the corruption and rottenness of his body. Regardless of what she was told, the end result was always the same. When he gets tired of the fun, he takes out of the folds of his cloak a small metal tube, hollow like a flute, the one end of which was curved and sharp. Then he stuck it into his skull and absorbed the memories of his victim through it.[1a]