- For the book, see Soul Eater.
Torak with the mark of the Soul-Eater on his chest on the French cover of Outcast
“ That's what it means to be a Soul-Eater. You sacrifice all that you were. You live only for power.
—Fin-Kedinn, Outcast, chapter 16
The Soul-Eaters, formerly known as the Healers, were a group of seven Clan Mages which formed many summers before they were eventually destroyed, and sought to uncover the greatest abilities of Magecraft in order to bend the Forest and the world to their will. Originally composed of seven, only Narrander survived their destruction, having long since left them and sunken into madness.
Biography[]
Formation[]
Over a dozen winters before Torak's birth, seven Mages gathered to combine their knowledge and power, with the goal of using them to help the Clans fight against sickness and demons while guaranteeing the prey would come for the hunt. They went by the name of the 'Healers' and were known to and accepted by most of the Clans. This desire to combine their abilities and use them for the good of the Clans, as well as understand how all worlds (those of both hunter and prey) worked, was always at the core of their ambitions, and every single Healer came from a different Clan:
- Eostra, the Eagle Owl Mage.
- Seshru, the Viper Clan Mage.
- Thiazzi, the Oak Clan Mage.
- Nef, the Bat Clan Mage.
- Tenris, an aspiring Mage from the Seal Clan.
Former[]
- Narrander, the Otter Clan Mage.
- Torak's father, the Wolf Clan Mage.
Reign of terror[]
However, their desire to help the Clans eventually passed as their beliefs became warped into something darker: a desire for power over all living things and a belief among several of the Healers that they had found the "True Way" of the World Spirit. Angered at the different traditions and beliefs among the different Clans, such as the Ice Clans' hunting of hunters, the Deep Forest's mistrust of outsiders or the Sea Clans' refusal to mix the Sea with the Forest, the Healers wanted to change things to meet their new way of thinking, and force the Clans to abide by their rule. As such, they sought greater power than the one they possessed, and even sought ways of bringing their power to bear not only on their world, but the Otherworld and its demons as well. Eostra, as a result of a lifelong obsession, wanted to go even further and find the power to bring back the dead.
Only by following this Way did they believe the Clans could once again be at peace with the World Spirit, and guarantee that pain and suffering would end. However, when the Clans turned on their ideas and their ambitions, the Healers grew angry and determined to force their will on them, by any means necessary. Unleashing the full force of their Magecraft on the Forest, the Healers became known as the Soul Eaters. Terror gripped the Clans as the Soul Eaters planned to force them into obedience through fear.
However, not all the Soul Eaters agreed with this new Way. While Thiazzi and Seshru were eager for the power that such rule would give them, as messengers of the World Spirit, Nef sought only to prevent the sicknesses and famines that had almost killed her and cost her son his life. Tenris was eager to delve deeper into the secrets of Magecraft while Eostra continously desired to discover the secret of awakening the dead. But far from simply refusing to believe in the 'True Way', two Soul Eaters rejected it and the darker turn of their beliefs completely: Narrander and the Wolf Mage refused to assist their former comrades in unleashing their reign of terror over the Forest, and tried to leave. However, leaving would have meant the Soul Eaters losing their abilities to perform Magecraft. Eostra kidnapped Narrander's son Narik to compel his obedience, and the Wolf Mage was made to stay either by force (a tatoo of a three-pronged fork for snearing souls was marked on each of their chests, granting the others power over them) or threat (possibly aimed at his mate or his best friend, Fin-Kedinn).
The Wolf Mage's betrayal[]
However, the Wolf Mage didn't intend to give in without a fight. As the Soul Eaters gathered on Souls' Night for a major ritual, aimed at releasing hordes of demons onto the Forest, he turned on them, shattering the fire opal which gave them command of the demons before lighting a Great Fire that purged the Forest of the malevolent spirits and shattered the Soul Eaters. Several of them, such as Tenris and possibly Eostra, were badly burnt by the blaze. However, Narik was accidently killed and the discovery of his body drove Narrander mad with grief. With their power broken, the Soul Eaters were forced into hiding.
While none knew what became of Eostra, Thiazzi, Seshru or Nef, Tenris found his way back to his Clan in secret, eventually rising to become their Mage. The Wolf Mage made it appear as though he and his mate had died in the fire, to protect themselves from retaliation and fled to the Deep Forest. Narrander's survival was also a secret that only the Wolf Mage and Fin-Kedinn knew of, and one they swore they would never divulge for fear of what the Soul eaters might do to him. Narrander fled to the north of the Forest, finding a deserted valley he claimed as his and becoming a mad hermit known as 'the Walker'.
In hiding[]
Torak's father and Narrander join them, only to find out that they have been tricked. They tried to get out, but they couldn't. Even when Torak's Fa gave up, and cut out the mark, Narrander still kept trying to get out. To make him behave, Eostra took his son and hid him. The Soul Eaters didn't care who they hurt. Their goal was to return the clans to 'the Old Way'. Thiazzi, the Oak Mage was one of the strongest. One man against whole Clans, he started the Deep Forest War, nearly destroying all the Clans in the whole of it. The Soul Eaters stole children from the clans, and the angry, grieving parents thought that the other clans had stolen them. Seshru was the seducer. She tried to get Torak under her power. No one knew of her because she changed names, giving herself a kind of death. Unfortunately, Thiazzi and Seshru tried to hide their pieces of the Fire Opal from Eostra, and it ended up costing them their lives. The Soul Eaters wanted to get the Fire Opal, a beautiful but dangerous gem from the Otherworld, to release the demons behind the cavern walls, because, since the Fire Opal was from the Otherworld, the demons followed its holder's orders. But that all changed one night, on the place that was to be Burned Hill. Torak's father shattered the Fire Opal into three pieces, and all seven escaped with their lives, but Tenris was badly burned, and Narrander lost an eye. All of the soul Eaters escaped with their lives, but Narik, Narrander's son, wasn't as lucky. His father found his body, and went mad with grief. He soon became known as the Walker, and no one knew who he really was, except for Finn-Keddin. Eostra soon was the last Soul Eater left, and she got Thiazzi's piece of the Fire Opal, which her owl had snatched. She made her lair in the Mountain of Ghosts, and summons all of the dead Soul Eaters. The Unquiet Dead. But there was a flaw in her plan; it contained the hair of a living man. Narrander. He still possessed enough sanity to call to the Hidden People, and the Hidden People caused a tremor within Ghost Mountain. And thus, the three pieces of the Fire Opal disappeared - one into the black ice with Nef the Bat Mage, one into the rocks with Seshru the Viper Mage, and finally, the last into the gorge with Eostra the Eagle Owl Mage. Krukoslik warned Torak about Eostra; "Her cry rips the souls from your marrow. With her spear, she catches them. Then she devours them. Eostra is truly an eater of souls."