When the light fades and the moon rises over Innistrad, humanity becomes the universal prey. Packs of werewolves emerge like the tide, drawn out by the moon, their humanity washed away by animal rage. The vampire families bare their fangs at the scent of human blood. Hordes of the walking dead lurch across the manors and moors, driven by an innate hunger for the living. Alchemically created abominations twitch to life in alchemists' laboratories. Geists haunt the huddled human towns and terrify travelers along the dark crossways in between. From Innistrad's deeper chasms, powerful demons and impish devils plot humanity's downfall, their influence spreading into all echelons of human society.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott The humans of Innistrad have done their best to fight back. They form torch-wielding mobs to cleanse the abominations with fire. They train specialized holy warriors, called cathars, to strike back against the supernatural horrors. Most of all, they brandish the power of their faith in the Church of Avacyn.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott But the weapons of commoners, soldiers, and priests are all failing. Their whispered prayers and runic wards don't hold their same power. Talismans of silver no longer frighten nocturnal horrors. The holy symbol of Avacyn no longer keeps trespassers from disturbing the entombed dead. Things are getting progressively worse for humanity across the four major regions of the plane.
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Art by Ryan Yee
Innistrad's Four Provinces The known landmass of Innistrad is divided into four regions called provinces.
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Concept art by Richard Whitters Gavony The province of Gavony is where humanity remains safest and strongest. It is home to Thraben, largest city in the known world, which houses the mighty Cathedral of Avacyn, seat of religion in the world and the place where a great archangel once presided. Smaller towns radiate outward from Thraben across Gavony's rocky moors. Small copses of trees dot the landscape of rolling hills and heaths. Because more human dead are buried here than anywhere else, Gavony is more plagued by the undead than other provinces, and geists are more common as well.
Concept art by Jung Park
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Kessig Innistrad's vast, wooded hinterland is called Kessig, a province in a state of perpetual autumn. The deep woods are king here, although small human communities have carved out farming villages, and groups of hunters and trappers venture into the forest to make a living. Even new arrivals to Kessig know not to venture out at night. Even if the wilderness weren't haunted, it wouldn't be safe—werewolves prowl the province, sometimes alone and sometimes in packs.
Concept art by Vincent Proce, Daarken, and Jung Park
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Stensia Vampires control the province of Stensia, which covers the darkest and most mountainous parts of the plane. The evergreen forests here seem to always be half-dead and the roads always misty and deserted. Jagged hills hide isolated, wary human villages and vampire manors from each other. At the province's edges, the forlorn pines give way to high cliffs above which no human dares venture. In Stensia, the sun seems never to break through the strangely colored clouds.
Concept art by Vincent Proce
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Nephalia This coastal province is home to a number of small-to-medium port towns, most situated at the mouth of a river that leads further inland. Nephalia's sloughs, sea mists, and mysteries cloak its commerce and crimes; it is populated mainly by humans, geists, and vampires, all of whom seek business, secrets, or solitude. The province's silver sand beaches, punctuated with rocky promontories and sea caves, afford easiest access to its fog-shrouded ocean.
Concept art by James Paick
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The Church of Avacyn
Art by Slawomir Maniak Humanity's true religion on Innistrad is the Church of Avacyn. The central figure in the Church is Avacyn herself, an archangel so true and so mighty that she held back the darkness of Innistrad. Until recently, Avacyn's presence was so powerful that faith in her yielded true power for clerics and other faithful: prayers to her could cause evil creatures to turn away, silver weapons blessed by her priests could slay great horrors, and runes marked with her symbol could protect entire villages. The Church's efficacy was real and plain to see—a welcome weapon in a world of monsters.
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Art by Greg Staples But the archangel Avacyn has not been seen over the last few seasons, and her absence is beginning to tell. Since Avacyn has disappeared, prayers have not spared remote villages from werewolf attacks as they once did. Holy symbols have not stopped vampires from preying on travelers in the high mountain passes. The dead are not protected from tampering by ghoulcallers and flesh-animating alchemists called skaberen. If the elders in the Church, including Mikaeus, the ruling Lunarch, know what has happened to Avacyn, they've given no word.
Art by Steven Belledin
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It may be that Avacyn has truly vanished. What was once humanity's greatest weapon has abandoned them, and the Church's power to hold back the dark forces of Innistrad is beginning to wane.
Concept art by Vincent Proce and Daarken The Blessed Sleep A key tenet of the Church of Avacyn concerns the conditions of death. For the citizens of Innistrad, the goal of a good life is not to seek to live forever, but to have a restful "sleep" after death. The Blessed Sleep is an eternity of tranquil oblivion, much preferable to the shame of becoming a tormented spirit, mutilated corpse, or undead abomination, as so often happens on Innistrad. The Blessed Sleep is considered a reward for a virtuous and vigilant life. "May you spend an eternity in the ground" is a common blessing among the people of Innistrad.
The Moon of Silver and Innistrad's Seasons Innistrad's moon is both a source of hope and a harbinger of woe. Many Innistrad astronomers believe that the moon is a vast desert made of grains of pure silver, and that any extant silver on Innistrad originated from the moon. Cathars and priests know the power of specially blessed silver to harm werewolves and ward off other horrors, so the moon has become associated with the divine strength of the archangel Avacyn. Some even perceive the shape of a heron in the areas of dark and light on Innistrad's moon, and so the heron has come to be a symbol of Avacyn. But the rise of the moon can also dampen protective magic and cause werewolves to transform from human to wolf. The fickle silver moon seems both to serve humanity and to bring out the worst evils within.
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Art by Peter Mohrbacher Innistrad humans also name the world's seasons by different aspects of the moon, as it seems hold a strange influence on the world as the seasons change. Harvest Moon This is Innistrad's autumn. A huge orange-to-blood-red moon hangs in the night sky. The days grow shorter. The weather cools with each passing day and the forests turn vibrant colors. This is considered to be the time when vampires are the strongest. Bonfires are common during harvest time, when farmers toil late in the fields until after twilight. The bonfires are thought to keep the vampires away. Hunter's Moon This is Innistrad's winter. The chill never leaves the air and the sun's apex is close to the horizon. This is the longest season, and the time when food becomes most scarce. More hunters have to venture out into the wilds in search of food, which results in increased attacks on humans. This is considered to be the time when werewolves are the strongest. Since there are more humans hunting and traveling in the woods during these months, werewolf attacks are more prevalent. The humans believe the attacks have something to do with the season itself, although there are no more werewolves at this time than any other time of year.
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Art by Ryan Yee New Moon This is as close as Innistrad gets to a spring and is the shortest season. The days are longest and the sun is the brightest, though still pale compared to some worlds, and there is new growth in the forests. Humans consider this their season, associating it with new life and birth. Babies born under the New Moon are considered to be holier, with a better chance of attaining the Blessed Sleep.
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The Demons of Innistrad Long ago on Innistrad, demons were a threat only whispered about, feared by vampires and humans alike. They were thought to be long dead, or mythical. But then Avacyn and her angels came, and with her presence a new equilibrium was reached. Vampires, werewolves, and the undead were driven back to restore the balance between humanity and the rest of the world's beings. But their retreat opened a space—an opportunity for Innistrad's infernal forces to manifest. The demons and their hosts of devils began to arrive, one by one.
Art by Matt Stewart The Silver Collar At first Avacyn ignored this new threat, but as the demons amassed power, she knew she would have to destroy them. One by one she would engage them in battle and defeat them. But each time she did, a new demon would appear shortly thereafter. It soon became apparent that the demons could be killed but would return in a different form, since they were beings created of pure mana. Realizing this, Avacyn decreed that "What cannot be destroyed will be bound," and thus her symbol became a silver collar, which was to be symbolically forged shut around the necks of all demonkind.
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Concept Art by Wayne Reynolds The Skirsdag Born from ancient demon-worship, the Skirsdag are now a secret demon cult centered in the High City of Thraben. This secret organization has human members in all levels of the church, nobility, and the trades. Although small, it has been in existence for generations. When the demon Griselbrand rose in power to eclipse all other demons, the Skirsdag gained prominence as well. Griselbrand disappeared around the same time that Avacyn did, leaving the humans of the Skirsdag to further his ends in their lord's absence.
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Art by Clint Cearley
Ascend into Darkness Once, Innistrad had a savior, an angel who held back the darkness. Now humanity clings to the bottom of the food chain, struggling to survive in a world menaced by monsters. What do a priest's blessings mean when the dead walk the land? How can friends be trusted when they transform into beastly enemies? What does life mean when aristocratic immortals stalk one's lifeblood? The humans of Innistrad are beset on all sides by shadow, and unless they find a way to survive, shadow will envelop them. Has humanity's story come to its end? Only the actions of Planeswalkers will tell.
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Concept Art by Vincent Proce
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The province of Gavony is where humanity remains safest and strongest. It is home to Thraben, the plane's largest city. Thraben houses the Cathedral of Avacyn, where the archangel herself resided before vanishing. Smaller towns radiate outward from Thraben across Gavony's rocky moors. Small copses of trees dot the landscape of rolling hills and heaths. Because more human dead are buried here than anywhere else, Gavony is more plagued by the undead than other provinces, and geists are more common as well.
Plains | Art by Adam Paquette 18
Thraben, the High City The city of Thraben sits on a massive mesa in the middle of the Lake of Herons, a long body of water that flows around the rock and over an enormous waterfall. The eastern tip of the rock juts out over the waterfall itself, and it is on this dramatic pinnacle that the Cathedral of Avacyn stands. Thraben is the largest city in the known lands of Innistrad. It's the seat of the Avacynian Church, built as a city of walls and various bulwarks designed to keep supernatural threats at bay. While smaller settlements are constantly under siege by monsters, the inner parts of Thraben and the Cathedral are the safest areas in Innistrad, which sometimes gives the bishops of the church a skewed perspective on how dangerous the world outside really is.
Concept art by Steve Belledin The Walls of Thraben are a complex system of bulwarks and defense lines. There are remnants of older walls, which have crumbled and lost their effectiveness. But even the old walls demarcate the city into sections, some which have a penal or ceremonial function.
Outer Wall. The main defense of Thraben. A thick, high wall that rings the perimeter of the city. The church has approved the expansion of the wall several times to keep the city from getting too crowded. 19
Merchant's Wall. A complex of fellowship halls that forms a substantial market square. This is the center of commerce in Thraben. Child's Wall. The inner wall that surrounds the grounds of the Old Cathedral. Nearly as strong and tall as the outer wall, the Child's Wall has not been altered in ages. It is inscribed with the names of every child born in Innistrad. Many parents make a pilgrimage to the wall in the year after their child's birth, believing that having their child's name written on the wall will add protection to its life. Fang Wall. When werewolves are caught, they are executed in front of this wall. Then their fangs are removed and shoved between the crevices of the stones. Bloodless Wall. When vampires are caught, they are chained to this wall and left to starve to death.
