Runestag

Runestags (or, more generally, runedeer) are a type of deer native to Ardenweald. They have long served as companions to the Night Fae.^[1]

Background[]

Calm and enduring,^[1] the majestic runestags of Ardenweald can siphon anima from the ambient light of the forest with their elaborate antlers. The anima is used as nourishment and to power the runestag's speed and magic.^[2] In combat, runestags can use anima to heal themselves and damage attacking predators.^[3]

Those who have pledged their service to the Winter Queen and the Court of Night are granted runestag mounts.^[4] The Night Fae use runestag leather to craft tools.^[5] The Wild Hunt breed shadeleaf runestags for their ferocity and beauty.^[6] A shadeleaf can gore creatures as powerful as a gorm matriarch in defense of its herd, and the Wild Hunt ride them into dangerous areas of the Shadowlands when Ardenweald must be defended from threats.^[7]

Wakener runestags enjoy lying near wildseeds and are believed to be able to hear the dreams of the spirits sleeping within. The stags display a range of emotions, reflecting the spirits' dreams or nightmares,^[8] and they fiercely protect the groves where the wildseeds lie. When the groves began to fail during the anima drought, many runestags went berserk.^[9]

Winterborn runestags are blessed by the Winter Queen herself. They can warn their herds of predators by the flaring of their runes.^[10] They serve as the Winter Queen's own favored mounts, and she only bestows them on her most favored subjects.^[11]

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Types[]

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