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Nohks somewhat ignore this “rule” and appear in or pursue one beyond the understood bounds of light and dark. Appearing at night and believed to be the souls of those who died in the wild, left unburied or upset, they return to enact revenge, express envy, or even hunt, preying on fear and flesh alike. They are quite popular in horror media due to their variety, fulfilling roles similar to demons, supernatural slashers, vengeful spirits, poltergeists and overwhelming danger borderlining on cosmic horror. It’s believed they always appear at night and if the animals don’t get you, the nohks will, as they are unafraid of approaching a home and even entering one if the lights are out to steal and cause trouble. While still weak to light itself and driven off by certain things (prayer, ritual, light, etc), their willingness to breach the line of civilization, possibly due to having been human once, is a very real fear.

Most nohk remain outside, making themselves a nuisance and warning against leaving at night, however those bearing significant grudges or certain varieties from myth are able to take it a step further by entering the home or attaching to an individual. Rare as these are, they are popular in media and have lent to the widespread worship of light and the aurora in some regions whom believe it protects them from nohk influence not dissimilar to divine protection on earth. Nohk problems left unattended can escalate from mild nuisance to the “entering the home” variety over a matter of weeks, thus blessings and cleansings are common in some places. Nohk retreat or die when day returns if they have not possessed a house or person; if they have they will fall dormant until the next night wherein they will resume their activity. At this stage, full “exorcisms” are necessary.

Nohks are categorized as immoral/evil, dark, night dwelling, intangible beings that sleep during the day, are weak to light, and prey on human emotions. Some categorize veshura as a type of nohk because of these criteria, others debate that veshura are not evil or ill-intended enough to be a nohk, as nohks are almost exclusively considered “evil”. Scholars use it to simply categorize loosely related folklore creatures by shared traits regardless of moral perception.

The movie series “Nohk Nohk” is very popular franchise that explores the variations of nohk through horror, however the fan space has split opinions on the era-2 series that went the route of “simple, straightforward horror” rather than use the subtext and artful variation of the era-1 movies that made them popular. A change of director is blame for this quality drop, however the original writer and a new, third director are promising a return to form in era-3. There are currently 7 movies in the series, the original trilogy (era-1), the new quadrilogy (era-2), and the 8th being the start of the “reborn” series. Fans are hesitantly hopeful.

The Lightless

An unusual kind of creature that stems from Arribak and Outland mythology that borders on an urban legend, whispered through the Runner’s Guild as travelers share accounts of witnessing empty shells and mangled endos walking around in various states of disrepair. A number of varieties have been documented by folklorists that have one major overlapping trait: a lack of etherylle in a robot body that is still operating. Some of these “zombies” are fully functioning and coherent, if not a bit slow or janky, however they “don’t bleed” if attacked, while others are mindless shells moving about despite having no visible source of energy and thus no way to stop unless stopped. The less coherent the units are, the more “savage” they seem to behave, operating on their most basic codes devoid of personality; for simplistic units such as Dawns, this is not very concerning, but security units and military drones are exceptionally dangerous in this state, however this only accounts for initial hostility. Any Lightless shell can exhibit defensive, aggressive behaviors when interrupted, confronted or harmed; they cannot be reasoned with.

Research into these sightings has yielded no explanations beyond theories of some unknown anomaly or new mineral causing some sort of effect on discarded parts, or even a full-on hallucination from the human psyche. More metaphysical leaning groups ponder on the presence of “ghosts” or forgotten gods raising the dead in a way, but there is no evidence to suggest these beings even exist, let alone why or how.

Eng'avak

Where it is cold and dark, when firelight dies and starvation begins, there will be the fear of it never ending. This all-encompassing fear that preys on a primal need to survive coupled with the natural avoidance of the dark and that which lies within it inevitably appears in some way, somewhere. On earth, there are wendigo, yuki-onna, yeti, and others who thrive in the soulless winter snow and feed on the unlucky lost within them; on Azil, the only polar area is the dark swath of southern tundras belonging solely to the Hannunak, the only people brave (or insane) enough to eak out a living in the least habitable part of the shell. There, they warn and whisper about the dangers of snow storms and trying to leave during The Still, as the night predators hunt when all sound is absent; supplies must be tended to and maintained to prevent the need to leave, lest one’s body join the wastes as an Eng’avak, They of the Still Snow. Eng’avak are described as icy-skinned beings that vaguely resemble trees when resting, bodies twisted and gnarled into shape so they can hibernate through The Hum; when they rest, they are indistinguishable from trees at a distance, but up close are made of translucent ice. When The Still comes, the eng’avak stir with a terrible crack, stalking the forests for stragglers with the sound of breaking tree branches in their wake.

It’s believed the eng’avak are trees grown from the bodies of those who died of exposure while looking for food, becoming frozen down to their core as if turned to ice. A tree or shrub sprouted from these corpses will not be a normal plant, taking on the form of a humanoid in order to move through the forest in search of that which they died for: food. This is believed to be punishment for negligence by the ancestors, as no one should need to leave for food in The Still if they were responsible and doing their duty during The Hum.

Eng’avak have a variety of sizes and shapes and are surprisingly fast, able to move through the forest with acute knowledge of its layout and unbothered by drifts of snow. Their preferred method of hunting is to use their uncanny knowledge of the forest to drive prey into a corner, cutting off their retreat, and making themselves known with their cracking wood sounds to spook and scare, as the adrenaline keeps the body from growing cold. If the snapping starts, it’s too late and you are being hunted.

The only known method to avoid the eng’avak once they’ve taken interest in you is to leave offerings of fragrant food behind before leaving the area calmly. Looking at the creature invites it to follow you, running engages a chase, which they always prefer over pre-killed foods, however they are still scavengers as well as hunters, prioritizing food over all else due to how they come to be. It’s tradition to carry a spare ration when traveling, often pickled, marinated or rubbed with warming spices to entice the creature to eat that rather than hunt and provide a chance to escape. Keep your eyes on the ground, back to the sounds, and do not run.

Even if you hear a familiar voice.

Being made of ice, eng’avak will stay away from light and heat, thus campsites and villages are safe so long as the fires are burning. Rarely will an eng’avak follow one to a village unless they have a grudge, which can be determined by the howling and scratching outside. If an eng’avak has taken offense to you, the village may choose to throw you out to deal with your fate to protect themselves.

Remember to pray for their soul to rest, satiated, as you give them food in order to avoid disrespecting them.

Extra details and behavioral changes between clans give these creatures a wide variety of subtypes, ranging from going outside for ANY reason, not just food, to reflecting incomplete purposes, not just starvation. Rites to rest the soul of an eng’avak sometimes involve fulfilling their unfinished business. The Chakush-eng’avak is a special variety thought to come from the bodies of those who were murdered and left in the snow; this is thought to discourage villagers from using lethal force against each other.

Children are encouraged to do their chores with stories of eng’avak, parents often using them to push their children to behave as their parents don’t need to run errands in The Still and risk becoming a monster. It’s extremely effective.

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