<img src="/images/creatures/amabie/amabie.jpg" alt="Amabie illustration" />
There was once a town official, who resided in Higo Province in Japan (today known as the Kumamoto Prefecture). Matters of state kept him busy, but he would make time every night for a walk along the beach. Something about the dark, steady waves washing onto shore would calm his mind, even during the most hectic times of the year. The beach where he walked afforded a clear view of the castle on one side, and the endless ocean horizon stretched on the other. In this position he could look to one side and acknowledge his earthly duties, then look to the other and acknowledge his small place in infinity. It was peaceful.
One night, he felt unusually restless. He had grown aware of a general uneasiness spreading throughout his community. Some spoke of business slowing down, others of worse things like droughts and famines approaching. Whatever the true cause, his mind was restless and sleep eluded him. That night he walked further than usual, losing himself in thoughts he could not remember moments after entertaining them. At times he felt a vague ache in his feet. The cold, damp sand had got through his sandles and it itched. He turned a corner and he felt his eyes adjust as a pale dawn seemed to break. There was a strange light beaming from the water directly ahead of him. It looked like a glowing orb, just a few feet beneath the water's surface. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, not afraid but not sure what to do. He decided to approach and what he then witnessed he would remember for the rest of his life. From beneath the water's surface, the pale orb slowly emerged. The light dimmed and there, floating in the air, was a small creature covered in scales and standing upright. It had long hair, and a bird's bill, with three legs beneath it. It looked directly at him and addressed him presently: "I am an amabie, and I have come here from the open sea to speak with you. Do not be afraid." The dull shimmer around it's scales brightened at that moment, and it's voice became profound. The official heard it as if it spoke from within his own head or from the very air surrounding them. "Good harvest will continue for six years from the current year. If disease spreads, show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured." It was a prophecy.
Afterwards, the amabie returned to the sea. The town official wrote down his story and sketched the creature from memory. The story and the portrait were printed on woodblock and shared around his town, later spreading across Japan.
Many consider the amabie to be a copy-cat creature, or perhaps even a clerical error. There are other prophetic yokai who are reported to appear and deliver promises of bountiful crops and protection from disease. Like the amabie, they recommend spreading a picture of themselves around to protect yourself. You could say that social media memes haven't changed much since the 17th century… These other yokai have many more recorded sightings and so you could argue that the amabie was unlikely to have really existed.
I prefer to believe that this mysterious little creature was, in fact, a member of a family of similar creatures. The group of creatures is called "Amabiko" and has a few variants. There is an illustrated manuscript from 1844 in Echigo depicting an amabiko with no torso, only a hairy face and three long appendages - like a strange squid. An article from 1876 reports of another variant that appears ape-like, again with only 3 legs. Finally there was the "holy Amakibo" (Amabiko-no-mikoto), recorded in a newspaper in 1875. This one appeared doll-like, with less hair and four legs. It was unusual because it was spotted in a rice paddy rather than in the sea.
If the amabie can indeed protect us from pestilence, we must consider the possibility that it has some connection to the gods. The story of Amabiko-no-mikoto makes that connection appear indesputable. However, seasoned adventurers and sages know that the ability to forsee the future is often possessed by creatures of the sea. It is for that reason, that we can be reasonably confident in classifying the amabie as a type of <a href="/siren"> mermaid </a>. Regardless of the final taxonomy, may the amabie's image protect you in these trying times.

Prophetic mermaid whose image prevents disease.

Amabie

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons

Twitter Hashtag on Amabie

Wikipedia entry

SoraNews 24 article

The sailors had been at sea for 50 nights and they were starving. Standing at the prow of the ship, the captain looked towards the horizon with resignation and did not notice the salt-spray that leapt up from the dark water below. He had always prided himself on his stoic nature, but hunger chipped away at his resolve. He thought of his daughters but their faces appeared vague in his mind and he struggled to keep them in focus against the constant pain in his stomach and head. His gaze touched a slim shadow in the distance. A hallucination? The ship rolled and he saw it again, clearer this time: land. There was an island.
An hour later the crew was lying haphazardly around the landing place where their ship was moored. The island was small with mostly dunes of sand and rocky crags, but there were some trees and plants. This brief rest from the sea was as wholesome as a bowl filled with barley for the exhausted crew. Several of them waited eagerly in a circle while someone hacked at flint with steel to start a fire. Finally, the tinder caught and a merry blaze filled their eyes. The captain smiled. Life-giving warmth spread outward from the fire. Then, suddenly, his legs gave out and he was on his back looking at stars. Terror gripped him as the island trembled. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the crew from angles he could make no sense of. His stomach dropped as the island lurched again. He managed to get to his hands and knees and look up - the island was shrinking. It was an impossible sight but he could not deny the thrashing white waves seething towards him. He shouted orders, but most of the crew who still stood were already fleeing towards the ship. To his horror, he noticed that the ship had moved away from the shore, back towards the open sea. The island was moving. It was moving and it was sinking. The cold ocean clawed over his face and he sucked in salt water. The captain spent his last moments trying to understand what he had just witnessed.
There is a story told in all lands throughout all history about an island which is the back of an enormous beast. In Greek, the beast is named Aspidochelone, which translates to “asp-turtle”; “Asp” meaning shield. We have a clear description of the beast’s appearance and intentions from the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiologus">Physiologus of Alexandria</a>:
“the great sea-monster which is often unwillingly met, terrible and cruel-hearted to seafarers, yea, to everyman; this swimmer of the ocean-streams is known as the asp-turtle. His appearance is like that of a rough boulder, as if there were tossing by the shore a great ocean-reedbank begirt with sand-dunes, so that seamen imagine they are gazing upon an island…”
The description of the false island is consistent across cultures, but the physical details of the rest of its body remain unconfirmed. Most who go near an Aspidochelone die, and those who escape catch only a glimpse of what lies beneath its back. Many believe it resembles a giant turtle, though some say it is more like a whale. The truth may lie somewhere in between.
What is clear is that there are more than one of this fabled giant. There have been too many sightings across too many places and times for there to be a single being (unless that being is god-like). And it goes by many names. In Middle-Earth the beast is known as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fastitocalon_(poem)">Fastitocalon</a>. The famous adventurer-sailor Sinbad <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_the_Sailor#First_Voyage_of_Sinbad_the_Sailor">encounters the beast in his first voyage</a> and knows it by the name Zaratan. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan#The_Voyage_of_Saint_Brendan_the_Abbot">St. Brendan</a> survives an encounter with the beast and calls it Jasconius which is the same name used by <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=2161">the Planeswalkers</a>.
Should you ever set sail on an ocean adventure of your own, you would do well to remember these stories and these names. Keep your wits about you and do not be tempted. Aspidochelone waits patiently.

Aspidochelone

Physiologus of Alexandria

The voyages of Sinbad

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

The Book of Imaginary Beings

Magic: The Gathering card game

The Whale - Old English Poem

<img src="/images/creatures/baba-yaga/baba-yaga.jpg" alt="Baba Yaga illustration" /> Illustration by Ivan Bilibin
We have heard the warnings as children. If we misbehave, Baba Yaga ("The Boogeyman") will take us away and devour us. Many know to avoid the bright, green lawn in the heart of the woods. Here is a tableau of translations for "Yaga" from across many cultures:
Horror, Shudder, Chill, Anger, Witch, Fury, Disease, Illness, Pain, Worry, To Abuse, To Belittle, To Exploit.
In the bathhouse, in a land of spirits, she binds workers into unescapable contracts by stealing their names. In the Tsardom across three times nine kingdoms, beyond high mountain chains, she dwells in the forest devouring children. In the Crookback Bog, in the swamps of Velen, she appears as three crones and twists the threads of the human lives in her region.
It would be easy to dismiss Baba Yaga as an evil witch. A tragedy to be avoided, summoned only by name when we desire control over our children. The truth is much more complicated. Andreas Johns, <a href="https://slavic.berkeley.edu/people/andreas-johns/">who studied her closely</a>, described Baba Yaga as "strikingly ambiguous".
Read the stories for yourself and you will discover that she is both villian and benefactor. She is bound by strict contracts. If you understand the ancient rules she abides by, you may benefit greatly from her, even as she tries to deceive you. Of course she may just eat you.
<h2 id="thebathhouse">The Bathhouse</h2>
As the ruler of the bathhouse (under the name Yubaba), she enslaves many to carry out her bidding. But her terms are made clear: remember your name and you are free. Throughout the events of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/">Spirited Away</a> she reveals that, while she can be cruel, she can also give praise where praise is due. Her ultimate drive is gold, not pure malevolence.
<h2 id="vasilisathebeautiful">Vasilisa the Beautiful</h2>
When Vasilisa the Beautiful goes to Baba Yaga's hut in the woods to trade for fire, she finds the hut made entirely of human bones. Baba Yaga returns and eats enough meat, beer, and honey for five grown men, including the bones. But instead of devouring Vasilisa, she agrees to give her fire provided she can clean Baba Yaga's house. Vasilisa prevails over a series of increasingly impossible chores with the help of her mother's blessing and remains safe. At one point near the final day, Baba Yaga warns Vasilisa of the dangers of knowledge:
<blockquote>
 "Well," said the old witch, "only remember that every questions does not lead to good. If thou knowest overmuch, thou wilt grow old too soon."
</blockquote>
She tries to trick Vasilisa into asking too many questions, but Vasilisa wisely refuses. Baba Yaga does really want to eat her, but she always makes the terms clear. In the end, the witch's fire is granted to Vasilisa who brings it home. The fire incinerates her evil mother and stepsisters, freeing Vasilisa to live her dream life.
<h2 id="thecronesofcrookbackbog">The Crones of Crookback Bog</h2>
In the swamps of Velen live three crones named by the citizens as Brewess, Weavess, and Whispess. It is common for Baba Yaga to appear as three sisters. They communicate with the world using an enchanted tapestry. Many end up in the stewing pot kept by Brewess.
They help people who request it but for a gruesome fee, often taking an ear which they can later use to spy on the woods around their home. And yet, it is known in Velen, that the people survive the harshest times because of the old magic of the Crones. They demand utter obedience in return.
<h2 id="thepowerofbabayaga">The Power of Baba Yaga</h2>
While Baba Yaga may take the form of three sisters, she is usually an old woman with unnaturally long arms and thin legs. She flies about the forest on top of an enchanted mortar and pestle, sweeping the ground behind her with an extended broom. Her hut and the gates around it jump to obey her verbal commands. You may sometimes spot the hut moving locations atop giant chicken legs. Like many witches, she may cast spells to transform herself into some sort of fowl, so that she may transport herself and remain inconspicuous. Depending on her mood, you may find her appearance comical or completely terrifying.
In the realm of myth the power of a thing is increased by our belief in it. The more stories we share about the gods and monsters, the more real they become. Our hearts are the engine of their creation. Baba Yaga has been with us for hundreds of years and thousands of stories. Her power is indisputable.
In Rossiiskaia grammatika, the first written appearance of Baba Yaga, her name appears on a list of Slavic gods. Next to every god is written their equivalent god from Roman mythology. Every god, that is, except for Baba Yaga.
Next to Baba Yaga is written nothing.

Baba Yaga

Russian Fairy Tales

Spirited Away

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Balrogs descend from the fire giants who destroyed the world at Ragnarök.

There are very few Balrogs remaining. You can only find them in the deepest and most forgotten places. Pray that you don't.

Like the flames of hell itself, a Balrog's aura burns with a supernatural fire. They are as ancient as fire and command the element in spite of its wild temperament.

"You cannot pass!"
The grey wizard (who would later become the white wizard) screamed defiance. Standing over a bottomless chasm on a narrow bridge, he held his arms wide and placed himself between his retreating allies and a "Demon of Might". Darkness shrouded the man-shaped giant. Its eyes were burning coals, its nostrils breathed sulfurous flames, and a mane of fire tumbled down its muscular back. The very presence of the demon bent the world around it. The ancient mountain floor quaked beneath its feet.
The giant lashed out with its many-thronged whip of fire but still the wizard held his ground. None had ever faced the Balrog and lived. And so it went for the wizard. <a href="http://tolkien.cro.net/else/gdfdie.html">He made the ultimate sacrifice</a> and, in doing so, saved the lives of his companions.
<h2 id="battleontherainbowbridge">Battle on the Rainbow Bridge</h2>
The epic battle between Gandalf the Grey and the Balrog is an echo of an older conflict between <a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/5V838">Surtr</a>, the lord of Muspelheim, and <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/539869074067097903/">Freyr</a>, a god of the sun and rain. Both battles begin with the blast of a horn – the horns of Boromir and Heimdall respectively. Gandalf's battle takes place on the bridge of Khazad-dûm while Freyr's takes place on the Bifrost which was the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard to Middle-Earth. Both battles end with the bridge collapsing and the combatants falling into an abyss. In the end, Gandalf dies but is born again. In the older tale, the flames of Surtr's sword engulf the earth. A new world is born from the ashes, setting the stage for the surviving gods to meet again.
It is usually assumed that the Balrogs who inhabit Middle-Earth were born in the fires of its original dark enemy Morgoth. But when we hear the tale of Gandalf, and learn of the intimidating power of the Balrogs, we must consider the possibility that they are direct descendents of the ancient fire giants who destroyed the world at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k">Ragnarök</a>.

Balrog

An Encyclopedia of Tolkien

Wikipedia entry for Ragnarök

The Grey Havens

Novus Bestiary

Balor 5e SRD

Multiattack

Bite

Balrog's Blade

Flame Whip

Fire Aura

Innate Spellcasting

Magic Resistance

Magic Weapons

The basilisk's gaze kills wildlife, creates deserts, and destroys all who meet it.