Abbey Griffin | Art by Jaime Jones
Cathedral of Avacyn A massive cathedral with three wings and a network of cloisters, courtyards, outlying schools, and forges. There are well-kept gardens and substantial training grounds for cathars (holy warriors). Outside of Thraben, churches are quite rustic, constructed from rough planks and often containing only a single room. The Cathedral is opulent by comparison. The grounds between the wings form a triangular courtyard that is locked from public view by high walls. Most people don't know the courtyard exists. Only the most powerful bishops are permitted to set foot in it. 20
The Cathedral's structure symbolically divides the wealthy and poor of the world. Each class has its own designated place to worship:
Chapel of Noble Peers. The opulent, gilded chapel that is reserved for the high levels of clergy and titled members of society. Midvast Hall. The larger, less opulent hall for ordained fellows and lesser clergy. Common Cloisters. The covered corridors along the edges Midvast Hall where commoners stand during worship. There are only certain holy days when the commoners are permitted to enter the Old Cathedral.
At first glance, the courtyard resembles an ornate garden with stands of fruit trees and gold-andwhite flowers that are cultivated with painstaking care. At the heart of the garden, the trees fall away, leaving a view of a curious object: the Helvault.
Tree of Redemption | Art by Vincent Proce The Helvault The Helvault is a huge silver mass that stands at the precipice inside the courtyard of the Cathedral of Avacyn. Its surface is rough and unrefined, and thin veins of dark mortar branch across its surface. The River Kirch This wide, fast-flowing river originates in the mountains of Stensia. It empties into the Lake of Herons, with murky water, high ridges bordering the bank, and depths of hundreds of feet. Great 21
sea serpents and other creatures are said to hide in the depths of the Lake of Herons, which stretches almost 20 miles before flowing over the 2,000-foot waterfall known as Kirch Falls.
Island | Art by Jung Park The Voice of the Moon On Innistrad, as elsewhere, the moon controls the tides (as well as the path of rivers and other bodies of water). The River Kirch flows into the Lake of Herons, over Kirch Falls, and into the sea. The continuous roar of the water over the falls has a different rhythm depending on the season and volume of water coming down from the high lands. The Cathedral grounds are lush and fertile from the continual spray of mist.
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Paraselene | Art by Ryan Yee Moonchanters A sect of clergy sing prayers according to this changing rhythm, believing it puts them in better connection with the moon. Others in the church believe that you should commune with Avacyn herself, not the symbolic power of the moon. Seraphic Shrouds The mist from the waterfall is collected in long banners of heavy, white cloth. The water wrung out is considered holy, but once it is gone, the shrouds still have magical properties. Skaberen will kill for these shrouds, as they give extra stamina to their undead skaab creations.
Gavony's Geography Thraben lies in on the northern edge of the province of Gavony. It's the largest walled city in Innistrad, although parts of Nephalia's seaports are more densely populated. Thraben's population is mainly clergy, merchants, and artisans. With the church's influence, the city maintains a high standard of cleanliness and order. There is a standing militia and the church pays a host of workers to keep the streets swept, the public gardens and grafs tended, and the riff-raff off the street. Begging is strictly prohibited, and there is a street curfew enforced by the militia. Several alms houses exist just outside the main walls of Thraben, and the church regularly sponsors "caravans" to take the needy to the sea ports, where they will ostensibly be able to find employment or trade work more easily. 23
Clifftop Retreat | Art by John Avon Gavony Parishes Parishes are an administrative designation used by the church. Gavony has five parishes, including Thraben. There are three in the area called Nearheath: Videns, Wittal, and Effalen. The region known as the Moorland is a single parish of the same name, although it is larger in size than the other four combined. Each parish may have multiple priests, chapels, and small altars. Nearheath Within a few miles south of Thraben's walls, there are several medium-sized towns. This area is called the Nearheath and is inhabited mainly by artisans and farmers. Being so close to Thraben affords a good deal of protection to these towns. Most have fortifications or walls in case of a ghoul attack or some other threat, but there are many outlying farms as well. Nearheath is composed of several parishes:
Videns. A region of vineyards and rolling hills with small castles with walled estates. The River Kirch runs through this region. Wittal. This is the most thickly forested area of Gavony. Although small in size, the forest is dense and dark, with ancient pines trees that dwarf the deciduous forests in the neighboring parishes. The forest has become particularly dangerous now that the infamous werewolf Skaharra and her Leeraug cohorts have moved to the area. Effalen. This is the rockiest area of Gavony. A vicious coterie of vampires have taken to preying on the periphery of the parish for sport. 24
Two of the main villages in the Nearheath are Estwald and Hanweir. Estwald is the center of woodworking in Gavony and part of the Wittal Parish. Hanweir is the agricultural jewel of Gavony. Hanweir is the site of the largest open-air market, the place where livestock are traded and trappers from Kessig bring their wares. Hanweir is in Videns Parish, and the River Kirch runs through the village, making it a bustling port where goods are brought in from the other provinces before being transported up to Thraben by horse and cart.
Hanweir Watchkeep | Art by Wayne Reynolds The Moorland Beyond the Nearheath is the Moorland. This has always been a more desolate region, filled with stories of spectral wolves and wandering spirits. There are few trees in the Moorland and the ground is covered with coarse grass, bracken, and violet heather. There are boulders and standing rocks, and the countryside seems to be covered in perpetual mist. The area is rife with geists, many of them dangerous, and travelers are constantly at risk from them as well as other things that wander the countryside. Gisa and Geralf There used to be more towns in the Moorland than there are now. Two rival necromancers— brother and sister, both quite insane—moved into the area in recent years. The siblings were scions of a noble family and distant relatives of the current Lunarch. They were banished from Thraben in a hushed scandal and have since moved to the Moorland, where they wage war against one another by raising armies of undead. Their battles have prompted many of the Moorland's inhabitants to move to the Nearheath, leaving the area even more desolate than 25
before. Now, marauding ghouls range freely through the moors, lost playthings in the mad, epic battles of Gisa and Geralf. Trostad This was formerly a village of trappers on the border with Kessig, which has been entirely overrun by Geralf and his undead creations. His sister constantly lays siege to the village, seemingly for no purpose other than to best her brother. Geralf has grander ambitions and has been sending armies of undead into the Nearheath and raiding villages there.
Gavony Township | Art by Peter Mohrbacher Grafs There are more graveyards—known as grafs—in Gavony than anywhere else in Innistrad. Thraben in particular has many mausoleums, graveyards, and even paupers' gravesites, because people bring their dead from all over Innistrad to bury them in the perceived safety of the holy city. There is a gate, the Arch of the Dead, through which pilgrims bring the bodies of their loved ones into the city.
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Moan of the Unhallowed | Art by Nils Hamm Blessed Grafs Thraben has city blocks devoted to burial sites known as Blessed Grafs. These are a grid of tombs and mausoleums under heavy guard from Elgaud soldiers and tended by horticulturists to keep trees and flowers blooming around the tombs. In Thraben, these are the equivalent of parks, and people visit them recreationally. It is considered relaxing to spend time in a place where kin are enjoying their Blessed Sleep. The Estwald Murders One of the most notorious cases in recent years involved a series of murders in the Wittal Parish. In Innistrad, murder is not unusual, but these deaths were particularly gruesome. The murderer left mauled body parts from the same victim at various chapels and priests' houses. The church sent a renowned inquisitor named Thedis, who was found dead in the same manner, his head mounted on a post near the outer wall of Thraben. Additional inquisitors and a small force of cathars were sent to the area, and it was eventually determined that it was the work of the newly arrived Leeraug werewolf pack, who were making a territorial claim with the grisly leavings. The battalion is still there, having been unable to roust the werewolves from the forest, although they have contained the murders.
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The everyday life of a human varies dramatically according to one's class. The wealthy families and clergy live in comfort and safety. Thraben clergy, in particular, have every need met by the church. The middle classes—artisans and merchants—are also quite comfortable. But the working class and farmers have a much shorter lifespan; they are more at risk from the dark things of the world, and they suffer from more sickness and famine as well. A farmer lives an average of forty years, while a bishop lives closer to seventy.
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Concept art by Steven Belledin Safety is the main commodity in Innistrad. The wealthier you are, the safer you can make yourself. The high walls of Thraben protect the well-to-do who live inside. Titled families in Gavony have fortified manor houses, while the farmers must make do with the wooden walls of their farmhouses. Because of the lack of physical safety, the poor spend a larger portion of their income of enchantments and non-physical means of protection. Tithing is required for everyone, and the church charges a small fee for every blessing and spell. Even at unstaffed little altars, payment is expected, and many of the faithful diligently pay even when there is no one to enforce it. Not unexpectedly, there is resentment among some for the amount of money required of the poor to uphold their faith. This resentment increases dramatically as the effectiveness of the Avacynian blessings diminish.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott Community The sense of community is very strong among humans in Gavony and in other provinces as well. Little altars and crossway chapels aren't as common in Gavony as in the other provinces because of the strength of the parish churches. The parish church is the focal point of any community in Gavony. Most people worship several times a week, and many pass by the church on a daily basis for a blessing of safety.
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Concept art by Richard Whitters and Steve Prescott Travel The roads in Gavony are best in the four northern parishes, although there are adequate roads in the Moorlands as well. It is easy to hire a soldier to guide you along the roads between Thraben and the Nearheath, and if you can make your trip during the daytime, such guides are usually not needed. A few terms to know:
Chapel. An enclosed space of varying size devoted to worship. There are many chapels built along the crossways of Innistrad. Most have resident clergy who attend them. These sometimes serve has hostels for travelers. Parish. The equivalent of a county. Each parish has its own chapel. Crossway. The name for roads in Innistrad. Most are just dirt tracks for horses and carts. Crossway Altar. An open-air altar along a crossway somewhere in the wilds.
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Thraben Sentry | Art by David Rapoza Defense Martial prowess is highly valued among humans. Cathars, particularly inquisitors, are highly revered. Poorer families have a harder time getting their children accepted to train at the Elgaud Grounds. When children show aptitude for spellcasting, however, they are accepted at the Fal Seminary no matter what their parents' status.
