Witiko

To the Fragiles the exsistance to grotesques and most things nocturnal have been forgotten. Time moves on, what was once fact, slips to rumours. Rumour turns to myth and soon to forgotten stories.
What is still myth is the Wikito. Living North-of-Nowhere, a desolated and seasonally abandonded outpost far in the North. There is a superstitions that even mentioning the beasts name will bring I'll luck. In northern areas it is said that if you mention a Witiko tale in summer it will attack the cannibalistic monster to not only the fool who spoke but the unfortunate ones who heard the words. A demon, pure evil that lurks in the unknown. Grey pale skin stretched tight on an emaciated giant frame. 7-10 feet tall. A never ending hunger curses these beasts. A hunger for human flesh. Its thought that these beasts were once human, turned by selfishness, greed and hate. So driven by hungry that never is satisfied Witikos will strip the flesh from their fingers, leaving boney hands, they will chew their own lips off leaving the yellow teeth exposed, rotting flesh stuck in between the broken and cracked teeth emit a stench of death.
Witigos are usually solitary creatures, if they are in packs of three to five they will eventually turn on one another once whatever evil mission brought them together is accomplished.
A heart of black ice is the key to their destruction. Destroy the heart and burn the body is the only way to defeat this demon. Many a questing knight has chosen the destruction of a Witigo as their goal. Few return from the north, those that do are never the same.
The colonial settlers who landed in what is still called old Dominion were not the first to attempt setting up colonies. Loaf xxx had a crew of , if the legends could be trusted, 333 men and women, warriors all. They landed in hedlund a large forest filled island. Lush with vegetation they found berries they had never tasted before and game enough but no people. They made shelter in preparation to explore the island more, repair their ships and possibly winter. Debate as to why such a place was void of man was the entertainment on many a night. Legend says they stumbled upon the awnser when a group of 20 men and women exploring the western side found a cave. The stench of rot did not end their curiosity. Thinking it maybe a bears den then ventured in. A miserable witigo nest was what they discovered. Beasts ten feet tall, guant, fleshless fingers and lips bitten off. They quickly realized this was something they never dealt with before. They had no idea how to defeat it as it tore into chainmail, flesh and bone alike. Those that escaped were not enough to crew the ship back to the eastern side of the island where the settlement was being constructed, they cut inland pursued by the beast, this demon, this this thing of pure evil. Two days later, three men stumbled from the pine forest to the palisades of the settlement. They were delicious, incoherent, trying to explain their horrible ordeal. One tried to get everyone to leave then an there. Heading for the ships, he refused to get off the ship. The other two described the beast. Told the arrows it took and the axe strikes that only angered it. 50 warriors men and women headed north to swing south. 50 more headed south with plans to swing north to trap the beast between forces. One survivor was assigned to each force, with the one gone mad left in the ship yard with the rest who set up sharpened logs around the settlement. They never returned. Guards kept watch for five days. No one talked about sending search parties. On night six great horrible howls could be heard coming from seemingly everywhere. The madman seemed less mad now. He talked a group of 30 to leave in the night taking one ship. On day seven the howling was closer. Torches set at the edge of the forest seemed to pick up movement. Centuries called the others who couldn't sleep anyways. The whole camp manned to fences. Fire arrows were fired randomly into the night when someone thought they saw something in the dark. Red eyes, ice cold blue eyes, algae green eyes in the indigo night. Two days without sleep. The howling never stopping for long. A head of one of those that went to ambush the monster was tossed into the settlement. The head came to a stop. When the attention was on the head, a guard was pulled off the wall disappearing into the night. A second flew off the wall. A crowd gathered. There was silence for a few moments before the guard's body landed on the sharpened log wall impaling him in the chest. Chaos ensued. Fire broke out in one structure. Shield walls were formed. The creature or creatures attacked. Groups were divided. Men were pulled from the shelter of the shields wall randomly. Someone shouted to make for the beaches ships. With no other leadership no one protested leaving. Anyone falling a step behind was abandoned. The bonds of brotherhood paled to the terror they faced. Men pushed the ships into the water as others formed a line of archers firing blindly into the night. With the orange flickering of the settlement fire playing off the sky and water the ships left. The crackle of fire mixing with the howls of the beasts and the shouts and screams of groups left behind. One or two escaped the shore managing to swim to the ships. Pulled into the boats by their fellow survivors. A few ships lashed themselves together so not to lose each other in the night. Those that didn't were never seen again. The wild rose pink morning found five ships floating together with an exhausted combined crew of 80. With no food, water or supplies instead of the return voyage, they sailed south. The fear of land and what was waiting for them was thick. With no choice they landed never venturing off the shore. They relayed their stories to the people they encountered. The story didn't surprise these people. They passed the story through the ages, passing from trade partners thus spreading into late night tales for generations.


Alternate spellings: Wihtikiw, Wihtikow, Wihtiko, Wiihtiko, Wetiko, Uitiko, Wiitiko, Weetigo, Witiku, Witigo, Weetekow, Weeteego, Wee-tee-go, Outikou, Outiko, Weediko, Wi'tiko, Weeghteko, Wehtigo, Wetigo, Wihtigo, Weh-ta-ko, Whit-Te-Co. Witikowak is a plural form (also spelled wihtikowak or wihtikiwak.) Pronunciation: Varies by dialect: wih-tih-kew or wih-tih-koh.