Kelpie

A kelpie is a mythical creature that can take different forms, but is usually seen as a horse or a human.
It lives near water and can lure people to their doom by drowning them or eating them.
A kelpie has a magical bridle that gives it power, and anyone who can get hold of it can control the kelpie.
There are many stories and legends about kelpies in Scottish folklore, and they are sometimes confused with other water spirits.
Kelpies are also the name of a breed of Australian dogs that are good at herding sheep.

Some additional facts are:

• Kelpies are often depicted as grey or white horses, but they can also change their appearance to suit their surroundings or their prey.
  They can also make themselves invisible or create illusions.

• Kelpies are very cunning and can trick people into riding them or touching them.
  Once someone is on their back or stuck to their skin, they cannot escape and are dragged into the water.
  Kelpies are said to have a preference for human livers.

• Kelpies can also appear as beautiful women or handsome men, and seduce unsuspecting travellers.
  They may also pretend to be friendly or helpful, but they always have a hidden agenda.
  Some kelpies can also cause floods or storms to drown their victims.

• Kelpies can be defeated or captured by stealing their bridle, which is the source of their power.
  Some stories tell of brave heroes who managed to do this and used the kelpie's strength and stamina for their own purposes.
  However, kelpies are very dangerous and unpredictable, and should not be trusted.
  

• Kelpies are part of the rich and diverse folklore of Scotland, and are often associated with specific lochs, rivers, or pools.
  Some of the most famous kelpies are those of Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, and the River Spey.
  Kelpies have also inspired many works of art and literature, such as the sculptures in Falkirk and the poems by Robert Burns.

A Kelpie, or water Kelpie, is a shape-shifting spirit that inhabits lochs in Irish and Scottish folklore.

It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form.

Some accounts state that the Kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan.

The Kelpie is said to lure unsuspecting travellers to the water and drown them.

A Kelpie is a shapeshifting water demon that can take the form of a horse and drag its riders underwater to eat them.
It is native to Great Britain and Ireland, and has a history of appearing in various Harry Potter media, such as books, films, games and trading cards.
A Kelpie usually has a mane of bulrushes and can change its shape to lure unwary travellers onto its back.
Once it has a rider, it dives into the water and devours them, leaving only the entrails to float to the surface.
A Kelpie can be tamed by using a Placement Charm to put a bridle over its head, which makes it harmless and docile.
Some notable Kelpies in the Harry Potter universe are:

• The Kelpie that Newt Scamander kept in his basement in 1927.
  He rode it without using a Placement Charm, which showed his skill as a magizoologist.

• The Kelpie that was kept in the Hippogriff Clubhouse at Hogwarts in the 1980s.
  It was friendly to the students who visited it.

• The Kelpie that lived in the Magical Creatures Reserve at Hogwarts.
  It was donated by its previous owner, who hoped it would find a happier home there.

• The Kelpie that Harry Potter imagined might be in the black lake in the Horcrux cave in 1997.
  He was afraid of encountering it along with other aquatic beasts.

Kelpie hair can be used as a wand core, but it is considered inferior to phoenix feather and dragon heartstring.

The Kelpie is a breed of Australian sheepdog that originated from the intermixing of the progeny of three pairs of working collies imported from Britain in the 19th century.
The collies were mostly black or dark brown dogs, which gave the name collie from the same root as coal.

The first dog known as a Kelpie was a black and tan female pup with floppy ears bought by Jack Gleeson from a litter born on Warrock Station near Casterton, Victoria.
She was named Kelpie after a mythical water creature in Scottish folklore.
She was bred with an all-black dog named Moss, who was also from Scottish stock, and produced a litter of pups that showed great working ability.

One of these pups, also named Kelpie, was given to C.T.W. King, who entered her in the first sheepdog trial in Australia at Forbes, New South Wales.
She won the trial and impressed the spectators with her skill and intelligence.
Her name became popular for dogs of her type and eventually the breed was known as Kelpie.

Another pair of collies imported from Scotland by Elliot and Allen were Brutus and Jenny, who were black and tan and had two red pups in their litter.
One of these pups, Caesar, was mated with Gleeson's Kelpie and produced another black and tan bitch, also named Kelpie after her dam.
She was the granddam of King's Kelpie, the trial winner.

The third pair of collies that contributed to the Kelpie breed were Laddie and Sally, who were also black and tan and from Scottish origin.
They were mated with Caesar and Gleeson's Kelpie, respectively, and produced pups that were interbred with Moss and his offspring.
One of these pups was The Barb, an all-black dog that resembled a racehorse of the same name.
His descendants were known as Barbs and were highly valued for their working ability.

The Kelpie breed was thus formed from the combination of these three lines of collies, with some possible influence from other breeds such as the Dingo, although this is still uncertain.
The Kelpie has been exported throughout the world and is used to muster livestock, primarily sheep, cattle and goats.
The breed has been separated into two distinct varieties: the Show (or Bench) Kelpie and the Working Kelpie.
The Show Kelpie is selected for appearance rather than working instinct, while the Working Kelpie is bred for working ability rather than appearance.

In a far away place, in the shadowed valleys of Glenmorach, a place long forgotten by time and cloaked in the mysticism of the highlands, there existed a tale whispered among the ancient clans. This was the tale of Anwen's Dread, the story of the Old Kelpie, a creature said to dwell in the bottomless depths of Loch Caorunn, a loch shrouded in mist and secrets.