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Slayer of the Wicked | Art by Anthony Palumbo
The Church of Avacyn Why there is evil in the world really isn't a question on Innistrad. There always has been, and no one expects it to change. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, spirits, devils: these are part of the natural order of the world. Humans have always battled the forces of darkness and had their back to the wall in the fight of good versus evil. At times the prospects for the continued existence of the human race have seemed grim indeed. The Blessed Sleep For the humans of Innistrad, the purpose of life is not to live forever, but to have a restful "sleep" after death—tranquil oblivion, or perhaps oneness with everything, rather than becoming a tormented spirit, mutilated corpse, or undead abomination, as so often happens on Innistrad. The Sleep is considered a reward for a virtuous and vigilant life. "May you spend an eternity in the ground" is a common blessing among the people of this plane.
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Purify the Grave | Art by Drew Baker Theological Underpinnings Faith in the church of Avacyn actually works, but there are no formulas that are consistently successful. Saying the mystical words in the right combination will result in protective magic, but some days it works better than others. And sometimes the evil it's warding against is more powerful than other times. The unreliability of the wards and blessings has led to disagreements over dogma. Although there is still only one church, sects have emerged over disagreements about the right way to do things. The goal of the church is safety, not perfection. Humans want to live in reasonable safety until they die, and then they want to remain peacefully in their graves. Cremation is forbidden because it is believed to result in a restless, angry spirit. In the Church of Avacyn, there is no conception of heaven and hell. The humans of Innistrad do not believe in a heavenly afterlife to reward their past deeds. And their equivalent of hell is a very literal thing: there are actual cracks in the ground where demons dwell. Avacyn is not expected to eliminate evil in the world or to create a perfect life for everyone. Instead, she is the font of safety and protection. She is the authority to whom the faithful must go before something bad happens, to help ward off those evils that have always been a part of the world.
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Concept art by Wayne Reynolds Church and State In Innistrad, church and state are deeply interdependent; there is virtually no separation of the two. Local governments rely on the power of the Church to keep order and maintain public safety. Often the rule of law is adjudicated by the prelature, lawyers and judges ordained by the Church. All education is handled by the Church, although different sects sometimes establish their own schools and training grounds. Except for merchants and artisans, all professions are part of the Church. Even merchants and artisans are governed by fellowships, which must be sanctioned by the Church.
Church Hierarchy Avacyn The archangel Avacyn is the focal point of the human's worship. She is believed to be the source of all protective magic. It is thought that she controls the seasons and is the force that brings an end to the long and bleak Hunter's Moon. Adherents to Avacyn are called Avacynians, and their church is the Church of Avacyn, or the Avacynian Church. Avacyn's Host 35
The archangel Avacyn has a host of angels who serve her. The Flight of Goldnight. These angels are associated with the sun, in contrast with Avacyn herself. Once a year during the Harvest Moon season, the sun will not dip below the horizon for two full days, and during this time the moon isn't visible. Known as the Feast of Goldnight, this is the holiest day for the humans. It is the time when the Avacynian enchantments are strongest throughout Innistrad. The Flight of Alabaster. These angels personify the Blessed Sleep and are associated with the Hunter's Moon season. They provide magic that wards against the desecration of dead humans. The Flight of Herons. These are the angels of birth and purity and are associated with the New Moon season. Their magic is said to ward humans against harm in life (as opposed to the Alabaster host, which wards against harm in death).
Angelic Overseer | Art by Jason Chan Clerical Ranks Lunarch. The head of the church. This is a position elected by the council of bishops. Currently, it is held by a man named Mikaeus, who is searching desperately for the reason behind the decline of the church's power. Bishop. The highest order of clergy. They reside in the cathedral at Thraben as members of the Thraben Council, the governing body of the church. 36
Mayor. Sometimes called the elder, this is the political leader of a parish. He or she has a mix of administrative and religious duties, but the day-to-day administration is left to the priests. Priest. Priests oversee the church and attend to parishioners' needs. They all use mana to weave spells, but with varying degrees of skill. Monk. These wandering priests are the lowest order of clergy. Some have been sanctioned by the church to seek out people living alone in the wilderness. But many are fanatics who are no longer formally part of the hierarchy, having said the wrong thing or enforced the wrong dogma and been cast out.
Concept art by Steven Belledin Cathars Lunar-smiths. Blessed weapons are an important part of Avacynian magic, and these clergy are trained in the art of weapon-making. Certain blessings must be said at certain times during the forging process to make a weapon magically effective against a particular foe. Silversmiths are particularly revered because of the difficulty in imbuing the silver with strong magic, especially anti-lycanthropic magic. Inquisitors. Inquisitors are cathars who can be hired out to come help a parish if they have a particular problem with vampires or devils.
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Parish-blades. Cathars stationed in parishes serve as escorts along roads or protect the cathedral in Thraben. This is an ordained military force that assembles whenever the clergy demands. Runechanters. Runechanters are a specialized branch of the clergy that specializes in engraving blessings on material objects, including weapons. Everything from swords to axes to children's toys has words written on it in an effort to protect its owner. The best runechanters can write so small that hundreds of these blessings can be squeezed into a small space.
Concept art by Wayne Reynolds
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The province of Kessig consists of rolling farmlands surrounded by grasping fingers of dense, dark woods. The woods hide werewolves, ghosts, and other supernatural menaces, while the farmlands support a hardscrabble rural livelihood for Kessig's humans.
Ulvenwald, the Misty Wood Howl-haunted woods of aspen, birch, and maple border the edges of Kessig province. The woods are almost supernaturally dense, filled with dark, sinuous trunks and a constant, hanging mist. The trees have broad leaves in muted reds, golds, and greens, and the forest floor is papered in damp leaves. The Ulvenwald tends to isolate Kessig from the other provinces, as travelers through the woods are subject to attacks by werewolves, hauntings by all manner of primordial spirits, and mysterious disappearances in the mist. At night, the autumnal colors of Ulvenwald turn stark and steely under the silver glow of the moon. The only spots of color that appear are the luminous eyes of animals and the geistfires of shimmering apparitions.
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Concept art by Adam Paquette
Kessiger Culture: Commoners and Rural Laborers For the Kessiger, life is work. Kessigers are farmers, millers, weavers, stonemasons: they are close to the land and must work hard for every meal. This makes them self reliant, pragmatic, and plainspoken. A Kessiger doesn't purchase tools from the general store; he forges them himself. She doesn't learn arithmetic or memorize the names of royal families; she learns harvest dates and the shapes of edible weeds. He doesn't quote great works of literature; he calls it like he sees it, in his own simple words. Kessigers and Avacyn Kessigers are hardheaded and unpretentious people, and the face-to-face realism of the Avacyn religion fits right into their worldview. Kessigers believe in "the worked earth below us, the hand-hewn stone walls around us, and the angel above us." However, they don't trust the shiny boots of big-city cathars, the pristine fingernails of Gavony ghost-hunters, or the out-of-touch decrees handed down from the aristocrats of the High City of Thraben.
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Mulch | Art by Christopher Moeller The Curfew of Silver Ever since Avacyn went missing last year, the church at Thraben has kept the truth of her disappearance from Innistrad's denizens. Kessigers, for their part, know that Avacyn hasn't been making appearances as often these days, and there are doubters and gossips who believe something has happened to her. In the meantime, werewolf attacks have gotten worse and spirit hauntings more frequent. There is a rising sense of panic throughout the countryside. Recently, a new decree came down through the local priests and cathars. As a measure meant to protect citizens against werewolves and other hunters of the night, the law states that commoners of Kessig out after dark must wear an amulet of blessed silver. The amulets were crafted and blessed in the High City of Thraben, and have a potent effect against lycanthropes. But they are in limited supply, and some priests have quietly begun giving them out preferentially, in exchange for favors or promises of protection. Since the Curfew of Silver, relations between Kessig and Gavony have worsened. Some Kessigers have begun to refuse shipments of goods from Gavony and deny service to travelers from that province.
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Concept art by Jung Park Etiquette in a World of Supernaturals Superstition and fear of supernatural creatures has woven its way into etiquette in Kessig. When you meet someone for the first time, it's polite to show that you are wearing an item made from silver (even though silver can easily be counterfeited, and only blessed silver has real protective power). Wreaths of living wood are commonly given as gifts, and are often placed on the door of a home where a child has just been born, a gesture meant to protect the child's life from vampires (even though the wood and its effectiveness die after a few days). It's customary to eat sour root soup before traveling, or to fast for up to a day before a long trip, habits that are thought to make one less appealing to werewolves and other hungry beasts. The Sleep Revel It's traditional in Kessig to celebrate a person's life on the anniversary of his or her death, a joyous ceremony called the Sleep Revel—as long as the deceased has successfully stayed in the ground that long (instead of reemerging as a ghoul, geist, or other supernatural fiend). The continued undisturbed sleep of one's ancestors is seen as almost a greater blessing than the continuing birthdays of one's living relatives.
Supernatural Creatures of Kessig Kessig is home to werewolves, geists, and other supernaturals. Werewolves in Kessig Several howlpacks hunt in Kessig, as do many lone werewolves. The Mondronen howlpack is dominant here during most seasons, but during the New Moon season, the Leeraug howlpack terrorizes Kessiger villages. Smaller, nameless howlpacks also claim dominion of some fingers of the Ulvenwald, waning and waxing with the moon.
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Woodland Sleuth | Art by Tomasz Jedruszek The elder of Gatstaf once famously declared, "In Kessig, the werewolves outnumber the priests." Many lone werewolves live in secret among the Kessigers, too afraid of retribution to reveal themselves but too attached to their families and Kessig roots to leave. Suspicion and speculation run rampant among Kessig's commoners, fueled by frightened exaggeration and misremembered anecdotes. Kessigers hold conflicting views about how to detect, hunt, or cure werewolves, how many exist, what keeps them at bay, and what it all means for humanity.
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Prey Upon | Art by Dave Kendall Geists in Kessig Ghostly apparitions are second only to werewolves in terms of danger to the Kessigers, and geists may cause even greater psychological damage. The geists in Kessig are wild spirits of nature, prone to taunt or terrorize civilized life. They can be cold-burning geistflames made of surreal fire, mischievous poltergeists that shove at the physical world through the power of their outrage, or blood mists that envelop and devour the living. They can be beautiful nature spirits tressed in vine and thorn, beast-possessing geists that shimmer through the mouths and eyes of feral animals, or vindictive crop-spoilers that vex farmers and druids alike. Other Supernaturals in Kessig Kessig is so ravaged by werewolves that many other supernaturals have been squeezed out, although rare individuals occasionally appear. Kessig has experienced few devils or demons, but a smoking fissure called Devils' Breach lies in the tall stone hills at the edge of the province, and threatens to boil over with demonic activity soon. Alchemically created zombies (skaabs) have become a kind of symbol of the evils of the big city; Kessigers often equate necromantic alchemy with black market trade, prostitution, religious heresy, and murderous conspiracy. The average Kessiger has a double-edged opinion of vampires. In public the vampire families are spoken of as the height of urbane evil, but in private, Kessigers' salacious whispers betray fascination with vampires' refinement and celebrity. Few actual encounters with vampires have 44
occurred in Kessig to date, so word spreads quickly whenever someone comes along the Hairpin Road in an elegant, shaded coach.
