Beastiary
T, U, V, W

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Tiamat
Depicted as a Dragon, Tiamat represented the primeval ocean, chaos and darkness. She and her counterpart Apsu were responsible for the birth of the gods of the world. In a war between Apsu and Ea, Tiamat sent her hoard of monsters, which included eleven dragons, against Marduk, God of Light. She was defeated by Marduk and from her severed body the heavens and earth were created.

Tien Kou
The Chinese Celestial Dog.

Trolls
:: troll.gif ::
In Scandinavian myth, trolls are ugly, malicious creatures and the enemies of mankind. They are much bigger and stronger than humans, and leave their caves only after dark to hunt. If they are exposed to sunlight they will instantly turn to stone. Trolls are very fond of human flesh. In later myths they are roughly the size of humans or elves, and thought to be the owners of buried treasures. They are sometimes, although very rarely, portrayed as friendly, less ugly creatures.

The trolls, feared sunlight, and were turned to stone when caught by the light of day. Distribution area: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Siberia. Stupid, primitive, distrustful, and unbelievably ugly creatures. They have noses like cucumbers, and a tail. They are horribly strong and fast, and they stink. They often keep boxes full of stolen money and jewels, with which they play for hours, running their fingers through them. Size: over 1 meter tall. Hair: black and filthy.

Originally, perhaps, simply meaning "magic," though it has also been connected with "to roll". Today it is normally used for a being from Icelandic and Norwegian folklore which seems to be a cross between a land-wight, a giant, and the undead. Trolls of this sort are magical beings which kill (and perhaps eat) travellers in the mountains and are turned to stone by daylight.

Originally, trolls were elemental giants. In Norse mythology, trolls were known as dim-witted gigantic man eating creatures who lived in caverns in the mountain and hollow hills. They were ugly and quite evil. Fighting along side the giants in the battle of Ragnorok. These Trolls would be turned to stone if they were hit by the sun. They guarded treasure and were good a metal-working. They eventually evolved into dwarf-like beings who lived in subterranean caverns and were not as strong or bloodthirsty as their predecessors. They are still a threat however as they still like to steal women and children, and are now more intelligent than their ancestors.

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Uldras
:: uldras.jpg ::
Creatures who live underground; to be found only in Lapland. They resemble gnomes but are somewhat larger, and colorless. They live together in large families, or tribes, have authority over big wild animals such as bear, elk, wolf, and reindeer--who obey them completely. They are quite friendly, but blind as bats in the daylight. If they are mistreated by man, disasters may occur. Their ugliest method is to spread a poisonous powder over reindeer moss, causing that animal to die in large numbers and robbing the Lapp herders of their livelihood.

Undines
In Teutonic folklore, undines are female water-spirits who like to associate with humans. They often join villagers in their dances and merry-making. An undine was created without a soul, but by marrying a mortal and bearing him a child she obtained a soul and with it all the pains and penalties of the human race.
She is the subject of the tale Undine (1811) by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. The word was invented by the medieval scholar Paracelsus.

Unicorns
The unicorn is a legendary animal. It is usually portrayed as a slender, white horse with a spiraling horn on its forehead, although its appearance and behavior differs, depending on the location. In the west it was usually considered wild and untamable, while in the Orient it was peaceful, meek and thought to be the bringer of good luck. There it is usually depicted as a goat-like creature, with cloven hooves and a beard. In Japan it is called Kirin, and in China Ki-lin. The name is based on the Hebrew word re'em, in early versions of the Old Testament translated as "monokeros", meaning "one horn", which became "unicorn" in English. The creature is probably based on the rhinoceros or the narwhal, a marine creature with one horn.
In the west it was first mentioned by the Greek historian Ctesias in 398 BCE. According to him they lived in India and he described them as 'wild asses which are as big as a horse, even bigger. Their bodies are white, their heads dark red and their eyes are deep blue. They have a single horn on their forehead which is approximately half-a-meter long.' This description was based on the tales of travelers, and is a mixture of an Indian rhinoceros, the Himalayan antelope, and the wild ass.
The horn itself is white at the base, black in the middle and with a sharp, red tip. It is believed to possess healing abilities. Dust filed from the horn was thought to protect against poison, and many diseases. It could even resurrect the dead. Amongst royalty and nobility in the Middle Ages, it became quite fashionable to own a drinking cup made of the horn of an unicorn, not in the least because it was supposed to detect poison.
The belief in the healing abilities of the horn is probably based on a medieval story. In this particular tale, many animals once gathered around a pool in the midst of night. The water was poisoned and they could not drink from it, until a unicorn appeared. He simply dipped his horn in the pool and the water became fresh and clean again.
Another medieval story tells of the capture of a unicorn by a maiden. The unicorn was far too fast and wild for the man that was hunting him. He could only be tamed by a maiden who sat lonely underneath a tree in the woods. Attracted by the scent of purity he would lay his head on her lap and she would rock him to sleep. Then she would cut of his horn, and leave him for the hunter and his dogs.
There have been attempts to give these tales a Christian interpretation. In the first tale the horn symbolizes the cross and the pool the sins of the world. In the second story the maiden was Maria, the unicorn Jesus Christ and the horn a representation of the unity of the Father and the Son. Jesus, embodied in the unicorn, was killed for sake of a sinful world.

