Ilyanna, the Seed of Sorrow, is coming to the tabletop!
The Bloodthorne are the newest faction in Shroudfall, and it’s time to expand their roster of Essence Weavers. Enter Ilyanna, the Seed of Sorrow, a formidable addition with a fast-paced and melee-focused playstyle that’s sure to shake up the battlefield. You can catch a sneak peek at her rules in the image above, but we’ll dive deeper into her strategies and gameplay tips when she officially releases on February 5th. Of course, you can already pre-order Ilyanna, the Seed of Sorrow, here:
Want to know more about Ilyanna? Read on.
The Forest's Thorn
The forest whispered her name, though no one living remembered it. Ilyanna stepped from the shadows, her bark-covered limbs creaking like ancient oaks, her monstrous claws gleaming as they caught the pale moonlight. She was a towering thing of wrath and silence, her elven face the only remnant of who she had been, carved now into an expression too calm for what she had become. Behind her, the shambling horde of spore-twisted husks dragged themselves forward, their dead eyes empty but bound to her will.
Ahead, the village huddled in defiance against the night. The essence crystal at its heart glowed faintly, a pulsing beacon of hope to its people. Its light spilled across makeshift barricades and trembling defenders, their knuckles white as they gripped their weapons. They thought the crystal, set atop its pedestal, could keep them safe – that its warmth could hold the dark at bay. They were wrong.
The first man screamed as she struck, her claws cleaving through steel and bone alike. There was no warning, no preamble – only a blur of bark and blood. She moved with the precision of a blade and the force of a storm, each step measured, each strike inevitable. The defenders fell in moments, their cries smothered by the whispering spores her horde carried. Those who breathed the corrupted air staggered, their weapons falling as roots erupted from their skin, dragging them into the Bloodthorne’s thrall.
When the last of them fell silent, Ilyanna turned to the crystal. It pulsed in defiance, casting faint shadows across her hulking form. Her claws flexed, but she hesitated – if only for a moment. The faintest ember of memory flickered in the depths of her mind, the echo of another life when her hands had saved instead of destroyed. Why? The word came unbidden, unformed.
The Bloodthorne answered. Its will surged through her, blotting out the question, replacing it with purpose.
To free him.
Her claws drove into the crystal, and its light exploded outward, a soundless scream that fractured the night. The energy coursed into the roots below, setting the earth trembling as though the world itself recoiled. For a heartbeat, the forest seemed to hold its breath. Then the crystal’s light was gone, leaving only darkness.
Ilyanna turned from the empty pedestal, her horde silent behind her. Together, they slipped back into the waiting forest, swallowed by its shadows.
The forest whispered again, louder this time.
Beneath the roots of the world, in the deepest of places, something ancient stirred.