Raver

Unique picture of all three Ravers in evanescent and semi-discorporate form, performing some obscene hieratic ritual in worship of their evil lord and master.

The Ravers - and there are precisely three - are terrifying, malignant and nigh on immortal incorporeal entities that are foremost amongst the servants of Lord Foul. Given that a) the latter never seems to get out and about and that b) all three Ravers are highly skilled at possessing all manner of creatures, it is perhaps unsurprising that these unclean spirits are the most trusted of the Despiser's lieutenants. The Ravers have a deep knowledge of the most evil of sorceries, one that is only exceeded by their master.

This fearsome trio appears in all three Chronicles.

Appearance and Nature

The appearance of any raver is both simple and impossible to describe - they don't have one. Yes, that's right. In their "natural" state - if so it may be called - the ravers are entirely incorporeal and thus are truly emanations of the purest malignity.

Ravers may have no physical forms themselves, but over eons, they have become frighteningly adept at possessing the bodies of others, then putting these to their own malevolent uses. Indeed, a raver may seize control of the will of almost any living thing. In fact, such is the power of a raver's evil coercion that any one of them is capable of possessing a number of lesser creatures simultaneously, whether a pack of kresh, a swarm of bees, a horde of rats or a shoal of eels, for example. This overweening eldritch metal strength is the reason why humans are helpless against such possession. the fact that they so often wear the guises of others makes ravers incredibly difficult to recognize, although for those with acute health-sense, the nearby presence of a raver will engender a sense of wrongness, a sick nausea that roils the stomach and grates up and down the nerves

Only The giants and the haruchai seem immune to being taken over - no doubt because of their natural obduracy and iron wills - and these stalwarts can only be involuntarily controlled by ravers if the latter have access to a more puissant evil bane to use as a catalyst - such as the Illearth Stone. Of course, should a giant or a haruchai voluntarily give himself up to possession, then that's a different thing altogether. The only creatures never known to have succumbed at all to a raver's possession are the Ranyhyn, those majestic Earthpowerful horses.

As to their nature, (tba)

Origins and Pre-history

The origins of the Ravers are never made entirely clear. It is said that they were engendered by the noisome vileness of the Sarangrave Flat - home to the Lurker - at the time of the One Forest, long before the coming of man to the Land. This is a feasible theory, given that the Sarangrave and the great swamp that lies therein have long been polluted by evil effluvia flowing down Defile's Course from the bowels of Mount Thunder. Let it not be forgotten that measureless depths beneath Mount Thunder have for eons been used as a sorcerous garbage dump for any noxious banes.

From their very beginnings, the Ravers harboured an absolute detestation of all living things, but especially trees. Their abomination of Earthpower is well-known, so it's very likely that the One Forest, which symbolized the natural essence of the Land, attracted their abhorrence. When humans finally arrived, the Ravers seized their chance and exhorted the weak-willed immigrants to get lumberjacking as much as possible - a thing which resulted in the diminishing of the One Forest and its separation into five lesser parts.

The amount of overexuberant slash-and-burning and arboreal decimation attracted the attention of the Elohim - possibly because even at that distance, the faint acrid tang of smoke started to sully the balmy sea breezes that waft over Elemesnedene. The haughty fey folk would have considered this the height of bad manners, especially if any faintly blown ash were ever to besmirch their über-fashionable designer samite robes. So, as is typical whenever anything bothers the Elohim, they held a rigged ballot, singling out the unfortunate faery who was seen as being the least chic that week. This "volunteer" they Appointed to become eternally bored by being transmogrified into a large yet magical slab of rock, standing upon the upper edge of Landsdrop and entitled the Colossus of the Fall. The arcane emanations from this eldritch pillar served to repulse the Ravers and kept them from entering the Upper Land for many generations.

At the same time, the Elohim claim that they had a hand in the emergence of the five original Forestals - hippy-ish tree elementals of leguminous puissance, who were tasked with caring for and protecting the remaining forests of the Land. As has been noted elsewhere, it is uncertain if this is entirely factually correct, since the tricksy fey folk will always claim credit for any idea that they deem to be super-cool, but it is certainly true that the Forestals came into being at around the same time. Thus it is explained why Ravers and Forestals are the most ancient and the most implacable of enemies.

Names

The three Ravers are known as moksha Jehannum, turiya Herem and samadhi Sheol respectively, a thing which gives etymologists serious stirrings in the groinal area. The three italicized names spring from Sanskrit and feature in the Hindu religion, whereas the three others originate from the Middle East, having significance in either Islam or Judaism.

Role in the First Chronicles

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Role in the Second Chronicles

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Role in the Third Chronicles

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