Flayed

The Flayed are a feared and mysterious presence in Estoria, rarely ever seen in the light of day and void of humanity. Not a scholarly mind in the world knows how they come to be, though several theories and legends offer suggestions as to their origin. They strike terror into the hearts of the righteous, clawing large complexes of tunnel deep into the earth and avoiding daylight. They live here till the dreaded March of the Damned, wherein they are led to the surface by a Speaker to make war upon all those who live on the surface. Such are the Flayed, mysteries and harbingers.

Though it is only a brave few that actively seek out and combat the damned, centuries of facing them has rendered a level of knowledge as to their physicality and mannerisms if nothing else. The Flayed are named as such for their dreadful appearance, seeming to be regular humans but skinned from head to toe and with empty eye sockets. In this sense they are one, yet each Flayed is uniquely malformed with growths and defects that only lend credence to those that say they are outcast sinners or divine punishment to threaten mankind. The Flayed often have sharpened claws growing from their fingers instead of nails, long and jagged things that serve both as weapons and as tools to carve out the large underground cave systems they live in.

There is little by way of a definitive culture for the damned, as very few scholars are willing to risk studying them in their natural environment. They seem to communicate through grunts and a sort of speech that is almost human, if indecipherable. Soldiers dedicated to fighting the Flayed have reported they seem to divide into warring factions in between their marches upon the surface, but beyond that no evidence has been found of a deeper culture or civilization.

The Flayed are a terrifying and mysterious presence, and after the last great March of the Damned the nations of Estoria universally established orders of warriors dedicated to fighting them. Though some are more notable than others, all have a role in ensuring that the Flayed remain in the earth below and do not again threaten the world above.
 * 1) The Cruzados of the Kingdom of Lleida
 * 2) The Vigilants of the Church of Ignis(now largely fractured, splintered into the Sacred Band)
 * 3) The Paladins of the Flame of the Kingdom of Almeron.
 * 4) The Torchbearers of the Stahlheimian Empire
 * 5) The Hunters of the Commonwealth of Lorenthal
 * 6) The Flameguards of the Varesian Confederation
 * 7) The Wards of the Old Faith of the Kretingan Order
 * 8) The Watchers of the Grand Principality of Kronstadt
 * 9) The Gryphonguard of the Kingdom of Highreach
 * 10) The Purifiers of the Verilius Imperium
 * 11) The Totengaard of the Kingdom of Vasteras