The Inklings are a rare remnant of the old age, having existed for eons in the shadows and darkest places of Aeria. Scholars, however, believer that they are lingering servants of Moander, the harvester of souls and the original god of death. There are many ancient texts detailing Moander and the history of the Gods that mention these creatures. It is said that the Inklings were originally sent out to collect the souls of the recently departed. Oddly enough, however, after Kelemvor and Kanchelsis overthrew Moander and removed him from his position as a God the Inklings remained none the less. They are often considered perhaps the most elusive of all creatures found in the mortal realm of existence, only appearing in number soon after any large loss of life, such as a war or a plague. Even then however, they are mostly only in the shadows of night and in other dark places, moving from body to body, extracting the souls of the recently deceased, though to date, none have even the slightest of idea what it is they do with the souls, having almost assuredly lost the ability to ferry souls beyond the mortal realm after the passing of Moander.
Very few aspects of the lives of these creatures has been recorded, though there do exist some tales from ages long since past these are believed to be outdated. Though the following text depicts a very visual account witnessed by an adventurer who had happened upon an Inkling lair some few thousand years ago, a few decades before the god wars and though the man was soon declared insane after being found outside the cave, this testimony, taken after words and interpreted by a priest of Tyr is the closest any human has come.
"I had just entered the cave, having trailed one of the demons after it had visited my house and taken my recently deceased sister during the night.. I followed it for many hours before having come to a natural cavern within the side of a cliff. A putrid smell wafted over me, filling my nostrils with a smell comparable to boiled, rotten flesh and brimstone mixed into a horrid odor the likes of which I have never experienced since. I hesitantly made my way inside and the sight that greeted me shall not leave my mind until my dying breath. The entire inside of the cave was covered in a black, sticky substance which dripped from the walls and ceiling onto the floor where it stemmed and bubbled. The creatures were everywhere, paying me little heed as they scrabbled around. There were also several back, flesh-like pods at the rear of the cave. I saw them drag her cadaver over to that area of the cave, body now streaked with the black substance, which almost seemed to be rotting it at it's touch. I stood transfixed as they fed the cadaver into one of the pods, which soon began to rumble and quake. Then suddenly, it exploded in a gout of black fluids, some of which spattered across me and I saw, hanging from the remnants of the pod, another of the creatures, unrecognizable to my eye. It was then that they seemed to notice me for the first time, becoming at once aggressive, perusing me for some time until I had dashed some leagues into the woods and collapsed. (Priest's note, the witness was far more hysterical at the time of this article's writing, the above was interpreted by Brother Inarius.)
