Gravenlings

"It is always possible the records are incomplete."

- Proverb of the Azurejays, Scholar-Knights of San Sylvester

This article is incomplete and will require additional work.

Gravenlings is a generic term used for the various monsters that purportedly inhabit Graven Keep from after its fall in ASM 50 when Kerr Ultwin corrupted them through the loss of control of a thaumaturgic ritual. By the time of the early 17th century ASM, the creation of the Gravenlings and the fall of Graven Keep was the stuff of the legendaria of Bastonia, the Confederacy of Sages, and the Orcish Nation, featuring as fodder for campfire horror-stories and as the subject of morality plays on the dangers of meddling in the supernatural forces that make up the known universe.

With no clear records and a paucity of relevant scholarship, the following creatures were all known, collectively, as Gravenlings:

• Graven Wardens, which appear to be the replacements of the various guardsmen of the keep.
• Gravenknights, impulsive, unnaturally large creatures who still bear the vestiges of their former armour while having expanded to several times their ordinary size. Gravenknights are nearly immobile, but once in motion become nearly unstoppable for their brute strength.
• Keeprats, which are not rats at all, but some manner of vicious, dog-sized orthopod. These form the largest burden on the surrounding area as they frequently slip the bounds of the keep and wind up causing trouble in Great Fen or the Lordless Lands.
• Judges of the Change, large, bloated, floating creatures which sail a few feet above the ground, manifesting powerful sorcerous and mental abilities. Judges of the Change are the only known truly-intelligent Gravenlings, but rarely leave the keep, except occasionally to deal with acts of revenge against aventurers who attempt to clear it.

It is nearly a matter of routine to attempt to purge Graven Keep. However, powerful magic seals the passages into the warren of excavation under the keep proper, meaning it never has been - and according to some, never can be - fully purged. While many attempts are successful at clearing out the accessible parts of the dungeon, ineivtably the castle becomes re-inhabited by other gravenlings and in some cases, attempting to clear the castle just makes the local situation worse.