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Legendary creatures

Racsa̦s

Racsa̦s is a malevolent being that is said to feed on humans and/or human souls. While it is thought to be one creature, humans can become (part of) Racsa̦s due to evil behaviour, such as foulness, treachery, wrath, etc. Humans succumbing to this behaviour slowly turn into shadows, or Preƨa̦y, that hang around their former loved ones to cause mayhem and sorrow, until they are absorbed into Racsa̦s. Each human soul that is added to Racsa̦s strengthens it until it explodes in a destructive rage causing earthquakes, famines, fires, floodings, and other disasters, during which it feeds on the victims. After such an outburst, Racsa̦s needs to replenish.

Souls of the deceased who are thought to have fallen victim of Racsa̦s can be saved through a nine-day cleansing ritual performed by a Priest of Duvactism. After a large-scale disaster, several Priests perform the ritual together for entire communities.

Racsa̦s is often depicted as a human with wide eyes and fangs, seated on a flying chariot of dark mist, and an expression of rage on its face while it wages war against the sea or a herd of horses. Some depictions of it show it with four or six arms. In some communities, it is shown to be surrounded by angry monkeys and/or scared humans.

Legendary tales

The Well of Custu̦rdo

In the mountains near the road between de towns of Sonws and Phezuch, in the province of Western Ta̦rleqh, there is a village called Custu̦rdo; it has been abandoned since before 1900, because nobody dares to come in the vicinity of its well.

The story goes that a local shepherd girl attracted the attention of the blacksmith’s son, who desired to marry her. Whereas she however was very beautiful, he was not quite so, and not having any other wealth of his own, his prospects of the girl’s parents accepting him as the husband of their daughter’s were far from excellent.

One day, his friends told him that the girl had mentioned that she cared for him and that she would not oppose marrying him. He went to the town and with the last of his money purchased a gemstone. Upon his return, he asked his father to create a ring to fit around the stone. He was told the girl was herding her sheep near the village well so thither he went, and on his knees asked her to marry him.

But the girl knew not of the intentions of the blacksmith’s son, as what his friends had told him was a just prank, and she refused. Disappointed and upset, he returned to the village where he found that many people were aware of his recent misfortune.

That night, he returned to the well and jumped in with a heavy stone around his neck.

In the weeks that followed, mysterious accidents started to happen to the villagers who laughed. At first, some more people fell in the well and drowned but soon the events spread further than its direct vicinity. It is said that one man slipped and drowned while fishing at the brook, a woman choked and died while she drank water, a third drowned while taking a bath, and the blacksmith’s son’s friends, who pulled the prank on him, were beaten to death by an unnaturally strong rain shower that also destroyed a large part of the village. Many left the village and the ones who stayed either died as well or were chased away as strange things continued to happen. Within one year, the village was empty.

Rumours that approaching the village and especially its well will cause certain death slowly established in the region. Years later, reports of people going missing in the area are not followed up by the police and one neighbouring village even barricaded the road to Custu̦rdo.