Wendigos
Wendigos have been a subject of horror, violence and bloodshed all across the galaxy dating back to the ancient times, but are all wendigos truly abhorrent monsters? or are some just unlucky individuals that were forced into making a difficult decision?
What is it?:
Well a Wendigo is a beast born of bodily mutations that occur when an individual engages in cannibalism. In terms of appearance, Wendigos appear as gaunt, emaciated, pale and slender beasts whose skin is wrapped so tightly around their body you can clearly see their bones, often a wendigos mouth, claws and other parts of their body will be stained in a sticky dark crimson colour which symbolizes their devastating hunger as well as their capacity to commit vile killings. The process of mutating into a wendigo can take up to 3 weeks and even faster if an individual continuously engages in cannibalism, also through the 3 weeks the individuals personality will begin to change as they become more aggressive, hungry and they will gain a heightened desire for sexual activities and will engage in them by any means necessary. There are 3 stages of a wendigo transformation, First is The Hunger Stage which will result in a larger appetite and a strong feeling of overwhelming hunger even if they have just finished a large meal, in addition the individuals skin will begin to tightly around the body, they will begin to lose a dramatic amount of weight, and as one beast hunter put it “they will start to devolve”. Second is The Isolation Stage which will involve the individual becoming socially reclusive, unwilling to leave their domicile and increasingly afraid of sunlight as well as physical contact, in addition this towards the end of this stage is where the individual will begin to get more aggressive, violent and aroused. Finally The Feral Stage is where the individual finishes their mutation into a wendigo resulting in razor sharp finger nails, bones extended and poking out of their body, sharpened teeth, sunken eyes and a flexible jaw that can be used to fit all manner of flesh within it’s mouth, by this stage the individual has lost all of their higher brain functions and can no longer speak or think, now their only method of communication are their horrific growls and moans.
Where does it live?
Normally Wendigos are found in places which are relatively hostile like shipwrecks, deserts, isolated mountains and pretty much anywhere that has a lack of natural resources, this is due to the most common reason for a wendgio’s creation and that is “desperate starvation”. Although Wendigos have been documented and known to appear in almost every known location due to a number of circumstances like insanity, depravity and cultish behaviour, the most famous case of this is “The Cult of Wandiga” which housed wendigos underneath the manor house of an esteemed Administration official. In term of habitat, Wendigos will primarily seek dark and isolated domiciles like caves, basements, underground facilities and mines just to name a few, then when night comes they will come out and hunt for any type of living flesh to devour and consume.
What does it do?:
Primarily Wendigos hunt, kill and eat all types of living flesh in a vain attempt at conquering the painful hunger inside of them. As mentioned before wendigos aren’t able to communicate or utilise their higher brain functions, however they are still able to utilise some intelligent thinking in the form of stealth, stalking and hiding themselves within bushes or above tree lines. Additionally in recent years a rumour has been spreading within the beast hunting community that Wendigo have started to reproduce as numerous “Wendigo-like baby corpses” around numerous Wendigo domiciles, although what this implies or how this is even possible is unknown.
How to kill it?:
Since Wendigos have an increased amount of strength, durability and agility despite what their rotting bodies would lead one to believe, it’s safe to say they are difficult to kill. A popular method used to kill a Wendigo is to “cleanse” it in fire with either pyromancy or some kind of flamethrower, although it will still attack while it begins to char, additionally you could also utilise laser weaponry, pipe bombs and basically anything then can produce a flame. Another method is to remove the wendigos spirit and allowing the beast to undergo Ghoulification where it will then die due to the ghoul being unable to operate with the wounds of a wendigo, this has led to the belief that something magical allowed wendigos to exist. Finally a method that is costly and risky is to “cure the wendigo”, this comes in the form of beating the wendigo in a fight and forcing it to drink “The Wendigo Sleeps” potion in order to transform the individual back into their normal selves, from here the individual will need to drink Wendigo Sleeps for the rest of their life.
Different Types of Wendigos:
1. Children of Wendiga- are Wendigos that feasted upon the untold god of hunger “Wendiga” and in the process gained a fraction of her power. In terms of appearance, these wendigos often adorn their cult ropes along with some type of trophies around their neck be it fingers, ears, eyes and other body parts. With a fraction of godhood, these wendigos are faster, stronger and more dangerous then an average wendigo, one of their abilities is their amazing healing factor as well as their ability to reflect attacks upon their attacker. These are probably the rarest form of wendigo currently because apart from their role in Akovire’s downfall as well as a single documented account in The Administration Age, they haven’t been seen at all.
2. Vampiric Wendigos- are vampires that have indulged in the consumption of another of their kind and now have paid the price for it. In terms of appearance, these wendigos are taller and more gaunt then usual, they reach an average of 12ft in height and due to their tremendous lack of weight they are extremely fast and can kill in the blink of an eye. Examinations on various Vampiric Wendigos shows a unique trait, it appears that while undergoing the Wendigo mutations they seem to devolve somehow and their bodies seem to regress and shed certain traits, an example of this would be the vampire wings seeming “stitched” to the back and the addition on hind claws present on both feet. According to ancient documentation, Vampiric Wendigos were extremely common during “The War of Silence before The Screaming” due to their being a lack of mortals and beasts within the large collective city of “Dinasygwaed” , however since then these Wendigos have rarely been seen.
3. Wendadragons- are Dragons that have undergone the wendigo mutations in the process have become a beast that is feared by most, believed by some, but one that few have survived to talk about. In terms of appearance, Wendadragons appear as they once did, however it appears that the mutations have forced them to shed their scales and in the process leaving their flesh exposed to the environment, as a result these wendigos emit a monstrous stench and some even how creatures like maggots, bloaters, rats and even bigger ones living inside them. Because of their horrific deed their connection to the galaxy has been cut, however they still hold a small amount of power as they are able to produce a green acidic poisonous flame from their mouth and eyes, some have claim this to be “rotted magic” and others have tried to make connections to the Hal continent “The Pride Lands” and it’s Demon Duke Keiler, The Acidic Flame, however no one has ever produce an answer as to why Wendadragons can produce this powerful flame.
4.Mark of Blood Wendigos- are Ta-Og that have succumbed to effects of desperation and starvation which has driven them to eat their own kind. In terms of appearance Mark of Blood Wendigos appear much less evolved then a regular Ta-Og as they have over grown claws, uncut hooves and curled long pointed horns, in addition their stance is much more hunched and instead of travelling bipedally they have adopted a quadrupedal movement set. As the name suggests Mark of Blood Wendigos despite their rapid mutation still possess “The Mark of Blood Curse” present upon all Ta-Og, this means that at any moment and without warning they can launch into a furious rage that increases their speed, strength and overall power.