<img src="/images/creatures/basilisk/basilisk.png" alt="Basilisk illustration" /> Illustration by <a href="https://twitter.com/danaxbraga">@danaxbraga</a>
The Basilisk (which means "little king" when translated from Greek) is declared "king" for a reason. It is one of our most ancient and inevitable representations of evil. Its foulness and power cannot be understated. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+90%3A13&version=DRA">The Bible, in Psalms 90:13,</a> names it as one of four figures of evil a hero must be prepared to confront: "Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample underfoot the lion and the dragon". (nb. Other translations of this section of the Bible mention the dragon, another legendary king of serpents) <a href="https://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/harry-potter-and-the-chamber-of-secrets-paperback-9781408855669/">One of the most famous, modern hero myths</a> has the protagonist confront a Basilisk in a "Chamber of Secrets" underneath his school. The awesome power of the Basilisk is demonstrated by the fact that its fang is the only thing that can destroy an artifact of great power which facilitates the will of the antagonist (in fact, it is a <a href="/lich">lich's phylactery</a>), bringing them one step closer to their ultimate confrontation.
The origins of the Basilisk are contested by scholars. The commonly held belief in the Middle Ages was that a Basilisk was born from the egg of a chicken which was brooded upon by a snake or a toad. In those days, the realms of animals were well defined, and combining two realms that were polar opposites (the realms of birds and serpents) would produce an abomination of extraordinary power. This theory is supported by the most common illustrations of the beast. A basilisk has the head of rooster leading into a large body covered in feathers or scales. From its side rises two thorny wings, protruding from its disgusting yellow plumage. It has four or eight legs, and a long serpent's tail. It wears a crown upon its head to symbolize its royal standing.
But there are older legends. The Roman poet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucan">Marcus Annaeus Lucanus</a> describes the origins of the Basilisk in the ninth book of his epic poem Pharsalia. Here is the translation by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Graves">Robert Graves</a>:
<blockquote>
 “Medusa is said to have lived in the far west of Africa, at the point where the Ocean laps against the hot earth, in a wide, untilled, treeless region which she had turned entirely to stone merely by gazing around her. The story is that, when her head was cut off, serpents were bred from the fallen blood and came hissing out to display their forked tongues….Perseus had planned to take the quickest route across Europe, but Athene forbade this; asking him to consider the damage he would do if he passed over cities and cultivated lands. On seeing such a large object flying aloft, everyone would look up, and be turned to stone; the corn would also be ruined. So he wheeled about and with the West Wind behind him sailed across Libya, because that was an untilled region, viewed only by the Sun and the stars….Thus, though the Libyan soil was sterile and the fields unproductive, they drank the poisonous blood, dripping from the Medusa’a head, which become more poisonous still by contact with the loose burning earth. The first snake to spring from the ground after this rain of Gorgon’s blood was the deadly asp with its puffed neck; and since the blood happened to be particularly abundant at this point, and mixed with clotted venom, it proved to be the most deadly of all the Libyan varieties….
 Among other snakes [is] the Basilisk, which scares away all lesser snakes by its terrifying hiss, and reigns alone over the empty desert–for it can kill without biting.”
</blockquote>
<a href="/gorgon">Regular readers of Novus Bestiary will be familiar with Medusa</a> and so you will know that the key feature of a gorgon is its terrible gaze. Like the Gorgon, the thing that remains constant throughout every account of the Basilisk is the power of its gaze. It is so powerful, it is hard to describe with words alone. The Basilisk does not merely live in a desert: it makes the desert. Its gaze kills all wildlife in its vicinity. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder">Pliny</a> states that it can even shatter rock and singe the grass. Its poison rots fruits and plants. When it drinks from a river, that river becomes corrupt for hundreds of years. A very stupid adventurer may locate a basilisk easily by searching for the absolute natural destitution surrounding it.
You won't find many basilisks, should you be foolish enough to seek one. Like dragons, most of them disappeared long ago. Some sources claim that a basilisk's blood can transmute stone into other materials, or cure petrification. For this reason, a few adventurers still seek them. If your quest requires it, then there are a few defenses you might employ. Remember first the story of Medusa: the most effective weapon against a Basilisk is its own gaze. Equip yourself with a sturdy mirror, preferably with an inscription of a rooster on the backside. Medieval adventurers used to carry live roosters with them into unknown areas, believing that the rooster's crow would kill a basilisk. I suspect that particular method follows from the medieval accounts of the beast's lineage, and I would not advise you rely on that alone. There is more credence to the medieval idea that basilisk's fear the weasal. Though they cannot kill them, weasals are the natural enemy of the Basilisk and so they are useful for rooting them out.
This poem from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_de_Quevedo">Quevedo</a> perfectly illustrates the foolishness of an adventurer who seeks the Basilisk:
If alive he is, who one time saw thee,\
The story he tells of thee is lies,\
For if he died not, he never saw thee,\
And if see thee he truly did, he died.

Basilisk

Pathfinder bestiary, 2nd edition

The Grand Medieval Bestiary

The Bible, Book of Psalms

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The appearance of a bean-nighe signals the immanent death of whoever's clothes she is washing.

A bean-nighe is born when a woman dies in childbirth. She must perform her task until she reaches the day she would have died if she had survived childbirth. She longs to become the nurturing mother.

As a faerie, a bean-nighe can see the truth across time. If you nurse at her long breast, she will grant you the true answer to a single question. In this way you can also forestall your own death.

<h2 id="theblueshirt">The blue shirt</h2>
It had been a long day with an angry sun. Stinging, salted drops had run down into the fisherman’s eyes, and his favourite blue shirt was nearly stained from sweat, but it had all been worth it. He had caught quite a few fish - more than usual for this time of year. They were strung up over his shoulder as he walked along the river, heading for home. With each step, the fish bumped against the fisherman’s back, and he carried his pole on his other shoulder, whistling a tune as he walked. The river turned and so did he, and an old woman came into view, washing clothes at the side of the water. The fisherman lifted his hand in a wave and smiled, but she took no notice of him. Finally, he could see what she was washing, and his blood ran cold. A blue shirt that he knew well. It was his favorite. It was the shirt he was wearing right then.
The fisherman looked down, half expecting his shirt to have vanished, but there it was on his body sweat stains and all. And there it was too, ten feet away now, the old woman’s gnarled hands beating it against a rock. He could not entirely make out her face as she crouched over her task, but something about her seemed familiar. Folded next to her, already washed, were the gray trousers the fisherman wore. Unnerved, the man hurried on, glancing over his shoulder more than once as he did so, eager to put the crone and his phantom clothing behind him. Looking behind him, he did not notice the loose dirt ahead. He slipped and fell, landing in the shallow water at the river’s edge, and cracked his head on a rock just below the surface. His lifeblood flowed away downstream, mixing with the dirt and sweat of his favourite blue shirt.
<h2 id="heraldofdeath">Herald of death</h2>
A bean-nighe is a spirit that heralds the death of the living. Always found near a stream, river, or pool, the spirit washes the blood from the clothing of those near death or the clothing the nearly departed will be wearing when buried. It always takes the form of an old woman, though the details of her appearance change. Some say the woman is almost bald, nothing more than white wisps clinging to her scalp. Others have said her hair is full and dark. She has been described with every shape of nose. Half of those who have seen a bean-nighe and lived to tell the tale swear she was whistling, or singing some strange tune. For others, the spirit is silent. Some claim to have seen nothing in her mouth but one yellowed tooth. One survivor says the creature had webbed feet the color of blood.
It is said that the bean-nighe is not just one creature, but many, the cursed spirits of women who died giving birth. This could explain the fact that not every eye witness agrees on the general appearance of the spirit. I propose that, in such close encounters with death, people are seeing a version of their own mother - a refraction of the sacred imagery experienced at the moment of birth.
<h2 id="playingthebabe">Playing the babe</h2>
Many believe that, once you’ve seen a bean-nighe, it’s already too late. Your number is up, so to speak, and there is nothing you can do about it. But I am not so certain.
I came across one man on the Isle of Mull who claims to have encountered a bean-nighe in his youth. She was kneeling by a still pond and washing his clothes, when the boy noticed her strange breasts. They were so long that she had to repeatedly toss them back over her shoulders to keep them from getting in her way. He snuck up on the spirit, grabbed her breast, and began nursing! He claims that the bean-nighe mistook him for the baby she had lost in life in her last moments and so she spared him.
It is also said that a bean-nighe may not herald the death of the actual witness. I once met a quiet woman on the island of Iona. Something in her past had left her looking older than was natural. The villagers told me that she had encountered an evil spirit. I helped her with her chores for two weeks, performing much tedious manual labour, before she finally opened up. She spoke of a time in her youth when she spied an old woman washing a mound of clothing by the river. Later that evening, people in her village began getting sick. Within a week, most had succumbed to the disease.
<h2 id="thecontractsoffaeries">The contracts of faeries</h2>
A bean-nighe is bound to her dark duty. It is a slave. Though you should certainly fear it, it is as much a victim as much as those it washes clothes for. They take no pleasure in their work. They must perform their prophetic task until they reach the day they would have died had they not experienced sudden death in childbirth.
Though their tragic birth story enslaves them, it begets a powerful gift. As faeries who live beyond the mortal plane, they are granted true sight. Many such faeries do not share this gift but the bean-nighes trauma grounds them in our world. They crave nothing more than to become the nurturing mother they should have been. Should you have the boldness to nurse at the breast of a bean-nighe, she will reward you with the true answer to one question.
I wait anxiously for the day that a true hero asks them a selfless question: Dear mother, how do I set you free?

Bean-nighe

An Encyclopedia of Fairies

Villains Wiki

Oxford Reference

Claw

Gaze

Deathly Wail

Devour Soul (Costs 2 Actions)

Vanish

Echo of Unlife

Grave Haunting

Legendary Resistances (3/day)

Beldams can transform themselves into different shapes. They often take the form of beautiful women to attract children - their preferred prey.

Beldams capture souls by taking possession of their victims eyes. They feed on the soul energy and use it to craft illusory worlds and slave contructs that do their bidding.

A Beldam's hunting behaviour is similar to spider. They craft elaborate worlds that appeal to their victims and then lure them in. They are not able to freely walk in any realm, and so they draw their victims to them.

It is said that Beldams were once spirits of the forest entrusted with guarding it. They share many similarities with other witches of the woods like Baba Yaga. They have great power in their own domain, but they can be tempted to play games and strike binding bargains with mortals.

<blockquote>
 A woman stood in the kitchen with her back to Coraline. She looked a little like Coraline's mother. Only … 
 Only her skin was white as paper. 
 Only she was taller and thinner. 
 Only her fingers were too long, and they never stopped moving, and her dark red fingernails were curved and sharp. 
 "Coraline?" the woman said. "Is that you?" 
 And then she turned around. Her eyes were big black buttons. 
 "Lunchtime, Coraline," said the woman. 
 "Who are you?" asked Coraline. 
 "I'm your other mother," said the woman.
 - <a href="https://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Coraline/">Coraline, by Neil Gaiman</a>
</blockquote>
Long ago, the gods granted the Beldam dominion over the forest. This forest spirit had the form of a hideous old woman. She lived inside a dreadful little house, hidden away from mortal eyes. In the early time, she had almost no interaction with us. Few wanderers stepped into her domain. She would watch them with pursed lips and a hungry gleam in her eye. The forest would twist according to her wishes and confound the travellers. She would lead them right back the way they came. She would only watch.
As the human population expanded, it wasn't long before the Beldam decided that the world would not miss a few of them. Those who wandered into her domain began to disappear in violent acts of opportunity. And so her hunger grew.
Civilization progressed. The human population exploded. And then, sometime in the mid 1800s, the Beldam changed. Her hunger grew and grew and she could no longer be satisfied by meat alone. She increased the ambition of her illusions, transforming herself into a beautiful young woman so that she would appeal to mortal men and children. She warped her little house into something bigger, placing it closer and closer to the hearts of human settlements. She crafted cunning illusions and wove them all about herself as a spider weaves an intricate web. The effort drained her, sharpening her hunger. From then on, human flesh would not sustain her.
She began to capture human souls to feed herself.
<h2 id="theothermother">The "Other Mother"</h2>
In the Neil Gaiman story <a href="https://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Coraline/">Coraline</a>, a young girl finds a mysterious door that leads her to an alternate reality. Everything beyond the door mirrors the world she came from but appears better. The colours, the flavours, the sounds - everything seems more vivid, as if it was created to please her. It is there that she meets the "other mother" - a woman who looks just like her mother but much kinder and more beautiful. As the story progresses, Coraline begins to see through the cracks in the illusion and comes to the horrifying realization that the "other mother" intends to steal her soul.
As the contest between them escalates, we learn much about the powers of a well established Beldam. First and foremost is her ability to shapeshift. When we first meet her she is an almost perfect replica of Coraline's mother, only more beautiful (the name Beldam comes from "belle-dam" which is french for "beautiful woman"). The only unsettling feature are her eyes. Her eyes are black buttons.
In her true form, she appears as a tall, pale, spider-like monster with a horrible grin and long claws fashioned from sewing needles. Some speculate that the needle-hands are a necessity. Her body is decaying because it has been too long since she last trapped a child's soul, so she is forced to fashion it from other parts. I think it's possible she fashioned these hands intentionally as better tools for crafting her fake reality and her doll spies.
The Beldam also has the power to create life. She fashions many dolls who appear as <a href="https://novusbestiary.com/doppelganger">doppelgängers</a> of people Coraline is familiar with. These dolls sometimes disobey the Beldam and side with Coraline, which indicates that a spark of human soul is likely involved in their creation. Her lesser dolls travel to the real world and act as her spies. It reminds me of <a href="https://novusbestiary.com/marie-laveau">voodoo</a> magic.
<h2 id="theotherworld">The "Other World"</h2>
Surrounding the Beldam is the other world that she has crafted to captivate her intended victim. She shows almost complete mastery over the constructed world. It is like an elaborate spider's web rendered in bright colours rather than hung invisible. Her control seems to extend even as far as the weather.
You will notice that when Coraline first arrives, the "other mother" offers delicious food - food that she does not touch herself. Be warned: ingesting the food of a faerie realm is extremely dangerous. It may dull your senses, increase the power of the illusion, or in the worst cases, trap you forever in the other realm. One of my favourite expressions of this danger is shown in Guillermo del Toro's film Pan's Labryinth <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaO0_i-7oJA">when Ofelia encounters the Pale Man at his banquet table.</a>
<h2 id="thewindowtothesoul">The window to the soul</h2>
The power of the human soul is no small thing. A Beldam captures human souls by taking possession of her victim's eyes when they are freely given.
Our eyes have contained our human soul since the scales fell from them in the garden of eden. They are the window between our divine essence and the earthly realm. "The eye illuminates, understands, expresses, protects, scorches and stares." (Book of Symbols, Taschen)
When Coraline first encounters the Beldam and sees that her eyes are replaced with black buttons she does not perceive the danger, but the hair rises on the back of our necks. When we encounter a demon so close to human form but with eyes devoid of any human spark, our soul trembles.

