Karilon the Ringer Masteries Guide

Arena, Campaign, Clan Boss, Dungeons, Doom Tower, Faction Wars

Defense Defiant Improved Parry Rejuvenation Shadow Heal Resurgent Delay Death Cycle of Revenge Retribution

Support Pinpoint Accuracy Charged Focus Swarm Smiter Lore of Steel Evil Eye Master Hexer Eagle-Eye

Karilon the Ringer Champion Lore

Winter and death are intrinsically connected. Cold and hunger saps a soul of its strength, and so many Telerian cultures have various festivals, feasts, and holy days throughout the season that guarantee company and a warm fire, such as Yuletide. With these occasions go famous figures and the stories that surround them – the infamous Ogryn feast-thief, Grunch, the mighty Sir Nicholas, or the elemental snow monster known as Blizaar the Howler. Few of these near-mythical winter-beings elicit a response among the common people quite like Karilon the Ringer.

In stories, Karilon comes most commonly in winter’s final month. For many, this is the most difficult time, when storehouses and Iarders packed full at the start of the season have grown all but bare.

Where Karilon comes from, none of the story-tellers know. The first a village or town knows of his presence is the ringing of bells, a slow, sonorous clanging that accompanies his measured pace. The noise brings people to their doors and windows, wiping away frost and condensation, many wondering at first just who — or what — seems to be calling out to them.

The figure they see is as foreboding as the sound of his arrival. Karilon is a tall and gaunt man, clad in plates of black and gray armor, and draped with an old, crimson robe trimmed with white fur. On his head he wears a spiked helm with a faceplate that obscures his features, replacing them with a carved steel visage of a bearded man with a cold and stoic expression. On his back is a heavy shield, while in his right fist he grips a staff surmounted by a withered wreath and a trio of bells, the source of the ringing that heralds his coming.

In the fables, Karilon serves a purpose that is at once bleak yet hopeful. He rings out the last dregs of winter and ushers in the start of spring. In doing so, he collects the weak and dying and leads them toward a new afterlife of peace. For most this is a mere story, but for some, it has a far greater meaning, for Karilon the Ringer is a Knight Revenant, and the acolytes of the Cult of K’Leth hold him in highest reverence.

Cultists believe that Karilon comes to lead acolytes to their new bodies. When he appears in a town, those with enough courage and conviction follow him. Cold mist summoned by his tolling bells wreath the path they walk, hiding them from those not loyal to the teachings of K’Leth. The slow ringing of Karilon’s bells keeps their course true, and he leads them to the lair of a Soul Shepherd by routes only he knows. There, the worthy have their essence transferred into soul gems, ensuring they will continue to exist until their consciousness can be planted into a fresh body.

This much is true, though common cultists do not realize that the chances of receiving a new body for their soul are vanishingly slim. Karilon, once he has brought his latest band of acolytes into the presence of a Soul Shepherd, stands watch over the ceremonial magics of transference, acting as both a guard and a vigil. In the former role he is a fearsome individual, the arcane nature of his bells meaning that, should he will it, the sonic resonance of the chimes can freeze an opponent in place or rob them of their strength. Even more so than the Crypt Witches – the traditional guardians of the Soul Shepherds – having Karilon the Ringer present ensures a soul transference will be successfully completed.

Karilon’s supposed role as a guide and guardian for the cult’s faithful ensures he is one of the Knights Revenant most revered by the misguided, common acolytes. Indeed, so great are the tales associated with him that some look to Karilon as the mightiest Knight Revenant of all, only just below the great K’Leth himself. These acolytes carry small bells on their person, tattoo them onto their skin, and strain eagerly during every winter’s dawn for the sound of Karilon’s coming, certain it is the only sure way of attaining the immortality they crave.

Karilon cares nothing for the sub-cult dedicated to him. A former student of Umbral on the dreaded isle of Perdition, his loyalty is to K’Leth and no other. He knows that his purpose is to act as a beacon of false hope, and to lead the lost to an early damnation. The tolling of his bells are not merely for the cultists — they announce to the Knights Revenant the beginning of a new year, and a new harvest of fresh bodies for them to steal and inhabit.

Karilon the Ringer Updates

• (2023-12-12) Raid Shadow Legends Patch Notes V8.00