Innistrad

Lore and Trivia

Innistrad Lore and Trivia

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Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: Ascending Darkness ............................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 3: History ................................................................................................................................... 8

Chapter 4: The Daily Life ....................................................................................................................... 13

The Moon of Silver and Innistrad's Seasons ...................................................................................... 14

Chapter 5: Religion and the church ....................................................................................................... 16

Religion .............................................................................................................................................. 16

Church Hierarchy ............................................................................................................................... 17

The Churchs Secret ........................................................................................................................... 17

Clerical Ranks ..................................................................................................................................... 19

Cathars ............................................................................................................................................... 20

The Skirsdag ....................................................................................................................................... 21

Chapter 6: Vampires .............................................................................................................................. 23

Vampiric powers and magic .............................................................................................................. 23

Vampiric Vulnerabilities .................................................................................................................... 24

The Unquenchable Thirst .................................................................................................................. 25

Bloodlines .......................................................................................................................................... 27

Chapter 7: Devils ................................................................................................................................... 29

The Nature and Role of Devils ........................................................................................................... 29

Chapter 8: Zombies ............................................................................................................................... 31

The Unhallowed ................................................................................................................................ 31

Ghoulcallers ....................................................................................................................................... 31

The Skaab .......................................................................................................................................... 32

Chapter 9: Spirits ................................................................................................................................... 34

The origin of Spirits ........................................................................................................................... 34

Material and Immaterial ................................................................................................................... 34

Faith's Power ..................................................................................................................................... 35

Kinds of Spirits ................................................................................................................................... 35

Chapter 10: Werewolves ....................................................................................................................... 37

Killer or Victim ................................................................................................................................... 37

The Transformation ........................................................................................................................... 38

Warding Against the Change ............................................................................................................. 39

The Cause and Nature of Lycanthropy .............................................................................................. 41

Howlpacks ......................................................................................................................................... 42

Chapter 11: Provinces ........................................................................................................................... 44

Innistrad's Four Provinces ................................................................................................................. 44

Chapter 12: Stensia ............................................................................................................................... 46

Overview............................................................................................................................................ 46

Human Life and Culture ..................................................................................................................... 48

Vampire Life and Culture ................................................................................................................... 49

Mountain passes ............................................................................................................................... 50

Stensia's valleys ................................................................................................................................. 51

Vampire Locations and Manors......................................................................................................... 52

Chapter 13: Nephalia ............................................................................................................................. 54

Overview............................................................................................................................................ 54

Port Towns of Nephalia ..................................................................................................................... 56

Chapter 14: Gavony ............................................................................................................................... 61

Overview............................................................................................................................................ 61

Human life and Culture ..................................................................................................................... 61

Thraben ............................................................................................................................................. 64

Gavony's Geography.......................................................................................................................... 66

Gavony Parishes ................................................................................................................................ 67

Chapter 15: Kessig ................................................................................................................................. 69

Overview............................................................................................................................................ 69

Human Life and Culture ..................................................................................................................... 70

Supernatural Creatures of Kessig ...................................................................................................... 72

Locations in Kessig ............................................................................................................................. 74

Chapter 16: The tale of Saint Traft ........................................................................................................ 76

Chapter 1: Introduction

The people of Innistrad were accustomed to living in a world plagued by evil. The protective wards

held monsters at bay, keeping the villages relatively safe. Prayers and holy oaths banished geists and

skewered vampires where they stood, allowing humans to control nests of horrors when the danger

got too great. Thanks to the presence of the archangel Avacyn, hope and belief held real power to

smite the darkness, and so hope and belief flourished.

Even after Avacyn disappeared and the fiendish creatures of the night advanced, the people of the

four provinces survived. The power of the wards waned, but the Church recruited new holy warriors

to take up arms and fight back. Prayers to the angels went unanswered, but villages closed their

borders and shut down the roads into the fog-cloaked wilderness. The ghouls and geists had gained

an advantage on humans, and things looked bleaker than they had for generations. But together the

people of Innistrad presented a united front, able to keep humanity safe almost as if Avacyn had

never forsaken them.

But safety on Innistrad was a comforting fiction. Among the sinister forces of the world, word has

spread.

