This shall be our finest hour: Painted World Invasion

I have finally arrived.
The painted world, land of exiles.
Banished from thorolund for “my occult” ways, the weaklings. They can’t recognise the power I hold. They can’t understand the need for
change. But I’ll show them. I’ll start anew here ... with my ember.



I saw the queen today.
I was in the annex. I had found a
blacksmith that could use my ember to forge weapons to use against my
foes. I glanced out a window and .. just
caught a single glimpse .. but I’m in love.
The blacksmith stood their knowingly as I stared after her. Now I understand these people, how they can
bear to live here, to serve in this frozen wasteland. And I know why I was drawn here. Revenge can wait.



I went to see the queen today to pledge my allegiance to
her. But I was blocked by a man named Etraiu. He considers himself her guard and protector. We argued for hours until we both realised
how deeply we felt for the queen. I like
the man deeply and I can see him having his place in my hunters.



I travelled the painted world today. Collecting all those with enough sanity to
think straight into my band. Etraiu has
already started using his heavy handed bluntness to strike fear into their
hearts. They’ll be a proper fighting
force in no time.



She came to see me today.
She simply appeared behind me while I was training the new
recruits. I stood slack jawed as she
thanked me for my dedication and asked if I would be her “hand”. I nodded dumbly as the recruits knelt about
me in prayer. From this day forward we
are not just hunters .. we are Priscilla’s Lifehunters.



Met a “man” called Siefer today. Swaggered through the painting like he owned
it. He called himself the “Hand of Nito”
and wished to make the alliance. Quite
frankly I thought he was insane, going off on wild tangents with no
meaning. I accepted his offer, thinking
at least it would make him go away. The
next day he turned up with 10 other “men”.
Right before my eyes they raised black phantoms of the crows and bloated
hollows that roam our world. I’m very
glad I did not reject his offer.



Siefer brought a new man with him today. Avrik the crow, his most trusted lieutenant. I like him much more than Siefer. Maybe I’ll arrange for the 2 to switch
positions.



Avrik visited today.
He came bearing bad news. Siefer
had gone rogue and gotten himself killed.
Now he was the new hand. Can’t
say I’m disappointed, I’ve always liked Avrik far better. He didn’t come with just that though. He brought a warning. Some upstart group of knights led by that
whoreson Oscar’s son is going round attempting to reclaim Lordran. They’ve already taken the catacombs and Avrik
needs helped. I sent some hunters with
him, they should be enough.



I cannot believe it.
Avrik dead, the gravesworn defeated and my hunters dead. I have underestimated these knights. I should have known the son would be as good
as his father. Alone that would be bad
enough but my involvement has dealt us a far greater blow. The knights know where we are, they know the
threat we represent. And they are
coming.



8 dead crossbreeds were found in their quarters today. All show sword wounds and burn marks. Those knights will pay.



Hihime was captured the other today. I told her it was too dangerous but she would
not listen. Et has been desperate to
rescue her but I have forbidden him.
This requires more planning than an attack of passion.



More corpses turned up today. I don’t know how they are getting in. I have hunters guarding the entrance yet they
continue to sneak in. My inaction is
giving them confidence. Well its about
time we got Hihime back.



That showed those upstart knights to venture into my realm. Dozens of them dead at our hands and Hihime
is with us again. They were pathetic,
screaming and running about as a bare 6 of my hunters carved a path through
them. That is just a taste of what they
will face. Even better a corpse used the
opportunity to sneak in. Avrik has returned
to repay the debt he owes us.

"The Eclipse? Every citizen of our world is as family, the Eclipse, are my comrades. We don't always get along, or even like eachother (fist fights are common), but any one would take a blade for any other. Its a special bond, one few outside the service understand, and its woven all the tighter by the small size and high risk nature of our missions. Each person must be able to trust their partner implicitly or both will die. We each have our own skill sets. I train the melee combatants, and Hihime the casters. The ambush and disguise training is joint and conducted with at least one other unit, as both stealth and counter stealth, are taught and practiced at those times. We do not train with uniformity in mind, rather, our goal in training is to discover, flesh out, and strengthen each persons natural abilities, while mitigating any weaknesses. All use deception and stealth, but we use these abilities in combat as well as ambush, having magic and hiding the ability untill that 1 cast kills the opponent, baiting a response with empty swings, then slipping by their counter and shoving a claymore through their chest, suddenly stepping in next to the opponent, then tripping them and dropping your zweihander into their face. This is stealth as well, and it is our specialty. We are not soldiers, we are assassins. A fact often forgotten by our opponents, just before they die. Like an eclipse, we bring darkness to any caught in our path."

Interview with Etraiu the Warrior on his soldiers.