Blood Mist

The Blood Mist is a supernatural phenomenon that once occurred nightly across much of Ravenland. It began suddenly some 300 years ago at the end of the Alder Wars for unknown reasons. The only region spared from its effects were the Elven lands in the far north. Its appearance stopped almost all communications and travel across the land. The mist consisted of a red and ravenous haze that arose in the night from the ground. Several years ago, the nightly mists suddenly become much less prevalent, and in most cases now appears only sporadically. There is no evidence so far concerning the mist's origin, composition, or the why it suddenly diminished.

## Origins

The different kindreds of the land hold widely different views of how the Blood Mist affects people. The most common belief among humans was that anyone who entered into the mist would have their life force drained away by unknown means. The elves firmly held that it were demonic in origin and had come about entirely due to the machinations of the sorcerer Zygofer as the Alder Wars catastrophically ended. Among some orc tribes, it was said that the mist was the spilled blood of their stolen god and the rage that burned within it immolated any who were caught by the mist. Halfling tales stated that the mist aged its victims rapidly into dust.

Alleged survivors of the mist claimed to have escaped it by running or other means. They often had strange and conflicting stories of what they encountered, including:

* bizarre scents and visions of twisted half worlds woven within the vapors,
* tall lean figures striding randomly about, while playing bizarre cacophonous instruments,
* whispery voices begging, threatening, pleading,
* floating hands with impossibly long and bladed digits,
* alien yet chillingly familiar shadowy figures soaked in blood that beckoned forth.

## Effects

The Blood Mist only affects outdoor areas; people inside their homes or other buildings rarely have any issues with it. While the mists were extant, the only groups that could traverse the night safely were the Rust Brothers, and wolfkin. The requirement to have safe shelter every night made travel exceedingly dangerous during the time of the mist. The mist was also known to adversely affect the landscape it appeared in, sometimes prematurely aging plants or spawning strange and alien landscapes. One such occurence happened during Session 1x3, where overnight Blood Mist spawned a patch of rough coral inhabited by coral ghouls. This coral faded away rapidly after the fight.

As of today, the Blood Mist phenomena is rarely seen at night. In areas where it does occur, its appearances are usually preceded by a coppery taste in the mouth of any kin nearby. It is rumored that there are certain areas in the Ravenlands where the Blood Mist still persists on a nightly basis. The withdrawal of the Blood Mist threat has led to an explosion of travel and trade across Ravenland. The treant Rhodendor has also prophesied to members of session 2x8 that the Blood Mist will no longer be a threat at some point soon.

## Trivia

The Gamemaster's Guide for Forbidden Lands includes a detailed account of the cause, mechanisms, and banishment of the Blood Mist under the detailed history section. For this game, some or all parts of that account may be discarded in favour of homebrew.