Beldam

Coraline

Coraline Wiki - Other Mother

The Book of Symbols

Beekaydubya blog

<blockquote>
 As with a work of art, you never completely understand a cat.
 This is true of other things, too, but their mystery is seldom haunting, and we feel no desire to possess them.
 People have rushed into a burning house, risking their lives, to save a painting or a cat.
 - Leonard Michaels
</blockquote>
Any self-respecting zoologist must be, first and foremost, an observer. In my quest to record the nature and appearance of strange creatures around the world, I have encountered many mysteries. But few have been so compelling as the riddles posed by the Cheshire Cat. What are its origins? How can you have a grin without a cat? This cat is a mystery but how exactly? What is it about it that causes one's mind to dwell on it? Observation becomes nearly impossible when the behaviour of an animal is so unpredictable.
A Cheshire Cat confounds you at every turn. It will tell you many things, in whatever language you understand. Some of its advice will be helpful. The rest will be misdirection, or perhaps subtle digs to insult you for its own amusement. These cats can make themselves invisible at will. They sometimes partially disappear, making themselves a pattern of the landscape. Their exact size seems to shift, one moment the size of a housecat, the next the size of a small car, and upwards from there. Enough of this and you begin to wonder if you are seeing them everywhere. Is that bush smiling at me? Does a soft breeze rustle the leaves of trees or does the cat follow me? I've asked the constellations: have you always had that smirk or are you, again, the cat?
<blockquote>
 A cat doesn't look at itself when you hold it up to a mirror. It acts as if nothing appeared in the glass.
 That's because a cat believes it is invisible. A cat has to believe this, because, when stalking, it has to be invisible in the eyes of its prey.
 To be a cat you must be invisible and very real at the same time. Worshippers believe this of God.
 - Leonard Michaels
</blockquote>
The Cheshire Cat's name comes from the region it has most often appeared in. Cheshire, a county in North West England, is reknowned for its production of cream and dairy products. Cheshire Cats are drawn to classic English pubs. There are unconfirmed reports that the cat can take the form of a human and enjoy a pint right under our noses, grinning all the while. One answer to the riddle: how can you have a grin without a cat?
There is a story about a Cheshire Cat who takes the form of a many-legged bus in the old forests of Japan. In the story, the cat transports a young girl who is desperately seeking her lost sister. I can not confirm if the story is true, but the presence of disappearing cats in Japan is certain. In all likelihood, Cheshire Cats exist anywhere on earth they might find comfort and amusement. It is simply left to us to observe them. Whether or not we succeed concerns them little.
The Cheshire Cat's most famous feature is its grin. There are many references to it in literature, as early as 1788.
<ul>
<li>"He grins like a Cheshire cat; said of any one who shows his teeth and gums in laughing." - A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Second, Corrected and Enlarged Edition (1788)</li>
<li>"Lo, like a Cheshire cat our court will grin." - Pair of Lyric Epistles (1792)</li>
<li>"That woman grins like a Cheshire cat." - The Newcomes (1855)</li>
<li>"this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone." - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)</li>
</ul>
The grin, the disappearing act, the impenetrable mystique of this damned cat. It carries on and on, even into our modern scientific stories. In geometry, a catenary is a curve made by a chain suspended between two points, such as one might find in a suspension bridge. A perfect, geometric grin. "The Cheshire Cat effect" is a condition which causes stationary objects seen in one eye to disappear from view when an object in motion crosses in front of the other. "The Cheshire Cat" is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics in which a particle and its property behave as if they were separated. When a sound disappears but leaves a trace behind, it is called "cheshirization" in linguistics. A merger of galaxy groups in the constellation Ursa Major is nicknamed "Cheshire Cat galaxly group" by astronomers.
Wherever our eye wanders, the cat follows. Wherever our mind wanders, it resurfaces.

Mischievous vanishing feline with a famous grin.

Cheshire Cat

The Cheshire Cat's Grin

My Neighbour Totoro

A Cat

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

A chimera is a combination of multiple, fearsome beasts. This results in a monster that is difficult to behold and understand. People who claim to have seen one will often be dismissed as having wild imaginations.

Lion, serpent, and mother. Chimera is a powerful hunter that devours any who trepass. Though the combinations may change, they will always incorporate claws, teeth, stingers, and fire - the things that humans fear.

The original chimera was defeated by a hero riding a top a winged horse. Since then they have had an innate hatred for creatures of the air. As earth-bound beasts, they have a weakness for attacks from above.

<blockquote>
 "She was a most singular portent, a lion in front, a serpent behind, a goat in between…
 A fearful creature, great and swift of foot and strong, 
 Whose breath was flame unquenchable."
 – Edith Hamilton, Mythology
</blockquote>
This excerpt, describing the classical chimera, tells us much. First and foremost, a chimera is something singular. A defining characteristic of any chimera is its unlikely existence. It is a creature that, once encountered, is impossible to forget, and yet, impossible to describe.
The first description ever recorded was by Homer. He described it as a creature with a lion's head, a she-goat's body, and a serpent as a tail. Later descriptions by Hesiod and recent zoologists claim it is three-headed, still representing the lion, goat, and serpent. Sometimes the serpent's aspect includes the wings of a dragon. The idea that it is three-headed may have basis in another claim that the chimera was the offspring of the legendary monsters Typhon and Echidna. Those two birthed the well-known <a href="https://www.novusbestiary.com/hellhound">hellhound</a> Cerberus. All agree that the original chimera was female.
Finally, we note that a chimera is something to be feared. It is equipped with the strengths of multiple great predators. In addition, it has the fire-breath of dragons, described as "flame unquenchable". Some say you can travel to modern day Yanartaş in Turkey to witness the eternal fires from below the earth that gave birth to the chimera. That region was once called Lycia, and was home to a volcano which had snakes infesting the base, goats grazing on the hillside, and lion's dens at the fiery summit. It was there that the original chimera sprang forth.
<h2 id="bellerophonpegasusandthechimera">Bellerophon, Pegasus, and the Chimera</h2>
There is a famous story of a hero named Bellerophon. Using a magic, golden bridle given to him by the gods, he was able to tame the legendary horse Pegasus. Pegasus was equipped with wings, and could fly as fast as the wind. The horse eventually went on to live amongst the gods and serve Zeus directly, but that is a story for another day.
After angering a king (as many heroes do), Bellerophon was asked to slay the ancient Chimera. In this way the king hoped to kill him indirectly, since he was bound by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospitium">Hospitium</a> not to murder him outright.
Mounted upon Pegasus, Bellerophon soared through the air and was able to easily mitigate the Chimera's attacks, shooting it with arrows from the sky. In this way, he slayed the beast. This is the reason you will often find ancient depictions of chimeras paired with depictions of the winged-horse Pegasus.
<h2 id="themodernchimera">The modern chimera</h2>
In the centuries that have passed since Bellerophon defeated the original chimera, this creature has evolved to become something even more dangerous. We must now think of it more as an adjective; a chimerical thing. A modern chimera is an impossible monster. It is any combination of things that go against the natural order, of multiple animals and predatory aspects smashed together. A "chimera" may even be defined as a figment of the imagination, given how difficult it is to hold in the mind's eye.
For examples look to the virus named "chimera" created by Biocyte Pharmaceuticals, the monstrosities encountered by the Fullmetal Alchemist, and the beasts at the Tower of Latria or the depths of Blackwing.
Though the modern chimera is ever-evolving, it will always remain an impossible predator.

Chimera

Wikipedia entry on pop culture

Mythology

Moonlight seeped through the foggy night sky, barely lighting the path ahead. "Ow much farther we got ta go?" asked the man with the broad face. A dull silver earring pierced one of his ears, making some sort of ill-conceived fashion statement. "Hush now, Reginald. We're almost there. Be patient!" The man leading was taller and thinner than his impatient companion. He was also a good deal smarter – at least he thought so. Once they made away with the church coffer he would see to it that he got more than his fair share. A 100% cut in fact. The tall man grinned slightly to himself as he thought about the all the generous donations he would soon reallocate. "See now, there it is." He gestured up the hill.
Looking ahead the men could see the church now. It was hard to make out details in the fog, but the outline of it was clear. "Alright now remember what we discussed Reginald. I'll take position near the pastor's room to watch for any disturbance. You go in through the kitchen, grab the stash, then come straight back out. Do you remember where it is?" Reginald turned to him with a flat look on his face. His mouth hung open for a second while they passed through the fence into the churchyard. The leader pursed his lips, about to make some choice remarks when suddenly: "Ya Ya Ya. I know where't is. Under the pulpi'. At's roight, under the floor there. Ya've only told me 6 hun'red times ya 'ave." Good, good. The lout did remember. And he obviously wasn't expecting him to be waiting with a special bonus outside the kitchen. A sharp bonus.
They were well into the yard now, close to the church. Just as they were about to split up to carry out the robbery, Reginald froze. He was looking up at something. "Reginald!" whispered the leader sharply. "What in the nine hells are you doing? Get going!" Reginald just pointed. Looking up, the leader saw a large, black cat staring at them. It was perched peculiarly on the point of the roof, just above the main door. It's eyes were bright yellow orbs, unnaturally large, with pitch black vertical slits in the middle. As he stared into those eyes all the light around the cat seemed to grow dimmer. It was as if the moon was waning and the only light came from those eyes.
Shaking is head abruptly, the leader regained his senses. "Reginald, you oaf! That's just the pastor's cat! Get moving." He wasn't really whispering anymore. The two of them started to continue and then froze after a few steps. The cat was on the ground now, squarely between them and their goal.
They had never seen it move from the roof. It was if it had teleported. They started to back up slowly without even realizing they were moving. The cat matched their speed, slowly advancing. With each step it seemed to grow larger. "It's just.. a cat. A stupid.. c.. cat. Reg.."
Screams echoed through the night, waking the pastor. He lit his bedside lantern and stepped into his slippers. Outside, the night air was cool and calm. The fog was lifting, but it still hugged the earth around the church. The pastor revered the silence. He strolled across the churchyard in the direction he had heard the screams. As he was passing the main entrance, he stopped, seeing something glinting in the grass. Bending town he picked up the shining object between his fingers and held it up to the sky. A silver earring. The paster slipped it into his pocket and bent back down to get another look at the ground. He noticed footprints. Two pairs of them, depressions in the grass, that had been heading towards the church. They vanished where he had found the tooth. In that same spot were some other marks. Deep ruts in the earth, as if the grass had been torn up by claws. Large claws.
The pastor stood back up and smiled to himself. "Thank you old friend" he said to the night. He turned around and walked back to his room. He slept soundly until morning.
<h2 id="guardianspiritofthechurch">Guardian spirit of the church</h2>
A church grim is a spirit that guards a churchyard against threats both physical and spiritual. Grave robbers, thieves, and body snatchers are scared off the moment they enter the area protected by the grim. In some cases, the grim will be even more aggressive, adding to the number of souls bound forever to their church's patch of earth. Physical threats are not the only things a church grim can protect against. A church grim also has the power to turn away vengeful or mischievous spirits.
<h2 id="sacrificialbirth">Sacrificial birth</h2>
To create a church grim, a sacrifice must be made. When a new churchyard is opened, an animal is sacrificed in the name of the lord and buried under the ground on the north side. Some cultures bury the animal alive in the church wall. In either case, the animal's spirit becomes bound to that church for eternity and rises again as a grim. It is very commonly a dog because dogs are known for their ferocious guardian spirit. But other animals such as cats, ox, or cockerel can be used. The church grim appears as a terrifying, larger version of the creature that was sacrificed. It possesses the ability to change its size and defy typical limitations of the physical plane. It's claws rend evil flesh and spirit alike.
<h2 id="standinforhumansouls">Stand in for human souls</h2>
Some believe that the first human to be buried at a new church will be bound to protect the church from evil for all eternity. The practice of sacrificing an animal to create a grim may have been a method for preventing human souls from being trapped into such service. I often wonder what sort of being a human grim would be? There was once a young orphan who was confined to grow up in a graveyard after his parents were murdered by sinister forces. A dark and silent man named Silas became his guardian. He oversaw all the denizens of that graveyard. Though Silas demonstrated the characteristics of a vampire, it has crossed my mind that his guardianship does bear some resemblance to the grim.

