Aklis

“Hello, little one.”

“Oh, don’t be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you. I am here to protect you.”

“Truly, I am. I heard what your father said to you. Those horrible, untrue words. Those hurtful things. No one should be made to hear those things.”

“And I heard the strike. The wet sound. The crumple of your body as it hit the floor. The sobbing breath that escaped your bloody lips. His heavy breathing. I was too far away to help, but I could hear it all.”

“Oh yes little one, I heard it. Of course I could. I was sent to protect you. To guard you. To keep you safe. Even from him.”

“Yes, yes. Let it out my little one. Come close and let it out. Do not worry about my robes. They have absorbed many tears. Many, many tears.”

“You are surprised, little one? I suppose that makes sense. You have not see the harsh cruel world that is just down the road from your father’s house. Many have needed my robes to dry their tears. Many have needed my protection. From fathers, mothers, uncles, and aunts. Oh yes, many.”

“Now hold onto my robes tight, for we must go. He will be coming for you, and I will not let him have you. Oh no. Hold tight so my wings can take us away to a safe place. A place where you will not be alone.”

“Did I not say? Oh yes, there are many in my collection. Many like you. Safe and sound. Protected from harm. Some are even still moving.”

~ From Taubha’s Lesser Book of Names

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Aklis of House Kwiegh is an ambush predator that utilizes an appealing grandmotherly or grandfatherly appearance and demeanor to coerce distraught children into joining their collection. They are driven by the compulsion to collect and hoard, but not to care for their collection, which usually leads to the death of the children through neglect. It is not clear what they were during the Madness, but some scholars suspect that they were an abused child rather than something akin to the winged form they take now.

When used in an adventure, they are best suited as the antagonist in a rural setting. Small villages and border towns where the disappearances will be noticed and rumors can draw the adventurers in. Aklis will try to trick the adventurers into thinking someone else, like the parents, are to blame for the disappearances. Perhaps they might even put the players on the trail of a rival Horror.