Chapter 2: Ascending Darkness

The horrors of Innistrad have learned the weakness of their prey. The werewolf howlpacks have

tested the defenses of the country villages and found them pathetically thin. Now, werewolves

terrorize hamlets across the countryside without fear of wolfhunters or weapons of blessed silver.

Vampires pick and choose their human prey as they see fit, letting the vampire families gain in

ascendancy across every province. Geists appear undaunted in the bedrooms of children and saints.

The walking dead pierce the defenses of even Church-dominated towns. Monstrous flesh-

constructions lurch unimpeded into protected sanctuaries, slaughtering innocents who relied on

Avacyn's promises. As humanity's defenses crumble, Innistrad's tale of horror has become ever more

dire.

The Undying Threat The humans now face a

dark new twist in the fight

against the fiends. It's not

just that the wards and

prayers no longer bind

these creatures. Now even

the bonds of death no

longer hold. Apparently

slain werewolves have

begun to stagger back to

their feet, their hunger only

renewed by their seeming

destruction. Geists return

after being exorcised by the

clerics' most powerful

banishment spells.

Vampires laugh off stakes

and fire, rising in spite of every trick and country secret known to kill them. Reassurances from the

Avacynian Church fall on impatient ears as, more and more, the old lore no longer applies.

Wavering Devotion Even more distressing, there are signs that the people of Innistrad might be losing hope. The Elgaud

Grounds report fewer and fewer recruits to become undead-slaying cathars. Statues of the beloved

archangel are found toppled, not by the random attacks of rampaging werewolves, but by

despondent humans. Demonic cults have gained in membership as people seek some power, any

power, on which they can rely. Entire ships full of evacuees sail into the mists in search of some far

harbor, never to be heard from again. Some villages have taken to making offerings of their own

weakest members, hoping that innocent lives chained to posts will mollify the hungering beasts in

the night.

Infernal Risings But the darkest news of all may be the emergence of infernal forces. Cults such as the Skirsdag

beckon forth demonic beings from the deep abysses of the world. Cracks in the earth, such as the

Ashmouth, spew forth demons and devils who spread mayhem and death wherever they go.

Emboldened by Avacyn's long absence and the waning potency of holy magic, the demons have

begun to use humans to further their whims, sacrificing innocents to fuel dark magics. Humans have

become the playthings of the fabled monsters they once spoke of only in scare-tales and campfire

yarns.

The Eleventh Hour If anything good has come of this dark time, it's that humanity knows the stakes of its plight.

Humankind's collective back is to the wall, so the few parish priests, pitchfork-wielders, and fiend-

slayers who remain have learned to dispense with the traditional pleasantries. Avacyn might no

longer support their feats of faith, but their magic has become enhanced by desperation, as the

threat of death encroaches. Those practitioners of magic have learned to hurl the despair of their

spiraling losses into their spells, giving them the strength to slice through the ranks of the dead

rather than join them. The humans have even learned from their enemies, discovering new ways to

tap into the tempting power of the grave and to cast deathly spells with amplified strength.

Chapter 3: History

The vampire Sorin Markov, the self-serving aristocrat who was once drenched in privilege in his role

as the favored lord of Markov Manor, created Avacyn, the angelic champion of the meek and divine

source of the protective power on Innistrad.

How did this come to be? To understand that, we have to learn about another member of the

Markov familyEdgar Markov, Sorin's grandfather.

The rise of the vampires Thousands of years ago, before there were vampires on Innistrad, Edgar Markov was an alchemist in

the land that would become Stensia. Famine was sweeping the land, and the old alchemist Edgar

searched for a solution that could help the

starving families feed themselves. The

answer was a brutal one: to undergo a

blood ritual that would cause some of the

people to feed on blood. It would provide

sustenance to those few, reducing

demand for the failing crops, but it would

also cull the overall population, reducing

the number of hungry mouths to feed.

Thus were vampires born on Innistrad.