Church Grim

Vaesen

The Graveyard Book

The office building was slanted sideways, as if it had been frozen in the middle of falling over. The three of them could see lighting flash through the holes in its concrete frame. They climbed over rubble in the streets and entered it through a broken window. It was a huge risk, but they had to reach the capitol building as soon as possible and this was the fastest way they could get through the downtown area. Inside, plants grew across walls and doors and water from the storm flowed through cracks in the ceiling. It was pitch black so they turned on their flashlights. That's when they saw the first body. A soldier had been ripped to shreds. What was left of him lay against the wall in the hallway. The blood was still fresh. They quickened their pace. They didn't want to spend a moment longer than necessary in this terrible building.
At the top of a staircase the man found a door blocked by another corpse, though it was hard to recognize it as human. The body sat upright completely covered in some sort of fungus. He could see graceful tendrils climbing up and out of its legs, torso, and arms. Its head was completely split open, the face hidden behind thick layers of mushrooms and old blood. He could barely see the person's mouth underneath the dank skull, the lips pulled back, frozen in a painful grimace. The fungus climbed up and out of the skull and coated the door and walls beside it. "Goddammit. Clicker." he said.
The man peeled the corpse away from the door and went through. The two women followed and they progressed through a series of offices that slanted towards the ground 100 feet below. One of the women, the one in her teens, started to feel sick from the extreme angles and the memory of the fungal corpse. Water from the storm flowed past them on the ground and out the holes gaping in the side of the building. They felt as if the building had tipped even further since they entered it. Finally, they found a door heading back into the hallway but it was stuck. The adults both put their shoulders to it and managed to heave it open, the obstruction screeching along the floor as they did. The woman shouted and the man looked up just as the monster lunged on top of him knocking him to the ground. It was all he could do to prevent it from biting his face off. His vision was filled with the gruesome sight of a divided skull covered in fungus. All he could hear were the screeches and rapid clicking sounds coming from the monster's throat. It was much stronger than any human, and his strength was failing fast. At the last moment, the woman desperately kicked it off of him and put 2 bullets in its head. It stopped moving, but they knew the gunshots would attract more undead. They had to keep moving.
<a href="https://youtu.be/XuKjBIBBAL80">There is a BBC documentary that shows a clip of an ant infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus.</a> The fungus controls its mind, causing erratic behaviour and compelling it to spread spores. The ant is utterly destroyed in the process. These invasive species of fungi are easy to find in the insect world. We normally don't need to worry about them spreading in humans. But the horrifying truth is that there is a rare variant of the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus that has mutated to infect human beings. Its common name is the Cordyceps infection (although Cordyceps is technically a genus of fungi). The footage of the ant gives you a basic idea of its effects. The fungus infects the human brain, slowly taking over the mind of its host and compelling it to attack other people so that it may spread. Eventually, it bursts forth from the host's body so that its spores may spread and infect others.
There are four distinct stages as the infection progresses in a human. Each stage seems less and less human and is more of a threat to others as the fungus forms a sort of protective armor and reinforces the muscle fibers granting super strength. The stages of infected are known colloquially as Runner, Stalker, Clicker, and Bloater or Shambler. The initial phases still seem to retain some of their humanity. You will notice expressions of concern and even terror on their faces, suggesting they may have some awareness of what they are doing even though they can't stop themselves. They move between fits of rage and calm and you can often hear them moaning as if in pain.
After about a year of infection, the infected becomes a Clicker. This is an advanced stage of infection. At this stage, there are almost no remaining traces of humanity. The fungus has burst forth from their skull, splitting it in two. It covers their eyes completely so that they lose their sense of sight. All that remains of the human face is a mouth filled with rotted and jagged teeth. They use a primitive sort of echolocation to navigate their environment. The incessant clicking sound they make gives them their name. <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/8449559106/in/photostream/">There are some drawings and photos</a> of these zombie-like monsters but I caution you: Do not look at them unless you have a hard stomach.
Clickers develop a more advanced predatory intelligence. If they hear a sound in their surrounding area, they will continue to search methodically for prey. They are much stronger than a normal human, and are protected by layers of thick fungus. They still feel pain but have a much higher tolerance than an uninfected human. If you encounter one, you must remember that normal attacks may not stop them immediately. You should prefer high-powered, hard-hitting attacks if you need to confront one. They are very susceptible to fire, given the flammable mycellium that has spread throughout their bodies. Your best bet is to use stealth and steer clear of them entirely. Even if you manage to survive a direct encounter, a single scratch or bite will infect you, and you will feel your own humanity painfully slip away as the fungus spreads throughout your body.

Infected humans that hunt you by clicking.

Clicker

The Last of Us

The Last of Us fandom wiki

Planet Earth video clip

Clíodhna possesses dominion over love and beauty. Her power to charm men rivals even the sirens.

Her wailing can be heard throughout Ireland. She even causes powerful waves to crash against the shore.

Her motivations are difficult to discern for mortals. She may suck the life out of you, or cure all your ills with her magical birds.

She became the Queen of Banshees when a god of the sea tore her away from her lover. In another tale she tried to steal the love of her sister. Clíodhna seems cursed to never find a true partner.

<blockquote>
 Their years, their gentle deeds, their flags are furled!\
 And deeply down, under the stiffened world,\
 In oaken chests are kings and princes thrust,\
 To crumble, day by day, into the dust\
 A mouth might puff at! Nor is left a trace\
 Of those who did of grace all that was grace
 O Wave of Cliona, cease thy bellowing!\
 And let mine ears forget a while to ring\
 At thy long, lamentable, misery!\
 The great are dead indeed! The great are dead!\
 And I, in little time, will stoop my head\
 And put it under, and will be forgot\
 With them, and be with them, and, thus, be not!
 Excerpt from <a href="https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/wave-cliona">The Wave of Cliona</a>
</blockquote>
Clíodhna is the Queen of Banshees, descended from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann">Tuatha Dé Danann</a>. She dwells in her palace off the shore of Mallow, a pile of rocks known as Carrig-Cleena. Once a goddess of love and beauty, she willingly left the otherworldly plane of Tir Tairngire to be with her mortal lover Ciabhán. But one fateful day, when Ciabhán went to hunt, the sea god Manannán MacLir brought forth a great wave which swept her away.
Since that day, her wailing can be heard throughout Ireland. The tide in Glandore in Cork is now known as Tonn Chlíodhna which means Clíodhna's Wave. Legend has it that every ninth wave in a sequence is the strongest, and must be sent by her – an ongoing reminder of her influence.
<h2 id="legendarybeauty">Legendary beauty</h2>
Not many have laid eyes upon the Queen of Banshees. Those who have claim, without fail, that she possesses unearthly beauty. Her hair is long and dark, her skin as white as marble. She embodies the perfect feminine form, ensuring her ability to attract men like a <a href="https://www.novusbestiary.com/siren">siren</a>.
Even after the tragedy that tore her away from her mortal lover, Clíodhna (sometimes referred to as Cleena) retains much of the power she was born into as a diety in the Otherworld. She once turned a rival into a white cat, and so possesses the powers of transmutation. She keeps three colourful birds as pets. The birds have eaten the fruit of a magical tree and now their birdsongs can cure all ills. Her domain was love and beauty and she still has great influence over them both.
<h2 id="theblarneystone">The Blarney Stone</h2>
The Blarney Stone is famous throughout the world. It is said to give those who kiss it the ability to charm anyone. It is said that Clíodhna was the first to instruct Cormac MacCarthy (who built Blarney Castle) to kiss the stone so that he might win a lawsuit. After kissing the stone he was so eloquent and persuasive that he won the suit handily.
In this story we see an example of Clíodhna favouring a mortal man. Like many goddesses her stance toward us is unpredictable. She would just as soon charm you as suck the life from you, depending on her whim. The motivations of dieties are always hard for mortals to understand.
<h2 id="unluckyinlove">Unlucky in love</h2>
Artists and poets over the centuries have written extensively about Clíodhna.
Some say she had a sister named Aobhill, who has also inspired many tales. They were the daughters of a man named the Red Druid, who was a prince. While Clíodhna had strange powers from birth, her sister did not, and it became a source of jealousy for Aobhill.
One day, Clíodhna fell in love with a man who was also loved by her sister. It pained her to learn that the man had great affection for Aobhill. It is said Cleena used dark magic to pull the happiness right out of her sister. This love triangle, and Clíodhna's cruelty, is said to be the incident that propels Cleena from her mystical home and to our world, where she soon falls for a new man.
In the end, she was not able to be with her mortal lover - the same way she was not able to be with her first love. Was the sea god's interference justified? Or is Clíodhna a victim, cursed with dominion over love and beauty even while continously deprived of her own true partner?

Clíodhna, Queen of Banshees

Ireland Information

The Faerie Index

O'Keefe Clan

Smite (video game)

Corrupting Touch

Horrifying Visage

Wail (1/Day)

Touch

Enthrall (Costs 2 Actions)

Wail of Retribution (Costs 2 Actions)

Clíodhna

Detect Life

Incorporeal Movement

Perfect Beauty

The old races of Cyclopes could craft perfect works with stone, iron, and bronze. The god-like Cyclopes forged legendary magic artifacts fit for the gods of Olympus. They were the assistants of the smith-god Hephaestus.

The more monstrous races of Cyclopes tended flocks of sheep. They had no social hierarchies, no knowledge of agriculture, and no centers of culture.

Isolated Cyclopes who have lost their connection to their honorable smithing heritage devolve into savages with a taste for human flesh.

<img src="/images/creatures/cyclops/Hephaestus_and_Cyclopes_forging_the_shield_of_Achilles.jpg" alt="Marble carving of Hephaestus and the Cyclopes forging the shield of Achilles" />
<blockquote>
 "Strength and force and contrivances were in their works."
 – Hesiod
</blockquote>
Many have told the tale of the hero <a href="https://www.mwpai.org/assets/Education/MA-Resources-9-15-2016/Myth-Odysseus-and-the-Cyclops.pdf">Odysseus's encounter with the brutish cyclops Polyphemus</a>. In the tale, Odysseus comes to a land of lawless, man-eating savages without craft or agriculture. There he and his crew become trapped by Polyphemus, the most monstrous of the one-eyed giants. They manage to escape by fooling and blinding the monster, but not before Polyphemus murders and devours several of Odysseus's men.
That famous story has lead many to think of the Cyclopes as a one-dimensional race of monsters. When you think of a cyclops, you think of Polyphemus. The truth is that the race of the Cyclopes has a much more sophisticated tradition. Yes they are one-eyed giants. But they are also legendary blacksmiths and builders; companions to the gods of Olympus and many heroes of old.
<h2 id="craftersoflegendarymagicartifacts">Crafters of legendary magic artifacts</h2>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiod">Hesiod</a> tells the origins of the Cyclopes. At the beginning of time, the Sky god Uranus and the Earth goddess Gaia gave birth to the Titans and the Cyclopes. These original three Cyclopes were equal to the Titans. Their names were Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Bright).
At their birth, their father Uranus imprisoned them deep within the abyssal prison Tartarus. He would suffer no challenge to his power whatsoever. Eventually, the titan Cronus overthrew his father Uranus and became the new ruler of the cosmos. Repeating the pattern, Cronus devoured all his own children as they were born. All except for one: the god named Zeus.
Zeus went on to free his siblings from the belly of Cronus. Those gods waged war against the Titans. Knowing the immense power of the enemy, Zeus wisely released the Cyclopes from their prison in Tartarus. Without their help, he would never have defeated the Titans and become the final ruler of the cosmos.
These Cyclopes, the brothers Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, were craftsman without equal. While the war against the Titans raged on, they crafted the legendary Thunderbolt and gave it to Zeus. With the aid of this powerful weapon, Zeus prevailed.
The Cyclopes went on to fashion many important magic artifacts for the gods. Any one of these items would be enough to arm an adventurer against any foe, even the gods themselves. Some of the most notable include:
<ul>
<li>The bows and arrows of Apollo and Artemis</li>
<li>The Aegis of Pallas</li>
<li>The weapons of Aeneas</li>
<li>Mars's Chariot</li>
</ul>
So perfect was their craft, that they went on to become the assistants of the smith god Hephaestus at his forge underneath Mount Etna. They were born before the smith god and may have even taught him some of his craft –&nbsp;though you must never mention that in his presence.
At night, turn your eyes toward the stars. The constellation Ara (the Altar) resides in the third quadrant of the southern hemisphere. It was the Cyclopes who constructed that Altar upon which the gods of Olympus sword allegiance before going to war against the Titans. That moment is echoed today every time someone swears their allegiance upon an altar.
<h2 id="buildersofthecyclopeanwalls">Builders of the cyclopean walls</h2>
At Minos, Tiryns, and Argos there are steadfast walls constructed of blocks of stone too large for mortal man to move. Ancient kings such as Proetus knew of the size, strength, and skill of the Cyclopes, and brought them to their kingdoms to construct what are now called "the cyclopean walls".
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder">Pliny the Elder</a> tells us that these giants were the inventors of the masonry tower, and the very first to work with iron and bronze. Some others have attributed them with building other monuments, such as the stone head of <a href="https://www.novusbestiary.com/gorgon">Medusa</a> at Argos.
This type of cyclops is a direct descendant of the god-like race of Cyclopes who served the gods of Olympus. They are smaller in size, and live a more humble lifestyle trading their excellent masonry skills for food and board.
<h2 id="uncivilizedmaneaters">Uncivilized man-eaters</h2>
So we return to the common depiction of the Cyclopes: a race of one-eyed giants who murder and devour any humans they can get their hands on. These cyclopes are uncivilized shepherds with no social order and no knowledge of agriculture. They are famously depicted by the giant Polyphemus who attacked the crew of Odysseus, and the lumbering Hinox who slumbers in the remote regions of Hyrule.
Their first impulse will be to attack you and eat you. The story of Odysseus shows us that they can be communicated with. In that story Odysseus escapes by getting the cyclops drunk on wine and then stabbing out it's massive eye with a burning piece of timber. When the silent knight Link faces them, he again demonstrates that the single, massive eye is a weak point.
My main question: Are these brutes the descendants of the legendary craftsmen who helped the gods of Olympus defeat the Titans? What could have lead to their isolation and degredation into lawless monsters? On the surface it appears they are a completely separate race. But the size, strength, and prominent single eye physically places them in the same family.
Even while Polyphemus smashes and eats the crew of Odysseus, and generally behaves as a true monster, he demonstrates a primitive intellgence by trapping them in the cave. Could it be that his is not a story of the wild beast encountering the hero, but a story of the pitiable orphan son of the once-noble Cyclopes?

