"To witness a Great Stag is not to see a mere beast, but instead to glimpse the very heart of a forest given form and come alive before your eyes."
- —Bonnaudo, famed Bretonnian Explorer.[1a]
A Great Stag of the forest.
Great Stags are magical beasts that are closely connected to the most ancient of forests.
Overview
No beast in all of Athel Loren is treasured more than the Great Stag, a creature that the Wood Elves revere as representing the true soul of the forest. Wherever the truth of their nature lies, the Great Stags are unquestionably magical creatures, though they are undoubtedly of a nobler cast than Unicorns. Great Stags only ever seem to appear at portentous times, most often to serve as war-steeds for particularly bold and noble Elves. On occasion, a Great Stag will appear at a time of great celebration and feasting, and there the Wood Elves believe there is no surer sign of the forest's blessing.[2a]
It is said that when a Great Stag emerges from its dark arboreal shelter, great deeds are at hand. Thus, in a great many lands, the appearance of a Great Stag is thought to signal the onset of portentous times. This has led many an unscrupulous wizard to bind a Great Stag to their will purely as a means of gathering wealth and support from their more credulous allies. That such plans inevitably backfire in a spectacularly gory fashion — the Great Stag invariably chafes at servitude to an unrighteous master, and will likely trample the fool to death the moment the spell lapses — seems to serve as little warning to the next charlatan.[1a]
There is no chance of mistaking a Great Stag for any of the lesser herd beasts that roam the forests of the world. It is a powerfully built animal, whose every snorting breath releases plumes of steam. The antlers of the Great Stag are both impressive and formidable, about whose iron-hard points dances a ghostly nimbus of magic. However, what is most remarkable about a Great Stag is its noble presence; the creature moves with on unsurpassed grace, for it is a king amongst beasts and the natural spirit of the world made manifest. Such a creature can be tamed for brief periods, perhaps, but never truly mastered. Only when the Winds of Magic blow strong will such a proud beast ever answer a wizard's summons.[1a]
Infrequently encountered as the Great Stags are, to see the White Hart of Athel Loren, a mighty stag of unsurpassed nobility and grace, is rarer still. Only one of these noble animals is ever sighted at one time, and it is a common belief among the Wood Elves that there has ever only been one - that it is an immortal facet of the forest that neither grows old nor dies.[2a]
Folk believe without hesitation that every Great Stag hates snakes with a fierce passion and will go out of their way to kill one, even ignoring other threats to do so. I heard a whispered rumour that Great Stags love the sound of reed pipes, and some hunters favoured by Taal could call them by playing such.[3a]
Great stags are said to be utterly inured to the effects of natural poisons, perhaps due to their longstanding enmity with ophidians. A draught rendered from their heart and liver supposedly renders the imbiber utterly immune to poison for a time.[3a]
Sources
- 1: Warhammer: Storm of Magic (Expasion)
- 1a: pg. 98
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition)
- 2a: pg. 47
- 3: The Imperial Zoo (WFRP 4th Edition)
- 3a: pg. 10-11
Gallery
