The Qwadro are a slang term, which has become accepted, for a group of four very powerful Aav-turn-demons. They first appeared in Trithofar in the mind of the Great Dragon Ollogriath.
Ollogriath, the parent of all dragons, the first dragon, the mighty shadow, the Wurm-Father, the Wurm-Mother, the Bearer of the Eyes, The Ascended Beast, etc. was a mighty and powerful creature who was designed and put on Trithofar as a great judge and ruler, the king of the world. He was described as being 'as large as the largest city,' as 'mighty as the most mighty storm,' and 'as beautiful as the sea.' He was given the ability to fight and attack, and even 'kill' aaviri.
No one knows exactly how it happened, but somewhere in his brain (though he birthed the other dragons, he is still considered a 'he' for some reason in the mythos) he snapped. It is said that the four demons known as the Qwadro possessed him and convinced him to revolt against the will of the Highest. They convinced him he should attack and murder the creations of the lesser aaviri, other mortal beings. When he did this, the other Aaviri believed he would destroy them as well as their people they helped shape. The Highest responded and broke Ollogriath, burying him in the world.
The Qwadro escaped back to their darkness. They waited for opportunities to undo and counteract any good or love of the Highest. The Highest loved his creation, and the works of art the Aav also created. The Qwadro would do anything to hurt these beings.
The Qwadro consists of four sentient Demons (which are Aaviri who work counter to the Highest or his perceived goals).
1. Kargoth: An agent of planned evil. He deliberately does things to hurt and destroy. A strategist who is believed to have come up with the idea of 'undermining' the Highest, not by directly attacking the Highest (which he knows well enough is impossible), but in hurting those things the Highest values and desires.
2. Ith: An agent of chaos and disorder. Ith's goals are to shake loose people's adherence to codes, beliefs, faith, hope, and societal restraint. He is lord of riots, insanity, and unspeakable horrors. He enjoys watching people give up hope for paranoia and defeat and enjoys watching things break apart. He has the mentality of a very powerful child breaking glass. Though his personality could be called masculine, he is not exactly male or female and enjoys screwing around with perceived gender roles anyway.
3. Lortho: An agent of deceit. She is lord of lies, deception, and using the truth to destroy lives. She is among the more cowardly of the Qwadro and prefers to attack from the shadows, or never really attack at all. She is also the lord of the undead, rot, and decay.
4. Ferro: Pure rage and brutality and unbridled emotions; wildness. This is the demon that helps a person lose control of themselves and cause harm to others. Can present him/herself as either a male or a female, depending on who or what he's trying to mess with. Usually, he likes to keep some kind of 'trophy' from his victims, and considers anyone with a bit of self-control, discipline, or morality to be a challenge worth attacking.
The Qwadro is responsible for some of the most devastating wars and horrors in Trithofar. They are responsible not only for the Breaking of the Great Dragon, but also for the subsequent "First" and "Second" Qwadro Wars. Some even blame them for the Breaking of the Eight (The seemingly obligatory wizard wars that erupted between the eight Aethren schools shortly after the Immigration of the Races).
The Qwadro are aaviri, which means they are extremely powerful, but NOT all-knowing and NOT all-powerful. The Highest struck them down, and gave to Trithofar the means to prevent them from coming back into the world.
Their master is a virtually unknown aav, who gives no name, in Trithofar who seems willing to guide other aaviri astray and against the Highest. Ancient writings say that the Qwadro knew they could not defeat the Highest good and love, so they would set about undermining it. As it were, they could not harm the owner of the house, so they would shake the walls until his precious treasures fell from their shelves and shattered on the floor.
Historically, in Trithofar, the Qwadro have had followers. The motives behind such misguided adherents and supplicants range from exceeding stupidity and short-sightedness to self-centered or self-preservative goals to pure evil. Here is a list of creatures/people who were known followers or adherents to the Qwadro.
1. Ghouls: Ghouls are beings that refuse to accept that they have died and will not let go of their life. Lortho allows them to believe the lie, and forestalls the judgment on their souls. The ghoul believes he is a living thing because he can think a little, can move, is still in the world, and some of them can even talk. They ignore the ghoulish things they do to survive, such as eating other creatures alive. Lortho literally blocks from their minds the things they do to serve her.
2. Vampires: Like ghouls, vampires are undead, but vampires have no issue with knowing it. They voluntarily surrender their souls to Lortho in exchange for power and as much time in Trithofar to exert it as possible. You cannot accidentally become a vampire in Trithofar, but must ask to be turned by another vampire or ask Lortho yourself.
