"It was just another hunt. Nothing special. But on this hunt I encountered something...terrible. I will attempt to describe it, but mere words cannot truly describe such horrors.
"I was following some tracks from a small herd of harts when I came across several strange tracks. Some were circular and drove deep into the earth, like whatever they belonged to walked on pikes. Another set was in an undulating pattern similar to a snake, only far larger by comparison. The last set were similar to that of a man, only more bone-like. Prevalent all around the tracks was decayed plant life and a smell like death. I had never seen anything like this, but I decided to follow them out of curiosity. That was my first mistake.
"I followed the tracks for well over a league. I noticed strange pools of an oily substance spread sporadically along the path, which stank like acrid smoke, but I didn't touch it. As I neared a common game trail, I encountered the remains of animals. The carcases were ripped apart as if the animal had been attacked by a pack of wolves, but I could tell it was no wolf attack. Wolves are methodical hunters; this was random. I heard movement in some nearby shrubs and readied my bow. After a few moments, I saw a strange human-like creature emerge from the shrubbery and sniff a half-eaten carcass. I slowly drew my bow, trying to be as quiet as I possibly could. My string creaked a bit, and the creature's head snapped in my direction. Without a second thought, I loosed my arrow right where the creatures heart should've been. That was my last mistake.
"The creature went down, but only for a moment. It stirred and then let loose a scream that could shatter stones. I immediately loosed a second arrow right between it's eyes, silencing it, but the damage had been done. The forest grew deathly silent, but not for long. More screams followed, each just as shrill as the first. Then came the crashing of trees as some massive creature made its way towards the sound of the fallen creature, followed by a pressure in the air that made me feel as though I was being crushed. The trees began to decay before my eyes, and a thundering as though a thousand stags were charging towards me. From all around me, strange creatures emerged. Some looked like strange snakes with arms like a mantis and large angular heads, and others looked to be strange humanoid abominations with long hair-like tendrils sprouting from their skulls. They chattered like insects and made odd guttural sounds amongst themselves. I was so distracted by having been surrounded so suddenly that I didn't notice the steadily growing sound of colossal footsteps. It wasn't until the hands of the monstrosity parted the dying treetops that I even knew it was upon me. It was massive. I do not know how to describe it. It looked like a nightmare made real. It made a low rumbling sound that hit me like a thousand waterfalls. I fell back in terror, but none of the monsters made any sort of advance towards me. They merely formed a ring around me. What followed after the appearance of this massive creature...cannot be accurately described by words. Three silhouettes appeared behind the massive creature, so large that they made it look no bigger than an ant. I cannot describe these horrors.
"I remember only one thing after that: a large tendril stretching towards me. I remember feeling it touch my forehead, and then a pain so intense that my sanity broke. I awoke here, no longer alive. I tell you these things so that you may know of these wandering nightmares. They MUST be stopped, lest they destroy the very fabric of reality."
- Unknown, letter found in the Master Markov's study