Cyclops

Breath of the Wild

Odysseus and the Cyclops

<blockquote>
 The mouths was like leaves and the whole thing was like a tree in the wind, a black tree with lots of branches trailing to the ground, and a whole lot of roots ending in hoofs. And that green slime dribbling out of the mouths and down the legs was like sap!…
 It came crawling up the hillside to the alter and the sacrifice, and it was the black thing of my dreams-that black ropy, slimy, jelly tree-thing out of the woods. It crawled up and it flowed up on its hoofs and mouths and snaky arms. And the men bowed and stood back and then it got to the alter where they was something squirmin on top, squirming and screaming.
 – Willie Osborne, from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notebook_Found_in_a_Deserted_House">"Notebook Found In a Deserted House"</a>
</blockquote>
Those men from the notebook of Willie Osborne were cultists. In a futile attempt to achieve a reunion with the perverse Outer Goddess that they worship, they offer sacrifices to the tree-like aberrations they find in the heart of the woods. Very little is known about the goddess. She is an evil fertility diety. Her name is Shub-Niggurath. I dare not repeat it again. More is known about her foul progeny, her "Thousand Young", for it is these monstrosities which spew forth from her vile maw to walk the worlds we inhabit.
They are commonly referred to as the Dark Young. <a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/YQv2V">Gruesome, writhing, tentacled monsters</a> who live in swamps and temperate forests. They resemble trees standing twenty feet tall, though there are reports of larger ones. Thirty, even fifty feet. Large enough to trample houses.
They walk upon black hooves. Covering their body and tangled tentacles are mouths that appear disturbingly human-like. The mouths are constantly chomping and salivating. Green slime oozes from them, covering the ground. You can notice their passage through an area easily. The air about them smells like a mass grave. Giant hoof-prints and green slime make a clear trail.
Though the Dark Young appear to be ungainly beasts they are intelligent. They have their own ambitions and work through proxies to achieve their goals, though their dark designs can be inscrutable to us. In some cases they are simply violent. They may desire human sacrifices to sate their dark hunger. They may desire the destruction of a village to secure their territory. Other cases are more obscure. A coordinated effort to mark every thirteenth tree with an alien sign. Routing a nonthreatening species of bird from a section of the forest. The building of a well where no water can be drawn. Their worshippers never question them. They obey.
When they attack, they may be brutish or subtle. Using their tremendous size and strength they may choose to simply trample you. They are capable of making themselves appear more like the trees of the place they inhabit. This allows them to use stealth when it suits them. In other cases, they can simply rely on their slaves to bring them ready offerings. Their preference is to wrap their victims with their tentacles and feed the always starving mouths. The strength is completely drained from the victim but they are left technically alive, a husk to be fed upon by some other passing beast. It is unimaginably cruel.
The most disturbing cases are the survivors. Something about the green slime of the Dark Young infects the mind. Those who are partially fed upon but manage to escape are psychically broken. They appear schizophrenic. They start to obsess over the Dark Young, replaying the encounter over and over again in their minds. They crave a return to the place of the attack. They must go back and feel the fulfillment of a complete devouring. They want to be consumed. In other cases, this need manifests as worship. In this way, the survivor of a Dark Young attack becomes the most devout member of the cult.

Tree-like aberrations born from Shub-Niggurath

Dark Young

Notebook Found in a Deserted House

Call of Cthulu, Horror Roleplaying, 6th Edition

Lovecraft Fandom

Pathfinder SRD

The silent hero approached the doorway standing between two damp, stone pillars.
As soon as he passed through, the door slammed shut behind him, steel bars blocking his return.
He looked around the vast, empty chamber.
The floor was covered with still water and he could barely make out a door at the far end.
Standing in the midpoint between the two doors was a small island with a single, leafless tree.
He slowly headed towards the tree with fear rising in his stomach.
A mysterious, hazy light filled the entire chamber so he could clearly see his own reflection on the surface of the water as he walked.
He passed the leafless tree, speeding up as he went.
The door was getting close.
He was almost there…
Suddenly, he felt a chill rise up his spine.
He noticed he could no longer see his reflection standing beneath him.
The fear was biting now.
The light seemed dimmer, and he felt disoriented, as if he stood at the edge of a cliff.
He turned around and saw himself standing underneath the leafless tree.
He drew his sword and approached.
The doppelgänger stood and waited.
"Doppelgänger" is German for "double walker". It is a creature that looks exactly like you.
It can share your strengths or present a completely inverted personality, and it can even sometimes foreshadow your exact movements – as if playing the part of you in the future.
They are harbingers of bad luck. It is almost always an ill omen to meet your doppelgänger.
In Ireland they are called a "fetch" because they come to fetch men to their deaths.
In 1617, in Paris, the poet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne">John Donne</a> saw his wife's doppelgänger. Later that night, their daughter was stillborn.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Double_(Dostoevsky_novel)">In another story</a>, a man's doppelgänger exploits his character failings in order to eventually take over his life.
And in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/">an even darker tale</a>, an entire family meets their doppelgängers and are viciously attacked.
The precise details on how these creatures are created is unclear, but we have some idea. A mirror, or still water, can provide a conduit. But for the creature to manifest physically in this world requires a tremendous amount of energy. That energy is drawn directly from your own soul. What is needed is a powerful, psychic fracture to occur so that that piece of you can be separated. A traumatic event or episode can cause this, but what is far more common, and far more dangerous, is a slow, insidious build up of tension over time as you consistently fail to face your own shadow. That tension can grow to the point where the psyche fractures. It is this willful ignorance of yourself, that will most likely manifest a doppelgänger.
In spite of all the horrible tales surrounding the doppelgänger, there is one story which offers a curious solution. In the Talmud, there is a story of a man who went searching for God and found himself. For the Jewish people, meeting your doppelgänger meant that you had achieved the rank of prophet. So we might take the story of the creature's creation to the opposite extreme: what if we explored and understood ourselves instead of avoiding and ignoring? How far might that take us? Could some other type of creature be born? At worst, this is good advice for avoiding trouble. At best, this story means something much more. As Plato said: "Know Thyself".

Doppelgänger

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Double

Draugr were especially mean or greedy in life. In death they are even less pleasant to be around.

A Draugr maintains some intelligence. They often seek out a specific target, someone who they have a grudge against. They possess magic powers, and are much stronger than other brainless undead monsters. There have even been reports of villians selecting draugr as generals in their undead armies.

These monsters appear in the areas that vikings roamed and display nordic trappings, though they represent the worst aspects of that honourable culture.

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<img src="/images/creatures/draugr/draugr-art-print.jpg" alt="Draugr by Marcel Budde" /></a> - Draugr painted by Marcel Budde exclusively for Novus Bestiary.
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There was once a prisoner who was destined to save the world from an ancient dragon using the power of his voice. At the moment before his execution, that very dragon appeared in the sky and brought ruin to the town. Amidst the chaos, the man escaped into the mountains. Seeking shelter from the bitter cold, he made his way up a mountain and into an ancient temple. Deeper he went, drawn by the call to adventure. The walls were shelved with rotten corpses covered in dust and still wearing their armor. The dead were wrathful and protective of their graves. To his horror, they rose and pursued him through the labyrinth with their ancient weapons. The man barely escaped with his life. These gruesome revenants were not mere zombies, slow witted and dull. They were Draugar - filled with hateful strength and magic.
A Draugr is an undead human who was especially mean or greedy during life. In other cases, a seemingly kind person may become a Draugr if something makes them restless during burial. They typically guard their graves but can escape them during the night to torment the living. They appear as a decayed, stinking corpse wearing the armor they were buried in. They maintain some semblance of intelligence and possess evil magic (called trollskap in Norwegian) they can use to grow in size and strength, or to travel through stone. A Draugr will not stupidly pursue any living flesh but may target specific people to torment and they will surely devour livestock. An especially powerful one may be immune to weapons and may drive people insane by the mere sight of them. It takes much more than just fire or a shot to the head to defeat one. When dealing with a Draugr, a true hero may be needed to wrestle it back to its grave.
In the <a href="https://sagadb.org/grettis_saga.en">Grettis saga</a>, the hero Grettir faces the risen shepherd Glam. Grettir battles an enlarged Glam and finally gets him on his back, but before Glam is beheaded he curses Grettir:
<blockquote>
 Hitherto hast thou earned fame by thy deeds, but henceforth will wrongs and man-slayings fall on thee, and the most part of thy doings will turn to thy woe and ill-hap; an outlaw shalt thou be made, and ever shall it be thy lot to dwell alone abroad; therefore this weird I lay on thee, ever in those days to see these eyes with thine eyes, and thou wilt find it hard to be alone and that shall drag thee unto death.
</blockquote>

Greedy undead who torment the living with their trollskap.

Draugr

Skyrim

The Grettis Saga

Greataxe of the Crypt

Grow

Stone Walk

Undead Fortitude

<a href="https://dullahan.com">W. J. Fitzpatrick, a storyteller from the Mourne Mountains in County Down, recounts</a>:
<blockquote>
 “I seen the dullahan myself, stopping on the brow of the hill between Bryansford and Moneyscalp late one evening, just as the sun was setting. It was completely headless but it held up its own head in its hand and I heard it call out a name. I put my hand across my ears in case the name was my own, so I couldn't hear what it said. When I looked again, it was gone. But shortly afterwards, there was a bad car accident on that very hill and a young man was killed. It had been his name that the dullahan was calling.”
</blockquote>
A dullahan is not a ghost – it is much worse. A dark fairy that is the herald of death itself, the dullahan rides relentlessly through the night to draw the souls from people's bodies by speaking their name. It may ride a black steed with flames and sparks flying from the nostrils or a black carriage drawn by 6 such beasts. The carriage is composed of human skin and bones, with other funeral objects as ornamentation. Nothing can stop its advance. Locked gates and doors open, as if in anticipation, when a dullahan rides forth.
This cursed rider carries its own head, with skin like moldy cheese, in its hands. A devilish smile which is too wide splits the face from ear to ear. It uses a human spine as a whip adding to the nightmarish vision and urgency of its advance. With supernatural sight, its severed head can be used to spot the house of the victim from any distance. Where the dullhan stops it utters a name and that name marks the person who will die in that very place.
Covering your ears won't really help you if you encounter a dullahan, though they have an irrational fear of gold which can protect you temporarily. Carrying a piece of gold with you may be a wise thing to do around midnight on feast days. Horrible things can happen to the bystander who witnesses a dullahan ride by. However, even gold is unlikely to save you if you become the dullahan's focus.
In the secluded glen of Sleepy Hollow, there was much debate over the fate of the schoolmaster called Ichabod Crane. Many believed that the area was haunted by the ghost of a soldier whose head had been taken off by a cannonball, and that this ghost had spirited Ichabod away to the realm beyond our own. But when you consider the facts of the tale, it seems clear: Ichabod's time had come. A dullahan pursued him and called his name.
<img src="/images/creatures/dullahan/sleepy-hollow.jpg" alt="Sleepy Hollow" />
<blockquote>
 “There was something in the moody and dogged silence of this pertinacious companion, that was mysterious and appalling. It was soon fearfully accounted for. On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!—but his horror was still more increased, on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle…”
</blockquote>