Locations in Kessig
Concept art by Daarken The Breakneck Ride There are a few main paths that lead into Kessig from the other provinces. Each crossway is fraught with peril, leading travelers through the Ulvenwald and over treacherous slopes, so those who make the journey do so at as brisk a pace as possible. Kessigers sometimes collectively refer to these paths as the "Breakneck Ride."
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Concept art by Vincent Proce Lambholt, the Threatened Pasture Lambholt is a farming village at the center of miles of sheep, goat, and cattle pasture. The pastures near the town were once mingled with woods—dense arms of forest that once joined the Ulvenwald—but the Kessigers here chopped down all but a few trees to clear room for their farms. It's thought that wild essences resent the destruction of their forests, for werewolves continually terrorize the livestock and humans of Lambholt. The villagers of Lambholt celebrate a harvest festival at the rise of the red moon, working late into the night by the light of bonfires, and cooking great feasts of fresh meat and vegetables. Lately, as the power of Lambholt's protective shrines has waned and werewolf attacks have become more frequent, the tenor of the harvest festival has changed. Now the highlight of the festival is a great hunter's contest, in which warriors and priestly champions go on hunts through the surrounding Ulvenwald, trying to slay the most powerful supernatural creature. Many never return.
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Plains | Art by Eytan Zana Hollowhenge, the Lost Capital A ruin of wood and brick now stands where Kessig's county seat stood. Only a year ago it was a thriving small town of manor houses called Avabruck, and you can still find wooden signs among the splintered wood and broken gates that say "Avabruck" in cheery paint. But a new name has caught on—a vulgar name, a commoners' name: Hollowhenge. One year ago, after the protective power of Avacynian magic began to wane, the wards around Avabruck's central cathedral, the Temple of Saint Raban, failed. It took only two nights for the werewolves to discover this breach in protection. The howlpack known as Mondronen ripped through the town, slaughtering any in their path, charging straight for the Temple. There they took up siege, tearing down the cathedral and feasting on those who attempted to attack them. City magistrates gave the order to evacuate, but communications became chaotic, and many residents opted to ensconce themselves in their homes.
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Howlpack Alpha | Art by Svetlin Velinov Seven days into the Mondronen occupation, the werewolf savages enacted some unknown type of blood ritual. A mystical, concussive force leveled the city from the center out, flattening most of the structures in town and killing hundreds. Only the outermost ring of Avabruck's buildings remained, forming a circular "henge" around the devastation within. Rescue attempts met with further werewolf attacks. As time went on, the city was abandoned, even by the howlpack. Now only wild, terrified ghosts and the occasional werewolf scavenger scuffle among the ruins. It's said that all who were killed in the cathedral-shattering blast still linger inside the walls of Hollowhenge, trying in vain to reconstruct their homes or recover their lost loved ones. Some spirits are deeply angry and ferocious wights, dangerous to all who seek within. Despite the danger, travelers often pass near to Hollowhenge, as the former county seat lies at the crossroads of two major Kessig thoroughfares. Devils' Breach Far from the towns, off the wagon-beaten paths, through vaults of primeval forest, a fissure known as Devils' Breach has opened in the earth. Smoke and heat waft from the chasm, obscuring its depths, and eerie voices mutter and cackle. Trappers claim to have seen literal devils near there, but so far, the influence of demonic forces has not been strongly felt in Kessig.
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Concept art by Steven Belledin
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The werewolf is a creature of duality, forever dragged between two worlds: it is both monster and man, nature and civilization, rational thought and raw savagery.
Curse of the Nightly Hunt | Art by Daarken
Killer or Victim: Perspectives on the Lycanthrope 50
Some werewolves see themselves as victims cursed with the souls of untamable killers. Others see themselves as glorious scions of nature trapped inside a cage of civilized lies. Though most of Innistrad society focuses on the mass-murdering horrors of the werewolf's beast form, the lycanthrope can be seen as a tragic figure with an identity chained to the treacherous moon or an avatar of nature's inherent wildness.
Concept art by Steve Prescott
Human Form: A Tenuous Hold on Civility A person afflicted with lycanthropy is forever in doubt of his or her own urges and instincts. In human form, a werewolf feels the pull of the wolf's essence within even while trying to integrate 51
into polite society. A lycanthrope can feel the war of emotions in his or her heart, and as the moon grows full, the influences of conscience, religion, and personal restraint do less and less. The full moon makes the change inevitable, but in fact, any strong emotion or traumatic experience can trigger a lycanthropic crisis and allow the transformation to occur.
Gatstaf Shepherd | Art by Mark Evans
Beast Form: The Natural Killing Machine Werewolves in canid form are beings of unparalleled savagery and strength. Their bodies are perfectly engineered for slaughter, with jaws capable of snapping bone and claws sharp enough to rip the entrails from a beast many times their size. Their minds are explosions of instinct and adrenaline, fed supernatural awareness from their heightened senses yet cognitively blind to almost everything but the kill. They can walk upright for manual dexterity or can lope on four limbs for speed. Their howl is said to release the wolf's spirit within, a harrowing sound that fogs the air and chills the night. Werewolves in beast form cannot speak human languages, but seem to be able to communicate with each other on matters of hunting, dominance, and social hierarchy, as canines do in the wild.
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Gatstaf Howler | Art by Mark Evans
The Transformation The transformation process is harrowing for the lycanthrope and incredibly disturbing to any witnesses. The eyes change first, the whites darkening and the iris filling with color. The claws go next; the hands elongate, knifelike claws extend from the fingertips, and the thumb forms a claw back near the wrist. The muzzle thrusts forward out of the human's skull, and the teeth jut through the gums in sharp points. Bones crack as they rearrange. Marrow spills into the bloodstream as ribs and skull fracture and telescope. Thick, wiry fur pushes through the skin, often pushing out normal human hair. The tailbone elongates and becomes a shaggy wolf's tail. Metabolism speeds up, increasing blood flow, oxygen flow, and glandular production, creating cravings for protein and fat. Any clothing that was worn at the time of the change is generally torn to shreds and falls away. If a werewolf dies in beast form, it changes back to human form, a process called death reversion.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott
Aftermath A werewolf that has just changed back to human form is usually naked, disoriented, and covered in the debris, wounds, and bloodstains of the previous night's hunt. He or she has flashes of memories left over from canid form, often experienced with involuntary heart spasms and jolts of adrenaline, not unlike the experience of panic attacks. The days following a transformation are often filled with shame, guilt, and depression—and repression, as the lycanthrope struggles to feign normality, construct alibis, and hide evidence of his or her savage crimes.
Repentants vs. Wantons: Living with the Curse 54
After reverting to humanoid form, most werewolves have partial memories of their time in canid form, and they clearly see the aftereffects of the destruction they've caused. This can send lycanthropes into the throes of depression, shame, or even hostility against others. A minority of lycanthropes actually embrace their werewolf nature, however, and actively seek to return to their canid state. Werewolves that revile their lycanthropy are called repentants; the few who embrace the wild are called wantons. While in canid form, however, all werewolves are savage beasts, all traces of their humanity gone.
Ulvenwald Primordials | Art by Dan Scott
Religion: Warding Against the Change Humans destroy known werewolves when they can; all lycanthropes are seen as abominations and mass murderers. But werewolves are dangerous creatures to face head-on, so wide-scale magical prevention is often employed to curb lycanthropy passively. Regular and repeated application of Avacynian magic can help prevent the change to canid form. Roadside shrines, prayer, angelic rites, the blessing of accomplished clerics, and the presence of holy symbols all help reinforce the werewolf's humanity, helping her hold on to her human form. Repentant werewolves often stay within the city limits, around their fellow man and the influence of religion, whereas wantons often venture into the wilderness, far from the wards and priests that keep their wolf essence in check. The full moon, however can overcome even powerful religious precautions. In addition, the power of angelic magic has waned in recent times, and werewolf transformations have become more common and harder to predict. 55
Ancient Grudge | Art by Ryan Yee
Lycanthropes and the Moon There's no doubt that the moon holds sway over werewolves. As the moon's phases change, so changes the power of lycanthropy over the werewolf. As the full moon approaches, the effectiveness of divine magic becomes dampened, and werewolves change more readily. Blessed silver Werewolves in canid form are supernaturally strong and tough, and since the weakening of Avacynian magic, few protection spells have been able to harm them or keep them at bay. But werewolves have a weakness: pure silver that has been ritually blessed by a powerful cleric of Avacyn can cause them great agony. According to alchemists, silver's purity of material readily absorbs the divine magic. Arrowheads, spearpoints, and other weapons made from blessed silver can be powerful instruments for fighting werewolves.
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Full Moon's Rise | Art by Terese Nielsen Silver and the Moon Mages have presumed a relationship between the moon and the metal silver for centuries, but the nature of that relationship remains a mystery. The respected astronomancer Jenrik once posited that Innistrad's moon is actually a vast desert composed of tiny grains of silver. He believed that any silver found on Innistrad actually originated from the moon's silver desert, and that terrestrial silver maintains a relationship with the moon's power. Why the moon seems to empower werewolves while silver harms them is not well understood.
The Cause and Nature of Lycanthropy There are many theories of how lycanthropy is caused or spread. Most sects of the Church of Avacyn hold that lycanthropy is a kind of demonic possession, but ritual exorcisms have not successfully purged the affliction. Most afflicted humans appear to become werewolves at some point in their lives rather than being born so, although there are sporadic (and chilling) tales of child werewolves in remote areas. Many alchemists and wolfhunters believe that werewolves are sterile, and only reproduce by cursing humans with lycanthropy; however, many commoners fear that they might be able to interbreed with humans or give birth to their own kind.
