The Axeman of Krahull

The Axeman of Krahull was a Kymurian serial killer active in the southeastern city of Krahull during the summer of 1027KF. The perpetrator was never identified, and the murders remain unsolved.

## Background

As the killer's epithet implies, the victims usually were attacked with an axe, which often belonged to the victims themselves. In most cases, a panel on a back door of a home was removed by a chisel, which were both left on the floor near the door, followed by an attack on one or more of the residents with either an axe or straight razor. The crimes were not motivated by robbery, and the perpetrator never removed items from his victims' homes.

The majority of the Axeman's victims were ethnic Riverlanders, leading many to believe that the crimes were ethnically motivated. Many newspapers sensationalised this aspect of the crimes, even suggesting gang involvement despite lack of evidence. The Axeman was not caught or identified, and his crime spree stopped as mysteriously as it had started. The murderer's identity remains unknown to this day, although various possible identifications of varying plausibility have been proposed. On the fourth day of the Month of Bloom, a letter purporting to be from the Axeman was published in newspapers saying that he would kill again at 15 minutes past midnight two days later, but would spare the occupants of any place where a Luzie band was playing. (Luzie was a popular style of fast-paced and new music.) That night all of Krahull's dance halls were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur bands played Luzie music at parties at hundreds of houses around town. There were no murders that night.

Not everyone was intimidated by the Axeman. Some well-armed citizens submitted announcements to newspapers challenging the Axeman to visit their houses. One local industrialist promised to leave a window open for the Axeman, politely asking that he not damage the front door.

## The Letter from Hell

Esteemed Mortals of Krahull:

They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you mortals and your foolish Constabulary call the Axeman.

When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.

Now, to be exact, two days from now, after midnight, I am going to pass over Krahull. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:

I am very fond of Luzie music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a Luzie band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a Luzie band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.

Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native hell, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.

--The Axeman

## Murders

The first reported death attributed to the Axeman was the murder of local librarian Anna Santana and her husband, Marquis Santana. The couple were found butchered in their home on Grand Prince Street, Krahull, the morning after the attack. Every night subsequently for the next two weeks, similar attacks occurred throughout that neighbourhood, with most of the victims being middle-class Riverlandish and Old-Sra immigrants, leading the RKC to suspect racially-motivated killings, possibly by the Black Talons, however some of the later victims were themselves Black Talon members, which further baffled the investigators.

Steven Boca, a grocer, was attacked in his bedroom as he slept by an axe-wielding intruder, he awoke during the night to find a dark figure looming over his bed. Upon regaining consciousness, Boca ran to the street to investigate the intrusion, and found that his head had been cracked open. The grocer ran to the home of his neighbor, Frank Genusa, where he lost consciousness and collapsed. Nothing had been taken from the home, yet, once again, a panel on the back door of the home had been chiselled away. Boca recovered from his injuries, but could not remember any details of the trauma. It should be noted that this attack took place after the emergence of the infamous Axeman letter.

Amelia Brennervax was attacked at some point during the last week of the Axeman murders. Neighbours came to check on the young woman, who had lived alone, and broke into the home when Brennervax did not answer. They discovered the 19-year-old lying unconscious on her bed, suffering from a severe head injury and missing several teeth. The intruder had entered the apartment through an open window, and attacked the woman with a blunt object. A bloody axe was discovered on the front lawn of the building. She briefly recovered from her injuries, yet couldn't recall any details from the attack, and died a week later.