Welves
Welves are a species of pack monster found in ancient forests. Although roughly similar to wolves, these monsters walk on their hind legs like people. These gangly hounds look weirdly ill-adapted to this posture - largely because they're weirdly ill-adapted to it.
While bipedalism is far from uncommon, welves look like someone took a regular wolf and clamped it into a new and uncomfortable shape. The welves take advantage of their form by hiding behind trees - encircling their victims. By tactically snapping twigs, the pack is able to move forwards one tree at a time (something to think about next time you hear something in the woods).
Sneaking up on their prey wouldn't serve much of a purpose if they couldn't also subdue them. You'd think these gangly monsters would struggle in that regard, but they have an advantage. Welves are able to cast magick that paralyses their prey. As notably cruel creatures, welves ensure that their victims are only paralysed from the neck downwards. This makes them painfully aware of everything that happens next, with an emphasis on the 'painfully'.
In a similar fashion to foxes, welves sleep in burrows. Unlike foxes – or indeed any other animal – each welf has one tall hole of its own. They also use these hidey-holes to obscure their long bodies when scouting for prey. When they need to evacuate these burrows, they do so in a manner that can only be described as ‘with difficulty’.
Welves have a strong, musky smell to them that can be detected from many yards away - largely because a person's eyes will begin to water. This isn't ideal for a species that relies on stealth, but the welves have a solution. On top of their smelly bodies, they also have incredibly smelly urine. They use this to stink up the forest - creating pockets of stench - making it impossible to smell their approach. This isn't the main reason why public dungeons avoid using welves, but it is the smelliest.
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| Welf by Zuza Gruzlewska |
While bipedalism is far from uncommon, welves look like someone took a regular wolf and clamped it into a new and uncomfortable shape. The welves take advantage of their form by hiding behind trees - encircling their victims. By tactically snapping twigs, the pack is able to move forwards one tree at a time (something to think about next time you hear something in the woods).
Sneaking up on their prey wouldn't serve much of a purpose if they couldn't also subdue them. You'd think these gangly monsters would struggle in that regard, but they have an advantage. Welves are able to cast magick that paralyses their prey. As notably cruel creatures, welves ensure that their victims are only paralysed from the neck downwards. This makes them painfully aware of everything that happens next, with an emphasis on the 'painfully'.
In a similar fashion to foxes, welves sleep in burrows. Unlike foxes – or indeed any other animal – each welf has one tall hole of its own. They also use these hidey-holes to obscure their long bodies when scouting for prey. When they need to evacuate these burrows, they do so in a manner that can only be described as ‘with difficulty’.
Welves have a strong, musky smell to them that can be detected from many yards away - largely because a person's eyes will begin to water. This isn't ideal for a species that relies on stealth, but the welves have a solution. On top of their smelly bodies, they also have incredibly smelly urine. They use this to stink up the forest - creating pockets of stench - making it impossible to smell their approach. This isn't the main reason why public dungeons avoid using welves, but it is the smelliest.
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Welf Facts
Creation Notes
I had the idea for welves a long time ago - possibly even before I started planning out the Tumultiverse books. Originally I envisioned otherwise ordinary wolves with permanently shocked expressions. Like the welves I ended up with, these would sneak up on an unsuspecting victim, whisper 'weff' in their ear, and render them immobile.
When I cam to actually writing the welves, regular proportioned wolves seemed unlikely to sneak up on Selll in the middle of the day. To get around that I made them preposterously tall and narrow so they could hide behind trees. This change had further benefits, as it turned out ridiculous shaped wolves are easy to make the funny with.
If you're wondering why welves say 'weff', it's because my dog once said it. I don't know why he said it, but he did. I've tried asking him, but the closest I got to an answer was when he repeated it and then licked himself.
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- Welves go: "WEFF!"
- A group of welves are collectively known as a 'gangle'.
- The adventurer Selll Tsukino refers to them as 'welfs' due to a unique issue that also causes her to say 'thiefs', 'elfs', and 'knifes'.
- Some welves wield spears, although 'spear' is a fancy word for them. They're basically just sticks that they've chewed at one end.
Creation Notes
I had the idea for welves a long time ago - possibly even before I started planning out the Tumultiverse books. Originally I envisioned otherwise ordinary wolves with permanently shocked expressions. Like the welves I ended up with, these would sneak up on an unsuspecting victim, whisper 'weff' in their ear, and render them immobile.
When I cam to actually writing the welves, regular proportioned wolves seemed unlikely to sneak up on Selll in the middle of the day. To get around that I made them preposterously tall and narrow so they could hide behind trees. This change had further benefits, as it turned out ridiculous shaped wolves are easy to make the funny with.
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| "Do I look funny to you?" |
If you're wondering why welves say 'weff', it's because my dog once said it. I don't know why he said it, but he did. I've tried asking him, but the closest I got to an answer was when he repeated it and then licked himself.
See Also
Sign up to my mailing list below
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