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Furor of the Bitten | Art by Randy Gallegos The True Cause Lycanthropy is a supernatural curse that causes the victim's spiritual essence to become mingled with the wild essence of nature, symbolized by the wolf. The lycanthrope in effect has two souls, or one split soul. These two essences constantly battle for control within the victim. When the wild wolf-essence triumphs, the werewolf change occurs. This may explain why werewolves hunt humans so often; the wolf-essence desires to destroy the human side and triumph over humanity, and does so symbolically by brutally slaying humans.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott Transmitting the Curse: The Call and the First Hunt The curse of lycanthropy overtakes a person over a period of one night. One or more werewolves howl in the night, calling out to the victim. Soon after, the victim finds himself in the wilderness, under the silvery moon, surrounded by eyes glowing in the night. The victim's will is compromised already, the wild essence entering him and doing battle with his human conscience. The victim and the werewolves crash through the woods together, and over the course of the night, they hunt and kill their prey—usually woodland game, but other humans or even another lycanthrope is not unheard of. The called victim begins to express wolf characteristics throughout the night, and as he sinks his teeth into bloody flesh, the curse perceptibly takes hold, and he transforms fully into canid form for the first time. There is a bone-chilling chorus of howls, and the First Hunt is complete. Later, the new lycanthrope usually staggers back into civilization, half-naked, barely recognizable through the blood and offal and wilderness debris, and nearly mad from fear and shameful memories. Thereafter, the werewolf must remain vigilant with prayer and caution, lest the wolf essence manifest again. Detection Werewolves in either form seem to be able to tell a human-form lycanthrope by smell. Indeed, humans who are mysteriously spared during werewolf rampages are often suspected of being werewolves themselves. No Known Cure No known remedy, blessing, or ritual has effectively purged the curse of lycanthropy. The closest anyone ever came was alchemist Theodora Glick, who was brought in to inspect Guthril, a werewolf captured by the local constabulary. Through a complex ceremony involving mystic circles inlaid with the wolfsbane plant, a blanket woven with blessed silver thread, and a lightning storm, Glick managed to force Guthril to revert to human form and stay that way through three lunar cycles. Unfortunately, the ritual was only temporary, and Guthril re-emerged stronger than ever. He utterly destroyed Glick's laboratory in Gavony and fled into the night.
Howlpacks Werewolves are often lone hunters, stalking and killing humans as singular monsters in urban settings. But some werewolves form loose, evolving social groups out in the wild called howlpacks. The populations of howlpacks wax and wane like the moon, gaining and losing members as individual lycanthropes enter or leave their canid state. Some werewolves seem to be continually drawn back to their howlpack, returning to it time after time as soon as they drop their human guise and reenter the wild. Howlpacks can be tiny hunting parties of just a few werewolves, or can be massive hordes of over a hundred. A howlpack is often led by a single alpha (male or female) that dominates the pack. Alphas must often defend their power by defeating challengers in combat. 60
Three of the larger, more stable howlpacks are the Krallenhorde, the Mondronen, and the Leeraug. The Krallenhorde: Innistrad's Largest Howlpack When an average Innistrad human thinks of a werewolf pack, he or she thinks of the Krallenhorde. The Krallenhorde has existed in some form for decades, composed of anywhere from fifty to over two hundred werewolves depending on the availability of prey and the phase of the moon. The most heterogeneous of howlpacks, Krallenhorde includes a mix of repentant and wanton werewolves, and has drawn members from all provinces of Innistrad. The alpha of Krallenhorde is currently the werewolf Ulrich, a cunning and perceptive wanton who remains in the wild and runs with the howlpack even when he reverts to human form.
Wildblood Pack | Art by Greg Staples Mondronen: Carnal Ritualists The Mondronen howlpack is composed of around sixty werewolves who are said to control a dark, bloody magic of nature. Their alpha Tovolar is a mute, silver-furred werewolf who leads his pack on revels of carnage and howling songs, and who never seems to revert to human form. The Mondronen wolves historically stayed far from centers of civilization, only preying on farmlands, rural communities, and remote monasteries. But as Avacyn's protective wards have diminished in strength, it's said that the Mondronen territory has grown closer to cities, and that their dark magics may soon spill over into genteel life. 61
Merciless Predator | Art by Michael C. Hayes Leeraug: Killers of the Absent Moon Few know of the Leeraug, a relatively small and tight-knit pack of Innistrad's most vicious werewolf predators, but almost all have heard tales of their destruction. The Leeraug are unique in that they hunt under the black night of the new moon, rather than transforming when the moon is full. They favor the flesh and entrails of children, and often steal into homes and orphanages through chimneys or windows left ajar. The Leeraug alpha is Skaharra, a black-furred she-wolf noted for her tendency to kill along bloodlines, murdering entire families in a single night while sparing unrelated farmhands and servants.
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Innistrad denizens interested in commerce are attracted to Nephalia, which makes for an interesting mix of occupations and races in the province. Nephalia has numerous towns in which order is maintained by Avacynian clergy and their representatives. It has a "stock" of humans to be fed upon, thus the Stromkirk line is well represented here. It has busy trade routes with caravans of merchants and townsfolk milling between the cities for the Krallenhorde to prey on. And it has the ever-present Nebelgast, the so-called "Breath of the Sleepless," that rolls in and out with the tide, bringing with it a host of geists.
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Concept art by Daarken and Steve Prescott In Nephalia, skaberen (creators of skaabs, the alchemically vivified constructions of flesh) and ghoulcallers (practitioners of necromancy) alike can find out-of-the-way places in which to practice and further their art with little or no interference from suspicious townsfolk or Avacynian authority. Both must remain highly secretive, as their trade is still feared within the general human populace, but the Stromkirk vampires and Nephalia's merchants see money to be made, so their arcane trinkets and dark services are tolerated as long as they remain only rumors at the local taverns. The merchants, known as the metzalar, are the glue that binds Nephalia together. They keep every separate party joined together by the exchange of goods and services and, of course, coin.
Nearly Treeless Nephalia has always been lightly forested, but in the last century its few trees have been cut down or destroyed due to the vampires' fear of them being turned on them as stakes and other weapons. Runo, progenitor of the Stromkirk line, was crafty in his removal of the woodlands. Early on, using his glamers and sizeable fortune, he turned the human populace into artisans, supporting their efforts in building fine cities, proud ships, and a vigorous, provincial commerce—all based around wood. Prosperous and plentiful humans are good business for the Stromkirk, so Runo became a kind of secret Nephalian patron, supporting master craftsmen and commissioning buildings, towers, and ships, while funding any vampire-friendly efforts by 64
alchemists and magisters. Out of this, Nephalia has become widely known for its masterful crafting and artistry with wood. Nephalian buildings, ships, chapels, and houses all bear a distinct and inspired art that sets it apart from the other provinces.
Island | Art by Adam Paquette
Waters This province is defined by water—by its access to the ocean (the easiest of any province), by its many rivers that lead deep inland, and by its deltas, marshes, and lakes. Water enables commerce here but also gives Nephalia a silvery, mystical character; the clouds and the moon seem to be both above and below in most places. Silver Beach Nephalia's coastline consists of the Silver Beach, which stretches countless miles, interrupted by rocks, sea caves, and occasional large promontories. The sands of the beach are rich in granular silver, giving them an unearthly shimmer that dazzles visitors from other provinces. This is no vacation spot, however. Threats are far too numerous, and the ocean too dangerous, to invite beachcombers. Only experienced Nephalian sailors know the spells and the land well enough to venture out into the sea and return with fish, trade goods, or treasure.
Port Towns of Nephalia 65
Nephalia has three main port towns along the coast: Havengul, Drunau, and Selhoff. Havengul The largest of the three cities, Havengul, stands at the mouth of the Silburlind River. The population consists of human craftworkers, shipbuilders, smiths, and traders. The Avacynian church has a strong presence here to take part in the burgeoning trade and marketplace, but many Nephalians are wary of the priesthood and watch them like hawks. As long as the church brings trade to and from Thraben, they are given a pass from the key players in Nephalia.
Concept art by Adam Paquette Elgaud Grounds. A contingent of the Avacyn Church long ago established a small fort here known as the Elgaud Grounds where new cathars are trained to spread the word of Avacyn and protect the people. Once trained, these graduates are sent out in small groups (of two or three) to neighboring towns to establish an outpost. These are known as Arms of Avacyn, and they attempt to strengthen trust in the Church under the offer of protection and security. Many townsfolk are wary or outright untrusting of these "Arms" and would rather protect themselves with their own blood, sweat, traditional folklore, and superstitions.
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Corpse Trade. Even with the presence of the Cathars, there is money to be made in corpses. Havengul, having the largest human population, is rife with bodysnatchers who disinter corpses and then shuttle them off using the network of underground passageways, known as the Erdwal, for high-paying ghoulcallers or skaberen.
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Ludevic. The most influential of Nephalia's merchants is Ludevic of Ulm, a wheezing and reclusive alchemist. Some say that Ludevic's consumption of potions and inhalation of toxic vapors has left him no choice but to abandon his experiments, leaving him to devote his sizeable intellect to the problem of making himself and his partners filthy rich. Others gossip that Ludevic still dabbles in the alchemical arts.
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Drunau Drunau is where the Stromkirk vampires under their progenitor, Runo, have established their ancestral manor and their center of commerce outside of Stensia. If it is blood you want, Drunau is the place to get it. Humans who possess especially delicious blood are treated like the most precious livestock, knowing a life of pampered bondage but being protected from all the other dangers of Innistrad. All this takes place within the elegant ballrooms and mahogany studies of Stromkirk manors. In Nephalia, when vampires must walk among humans, they use glamers to disguise themselves so as not to drive away their human neighbors. Occasionally, a newly sired vampire leaves the family fold of civilized decorum and goes on a blood-soaked frenzy of feeding. Often the Stromkirk deal with this as swiftly and as quietly as possible, especially if the vampire is a rogue from outside of the bloodline. The Fauchard. These warriors are not cathars, but are a distinct order of human vampire hunters. Some have come to Drunau especially to destroy the undead and possibly Runo himself. They are a secretive group that recognizes one another through an elaborate, symbolic code, either worn, written, or gestured. Runo knows of them and tolerates them to some degree, as the Fauchard destroy the vampires whom the Stromkirk consider to be most crass and distasteful. That said, the Stromkirk vampires will relentlessly pursue and destroy any Fauchard who becomes known to them. 69
Merchants within Drunau. The metzalar here deal in the usual fare of ships, handcrafted goods, wares from other provinces (such as holy items from Thraben), and weapons.
