Ent
Here we are with the first of the Windemere monsters. I think we’ll all recognize these creatures, which I call Oakind. They are also Ents or Treants, which are the sentient trees found throughout fantasy. Walking and talking as they travel the wilderness or stay in one place for a long nap. Now, what did I do different with the Oakind?
Not much on the surface. I couldn’t change a lot since they were supposed to be giant trees that could move if they felt like it. If they are standing still or sleeping then they resemble a forest. Oakind are always in groups, so you rarely run into a solitary one unless they escaped a massacre. Unlike Treebeard of LOTR (Beat you to it, people!), these monsters aren’t wise protectors of nature. They can be fairly territorial and simple-minded. For example, the ones that Sari and Kira Grason ran into in Ritual of the Lost Lamb were upset that they were taking herbs from their branches. They had a sense of property and didn’t want to give them up. This resulted in a strange ritual that they had to perform, which brings me to the big and only change I really did.
Sari and Kira are forced to fight each other after drinking a potion, which has them hemorrhage a sweet blood whenever they are struck. It’s to saturate the ground and give nourishment to the Oakind. Yeah, these walking trees can get food without this, but they crave the crimson serum of the living. It’s very much like a vampire and I never made the connection until I wrote War of Nytefall: Loyalty. In this, Clyde and his friends run into a strange grove of trees in the middle of a desert. Turns out, these are Oakind that have been turned into vampires, which had been unheard of. Even though they were destroyed, their seeds were spread and the desire for blood gradually became etched in the DNA of those found on Ralian. The Oakind of other continents don’t eat this, but they have other names since they are different tree types.
Really wish there was a big story behind their creation. I simply waited for a point where I could use sentient trees and then ran with it. My notes were funny though. I had marked down a ritual that involved fighting, but no reason why the Oakind would care. It was a final chance to get Sari and Kira to fight, which wasn’t enough. I had them take a potion on a whim and then . . . blech. No idea where I was going with it when I started, but that’s how it went. I’d actually forgotten about it when I had the Oakind return in my vampire series. Again, I had no notes beyond wanting a strange, big threat for Clyde to be faced with. Put the forest in the desert and considered having a beast hiding in there, but that didn’t work. Just had the trees start attacking when the moment was right. One could say the Dawn Fangs’ confusion at there being vampiric Oakind was genuine because I didn’t expect it either.
(Originally posted on July 17, 2022. I think the nickname makes it appropriate for this month. I need to find more animals to write about too. Ran out of ones that didn’t have too many species, which made the posts difficult.)
The Okapi is a relative of the giraffe discovered in the 1900’s. It’s even called the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, and zebra giraffe. Yet, it doesn’t have a long neck, so you wouldn’t think this. There are only an estimated 5,000 living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is their only territory. This limited range is one of the reasons it is considered endangered.
So, what is an Okapi? They look like an antelope with a dark brown body, except for their forelegs and hind-quarters. Those areas are striped like a zebra, which helps the Okapi blend into the jungle. This camouflage is one of the reasons they weren’t discovered until the 1900’s and have the nickname ‘Ghost of the Forest’. The stripes mimic the light shafts coming through the thick canopy.
I’m just going to throw out some Okapi facts though because they are very interesting creatures. I got all this off the OKAPI CONSERVATION PROJECT SITE:
Of course, they are still at risk. Habitat loss caused by the logging industry and spread of human civilization is a big one. Reserves have been made, but this is still an issue. Illegal mining is another situation that threatens the Okapi. They are poached for bushmeat and their skin, which is illegal, but always an issue. There have been cases of poachers attacking conservation stations too. This leads to another problem, which is the civil unrest of the area. Territories where there are guerillas and fighting end up preventing conservation efforts. So, the Okapi in these places are easy prey for poaching. Some of these zones are simply too close to the reservations, which also blocks and hinders those wanting to help.
