Arcana: Creatures

He Who Walks Behind

A Creature for Everway

by Mark Edwards

As told by Weaver, of the Ravel Magic School:

There is a legend on many spheres, especially those where great forests and jungles sprawl...

Sometimes a hunter goes out and does not return.

Sometimes a spherewalker enters a gate and does not appear at her destination.

Sometimes a group of travelers moving through lonely country at night shrinks in number as each member disappears, one by one.

There are explanations that are natural, of course: wild beasts, brigands, the occasional madman. But some say that any who travel lonely ways risk being hunted by He Who Walks Behind.

No person has ever seen He Who Walks Behind. As his name suggests he stalks behind his victims in the most insidious manner. Moving deftly and silently, he stays but a finger's width distant, and if his quarry turns around He Who Walks Behind moves with him, staying just out of sight. If you look right, he shifts left, always staying behind.

Have you ever had a squirrel circle a tree trunk just ahead of you, barely glimpsed, somehow second-guessing your movements? He Who Walks Behind does the same. And when the moment is right he pounces with no sound, leaving no track.

He can be sensed. If the hairs stand up at the back of your neck as you travel, your Spirit may be detecting his dark presence. If you occasionally hear quiet footsteps just out of step with your own, it may be his feet trying to match your pace. Some say that a traveler should carry a pocketful of pebbles and cast them over her shoulder if she suspects he is following her. There are others who say that if one is stalked, a few pebbles will do little against such a creature.

I have emphasized the words "he," "him," and "his" in reference to He Who Walks Behind, to denote the fear and awe obvious in Weaver's voice whenever she referred to the beast as she related this chilling tale. Weaver insisted on calling the creature "he," and the few references I've been able to locate about He Who Walks Behind consistently use masculine pronouns. I shall continue my research, and I have submitted a Quest Proposal to the Chamber Platinum, in the hope that others may succeed where Seeker failed. --Quill, scribe for Chamber Platinum

Seeker, the greatest hunter among spherewalkers, once swore to capture, or at the very least see, He Who Walks Behind. Seeker spent nearly a year in the jungles of the sphere of Emerald Jungle, searching for this elusive and deadly creature. Seeker failed to see or capture the beast, but his hunt is legendary for its partial success--Seeker is the only one known to ever survive an attack of He Who Walks Behind. His quick wits and quicker reflexes saved him, but it is a tale he refuses to elaborate on. From the encounter Seeker bears eight scars from great claws, four on each shoulder.

Emerald Jungle [is a realm] where strange creatures live under a vast canopy of foliage that all but blocks out the sun.
-- Everway Playing Guide, p. 24

He Who Walks Behind copyright © 1998-1999 Mark Edwards. Used with permission.
Warrior image by Janine Johnston copyright © 1995-1999 Gaslight Press. All rights reserved.