The Forlorn

Summary

My name is Brigah, daughter of Layyah, from the northern tribe of Ukduiansi from Immensio. I have traveled the world, and for almost two hundred years, studied the Forlorn. Sadly, I am only human, and my time in this honorable task is nearly at an end. At the prompting of my friends, I have taken to writing down what I've learned of the Forlorn and their ways. I hope this helps to protect you, and to hopefully save them as well.   Many lands and its people call the Forlorn as part of the Forsaken, and this is not wholly wrong. But, they're unlike all other Forsaken, and we must address them as such. They're not the returned dead, who hunger to satisfy some wrong they'd suffered. They're not the rapaciously evil and greedy, who rot civilizations from the inside-out. They are, in many ways, something most people will never see in their entire lives.   I do not fully understand it myself.   Even now, as I write this, I struggle to capture it, for each Forlorn is different from the rest. Each one a victim or fool of something beyond words; something intangible that I know is there, but not how it could be described. Like what we fear lurks in the dark, so too do we know something lurks within them, at the edge of understanding.   If there is something I must use to describe them, then it is 'plague victim'. Afflicted by a disease I don't know, nor can understand, but just as you and I see those stricken with pox, we see the Forlorn stricken with the unknown. That is why I have spent my life trying to help them; to save them, if they can be saved at all.   I have asked of my friends among the baarham, the Starwatchers, to maintain this book. They should have the original, if you find yourself needing a new copy, or want to add your own discoveries of the Forlorn. I hoped to be the one to find a way to save them. Now I see that the road ahead is long; longer than even immortals would wish to walk.   They asked me why I spent my life on something so hopeless. It is because it is hopeless that I did. How could I call myself honorable if I did not help those who needed it most? Something I also understand not everyone believes as I do.   If you are reading this, either you are desperate for solutions, or believe in helping the Forlorn just as I do. I hope you are more successful than me.

— Brigah, daughter of Layyah, a wanderer whose virtuous and selfless deeds earned her many monikers. She's most well known as Sacred Brigah, patron of selfless saviors, within the Aerthen faith of Volapaws.

    There are those who believe knowledge is a curse, and that understanding begets evil. To such minds, the unknown is to be rightfully feared, and the bastion of civilization is sufficient enough. Many times, and quite often so, they are derided as fools, ignorant, and close-minded imbeciles. There is, however, some wisdom in the discerning mind; one who judges what they come to know, and whether or not it is truly safe.   Such is the fate of the Forlorn, for they are ones touched and taken by the unknown.   While most associate the likes of mages having 'gone too far' as those who become Forlorn, that is not inherently true. It is in fact remarkably difficult to discern any one thing as a culprit to what happens to the Forlorn. Each of them is so unique and different from one another that they each can have entire books written about them. It is through the efforts of those who brave this terrifying unknown, such as Sacred Brigah, that any amount of understanding can lift the veil.   Superstition is as much a falsehood as truth where the Forlorn are concerned. They are beings who work on their own concept of rules and logic, sometimes in stark defiance to the world around them. Something as simple as salt across a doorway becomes an impenetrable barrier, even if the window next to the door is wide open. It sounds and seems insane, but in the understanding of their specific rules, it becomes unbreakable truth instead.   Conceptually, there is great overlap between the Forlorn and the likes of divine beings. In fact, they're often considered a form of 'evil' divinity due to their destructive or dangerous natures. However, even the so-called 'evil' divine beings do not take kinship with them. They are, ultimately, Forsaken: beings outcast from civilization, heart and home, and any sort of family.   Sadly, it does muddle figuring out what they are a lot of the time. It's rather common to run into other types of beings instead of a Forlorn proper when chasing down their rumors. Still, there are some things to discern a Forlorn's presence, and hopefully what type it may be. The basic identifiers are:  

A feeling of connection, like one meeting a friend or family member.

An invasiveness that wants 'inside'.

Despair thick enough to drown inside of.

Purpose found that just 'makes sense'.

Knowing you have to do something, no matter what.

Very specific and particular ways of doing things, even irrationally so.

Something related to people or civilization, no matter how much its been changed.

  At least two identifiers can denote a Forlorn, but more definitely indicate it's a Forlorn proper. Many of these identifiers are often something that coincide with 'cursed objects', which usually inherit some unknown will or malevolent purpose to them. In fact, it seems cursed objects are drawn to the Forlorn, though the Forlorn themselves do not actively seek them out. Their relationship is a great mystery, but the two coming together can greatly complicate matters.   To learn more of the Forlorn and their peculiar natures, as well as how they're dealt with, consult their individual entries below.