Thalzon's MV Battlers

Forgot to mention last time, but as of October 23rd, this thread's been going for NINE years. That's crazy.
This week we have Anjana, Haltija, Kabouter, Trenti, and Bakwas.
Anjana are protective spirits from Cantabrian mythology. They protect people and places, beautiful, delicate but powerful. They dance during the spring equinox, dropping rose petals of many colours. Finding such a petal brings a lifetime of good luck.
Haltija are a typical European gnome/fairy/elf/etc from Finnish mythology. They protect everything from homes to graveyards, representing various "elements" such as fire, iron, wood, and even women, for women have special powers in themselves. They would be "at war" with each other at times, for example a forest fire would be the fire haltija attacking the wood haltija.
Kabouter is just the Dutch name for the Brownie, Kobold, Leprechaun, etc, and are essentially classic gnomes in appearance; tiny old men with white beards and red pointy hats. In modern tales of Kabouter, they live inside mushrooms or under the earth.
Trenti is another creature from Cantabrian myth. It camouflages well in the forest as it dresses in mushrooms and moss, but it has a distinctively dark face and glowing green eyes. It's a prankster, though not maliciously so.
Finally we have Bakwas, from coastal British Columbia. He finds those lost in the forest and offers them ghost food from his shells. If humans eat this food, it spirits them to the ghost world, and they transform into another Bakwas. He lives in an invisible house somewhere deep in the forest, where he keeps the spirits of those who drown.

That's all for this week. Enjoy.

I don't know how you always come up with so much incredible battlers. Always amazing stuff my friend.

Those gnomes look funny and cute.

This week's update is Winpe, Moshup, Haokah, Onya-kamuy, Apisirahts, and Balapooshe.
Winpe is the rival and adversary of the hero Glooskap from Algonquian legend. He is said to be the inventor of lacrosse, the national sport of Canada.
Moshup is from Wampanoag mythology, and was said to be a giant who is responsible for a number of geological phenomena in the northeast US.
Haokah is from Sioux folklore, and is more of a title than an individual person of myth. A haokah was able to hear the Thunder Children, and moved and acted opposite of what was normal and expected for humour or to teach lessons.
Onya-kamuy, or Ae-onya-kamuy, is a culture hero of the Ainu people. He taught them domestic skills.
Apisirahts is the morning star, son of the sun god Natosi and moon goddess Komorkis.
Balapooshe is also called Charred Body. He led the sky people to earth, settling the first humans. However, he also introduced murder to the world, when he killed a woman who insulted him.
That's all for this week. Enjoy!

Yay!

This week we have Gui Shu, Trollgadda, Chupacabra, Scathach, and Perchta.
Gui Shu is a Chinese tree spirit that takes possession of a tree to ambulate it to different spots, causing people to become lost in the woods.
Trollgadda is a Swedish cryptid. Its name means "Troll pike" and it is, naturally, a massive pike. They are often regarded as pets to Sjora, the Mistress of the Lake. There are a few varieties of Trollgadda. This one in particular is meant to be of Lake Bolmen, which is a long, narrow lake, and the tree is a willow tree growing on an island in the lake, said to be the Trollgadda's head.
Chupacabra is a famous modern cryptid. Its name means "goat sucker" and became a popular explanation for mysterious livestock deaths in Puerto Rico in the 90s.
Scathach is from Irish mythology. She was a warrior woman who trained Cu Chulainn and Ferdiad. Depictions of her range from battle-hardened crone to mysterious conjurer.
Perchta is an odd figure. She has extensive history among Alpine nations. Her role is upholding and enforcing taboos, but she also appears as part of the Wild Hunt alongside her supposed brother Perchtold. She can take the form of a beautiful woman or old crone, and her goose foot was often in artistic depictions of her, implying her ability to shapeshift.
That's all for this week. Enjoy.

The Gui Shu looks great.

This week we have horses galore, and also a weird three-headed bird creature. These are Bicorn, Hippalectryon, Oricuerno, Lushu, and Ellen Trechend.