Dullahan

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

dullahan.com

Marked For Death

Longsword

Inhuman Form

Headless Creature

Fey Rider

Her bright, brown eyes opened wider. She could smell the quality of the metal under her fingers. Sizing up her machine, which was completely overtaking the back half of her workshop, she quickly determined she would have just enough of the adamantine to complete the center chassis. She had been awake and working for 16 hours. Most would second guess themselves, but her estimates were never wrong. The big race was three weeks away and she needed to show everyone just what she was capable of. Not only would her creation handle the rolling hills and forest loop, it would break the record. The secret was in how she had positioned the treads - three on each corner and side with crosshatched rubber and metal wire. And the drill. Oh how it would gleam in the sun as it spinned, its ornate silver finish flashing on top of the bronze and copper whirls! It had come to her in a dream one night, the shape of the thing barging into place after months of preoccupation with the equations. Now was the final moment of her triumph but she had to stay focused. She brushed her wild brown hair out of her face, smiled wide like a human child would, and got back to work.
In the mid-sixteenth century, an alchemist named Paracelsus described a creature measuring two span in height that could move through the solid earth just as humans could move through the air. From the latin word genomos, which means "earth-dweller", he derived a new name: Gnome. But gnomes are, in fact, much older than their name. And the name itself may contain other clues about them. Both Borges and Tolkien draw a connection to the word Gnosis which means "knowledge". Indeed, ancient gnomes knew the exact locations of hidden metals buried in the earth and could reveal them to us when properly incentivized. To this day, gnomes carry this innate knowledge, though modern gnomes are much more willing to share the information with humans. Tolkien, knowing their true power, sought to make the gnomes his second kindred of elves. In the end, he named that race Noldor instead. But in his invented, Elvish language (called Quenya) "noldo" means knowledge. In this way the reference to gnomes is hidden in plain sight.
You can think of gnomes as elves of the earth and mountains. Like elves they live for a long time, from 350-500 years. They mature at the same rate as humans and so settle into adult life by the age of 40. They are closely related to dwarves, sharing an affinity for the mountains and earth. But where dwarves are emotionally guarded and dependent on their physical prowess, gnomes are affable and lean much more heavily on their mental abilities. They take great delight in life, and invention. Gnomes have big dreams and take big risks. Their insatiable curiousity, combined with their innate intelligence, has moved them far beyond their humble beginnings to become some of the most inventive and technologically superior creatures in existence.
In the beginning, gnomes wore scraggly beards, brown tights and monastic cowls. The beards and earth tones remain today, but their style has progressed along with their technology and openness to civilization. A modern dwarf still wears a beard but in a myriad of fantastic arrangements. The earth tones remain in their clothing, but form the base layers. Over top, they wear elaborately embroidered cloaks of many colors. Their connection to the earth and unsurpassed craftsmanship is plain for all to see on the gems with which they adorn their clothes and hair.
I will close with this quote from a chronicle of the gnomes that inhabit the lands of Azeroth. In that far-off place, the gnomes built a techno-utopian city called Gnomeregan which fell to treachery and trogg invasion. Despite the scope of that tragedy, the gnomes carry on building and smiling widely:
<blockquote>
 “The clever, spunky, and oftentimes eccentric gnomes present a unique paradox among the civilized races of Azeroth. Brilliant inventors with an irrepressibly cheerful disposition, this race has suffered treachery, displacement, and near-genocide. It is their remarkable optimism in the face of such calamity that symbolizes the truly unshakable spirit of the gnomes.”
</blockquote>

Energetic tinkerers connected to the earth.

Gnome

World of Warcraft

D&D Player's Handbook

Once there were two brothers who, in their grief, resolved to break the greatest taboo of alchemy. After years of study and preparation, the brothers carefully assembled every component needed to make up a human body, and brought them together in front of an alchemist's circle. Their goal was to resurrect their dead mother. They knew this was wrong and that such a thing was simply never done, but they had to try. Near the beginning of the ritual, they glimpsed success. They could sense something beyond. Their mother's presence seemed to surround them and they almost remembered a warmth they hadn't known for years. But things turned horribly wrong. They had meddled with something no one ever should. The horrors they witnessed in the throes of that terrible alchemy are beyond description. They did not return their mother's soul to a body and they paid a terrible cost with their own. The eldest brother lost his leg and the younger brother… his body was taken altogether. It was only through raw talent and desperation that the eldest managed to offer a sacrifice to save his brother. In the final moments, he gave up his right arm and marked an inscription in a suit of armor, binding his brother's soul to the suit. He created a golem, or more than a golem, for those creatures of wizards don't usually contain any human intelligence. His brother would remain invincible provided the inscription stay intact. The two would go on to journey around the world, attempting to find a way to return their old bodies back to themselves.
A golem is a creature given life by a wizard to perform menial tasks on his behalf. Golems have no real intelligence and have great physical strength – the exact characteristics one would want in a magical slave. They are usually crafted in a rudimentary form out of the simplest possible ingredients at hand. The oldest golems on record were made out of clay and had a lumpy, ashen figure. However, there is no strict limitation on the materials used. Modern magic users may reach for sturdier or more intricate components for their golem's body. This may be desirable to suit a specialized task they have in mind, or simply because they appreciate beauty in their underlings.
To make a golem, one must perform an elaborate ritual involving a number of rare folios and a strong command of <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/yetzirah.htm">the alphabets of the two hundred thirty-one gates</a>. These ancient letters and numbers may be imagined as a the language of creation itself but in a form that a trained human mind can understand and manipulate. The inscription that animates the golem is placed on its forehead at the ritual's conclusion. The inscription reads "EMET" which means "truth". To destroy the creature, you simply remove the first character so that the inscription reads "MET" which means "death".
Do heed those final instructions. The most famous story of a golem is from the <a href="http://www.prague.net/golem">city of Prague</a>. That story teaches us that a golem can be a faithful servant but that it has a dark side. A golem left unattended will grow in power and ultimately rampage. Any being that was made by the hand of a human rather than the hand of the gods must come to despair. It is as if they can feel something is wrong with them but they cannot understand what it is or why. We cannot stop those feelings of frustration. The best we can hope to do is clean up after ourselves.

Mindless automaton in service of magicians.

Golem

Fullmetal Alchemist

Sepher Yetzirah

The Legend of Golem

<img src="/images/creatures/gorgon/medusa.jpg" alt="Medusa" />
<blockquote>
 “And they are three, the Gorgons, each with wings
 And snaky hair, most horrible to mortals.
 Whom no man shall behold and draw again
 The breath of life.”
</blockquote>
Few monsters are as old, and as dreadful as the Gorgon. The name derives from the ancient Greek word gorgós, which means "grim, dreadful". The monsters are mentioned by Homer, author of the oldest known work of European literature, and by many others after himi (including Ovid and Apollodorus, to name a few). The tale of Perseus, who sought out the gorgons, sets out a perfect framework for a classic adventure story. The story illustrates the important role of magic and divine intervention in these types of quests, giving it the feel of a fairy tale. Presently, I will relate a brief version of the tale, and I recommend you watch for the patterns that seem familiar to you. There are horrors when facing gorgons, but there are also great rewards.
Perseus was born into captivity. A man named Dictys found him and his mother trapped in a chest that had been cast out to sea (how they got trapped is a tale for another time). Dictys was kind and raised the two as his own, but the island they lived on was ruled by his cruel brother, Polydectus, who came to covet Danaë. One day, Polydectus took Perseus aside and told him that his greatest desire was to possess the head of a gorgon. The gorgons were greatly feared. It was known that they were invincible creatures of malice and that they possessed the power to turn any who gazed upon them to stone. Polydectus planted this seed, with the intention of removing Perseus from the picture so that he could pursue his mother. He shortly announced that he was to be married, and invited Perseus to a celebration. It was customary that the king be offerred gifts for his wedding, but Perseus had no worldly possessions. Falling into the trap, and the bravado of youth, Perseus arrived and declared he would bring Polydectus the head of Medusa, who was one of the gorgons.
Perseus set out on a quest to find out the location of the gorgons, knowing despair until finally encountering the god Hermes. Hermes warned that he needed to be properly equipped to face the gorgons, and that the nymphs of the north possessed what he needed. But to find the nymphs, he had to consult the Gray Women who lived in a land of twilight. The Gray Women were withered and strange, with bodies like birds with human heads and wings hiding human hands underneath. There were three who shared between them a single eye, which they frequently passed back and forth. At this time, Perseus devised a plan to snatch the eye from the Gray Women in order to convince them to tell him where to find the nymphs. His divine allies now included Athena, as well as Hermes. Hermes gifted him with a magic sword which could penetrate the golden scales of a gorgon. Athena gifted him with a polished bronze shield, and told him to gaze upon the gorgons only through its reflective surface in order to protect himself from their power. With newfound allies, and items of magic, Perseus felt his confidence grow. He carried out his plan successfully and coerced the Gray Women, then got Hermes to help him find the land of nymphs. The nymphs proved welcoming, for they lived in constant revelry and feasting. They gifted Perseus with three more items of great magic: winged sandals upon which he could float through the air, a magic wallet that would always become the right size for whatever was placed within it, and a cap that would make its wearer invisible. With this arsenal of magic artifacts, Perseus felt ready to face the gorgons and was led to them by Hermes.
When he came upon them, the gorgons were all asleep. Hermes and Athena pointed out Medusa which was absolutely crucial - Medusa was the only gorgon of the three who was mortal. Perseus hovered above her on his magic sandals, being careful to only look through the reflection on his shield. He raised his magic sword and struck true - decapitating her and placing her head in the magic wallet. The sisters awoke and, seeing their sister murdered, went into a frenzy. Perseus frantically made his escape using the cap of invisibility. On his return home, he found that his adopted father Dictys and his mother Danaë were in hiding in a temple. They had had to flee the wrath of the king Polydectus who had tried to marry Danaë but been refused. Perseus learned that the king was holding a banquet with all of his favoured friends and saw an opportunity. He stormed the banquet and held the decapitated head of Medusa aloft before anyone could react, turning the cruel king and all of his friends to stone. Later, Medusa’s head was given to Athena, who bore it always upon the aegis, Zeus’s shield.
Gorgons are terrifying and almost unbeatable, and yet Perseus still sought them out. There may be reasons beyond mere bravado to seek out a gorgon. Gorgon's are ancient, scaled monsters of tremendous power, much like the dragon. And, like the dragon, you will often find that they protect something of great value, perhaps the very thing you need most. In defeating Medusa, Perseus was able to become a true hero and to save his mother and adoptive father. In the story, Perseus also came across a vast wealth of magic items and allies while equipping himself for the final confrontation. There is another story of a male gorgon named Marlos Urnrayle who was the vain prophet of an evil Prince of Earth. That gorgon wielded an elemental war pick named Ironfang, which was infused with the power of elemental earth. A hero might leverage the knowledge of how Perseus defeated Medusa, or the knowledge of the gorgon's vanity, to claim that legendary weapon for themselves.
But the true power of a gorgon seems to be a power of protection. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon">"In Ancient Greece a Gorgoneion (a stone head, engraving, or drawing of a Gorgon face, often with snakes protruding wildly and the tongue sticking out between her fangs) frequently was used as an apotropaic symbol and placed on doors, walls, floors, coins, shields, breastplates, and tombstones in the hopes of warding off evil."</a>. Apotropaic magic is a type of magic that turns away harm or evil. One is reminded of the image of Medusa at the center of Athena's aegis, and of the end of the story where Perseus ultimately used the power of the gorgon to protect his family from tyranny.

Gorgon

Princes of the Apocalypse D&D adventure

The Griffin has long been a symbol. It is a sun symbol; an emblem of courage, strength, and intellect; a sign associated with many well-known heroes, such as Godric Gryffindor, Apollo, and Alexander the Great.
The iconography can be traced back to ancient Oriental culture. There exists an old deed of marriage between a western and eastern royal family that depicts a griffin attacking an antelope. The Griffin represents the day, the antelope night. Thus, the day triumphs over the night.
In this form, the legend of the Griffin made its way into the West. There it adopted its royal associations. It is a hybrid of two monarchs: the lion, king of the earth, and the eagle, king of the air. Christ himself was known as the king of earth and sky, and so the Griffin was thought to be a holy symbol. "Opinicus" is the name for a Griffin when it is depicted on a coat of arms.
But there were other, darker interpretations as well. Earlier scholars, such as Isidore, tell of the Griffin's taste for human flesh, and point to that foul appetite as a sign of the devil. The Griffin is combined out of multiple parts, like the Chimera. Combinations such as these were thought to be impure and evil.
I do not believe the Griffin is evil, but I do believe that it must be treated with respect.
<h2 id="suchlittletextonsoimpressiveabeast">Such little text on so impressive a beast</h2>
What is strange about griffins is that we have such a long history of iconography surrounding them, yet there is very little text describing them.
The earliest detailed, written description of a Griffin is found in <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/782/782-h/782-h.htm#page174">chapter 85 the famous Travels by Sir John Mandeville</a>:
<blockquote>
 “From this land [Turkey] go men to the land of Bacharia,
 where be full evil folk and full cruel. In that land be
 tress that bear wool, as though it were of sheep, whereof men
 make clothes and all things that may be made of wool.
 […]
 In that country be many griffins, more plenty than in any other country.
 Some men say that they have the body upward as an eagle and beneath as a lion; and truly they say sooth, that they be of that shape. But one griffin hath the body more great and is more strong than eight lions,
 of such lions as be on this half, and more great and stronger than an hundred eagles such as we have amongst us. For one griffin there will bear, flying to his nest, a great horse, if he may find him at that point,
 or two oxen yoked together as they go at the plough. For he hath his talons so long and so large and great upon his feet, as though they were horns of great oxen or of bugles or of kine, so that men make cups of them to drink of. And of their ribs and of the pens of their wings, men make bows, full strong, to shoot with arrows and quarrels.”
</blockquote>
From this description, two things stand out to me:
<ol>
<li>Do not get on the bad side of a Griffin.</li>
<li>Where can I acquire one of the legendary bows crafted from the powerful bones of a Griffin? Where have those craftsmen gone?</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="behavioursandmagickpropertiesofthegriffin">Behaviours and magick properties of the griffin</h2>
Isidore also tells us that griffins can be found in the hyperborean mountains and that they are attracted to gold and gemstones. Arthurian legend elaborates on this. In those stories the griffins love emeralds above all. They become the keepers of a legendary emerald that was dislodged from the crown of Lucifer when he fell. A hero eventually discovered the emerald and the Holy Grail was carved from it.
Stephen Friar speaks of other magical properties. It is known that the Griffin's claw and feathers have the power of healing. It is not so potent as that of the <a href="https://www.novusbestiary.com/phoenix">Phoenix</a>, but strong enough to restore a blind man's sight. In medieval Europe, the powerful nobles would drink from goblets fashioned from these materials, perhaps another reference back to the Grail.
Despite some of the stranger claims, and lack of clear historical text, the Griffin has cemented itself in our minds as the majestic ruler of the skies, and a steadfast ward against evil. Griffins adorn our most prestigious banners and royal armor. Griffins lifted the conqueror Alexander the Great into the skies, just as they bear the heroes of Azeroth.
When glorious battle calls, I dream of swiftly flying forwards mounted on a Griffin, our banner flashing behind us in the sun.

