The Pann: a Legend of the Samael Elves

A most curious branch of the elven family. The Pann are few in number, so few, in fact, that most in the Central Cavern believe them to be legend. But to anyone who has traveled into the deeper caves, the fear of an arrow springing without warning from the darkness is very much real. The true story of these creatures is hard to tell and how these eyeless elves became the most feared archers seems almost a cruel joke.

Pann Appearance

The Pann have the form of an elf, save for their extended eyeless faces. Their skin has the color and texture of charcoal. The Pann do not breathe or eat: the few times they have been seen they simply stand unmoving in the darkness, and could easily be mistaken for statues were it not for their rather striking practice of carrying their arrows and short swords stabbed into their own body. They lack any sense of modesty, wearing only a length of cloth draped over the shoulder or loosely wrapped around the body held in place by spikes.

Pann Ability

The Pann are seemingly immortal and neither bleed nor feel pain. Wounds that would kill any other elf are no more than an inconvenience to them; lost limbs are regrown in a matter of days. Old records even speak of Pann taken captive and completely destroyed, their bones ground to dust and scattered to the wind, only to reappears weeks later. No known way of killing them has been confirmed, but accounts are severely limited as encounters are rare, with most consisting of whomever sees a Pann running away as fast as they can.

Pann Culture

Little is known about the Pann culture or lifestyle. The most well-known fact about them, or at least the most well-told to scare children, is that they hunt beasts, elves and humans alike, only to kill and leave the corpses to rot. It would be easy to dismiss them as mere mindless beasts killing in the darkness, but from our findings there is more to their story.

They dwell in deep dark places, sometimes alone and sometimes in small groups. The few times they have been seen they never speak, make fires or seek shelter, rather they simply face each other in silence for hours on end. They roam the darkness without lanterns or paths to lead them. Pann children have never been seen and some speculate that they don’t reproduce at all, instead they have simply all survived from the time of the Faded Kingdom, which would make them possibly the oldest living elves. Recent rumors have suggested that some Pann have been working as mercenaries for the Refir, though we do not know why as they seem uninterested in all worldly possessions. (Further investigation is warranted.)

Pann History

The Pann are mentioned in the old tale of “The Tragedy of the Faded”, placing the events during the fifth triquennium also known as the “Dark Age of Vision”. How much truth there is to the story is still very much up for debate.

The story tells of the Faded elves, how they narrowly fled both the Wrathflame and the Akkora, and how they received a vision of a third great calamity that would befall their people. They sought refuge in the deepest parts of the world and vowed to become strong enough to face this threat. In the depths, the Keeper of Secrets answered their call and promised them magic that would save the kingdom.

The most devoted of their kind formed a force to guard the kingdom and trained both physique and mind to perfection in a ritual to create a new body and leave all worldly desires behind. With their new magic they call forth a substance from the Realm of the Keeper, stronger than rock but as light as the darkness, and with it they crafted new bones for themselves. With ash, burned from sacred trees, and blessed water they sculpted a new body. The ritual culminated with the discarding of their mortal body, by the strength of will escape the Keepers grasp and with spirit enter the new body. Only a few succeeded and became the guardians of the Faded Kingdom.

Thinking they were prepared to face any foe, the Faded lived in peace for an age, but fate is cruel and by the end of the story the tragedy of the Faded came to pass. Seeking knowledge in the dark, the very same power that promised to save them came to be their demise. And their perfect warriors could but stand watch over a dead kingdom.

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