Bicorn is the other half of the Bicorn/Chichevache pairing. Whereas Chichevache is starving from only feeding on faithful wives, Bicorn is stuffed from feeding on loyal husbands. Here, Bicorn is just a little fat, because making him humourously fat looked kind of bad, and actual horses can't really get that fat.
Hippalectryon is from Greek mythology, and somewhat unique in that it has no known myths or even purpose. It was just painted on ceramics that survived long enough to be documented. Theories range from them serving as guardians of Poseidon to just a curious creature to amuse children.
Oricuerno is a variant of the Unicorn originating from Spain. Aside from the horn, it has wings on its hooves and a lion-like tail. Its head is said to be some shade of purple. Other than that, it follows most of the standard Unicorn functions.
Lushu is from China, and lives south of the Niu-Trees mountain. It has a call like human singing, and is a wild, vicious, and territorial creature.
Finally, with a name like an accountant, is Ellen Trechend. Trechend means "three-headed", but Ellen (with an accent over the second E) is a more obscure word with multiple possible origins. In any case, it is a monster that is slain by the hero Amergin. It is also mentioned in a myth about the Sidhe (fairy world) opened one Samhain, and the monsters that poured forth were led by a creature that matched Ellen Trechend's description.
That's all for this week. Have a safe and happy holiday season, folks.

I missed the initial release of the Gui Shu's, but I must say, those look incredible! In fact, all your new additions are great but I really love how the Gui Shu's came out.

Thanks for the horse monsters neigh-bour.

Oricuerno was my favorite. I love unicorns!

Happy New Year, folks. This week we have several larger creatures: Acheron, Arachne, Aristaeus, and Purgul Khan.
Acheron, Arachne, and Aristaeus are all from Greek mythology. Acheron is an actual river in Greece, and was believed to feed into the Underworld. Originally, Charon crossed Acheron (notice the similarity in their names?) instead of the Styx. Acheron was turned into a river after the Olympians won the war against the Titans. The river itself is said to be a place of grieving, where humanity's sin in life is washed away after death.
Arachne is from a popular story, where she was a weaver whose talents surpassed the gods. After defeating Athena in a weaving contest, where her tapestries were images critical of the gods, Athena, in a fit of jealousy, destroys her tapestries and strikes her. Arachne later takes her own life. Athena is remorseful, and rebirths Arachne as a spider so she may weave for all eternity.
Aristaeus is a minor Greek god who introduced bee keeping, cheese making, and hunting to humanity. He was a son of Apollo, and one of the few who managed to be born divine.
Purgul Khan is a fairly obscure judge of the dead in Siberian mythology. He judges the souls that enter the underworld alongside its ruler.
Next week we will wrap up the Grasslands expansion. It's been over a year! I'll then share some miscellaneous battlers before we move onto the next set. Thanks and enjoy.

As I said last time, this update wraps up the Grassland battlers for now. We have Nakisubasu, Alan-melekes, Alraune, Minthe, and Kukunochi.
Nakisubasu is shrouded in mystery because google returns no results and it's not on Wikipedia or any of the sites I use to research these things. From memory it's a leech, but what makes it special has been lost to me. Ah well.
Alan-melekes is similarly not pulling up results like it used to (thanks, Google!) but this one is easier to recall. It is essentially a giant frog that sleeps beneath the earth for very long periods of time, and its movements cause earthquakes and faults.
Alraune, now there's a popular one, mostly because she is quite modern. While the ideas surrounding mandrakes are from the middle ages, Alraune is from a book from the early 20th century. Produced from mandrake roots by a scientist, she learns of her unnatural origins and seeks revenge against the man. Quite a bit like Frankenstein, actually!
Minthe is from Greek mythology, and is one of many, many, many people turned into plants as protection/punishment/remorse/what-have-you. In this case, Minthe was a naiad who fell in love with Hades. When discovered, she was turned into a plant by either Demeter or Persephone, while Hades got a stern talking-to... I'm assuming.
Finally we have Kukunochi, the kami of trees. Some of his origin stories state he is a child of Izanagi and Izanami, and to this day he is honoured with blessings when new houses are built.
Next update, we'll be going through the monsters that didn't really fit the "Grassland" category. Enjoy.

Like I said last time, we're going to do a "cleanup" update here. Some images I made over the past year just didn't fit the theme, so I decided we'd dump them at the end of the set, and then update all the sets they'll be going into.
So, for this update, it's pretty sizeable! We have Ahuizotl, Mo'o, Agrippa, Wolfdietrich, The Black Knight, Edimmu, Bojg, Myling, Mole, Otsuyu, and Medea.

