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| - The Raishburzum (B.S. "Night-hunters"; S. Duferyth; or W. Nolly-nackers) were one of the lesser abominations bred by Morgoth in the beginning of the world. He originally created them to hunt the ancient Elves of Beleriand and the Nan Anduin. The return of the Noldor to Middle-earth and the first rising of the Sun spoiled this plan, The Nackers could not abide the light of day and grew to fear all the Firstborn. They retreated to dark holes and places far beneath the earth. Only the disappearance of the Elves from Siragale gave them the courage to return and test the beings of the surface world. Nackers were Faerie, their place in Arda lost amid the evil manipulation of their breeding. They spoke a debased form of Quenya or Melkorin , and bore knives and harness strangely reminiscent of ancient Nando styles. Apart from their lineage, the Nackers of Undermarsh were a grotesque mockery of mortal life. Some three feet tall, they had the general build of goblins and the skin of lizards and serpents. Their faces were broken by fringes of skin, and wattles of hide and hair fringed their earless skulls. They boasted sharp claws on their hands and feet, but used stone knives and axes freely. Their pointed teeth and yellowish slit eyes were those of hunting animals. Their rough hide jerkins and the stonework of their altars were their only crafts. Both sexes dressed in similar garb, and only a Muckling or another Nacker could tell them apart. While Nackers could not breathe underwater, they could hold their breath far longer than a Man (6-10 minutes) and swim through water or mud as freely as a frog or turtle. They fed on fresh meat when they could get it, and on fish, frogs, grubs, and slime when they could not. To breed, they needed the blood and organs of mortals; these, sacrificed on their altars to the Painmaker, "Dhaubajor" (Morgoth), allowed Nacker females to generate and fertilize their eggs. Nackers were tough and resourceful; those troubling the Shire in the 17th century of the Third Age were ignorant of current events, but willing to push their luck as far it took them. They had important physical gifts that made them deadly opponents: Night vision as good as that of any Dwarf, stealth skills and Dark Magic. They all knew an odd collection of woodland and hunting spells. Nacker society and ambitions centered on their worship of the Defiler (Morgoth), although they offered obeisance to other powerful evil creatures contacted through the enchanted altar in their temple. He-Who-Waits-On-His-Throne, one of their deities, was actually the Necromancer, seeking new ways to plague the Dunedain. Thuidimer Stormroarer, the Northman Master of Flynettle had been trying to bind undead spirits to his will when he accidentally created a link with a Nacker ceremony. He came to regret his error, for the Nackers would still attempt to visit him at Deephallow House and offer their alliance. All leadership among the Nackers derived from their Sorcerers. Three greater Sorcerers ruled the Nacker village, and three lesser Sorcerers directed raiding and work parties. They were quite rational in combat, preferring to fight from ambush and take their prey with a minimum of risk. Blood lust occasionally overcame them though; they could be baited or lured into ambushes themselves. As suggested above, the Nackers believed all the Elves had left Siragale and that the mortals supplanting their ancient enemies could be easily terrorized and eventually reduced to subservience. The sorcerers occasionally joined the raids on the outer world. The next stage in their plans involved doubling and tripling their strength by breeding more Nackers; the score of females in their village could not bear offspring until they had devoured a mortal heart from a captive sacrificed on their altar. Nackers had little use for treasure or magical devices. They hoarded both primarily because other races coveted them and were willing to pay a price to gain them. Each Nacker nest held a scattering of coins and precious objects, while an antechamber of their temple hid ten times this amount. Nacker sorcerers sometimes carried an Arnorian or Dwarvish knife or enchanted protection devices (rings, gorgets, amulets). They kept several trophies from their ancient war with the Elves hidden in their treasure room. If pressed, the sorcerers could draw upon this store, which included magic wands, gems, and other potent weapons.
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