so a good handful of people who responded to my watcher survey thing said they’d like to know more character info, which is surprising but i’ll try to roll with it

I think I’m going to use this design, or whatever it evolves into, as the shape of a mythical creature I’ve been tinkering with for the Umwelt world for a while. Umwelt takes place mostly in the frozen nation of Hrimm Yoff, where the land is just as much a predator as the things that roam it, so there’s a healthy amount of folklore and superstition about it. This is the basic shape of a certain kind of winter spirit.

These spirits are born from the lives of animals hunted for sport instead of necessity, and take the shape of animal-headed cloaked travelers. They are forces of nature and personifications of the land. Seeing one is generally a bad omen, but having one speak to you binds it to you. Being spoken to means the land itself has claimed you, and will eventually be your downfall.

After being claimed one is generally followed by the spirit until it is time for it to guide you into the afterlife, which can be unnerving, but their appearances can ward you away from deaths other than the one they have planned. In this way they almost function as strange guardian angels, until your time comes.