Eresnacht

Bio

Eresnacht was a witch who lived in the swamp near Waddles' lagoon. They had plans to take control of Turtlebrook and gain the Players' immortality, but was killed by their prisoner, Meridian, and Waddles before they could build up an army.

 History

Eresnacht was not like other witches. Nor were they like any villagers. Perhaps they were closer to the Evokers who shut themselves away in their decadent mansions, but Eres found their conjuring and powerful magic to be wasted in isolation. They sneered at the savagery of pillagers, and looked in shame at the witches who joined their raids. Pointless slaughter, they thought. Those healthy, abled villagers were capable of much more under their dominion. If only the iron golems would let them get close enough to whisper in their ears...

The guardians never did though. Even when Eresnacht crept at the edge of the woods and waited patiently for a villager to wander away from the protection of the village, their tricks did little to allow for a proper exchange of words. Their kind were prone to self preservation above all else.

As their life prolonged, Eresnacht began to change. A single brewing stand, cauldron, and a handful of cursed books was simply not enough for them. They traveled far distances and learned of the rarest, most powerful magic this world had to offer, eventually craving a power no one had possessed before. They transformed their simple hut into a fortress to protect the arsenal of priceless items and tools of enchantment they had amassed, and something strange shifted in their mind.

Eresnacht’s knowledge transformed as well, into a vibrant thirst for more and more power. Why leave the world in the hands of the Players, polluting every chunk with pointless displays of architectural prowess? And what exactly did it mean to be a witch in the first place? Why were they restricted to one life, one chance, while the Players fell and woke from their deaths as though dying came so naturally? Reckless, irresponsible, incompetent...each and every one. Resentment and fury stuck their thorns into the witch’s heart. Their skin fell into a pale grey, their hair flattened into thin, lifeless straw. No longer a true witch, not yet a Player. It boiled their blood.

There was so much more to the world, so much untapped and undiscovered realms of enchantment. Eres wanted it all, and they wanted every being to know they had it. They were going to make this one life count, until the day when they, too, were able to dream.

The quest for immortality would be a grueling one for certain, and by the time Eresnacht knew this was what they wanted, the idea of conquering Turtlebrook fell from being the highest priority. When they were immortal—that’s when they would rule. But time was precious, and the legwork needed to be done early. An army . . . yes! Thousands and thousands of glorious soldiers at their command, waiting patiently for the day to come when they would grasp the world with unflinching palms and never let it go.

The swamp were Eresnacht spawned provided them with plenty of sheep and cows to experiment on at their disposal, hoping to unlock one of the world’s most tightly held secrets and transform them into the humanoid soldiers they yearned for.

They wanted the first soldier to be perfect: a shining trophy to flash to the world, hoping the light would blind them into fear. She would become the highest commander of their army, Eresnacht’s right-hand woman. A common mob was not enough for them. Every act of divination needed to be extravagant, but more importantly, threatening. They didn’t want to simply transform any sheep, they wanted to transform the rarest of sheep. Eresnacht refused mediocrity; everything needed to be impossible—to everyone but them. So when they discovered Meridian, and had some promising experiments under their belt, everything fell into place.

Eventually, they discovered the secret to transformation: dragon’s breath. But this was not enough to make the form permanent, and was finicky with how long it would last. Finally though, Eresnacht figured out the final piece: a name. They named their prisoner Belphoebe, and as Meridian’s form was bouncing back and forth they carved her new name into her back in standard galactic, the language of the world. The spell was complete, and Meridian was irreversibly changed.

Eresnacht had great plans for “Belphoebe.” She would’ve learned all the magic Eresnacht knew and more, growing more and more powerful and experiencing a deeper transformation as she grew into that power. She was their back-up plan if anything were to happen to them in their search for immortality (the players’ ability to respawn). She would’ve inherited their army and empire, continuing their legacy of conquest.

 Additional Facts

* Eresnacht became so powerful that they were able to take on a wither and win. They proudly displayed the nether star in their fortress to intimidate anyone who came within reach of Meridian.