But Edgar Markov's chilling tale has an

even darker truth behind it. The famine

was an expedient excuse for Edgar's

blood magic, but in truth the aging

alchemist was experimenting with ways

to achieve agelessness for himself and his

only grandson, Sorin. A demon called

Shilgengar preyed on Edgar's ambition

and whispered secrets that would point

the way toward Edgar's blood-feeding

experiment. Shilgengar also helped the

old man overcome his squeamishness at what must be done. Still, Edgar needed prodding for him to

go through with the ritual to create the blood-feeders. Shilgengar was one of few demons to exist on

the surface of Innistrad at the time, and as it turned out, he became a kind of harbinger for his own

kind. Edgar inflicted his curse of vampirism on his grandson, Sorin, awakening Sorin's latent

planeswalker spark. And later, Edgar's actions indirectly led to a resurgence of demons in the world.

And that's when the famine put him over the edge. The famine might or might not have been

Shilgengar's doing. Either way, it was the genesis of this world's vampires. With his blood magic

experiment, Edgar succeeded at finding a way to extend his own life. He anointed Sorin with the

same vampiric stateand shockingly, his grandson disappeared.

The trauma of the transformation had caused Sorin's devine spark to ignite.

Sorin's Creation Sorin was a demigod now, but he was also the grandson of the honored progenitor of the entire

vampiric race back on his home plane. As the Markov bloodline spawned other bloodlines, Edgar

remained the prestigious forefather of all vampires, and Sorin's "life" became like that of a royal.

Over the centuries, as vampires spread further into human lands, Sorin spent more and more time

away from his homeworld, sometimes disappearing for years at a time. Vampires became disdainful

of the race from which they had spawned, hunting mortal humans more and more boldly, and Sorin

became distant from his own vampire-kind.

But Sorin always kept watch on Innistrad. From his world-hopping perspective, he could see the

changes on the world of his birth. He saw that as vampires gained in power, the human villages were

dwindling. Although he was no longer human himself, he saw the curse his grandfather had brought

to the humanity of their world, and he saw that in time, they would be wiped out by the blood-

feeders.

Sorin borrowed from long-held beliefs about the moon and the afterlife, forging a warrior who could

hold back vampires and other monstrous forces that would extinguish life on Innistrad. He created an

angel he named Avacyn and tasked her with protecting the plane. Through her, the magic of faith

would create true power to fend off the darkness. The Church of Avacyn grew up around the power

Sorin invested in her.

Some of the vampires understood Sorin's act, but most reviled him as a traitor. Edgar still lives in

Markov Manor to this day, and to this day Sorin is not welcome there. Avacyn was Sorin's gift to his

home, but she was also his betrayal of his own people.

But now Avacyn has disappeared from Innistrad. How could this have happened? Sorin has always

had a dark edge to him, and he has never hesitated to destroy anyone who got in the way of his

ambitions. But at the same time, he never meant these shadows to rise over the world of his birth.

Sorin might be his grandfather's creation, but Sorin's own creation was meant to preserve a way for

humans to survive Edgar's crime.

And now, after Sorin's long absence, it is the disappearance of that creation that has called him home

again.

Tales of Demonkind Even before the time

of Sorin Markov and his

grandfather Edgar,

before Innistrad's race of

vampires existed, the

people of Innistrad

feared demons. Few of

these demonic creatures

ever made themselves

manifest, to the point

that some believed

demons were mythical

or long dead. But others

knew the legends of

wicked demon-spawn were true and they feared the day when the demons would return.

Avacyn's Campaign The archangel Avacyn and her host of angels took up the sword against those who would harm

humanity. They slew vampires with holy fervor, prompting Sorin's kin to brand him a traitor to their

kind. The angels thrashed the werewolf howlpacks that threatened to overwhelm those towns

bordering the wilds. They banished malevolent geists that haunted the shipwrecks and ancient

manors of the plane. They incinerated unholy ghouls with piercing light. They were never able to

cleanse the plane of evil, but Sorin's creation had done her job.

Humanity was able to flourish again. The Church of Avacyn grew up around the archangel, and faith

in her helped fend off the flesh-hungry monsters. The power balance on the plane tipped in

humanity's favor. None could have foreseen what evils this would bring.

Demons and Devilry The retreat of the supernatural fiends of the plane opened a spacean opportunity for Innistrad's

infernal forces to manifest. Like Shilgengar long before, the demons and their hosts of impish devils

began to make their presence

known in far greater numbers.