Griffin

<blockquote>
 “The halcyon days are here. Let us be glad. There is nothing to fear.”
</blockquote>
There is a bird, loved by sailors, who warns of the coming storm and grants peace in times of great turbulence. These birds are granted a special grace so that, for 14 days in winter when the sea is most agitated, they can calm the elements completely. During the calm they create, the birds lay their eggs and raise them on the surface of the ocean itself. Their nest is so strong it cannot be destroyed by mortal man.
This beloved bird is known as the Halycon. Lucian describes it:
<blockquote>
 “It is a bird the size of an ordinary sparrow whose plumage is blue and green with a bit of red; its beak is small, long, and greenish. It lives along the coast of Sicily. It lays just five eggs and builds its nest with the spines and bones of fish interwoven like threads of cloth; it is so solid that man cannot destroy it. The female lays her eggs in winter; she spends seven days building her nest and another seven days incubating her young. The time of her egg-laying is sacred; it usually occurs when Pleiades is low in the sky.”
</blockquote>
The origin of the Halcyon dates back to classical antiquity. You can see the evidence in the etymology of the word: Halycon derives from Alcyon (after the goddess Alcyone). Alcyon derives from Ales Oceana, meaning "oceanic bird". The tragic but inspiring story of the goddess Alcyone is summarized perfectly in <a href="https://www.abbeville.com/books/the-grand-medieval-bestiary-488-b">The Grand Medieval Bestiary</a> so I will repeat it here in full:
<blockquote>
 “The myth of Alcyone is recounted by, among others, Homer and Ovid. She was the daughter of Aeolus, god of the wind, and married Ceyx, son of the morning star. Their union was so blissful that it provoked the jealousy of Zeus and Hera, who transformed them into birds. […] the ship on which Ceyx was traveling to consult an oracle was wrecked by a storm raised by Zeus. When informed of her husband's death in a dream, Alcyone rushed to the beach, where she discovered her beloved's lifeless body. In despair, she threw herself into the sea, where she was transformed into a halcyon, whose plaintive cry communicates the sadness of her loss. Ultimately the gods magnanimously transformed Ceyx into a halcyon as well, and Aeolus resolved to calm the winds for fourteen days every winter solstice so that the lovers could procreate without fear.”
</blockquote>
The story highlights the cruelity and carelessness of the gods. It is so, so hard to come to terms with the fact that the things you love most can be taken from you by nature in an instant. When you think of the moment that innocent Alcyone discovers her dead husband, you share her grief even if you have never been married. But halcyons remain a symbol of courage in the face of such adversity. Alcyone's transformation brings hope. The strength of their marriage grants solace to others for the rest of time. This painful, beautiful moment of transformation deserves elaboration; I will conclude with this <a href="http://www.talesbeyondbelief.com/myth-stories/halcyon-birds.htm">excerpt from Emma M. Firth</a>:
<blockquote>
 “She went to the seashore, to the spot where she had bidden him farewell. "I shall see him no more," she cried, weeping bitterly. She gazed across the water; and far out, the dimpling, happy waves were bearing a gleaming object toward the shore. It came nearer and nearer, until Alcyone saw that it was the form of Ceyx, which the waves were bringing to her feet. She raised her arms and sprang toward it, no longer the beautiful Alcyone, but a graceful bird, uttering strange cries. She sought to lift him on her wings. Then two birds arose from the water, and flew away together. So Alcyone and Ceyx were united at last, and ever since then the halcyon birds have warned sailors of the coming storm. In the placid days of winter they brood on their floating nests, and skim the surface of the waves.”
 “Then the sailors say, "The halcyon days are here. Let us be glad. There is nothing to fear.”
</blockquote>

Emblem of courage in the face of adversity.

Halcyon

Stories of Old Greece

A hellhound commanded to hunt by its master will pursue its prey to the ends of the earth. There is no escaping it. You must eventually face it.

The number 3 is a noticeable motif. Many hellhounds have 3 heads. You may find other repetitions of 3 in the environment where they live.

Hellhounds are strongly connected to the underworld. It is the place they are born. They are its guardians and help prevent entry and escape.

Hellhounds are a type of supernatural dog and share some key characteristics. They are eternally faithful to their master. They can sometimes be pacified with food or music.

<img src="/images/creatures/hellhound/cerberus.png" alt="Cerberus illustration" /> Illustration by <a href="https://twitter.com/danaxbraga">@danaxbraga</a>
"I was right. He is a threat." The man rummaged through the boy's backpack with a scowl. He pulled out a knife and held it up. On the hilt was a rune, shaped like a "W". He stopped moving for a second. "It's him. He's been after us all along." The man stood up and called to his dog: "Trym!" He knelt down and put his mouth right beside the beast's ear and began whispering in a language long forgotten. The dog's snout showed its age with a splash of gray hairs near the tip. He perked up, looking towards the sky at the sound of his master's voice. "Find him." The dog's eyes started glowing and changing, turning a fiery copper colour. "Become what you once were and do what you were meant to do." The dog's hackles were raised, tension mounted across its entire body. He was shaking and staring ahead with anticipation. "Kill him." The man let go and the dog sprang forward, almost too fast for mortal eyes to track it. By now it had grown to almost double its original size. As it ran, the mountainside gave way under it's feet. Hard stone was rent like soft earth under its massive paws.
Meanwhile the boy was wandering further down the mountain, moving quickly. A vague sense of dread was coming over him. He did not know exactly why, but he knew he had to get away. He had confronted the man directly and confirmed his suspicions about him – that the man was not human and he had murdered the boy's best friend. That man was evil. Suddenly, the boy came upon a depression in the mountainside. He turned his head around, looking left and right, searching for the best path. A howl pierced the air just behind him. He was trapped – the dog was upon him. He saw the beast crest the ridge he had just descended from. It seemed to stand almost as tall as the boy did. Its ears were bent back and its lips were pulled, revealing supernaturally long fangs. Its eyes glowed red now, like burning embers. It lunged in an instant, knocking the boy flat on his back. The boy threw his arm into the dogs jaws at the last moment and felt the teeth clamp down, piercing bone. He screamed in terror and started to panic as he saw his death drew closer. The dogs teeth and burning eyes filled his vision. He closed his eyes, and turned into himself. He thought of his own death and felt sadness. Then he thought of his murdered friend and the sadness changed quickly to anger. It caught like wildfire, and the anger became rage as it swept through him. Rage at the circumstance. Rage at the injustice. The rage brought the memory flooding back – the memory of what he once was and what he was meant to do. He took the dogs jaws in his hand and opened his eyes. He screamed down the dog's throat as he felt his ancient strength return to him – a strength that could flatten the very mountain he lay upon. He ripped the dogs jaws wide apart, spilling blood everywhere. He left its corpse on top of a boulder, like a hunting trophy to mark his victory for all to see. He continued down the mountain, faster now, and free.
A hellhound is a supernatural dog with a connection to the world of the dead. They stand at least as tall as a large breed of dog like a mastiff, but there are many sightings of larger hellhounds that are closer to the size of a direwolf. The largest and most powerful hellhounds, who usually remain in the underworld, can grow even larger and may have multiple heads. The most ancient stories speak of hellhounds with many heads – in Thesiod's Theogony, the famous hellhound Cerberus has fifty. But most accounts of the underworld guardians claim the dogs have three, and three is known to be a significant number. Jorges writes the following:
<blockquote>
 “Virgil mentions the creature’s three gullets; Ovid, its triple bark; Butler compares the three crowns of the diadem worn by the Pope, who is heaven’s doorman, with the three heads of the dog who stands at the gates of Hell.”
</blockquote>
And Rowling also describes such a beast, with the number three a repetitive focus of the passage:
<blockquote>
 “They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs. It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.”
</blockquote>
A hellhound has eyes that glow red like fiery embers. These burning eyes stand out against their black fur. The shadowy black and burning red juxtaposition is a clear mark of their association with the underworld. Perhaps the most famous hellhound is Cerberus, who guarded the gates at the house of Hades in Greek mythology. Cerberus had three heads which faced towards the underworld and a draconic tail which faced away. In this configuration, any who entered the underworld would be greeted by a serpent, and any who tried to escape would be devoured. At the gates of Hel, the goddess of the underworld in Norse mythology, there stands the hellhound Garmr. Garmr is covered in blood and his howl signals Ragnarök, which is the battle at the end of the world. It is written that Garmr will attack Tyr, the One-handed, god of war and they will destroy each other. We have a similar example from Middle Earth. Consider this quote from David Day:
<blockquote>
 “In Tolkien’s world we have a comparable monster in the gigantic Carcharoth, meaning ‘red maw’, the greatest wolf of the First Age and the unsleeping guardian at the gates of Morgoth’s underworld realm of Angband. In the Quest for the Silmaril, Carcharoth bites off the hand of the hero, Beren (henceforth, like Tyr, known as the One-handed).”
</blockquote>
I do not advise you ever attempt to enter the underworld. If you go seeking great treasure you may encounter a hellhound standing guard. If you're fated to die, it is possible that one will come hunting you. In any case, you should be equipped with the basic knowledge to defeat one. A hellhound will be supernaturally fast and strong, and it will be gifted with all the hunting prowess of the greatest wolf. There are some stories that suggest you can calm the beasts with music, but I would warn you not to overestimate that strategy. The most famous story of music calming a hellhound, is the story of Orpheus who played his lyre and stopped Cerberus from standing guard. But Orpheus was a musician beyond all other mortals – his music could draw tears even from gods. A simple song alone would not suffice. Strangely enough, there have been multiple stories that suggest Cerberus had a fondness for honeycakes. It seems hard to believe but, like a common household dog, you may have better luck bribing them with food than with anything else.

Hellhound

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Ragnarok (Netflix series), S1:E4

Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6)

Call the Pack

Keen Hearing and Smell

Pack Tactics

Three-Headed

The sky was overcast. The sound of the sea spray hissed constantly in the background, a white noise underneath the fisherman's thoughts. He felt frustrated. Nothing ever seemed to go his way lately. Three times he had gone out to sea, and three times he had returned with nothing. She didn't say anything, but he could see the resentment in his wife's eyes. She had always had unreasonable expectations. Whenever he failed to fill the table with food, she would punish him in subtle ways. Their marriage had always been like that: small, hurtful competitions, invisible to outsiders.
He kicked at the wet sand, small clumps flying outwards toward the rocks. He was just now approaching the rock blinds. It was a section of the beach that transitioned suddenly to rocky outcroppings. Jagged boulders lay about, as if dropped by some giant. It was called the blinds because no one could see you when you stood behind those boulders. An attractive place for many of the local teenagers, for reasons you can well imagine.
As he passed by the narrowest stretch he felt his spine tingle. It was such a strong chill, it pulled him out of his own misery. He instinctively looked behind him but saw nothing, only the jumbled row of sand coloured boulders. He continued onwards, dwelling on that sudden sensation. He had walked here many times, what could have startled him like that? He looked back again, just to be sure, and saw a woman.
She was standing at the edge of the narrow outcropping looking out at the sea. Her matte black hair, slightly damp, flowed down the curve of her back all the way to her heels. Her clothing clung to her and appeared almost transparent from the wetness. It revealed her perfect, pale skin underneath. His eyes rudely lingered on her womanly body - he couldn't help himself. Without really thinking he had already moved towards her. He told himself he wanted to check on her, after all it looked as if she had come straight out of the water. What if she had fallen from her boat? Deep down he knew the truth. She compelled him. She was irresistible.
He stopped just behind her, almost within arms reach. "Hello?" he said. No response. "Are you okay?" he asked a little louder. She slowly turned to face him. She was smiling. Suddenly her mouth opened in a terrible shriek. It blasted through his body, causing sharp pain in his ears. He could see her face clearly now. Her mouth looked like a gaping pit he might fall into. He tried to flee but found he couldn't move at all. That terrible scream still reverberated through his body, leaving his limbs feeble and unresponsive. To his horror, her hair writhed up behind her and lashed out. Strand upon strand wrapped around his legs, his arms, his torso, his face. The strength returned to his body but it was too late. He struggled as hard as he could, panic taking over, as he felt himself being pulled off the ledge and into the sea.
They are called Iso Onna. These "coast woman" are rare yokai that wander the coast line. You are much more likely to encounter one at times of the year when the spirit world moves closer to our physical one. New Year's Even, Obon, or Halloween for example. If you encounter an Iso Onna, you are likely to meet the same fate as that fisherman.
The Iso Onna is a vampire of the sea. They live off the warm blood of their prey, blood they leech out using their hair. Like the <a href="https://www.novusbestiary.com/siren">siren</a>, they tend to attract men as their victims, using their appearance as a beautiful woman as a lure. You can identify them by focusing on their lower half. Careful observation will reveal that they are slightly transparent below the waist. Iso Onna are often confused with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyakkai_Zukan#/media/File:Suuhi_Nure-onna.jpg">Nure Onna</a>, another kind of female vampire who stalks the coast. Nure Onna use a similar trick, appearing as a vulnerable woman holding a baby to lure their victims. In their true from, Nure Onna appear as serpents below the waist, or even from the neck down. These two types of vampires are not the same species, but they do form alliances as they share the same habitat. Woe to those who encounter the pair!
Iso Onna are powerful monsters. In addition to their striking beauty, they can employ other illusions while hunting. An Iso Onna can make herself appear exactly like a rock, allowing her to blend in with the coastal environment she lives in. They can also be found out in the open sea. There are stories of massive Iso Onna, monsters large enough to smash a ship with their arms. I have travelled to the Kyūshū Islands myself and spoken to many in the region, in an attempt to confirm those stories. It is not clear whether the fishermen are exaggerating, the Iso Onna are creating illusions, or the Iso Onna really do exist in giant forms on the open sea.

