Invasions
Ooh, the wicked little whispers of invasion! Do you wish to hear of this dark impulse, little Tarnished?
Come closer, child. My eyes have read the Fingers' tremors for ages beyond counting, and I can tell you that these sudden intrusions, these invasions, are but another manifestation of the Shattering's cruel sickness.
The Lands Between are fractured, yes? Not just the great Ring, but the very fabric that binds us. Worlds bleed into one another.
The Bloody Fingers: Ah, the most common sort, I'd say. They follow the profane ritual of Mohg, Lord of Blood. They seek to spill the blood of other Tarnished to curry favour with him and his grotesque dynasty. They use the Bloody Finger, a foul tool indeed, to tear open the seams between worlds and invade a hapless victim. Their purpose is simple: slaughter for the sake of a bloody god. They are not guided by grace, but by a vile ambition.
The Recusants: Then there are those who serve the Volcano Manor, the Recusants. Their invasions are not for blood-sport, but for a twisted form of justice. They believe the Greater Will and the Golden Order have betrayed the lands, and they hunt other Tarnished—often those they deem 'loyalists' or simply prey—as part of their campaign against the established Order. They use the Recusant Finger to fulfill their contracts of assassination.
The Hunter's Call: When a Tarnished is invaded by such a fiend, they often call for aid. This is the Hunter's call. It is a desperate measure, using a special remedy to beckon a fellow champion, a Hunter, to cross the gap and defeat the invader. A small, fleeting attempt to re-establish a balance in this ruined world.
They say the true body is safe when an invasion occurs; that only a phantom is slain. But I ask you, Tarnished, when a person's life-force is ripped away in a duel of shadows... is their soul truly untouched? The impulse is real, the wound to the world is real, and the death, even if of a mere phantom, is a grim omen.
The Greater Will calls you to restore the Golden Order, yet the Lands are full of those who would see you fail, crossing all boundaries to strike you down! Be wary, Tarnished. Be very wary of the red glow.