The Wendigo

== Description ==
The Wendigo actually has several names uttered among various Native American bands, but the Algonquian word for it has become the most recognized.  An ancient, ever-hungering spirit that only possesses humans, the Wendigo in its fully transformed state is a very formidable enemy.
The human is first taken by the spirit when they taste human flesh, their hunger becoming deeper and more enthralling with each new victim. Their body begins to undergo a painful transformation into a monstrous deer-like creature that can take several years to complete. Victims of the Wendigo describe a feeling of bliss when they partake of the meat of men, alleviating much of the pain of the transformation.
Once fully metamorphosed, the Wendigo bears the head and hooves of an elk, with large, sprawling antlers regardless of sex and sharp, canine-like teeth. They stand roughly ten feet tall when fully erect. Their limbs are black, hands tipped with talons. The torso takes on a deathly pallor, and ribs will eventually protrude even if the Wendigo feeds regularly endowing it with an eternally starved appearance. Their eyes glint with crimson maliciousness but are otherwise as black as a moonless night. A fully-formed Wendigo can go longer without sustenance but will continue to hunt - even laying traps - for human prey and will check them regularly. With each passing day, however, their hunger will deepen as will their pain, until they are able to feed again. Eating the flesh of animals can sustain it but does not appear to alleviate the pain.
The Wendigo is incapable of speech, but seems to understand it. It still cannot, and should not, be reasoned with.
At the peak of its power, the Wendigo is as strong as a Berserker werewolf in spite of its slight frame. And often twice as quick. It is able to teleport at will, vanishing in the blink of an eye. It will as happily partake of werewolf meat as they would human, so going up against this creature is strongly discouraged.
Luckily, the Wendigo only ever manifests as a singular creature. When one is defeated, the spirit is released from the body and will travel elsewhere to find a new host.
This creature seems to only respond to any form of Native American religious apotropaics, including rituals and spells. Western religious artifacts and prayers have no effect on it.
It should also be noted that the Wendigo is capable of seeing into and interacting with the spirit world and are just as powerful there as it is on the physical plane. The entity in its spirit form, however, is cowardly and seems vulnerable, like a snail without its shell, and will flee from anything it perceives as a threat. Strangely, its spirit form appears to be that of a swift white elk with red eyes.
Category:Bestiary
Category:Cryptid
Category:Enemy Lexicon