"Welby"

a vicevært, trudging along the woods in carious nordic countries. the vicevært are few, yet folk tales about them are commonly known. the story goes, warning parents instead of children, that if you were to treat your young ones poorly, the vicevært will sweep them away. of course, this cautionary tale does not reach the parents that would need the advice. “welby” thus now has three children under its wing. 

the vicevært are curious creatures. they are tall, antlered beings, with white bone masks. they are gentle in nature, living in small huts entirely self-sufficiently and peacefully. sometimes they will live near towns at the forest’s edge, so that the children they watch over can still participate with human life as “normal“. to children, the vicevært are playful and kind, and their unsettling appearances have little effect. to an adult, though, the creatures’ bone masks become translucent, revealing a gaunt, sharp-toothed face, with sunken and beady red eyes. the vicevært will have aggression to match, and chase anyone away that threatens to take their children.

welby is a vicevært that does particularly well with very young children. it adores simple toys and the carefree joy that young children bring, and is rarely seen straying from its house. compared to most of its kind, though, it is much less… assertive. as a caretaker, it is supposed to be strict and responsible! but welby… mostly just wants to be nice, eat food and have fun. as its children grow older, though, their needs become more complicated, and it is struggling to cope. nevertheless, it is protective as any other. perhaps it’s not cut out for the life it is given — sensitive, timid, and clumsy as it may be, but it is stuffed to the brim with love. all 10 feet of it.