Magical Magic Creature Spotlight: Bowtruckle

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

Today, we look at yet another magical magic creature...

Bowtruckle

MOM Classification: XX

This tree-guardian beast has a pretty spread-out range, in that it’s found in England, Germany, and Scandinavia. It’s small, eats only insects, and generally shy... unless you try to harm its tree, in which case... IT WILL END YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!

Actually, it’ll gouge out your eyes, or try to. However, if you offer it tasty bugs to eat, it’ll get distracted and let you take wood from its tree, to make wands and the like. Gee, that’s interesting. Either this creature isn’t a very good tree guardian, if it’ll let a wizard get wand-wood out of its tree just by feeding it, or else it’s a woobie whose home is being destroyed by wizards who think they can do whatever they want to it. Or both. Either way, WTF?

It begs the question: just how much wood is needed to make a wand? How much wood do wizards normally harvest to make their wands? What if a wizard killed the three the Bowtruckle lived in behind said Bowtruckle’s back, what then? Is this common practice, or are wizards usually more sustainable than that?

Comments

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

Either this creature isn’t a very good tree guardian, if it’ll let a wizard get wand-wood out of its tree just by feeding it, or else it’s a woobie whose home is being destroyed by wizards who think they can do whatever they want to it. Or both. Either way, WTF?

Maybe feeding it insects is a form of payment; IOW, a bowtruckle won't allow someone to "steal" its wood, but will allow a portion of it to be "sold".

"Equivalent exchange", ala FMA... ;-)

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

That's a good thought. It makes about as much sense as anything, considering.