Concept art by Adam Paquette Selhoff The foggy, quiet port of Selhoff is where the Nebelgast, the spirit-mist, is most active. The mist almost perpetually covers the town and the nearby Morkrut Swamp. Because of the spirit activity here, it has repelled some humans, but it has attracted others—namely the skaberen and alchemists who experiment with geist energy. The elite of Selhoff dwell within towers and spires that set this town apart from others of Nephalia, which is why the phrase "the spires of Selhoff" is often used when Nephalians talk of their southernmost town. The Tide and the Nebelgast. Here in Selhoff and all along the Nephalian coastline, spirits come and go with the tide, but that isn't to say that when the tide is out, spirits are absent—there are just far fewer. Because the tide is connected to the moon, the pull of the moon brings the spirits into the world of the living to haunt. The Nebelgast consists mainly of the marei (drowned sailors and shipwreck victims) and the niblis (frost phantoms), but there are a host of other ghosts and spirits that are pulled by the moon.
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The River Ospid and the Morkrut. Selhoff lies on a small river delta where the river Ospid empties out into the Bay of Vustrow. This creates a sizeable marsh known as the Morkrut. Few set foot within the Morkrut other than ghoulcallers, and even they can become lost in its mists. The Morkrut has been a dumping place for murder victims and unclaimed bodies for which no one will pay for proper burial. Because of this, the Morkrut is filled with banshees and other malevolent geists.
The Erdwal Colloquially known as "The Ditch," the network of underground passageways and crevasses called the Erdwal originated as trenches created by Nephalians in each of the major cities of Havengul, Drunau, and Selhoff for resisting zombie and werewolf attacks. Over the years, the trenches between the three cities were connected into a network of defensible walkways for transporting goods and continuing trade even while wandering zombie hordes, demonic fiends, hungry geists, or the Krallenhorde wander about looking for victims. Major merchants of Nephalia have paid special attention to the uses of the Erdwal and have put serious resources into making it a legitimate artery of trade, thus it has developed a bustling underground economy of its own dealing in all manner of grey- and black-market goods: human blood, assassinations, counterfeit silver, necromancy, curses, and bloodsport.
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Concept art by Adam Paquette Near the larger towns, the Erdwal becomes a trench marketplace of colorful rogues, seedy merchants, filthy sailors and gaunt strangers, all doing business in dark alleyways and roughly hewn tunnels branching off the main trench. Along the clandestine nooks, the skaberen and ghoulcallers ply their trade and human blood is bought and sold by the flagon. Flesh golems are created and experiments in transmuting base metals into pure silver are carried out. Skaberen stitch together hideous monstrosities, some of which get loose and cause havoc throughout the Ditch. As long as these dark dealings do not make it above ground level, the Church of Avacyn and its cathars do not intervene. Nephalia is a province of "understandings," and this is one of those uneasy truces that, if maintained, benefits all parties concerned.
Jenrik's Tower Along a particularly bare stretch of the Silver Beach looms a tall tower. The mortar has been mixed with sand from the Silver Beach, making it glitter in the moonlight. Within the tower, Jenrik, the astronomer, mysteriously conducts his work studying the stars, eschewing all contact with the outside world. He is making observations of the moon, charting its path across the heavens with excruciating detail. Wards keep away werewolves, and the Stromkirk actually fear his knowledge, for anyone with such a vast understanding of the moon is holding great power indeed. Some say he is predicting the future of Innistrad, or that he is a spirit trying to get home. Others say he is an angel attempting to restore Avacyn, or that he is a demon plotting to destroy the world.
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Two distinct kinds of corporeal undead creatures plague Innistrad. The first are ghouls, sometimes called "the unhallowed," which are necromantically animated corpses. The second are the skaab, beings alchemically constructed from the dead.
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The Unhallowed Necromantically animated zombies are more commonly called ghouls or "unhallowed" on Innistrad, because they're drawn forth from unhallowed graves. One of the duties of Avacynian clergy is blessing the final resting places of the dead to try to ensure "the Blessed Sleep." Now that Avacyn is no longer present, the dead can be more easily stirred. Ghoulcallers Necromancers on Innistrad are usually referred to as ghoulcallers, the black-mana mages that call forth the dead from graveyards, or "grafs." There are several varieties of graf, each of which draws forth a unique mix of the walking dead. Fengraf. A fengraf is one of the many flooded lowland graveyards. These sites were once hallowed ground, but have remained untended for many years. Fengraf ghouls are usually smiths, cobblers, brothel workers and other common and poor folk.
Seagraf. A seagraf is a "fisherman's graveyard." Much like minor nobles, fishermen are often buried with their most prized possessions, such as nets, long harpoons, and large hooks for getting hold of a slippery catch. Seagraf unhallowed have not completely forgotten their trade even in death, and they will pursue victims using the tools and deftness they had in life. 74
Diregraf. A diregraf is the site of a particularly gruesome battle. Unhallowed awakened from a diregraf carry the armor, weapons, and fatal wounds from their last bloody battle. Diregraf ghouls carry this lust for an unfinished battle within their fogged minds, and they often attempt to fall into military formations as they were trained to do in life.
Once the dead have risen, the ghoulcaller then supplants all other addled thoughts of the dead with one single driving purpose in their minds. The near-mindless ghouls will call on what skills they have left to carry out the task, and the results are a grotesque parody of their lives. Blacksmiths attempt to "reforge" their opponents, fallen warriors emit rasping pseudo-cries, and undead murderers reawaken their taste for killing. Occasionally, fallen mages even show a limited ability to weave spells, but this often results in some aberration of the spell's original purpose.
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The Skaab Necro-alchemy is much more of an art than ghoulcalling. One who practices the art of creating skaabs is called a skaberen. The true goal of the skaberen is to create life, an undertaking which usually produces malformed "offspring" rather than true life.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott There are four steps to producing a skaab.
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1. Corpus Creare, also known as "corpse cobbling," is the collecting of various anatomical parts from corpses from which the skaab will be constructed. This is usually performed by paid grave robbers or homunculi under the skaberen's charge. In some cases, even the limbs of beasts are used for the construct; if a human arm is not available, a horse's leg can suffice. 2. Patin Ligitus, or rune-bonds, are the "binding plates" used to join various anatomical features together. These are plates of copper and/or brass, with silver-inlaid runes scribed on them. They provide an arcane bridge of sorts between disparate parts gathered by corpse-cobbling. 3. Viscus Vitae, or vital fluid, is the key to the skaberen's art. Viscus vitae is created by mixing a large quantity of lamp oil with the slightest pinch of the dried blood of an angel. Once a perfect mixture of viscus vitae is created, any blood remaining in the corpse is replaced with vital oil, via transfusion. As a result, skaab are often highly flammable. 4. Vox Quietus, translated as "the silent word," is the final step in creating a skaab. The skaberen whispers a fairly lengthy incantation over the corpse which awakens the creature, but in a much calmer manner that that which is used by ghoulcallers. Once awakened, the skaab is in a calm, "tabula rasa" state, which allows the alchemist to begin the long task of re-educating the creature. In the eyes of a skaberen, the technique used by ghoulcallers is crude, heretical, and provides unacceptable results.
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Concept art by Richard Whitters and Steve Belledin Skaberen usually ply their trade in remote and inhospitable places, since they are viewed as blasphemers by commoners and clergy. Skaberen often become obsessed hermits who surround themselves with ancient scrolls and books, phials of rare noxious liquids, glass jars full of pickled organs, anatomical charts for both human and beast, rune-engraved skeletal remains, and small anvils and hammers for inscribing runes on brass and copper plates.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott
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Geists Innistrad is a world filled with the ghosts of the human dead. These spirits, called geists, take many forms. Some are protective spirits of ancestors. Others are vengeful creatures bent on resolving conflicts they couldn't resolve in life. Malevolent and Benevolent Geists have always been a presence on Innistrad, but before Avacyn, all such spirits were malevolent, manifesting on the plane only because of a grudge or regret powerful enough to disturb the Blessed Sleep of the body to which they were connected. In Avacyn's absence, the malevolent spirits were counterbalanced by the appearance of many benevolent and neutral geists, from nurturing apparitions of family members who have passed on to inscrutable ghosts who seem to want to continue whatever duty they had in life.
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Concept art by Richard Whitters Avacyn as Psychopomp This new balance in the spirit realm resulted from Avacyn's function as psychopomp for the dead; her existence shepherded the souls of the departed back into the plane's Æthereal space. This metaphysical guidance from Avacyn enabled geists to elect to turn away from reunion with the plane's essence—a phenomenon that previously occurred only when a geist's anguish or regret overcame the pull toward the Æther.
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Concept art by Daarken Material and Immaterial Geists exist in the space between the material and Æthereal realms, so to varying degrees they possess qualities of both worlds. Thus some are able to walk through walls and then slash open throats. Others use the beliefs of the living against them; victims believe in the spirit so completely that they harm themselves with the power of their own mind. Some use fear to literally scare the victim to death. Some spirits use cold to freeze opponents or reduce their temperatures down to hypothermic levels when humans become lost on the moors or wander too far into the bogs. Other, more powerful ghosts use their force of will or emotion to condense matter (called ectoplasm) around their hands or weapons for a split second when they attack. Some use psychokinetic power to wrap objects around them (e.g., brambles, chains, spikes, glass, etc.), and then wield them against their foes.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott Faith's Power Even in Avacyn's absence, divine magic is not impotent. With a combination of powerful faith and mana, clergy can banish geists in various ways, from dispersal of the geist's essence to functioning as a surrogate psychopomp to guide the geist toward its rest in the Æther. White-Aligned Geists Many white-aligned geists are harmless or even protective spirits of dead family and friends who haunt the living out of a sense of duty, fealty, responsibility, or love. Malevolent white-aligned geists do exist, however, and are usually twisted by guilt, feelings of failure, or unrighted wrongs. Some are ghosts of fallen soldiers that still patrol the moors, looking for their vanquishers.
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Blue-Aligned Geists Some geists are projections of the animating principles of the mind. Vicious or obsessive thinking as well as collective human memories come to life by attracting enough latent aether around them to become autonomous entities. They carry on as obsessive ghosts—repeated knocking, patterning, arranging, stacking, marking, etc. They can also possess one's mind and cause repetitive movements, speech, epilepsy, obsessive behavior, schizophrenia, and other such maladies of the mind. These are also the geists most drawn to the water, storms, frost, and mist— even the mist of the breath.
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Black-Aligned Geists These geists eternally hunger for life, power, or the settling of a wicked grudge. These are spirits that must be appeased by offerings of food, goods, and even blood. If not appeased, these geists can be responsible for disease, accidents and death. Whereas geists associated with other colors of mana might be benevolent or neutral, black-aligned geists are almost always dangerous and malevolent.
