Due to its unusual nature, the feeble yet violent “.” has garnered no small attention from good-hearted adventurers, and since its mysterious appearance in the wild, has been deemed a Protected Species. Theories abound as to how it manages to subsist in the harsh, wintry cold, but scholars surmise that it is most likely kept warm and survives on pure, impotent rage.

Part 5 of the Witcher!AU (CW for mild body horror) This time with some plant lore, I have tried to implement it as best as I could! I see the dependant plants in the family of draconids, being tied to the mountain they were born in. They are extremely rare and almost extinct, having been hunted for their magic amplifying properties (and you could even conjure water up out of nowhere if you found a especially strong one!)  To keep them connected to their living source, they are kept in enchanted enclousures. The wings get clipped so that they cannot flee or resist. On very rare occasions, a plant mutates and becomes one with the heart of the mountain, connecting their life sources and merging with it. Only then the plant becomes fertile and produces eggs. Most aren’t hatching, or underdeveloped bodies disconnect from the mother plant. These will be used as fodder for the draconids they lure in to protect their lair. However, on even RARER occasions, a very special egg will be created and hatch...

Gaunts are strange creatures, as I write this by the dying fire light I find it unpleasant to recall the things and the closeness of my experience with them. Myself and Anton were moving over a marsh area towards a set of squat ruins, these ruins piqued my interest because I suspected it was home to a phenomenon I intend to detail in this journal, that however is for it's own entry, as my investigation was cut woefully short as the ruins were home to the creatures known as "Gaunts". These thin, ashen figures, I struggle to simply call them "creatures" because surely they were people at one point no? I digress, the Gaunts are thin humanoids with skin the colour of wood ash, although I did see limited mottling of the complexion along with possible camouflage usage, this will require further investigation, but at a later time. Thanks to Anton's keen eyes we spotted them before they spotted us, he saw one of them moving through one of the ruin's windows. He pulled me down into a divot and, despite my protestations, managed to get us hidden away as the sky began to darken. A patch of rain began to pass overhead, hiding the sun and coaxing the Gaunt's from their nest. Either our approach roused them or they are naturally restless, as once the sun was away they climbed free of the ruins and began to spread out across the marshes. They moved not unlike a pack of cats on the prowl. To this end I saw atleast one Gaunt snatch what I suspect was some kind of small mammal from the marsh before feeding on it quite violently. One of them stood on the small ridge under which Anton and I were secreted, it was so close I was afraid to breath, it's why I am able to relay such a precise description despite not engaging one of them directly. To that end, based on my observations and the observations of those I've stop I am confident to say Gaunts are a form of undead, specifically a form of vampire. To the lay man this may be obvious, but these Gaunts bare the humanoid form of High Vampires but the animal instincts of True Vampires. The thin frame of the Gaunts allows them incredible speed over short distances, they're also notoriously difficult to hit thanks to a super human flexibility, this combined with their aforementioned ability to blend in means they make highly effective ambush hunters.

It is said the Mossback Stag carries entire ecosystems within its antlers.