Kosynier

Field Fiends

“*When the wheat grows above their heads, don't let the children outside.*”
―Northerner peasant wisdom.
**Kosynier**, also known as **scythers**, **wheat-stalkers**, and **"that which reaps and takes the chaff"** in Elder Speech, are a breed of relict especially feared by the peasantry of the Northern Realms.

## Physiology

Adult kosyniers are comparable in size to a large dog, growing just over a meter long and just under a meter at the shoulder. While quadrupedal, their forelimbs taper below the elbow into their namesake: skin gives way to sharp, wickedly curved blades of bone which can grow beyond a meter long. When fighting a rival or other enemy, these are used to stab and pierce, while a corpse will be impaled for dragging to a hidden lair for eating. While hunting, however, the kosynier uses the long edge for slashing, favoring humanoid prey which it can behead in a single stroke.

The kosynier's body is covered with downy, golden fur, providing ideal camouflage in the long, dry grasses of its favored hunting grounds. As it can crawl with its limbs ahead of and behind its slender body, the relict can move without disturbing its cover and presents a very narrow profile when closing on its prey. The only sign of a kosynier's presence may be the trio of long, black spines akin to those of an alghoul which rise from its vertebrae. Fortunately, the kosynier's head presents the least of its threats, with an emaciated-looking skull and small jaws made for picking apart a kill once in the safety of its den, not deliver a killing bite. Their eyes, if they indeed possess any, are not easily discernible, and no extensive autopsy has yet been carried out on the species outside of witcher guilds. How they might detect their prey without vision is unclear.

## Ecology

“*Every field oughta have a scarecrow, and they ain't just for birds up here. If you see it missin' its head one day, don't go trying to find it. Stay out of the grass and call for a witcher.*”
―Coramir Stanek, ealdorman of Draken Hollow in the late 1100s.
Despite the fearsome reputation spread far and wide by the peasant folk, kosyniers are exceptionally rare and difficult to find. Small and relatively delicate, they require warm climates and hibernate through winter up to nine months out of the year. Only in late summer and early autumn do they become active, near the beginning of harvest season. In this period, however, they must gather all the food they need to last the year, making them relentless hunters. A single kosynier must make a kill at least once a week to ensure its survival, and more in the cases of mothers attempting to raise pups.

Unfortunately, as pioneer settlements expanded into the Northern Realms, they've made themselves the perfect targets for kosyniers. Wheat fields provide ideal camouflage and the perfect growth for hunting grounds, and farming communities make for clusters of viable prey—especially when humans walk the fields for harvest. Lone kosyniers which recognize this pattern are known to plague a village through their whole harvest season, or until the village has no more men left to send out into the fields. At these times, the only way to get rid of the creature is to send for a professional.

## Slaying

In addition to their rarity, kosyniers are also exceptionally shy. Specially adapted to ambush hunting, the kosynier's slender body is relatively fragile and poorly suited to a straightforward fight. When confronted by something they can't immediately kill, most kosyniers will opt to retreat and hide until the danger has passed. Thus, a means of tracking the beast is important for a witcher or would-be peasant hero. A silver blade fitted with devana runestones is ideal; causing the relict to bleed from deep wounds both makes them easy to track, and allows one to inflict lingering harm in a brief initial encounter.

The easiest way to kill a kosynier is by tracking it to its den and collapsing its tunnels, but like foxes, the kosynier will always have multiple entrances to escape by. Burning them out can be effective, but is rarely attempted due to their habit of nesting near valuable crops. Traps can be effective; snares they can easily slash their way free of, but bear traps are nearly guaranteed to snap their brittle bones. Even if they escape the trap, the wounds will prevent them from hunting and often lead to starvation. However, kosyniers often prove clever enough to avoid the devices altogether, and hidden in a field, it's easy for a hunter to forget where one was placed.

One reliable method to force a confrontation is to lure the kosynier into a field, where it will feel comfortable launching an attack, but this should only ever be attempted as a last resort. Kosyniers will find a standing target in tall grass an irresistible target, but their camouflage and speed means avoiding their deadly leap is nearly impossible. Some witchers have been known to carry diagrams for a steel collar in their journals, employing local smiths to rig up the defense for them, but these are not always impenetrable and can leave the wearer half-blind. While the kosynier's forelimbs can cut through wood poles, a steel-plated staff may be enough to stop their lethal blow—but even if this gamble pays off, a witcher must then wound or kill their target before it escapes to leap again.

## Behind the Scenes

* Kosynier is the Polish word for a soldier armed with a war scythe.