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Red-Aligned Geists These spirits have attached themselves to rampant emotions, unfulfilled desires, and thirsts for revenge that were frustrated during life. They can manifest as blood dripping from statues, whirls of dust on roads, minor rockslides on hillocks, cliffs, and mountainsides, and, in the case of possession, as sudden mania or murderous rage. The ghosts of the unavenged are some of the most dangerous geists on Innistrad, sometimes appearing as living fire or as "blood mist" entities that engulf a hapless victim and inflict cuts and welts that are slow to heal.
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Green-Aligned Geists Some geists long to be reconnected with the nature they revered in life. Energies within the woods that have been called into being by druids or other nature-mages take on form by entwining roots and brambles around their Æthereal bodies. Some of these spirits attach themselves to animals, plants and landforms, imbuing them with special power or mutating them into strange, otherworldly entities. If the spirits that inhabit landforms are not appeased, it can often result in blight, crop failure, and famine.
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The province of Stensia is the darkest both literally and figuratively on Innistrad, but also the most dramatic, the most storied, and the most unexplored. Its valleys range from pastoral (albeit dusky) range-lands to black bogs into which dead conifers slowly sink. Its black-pine-forested midlands, riddled with wisps of thick fog, show colors from deep green to purple to orange-grey. Its far-flung indigo and black mountains disappear into the clouds, and humans can only imagine what dwells among the shrouded peaks. The sun never quite seems to break through the oddly colored clouds in Stensia. The ruling power of Stensia, the vampire bloodlines, prefer it that way. Innistrad's moon is more seldom fully seen here, and the Z-shaped mountain range that dominates the province, the Geier Reach, separates the valleys from each other, making them easier to monitor and control. The longsuffering humans of Stensia, for their part, hold an illogical loyalty to their homeland. Truth be told, most have little choice; they are trapped between the province's narrow mountain passes and bound to their time-honored lives of herding and gathering.
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Concept art by Vincent Proce and James Paick
Geier Reach The mountain range that dominates Stensia, the Geier Reach, defines it utterly. This chain grows steadily higher in elevation as it moves from the borders with Gavony and Kessig toward the province's outer edge. Inland, the mountain peaks are forested, whereas in the chain's middle the tree line gives way to bare rock, and at its verge, the peaks disappear into the clouds. The highlands are dotted with caves and crevasses where vultures, bats, and other, larger creatures reign.
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Mountain passes. The passes through Geier Reach are few and precious; all travel into or out of the province must use them.
Ziel Pass. Only one pass crosses the final zig-zag of the Geier. Ziel Pass is the only way to reach the sea from Stensia's inland valleys. The cliffs at the end of Ziel Pass descend for 1,600 feet, and the only way to get to the churning waters is to jump... or to trek by foot or mule down a treacherous path of endless switchbacks plagued by the geists of those who have died trying to do the same. Hofsaddel and Needle's Eye. These two passes connect the inland valleys to the outland ones. Hofsaddel is a wide and well-trodden pass, and one that the vampires leave alone. The reason: human interaction is good for the long term, as long as it's among Stensians. Needle's Eye, however, is a narrow, treacherous, and deadly path because of the presence of vengeful geists on the route as well as its proximity to Ashmouth and its devils. Humans will take the Needle's Eye path only in the event of emergencies in the neighboring valleys. Getander Pass and Kruin Pass. Two passes lead from the adjacent provinces into Stensia. The pass from Kessig is Getander, a long, zig-zagging route watched by the rapacious Falkenrath vampires. Gavony must use the Kruin Pass, which is just as long, but in vertical elevation rather than horizontal turns, and is lackadaisically watched by the well-fed Markov vampires.
Mountain | Art by James Paick
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Stensia's valleys. The shape of the Geier Reach creates two long valleys in the provinces, and foothills separate those valleys into numerous, isolated segments.
Outland valleys. The outer valley is divided into eight pieces by terrain, three of which are noteworthy: the human village of Shadowgrange, the abandoned Maurer Estate, and the human rancher community of Lammas. Shadowgrange and Lammas are strange places populated by humans that are fiercely passionate about their lifestyles but also paranoid and fearful. Few other humans of Innistrad ever see these distant places. Inland valleys. The inland stretch houses two significant human communities with a prominent vampire holding: Silbern, a tiny stone watchtower manned by fatalistic cathars and surrounded by several family farms, Wollebank, a large village of shepherds and their families, and Markov Manor, a hilltop estate that towers over both. Markov Manor is the home of Edgar Markov, grandfather of Sorin Markov.
Concept art by James Paick The Farbogs. Twin bogs, one in the inland valley and one in the outland, blanket the center of Stensia like two puddles of ink. Both were once groves of pines, but those trees now sink into the peat muck at odd angles, creating a tangle of dead trunks. The peripheries of both bogs are home to ancient grafs, and as the graves dissolve into the slime, geists proliferate. A few ghouls wander here as well, most of them products of the young, self-taught ghoulcaller Rinelda Smit, an irresponsible teenager trying to make her mark on Stensia by creating her own force of beings to defend against vampire attacks. 93
Swamp | Art by James Paick Ashmouth. In the middle of the Geier, in between the Hofsaddel and Needle's Eye passes and cloaked by forest, lies Ashmouth, a huge chasm deep enough to glow with magma from below. Ash-ridden smog rises from it, mixing with the dark clouds above. Ashmouth is an infernal gateway, and perhaps the most important one. The demon Shilgengar emerged from this pit, which also spews out bands of devils according to some eldritch pattern only the demons understand.
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Into the Maw of Hell | Art by Raymond Swanland Somberwald. Despite its darkness, Stensia still holds places of beauty. Between its contested valleys and savage peaks, the Geier is forested with a winding, melancholy, drooping pine wilderness. These woods are home to some of Innistrad's most noble and pristine creatures: bears, stags, and other things that have fled here over the centuries for safety and seclusion. Many of these creatures were once found in Kessig, but the spread of hunters, trappers, and werewolves there have driven them here, where they're safe in the shadow of the vampires.
Human Life and Culture Sheep and shepherding. Because not many crops will grow in Stensia's rocky soul and dim light, humans are reliant on sheep for wool, leather, milk, and meat. Shepherding traditions are ancient here, and Stensian wool is considered the finest in the world. Vampire dominance has prevented werewolves from gaining a foothold in the province, so the flocks are safer from predators than they would be elsewhere. In Stensia, humans depend on sheep and vampires depend on humans—an irony not lost on the vampires. Stoicism. Stensia's humans are not an expressive or demonstrative bunch. Countless generations of hardship and proximity to the vampire strongholds—lost children, lost neighbors—have taught Stensians to guard their hearts. They are proud and fervent in their beliefs but seem brusque or even cold to humans from other provinces.
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Village moats, cottage trees, and welcome mirrors. Humans have adapted as best they can to life surrounded by vampires. Almost every Stensian village is surrounded by a shallow moat from which the sheep drink, because although clouds often obscure the moon here, while the moon is out, the moat will keep vampires from trespassing. In small villages, the cottages are usually arranged around a small grove of hawthorn trees for centralized access to living wood. In larger villages, the cottages themselves are often built around a hawthorn, with the tree's trunk in the center of the common room and its leaves above the roof. Caring for the cottage tree is the oldest child's responsibility. Lastly, almost every Stensian cottage features a mirror on the outside of the front door to dissuade vampires from approaching.
Concept art by Vincent Proce
Vampire Culture Noble benefactors. Vampires' attitude toward their own role and the role of humans is predictably self-centered and skewed. Vampires believe themselves to be the saviors and keepers of humanity. The "sacrifices" they made—surrendering their mortality and their relationships with human kin—are to them proof of their beneficence, and their demeanor toward humans is similar to that of a rich philanthropist toward a pauper (except they occasionally drain the pauper of blood). Social creatures. The social lives of vampires are every bit as treacherous and debauched as those of royal courts. Vampires visit each other to conduct parties, feasts, romances, entertainments, and so on. Grudges and betrayals are as much a source of amusement to them as they are a serious matter, and keeping track of vampiric trysts and enmities would be a full-time job. 96
Demand for finery. Vampires want only the finest clothing, the finest weapons and armor, the finest furnishings and transport. Sometimes these desires can be met by a vampire artisan, but once in a while a human achieves a level of artistry that surpasses anything among vampires. In these cases, the vampire finds a way to acquire the thing in question, whether by arranging a deal through intermediaries or paying a visit to artisan(s) directly. Usually the humans in question can tell easily enough that their clients are vampires, because vampiric tastes differ so sharply from humans'. But whether because of profit, blackmail, or simply fear for their lives, most artisans comply. Court of the Vampire King/Queen. This disturbing three-day holiday was invented by Olivia Voldaren. A human is identified, kidnapped, and brought to a large vampire estate or castle, where they serve as "King or Queen of the Vampires" for the duration of the event. The mock king/queen, always utterly terrified, of course, is served the best food and drink and is theatrically supplicated. The vampires will follow any order the king or queen issues, except any attempt to abdicate the "throne." At the end of the three days, the king or queen is killed and all present share the blood.
Important Vampire Locations Some of the major vampire bloodlines have their most important strongholds in Stensia. All are on high ground, away from the prying eyes of the humans below. Castle Falkenrath. In the middle strip of the Geier Reach, between the Hofsaddel and Getander Passes, lies Castle Falkenrath, a towering, menacing Gothic masterpiece that houses scores of vampires of the Falkenrath line. Although the bloodline's progenitor is long dead, the castle is meticulously maintained. Smaller manor homes exist around the castle and along the border with Kessig, but Castle Falkenrath is the home base from which Stensia's most dominant vampires conduct their ambitious predations.
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Manor Gargoyle | Art by Matt Stewart The Voldaren Estate. Four miles from the end of Ziel Pass, cloaked in mist and surrounded by jagged peaks, is the huge estate of Olivia Voldaren, famous eccentric, bon vivant, and progenitor of the Voldaren bloodline. Olivia travels often, visiting the far-flung Voldaren manors and fortresses that are scattered across the four provinces of Innistrad. The elite among vampires know that Olivia throws the best parties, and the nobility will happily make the trek out to the estate for her seasonal ball. Markov Manor. In the corner of Stensia closest to Gavony, Edgar Markov's manor home overlooks Kruin Pass, and the High City of Thraben is visible in the far distance from its balconies. Although the Markov bloodline is the most prestigious and perhaps the most widespread, Edgar lives in comparative simplicity relative to the other vampire elders.