Avacyn engaged each demon in

single combat, defeating them

one by one. She found that new

demons would appear a short

time later and decreed: "What

cannot be destroyed must be

bound." She then forged a collar

of silver to bind demonkind, so

they could be hauled away and

imprisoned. The Silver

Collar became Avacyn's symbol

and the holy symbol carried by

Avacynian priests and cathars.

The Helvault One by one, Avacyn and her host of angels captured the demons, imprisoning them in a huge mass of

silver that came to be called the Helvault. Said to be a piece of Innistrad's silver moon, the Helvault

sits in the cathedral yard in the High City of Thraben overlooking a cliff's edge and the sea beyond.

Stories say it and Avacyn first appeared on the same night, and it remains the most holy object on

Innistrad after Avacyn herself.

With the proper incantations and rituals, Avacyn and her angelic host could cause wicked creatures

to be drawn into the

Helvault. She trapped

so many demons

within the Helvault

that only a handful

remained. To the relief

of all but the demon-

worshipping Skirsdag

cult, demons and

devils were largely out

of human life.

It was only a short

time ago that the

demon Griselbrand,

the most powerful of

his kind and one who had never become imprisoned, committed an act of unprecedented boldness

and heresy: he landed on the Helvault itself, under a full moon, and challenged Avacyn to combat.

Chapter 4: The Daily Life

Humans 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 classesartisans and merchantsare 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 fifty years, while a

bishop lives closer to seventy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chapter 5: Religion and the church

Religion 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.

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 The archangel Avacyn has a host of angels who serve her. These angels appear frequently to humans

and fight all supernatural monsters who are a threat to human society. These angels try to keep the

world in balance.

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).

The Churchs Secret After that moment when Avacyn disappeared, those Avacynian clergy who witnessed her fate were

left terrified. What would happen to those citizens of Innistrad who the archangel was supposed to

protect? What would happen to the institution of the Church and to their own role as slayers of

vampires and hunters of lycanthropes?

And as a more immediate problem, what could they possibly tell the common folk across the four

provinces? They couldn't very well tell them the truth. Just imagining the proclamation to inform

everyone made them shudder. For example:

"It is with regret that we announce that Avacyn, the bringer of light and figurehead of our entire

belief system, has been bested by a demon lord and plunged forever into a doorless prison. We

anticipate that all those prayers, wards,

rituals, and blessed weapons on which

we had heretofore relied shall slowly

wane in effectiveness, until a tide of

monstrous darkness overwhelms us all.

Signed, the Institution Formerly Known

as the Church of Avacyn."

No. Mass panic would have been the

instant result. And if villagers and

believers across Innistrad were to

suddenly lose faith due to such news, it

might drain whatever power the priests

and cathars of Avacyn's religion still

wielded, hastening the rise of evil. So

although whispers and rumors flew about Avacyn's absence, the Church kept the truth of what

happened under wraps.

The highest-ranking priest of the Church, Mikaeus, the Lunarch, made those few priests who had

witnessed the tragedy swear to secrecy. From then on, the message was tightly controlled. When the

villagers and parish priests asked questions of the high clergy, the answers they got back were

somewhat reassuring, but also evasive and even slightly threatening in tone:

"Put your hearts at rest. Every prayer to Avacyn is still heard and still answered, albeit in subtler ways

than some might demand."

The messages from the lunarch's priests were designed to curb rumors and play down Avacyn's lack

of recent appearances, yet they only invited more speculation and stirred more distrust. Inside the

walls of the High City of Thraben, the influence of ghouls, vampires, and werewolves was not yet felt

except for a few scattered incidents. Out in the provinces, though, any message other than

"immediate aid is on the way" was a difficult one to hear.

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.

Clerical Ranks Lunarch The Lunarch is 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. The Lunarch is chosen among the bishops and will only be replaced when dead.

Being a Lunarch means having immense power over the church and state. The Thraben Council

gathers as much as they can to discuss political and religious matters.

Bishop The bishop is the highest order of clergy. They reside in the cathedral at Thraben as members of the

Thraben Council, the governing body of the church. Bishops also are like governors of the provinces.

They gather with the mayors of villages and cities and are the point of mutual interests for every

priest and mayor. Bishops are honored by the common people and are often strong leaders or even

cathar leaders.

