Leshy: The Lord of the Forest
The Master of the Taiga
In the vast, endless forests of Russia and Eastern Europe, you are never truly alone. You are in the living room of the Leshy. He is the Les (Forest) Master. He is the spirit that embodies the woods. He is not a god, but he is the absolute ruler of the wolves, the bears, and the trees.
His appearance is unsettling. He looks like an old peasant man, but something is wrong.
- Height:He changes size dynamically. When walking among tall trees, he is a giant. When hiding in the grass, he is the size of a thumb.
- Features:He has green fire for eyes, moss for hair, and bark for skin. He casts no shadow.
- Clothing:He wears his kaftan backward and his shoes on the wrong feet. This "wrongness" is the mark of the chaos spirit.
The Trickster
The Leshy is not necessarily evil, but he is mischievous and territorial. He loves to make travelers get lost. He uses a magic called "blending the paths." He mimics the voices of your friends, calling out to you to lure you off the trail. He moves landmarks. He makes you walk in circles for days. This is known as being leshy-led. If he is in a bad mood (or if you disrespect the forest), he can tickle you to death or lead you into a bog to drown.
The Gambler
Oddly, the Leshy has a vice: he loves to gamble. Legends speak of massive card games between neighboring Leshies. They don't bet money. They bet wildlife. If you see a massive migration of squirrels or rabbits moving from one forest to another, the peasants say: "Look, the Old Man lost a bet."
How to Escape
If you realize you are being stalked by a Leshy, you cannot fight him. You must out-weird him. The spell of confusion works on logic. To break it, you must invert your own reality.
- Stop walking.
- Take off your clothes.
- Put them on inside out and backward.
- Put your left shoe on your right foot.
This display of chaos confuses the Leshy or earns his respect, and the path home will suddenly appear.
Keeper's Log: The Rules
The Leshy is an environmentalist. He punishes those who cut wood needlessly or hunt for sport. Before entering the forest, loggers would leave an offering—a piece of bread, salt, or tobacco—on a stump to ask permission.
The Final Warning
We have forgotten these rules. We think the woods are ours. But if you hear a laugh that sounds like wind in the leaves... or a baby crying in a wolf's den... Remember who really owns the land, so turn your shirt inside out.