Finally, there are about 100 Okapi in zoos, which run breeding programs. Antwerp Zoo in Belgium was the first zoo to get an Okapi in 1919 and had a successful program. The Bronx Zoo was the first in the USA to get an Okapi in 1937. They’ve had 13 calves between 1991 and 2011. I’ve gotten to see those Okapi too and they are so cool. Of course, the San Diego Zoo has bred 60 calves between 1962 and 2017, which is awesome.
So, let’s get to the pictures and videos.
Okapi from Bronx Zoo
My head is still spinning from the week because it was a wild ending. Can’t go into details with what happened yesterday. Just a bunch of craziness from beginning to end, which is why I had anxiety itching all over my body by the evening. A few nights of sleep apnea issues didn’t help, but I made it to Saturday . . . Now what?
On the plus side, I managed to finish chapter 6 of Darwin & the Deadlands Queen. It was touch and go though. I spent two hours writing last Sunday only to hate what I did and junk the entire thing. Can’t remember the last time I erased so much on purpose, but it did a number on my confidence. Spent Monday staring at the outline to figure out where things went wrong. I ended up merging two sections and do my best when I was sick on Tuesday and then Wednesday night. I finished it right before my son came home, so I didn’t get to go over it much. It works though.
Exhaustion and plans are going to make it a challenge to get through chapter 7 this weekend. I might be able to start it today. I might be able to work on it tomorrow afternoon even with family coming over. This chapter is crucial, but it isn’t as messy as the previous one, which was designed to get the group to the next area without wasting time on ‘traveling’. There’s a little action, but it’s simplistic. If I can utilize my time and not get distracted, I could finish this chapter by Wednesday night. Hard to really say because the lore and foreshadowing continues to shift now that this is the penultimate book instead of the third to last. Guess we’ll see how it goes.
One of the big challenges lately is simply having a high school senior. My son has so much to do for college, senior year, senior project, and learning how to be independent. I never know what is going to come at us from that arena. Doesn’t help that I have to coordinate with my ex-wife and we aren’t very good at communicating with each other. So, every new event comes with a lot of stress from various sources. I want my son to succeed and get into the college he wants, so that always takes priority. There are also social services he gets due to having autism, which we are navigating. It’s all interwoven, so my brain is mush from that complication by the time I step back into Windemere.
I’m also scrambling to get the December posts set up since November is ready. I’m still doing the revisiting posts for now because I’ve found a lot of topics that should be given another chance. My hope is to write up new posts for January or February after I make more progress on Darwin & the Deadlands Queen. There are plenty of breaks throughout November and December, which will give me time. The life event might be further along to conclusion by then too. Part of that sucks up my evenings, which is when I used to prep a few blog posts at a time.
This coming week is busy at the start, but will get easier once I reach Thursday. It’s mostly appointments on Monday and Tuesday. Trying to make another one for myself on Wednesday, which might push the writing back. It’s a minor medical thing that’s been bugging me for years, so it’s worth it. At the very least, I can write on Halloween since my son has his own plans. That’s good though because he needs independence. Anyway, I’m hoping to squeeze in some writing where I can. I really need to find a way to tinker with my notebook ideas when at work, but there’s no privacy during my breaks. I tried in my car, but it’s not comfortable.
Goals of the week?
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One of the greatest of the Windemere beasts, the griffin gets a lot of attention throughout the series. There are the griffin riders of Gaia who are shown in The Compass Key. One shows up in Beginning of a Hero as a pawn of the Lich. They even make appearances in all of the preceding books after one kind of joins the group. Somehow this one time monster became a recurring creature like the orcs, trolls, and dragons.
Where did my interest in griffins come from? Not really sure. I love the fact that it is a creature of both the land and sky. They always seem to have power, grace, and speed when they’re used. Yet they tend to be obstacles with foul tempers, which is how I used them the first time. I remade it in an edit to have the animal be mind-controlled, which brought a bit of sympathy to them. A funny thing with the griffins is that they have evolved along with the story. In fact, I see notes in future ideas that bring these guys back many times.