Types of Unicorns
The three main types are: Arabian, Oriental, and European. The Arabian has a long, twisted horn, and lightly darkened fur. The Oriental has a shorter, crooked horn, dark fur, and a long 'beard'. The European, my personal favorite, is light colored with a straight, tightly wound horn and a flowing mane.

A day in the life of a Unicorn
Unicorns rise early in the morning and graze till the sun is well up in the sky. Then they retire to the woods to rest and nap until late afternoon. They awaken and graze again until after dark then finally go to sleep at about midnight. Baby unicorns nurse on and off throughout the day followed by playful running and jumping. When they get older, this stops and the males turn to mock fighting sessions with other youngsters.

How to find a Unicorn
Unicorns mostly live in the unspoiled forests more up North. They respect their solitude, and so you must never tell of its habitat to others. Actually, you should never go out intentionally looking for unicorns. A mere sight of one of them is considered a wondrous thing, to be treasured forever. If you are able to sight one, though, you must:

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Valkyries
"Choosers of the Slain", these maidens were originally seen as frightful battle-spirits accompanying Odin in his work of marking men for death in war. They appear in a more pleasant aspect in Valhall, where they carry out the traditional womanly duty of bearing drink. The idea of the valkyrie as the hero's supernatural lover is probably a product of romanticization by the thirteenth-century scribes who recorded the earlier poems of the heroes Helgi and Wayland (Völundr) and filled in gaps with their own prose; the poems themselves do not recognize these spirit-wives as valkyries. The most famous of the valkyries, known chiefly through Wagner's Ring Cycle, is Brunnhilde, demoted from her position for defending a hero against Odin's will and punished by being forced to fall in love with Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer (Sigurd).

Valkyries Names variants
Brynhild Brynhildr
Geironul Geirahöd
Geirskogul Göll
Goll Göndul
Gondul Gunnr
Gunn Herfjötur
Guth Hildr
Herfjotur Hlökk
Hervor [Warder of the Host] Kára Hrist
Hild [Battle] Mist
Hlathguth [Necklace-Adorned Warrior-Maiden] Ráđgri'đr
Hlokk Randgríđr
Hrist Reginleif
Mist Róta
Olrun [One Knowing Ale Rune] Sigrdrifa
Randgrith Sigrún
Rathgrith Skeggjöld
Reginleif Skögul
Sigrdrifa Skuld
Sigrun Sváva
Skeggjold Ţrúđr
Skogul
Skuld [Necessity]
Svava
Thruth

Voadkyns
Voadkyn (also known as wood giants) are one of the smallest of the minor races of giants. Looking somewhat like giant-sized wood elves. They are flighty, frivolous, and good friends with the wood elves. Standing 9 1/2 feet tall, voadkyn weigh around 700 ounds. They have the physical proportions of humans, which makes them thin and light for giants. They are completely devoid of facial and body hair, including eyebrows. Their headsseem overly large for their bodies, especially the jaws, chin and mouth. Their ears are placed higher than on a human, almost completely above the line of eyes. Voadkyn can be almost any shade of brown, mixed with yellow or green. They are fond of leather strips almost up to the knee, although the foot itself is mostly bare. The only garments they wear are loose trousers or short kilt. A wood giant always wears a leather forearm sheath to protect his arm from the bowstring. All of these items are frequently stained in forest colors of green and brown.

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Worm
In general symbolism the worm represents the earth, death, dissolution, cringing, cowardice and misery, but in earlier times the term was also applied to the Serpent, 'that great worm', or to Dragons. This occurred particularly m Teutonic and Scandinavian myth, where the Midgard Worm, the offspring of the evil Loki, is coiled round the world. The worm or serpent gnaws at the root of the Yggdrasil (Tree of Life). In England there was the great Lambton Worm of Durham.
In the Bible the worm is a figure of humiliation and degradation (Isaiah 41: 14 and Job 25: 6), of decay (Exodus 16: 20) and of hell (Mark 9: 48).
There was a medieval belief that worms aided conception (five were to be swallowed in a drink). They were also a specific against jaundice, gallstones, baldness and impotence and, according to Angelius (a monk of the 13th century), they 'helpe agaynst the crampe and agaynst shrinking of the sinewes and also agaynst the biting of serpents'.
The Aztec Heroa, originator of agriculture and the calendar, was helped by worms and bees on his journeys, which he made in the form of a dog, to the Land of the Dead.

Wyvern
As a serpent-like dragon with wings but with only two legs (which resembled an eagle's talons) and a barbed tail, the wyvern appears frequently in Heraldry. It betokens war, pestilence, envy and viciousness. It is the Saxon Wivere, a serpent. The Wyvern without wings is the Lindworm.

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