Spectral figures described as nightmares from the wood, the Bubkyd are rumoured to lurk within the Forlskog, terrorising the foolhardy and feeding off of their energies in the name of Nuo.
They are a favoured legend in many Huldanian and Voyrish stories, and especially popular is the well-known saga of Ochäln Iln.
Lore
Whisperings, words, mumblings, and mutterings begin to assail the ears of unwise wanderers, making them uneasy as the life is drained from their very hearts. Giggling, gibbering, chuckling, and chortling, the Bubkyd are menacingly wicked entities enjoying their ability to pervert people's perception, causing them to second-guess the goings-on both around them and in their heads. Singing, shouting, whistling, and whining, the tunes they chant horrify and debilitate the minds of even the most hardy adventurers, eventually enfeebling and bending them to their will. Visions, views, memories, and misgivings finally appear before the crazed eyes of madcaps, allowing the Bubkyd to take possession of their prized trophies at their weakest point as every part of them is filled with dread.
Blood-red crimson eyes gleam out against the darkness of the forest, subtly hiding amongst the thriving thicket, floating between tree tops and tree trunks. Ethereal wisps enswathe the visage of their ghostly forms, lending prominence to the sly shades, appearing as what would otherwise be seemingly pleasant if not so terrifying spirits. Twisted horns curved into sinuous spires and serpentine spirals stand apart from the near-perfect soaring pines.
Historical Basis
The precise origin of the insidious Bubkyd in stories remains a mystery to this day, but one notable individual known to have gone missing within the Forlskog and claimed to have had contact with them is the fabled and much-loved "Banjo Man", Ochäln Iln. His mad ravings made mention of the mischief and suffering they wrought upon him before his demise. A more lighthearted approach to their devilry is told to children, but this is of course still steeped in plenty of supposed truths and a vast amount of fear.
Spread
All the peoples of Huldan and Voyrmark know of the superstitions surrounding the Bubkyd, with the most common rhyme almost satirising the fate of the Banjo Man.
Sneaking, stealing, wheeling, dealing,
Hush kid, hear kid, good kid, bad kid,
Banjo Man chose, Banjo Man goes.
Careful, carefree, behoove, behave,
Please kid, cry kid, smile kid, laugh kid,
Banjo Man knows, Banjo Man shows.
Wandering, whispering, cheering, chanting,
Fair kid, why kid, yes kid, no kid,
Banjo Man slows, Banjo Man froze.
Fear the jump, kid,
Fear the thump, kid,
Fear the bump, kid.
Fear the... Bub-Bub-Bubkyd.
Cultural Reception
Whether people believe the stories to be real or figments of already distorted imaginations, they serve as a stern warning and constant reminder that the Forlskog truly is a place of evil. Learning from a young age, the folk tales for children make them familiar with the harshness of Kälran.
In Literature
Poems, songs, short stories, and so much more exist telling of the anguish the Bubkyd bring about to any daring and reckless risk takers. Numerous variants exist of the Banjo Man's scrawlings, with his original journal kept on display in the great hall at Borealis, most however take some liberties for a more joyous and playful angle compared to the grisly blood-stained pages of his original account.
Nobody is actually too sure how Domus Penumbra came to be in possession of his writings, but myths exist for that too.
In Art
The Banjo Man hastily sketched many awfully dreadful depictions of what he purported to witness in the weald. Wooden effigies have been seen to appear not too far from the Forlskog at times resembling the demonic spectres, with nobody being entirely sure how they end up there. Representations of the Bubkyd are almost the same across all portrayals, making them equally disturbing in all manner of styles.