I’ve mentioned in the books that the griffin is the fastest aerial creature, which might seem strange. There are creatures with bigger wings or are more aerodynamic, so how could a griffin be faster than a drite? Because they kind of cheat. Griffins have several abilities such as immunity to natural poisons, immediate language understanding, and a few others that are spoilers. The one that they are most proud of is their control over wind. These beasts can fly through a storm and never lose speed because they create the perfect conditions for flight. They ride powerful winds of their own creation, which allows them to also do a very quick blast off.
This doesn’t even consider their skills at aerial combat since they are intelligent enough to create strategies. A common tactic is to spin their bodies and spiral toward an enemy to impale them with a twist. On bigger opponents, this can breaks bones and tears organs even if it is not a kill shot. Interestingly enough, the griffins of Gaia don’t use this tactic very often because they are protective of their riders. They are well aware that some of their abilities and tactics are too dangerous to use while being ridden.
There isn’t much to say about their physical design. Griffins have been around for centuries, so I didn’t change much. There are always design differences such as how much is eagle and how much is lion. I went with eagle head and wings and the rest is powerful lion. Like I said, not much else to say about them.
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(Sometimes an inner demon can be scarier than the outer ones.)
Everyone has a demon
Lurking beneath the skin
A voice that asks for freedom
To indulge a dark-born craving
From the glutton wanting sweets
To the killer wanting blood
Everyone has a sinister voice
Whispering in their mental ear
They promise to return control
After stretching their stiff limbs
But most know this is a lie
The demons are too dangerous
Once free they will stay out
Returning only with a fight
Causing damage in their wake
That will take so long to heal
For some the voices stay
Causing lives to end and shred
Turning man into a monster
With only himself to blame
We ignore their acidic pleas
Until our wills grow weak
Then we hear the constant growl:
“Let me out!”
Chimera from D&D
I was excited to see this get high on the list until I realized there’s no easy way to explain this creature. There is no common form to them because of how they’re made. Not all of them are aggressive and you can never tell where a chimera can be found. You might find one in the ocean and another on top of a mountain with both of them looking nothing alike. It’s thought that many of the more unique creatures of Windemere are all chimera, but this is proven wrong if you find more than one of them. So, what exactly are these amalgamations?
Chimera are not born because they are formed by accident. Previously, they were a type of shaman called a spirit channeler. Similar to the magical version, these people can allow the spirit of a dead animal to take over their body. They can either use the creature’s abilities like a heightened sense of smell or give complete control to fully transform. The shaman’s mind remains in the background while the beast acts and the two are able to communicate. Even if they don’t speak the same language, there is an understanding on the psychic plane that can carry over to when the shaman is in control too. If one of these people are found arguing with something that isn’t there then one of they’re talking to one of their spirits.
Now, this is a very dangerous specialty because emotions need to remain stable. If a shaman is put under enough stress in any form then all of the spirits will attempt to take control. Sometimes, the strongest one will win and becoming a berserk version of their living form with occasional appearance of minor traits from the other spirits. Usually, this is a transition phase and all of them will merge into a unique creature that has physical pieces of all the non-shaman spirits and all of the abilities. The shaman is trapped within because his or her spirit has become too scared to function and it is impossible for them to be sure the danger has passed. They blindly depend on the merged spirits, but those have lost most of their individuality. At best, the chimera knows something is wrong and goes into hiding to figure things out.
Can a chimera be returned to their original state? Yes, but there is a short window before the spirits fuse. At most, you have a day and that’s only if the shaman is able to retain enough consciousness to fight. Even then, you would need either a powerful telepath, a more experienced spirit channeler, a special ritual, or an aura channeler that can manipulate raw energy. Sadly, most times a chimera is born, there are only enemies around. Any allies and innocents that might be around are at risk from the inevitable rampage.
Dire Boar
The Dread Boar is one of the creatures that came out of nowhere and racked up a ton of mileage quickly. Debuting in the Legends of Windemere series, they have also been mentioned and appeared in War of Nytefall and The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks. That covers a lot of ground, so you know these giant pigs are going to keep coming back. Honestly, they’ve kind of become my ‘go to’ wild beast when I need something big and aggressive. Not necessarily for a fight, but comparisons and declarations of toughness for blowhards. So, where did they come from?
