“All that awaits is oblivion.”

Concept art by Marco Caradonna

The Deathless arrived without warning. Creatures of nightmare, beautiful and terrifying, they fell upon us while we were still struggling to comprehend what was happening to our world. The loss of so much life, the landscape forever altered, the vast tears in the fabric of reality bleeding Ether like raw wounds; we were not prepared.

In the remote northern territories between what was once Russia and Scandinavia, the isolated pockets of survivors living there stood no chance. Fighting for their lives against an enemy they could not even comprehend, they were wiped out within hours. The Deathless had taken first blood, and it would not be long before the rest of humanity learned of this new threat.

Since time immemorial they have watched our world through our own eyes. And they have shaped the thoughts and feelings of many; from gifted artists to deranged killers, all have been at the whim of the creatures from the realm of dreams. Clear motives are as difficult to ascertain as the personality of any single Deathless. That is to say, we simply do not know. What we do know is that the Breaking of the World has shattered whatever fragile peace existed between the species – and humanity is under siege.

Sculpting by Glauco Longhi

From what humanity has uncovered, it appears there are different ‘aspects’ to the Deathless, almost a distinct ethnicity. Where mankind has divided along cultural and geographical lines, each aspect of the Deathless is reminiscent of certain personalities or creatures from human folklore, usually from a particular region or culture. To date, the two aspects most frequently encountered by humanity are that of the Shadow and the Beast; the former resembling creatures from Slavic mythology, the latter closer to Western European paganism.

Czernobog, literally the ‘Black God’, is the de facto leader of the Shadow Deathless. He was first across the breach, leading an army of shadows in an inscrutable crusade. Manifesting in the physical world as a large winged creature resembling a demon of some kind, he is the nightmare vision of mankind’s destruction.

Like all Deathless born of Shadow he is almost intangible, like smoke coalescing into solid, physical form. His very nature, along with that of all Deathless encountered thus far, is anathema to modern machines and technology. For humanity’s frontline soldiers, this presents a unique challenge. Sweeping in under a cloak of shadows, Czernobog and his followers strike without warning, devastating their foes and leaving behind no trace but for the corpses of their enemies.