There are rumors within Nhoire of a creature so devastating that it can single handedly bring ruin to a village. It is said that this monster feasts upon the roots of crops, leaving the fields barren. Thus, it has been nicknamed the harbinger of famine, farmer’s bane, or simply the vole.

The vole disguises itself as a rodent, appearing to the untrained eye as a simple mouse or rat. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the vole may seem harmless but is truly a master of destruction and death.  It has been said that a single vole is enough to wipe out the entirety of a farmer’s crop and a colony could even bring ruin to an entire village.

There is a story about a young man who brought one home as a pet, describing it as “cute”. One day the vole escaped his cage, and the young man could not find him anywhere.  Three short months later the village of Westnoire became a barren ghost town and has been abandoned ever since.

Now there are those that believe these accounts to be a gross exaggeration and refuse to accept that voles exist.  They claim that the voles are a conspiracy or a political cover-up by the Lords of Nhoire.  They claim that the barren lands are due to the Lord’s redirecting water to their own crops and for their own personal use.  Since no one has seen a vole, or at least lived to tell the tale, many have bought into this conspiracy and have even gone as far as to persecute those who believe. Sir Arden of Valghen even said “Those who believe in voles are a danger to society, they perpetuate the problem and turn a blind eye to the Lords’ oppression.” he continues with the following “To claim that the vole is a real creature like rats, horses, or dragons is to make a mockery of our intelligence.  None have been seen and none will EVER be seen, because they do not exist!”

Whether or not the vole exists is still widely debated, however there are more and more whispers throughout the land of sighting.  An anonymous damsel from Jrael recently penned “They come from the shadows, teeth like a grindstone, ears that can hear a pin drop, and an insatiably hunger.  Once you see their face it is too late, your town is doomed. Those who say they do not exist have not witnessed the horror before their very eyes as they jump, slither, and scurry and then disappear before your very eyes like a phantom.” This letter came in a month before Jrael’s crops were nearly destroyed had it not been for Lord Gready whose timely acquisition of the farmland saved the village from financial ruin.