Hello everyone,
This is a series of posts in which we'd like to dive deeper with you into a large and substantial part of The Thaumaturge's lore - the Salutors. This week it's time to introduce Upyr, the first salutor tamed by Wiktor.
Restless spirits at the Powązki Cemetery
A local gravedigger has disappeared without a trace. Could it be somehow related to the ghosts that, according to some seekers of otherworldly phenomena, frequently roam the Powązki Cemetery?
While it’s possible to read fairy tales about ghosts and fiends in many books for children, it seems that some of these stories may have a grain of truth in them. Powązki, proud of its reputation as a rather peaceful district, has oddly always attracted seekers of otherworldly phenomena. One such “ghost hunter”, a mister Ewaryst Hauke from Cracow, recently claimed that he is in hot pursuit of an ethereal being.
As he says, an “upyr” (or simply a ghost in other words) of a long-dead nobleman from Podolia haunts the cemetery, lurking in the shadows and waiting to possess the weak-minded. As proof, Mr. Hauke points out one of the local gravediggers who has been missing for many months now.
As Hauke recollects, weeks before the man’s departure, the unlucky gravedigger was acting strange. His coworkers even claim that he’d become a totally different person, mumbling to himself, sometimes even in Latin. One day he simply left the house and never came back.
Monsieur Hauke thinks that such a situation may occur again, as “upyrs” are naturally drawn to people overtaken by grief and despair - two commonplace emotions at funerals. When asked about how to defend oneself against this “upyr” our interlocutor refused to disclose any answers for free.
Strangely enough, the hapless gravedigger isn’t the only person missing in Warsaw as local police officials inform us regularly about such cases asking if we can help. Are any of these cases connected somehow to the spirits resting at the Powązki Cemetery? Our readers have to judge for themselves.
Powązki Cemetery, Warszawa 1905
Powązki Cemetery offers stillness and tranquility both to the living and those who found there their final resting place.
This quiet part of the city attributes a great part of its inner peace to one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Warsaw. Founded at the end of the XVIII century, Powązki Cemetery serves as the final resting place for Warsaw's most esteemed citizens. One can only imagine how many stories its inhabitants could tell if they only could. Some say that if you listen carefully to the wind dancing among local graves you might hear the voices of those long gone…
A ghost of a tormented soul
Man’s existence is fragile and hangs on a thin thread. Yet sometimes, as ancient Slavic legends say, this thread is severed so violently and unexpectedly that its owner gets stuck somewhere between life and death. Thus, an “Upyr” is born – an ethereal being that makes people shiver with its cold, spectral touch.
Or maybe Upyrs are born through curse, as others say, or due to the suicide of a tormented being? No one knows for certain, but we do know one thing: Upyrs are full of malevolence towards the living, as they can see a life once lived, yet cannot fully bask in its light.
Old scriptures tell stories of talented thaumaturges who could ensnare Upyrs and make them do their bidding, though the stories of those who instead became their puppets are far better known…
Upyr - the one who's always there for you
Upyr came to Wiktor when he was still a child. Although frightening, he's always been there for him. Now it's up to Wiktor to restore their weakened bond.
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Thank you! Please share your thoughts on Upyr and stay tuned for more salutors in the upcoming weeks!
Take care,
Fool's Theory and 11 bit studios
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