During this recovery period, the changeling usually seeks out a hiding spot as it is particularly weak and vulnerable. It becomes visible again a mere few hours after shedding the skin, and while the skin is regrowing it is unable to shapeshift and physically weakened.

The skin left behind appears like any other corpse upon casual inspection. There is no outside indication that the changeling has left the body, not so much as a hole or tear in the skin or clothing. Those well-versed in the medical arts may be able to discern the truth after a bit of investigation, and in addition after about an hour the corpse begins to deflate, lose its structure, and eventually disintegrates into a bluish-grey sludge.

It’s unclear exactly what is at work with the husklords. Certainly it is magical in nature, but it does not appear to be something which can be taught or learned. Some simply have the gift for it.

All along the borders of Cyre– political borders, mind you, not just natural borders– there is a wall of mist. Within, time seems frozen, as the land is littered with the corpses of those killed in the Mourning, but still appearing as fresh as to have just died that day.

Here are three possible explanations for the Day of Mourning to provide inspiration and possibilities.

Sacrificed for the good of all

It is a fact that the catastrophic event which destroyed Cyre spurred the remaining four nations into signing the Treaty of Thronehold and ending the generations-long Last War. Perhaps this was exactly why Cyre was destroyed. Someone or something with the knowledge and power to do so destroyed Cyre as a way to end the war once and for all.

Who could have done such a thing, and how? Why Cyre? Is the culprit still alive and present on Eberron? Perhaps they even had a hand in the Treaty of Thronehold itself.

Variation

The players get the opportunity to change history through time travel, a wish, or something similar, and stop the Day of Mourning from ever happening. Should they do so, they find the world changed and themselves entrenched in a war that never ended.

Exodus

Cyre was not, in fact, destroyed. Rather, a plot was discovered among the other four nations to destroy Cyre once and for all. On the very day the combined strike was to happen, Cannith magewrights loyal to Cyre managed to shift the entire country into a demiplane in Siberys, leaving the shattered crater which is the Mournlands in its wake.

The reason the Cyran ruins and bodies of those present remain is due to the nature of the act. It wasn’t a true planeshift, but more like a cloning of the country into the demiplane. This cloning took place over several weeks, and when it was complete the final step was taken, transferring the essence of all life from the old Cyre to the new. In fact, the other countries’ combined attack was necessary for this plan to work, as it required the added lifeforce of the foreign soldiers.

The players could discover this piece by piece, first learning of the impending attack on the same day, then discovering the Cyran government knew of the attack and had begun a plan to escape it. In the end, the players might visit the living Cyre.

Variation

The plan was not successful. The attempt to transfer the country to the demiplane was sabotaged, aborted midway, or perhaps never even fully conceived in the first place. Regardless, Cyre exists now trapped halfway within Eberron and halfway within Siberys. If the PCs could find some way to undo the transfer, Cyre could be restored to a normal, if devastated, state and re-colonized.

Scrubbed from Reality

This Eberron is but one of many existing in parallel realities. In another, the Last War ended considerably earlier, with a magically-advanged Cyre dominating the other four countries and eventually the world. The Cyran rulers were cruel and harsh, and when the others finally managed to overthrow Cyre a plan of ultimate revenge was concocted.

The others used the Cyran magic against the country, destroying not only their former oppressor but also every copy of it in every other reality.

The PCs might stumble upon something odd along the edge of the mournlands, a bit where it extends beyond Cyre’s borders, or even a bit of Cyre which is untouched. After performing some research, the PCs discover that the affected land was once offered to Cyre as part of a rejected negotiation, or Cyre had gained the unaffected land through something similar.

The key is that in the alternate reality, these changes didn’t take place and the Mourning followed the border of that reality’s Cyre. If the PCs put two and two together, they might even be able to visit some of the alternate realities and see what might have been.

First, there is the orrery. Massive spheres of stone float in the air, seemingly suspended. Though you’d likely never notice it, the spheres are in fact moving. Each of them is keyed to a different plane, and the orrery tracks the location and movement of the planes with respect to each other and Eberron itself.

Second, you’d notice the walls of the ravine lined with anywhere from many dozen to several hundred dragons. Much like the orrery, the dragons themselves seem to be unmoving and lifeless; the only evidence to the contrary is when one of them raises a strange pipe to its mouth and inhales deeply. You’d never see the dragon exhale, though, but if you’re observant you might notice fine wisps of smoke escaping its nostrils.

The dragons here are under the influence of a narcotic called omen weed which grows near the ravine. Their dragonborn attendants dutifully harvest the drug and deliver it to the massive, furnace-like hookahs. Each hookah has dozens of pipes, each running to a languishing dragon.

The drug alters its users sense of time and space, which the dragons find helpful in their study of the orrery’s glacially-slow movements. Many dragons spend years, decades, even centuries constantly under the effect of the omen weed, losing touch with the world around them as they commune with the draconic prophecy.

As the PCs are eating in the densely-packed dining car on the lightning rail, someone enters from the far door. For the briefest of moments, one of the PCs and he see each other from across the room, and then the man panics and runs back through the door he just came from.

The PC recognizes him as Julius Entwerp, a fairly poor thief (poor in skill more so than wealth) who had tried to steal from them in Sharn yesterday. He was easily caught and turned in to the authorities, and there’s no way he should be out of jail already. In fact, it’s even more suspicious that he’s on the train in the first place; everyone that boarded the train had their ID checked and his should have sent up red flags.

Julius is simply on the train trying to keep a low profile and escape from Sharn. There’s nothing particularly onerous about his presence, and it’s really just bad luck for him that he ran into the PCs. One way or another, they’ll catch him and be able to do what they will… for his part, Julius will try to hide but knows he’s no match for them in a fight.

Searching him, the PCs find his identification papers… which are unusual, to say the least. Inside the tattered leather folio are a couple of completely blank sheets of parchment. Julius explains that there’s an enchantment on the papers; anyone giving them a cursory glance will think they see what they expected to see. The illusion doesn’t hold up under any sort of scrutiny, but it’s plenty for getting past most over-worked guards.

Twists: Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence after all. Maybe Julius is after the Cannith– or one of the PCs. Would explain why they keep running into him.

Planned or otherwise, the PCs going after Julius would make the perfect distraction to attack the Cannith. Even if they leave some to watch her, their forces are split.

Note: The idea for the papers isn’t mine… They actually come from the Eberron source book Five Nations. Thanks to William S. for figuring out where they were found!

A male-personality warforged named Hammer is the leader of the troop, and his standing orders were to defend Cyre and eliminate Karrnathi troops. As such, the warforged are all friendly to Cyran characters, hostile to Karrnathis, and neutral to all others. However, due to the constantly shifting nature of alliances in the Last War, it is not especially difficult to convince Hammer that Karrnathis are no longer his enemy. That said, he is wary of characters who display signs of Karrnathi heritage or speak with a Karrnathi accent. He will not order an attack unless the character appears to be a Karrnathi soldier or the PCs attack the warforged first. Hammer and his men might be convinced to follow the PCs, particularly if there is a Cyran among them.

Complication: One of the warforged, Fracture, has grown slightly insane over the years. He is now fanatically devoted to the defense of Cyre, and considers any non-Cyran an enemy. He will follow Hammer’s orders up to a point, but if Hammer allies with any non-Cyrans (even if there are Cyrans among the group), Fracture will break rank, declare that Hammer is “malfunctioning,” and attempt to lead the other warforged in a mutiny against Hammer and the PCs.