Rak
Index
- The Myth
- Invocation
- Categorization
A rak is an invoked magical beast, with reptile features, wings, and a skull for a superior part of the face. It was originally created by the Ostromthar, as a gift to the Aithars for creating them. There are hundreds of possibilities when it comes to the invocations and lots of raks wandering the Norwald.
The Myth
The Ostromthar, after deciding on the rules of time in Norwald, had the obligation to create the creatures that would wander the skies. For that purpose, the Aithars lent them the dagger Thekar, for them to be able to create with almost the same amount of essence and power.
The last creature they created was called krast. It was a winged lizard the size of two dedas, with the particularity of their bodies disappearing after their deaths, except for the superior part of the skull. Ostromthars created the krast-din, but each one of them had to create a variation of these lizards a few dahans later.
Just after the creation of the krast-din, Gasha thought that, as they had already finished their duties, and they had to meet the Aithars again, that they could use those creatures as a gift for their creators, to thank them for creating them. But a mortal reptile wasn’t enough, so they had to think about it. The next three lonely nights, Nacta thought about an ingredient, choosing the skull during the first night, part of her own essence the second, and a magical spell during the third.
During the daytime, she decided to test the spell. With care, she put the skull on her hands, and started transferring part of her essence. The bone started to float away from her, merging together with the other ingredient. That’s when Nacta threw a darkness spell of night over the combination, creating a beautiful beast that she called Hakko.
The very same night, as it was a moonless night, the Ostromthar met and showed their variations of the krast-din, Gasha having created the krast-bloer and Dasho the krast-fesh. Nacta, having completely forgotten about it, ran to the closest tree and from a branch, she sculpted the krast-reko. The other gods were slightly surprised that she forgot, thus she explained the reason why, and proceeded to show them the beast.
Both twins were completely amazed by the creature and decided to create their own, and, as they were gifts to their parents, Dasho decided to use an intense light spell to create Jolar, and Gasha a water spell to create Perun.
The next moonless night, the Ostromthar called for the Aithars, who appeared from nothingness. They proceeded to tell them about the rules they created and the creatures they had invented, lastly showing them the krasts. They were stunned by all the animals, especially those flying reptiles. Neilin even mentioned that she wished they lasted forever. Nacta smiled, and brought Hakko to the entrance of the Great Temple. The Aithars went out and saw the other two raks, and felt an intense connection with them immediately. Being created by the Ostromthar, with whom the Aithars shared the essence, the raks felt the connection to their owners as well.
But the beasts were not meant to disappear into the Aithar’s plane of existence, so they were sent to the mortal realm, in which they would live an eternal life.
Invocation
It is almost easy for mortals to invoke a rak. The hardest part of the creation is to find the ingredients to make it possible. Krasts (and/or krast’s skulls) are very small in size, and they cannot die in any stressful situation or their skulls will disappear with them. That is why they are very rare. On the other hand, transferring one’s essence is an extremely complicated ritual and most wizards don’t achieve to complete the project.
Everything affects the invocation. The type of skull (reko, fesh, din or bloer) will affect the physical characteristics of the rak. The quantity of essence will determine how strong the bond between the rak and the invoker will be. The invoker’s essence will also affect the physiognomy of the rak (colors, type of mane, robustness…). Finally, the spell will determine the magic skills the rak will have, as well as some other physical characteristics.
In order to invoke a rak, the invoker will have to put together the essence and the skull. The best way to do it would be inserting the essence in the skull, but not everybody is able to do so. There are other ways to do it, such as putting the skull over an essence chest inside of a protective circle, but this might influence the invocation, making it possible for the summoning to fail. The final step is to cast the spell over the combination. Instead of the chest and the skull, the invoker should find a rak that will vary its size and physiognomy based on the ingredients he might have used.
Categorization
Ancient Raks – There are three ancient raks: Hakko, Perun and Jolar, belonging to Neilin, Korpe and Denra (respectively). They are the original raks, created by the Ostromthar as a gift to the Aithar. As the three gods couldn’t take the raks with them to their plane of existence, they were left in the mortal plane to be praised. Those raks have the power of night (Hakko, created by Nacta), of light (Jolar, created by Dasho) and of whirlwinds (Perun, created by Gasha). They are meant to remain asleep, as their magical skills could create a time chaos in Norwald. The three of them have a glow specific to the Norwald divinities.
Seasonal Raks – They are immortal, and there are five of them, one per season. Those are called Aranfor (the Moifa rak), Dorig (the Fash rak), Herion (the Emheren rak), Volketh (the Ihash rak) and Keridos (the Elkerian rak). They wake up shortly after their season starts, and they remain awake until the next seasonal rak wakes up. They are praised, especially by the people of the lands where they are located. It is said that if any of the seasonal raks doesn’t wake up, the season won’t completely develop, that’s why the tharais who live close to the raks organize huge events when the time comes. These raks were also created by the Ostromthar, but using the essences of the three of them together so they wouldn’t acquire specific features. The spells used to summon them are directly related to the season they represent. Those invocations are meant to help with the development of their specific seasons. The five of them have a glow specific to the Norwald divinities.
Immortal Raks – Immortal raks are those created by any divine being, and they have the divine glow.
Mortal raks – Any mortal can summon a rak if they manage to get the ingredients for the ritual. Those raks are mortal, and the essence used to create them will disappear if they die. The summoner will never get the essence back. If the summoner dies instead, the rak will wander the Norwald freely.
Graphic representation of two mortal raks fighting each other, although these two raks never met.
Left: Dohr, a fire rak created with the skull of a krast-din.
Right: Saah, an ice rak created with the skull of a krast-din.
Graphic representation of Hakko fighting Khelmet.
Hakko is Neilin’s Ancient Rak, created by Nacta during the Primal Era. He remained asleep until Thostar woke him up, intending to use him against Aidaran. He failed, and the rak wandered freely, bringing the night anywhere he went to.
Khelmet sacrificed himself to trap him in the Netherwald, using Thekar to open a portal to the Nightmare World in front of him, in order to make the time chaos stop.
