Hugo Ref Sheet (partially WIP)

I'm still figuring out his anthro design, but we are getting there!
He changed a lot when it comes to his appearence, and his lore changed in some aspects aswell!

This description has a some TWs, so be careful if you are sensitive towards gore or plantgore.

Name: Hugo

Species: Forest spirit/Leshy
Age: Probably more than 1500 years
Gender: Identifies as male (he/they)

Forest spirits in general

Forest spirits are most commonly neutral spirits living in ancient forest guarding their territory. Their duty is to protect the creatures living in the woods and make sure the forest in general is doing fine.

They were once humans, who wandered the woods alone. They felt abandoned by humans and chose to live in the wilderness, meant to do no harm to critters around them but rather embrace the freedom and life blooming under the shelter of trees.

Becoming a forest spirit is a long process - the wandering human must present their humbleness towards the woods, and when their life ends in solitude in the forest, their transformation begins. Their soul gets trapped amongst the trees and slowly transform into a spirit.

Sometimes it takes years or even decades for them to realize their human life ended and that they became a creature of the forest.

They are quite rare as deforestation is taking over and it is not quite common for a forest to have more than one of them.

While Hugo's appearance and story details are different from the mythology, I do love to refer to him as a leshy from Slavic mythology! ((please, I had to explain it so many times that he is not a wendigo XD))

Body

Spirits don't have a physical body, and can appear as a liquidish, smoke-like, human shaped shadow. To get a better connection with their surroundings they collect materials from the forest's floor: bones, branches, limbs of dead animals, small plants, feathers, pieces of pelts, feathers or scales!

Their life force is enough to conserve these materials for a while, but they will eventually start to decompose, break or rot away - so it's a constant scavenge for better shaped parts!

Forms and shapeshifting

Forest spirits are talented shapeshifters. While it takes a few years to master this form of illusion, their long lifespan gives them plenty of time.

Their preferred form is the body they built for themselves, but they can shift to appear as forest animals, plants or even humans.

They prefer the more feral, animal-like form to travel the woods or to defend it (or themselves). They are more likely to communicate with animals or to stalk humans in this form. 

When they restored enough physical body parts they often create themselves a more human-like, yet animalistic form. They use this anthropomorphic body to help the creatures in the forest and to practice magic.

Their original human form, the one they possessed before their death, is sacred and can only be rediscovered with the of a witch partner. Once they regain this form they are much more likely to form contact with the human world.

Social activity

They are usually neutral towards humans and friendly to forest critters. They do not interfere natural processes of the forest, like animals hunting or dying of disease. But they warn, chase off or trap humans if their behavior is somewhat harmful or disrespectful towards the woods, the animals or the various spirits inhabiting the area.

They are able to talk but rarely wants to. They can learn various human languages and dialects and they are able to communicate with most of the animals in their forest by sounds and body language. 

Forest spirits can form a deep relationship with so called "witches". They are usually sensitive, struggling souls, going through a hard time, feeling alone and seeking help by reconnecting with nature think about this the next time you go out to touch grass . Spirits are likely to follow them, talk to them and it's common that they ask for help or ask them to join their everyday activities as they wander through the forest. Forest spirits can teach them to use the magic, although it's not the person's individual magical power, more likely a projection of the spirit's abilities. Forest spirits often call these companions their "wives" to fit their traditional views of companionship. They function as a link between the forest and the human world. 

Thanks to their part human thinking, they can store an enormous knowledge and can use their powers and abilities for problem solving. They are able to find out how traps work and can track down strangers' activities in their forest. They learn from listening to conversations of humans in the forest, they steal books and items from hikers or campers to expand their knowledge and can even learn songs and melodies. Forest spirits find enjoyment in music, songs, whistling or rhymes.

Diet

They do not require food to survive but they do find enjoyment in berries and nuts, fresh spring water or honey.

They rarely consume flesh, and would never eat animals of the forest - the meat on their plates are most likely to be human. Although it is a rare occasion and almost always has a spiritual motivation - to consume something human, so their thinking won't turn fully feral by being in contact with only animals.

Especially about Hugo

Hugo was born around the 6th-7th century somewhere around the carpathians and died as an adult human to became a forest spirit. 

Appearence

• He choose a wolf's skull as his head to pay respect to the predators. He enjoys wolves' company, we can say that they are his favourite. 

• On top of his skull he usually places antlers. His favs are red deers. He loves to decorate the antlers, and often asks for help by his "wife" to put ribbons or bells on them for special occasions.

• He has a long, slim neck, muscular at the shoulders. His mane and beard is long, black on the back and grey on the underside.

• The fur covering his body is usually a mixture of bear and wolf pelts, colored dark brown.  

• While he hardens the form of his body with bones from the inside, it is common for him to use branches, treebark and other plants to fill the missing parts. They results in leaves and mushrooms growing from his body, aswell as insects seeking shelter in there.

• The sturdy front legs belonged to a european bison.

• His strong hind legs belonged to a lynx.

• The tail is usually a mixture of snakes and rodents, helping him to grab things even in feral form.

Personality

He is a true loner, haven't talked to any humans in centuries. He likes his place in peace, unbothered. Although he doesn't often chase away people, he prefers to silently watch hikers, tourists, horse riders or kids pass by. He has a huge knowledge of the forest, it's magic and spends most of his days minding his own business.

Home

He has a den, deep in the woods, hidden in a place quite hard to enter. He keeps his collections there, crytals full of magic, his favourite feathers and bones and sometimes makes notes on the walls of the cave. He isn't interested in modern stuffs, doesn't like cars and the asphalt roads crossing his forest.

His old refsheet:

Hello there!!
My name is Walerina, but my friends call me Wali! I’m a young digital artist from Hungary who loves to paint animals, furries, fantasy creatures and pinup stuffs!
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