The Hounds of Ch'Ihll (shades)
These pathetic beasts, mockingly referred to as ‘the toothless wolves’, are the house retainers of the Ch'Ihll household in Naggarond. Upon entry to the service of the Ch'ihll's the enslaved elves are made into eunuchs and given a copper plate medallion, as was the tradition in the courts of old Nagarythe. The retainers duties include the upkeep of the Black estate, its fortress spires, citadels and multifarious workshops, shrines and minor holdings. However, the majority of these rangers will be used to hunt the beasts that inhabit the grounds.
Each hound will have a role to play within the hunting group. The berserker will distract the head of a beast and attack it front on. The berserker is usually drugged before battle subsequently caring nothing for their own survival. Indeed it is considered bad form if a berserker returns unharmed from a hunt, reasoning that the prey they sought was not fierce enough to warrant their attention. The leader will direct action, another armed with a shard- net and impaler will dance with the beast to ensnare it, all the while being harassed by a relentless torrent of poisoned crossbow bolts. Dogs often accompany these groups of rangers to track down prey and bring them down if they break and flee.
Barvek Varr has a stylised tattoo of a crown upon his head, a symbol of his former status as leader within the rangers. The self styled ‘king of dogs' went four seasons in the fighting pits undefeated with his dire wolf Charger. Varr earned such emmity amongst his own kin that the dire wolf was poisoned after a pit fight against his brother's pet monster. Varr has two pups in training; Flesh Tearer and Talon and hopes to breed a fiend fierce enough to rest control of the clan away from his brother once more.