Rook Ingellvar - Blog Posts

Finished Tarot Piece of my Rook Raevan. Let me know what y’all think

Ace Of Cups

UPRIGHT: Love, new relationships, compassion, creativity.

REVERSED: Self-love, intuition, repressed emotions.

WIP Wednesday: working on another tarot themed illustration for my Rook Raevan as the Ace of Cups card

Newly minted ambassador Josephine Montilyet is being shown around the Grand Necropolis by the snivelling nobility. They intend to show her how Mourn Watch take care of the Necropolis as well as boast about their ethically sourced workforce. When they enter, the first thing Ambassador Montilyet notices is a skeleton wearing a flower crown. It's poorly constructed yet surprisingly holds together as the skeleton swings it pickaxe.

They come across another and another until now even the skeleton guards are wearing them. The noble is getting noticeably upset, confused and somewhat angry thinking someone is playing a prank on them and trying to ruin the ambassadors opinion of Nevarra. They decide to take her to the memorial gardens only to find the source of the disruption.

A young Foundling who goes by the name Ingellvar is offering anyone they come across a flower crown, grinning from ear to ear when they take it. Vorgoth assists. The noble intends to take the being aside and lecture them on keeping their ward in check only for Ingellvar to offer Josephine a flower crown.

She accepts.

Twenty years later, Josephine still has that flower crown pressed and safely preserved behind framed glass. It's one of her favorite gifts and a fond memory of a child happy amongst the dead and their eldritch guardian watching over them.

Crypt Baby Rook was apparently a street kid when they were little and I’m now imagining little baby Rook as the Mourn Watch’s feral cat. They would catch 6 year old Rook wandering around the Necropolis hanging out with the wisps and skeletons but as soon as someone alive started trying to talk to them they’d hiss and bolt away. The Mourn Watch would leave out food for them but if anyone tried to interact with them, Rook was going to disappear for the next 3 to 5 business days. They were either hiding out somewhere in the back alleys of Nevarra City or tucked away in some crypt in the winding halls of Grand Necropolis chilling with the dead. Only reason they managed to get Rook to stay in one place was because their magic developed and they couldn’t let the kid keep running around unsupervised after that

i think it’s easy to only think of mages when we look at the mortalitasi but the mourn watch has elite non-mages too. here are some descriptions of mourn watch aligned items that we’ve seen in the gameplay videos, which i think speak to where a non-mage mourn watch rook might be coming from

Enchanted Longblade, a sabre: “Imbued with necrotic energy through carefully managed rituals in the Grand Necropolis, this blade is deadly in the right (or wrong) hands.”

Cryptwood Bow, a shortbow: “This bow is crafted from the ancient death-touched trees that grow deep in the crypts of the Grand Necropolis.”

Duelist’s Blade, a rapier: “This razor-sharp blade, plucked from an ancient hoard, is surrounded by a deeply menacing aura.”

Necropolis Defender, a targe shield: “The elite guards who stand watch at the gates of the Grand Necropolis use these shields to guard against both the living and the dead.”

The Iron Cast, heavy armour: “This armour’s vividly sculpted musculature is a testament to Nevarra’s unrivalled knowledge of anatomy.”

I'm quite set on playing an Antivan Crow Rook first but I have some loose thoughts about a Mourn Watch Rook, just because of how metal that backstory is

they/them - who cares about gender among the undead?

very pale, greyish complexion, they've barely ever poked their nose out from the tombs; pretty much look half-dead already

have a very good sense of direction in the Necropolis, much better than anyone else, rarely gets lost

serves a kind of keyholder role - has keys to a bunch of crypts, tombs, corridors and passages

no one is 100% sure where all these keys come from

knows exactly what key goes where and how to get to the lock from anywhere in the Necropolis

has a lot of love and sympathy for the undead

absolutely hated leaving the Necropolis and aches to get back; is pissed off at their superiors for making them leave their only home because of a bunch of snotty nobles

a rogue?

a nerd

not fully up to date with what's going on outside of the Necropolis (but has all the tea about what's going on inside) and with other nation's cultures and customs

their last name Ingellvar comes from the name on the tomb they were found in - the Mourn Watch actually looked into this family after finding them but the Ingellvars died out centuries ago and there are no traces of any descendants; the name stuck with them though

Yeah it's me again. Yeah it's more emmrook. Yeah it will happen again.