In Heilbronn, the Blackwound is no mere geographical feature but an ancient scar upon reality—a festering tear between worlds created during the Sundering. This wound in the fabric of existence pulses like a diseased heart, periodically disgorging horrors that defy natural law.
Physical Manifestation: A miles-long chasm of writhing darkness that occasionally expands or contracts
Corrupting Aura: Surrounding lands gradually warp, with vegetation growing twisted and animals born malformed
Temporal Anomalies: Time flows differently near the wound, with scouts returning aged decades or as children
Political Significance: Kingdoms battle for control of the territories around it despite the danger—the monsters it produces are too valuable as weapons
Aristocratic in bearing, these humanoid creatures wear flesh like ill-fitting garments
Hunt exclusively in noble quarters, perfectly mimicking mannerisms of specific houses
Can only be identified by their inability to bleed when cut
Political value: Assassins pay fortunes for their skin-taking organs to infiltrate royal courts
Emaciated quadrupeds that feed exclusively on human sorrow
Drawn to locations of massacre, torture, or profound loss
Invisible until they begin feeding, when they materialize as skeletal hounds
Political value: Some courts keep them as pets to detect genuine mourning versus political theater
Creatures formed from concentrated forgotten history
Appear as events or people deliberately stricken from official records
Cannot be killed by those who have forgotten them
Political value: Historians and spymasters capture them to recover purged knowledge
Soldiers who died in formation near the Blackwound, returning as a single organism
Maintain perfect military discipline while infiltrating actual army units
Spread by converting one soldier at a time through whispered secrets
Political value: Some desperate kingdoms intentionally expose condemned battalions, hoping to create controllable units
The Black Wardens: Elite monster-hunters specifically trained to combat Blackwound entities
Containment Rituals: Regular blood sacrifices performed by border kingdoms to temporarily calm the wound
The Iron Line: Massive fortifications built to quarantine the worst outbreaks
Political Exploitation: Some nobles deliberately create conditions to attract specific monsters for capture and weaponization
Remember: In Heilbronn, monsters from the Blackwound are as much political tools as they are threats. Their appearances often coincide suspiciously with power struggles, suggesting some houses have learned to influence what emerges and when. The wisest rulers understand that while dragons and armies are known quantities, Blackwound horrors remain unpredictable—making deals with such entities is like trying to harness a plague.
The most successful monster-hunters are those who understand they are not merely tracking beasts but pawns in a larger game between powers who view these abominations as opportunities rather than calamities.