The Merciless Hand
One of the Three False Gods, the last guardians of humanity.
Lore under the cut:
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At this distance, the only thing you can do is stay still, hold your breath, and pray.
Often it doesn't help anyway.
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The Hand is the epitome of an Under predator. Unlike the terrifying singing Wall or the seemingly everpresent, yet non-personified Flesh, the Hand is a breathing, walking Being. It is massive and it is fast - and therefore, it is hungry.
The Hand is always on the move, always searching for its next victims. Its hunting grounds stretch as far as its prey might wander, as far as the Under itself. Its mark - bloody prints of monstrously large human hands - taints the walls in rusty red reminders of its nearly undisputed reign over the tunnels.
It is cruel and cunning and resourceful to the extreme. Its blindness isn't even a limitation - it knows when you see it. It senses fear from the tiniest squeak, from the faintest rustle of clothes against tensing muscle.
It is blindingly fast on the hunt, patient and persistent in the search. It dances along the walls with uncanny grace, diving in and out of shadows. Poking. Testing. And then snapping.
The Hand displays a surprising amount of restraint for a creature that can obliterate its prey by sheer mass alone. Which is why it is so often underestimated by those who see it for their first and their last time.
An object of dread and fascination, the Hand is both the boogieman and the guide. Where it treads, we may pass. Where it hunts, we may find sustenance. If we follow its example and never cross paths with it ourselves, we might yet have a chance of surviving this hell.
Many fanciful epithets are used to denote the qualities of the God of the Underworld - not least of which is "The Merciless". Much like the monsters of the deep sea, the Hand rarely feasts, and so never passes an opportunity and never lets go of its prey. It will pursue for as long as it senses movement, and it will kill with no regard for pity or satisfaction. It drags off corpses and impales them on rocks to eat later. It tears and twists them in grotesque displays because it understands the fear of the little hairless monkeys that seem so paradoxically familiar.
And it uses it.
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Be quiet.
Lie down slowly. In a tight space, if possible. Stay still.
Away from the fire - it will search around it.
Hold your breath. Listen to its footsteps - it will try to wait you out multiple times.
Pray the earth swallows you and then lets you out alive.
Timelapse | Secrets of the Under
