The Faerie Ring renegade or beckons them to her under false pretenses Given her black tendencies, even those starvelings most cherished by her find meetings with Jasmine to be nerve-wracking affairs It is rumored that Jasmine actually devours her starveling child and bears it in her gut for a fortnight before passing it as a gaunt under her command Whatever dark alchemy occurs within her to make this so, Jasmine refuses to tell Typical Characteristics: Gaunts appear as smaller, weaker versions of Jasmine herself, in her primeval form Environment: The gaunts reside in Aralu along with Jasmine, lounging in the dirt of the holes they burrow, awaiting carcasses flung to them from one of Jasmine’s slovenly meals or from their black hat caretakers Woe be unto any who should enter a chamber in Aralu whose floor is laden with hidden gaunts, the resultant frenzy would give a shark nightmares Relationships: Used as little more than guard dogs and fodder, the gaunts are despised by Jasmine for their past transgressions and fearfully coexist with her in Aralu, doing all that they can to remain free from her sight while coming as quickly as possible when beckoned Strategy & Tactics: Possessed of a cruel cunning but little intelligence, gaunts prefer to hide, burrowed beneath the ground, and wait for an enemy to come near When they strike, they use their poison to weaken the prey and rely on numbers, swarming upon the poor, near-dead creature in a stomach churning feeding frenzy WINDSCORNED It is seldom that a race of fey is as depraved as their reputation, for ignorance and fear typically color opinions far more than fact On the other hand, there exist those fey whose inherent perversity can never — 61 —