Immaterial beings from another dimension. Much of what is known about the elkarrish is speculation or hearsay. The first appeared in Alastari as columns of blood-red energy, causing nearby beings to bleed from the nose. They are believed to be assassins and refugees from their own world. They seem to seek knowledge, especially regarding the Chaos Gates. Though individuals may be aggressive, they are not, as a group, hostile toward the peoples of Alastari. They are known to escort souls to the Underworld for Ahringol.

The elkarrish have some psychic or magical powers. They can cause a person to be confronted by his or her deepest fears and they can possess the bodies of the living. It is said they can make infernal deals with people, but it seems likely this is hyperbole.

While the elkarrish may have a large magical arsenal, the only spell they are proved to use is known as Nightmare. It is by means of this spell that they cause a person to be confronted by their fears. Those targeted by this spell are often stunned, which gives the elkarrish the opportunity to possess them.

This spell has a number of minor variations, mostly of degree. An elkarrish can either manifest as or cause one person to see his or her deepest fear. Others cannot see the manifestation. They can target a single person, but also induce a generalized dread in anyone nearby. They can again target a single person and cause any person in the vicinity to see something they themselves fear, though not necessarily the thing they most fear. In its strongest form, the spell causes everyone within a certain radius to be faced with the thing most dreaded.

As with their Nightmare spell, the possession abilities of the elkarrish also show variation. Strong willed persons may be able to resist the possession to some degree. Spiritual and magical wards may also provide some defense. It is possible the elkarrish block any memories of possession in their victims.

An elkarrish can possess a freshly dead body, animating it. If they get to it soon enough, they can sometimes even revive it physically, but not as the person it was, since that soul would already have been escorted away. They have no access to memories or learned abilities of the body. This does not work on long-dead bodies or non-living bodies.

They can possess a living body and totally exile the soul of the body, either so that it can never return, or if it can return, it will do so without any memories of or abilities learned during the period of the possession.

They can possess a living body without ousting the original soul first. This can be done in two ways. They possess the living body, the soul remains but is powerless, and can only observe. Some of the body's memories and skills are available to the elkarrish, but not all. Or they may possess the living body and find a like-minded soul in place; they effectively merge, and all memories and learned abilities are available. However, there is always a chance that the original soul will get tired of the situation, and they will fight for possession of the body. Elkarrish are powerful, but such a soul would be fighting on its home ground, and the struggle might be fairly equal. In such a battle, if the elkarrish wins, the soul is effectively extinguished or consumed by the invader. If the soul wins, the elkarrish is cast out of the body.

Encyclopedia Alastaria

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