Corvin Gravaengr: An Oath of Vengeance
This tragic tale is part of Silvervein, a worldbuilding endeavor first conceived for a homebrew D&D campaign, and now reimagined for The Cathartic Archives. It explores a dark fantasy realm through interconnected stories, characters, and themes, with Corvin destined as one of its central protagonists.
The Tale Of Corvin
From the moment of his birth, Corvin was bound by fate. As a son of the Gravaengr family, noble house of the realm of Viminia, he underwent an ancient, sacred ritual—one that tethered his soul to a raven’s egg, forging an unbreakable, spiritual bond with the creature inside. From that moment forth, Corvin and Brachyr were inseparable—two spirits woven into the same thread of fate.
Corvin's mother and father, Lady Mara and Lord Thowinn Gravaengr, hired a tutor for him early in his life. In this role, the half-elf Thaddeus Garnys took up the care of the young noble, acting both as his mentor and his combat instructor.
Under the old officer's guidance, Corvin quickly became a skilled warrior and soon joined his father's ranks in their home, the city of Glyfholm. His prowess in battle earned him a station as the local garrison's second-in-command, serving alongside the garrison commander.
The city of Glyfholm held great strategic importance in Viminia. On one side, she was embraced by the ocean; on the other, she was enveloped by a towering rock wall, with access limited to narrow paths hewn into the stone. This geographical position made her harbor vital—both as a military stronghold and as a thriving center of trade.
Among Glyfholm’s noble families, the House of Sciellyn remained close allies of the ruling Gravaengrs, striving together for prosperity in Glyfholm. Their bond had strengthened over generations, leading to Corvin’s courtship of their proud young heiress, Wyrre Sciellyn.
But not all noble houses stood as allies. The House of Waegryn sought to claim power for themselves, growing their influence through both political maneuvering and open ambition–one hand pulling strings in the shadows, the other setting a stage of deception, distracting the public eye from their machinations. As tensions rose between the noble factions, rumors spread—whispers of the fabled Gauntlet of Unending Death, a powerful necromantic relic, being moved into the city. Fear crept through the streets, and into the hearts of the people.
Then, one day tragedy befell Glyfholm and the Gravaengrs. The skies darkened as if a great shroud had been drawn over the city, swallowing it in unnatural half-light. The attack came from two unexpected fronts.
From the south, they fell like rain. Corpses plunged from the cliffs, breaking upon the stone streets, their rotting flesh staining the pristine pavement–only to rise again in a shambling murderous horde.
From the north, they crawled from the sea. A legion of drowned dead stormed the harbor, severing any hope of escape. Within moments, the city was held firmly gripped in a cold, dead fist.
The sudden attack overwhelmed the palace garrison, leaving them unable to close ranks before the tide of undeath swept through its walls. Corvin and his family barricaded themselves within the grand hall, but it was not enough. The shambling hordes breached through their defenses, the undead swarm tearing through the noble line with merciless intent.
Corvin stood alone against wave after wave of undying foes, but to no avail as his strength dwindled by the unrelenting assault of endless claws and blades. Gravely wounded, he watched, helpless, as his entire family was butchered before his eyes. Death was moments away. But at the last possible second, Thaddeus found him. The old warrior pulled Corvin from the blood-soaked hall and dragged him through a hidden passage, escaping the fallen city.
They fled to Vainwood Hollow, a forgotten estate once belonging to the Gravaengr family. Once a temporary residence for noble affairs in the heartlands, its isolation and disuse made it an ideal refuge for the young lord at death's door, and his caretaker. For months, Corvin remained bedridden, his body shattered, his mind drowning in fevered nightmares of Glyfholm’s fall. When he was strong enough to move, his only solace came in his excursions as Brachyr—watching through raven eyes, as they soared together, over a world that had left them behind.
But in every nightmare he is haunted by a face veiled in shadows–the face of the human leader of the undead. His mind unable to reach out and take hold of the fleeting memory, as if it was torn out or buried by trauma.
One night, unable to resist any longer, he flew north–to Glyfholm. Through Brachyr’s eyes, he saw the truth: the House of Waegryn now ruled his city. They had stepped into the power vacuum left behind by the massacre. And in that moment, as if the veil had been torn away, his mind unlocked. Like a blade tearing through a thick fog, the face of his family's murderer became clear as day.
Ghjaldan Waegryn. The youngest son of the house that betrayed him and took away everything.
From that moment forth, Corvin devoted himself to one purpose.
At first, he struggled with even the simplest of exercises, his body weakened by injury and months of neglect. But where grief and loss weakened him, hatred made him strong. He shaped himself into an instrument of vengeance, forging a path that would lead him back to Glyfholm not as a noble, but as something else entirely.
He swore an oath of vengeance, vowing to hunt those with dark intent in their hearts and bring a reckoning to those who brought ruin upon his house.
And so the noble son of Glyfholm was laid to rest.
Yet from his ashes rose something else–a vindicator.
A revenant of vengeance cloaked in shadow and wrath.
The Ghost of Glyfholm, defiant and unclaimed by death.
Returned to bring justice and to set things right.
