The Lurker of Sarangrave

The Lurker of Sarangrave Flat has lived since the time of the One Forest, and yet little is known of it. It is a creature of the waters and mires, but its exact form is never shown. Its only defining feature is its long tendril-arms, and an eerie misty silver light beneath the waters surface. It is drawn by displays of power, giving the belief it may feed on Earthpower. Those hunted by the Lurker become ensnared by a strange miasma, making it difficult to breathe or function. In later ages, after gaining the service of the Skest, its prey would be herded to pools or lakes of water where it would wait patiently for tribute. It lay dormant through much of the age of the Old Lords, and didn't rise till the Illearth War, claiming the Flat as its own, and reigning henceforth.

Origins

Through much of the old ages, little was said or known about the evil within Sarangrave Flat. It was rumored the three Ravers were born there, and that the Inderdict of the One Forest, and later the Colossus of the Fall, prevented evil from entering the Upper Lands. But the Lurker itself is not spoken of, it's not until the final age, in Against All Things Ending, that its finally named. The Ardent of the Insequent names it Horrim Carabal, a name with a striking similarity to Harad Khabaal, the last two words of power. Harad represents a stricture against selfishness, tyranny, malice, and other forms of despair, and Khabaal represents an incarnation of the Lords oath to serve the Land. The Skest, and the Feroce view the Lurker as a High God, and worship it as such. So Horrim may be a corrupt variance of Harad, as may be Carabal to Khabaal, since all life within the Flat is poisonous or feral, a corruption of the Land's life.

The only other hint to the Lurker's origins is given by Mahrtiir of the Ramen, to the Chosen after an attack on their company. The Ramen believe the Lurker to be another servant or tool of the Despiser, born in the begining of days as a weapon against Kelenbhrabanal, Father of Horses. As the old stories go, the Ranyhyn were once led by Kelenbhrabanal against the kresh of the Despiser, and there was a great war between them. But after years of bloodshed and violence, Kelenbhrabanal grew tired of watching his people suffer and die, and offered himself to the Despiser if he swore to spare the Ranyhyn. The Despiser slew Kelenbhrabanal, and broke his vow, and chased the Ranyhyn from the land, untill the coming of the Ramen. But the exact means by which he slew Kelenbhrabanal was unclear. The Despiser rarely took physical form, and if he had done so, why did Kelenbhrabanal not defend himself, and strike the Gray Slayer down? The Ramen believe the Lurker was the means the Despiser used to slay Kelenbhrabanal, a belief reinforced by the continued fear of the Ranyhyn. Of all the evils and creatures the people of the Land have encountered, only the Lurker has caused them to shame themselves to turn and flee, even in later ages. The Ramen believe the memory, shame, and horror is passed down through the horserites each generation.

Appearances

The Lurker made its first physical appearance during the Illearth War, secluding the Unhomed from the rest of the Land. The Lords sent many messangers, and even an Eoman, but they never returned or were heard from again. The Unhomed may have won their way through or around, but had fallen into a reckless despair to find the three lost brothers of omen. When Kinslaughterer began the murders at Coerci, a few Giants fled into the swamps and marsh, refusing to accept their doom, and were never heard from again.

Over time, three years, the silence from Seareach became a great cause of concern to the Lords, and they sent out a few of their number to investigate. First Lord Callindrill and Lord Amatin were sent, and were repelled early on by a "dark and nameless power". Lord Amatin's steed was slain, and she would have fallen too had not Lord Callindrill's Ranyhyn carried them to saftey. After than, fifteen of the Bloodguard with knowledge of the Flat and Seareach were assigned to the Lords Shetra and Hyrim, charged with the task of finding and aiding the Unhomed, with whatever harm may have befallen them. They were repelled by the Lurker on the Giantway, its miasma and the intense moaning of its slaves drove the Ranyhyn to madness, and the mount of Tull was slain in the escape. After a brief respite, the Ranyhyn sought to redeem themselves, and traveled through a single night from the Giantway, all the way to the Defiles Course. There the Lords and Bloodguard crafted rafts, and using Earthpower, steered their way down the polluted river. Along the way they encountered the lone survivor of the last Eoman, Warhaft Hoerkin. He had been driven mad, seemingly possessed by the Lurker, to serve as bait to its trap. He spoke of the end of the Giants, the corruption of the three brothers, and when Lord Shetra struck him for his claims, he began the maddening moan that had terrified the Ranyhyn. The Bloodguard ejected him from the raft, and the Lords attempted to flee, only to rush headlong into the arms of the Lurker. Lord Shetra was taken and drowned, as was the Bloodguard Cerrin. For the remainder of the journey, the Bloodguard believed the Lurker followed them, but there were no new attacks, it was seemingly satisfied with Lord Shetras powers.

During the time of the Sunbane, Covenant and his band attempted to cross the Sarangrave to reach Seareach, on their quest to find the One Tree. The Sarangrave remained essentially unchanged through the years, the only difference was the emergance of the Skest and the sur-jheherrin. The skest worshiped the Lurker as their High God, and would find it food within the Flat. When the Sunbane Coursers entered, they were tracked and hunted down untill they were sucked down into a mire. The band was able to move safely through the Flat after that, until Covenants restraint broke, and he used the wild magic. Such a display brought the full attention of the Lurker and its minions upond the group, and they were harried towards a silver lake the lurker was inhabiting. En route they encountered the Giants of the Search, and came together to defend themselves along the shoreline. The Lurker and skest were driven back, deeply injured, but not without inflicting some harm, including the shattering of Lindery Avery's ankle. While tending her wounds and debating their future course, the Lurker returned in vengeful rage, driving the company away from the water, into the arms of the skest. Only the time intervention of the sur-jheherrin saved the company, seeking to repay their ancient debt to the kinsmen of the Pure One. After the battle, the sur-jheherrin led the company east, out of the Sarangrave Flat. The Lurker attacked many times along the way, but the skest were beaten back, and itself was cowed by the might of the krill.

The Lurker was not seen again till the final age, as the Chosen and Unbeliever and their groups travelled along the margin of Sarangrave Flat. The Lurker sought the new Staff of Law, and its Earthpower, to protect itself against the coming Worm of World's End. It sent the Feroce to take it from the Chosen, using a illusion in her mind based on her own fears and doubts. She was forced to throw her staff to break free, and the Giants and Stave were hard pressed to prevent the Lurker from gaining it. After a difficult battle, Linden regained her staff and the Lurker was driven back. In fear, it sent its minions to the Unbeliever, beseeching an alliance. It ordered the Feroce to aid Covenant against the skest serving Joan, so that he could end her life, ending the caesures. The Lurker fears for its life, and does not desire the breaking of the Arch, a strange difference in the servants of the Despiser.