First appearance: S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2 · watch it on YouTube
Master Skreca is an elderly aarakocra who wrote down the words of a spell so dangerous that writing them cost him his hands. He was Morir’s scribe, but he is the real author of the Testaments of Morir’s Cataclysm. When Vythorn, the Arbiter came looking for that power, Skreca was the one waiting inside, and by his own account he had been waiting forever.
Story
S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2
In S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2, Vythorn’s search brought him to a strange set of ruins: a graveyard of massive giants, a world torn out of time and space by the damage done there. Inside, just to the right of the entrance, an old, dusty aarakocra was snoring loudly against the wall. His graying feathers had once been bright red, blue and green, the only spot of colour in all that grey.
Vythorn clapped him awake. Skreca was mostly relieved that someone had finally come in: “Oh, good, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting forever.” He complained that the three visitors had stood staring at the door for so long that “I thought I would die before you got in here.” Then he adjusted his monocle with his wrist, since where his hands should have been were two metallic claws, and introduced himself: “I am Master Skreca.”
Skreca had once written down the words of the Testaments, and that is how he lost his hands. Morir did not take them. The spell is so dangerous that “to even write them begins to eat at the reality that we know,” and the act of transcribing it unravelled his hands. These days he is keeper of the ruins, which also makes him their maintenance worker and their cook. He even keeps a set of trained mimic chairs.
Later in the episode, Fil, the God of Fate, judged whether Vythorn deserved the tome. She told him, “I should have turned you into a parrot,” and added a quick “No offense” to Master Skreca. Far from put off by Vythorn’s confidence, ego and desire, she declared that she loved it. Fil ended up backing Vythorn and granted him the Testaments, and he was sent back deep into The Void.
S4E17 (Season Finale), Vythorn’s Return Part 3
Skreca did not appear in the finale, but his words did. In S4E17 (Season Finale) - Vythorn’s Return Part 3, Vythorn faced The Shadow King and remembered what Master Skreca had said about the Testaments and “the teeth that were gnashing in the hellscapes.” He tore open portals that took the shape of teeth and maws, each showing hellscapes of ash, fire and death. The tears in reality closed in around the Shadow King, who could only ask, “What? What is this?” Vythorn answered: “This is your fate.”
Personality and Abilities
Master Skreca looks like what he is: a very old bird who has spent a very long time in a museum of ruins. He wears a monocle, his once-vibrant plumage has faded to grey, and his hands are replaced by metal claws. He sleeps on the job, loudly. He is a little cranky about being kept waiting, but he seems glad to have company.
His great feat is a dreadful one. He put the words of Morir’s Cataclysm onto the page, a spell so destructive that writing it ate at reality itself. He knows enough about the Testaments that his words stayed with Vythorn all the way to the final battle against the Shadow King. These days his skills run to caretaking: upkeep, cooking, and training mimic chairs.
Relationships
- Morir: Skreca served as his scribe and wrote the Testaments in his name.
- The Arbiter: Skreca greeted him at the ruins. His words about the Testaments guided Vythorn when he finally unleashed them.
- Fil: She made a parrot joke at Vythorn’s expense, then apologised to Skreca with a “No offense.”
Memorable Quotes
- “Oh, good, you’re finally here. I’ve been waiting forever.” (S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2)
- “I thought I would die before you got in here.” (S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2)
- “I am Master Skreca.” (S4E15, Vythorn’s Return Part 2)