Ahuizotl is a beast from Aztec mythology that is said to lure people to their deaths. It was a "friend of the rain gods", but was more likely a water opossum.
Mo'o hail from Hawaii, and are shapeshifting lizard spirits that can take on human forms. They tend to be masters of one particular art or sport, and can be helpers or tricksters. When they die, their bodies petrify and form into islands.
Agrippa is a large, monstrous demonic book. Named after the Roman king of Alba Longa, it contains names of every demon and instructions for summoning them. However, it hates to be read, and will not reveal its pages to a weak master.
Wolfdietrich is a hero figure from the old Germanic tale of the same name, which survives in four different versions. He is a classic warrior king who slays dragons and evil wizards, marries into power, and proves to his brothers he is a superior ruler. However, the tale ends poorly for him, as he eventually retires to a monastery, tormented by demons for the rest of his days.
A Black Knight is a stock character who bears no heraldry, meaning his allegiances are unknown (or he has none). Oftentimes it's a trope used to conceal the identity of the character entirely, often for a dramatic twist.
Edimmu are ancient Babylonian ghosts who did not receive proper burial. They haunted and killed people who did not abide cultural taboos, and were thought to be wind spirits that take the breath of the young in their sleep.
Bojg is a slimy black coiled mass of darkness, representing compromise, defeat, and lethargy. It is encountered by Peer Gynt in Gutsbrandal, and he defeats it through trickery rather than force.
Myling are the ghosts of unwanted children, wandering the earth, seeking someone to give them a proper burial. They apparently sing at night about their short and miserable lives. However, they are dangerous, as if they find a willing helper, they burden them by growing ever larger and heavier as they near a place of proper burial. Should their victim renege on their vow to help them, the Myling kills them in a fit of rage.
Mole is from Native American creation myths, and is a.... mole. It appears in a number of stories in various contexts. It is associated with the underworld, with medicine, wisdom, and shamanism.
Otsuyu is a ghost from the story Botan Doro. She carries a paper lantern, and her beauty entrances Ogiwara, the story protagonist. Night after night, she and Ogiwara stay in his home, but before morning, she leaves. Ogiwara eventually learns that she is dead, and her spirit is haunting him. He keeps her at bay with a charm, for a while, but eventually while drunk he goes to her grave at the nearby temple, and succumbs to her. Next time he is found, he has died in her grave, held tight by her bony remains.
Finally, we have Medea. In Greek mythology, she is a sorceress and distantly related to Helios. She aids Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece, and eventually marries him. Her story doesn't typically end there, but there are many versions that paint her in many different lights.

Whew, that's a lot of text. Enjoy! Next time, we'll be starting in on a big update to the Celestial set.

Ooh, I love the book! Definitely using that.

The twisty shadows are scary and the Asian mages are cute.

This week we begin an expansion to the Celestial set of battlers. This week we have Narecnitsi, Nguruvilu, Caladrius, Makara, and Irin.
Narecnitsi is a fairy who appears by the bedsides of children in Hungarian folk tales. They foretell the future of the child for all to hear, often appearing at the births of great heroes.
Nguruvilu is a creature that resides in rivers in Chile. Using its large hand appendage on its tail, it swirls the water to create whirlpools.
Caladrius is a white bird that resides in the homes of royalty. It would take sickness into itself, healing the ailing, before flying off to recover. However, those it could not heal, it would turn away from.
Makara are from Hindu mythology, and are sacred water-dwelling beasts that protect doors and passageways. They are often depicted as the mount of water-associated gods like Ganga or Varuna. It may have been based on the river dolphin or dugong.
Finally, the Irin are the Watchers, angels assigned to each person to keep watch over them. The term can also apparently be used to describe rogue angels.
That's all for this week. Enjoy.

The little fire fairies are cute.

The Caladria(?) are beautiful! :)

This week's update has a good variety of larger foes. We have Odei, Fylgja, Geryon, Hutriel, Porasy, and Vantoase.
Odei is the spirit of storms in Basque mythology, a personification of storm clouds.
Fylgja are spirits from Norse mythology, eternally connected to each individual. They act as spirit guides and are often seen in dreams.
Geryon is from Greek mythology. He is the son of Chrysaor, who in turn was born from Medusa's remains. He is an owner of red cattle and commands Orthrus the two-headed hound. A lot of heads for a few characters!
Hutriel is one of the seven angels of punishment, also known as the "Rod of God." He dwells in Hell, where he punishes sinners.
Porasy is from Guarani folklore, and after the harrowing events of her origin, became the morning star. She tricked Monai by offering to marry him, and sacrificed her life to destroy him and his monstrous brothers.
Vantoase is the name given to creatures of wind and dust storms in Romanian folklore. They conjure minor storms and make their home in forest and deep lakes.
That's all for this week. Enjoy.