Gavrosk, Throneward Castellan

Gavrosk was fashioned by an obsessive chamberlain-priest centuries ago to guard the vacant seat of a dynasty wiped out by plague and civil rot. The ritual bound the dead steward's oath to an actual throne carved from black alder and inlaid with iron rivets; the chair itself anchors Gavrosk's existence. Scholars of funerary magic call such constructs seat-bound revenants 'thronelords.' Ruins where Gavrosk is found commonly show signs of attempted restoration: tiny altars, petition jars, or piles of ceremonial armor placed before the empty throne. The Order of Archivists of Serren documented three encounters, led by archivist Lirien Vossin, who notes that Gavrosk's enforcement is bureaucratic as much as lethal — it punishes those who break rituals or who move the throne without proper right. Legends tell of a cult, the Keepers of the Quiet Seat, who revere the throne and deliberately draw Gavrosk to sites of authority to cleanse them of unrest.

Gavrosk is a humanoid skeleton clad in pitted iron lamellar and a tarnished surcoat bearing the pale sigil of a now-forgotten house. Its skull is wrapped with strips of rotted ceremonial cloth that fall like a torn veil; a narrow iron circlet is riveted to the brow, fused to bone. Thick brackets of metal bind the pelvis and spine to the underside of a low-backed throne — the same metal rivets sink into the throne's seat. The throne is carved with concentric runes, its arms ending in blunt, claw-like uprights that echo Gavrosk's gauntleted hands. Scale reference: the full throne and Gavrosk together stand about as tall as a man in a doorway (roughly 7 feet tall overall). Textures: bone gleams with chalky matte highlights; metal shows rust streaks and hammered dents; cloth is frayed with indistinct heraldic embroidery. Small talismans, petition scraps, and rusted keys hang from the throne's rear staves.