Iso Onna

There was once a homeless thief who made a bargain with an old man that changed his life forever. For the old man was, in fact, a sorcerer. The sorcerer coveted a magic lamp that was buried deep inside an ancient cave filled with traps and worse. The sorcerer sent the thief inside to retrieve it and betrayed him, trapping him inside the cave. The thief thought his life was over until he discovered the secret of the lamp. Contained within its tarnished exterior was a being of extraordinary power. This being was bound to the lamp and, through the lamp, could be commanded by mortals. The thief unleashed the power of the ancient being and escaped the cave, but that was only the beginning. He would go on to generate untold riches for himself, become a prince, and ultimately claim revenge on the sorcerer who had betrayed him. He had accidentally managed to do what many powerful sorcerers only dream of – he had trapped a jinnee.
The Jinn are a race created by an all-powerful god out of fire and the winds of the Saharan desert. Angels were created first (out of light), then the jinn, and finally man (out of dust). Jinn are aerial creatures and usually invisible. They can take on many physical forms but will first appear as a pillar of wind and fog before deciding on a physical appearance. They might choose to appear hideous or beautiful - a reflection of the fact that their intentions can be evil or pure. They often appear in various animal shapes, such as owls, cats, scorpions, or onagers. The most common animal form they choose is a snake or a black dog – their are many tales in the Middle East concerning snakes or dogs who turned out to be a jinnee. The most common places you might find a jinnee are ruins, empty houses, wells, rivers, and deserts.
Despite the story of the jinnee who brought great fortune to the thief, and the popular (but groundless) belief that a jinnee will grant you three wishes, the truth is that the jinn will often bring great harm to humans. They are arrogant beings that see humans as far beneath them. Jinn are capable of entering the body of a human and causing discomfort, disease, or even mental breakdown. There are many old stories of jinn throwing stones on people from the roofs of houses and even carrying people's wives away into the desert. There is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher_(TV_series)#Episodes">more recent story</a> that tells of a monster hunter who searches for a jinnee in a river. When he fishes it out, the jinnee enters the throat of his nearby friend, silencing and nearly killing him. Stories like these led to people developing rituals in order to guard their houses against the jinn. The rituals would often beseech the god who was their creator.
And yet, the power of the jinn is highly coveted. It is possible for a highly trained sorcerer to bend a jinnee to his will. A more ambitious one could potentially bind a jinnee to some specific object, and it is from these ancient rituals that the story of the lamp emerges. <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=CbwpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=%E2%80%9CThey+often+ascend+to+the+lowest+confines+of+heaven,+and+there,+listening+to+the+conversation+of+the+Angles+respecting+things+decreed+by+God,+obtain+knowledge+of+futurity,+which+they+sometimes+impart+to+men,+who,+by+means+of+talismans,+or+certain+invocations,+make+them+to+serve+the+purposes+of+magical+performances.&source=bl&ots=vdB023sueP&sig=ACfU3U0-XaOqkAFC8X5HIi4ZFzkTY0mTZg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM69DVk5HnAhWniOAKHWHRD6UQ6AEwAXoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CThey%20often%20ascend%20to%20the%20lowest%20confines%20of%20heaven%2C%20and%20there%2C%20listening%20to%20the%20conversation%20of%20the%20Angles%20respecting%20things%20decreed%20by%20God%2C%20obtain%20knowledge%20of%20futurity%2C%20which%20they%20sometimes%20impart%20to%20men%2C%20who%2C%20by%20means%20of%20talismans%2C%20or%20certain%20invocations%2C%20make%20them%20to%20serve%20the%20purposes%20of%20magical%20performances.&f=false">Edward William Lane relates the power of jinn in his analysis of the Kur-án:</a>
<blockquote>
 “They often ascend to the lowest confines of heaven, and there, listening to the conversation of the Angles respecting things decreed by God, obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, make them to serve the purposes of magical performances.”
</blockquote>
Although power, riches, and certain knowledge of the future has its attraction, I advise you stay away from this kind of magic and the jinn altogether. There is a theory that the first Jinn, the leader and sire of the race, was in fact an angel who fell from grace into hell after refusing to bow to the human race. A race born from such a proud and tortured being seems unlikely to live in harmony with our kind.

Metamorphs born from fire and saharan winds.

Jinn

Mythical Factory video #46

Selections from the Ḳur-án, Commonly Called, in England, the Koran

The Witcher Netflix series, S1E5

<img src="/images/creatures/kappa/kappa.png" alt="Kappa illustration" /> Illustration by <a href="https://twitter.com/danaxbraga">@danaxbraga</a>
There was once a farmer named Jiro, whose wife went missing near the river running behind their farm. At first, Jiro believed that his wife had been distracted, in the way she often is, by some interesting water bird. She kept a small journal by her bed that was filled with sketches of the different birds she found on her walks around the countryside. After trips to the river, where so many birds gathered, she would come home frantic with the need to journal. But as the day moved past and night fell with no sign of his wife, Jiro became seriously concerned. At the break of dawn he set out to search for her.
He smelled it before he saw anything – a foul stench like an overflowing latrine caused the bile to rise in his throat. As he pushed through the reeds, his head spun. He was looking at his wife, or rather, parts of her, strewn along the river bank. Creeping out from the water was a creature that looked like a turtle that stood on two legs, about the size of a child. It tilted its head sideways, appearing somewhat curious and not terribly concerned about Jiro. Overwhelmed with disgust, Jiro could not help but bend over and stare at the ground. The thought of the creature attacking was far from him in his moment of shock, and it was all he could do not to vomit up everything he had ever eaten. He gathered himself, looked up, and was surprised – the creature had mimicked him. It seemed to be… bowing. Not knowing what else to do, he bowed back, a little deeper this time. The creature immediately returned the gesture and Jiro saw water spill out of a strange bowl-like depression on its head. It stopped moving all together. Jiro waited what seemed like hours before approaching. The creature remained frozen in a bow. Jiro could not bear to look at the remains of his wife. Instead he stared and stared at the strange bowl in the center of the thing's head, like a cup emptied and now begging to be filled again.
Kappa are found in rivers, lakes, ponds, and man-made waterways throughout Japan. They are amphibious, but there bodies are designed to perform in water. They are about the size and shape of a human child, with four-digit, webbed hands and feet. Like a turtle, their is a large carapace on their back and a beak in the center of their face. Their scaled, reptilian skin is usually an earthy green colour but they can sometimes be blue or even red in places. Their forearms are attached to one another underneath their shells so that they can slide in either direction, making one arm short while the other grows longer. They are very strong - stronger than an adult human, and they are very gifted swimmers and wrestlers. Kappas smell terrible. Their elastic skin reeks of fish and they have 3 anuses. But their most interesting characteristic is a bowl-like depression at the center of their heads (called a sara) which is always full of water. That water is the source of all their power. If it spills out, the kappa becomes paralyzed and can even die. They can be restored if the sara is refilled water from the source where the kappa lives
Despite Jiro's encounter with the kappa, they are generally revered by humans. Kappa are very intelligent and can learn to speak our language. They have a deep knowledge of medicine, especially the art of setting bones. Legend tells us that Kappa may have been the ones to pass on this medicinal knowledge to humans in the time before written memory. Kappa are proud and honorable. They will never break a promise. It is this strict honor code that allowed Jiro to defeat the kappa by unknowlingly engaging it in a bowing competition. That strict code can provide leverage over the Kappa for clever humans. More than one has been committed to forms of servitude, living out their days fulfilling some promise to a human. These bonds of honor often evolve to deep and lasting friendships with the Kappa.
Ultimately, it is best to consider Kappa as tricksters. They adore causing mischief of all kinds. They will do things like pass gas in public and harass women. They enjoy sumo wrestling and other games of skill and sometimes those challenges can get out of hand quickly. It is when their appetites get carried away that the Kappa can become dangerous. They will sometimes kidnap and drown humans, or even worse. Their two favourite foods are cucumbers and raw innards. They believe that there is a most-delicious and sacred ball of human flesh called the shirikodama that contains the soul just inside the anus. They hate cows and horses and will kill them outright. When they attack, they prefer to drag victims under the water and bite them to death. Should you ever encounter a kappa, you will have no hope of defeating it in the water. You must find some way to draw it on to dry land where you may be able to outwit or outrun it.
Some people take additional precautions to avoid the more violent types of mischief from Kappa. There are many festivals in Japan that include offerings of cucumbers to appease them. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore)#Cucumber">In Edo (old Tokyo), there used to be a tradition where people would write the names of their family members on cucumbers and send them afloat into the streams to mollify the kappa, to prevent the family from coming to harm in the streams.</a>

Kappa

The night parade of one hundred demons

The Kelpie can take on the form of a human, though sometimes they retain their hooves in this form. Their are many stories of Kelpie's appearing as human's to lure prey. Sometimes they appear as a harmless traveller or fisherman, and sometimes they appear as a beautiful woman, seducing foolish men like the Siren or the Iso Onna.

Kelpies are at home in the water and use this to their advantage when they hunt. They prefer to entangle victims in their mane and drag them under the water for an easy kill.

Unlike other wild horses, kelpies are solitary creatures. They are very hard to find, but when you do encounter one it will be the only kelpie in the area. They oversee large water systems.

As the deep purple of night fades to the bright orange of dawn, a fisherman stands at the edge of a swiftly moving river. He casts his line into the water, settling down on the grass damp with morning dew. He yawns and rubs the sleep from each eye in turn, one hand grasping his fishing rod. And then, he hears it: a high-pitched whinny that sends shivers up his spine.
He stands quickly and begins pulling in his line, telling himself the horse's call was far enough away for him to take care of his equipment. But alas, horses are fast, water horses more so. The river erupts near the shoreline, and there the creature comes on fast, its hair shining under the new sun, water streaming down its thick neck. Its cruel mouth opens wide, tearing into flesh and bone alike. The fisherman doesn’t even have time to scream before he’s pulled into the river.
<h2 id="abeastofmanyforms">A Beast of Many Forms</h2>
Some of the stories I’ve come across regarding Kelpies indicate the horse-like spirit-creatures live near bodies of water, while others take the position that these phantom beasts live within lakes, streams, and rivers themselves. One thing is common across all of the stories: Kelpies are dangerous, and eat men whenever given the chance.
Most that I have spoken to seem to agree that the kelpie can change its form to that of a human, choosing most often a beautiful, and scantily clad woman, intent on luring men to their dooms on riverbanks. The Kelpie’s usual form is that of a horse, most often described as a powerful all-black beast that rushes from the water to hunt on the shore. A few have claimed that the rear of the horse is finned, like that of a mermaid, and have created art to support their claims, but most write this off as needless dramatic embellishment of an already frightful creature. Another controversial claim is that a kelpie keeps its hooves when transformed into a human. True or not, perhaps it’s wise to glance at the feet of any stranger who approaches you near a lake!
One woman claims to have seen her son taken beneath the surface of a lake, from which he was never found again. A black stallion had risen from the water and made its way to the boy, and when the child touched the creature's mane, his hand was stuck fast. He struggled helplessly as the horse slowly walked back into the cold water, dragging him under the surface.
<h2 id="misunderstoodandlonely">Misunderstood and Lonely</h2>
Not all who have encountered a kelpie speak of doom and death. Some claim the creatures, or at least a few of their kind, are merely looking for some sort of companionship. As lone, solitary creatures, some kelpies are believed to delight in sharing conversations and time with those who travel near their watery homes.
<h2 id="wellreferenced">Well Referenced</h2>
Kelpie are popular creatures who have counterparts in many regions, and as such have been included in many stories and paintings. There have even been simplistic cave paintings of the aquatic beasts, such as the one uncovered by the famed monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. Stories of at least one kelpie are common at almost every body of water in Scotland, and the creature shares many aspects with various other monsters in nearby and distant lands, including the very similar wihwin of Central America, and bunyip out of Australia. Whether these creatures are also kelpie or cousins of a sort, I have not yet been able to ascertain.
<h2 id="facingoffagainstakelpie">Facing off Against A Kelpie</h2>
During my travels, I have come across more than one person who has claimed to have fought a kelpie and come out ahead, or at the very least knows someone who has. One youth was said to have been stuck to the horse by way of touch, much like the story I presented to you above. This boy used a quick wit, and a lot of courage, to free himself from the beast as it tried to drag him under the water. He pulled a sharp dagger from his belt and hacked off several of his fingers, freeing himself and taking the chance to swim to shore and escape.
Another man I spoke with claims his father once came across a kelpie disguised as an old man sitting on the edge of a stone bridge that spanned a river. The old man was friendly and amiable, but something instinct raised the alarms within him. Instead of befriending the old man, he struck him in the head with a hammer (he worked as a builder of some kind, and was on his way home from the job site). The old man let out an otherworldly shriek and transformed right before him, revealing his true form – a horse as black as pitch. The horse then dove off the bridge and into the water.
According to some who have made professional monster hunters, fire is a useful tool for taking down kelpie. But since water usually extinguishes fire, this is a theory I would not be keen on testing!

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