Varlaf (Species)

This species does not belong to the Leviano world.

Varlafs are fantasy creatures from my "The Old Tale" story. They may look similar to my other creatures - Vaerafes, but have different idea and exists separately from each other in different worlds with different lore. They look similar because they partly follow the idea of a "earthy" and mythological-like version of the Vaerafes, appearing as fantasy creatures (a kind of spirits) that coexists with common animals and humans. Their appearance has the idea like “this is how people would perceive and describe Vaerafes if they lived in a fantasy version of our world in the form of mystical spirits”, and is also based on my old creature concepts.

Basically, in their "default" appearance (which is called "Varlaf") these creatures often look very similar to Vaerafes, but tend to be heavier, feel more wild and feral. They all have horns (type and shape may vary).

- They aren't actual animals, rather, they are mystical spirits that have a physical body. In their world, Varlafs are characters of myths and legends, and each of them has some kind of magical power (like darkness, light, fire, water and other things). Their magical abilities are diverse and individual, from controlling any elements, to healing wounds and reading thoughts.

- They are shapeshifters, so they can take the form of any living creature, including humans. In whatever form they take, they always retain their color, physical features, and mutilations and scars. They can have traits similar to the animals they turn into, or they can turn into some kind of hybrids. Because of this, their appearance can be very variable and significantly different from their default form.

- They are commonly called the "Dark Children" or the "Dark Ones", and humans usually perceive them as evil spirits and monsters, and are often fearful and hostile to them (sometimes it's deserved). But sometimes Varlafs live in peace and alliance with certain groups of people, they may be even worshiped by some cults, appearing as spirits of certain elements, places or parts of nature. Also, they can turn into a human and live among hostile humans in secret.

- In fact they may be spirits of light as well.

- I usually associate them with dark, wild and mystical forest.

Gallery (open images in a new window to see them in bigger size)