Wendervain

The legendary white stag you have always looked for is not a majestic beast; it is your death. Once its eyes meet yours, doom is all but certain. The Wendervain exists as a warning for travelers and Knights to never travel the woods at dusk. With humanoid arms for antlers, the Wendervain possesses intelligence that can rival that of a human but without the burden of compassion and mercy that bogs them down. It stands 7'2" tall at the shoulders, and could be up to 12 feet long from head to rump. Its handtlers alone could reach up to 9 feet long; this is a large creature that inspires nothing but dread and awe.

Despite its marvelous stature, Wendervains very rarely attack settlements, finding it not worth the hassle. They are also rarely fatal to their victims, as they already know which part of the body to eat so that their prey may survive until the next encounter with them. To them, traumatized prey tastes more delicious. The Familiar Lands are fortunate that they tend to hunt in moderation and don't primarily eat humans. Their handtlers are often eaten by aristocratic mages, for they serve the same function as Manabloom but are much more efficient and far more delicious and filling. Mages tend to eat these before coupling as well, as they are believed to make their offspring magically sensitive. Some even extract the bone from the handtlers to use as a very good wand.

Combat Capabilities

The Wendervain sits menacingly at 8 Menace Marks. Each of the Wendervain's hands could perform magic. Its most commonly used spell is a beam that causes crippling pain throughout your entire body as it fries your nervous system, overwhelming your senses and numbing you to anything other than that pain. Once you are paralyzed, it will slowly approach and begin feasting on your immobile body. Given its intelligence, it may find dead prey beneath them rather than consuming it. It will then heal you just enough to keep you alive until it has satisfied itself. Thus there are plenty of survivors from a Wendervain encounter, but some of them can just eat a person's spleen or their limbs and then leave their prey to a slow death... It is without a doubt a traumatizing experience regardless.

Undisputed champion of offensive magics, only a fool will not recognize its magical potential, the envy of many great sorcerers. The Wendervain cannot cast forever though, and tires out like any other mage. A strategy one can use is to bait its spells until it is too weak to continue. Another is to bring a Magebreaker in your hunting party to dampen its magical output. When desperate enough, the Wendervain will use a variety of spells, from heat rays to cold beams or telekinesis. It can also shoot various spells in multiple directions at the same time. On the other hand, its physical prowess is equivalent to that of a larger-than-average moose. It can and will break bones and trample you if need be.