Personalities of Stensia Cosper Lowe, Captain of the Silbern Guard. The small community of Silbern arose because of Silbern Tower, a lodging and base of operations for the local cathars. Although the Silbern cathars have grown fatalistic since the disappearance of Avacyn, their captain, a classically handsome young man named Cosper, continues to command admiration. He is good with a horse and blade, but his main skill is his ability to calm and inspire—his charisma. Only one thing plagues Cosper Lowe: Every young woman who has taken a shine to him has disappeared. It has just started to dawn on Cosper that this means he's the target of a vampire's infatuation. 98
Kastinne, the Demon Killer. A young and insane woman from Shadowgrange who considers herself a wandering monk. A demon killed her three children, and she has vowed to slaughter it and every other demon until her children's souls find rest. Traft and his attendants. In life Traft was a living saint who fought demons alongside the host of Avacyn. Traft's ghost and those of a few of his attendants linger on to continue the battle, waiting for the demons' return. Traft has manifested in several locations in Stensia, including Ashmouth, and his attendants inhabit the Shrine of Traft in Thraben and give aid in the form of prophecy and omens. Rem Karolus, Blade of the Inquisitors. Some problems can be resolved only by the most feared and revered of the inquisitors: Rem Karolus. Rem, now in his late 30s, wanders Innistrad on his dappled gray horse armed with his trademark rapier and poniard at his side and bastard sword across his back. The Elgaud Grounds have courted Rem as an instructor more than once, but he has no interest. He takes orders from Thraben when he agrees with their goals, but he often simply wanders, dealing with crises as he encounters them, and Stensia has at least as many crises as other provinces.
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Innistrad's vampires comprise its only nonhuman civilization and the biggest threat to humans on the plane. Their existence represents a sort of externalization of self-indulgent desire; if werewolves are a symbol of repressed rage, vampires are a symbol of repressed desire. On Innistrad, vampire manor houses, courts, and even the occasional castle exist across the plane, and vampires themselves vary considerably in aggressiveness toward their human prey.
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The Nature of Vampirism Vampirism on Innistrad is neither a virus nor a curse, but what the vampires themselves somewhat euphemistically call a "condition of the blood." It is an anointing that persists and is perpetuated by magic alone, and few if any of its bearers consider it a curse. When reflecting on the nature of "the condition," vampires sometimes poetically call it an ablution, a washing of the self in blood that results in a new state of being. Innistrad vampires are not truly undead, although they have some undead traits (such as agelessness and skin that's cold to the touch).
Concept art by Vincent Proce and Steve Prescott Vampiric traits. The most distinctive thing about vampires' appearance is their eyes. The sclera is black and the irises gold, silver, or other colors. The skin is pale and cool to the touch. The hair is often black but is sometimes deep purple, dark magenta, burgundy, or even dark blue-green. 101
Some vampires wear wigs, however, for variety, novelty, or to disguise themselves more easily among humans. A vampire's canines are very slightly pronounced at all times, and when they bite someone, the canines extend about a quarter inch. Vampires also tend to have long and slightly curved fingernails.
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Concept art by Steve Prescott Vampiric powers. Humans have a multitude of tall tales about the evils and wonders of which vampires are capable. In reality, though, the vampires' universal suite of powers is limited to just three things: agelessness, slightly enhanced strength (approximately double that of a human), and a two-foot-wide aura of silence that emanates from them at will.
Stalking Vampire | Art by Slawomir Maniak Vampiric magic. That said, many vampires learn a uniquely vampiric form of glamer (quasiillusion magic) that enables them to move among humans undetected. These are mind-affecting spells that alter what nearby humans think they're perceiving, rather than true illusion magic that changes the subject's appearance. As such, particularly strong-willed humans can sometimes shake off the effects of the glamer and see the vampire truly. Also, given time, power, and mana, elder vampires learn all manner of powerful magic, including flight, hypnotic gaze, transformation into other forms (such as that of a bat or a mist), and so on.
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Concept art by Daarken
Vampiric Vulnerabilities All vampires inherit a set of weaknesses linked to the ritual that created their race. First, although they can be harmed or killed by any weapon, weapons of living wood have special efficacy—this is the so-called Dryad's Legacy (dead wood is inert, no more effective than stone or steel). Second, a vampire can't cross running water in which the moon is reflected, because of the link between water as the source of human food and the moon as the source of angelic power. Third, Avacyn herself can enchant water with the power to burn vampires like acid by touching it. But this water is scarce and becoming scarcer with each passing day. Silver, the soothsayer. Because of the connection between Innistrad's silver moon and its angels, and because the ritual that created vampires required the drinking of angel blood, silver 104
has special properties vis-à-vis vampires: it causes them to see how they would have been in normal, mortal life, ignoring vampire glamer and reality alike. Because of this, vampires go to great lengths to avoid mirrors (glass backed with a coating of silver), because mirrors reflect their mortal images rather than their actual ones. This is also the reason why vampires can't cross running water in which the moon is reflected. Although silver weapons aren't particularly deadly to vampires, the presence of silver unsettles them, putting them at a disadvantage.
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Avacyn's power. The archangel Avacyn is (or was) the living covenant of the balance between humans and vampires. Avacynian holy symbols can induce in vampires a paralyzing fear and the desire to flee, although their ability to do so has significantly diminished in the last year (because of Avacyn's disappearance). Despite Avacyn's absence, however, the strength of faith alone imbues a degree of continued power in the symbols of Avacyn: the silver collar and the heron crest.
The Unquenchable Thirst A vampire will starve to death in one full cycle of the moon unless it drinks as much human blood as an average human contains (about five liters). Almost any vampire will drink more than this if given the chance, however. Without enough blood, a vampire starves quickly—in a matter of several days—first desiccating before eventually crumbling to dust. Because of the source magic that created all vampires, only blood from a living human will suffice. Vampire alchemists have attempted transmutations of animal blood to human blood, but all have failed. Blood from a dead human is also insufficient; if blood from a living human is like wine, blood from a dead human is like vinegar.
Vampire Interloper | Art by James Ryman Blood trade. To vampires, blood is indeed like wine. Vampires enjoy a lively commerce in blood, although the commodity is only good for a few days before it provides no nourishment— about the same length of time as wood stays alive once cut from its plant. Small castles and manor houses in relative proximity to each other trade blood via carriage and experiment with 107
various blends. Particularly interesting or delicious samples are occasionally preserved by well paid time-mages who can use sorcery to prevent the blood from "dying" for a short time (freezing doesn't work). When a time-mage can't be secured, however (which is often), some vampires resort to slavery of the victim, shipping him or her from place to place to be supped on. Specialty carriages exist for this purpose. Feeding and siring. A vampire will drink the blood of his or her human victim, usually until the victim dies of blood loss. Sometimes the vampire is interrupted and the human will survive and recover. Although other humans might suspect the survivor of a vampire's bite of becoming a vampire, this isn't a possibility, because siring requires an exchange of blood. The survivor will be plagued by disturbing and sometimes erotic dreams for years but will not turn.
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Concept art by Vincent Proce When a vampire wishes to turn a human into a vampire, to sire the victim, the vampire must introduce his or her own blood into the victim. The simplest way to accomplish this is for the vampire to cut his or her own cheek or tongue before or during the bite. This act will "anoint" the victim, endowing him or her with the same "condition of the blood" that all vampires have. But this is only the first step. The victim, once anointed, will begin to feel the bloodthirst, and food 109
will become unsatisfying within one to three days. But this first bloodthirst is special; only the blood of the sire can quench it. A newly anointed victim who doesn't drink the sire's blood before the next new moon will die. But if he or she does, the siring will be complete and the anointed will become a full-fledged vampire.
Concept art by Steve Prescott Only the gifted. Who do vampires choose to sire? Because vampires believe they are humanity's saviors, and because of their own decadence and hedonism, only the cream of the human crop is fit for siring. A vampire might decide to sire a human because of the human's beauty, charisma, intelligence, or talent, for example. In short, only the most remarkable humans become vampires.
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Concept art by Vincent Proce The bite. When vampires feed, they will sink their teeth into any exposed flesh. Usually the neck is most convenient, but an arm or even a cheek will do. But the siring bite is special. Vampires want to avoid marring the appearance of their future peers, so often a siring bite is made in some out-of-view location, such as on the upper thigh, the torso under the arm, or the bottom of a foot (although in this last case the victim must be special indeed to be worth the vampire's selfhumiliation).
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Stensia Bloodhall | Art by John Avon
Bloodlines Not all vampires are created equal. Among the existing vampiric bloodlines, some are more common but prestigious whereas some are rare but less respected. There were originally twelve bloodlines, which originated long ago in a ritual that had something to do with the Markov progenitor, Edgar Markov. Three of these bloodlines have died out completely. Five others are relatively minor, having sired fewer vampires. The four major bloodlines that remain are: Markov. This is the bloodline of Edgar Markov and is the most prestigious of the bloodlines. The Markov line has been fairly ambitious in its siring over the many centuries, and as a result the Markov vampires exist in all four of Innistrad's provinces. This isn't to say that all vampires of the Markov line are all high-minded or noble; a bloodline doesn't determine temperament, self-discipline, or restraint. Markov elders seem to have a talent for psychic magic.
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Lord of Lineage | Art by Jason Chan Falkenrath. The Falkenrath line, concentrated more in Stensia than the Markov line, had a famous falconer (now dead) as its progenitor and remains associated with far-reaching activity and predation. Falkenrath vampires are the boldest in walking among humans, taking pleasure in choosing their victims from deep within human communities that consider themselves safe. Falkenrath elders are more likely to master powers of flight than those of other lines.
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Falkenrath Marauders | Art by James Ryman Voldaren. The progenitor of the Voldaren line, Olivia Voldaren, was in life a beautiful but strange, hermetic, antisocial woman who preferred to live far away from human civilization, in manor homes built for her from her seemingly boundless wealth. Like their progenitor, Voldaren vampires tend to live in the distant places, in the borderlands and edges of Innistrad's provinces. Voldaren elders can more easily master magic that enables them to transform into animal forms, especially those of the bat, cat, and rat.
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Olivia Voldaren | Art by Eric Deschamps Stromkirk. Unwilling to take part in the political and social machinations of Stensian vampires, those of the Stromkirk line chose to concentrate their power in Nephalia instead. As a result their disguising glamers are more powerful and more sophisticated. Stromkirk's progenitor, Runo Stromkirk, was a high priest in life who worshipped a pre-Avacynian god of the sea and storms, and Stromkirk vampires still feel a slight affinity with the coast. Some Stromkirk elders have achieved the ability to transform themselves into mist.
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Stromkirk Noble | Art by James Ryman
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