3. Zombies: Zombies are merely lost souls trapped in an earthbound body. Trithofar's Aethren scientists have shown that zombies do not really have a firm grasp of what is going on around them. Instead, they perceive the world as light and dark and the desire to escape the latter in favor of the former. They see living things as a source of light that calls to them and they desire it. They will tear through and into anything to touch that light, which always evades and leaves as soon as they find it (which is why zombies try to eat any living creature they come in contact with). They are only frustrated as eating the creature extinguishes the light within them, and they are once again cast into darkness. Their curse is to perpetually seek the light of life they missed while alive. They wallow in their spiritual ignorance forever.
3b. Shamblers and other 'mindless' undead: Shamblers are basically another term for zombie-like creatures. Though a group of religious zealots in Western Trithofar have attempted to categorize zombies into different categories, zombies can differ almost to an individual level. Some of them turn people into zombies by biting them or otherwise physically contacting victims. Others do not spread any type of infectious curse. Some of them do not actively seek the living, but merely wander around and frighten people. Some of them can be quickly and easily dispatched with conventional weapons, while yet others are nigh indestructible. Some of them will respond to the command of one who summoned them, while others will not respond to anyone or anything around them.
Krethoks: Krethoks are among the more feared of this type of zombie. These are creatures that are
undead and rotting, but have a bit more ability to see the world around them. Therefore, they can navigate
around objects to get at what they want. They have a diminishing memory of their former lives and can, to
some degree, think. Depending on how they were made (whether by the infectious curse or through dark
magic) they will pursue prey and victims viciously and running upstairs, hiding in a tree, or closing a door
on them will not help one escape.
Syrvants (until I think of a better word): These are animated corpses that are brought back for some dark
Aethren's purposes. They are, effectively, enchanted puppets made of meat. They have no volition
except what their master's command.
Living Skeletons: Again, merely a puppet made of bone for a master. Of course, some Aavimancers are
able to enchant bones to make bone golems out of them. These creatures cannot be killed unless the
enchanted parts of the skeleton are broken and destroyed. Usually, an enchanted object (most often
found inside the skull) will allow the soul contained within contact with the skeleton body.
4. Ithiots: One of the most feared Qwadro-made creatures ever to walk the face of Trithofar. Ithiots carry an infernal secret which, when whispered into someone's ear, turns a person into an Ithiot. Ithiots are characterized as creatures who are undead, but who speak in complete or near-complete nonsense. A person who has had them impart their 'secret' to them is said to be 'whispered.' No one knows what the secret is they say to turn someone into an Ithiot, because no one has heard it out loud and not become an Ithiot. It is entirely possible that Ith possesses people through their ears and being 'whispered' merely means Ith is moving from one mind to another from mouth to ear. No Aethren or priests of Trithofar have successfully heard the whisperings of an Ithiot with any device magical or otherwise. What Ithiots say out loud is perplexing and possibly blasphemous or rude, but does not convert the hearer into an Ithiot. Once turned into an Ithiot, no known cure for the curse is known, though some people allowed to live have been 'quiet' for years, only to want to suddenly whisper the secrets of the universe in people's ears.
5. Ruthoks: Kunjels without honor who die in the rage can often turn into Ruthoks. A Ruthok is a perpetually raging undead who seems to only wish to pull other creatures limb from limb and reek total havoc on everything and everyone around them. Once they've found a victim, they will not stop chasing that victim until the 'scent' is lost, not even to chase other victims.
6. Cagulant: A cagulant is an Ithite creature. They are designed to cause disorder and to cause hopelessness. A cagulant is formed when a person, who is cursed, touches another person. Their flesh grows together and they literally cannot be separated without severe pain. As more people attempt to help people trapped inside a cagulant, they become stuck and the cagulant grows. Cagulants have been known to devour entire towns this way. The belief that if the 'heart' of a cagulant is killed motivates people to attempt to determine who started it, likely drawing them into the mess, and providing a false sense of hope. The innocent and trapped people screaming for their lives also prevents many people from being able to kill the monster for not wanting to hurt a trapped loved one. The only known and effective way for ending the curse of the cagulant is to kill every person trapped, then set the bodies alight and burn every single one of them, all without touching any part of a corpse. Even when people are dead, the cagulant can still trap people. Historically, cagulants have been destroyed using golems of various types, who feel no sympathy and who cannot get trapped. However, restmen are trained to deal with this problem.
This is all I have to say about this for now
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