Askanir is dangerous. Outside the security of a community, there awaits death in more forms than can be imagined. Some of those creatures are known from old tales, but there are some, that almost no one has lived to tell of.
The Void is a place of chaos, of dread and darkness. Its influence is always felt as corruption, as the power of mutation.
Voidhounds are creatures, that were touched by the Void. Wolves, bears, sabertoothed cats - whatever they
were, they are now abominations, unnatural in a way, only the Void can bring.
They serve those that confer with the Void, cultists and mad wizards, that work for those behind the Veil. They are guards and sheperds, driving their victims before them with their dreaded howls, right into the arms of their master.
Cultists of the Void are mostly mad, but some are even more mad than others. Those utterly devoted (and therefore utterly mad) to their strange masters from Beyond, may be blessed by them. Such a blessing is nothing a sane mind would accept, though.
The blessing of the Void transforms the body of the cultist into something insanely corrupted. It is an abomination so horrible, it can shatter a sane mind by mere looking on it. It's something gruesome, a mass of flesh that has been formed into the form of a nauseating larva, but with humanoid arms and hands - six of them. And on top of this gross mass of flesh, a multitude of eyeballs line a toothless maw.
The Voidspawn retains what is left of its former mind, it can still speak (though in a gurgling voice), but it loses its power to cast spells.
The Green is strong, it flows through the world, powered by living beings and providing life in a neverending circle. It creates life - and there are creatures that have been directly formed by it. Most of them are called Fey by humans, some druids call them Spirits of Nature, and some scholars named them Genii locii, spirits of a place.
Glowhoppers are known through stories and legends, all over Askanir. But what they are, or what they want and what powers they have, is almost unknown. They appear as small saurids, with muscular hindlegs and small arms. A strange antennae grows from their foreheads, and at the end, a small green light pulses.
They can make themselves invisible whenever they want to, and most of the time, they don't show themselves to mortals. They avoid them, having had a lot of bad experiences with them in the past.
Glowhoppers are bound to a certain place, most often one that has a strong connection to the Green. A vortex often has a Glowhopper guardian that protects it.
When they show themselves to mortals, they are friendly and helpful. Their powers are great, and when they like somebody, they will use that power freely. Treated with respect and kindness, a Glowhopper can be a real benefactor to a short lived human.