Ancient Tupilaq

A tupilaq is an artistically crafted construct carved from animal bones (typically whale or walrus) and imbued with the express purpose of eviscerating its creator's enemies. A tupilaq manifests from hateful magic-a thing that can be created only by someone who believes they were grievously wronged. When a terrible, unforgivable crime is committed against someone with great skill at carving and who has knowledge of the proper ritual, the aggrieved can channel their grief and hate through whispered incantations to bring a tupilaq to life.

Sadly, the same emotions used to create a tupilaq often lead to even greater tragedies. Functionally immortal but built for vengeance a tupilaq lacks the reason or discernment to do anything other than pursue the goal imbued by its creator. A wish to utterly destroy an enemy can lead a tupilaq to slaughter an entire clan or settlement, killing until it has slain everyone even remotely related to the original offender. There are many stories where a tupilaq ends up causing more tragedy for its creator than the crime that precipitated its creation. The most common tales feature the tupilaq eventually murdering its creator's spouse or family members due to a distant relationship to the original target that no one knew about.

Tupilaqs' animating energies aren't tied to their original functions, and the creatures typically long outlast their creators, their victims, and often any who recall the reason for their creation. They might fall into a sort of hibernation once they've achieved immediate vengeance, but they frequently reawaken to continue their rampage against unsuspecting targets ignorant of their involvement.

Spellcasters might occasionally summon these constructs. Summoned tupilaqs, hauled unceremoniously from their vengeance, become near-frenzied combatants, unleashing every offensive ability in their arsenal to break free. These reactions aren't strategic or considered, but an instinctual, almost programmed need to return to their true purpose. Conjurers should be wary about tupilaqs employing spells that might be turned against their summoners, such as a fireball spell "accidentally" placed such that it incinerates the spellcaster and returns these creatures from whence they came.