Fire Giants

Preface For all their simplicity, giants capture the imagination in ways even dragons cannot. Something so much like us yet still so alien in all their forms, they inspire both awe and dread, and invite us to ask questions about how we are perceived by creatures just as trifling and minuscule. And although Elden Ring […]

The Lost Saint

Common across the Lands Between is one statue depicting a cloaked man with a sword, the figure decorating bridges especially. The name of Saintsbridge in particular clarifies that this character is a saint — seijin (聖人) more literally referring to a “holy man” — and therefore carries the sword as some sort of warrior hero […]

Confessors

When some of the Tarnished who left with Godfrey established churches dedicated to the Two Fingers, they obviously were spreading their religion in preparation for when Marika summoned them back as promised. After untold generations of building up support and resources, the church’s prophesy was finally fulfilled, and its clerics contributed their own to the […]

Hugues

Born in Sellia, Hugues left home to study and become a Haima battlemage at Raya Lucaria. And yet, according to the description of his ashes, this sorcerer dedicated to quelling conflict ironically came to seek it after a point. Why? We need only see how Hugues is imprisoned in the Sellia Evergaol, overlooking the town […]

Astrologers

Preface Open worlds present many more possibilities for environmental storytelling, both on a micro and macro level. Every tiny detail peppered across the vast map can build cohesive narratives on such a grander scale, you can really appreciate the history being conveyed while remaining subtle enough for players miss. Yes, picking up on the patterns […]

Lookout Stones

When we come across an evergaol, there are always particular enemies flocking to it, day or night. From the name lookout stones, it is obvious that they are there for surveillance, hence most stand at attention with “searchlights” fixated on the jail. This makes the enemy a sort of prison warden, monitoring the magic seal’s […]

Bloodhound Knights

Dispersed across the Lands Between lurk the Bloodhound Knights. Despite the name, they prove human, not hound. Close inspection of the warriors reveals hands with long, sharp nails but no fur, as well as feet standing on tiptoe in boots far too long for them regardless. Their weaponry adds to this impression, wielding a curved […]

Vulgar Militia

Just as there are giants, there are also dwarves in the Lands Between. These men of small stature, only reaching up to a human’s chest, find it hard to subsist in this world of the tall. Being so short, there is little that they can do that the larger races can’t also, and it is […]

Runebears

For all the wildlife populating the Lands Between, none leave as much of an impression as the runebear. The size of ten brown bears, this hulking mass of muscle and teeth knocks over trees in its rampage, sprinting after prey at ferocious speeds. Its claws smash through the earth, and its literal bear hug crushes […]

Farum Azula

Preface The march of time is kind to no one, but do I enjoy learning about the rise and fall of nations long past. We often treat the history of our day as set in stone, yet every year proves such accounts to be more narrative than fact. And as our understanding of the generations […]