The Hollow Eater

The Hollow Eater is a long-forgotten terror that prowls the desolate areas around the ruined tower.
Once a human man, he was transformed through a dark ritual gone horribly wrong.
The magic he invoked to cheat death twisted him into something inhuman, a creature that feeds on fear, hunger, and despair.
The Hollow Eater is nearly immortal, with each passing year making it stronger, sustained by the hopelessness it inspires in others.
Its insatiable hunger is driven by the power of forgotten grief, growing stronger the more isolated and abandoned it becomes.
The creature is said to be bound to the ruins, its presence haunting the tower and the surrounding land.
It preys on those who venture too close, but its true nature is more insidious.

  Parents tell their children that the Hollow Eater lurks in the shadows, ready to steal their souls if they wander too far into the woods or stray too close to the tower.
The legend spreads from one generation to the next, and with each telling, the monster grows more terrifying.

  The children of Wildhorn sing songs and nursery rhymes about the Hollow Eater, each verse growing darker with each retelling:

“The Hollow Eater comes at night,
A shadow in the moon’s pale light,
If you hear the scratching sound,
It’s too late, you’ll be found."

“In the tower, it does hide,
In the cracks where shadows bide,
It waits for you, with hollow eyes,
Feeding on your desperate cries."

  And also a song that goes:

  “The Hollow Eater comes to play,
When the stars begin to fade,
It knows your name and knows your heart,
And drags you to the darkened part.”

“If you see it by the dawn,
With the sun so pale and wan,
You’ve lost the game, the Hollow’s won,
And in the dark, you’ll come undone.”


    These songs aren't just for fright—they're passed down through generations as warnings.
The rhymes include subtle clues for the children on how to avoid the creature—how to run, how to hide, and how to survive. 
Some say the songs have power, as if the lyrics themselves protect the children by embedding survival instincts deep in their minds.

Locals refer to the creature in various ways, each nickname reflecting the growing unease and fear surrounding it:

The Wretched One:
Reflecting the monstrosity it became.
The Hollow Man: Reminding those who dare speak of it that the creature was once human.
The Forgotten Beast: An acknowledgement that the creature has been abandoned to its fate, lurking in the void of history.

  There are sine true-ish Claims, some believe the Hollow Eater is a spirit that can possess the living.
There are rumors that it can enter your body and make you do terrible things.
People claim to have seen shadowy figures darting from the corner of their eye, often in places near the ruins.
False Rumors: There are stories that the Hollow Eater can only be killed with a special relic—an amulet said to be hidden within the tower itself. Others believe the creature is invulnerable to steel and can only be defeated by fire. These tales spread in the taverns and around campfires, but none have been proven true.
A Man's Encounter: One man, a former adventurer named Orlin Merriweather, has spoken of his encounter with the Hollow Eater. Orlin wandered too close to the ruined tower while traveling with a small group.
He was the only one to survive, though he was left completely unhinged by what he saw.
He speaks of the Hollow Eater’s eyes—black, empty pits that seemed to drain the very soul from his body.
He claims it spoke to him, whispering promises of eternal life in exchange for his soul, but that’s when the madness took hold.
Orlin has since been deemed mad by the locals, muttering to himself in the tavern and in the streets, sometimes clutching at his chest in an attempt to protect himself from the "whispers" that still haunt him.
His warnings are ignored, and he’s now treated as little more than a drunken fool, though a few still look upon him with a hint of concern.

  The Hollow Eater’s legend grows darker with each passing year, and while some dismiss it as nothing more than stories to scare children, others believe it might not be so fictional after all.