Lore24 Feb 9: Not-a-Wolf

Not-a-Wolf is the common name of an evil spirit (its real name is only spoken to bind of banish it, because if the speaker is not trained enough in the mystical art, they may summon or even fall under the control of the spirit). It manifests as a large, black wolf with glowing red eyes. It can talk, and will insist, loudly, that it is just a perfectly normal wolf, vehemently denying any evidence to the contrary. The best way to make it absolutely livid is to point out that wolves usually don’t talk.

Not-a-Wolf hunts those consumed by some sort of addiction, although it’s not very particular about the form of the addiction itself. It approaches the addict from the shadows as they indulge in their vice, only its glowing eyes showing at first. Then it attacks its victim, trying to tear them apart.

In truth the spirit is a shapeshifter, its true form being a shadowy, lumpy, fleshy mass with four humanoid arms extending from it, enabling it to move around. It retains the glowing eyes in its true form. It is not, however, very good at keeping its wolf form coherent, and when struck, surprised, or otherwise inconvenienced it will momentarily revert to its true form.

Not-aWolf isn’t a particularly cunning spirit, in fact most sources claim it to be quite dim-witted, but are quick to point out that it’s frustratingly hard to trick, as it can smell lies, or at least it claims to. It is undeniable, however, that it can tell when a person is trying to deceive it, and will be rather outspoken about this fact.

There are a few stories concerning Not-a-Wolf, the first being when the Sorcerer-King Nirta-Ushab sealed it in a palm tree for five years, so that he could indulge in his love of date wine. It eventually escaped, when a peasant, who was illegally taking wood from the Sorcerer-Kings woods cut down the tree it was imprisoned in. A second story claims it was bound and used as a weapon of war when the Ippur Empire subjugated Satnak.

 Image by RUDO Company
Yes, I did just lift it straight from the music video.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lore24 May 9: The White Gates of Enki

Image
Legends tell of an old city, long claimed by the deserts . In ages long past, this city was the crown jewel of the world, its walls tall, and its sorcerers mighty. According to these legends, when the favorite wife of its Sorcerer-King, Enki, died in childbirth, he became obsessed with getting her back. Now, for the meager men of today, such a feat is impossible, but people have grown feeble since the times of their ancestors, and indeed, Enki’s magic was so powerful, that he reclaimed his wife from the Underworld . The gods, however were not happy with this violation of the order they set up at the dawn of time. They sent ferocious beasts, one after the other, up from the depths of the Underworld to reclaim their prize, and to drag Enki down as well. But the city held. Monster after monster fell before they could breach the walls, killed by the magic of Enki. Enki, on the other hand was worried. He knew he couldn’t hold out forever, so he made a daring plan. He traveled to the mout...
Read more

Lore24 Jan 26: Peoples pt. 1: Orcs

Image
There are a multitude of different peoples in the known world. Most are quite similar, sharing a basic bodyplan of one head, two arms and two legs, but some can be quite different. In the age of great empires one could travel and trade all over the world, so it’s no wonder that all kinds of people exist basically everywhere. It is true, however that certain peoples are more numerous in certain parts of the world. Of course people aren’t a monolith, and even among, say the orcs, there are multiple ethnic groups, different languages, and multiple kingdoms, each with their own history, friends, foes and agendas. And of course an orc living in Nashat-Ippur will have more in common with their bronze elf neighbors than with their kin living on the western islands. The following are just some of the various peoples one can meet. Orcs are thought to be masters of combat, on account of having four arms and fearsome tusks. This allows them to fire two bows, if rather inaccurately, to wield a ...
Read more

Lore24 Jan 21: Hath-Ur the Brilliant Sun

Image
Depending on the myth, rite, or prayer Hath-Ur can be either male or female. This does not mean that Hath-Ur is of indeterminate gender, or that Hath-Ur is genderfluid, for the Brilliant Sun is above such mortal concerns. It also doesn’t mean that Hath-Ur has a male and a female aspect either. Hath-Ur expects mortals to know the lore of Hath-Ur, and to know in which contexts is Hatth-Ur male and in which others is Hath-Ur female. For this reason when people speak of Hath-Ur not in the specific contexts of Hath-Ur’s deeds or Hath-Ur’s rites, they do not use pronouns to refer to Hath-Ur. While this is a bit troublesome, it is preferable to the alternative, as misgendering a deity carries grave punishments indeed. Hath-Ur, as mentioned, is the Brilliant Sun whose rays give life just as readily as they take it away. People revere and fear Hath-Ur in equal measure, and this is reflected in the way Hath-Ur’s worship is carried out. The priests pray for her life-giving gift in the spring, a...
Read more