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. Mayors

are men of the people, they are chosen from the common people and dont have to be a man of the

church per se.

Priest Priests oversee the church and attend to parishioners' needs. They all use magic to weave spells, but

with varying degrees of skill. Priests mostly stay in villages to protect the common people and be

there in times of need.

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. Most monks put their quiet life behind and joined the forces of the cathars. Many

monks have beside their clerical rank also a place in the cathar ranks.

Cathars Cathars are soldiers of the

church. All Cathars get trained

to track and kill supernatural

beings. A Cathar can either be

a master of the martial arts or

a holy priest who can banish

ghosts back to the ther

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. These smiths are not in particular soldiers, but more

like craftsman which provide weapons and armor for their fellow cathars.

Inquisitors Inquisitors are cathars who can be hired out to come help a parish if they have a particular problem

with vampires or devils. These cathars are fierce warriors and are specialized in tracking down

demons or vampires who disguised themselves. Becoming a Inquisitor takes many years of training

and experience.

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. These cathars are mere

soldiers who operate in small

armies if possible. They are used

to fight back zombie hordes. Some

parish-blades become inquisitors

after long years of training and

fighting.

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.

The Skirsdag A Demonic Cult The Skirsdag is a demonic cult of

worshippers of Griselbrant, the

demon who was bound by Avacyn

in the great silver mass of the

Helvault. Demons existed long

before Sorins divine spark and his

creation of Avacyn to keep the

world of Innistrad in balance.

Nowdays cults still exists and wait

for the return for their master who

will reward their loyalty and will

spare them from the other

monstrosities who will make an

end to this world.

The Goal of the Skirsdag Skirsdag cultists have many ranks and followers throughout the world. Now people dont longer can

rely on their former savior the turn to other powerful beings in the hope for salvation.

Skirsdag priests try to open as many gates to the underworld as possible resulting in more and more

demons and devils swarming into this world and leaving a trace of death and decay. Skirsdag

followers know their summons

bring destruction to Innistrad,

but are willing to pay the price

for of their own lives.

Though cathars and the

powers of the church actively

fight vampires, werewolves

and cultists alike, the Skirsdag

try to remain underground,

though society can feel the

influence in their daily lives.

Many Skirsdag rituals require

human sacrifices or a tribute

of blood for their demon

masters and it is not uncommon for people to find bloody altars in cellars of houses or in the wild

days after a demonic ritual.

Cultists and priests The skirsdag hierarchy is a lot like that of the church of Avacyn. The high priests is the first in

command. Since Griselbrant is no longer in this world he still obeys other demons but can order

devils to do his bidding. Priests perform rituals and are in command in larger regions while cultists

are more the experienced members of the Skirsdag. Skirsdag followers are considered to be new

members or people without any magical powers. The Skirsdag welcome new members which have to

perform an oath to pledge their loyalty to the cult. This makes it very hard to infiltrate the cult not to

mention the contact with powerful demons which can easely pick out the undercover members. This

also creates a very save aspect to the cult and its members.

Chapter 6: Vampires

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. Vampires are not truly undead, although they have some undead

traits (such as agelessness and skin that's cold to the touch).

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. 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.

Vampiric powers and magic Humans have a multitude of tall tales about the evils and wonder 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.

Many vampires learn a uniquely vampiric form of glamer (quasi-illusion 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, 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.

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 efficacythis 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 has special properties vis--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.

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 quicklyin a

matter of several daysfirst

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.

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 nourishmentabout 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

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. 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 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.

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.

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 self-humiliation).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chapter 7: Devils

The Nature and Role of Devils Devils are infernal perpetrators of

malicious mischief. They stand

about three or four feet tall, have

a face full of needlelike teeth, and

often have ruddy or deep red

skin. They usually have one or

two back-sweeping horns and

most of them have long, whiplike

tails, but their morphology can

vary from individual to individual.

They are agile and can be

passable fighters, but they do

their best destructive work by

sabotaging things of value and by

inciting violence in others.