Way back, I was adding wild beasts to a nature scene to set the stage and I got to the audible parts. I didn’t want to do solely real animals and I began thinking of a beast that could roar in the distance. My mind kept coming back to boars since I had recently read about the Gullinbursti of Norse mythology. So, I had the loud bellow of a . . . angry . . . dire . . . death . . . Dread Boar! I brought up the beast a few more times before I actually showed what it looked like. Even then, it was a group of shape-shifting monsters disguised as Dread Boars. Still, this was the first look at what they were and they acted the way they were supposed to. Calm until they feel threatened and then they go on an aggressive rampage that can mow down an entire forest if left unchecked.
I made them huge with rough hair after reading on how pigs can quickly go feral when they are released into the wild. They go from cute pink animals to the destructive boars that fictional barbarians battle when they have nothing better to do. This wasn’t fantasy enough for me, so I added metallic tusks and hooves. Dread Boars are not only strong, but they are fast and smart enough to use group tactics. This goes out the window if they are enraged, which happens if startled or threatened. Protecting their young isn’t as violent because they make a circle around the babies and scrape their tusks together to create an ear-wrenching screech. This scares off most animals and warns others in the area that the herd is nearby with children. When moving, they will knock over trees that are in their path, but their dung is a very powerful fertilizer. New plants grew fairly quickly in the wake of a Dread Boar.
So far, I’ve only had them on Ralian, so I haven’t decided on if you can find them on the other continents. Definitely not Shayd or Ambervale due to what they are. I might come up with variations for the other regions. Maybe have one kind be a little smaller like your African and Asian elephants. Another could be more aquatic if I put it in the Cerascent Archipelago. For monsters that are designed to be part of the wilderness, you can play with have different versions of the same species. After all, that’s how things work in the real world.
(Today starts ‘Wolf Awareness Week’. I made a post in 2023 about wolves, so I’m going to repost it today. Enjoy and maybe look up more videos of these amazing animals.)
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I’ve been hesitant about this animal for a while. Mostly because I really wanted to do a post on it, but it would be difficult. The reason for this is because there are 32 subspecies of wolf, which includes 24 New World and 8 Old World. That’s a really long post. So, I was happy to find that there’s a 3 species system. I’ll go with that, but maybe I’ll do some wolf subspecies posts down the road.
Now, people will want the conservation status. ENDANGERED is the easiest way to say it because many subspecies are in that category. Wolves have a negative reputation, especially in areas where people make money off livestock. They are seen as aggressive and dangerous beasts, so there have been many points in history where they have been wiped out around the world. For example, they were eliminated in Yellowstone National Park and Great Britain. The former resulted in an elk population boom, which threatened the environment. Wolves were eventually reintroduced and the ecosystem went back into balance, which shows the important of these animals.
So, what is a wolf? These are wild canines who are related to dogs. They run in packs to help with hunting and protecting the young. Most people know about them due to their placement as villains in kid stories and other media. Since they are related to dogs, they share aspects of appearance and habits. Alaskan malamutes are probably the closest breed to their wild relatives.
Big Note– Wolf packs don’t actually have an alpha male and female. The term was first used by a biologist named Rudolph Shenkel in 1944 while he observed wolves in a German zoo. Do yo see the issue? Wolves, like humans, act differently in captivity than they would in the wild. This is because they are strangers put together while packs in the wild are family units with the ‘alphas’ being mom and dad. This is why you don’t see the term used scientifically any more.
So, what are some interesting facts?
Now, what are the three general wolf species?
Eastern Wolf (debated)- Found in the Great Lakes Region
Gray Wolf- Found in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia
Red Wolf- Eastern North Carolina (14 left in wild)
This is for the general wolves, which seems to revolve around the Gray Wolf mostly. You have others like the Maned Wolves of South America, Ethiopian Wolves, African Golden Wolves, Dingoes in Australia, Coyotes, and the list keeps going. Many are seen as subspecies of the gray wolf too. So, let’s go right to the videos:
