Eeach Lightningclaw
Eeach Lightningclaw
- Name: Eeach Lightningclaw
- Race: Skaven
- Clan: Eshin
- Rank: Greyseer
- Fighting Since: April 1997
- Favorite Weapon Combo: Florentine with backshield
- Realm: Dur-Demarion
- Former Realm: Dead River
- Former Unit: Horde
Character History
Eeach Lightningclaw crept out of the deep tunnels of Clan Eshin in April of 1997 and has been a shadow on the fields of Belegarth ever since, disappearing for years at a stretch as Eshin do, and returning without announcement or explanation. Some Skaven fight to be remembered. Eeach fights to be useful, and lets the memory take care of itself.
Blade of Izareth
In the early years, Eeach served as the personal assassin of Izareth Voldranai, High General of the Horde, unifier of the monstrous races, destroyer of Man. While Izareth rallied armies and forged alliances through sheer force of will and an impressive gift for saying whatever anyone needed to hear, Eeach worked at the edges. A Gutterrunner built for speed and precision, the style was simple: hit-and-run, backshield up, Florentine blades never stopping, and a particular talent for finding archers before they found anyone else. Get in fast. Get out faster. Leave no witnesses.
The backshield became something of a signature, bearing the Horned Rat wreathed in painted flame, crafted by Bakdar in trade for a measure of Skavenbrew. It has outlasted realms.
During this era, Eeach was custodian of the Weeping Blades, twin artifacts of Clan Eshin lineage carrying a legend older than any single fighter's memory. The title was worn quietly, as Eshin tradition demands.
The Far East Pilgrimage (2007-2011)
It is the tradition of Clan Eshin to make pilgrimage to the Far East, to walk where Lord Visktrin's followers once walked, to study the arts of the Warrior Monks of Cathay and the cold efficiency of the Ninja of Nippon. Eeach honored that tradition, disappearing for several years into distant lands far from Dur-Demarion. The details of what was studied, what contracts were fulfilled, and what was brought back are not recorded here.
What is recorded: Eeach returned each year for Oktoberfest, one of the oldest and largest gatherings in Belegarth, hosted by the realm of Numenor, a tradition predating the sport's split from Dagorhir. The journey was long every time. It was worth it every time.
The Northern Wandering (2011-2016)
The pilgrim's road eventually wound northward, through unfamiliar territories far from Dur-Demarion. For a stretch of years Eeach ranged through distant realms, fighting where fights were available. Then came a day when grief sat heavy on the field, and the field answered it badly. Eeach walked away from that territory and did not return.
Some places don't earn a second chance.
The Return of the Under-Empire (2019)
There were years where Eeach was simply... absent. Gone to ground. Word reached the tunnels eventually, as word does, that a Skaven named Kestral was pulling on old threads, searching out the oldest living Skaven in Belegarth with the intention of rebuilding something that had gone to scattered memory.
He found Eeach. He found Taag, an old ally who had built his own Skaven lineage in the years of silence. And there were distant whispers of an older Skaven still - known only as The Skaven - who had walked these fields some five years before Eeach ever did, back in the Dagorhir days before the schism. Nobody has met him directly. Only people who may once have crossed his shadow.
Kestral's work was genuine. He built the Under-Empire, a collective spanning Clan Eshin, Clan Moulder, Clan Pestilens, and Clan Skryre, with place given also to the lineages of Skurvy and Mors, into something breathing and organized. He runs it alongside Sabre La Baber, a fellow Greyseer, whose presence in the Under-Empire has been as relentless as the plague.
In the waning months of 2019, Eeach was named Greyseer in recognition of tenure, the oldest known Skaven still standing, whose blessing was sought and given. The rank carries responsibility: overseeing trials at national events, guiding the next generation of Skaven. It is a duty not yet fully honored. The tunnels were long, and much time was lost to the great stillness that fell across all of Belegarth in the plague years.
Kestral and Sabre carry the daily weight of the Under-Empire. Eeach offers counsel when called upon and defers to those who have done the harder work.
The Departure from Horde (2021)
Newly a Greyseer, Eeach remained a part of the Horde for a time. For fourteen years prior, the unit had been a foundation worth standing on, built fight by fight and event by event under the banner of Izareth Voldranai.
By early 2020, something had shifted. The culture that had been built was being treated as a liability rather than a legacy. Then the great stillness fell across the fields, and Belegarth went quiet for more than a year, and in that silence, what had been wrong became impossible to ignore. Eeach watched. Waited. Read the signs with the patience Eshin trains into its blades.
In the spring of 2021, after watching something decay from a distance, Eeach slipped away, as Eshin do. Others followed in the months after. The Horde that remained was a different creature from the one worth serving.
The debt to Izareth and to what was built together is not forgotten. It simply belongs to a chapter that is closed.
The Present
Eeach is back. The knees have opinions now. The days of sprinting down archers are behind. The Gutterrunner's gifts have given way to something that suits a Greyseer better: patience, presence, and the weight of knowing that very few fighters on any field have been doing this as long.
The menace didn't go anywhere. It just learned to stand still.
Allies and Notable Figures
- Izareth Voldranai - High General and creator of the Horde. The commander Eeach served as personal blade for over a decade. What was built together was worth building.
- Kestral - Architect of the Skaven revival. Went looking for something worth saving and built the Under-Empire around what he found. The Under-Empire is his work more than anyone else's.
- Sabre La Baber - Greyseer and co-steward of the Under-Empire alongside Kestral.
- Taag - Old ally and fellow Skaven, rediscovered when Kestral pulled the old threads together.
- Bakdar - Craftsman and ally. Built the backshield bearing the Horned Rat in trade for Skavenbrew. The shield has lasted longer than most allegiances.