Xal'atath and the Skardryn - How the Harbinger Corrupts Dwarves
In The War Within, one enemy type that we will face are the Skardyn, deadly void-corrupted dwarves who we last encountered in the novel Night of the Dragon, and who have unique ties to the Harbinger of the Void, Xal'atath.
The Skardyn of The War Within
The Skardyn are aggressive, void-corrupted dwarves that have been transformed by their corruption into monster-like creatures. We will encounter them in-game for the first time during The War Within, where they act as antagonists. Their origin is linked to Xal'atath, the Harbinger herself.
Early on in The War Within storyline, one of the problems that players find the Earthen struggling with is broken machinery that they rely on for self-maintenance — preventing them from being able to archive their memories or recharge. In The Ringing Deeps Storyline, players discover how Xal'atath used this problem to manipulate the Earthen for her own cause. Xal'atath approached the High Speaker of the Ringing Deeps with the offer of an artifact that would repair the Awakening Machine, allowing the Earthen to be woken from stasis once more.
Xal'atath: It will perfect the machine. Your struggle, your suffering will be at an end. All will awaken… because of you.
High Speaker Eirich: Because of me...
Xal'atath: Your people will be restored. Reborn. Improved. And they will laud you as their savior.
High Speaker Eirich: Yes… yes! All earthen will awaken!
Xal'atath's words carried a hint of warning — speaking about «perfecting» the machine rather than «repairing» it, and that the Earthen will be «improved». In other words, she always planned to change the Earthen — but perhaps out of desperation, the High Speaker didn't seem to notice, and agreed.
Of course, Xal'atath's «improved» Earthen are Skardyn who are obedient to her.
Interestingly, this isn't the first time Xal'atath has brought about the creation of the Skardyn — they seem