The work of Devils Devils often work in the employ of

demons, stirring up chaos and

woe. Devils aren't very

dependable minions when it comes to servant tasksthey don't do well retrieving fragile objects or

remembering to guard choke points. But devils are experts when it comes to generating and fueling

bitter emotions. Demons are most interested in ways to demonstrate and expand their own power,

seeking to tempt mortals to give up what's most precious to them. Devils, on the other hand, just

want to repeatedly check who's at the top of the Things Are Going Okay in My Life Leaderboard and

go wreck some self-respect. That works out well for their demon masters, because once a poor

human's will has been broken and livelihood destroyed by devils, that human is much more

desperate and apt to agree to

a demonic deal with

shudderingly harsh terms.

Devilish Humor A devil's laugh is a brain-

needle forged from pure

spite. You might laugh when

someone trips and falls

whatever. It's okay. It's kind of

a human reflex. But a devil's

sense of humor isn't satisfied

until someone trips, falls,

breaks an ankle, loses the

ability to work, loses the farm, dies penniless, and dooms his or her starving heirs. Hilarious.

Devils don't have that little boundary of decorum that divides the harmless, schadenfreude-induced

chuckle into your hand from the full-blown sadistic cackle at the dispensation of harm. The farther a

prank goes, the more wrong it gets, and the more pain it causes, the harder a devil laughs. They will

insult the memory of your dear, departed auntwhile waving at you with her own severed hands

just to bray at the look of anguish on your face. They have an uncanny knack for sniffing out exactly

what you care for most just so they can break that thing and watch you cry. They can't be reasoned

with; they are not creatures of reason. They can't be bargained with; they want nothing but your

admission of defeat.

They can, however, be killed.

Devils swarm out of the

crevices of the plane, their

shrill laughter heard in every

village and along every route

through the wilds. Priests and

cathars have taken to killing

them on sight whenever

possible, even given their

diminished holy powers,

knowing that devils only

herald ruin.

Chapter 8: Zombies

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.

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 magic 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Chapter 9: Spirits

The origin of Spirits 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.

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.

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 thereal space. This

metaphysical guidance from Avacyn enabled geists to elect to turn away from reunion with the

plane's essencea phenomenon that previously occurred only when a geist's anguish or regret

overcame the pull toward the ther.

Material and Immaterial Geists exist in the space between the material and thereal 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.

Faith's Power Even in Avacyn's absence, divine

magic is not impotent. With a

combination of powerful faith and

magic, 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 ther.

Kinds of Spirits Holy 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 holy 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.

Magic 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 ghostsrepeated 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 misteven the mist of the breath.

Dark 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.

Dlack geists are almost

always dangerous and

malevolent.

Fury 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.

Nature 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 thereal 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.

Chapter 10: Werewolves

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.

Killer or Victim 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 depressionand repression, as the lycanthrope struggles to feign normality, construct alibis, and

hide evidence of his or her savage crimes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 preyusually 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. 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.

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.

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.

Chapter 11: Provinces

Innistrad's Four Provinces

The known landmass of Innistrad is divided into four regions called provinces.

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.

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 safewerewolves prowl

the province, sometimes alone and sometimes in packs.

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.

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.

Chapter 12: Stensia

Overview 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 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.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 long-suffering 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.

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 humansan

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 strongholdslost children, lost neighborshave 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.

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.

Faith in Stensia In Stensia, the vampire families are experiencing a dark renaissance, a show of power similar to the

earliest era of their existence on Innistrad. Vampires have always enjoyed a kind of macabre celebrity

status on this plane; when a curtained, well-appointed carriage snaked its way down from the bat-

plagued mountain ranges of Stensia and past a human village, it left in its wake the ghoulish

fascination and excited whispers

of the human villagers. But

now, more and more, the major

vampire families have taken up

residence right among the

humans, carousing, hunting,

and holding week-long revelries

where the glasses of blood

never go dry. Vampires make

examples of the cathars who

stalk them: the blood nobles

impale the humans with their

own living-wood weapons and

toss their drained bodies into

the streets. Although messages

of hope and reassurance do reach the parish priests of Stensia, the authority of the Avacynian Church

is failing here, and fast. The population ratio in Stensia has already shifted radically, tipping in favor

of vampires, and Sorin's fear of a world absent of humans looks ever more possible.

Vampire Life and Culture 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.

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 madesurrendering 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