I write to you, this seventh day of Aesto, to document my findings thus far on what some of our colleagues have dubbed "the Sylvanor Minotaur." I can understand why some would call it that, though this northern variety of the breed is far more horrible to behold than the ones further south.
Picture, if you will, a creature that, were it to stretch itself upright, stands nearly thirteen feet tall from the top of its skull to the bottom of its hooves. If you add the antlers, then it stands closer to sixteen feet tall. Despite its height, which normally is around ten feet due to a stooped posture, I would be surprised if it weighed more than two hundred twenty pounds! The thing looks to be positively starving, despite eating an entire cow, bones and all, in the span of ten minutes!
I digress, the anatomy of this creature is astounding! Despite seeming to be skin and bone, it possesses strength similar to it's Green Coast cousins and is much more agile. In addition, its hands possess a mere three digits: two fingers and a thumb. Each is topped with a vicious claw, which I have seen rend boiled leather like it were parchment. A certain kind of low-quality steel seems to work best at stopping its claws for some reason, perhaps it doesn't like the feel of the metal?
Its head is long, perhaps two and a half feet, and for all intents and purposes looks like the skull of a stag. The biggest difference is in its eyes, white glowing specks of light surrounded by pits of darkness. While not the most obvious difference, that distinction belongs to the rows and rows of sharp, shearing teeth, something within those eyes...I can only describe it a torturous, maddening hunger. If you were to walk down the back allies of Argoport and look into the eyes of the homeless that hadn't eaten in a week, you would not see even a fraction of the hunger contained within those otherworldly eyes.
Your friend and colleague,
Mage-Scholar Rhydian Llewelyn of the University of Eszath
To Mage-Scholar Rhydian Llewelyn of the University of Eszath,
It is good to hear from you my friend, it has been an eventful sixty years here, I have no doubt that you would be disgusted by some of the decisions made by our...wise ruler. I will write no more of such matters, for you have surely heard of them by now.
But I admit, I am curious as to what you described in your latest letter. Have you given the beast its own name yet? The universities laws should give you the chance to name the beast since you are the first to study it in depth. Should you wait too long to publish your findings though then someone may name them before you.
Your friend and colleague,
Esteemed Mage-Scholar Annuwyl Aethlyn of the Wainryn Royal Academy of The Art
To the Esteemed Mage-Scholar Annuwyl Aethlyn of the Wainryn Royal Academy of The Art,
I have indeed hears of the disappointing declarations made by the city's ruler. However, regretful decisions or not, I cannot say that I do not understand his reasoning, he needed to placate the clyst-lynal1 that were forgetting their station. I do not agree with the solution that he chose, but I cannot deny its effectiveness.
As for the subject of my research, I thought long and hard before settling on a name. I have learned of the superstitions that the native ysgthudal2 and clyst-lynal have regarding these beasts. It is quite humorous, they believe that these "wendigo" as they call them were once normal men that were cursed due to them partaking in cannibalism.
In any case, the native clyst-lynal have a surprisingly beautiful language. Not comparable to our own, but much better than the harsh tones of the dwarves. I digress, their name for the creature, as you may have guessed, is wendigo and it rolls off the tongue pleasantly enough that I saw fit to keep it.
Speaking of the creature, it managed to injure a student yesterday. I think it may have latent magical capabilities for the part of the arm that it grabbed became frostbitten. Fortunately the arm was saved, but additional precautions are being taken.
Your friend and colleague,
Mage-Scholar Rhydian Llewelyn of the University of Eszath
- clyst-lynal: an elven slur for humans
- ysgthudal: similar to the above but for orcs
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