The Wraith are a race of undead specters native to the Nine Realms.
Biology[]
Wraith are not actually a species, but ghosts of vengeful dead that can be of any race that died in the Nine Realms. Wraiths are violent and unpredictable, making them uncontrollable, attacking the living. They appear as ethereal green ghosts. Physical attacks are harmless to them and they can only be killed by magic infused attacks or weapons.
History[]
Ichnar the Wraith King was infamously the most well-known wraith. He was a dark ruler that sought to press his will upon the world. The Wraith King almost triumphed but his dark tide was stopped thanks to an alliance forming among the free people. After two thousand years of peace, the memory of Ichnar faded into myth. Unknown to all Ichnar's will was bound to his bones and when his body was uncovered by a farmer whilst plowing his fields, the Wraith King was then reborn. Once again free upon the world, Ichnar summoned his Legion of Shadows to sow fire, fear and woe unto the Nine Realms.
The armies of the Nine Realms once again united as they done before to oppose Ichnar, but even their stout hearts and arms were not enough to defeat the undead and the two sides became stalemated. It fell to a party of nine heroes to go on a quest to seek the Lost Armoury of Thraigne where weapons forged from the bones of the dead god Azor could be made to render Ichnar mortal and vulnerable. Among this band was the wizard Ablard of the Grey Order, the Great Warrior-Prince Kasmir of the Iron Kingdom, Cousins Borrigan and Balthazar of the Kingdoms of Brass and Bronze, Lady Shimmer of the Vitrvuian Empire, Gaspar of the Stone People, King Tycho of the Dryads, the blacksmith Jack Gadling and his his half-brother Rob, who were distant relatives of Emperor Thraigne.
After many trials, the band of heroes won their prize, and the armies of the Nine Realms laid siege to Ichnar's realm, however only Rob and Jack Gadling managed to reach the slopes of the Morbid Spyre where Ichnar lair laid. Just as the events were coming to a close to decide the fate of the Nine Realms, an alien vessel appeared above the skies of the battlefield. The alien Thorn from beyond the stars had come to lay claim to the Nine Realms to mine the planet of magic of as they knew it as Quintessence. The ship then proceeded to aerial bomb the area of battlefield, destroying Ichnar, his armies and his enemies.
With the Wraith King dead and the united armies of the Nine Realms destroyed, the Thorn dispatched their Shrike Troopers to conquer and subjugate the natives. When the Thorn began actively seeking magic-wielders, Ablard who was the last surviving members of his band found himself on the run by fellow men as they wanted to turn him into the the alien occupiers for a bounty. He was saved thanks to the intervention of Crixus, a young but hot-blooded ork. Together they journeyed to what was left of the Dryad Kingdom the Heartwood where they met with Ablard's comrade Tycho for shelter. Unfortunately Tycho had decided to join the Thorn after suffering much loss of seeing not only his people die futile deaths but even his own wife at the hands of the aliens. The dryad wanted to turn Ablard in to solidify his position as a collaborator, but his daughter Princess Yarrow chose to free the wizard and the ork rather than bow before the invaders. To aid in their escape, Ablard used his magic to summon the dead dryads who were killed by the Shrikes when they razed the dryads forest. They had become uncontrollable wraiths and began to attack the alien shock trooper giving the three time to escape.
It was later discovered that Ichnar was not as dead as believed, but in fact hiding within Ablard's mind. When the wizard had combed the remains of Wraith King's lair searching for any signs of his friends. However he instead found Ichnar's remains which still contained the last vestiges of the wraith's spirit. The spirit had latched unto Ablard and laid in wait within his mind unknown to the wizard. After Crixus was discovered to be the avatar of the Ebora, the world spirit, Ichnar revealed himself. He attacked Crixus, intending to steal the power of the Ebora for himself and rise again. Having been humbled by the revelation of other worlds beyond the Nine Realms, Ichnar wanted to spread his evil beyond the stars. Ichnar though was stopped after Yarrow pierce him with an arrow made from the heart of a Firedrake. The attack allowed Ablard to regain control of his body but knowing that if he survived, Ichnar would still threaten his friends chose to sacrifice himself by instant combustion. The deed though did not destroy the Wraith King, who fled from the vessel and into the sky.
The Wraith King found a new host in the form Duke Eschatus, the Thorn leader of the Nine Realm's occupation. Ichnar now possessing a new body with the commands of a fleet and armada then launched an attack on the Nine realms to capture Crixus.
Sources[]
- 2000 AD: Issue-2011: Kingmaker Part 1