The Shifting Sands

Grey Guards, slavish servants of the Shadow Lord, appear human, but are monsters in the truest sense. Created by their master to enforce his evil will, they lack all normal human emotions, relishing cruelty and destruction above all else. They have great physical strength, are capable of enormous speed and endurance, have keen sight and hearing, and frequently hunt by scent. Their chief weapons are leather slings with which they hurl egg-shaped missiles known as “blisters.” Blisters burst on contact, releasing a burning poison that causes agonizing death. Grey Guards have no understanding of the terms “mother” and “father,” and live, work, and fight in clan groups, or “pods,” of ten. Each member of a single pod is identical with his brothers (female Guards are unknown). Most observers believe that pod members are “born” together, probably as mature adults, by some vile means as yet not understood. All Guards are known by their pod name followed by a number. Members of the Carn pod (pictured), for example, will be called Carn 1, Carn 2, and so on till Carn 10 is reached.

In ancient days Grey Guards, then rarely seen in Deltora, were thought to be immortal. It is now known that, though they do not age visibly, they suddenly weaken and die after seven years. The mistaken belief in their immortality arose because when the members of any one pod near their “fail date” (as the seven-year limit is known), they are recalled to the Shadowlands and replaced by a fresh set of ten bearing the same pod name, and with exactly the same appearance.