wigglyflippingout:

An Unloved is created when demonic forces inhabit a corpse from an animal that has never known kindness through its entire life. (For discussion on the Unkind – when demonic forces inhabit a humanoid or human-adjacent corpse – see page 632.) Initially, the Unloved will quite resemble its original species; they tend only to form in warm-blooded animals. However, at the turn of the next full moon, the Unloved will assemble a chrysalis of black, sticky tar, and hide it in for seven days, to emerge in its true form. Although perhaps mistaken for a sickly deer at a distance, the fourth-toe gait means that Unloved tracks are quite distinct – even if the fourth pawpad never touches the ground, its claw will, leaving a telltale dot in the earth.

Wild Unloved are considered a nusiance along the lines of aggressive griffin, and many towns hire adventurers to dispatch them. Once an Unloved has undergone its transformation into true form, usually only very experienced adventurers or hunters will accept the job. Despite being harbingers of bad luck, wild Unloved are rarely aggressive towards humans – looking instead to seek revenge on the animal world. Unloved from domestic stock, however, are cause for immediate concern in all twelve of the Alliance States. The lightest punishment is that the livestock farm is immediately shut down, all livestock confiscated, and the owner sentenced to no less than a decade of being unable to own any animals. However, in some towns, anyone who would treat their own animals with such cruelty is so suspect that this is punishable by death. Domestic Unloved are usually the most dangerous type as well, as they usually seek to wreck vengeance upon the humans who hurt them. It is often said that the color of eyes upon an Unloved’s back are a telltale sign about who hurt it the most. However evidence of this has been spotty at best, and there is no clear evidence for this theory.

This does not mean Unloved are not without uses or notable members. Folktales hold that only a girl pure of heart can take an Unloved – much like taming a Unicorn – but more evidence shows that wild Unloved, despite their fearsome appearance, will repay any human affection shown towards them tenfold. The mountain town of Shandai, for example, has a statue of an Unloved that was apparently born from a bandit’s donkey as its center point; this Unloved, called Blind Perrin for the eyes along his back being a milky grey (despite not apparently being blind), faithfully protected the town for over eighty years and was celebrated and rewarded as a resident of Shandai, and finally expired of old age in the tavern surrounded by townsfolk after they made sure he gorged himself on ale and steak-and-kidney pies (his reported favourites). Yet others have served as noble steeds, albet with modified saddles. For example, the Pirate-Queen Musira led her conquering charges upon an Unloved who, curiously, did not have eyes upon its back, but instead bubbles of liquid, leading to its name of Bilgewater. Musira’s final words were not, as many assume, about her relief for a heaven of her pirate days instead of being upon a throne – “Ah, to see my Bilgewater again!” was, in fact, her desire to see her companion once more.

Although Unloved do not hunt for sustenance, readers are advised to steer clear of any Unloved seen in the wild, lest they be a domestic Unloved with the desire to harm humans. If this cannot be avoided, however, the usual suggestion is to talk calmly and continuously in an attempt to soothe the Unloved, and walk quickly past.

i drawed me another critter.