For centuries, the loch had been a place of fear and reverence. It was said that no one who ventured too close to its waters ever returned whole - or returned at all. Fishermen's nets were found torn and boats left adrift, their oars missing. The bravest of hunters spoke of hearing ghostly wails drifting across the loch at dusk, while shepherds swore that the waters rippled even on the stillest of days, as if stirred by an unseen force. All spoke of the Kelpie, the shape-shifting water spirit that lured the unwary into its clutches with promises of riches, or in the form of a magnificent horse with a coat as dark as midnight.

But none spoke more solemnly than the villagers of Caorunn's Hollow, who told the story of Anwen, a young girl with the brightest eyes in the village and a heart too curious for her own good.

Anwen had grown up near the loch, her father being a fisherman who made his living pulling trout from its murky waters. From the time she could walk, she had been warned to stay away from the loch's edge, but like all children with wild spirits, she was drawn to it. There was something about the stillness of the water, the way it reflected the sky like a polished mirror, that called to her.

One winter's night, as the first snow of the season blanketed the highlands, a desperate cry for help echoed across the village. A villager had gone missing - Alastair, a young man whom Anwen knew well. His boat had been found floating aimlessly near the shore, but there was no sign of him. It was said the Kelpie had taken him, though no one could prove it.

Against the protests of her father and the warnings of the elders, Anwen set out the next morning to search for Alastair. She had heard the stories of the Kelpie, but she was not afraid. She carried with her an old silver mirror, an heirloom passed down by her mother, who had always told her it would protect her from the shadows. With a determination that belied her youth, Anwen made her way to the loch.

The air was thick with fog, and the world seemed unnervingly quiet, save for the gentle lapping of the water at the shore. As she approached the edge, she caught sight of something strange - a dark, sleek horse standing at the loch's edge, its mane shimmering with droplets of water. Its eyes were impossibly black, deep as the loch itself, and it gazed at her with a strange, unnerving calm.

Anwen knew what it was. This was the Kelpie of legend.

The creature stepped toward her, and in that moment, she could hear its voice - not a sound in her ears, but a whisper in her mind, promising her everything she had ever dreamed. Riches beyond measure, knowledge of the stars, and a life free from fear. But she also felt something darker, an ancient hunger gnawing beneath the promises.

With trembling hands, Anwen held up her mother's silver mirror, just as the Kelpie reached out with its muzzle, and as its eyes met her reflection in the polished surface, something unexpected happened. The Kelpie recoiled, letting out a cry that sent shivers down Anwen's spine. In the mirror, she saw the creature's true form - not a horse, but a twisted being of water and shadow, its body a tangle of drowned faces, hands reaching out as if trapped in the very essence of the creature.

In that moment, Anwen understood. The Kelpie was no simple spirit of the loch - it was a prison, a vessel for the souls it had claimed over centuries, trapping them in its watery depths. And Alastair was now among them.

Fighting the urge to flee, Anwen stood her ground and did something no one had ever done before - she spoke to the creature.

"I see you," she said, her voice trembling but firm. "I see the souls you keep."

The Kelpie faltered, as if it had never been challenged. In its hesitation, Anwen knew what she had to do. She took a step closer and placed the silver mirror on the ground before the Kelpie, forcing it to look at itself once more. The creature let out a roar, a sound like the crashing of waves, as its body began to twist and writhe, the souls within it crying out for release.

But before the Kelpie could flee back to the loch, Anwen reached out and touched its mane. It felt like icy water, but she held firm, closing her eyes and calling upon the spirit of her mother, the one who had gifted her the mirror of protection.

The Kelpie began to dissolve before her, its form unraveling like mist in the morning sun, and with it, the souls it had claimed over the centuries were set free. One by one, they rose from the loch in ethereal wisps of light, and Anwen knew that Alastair was among them, free at last.

The loch fell silent once more, but it was a different silence, a peaceful one. The Kelpie was gone, and with it, the curse of Loch Caorunn.

Anwen returned to the village, forever changed by her encounter. She never spoke of what had truly happened that day, but the villagers noticed the way she carried herself differently, as if a great weight had been lifted from her soul. And while the stories of the Kelpie continued to be told, none ever again claimed to see the dark horse at the loch's edge.

But there was one final twist to the tale. As the years passed, some began to notice strange occurrences at Loch Caorunn - sudden gusts of wind that rippled the water, even on calm days, and at night, faint lights that flickered just beneath the surface, as if the loch itself remembered the souls it had once held.

And though Anwen grew old and the legend of the Kelpie faded into memory, some say that on the coldest of winter nights, when the fog creeps low across the land, you can still hear a faint whisper by the water's edge, calling out to those brave enough - or foolish enough - to listen.

Thus, the tale of Anwen's Dread lived on, a legend of courage, sacrifice, and the dark secrets of the loch, never to be forgotten.

Long time ago, in the shadowed depths of Loch Morag, where the waves whispered secrets of the past, a Kelpie named Eira swam through the darkened waters. Unlike most of her kin, who were content with their malevolent mischief, Eira was a soul burdened by a profound sense of purpose. Ancient lore spoke of a powerful artifact, the Ebon Coral, lost to the murky depths centuries ago. This coral was said to hold the power to shape destinies and alter the very fabric of time. It had been hidden away to prevent its corruptive influence from falling into the wrong hands.

Eira had heard the legend in her youth - a tale of a hero cursed to wander in a form not their own, tasked with redeeming the Ebon Coral or facing eternal damnation. As a young Kelpie, she had laughed at such stories. But now, her laughter had faded, replaced by a gnawing realization. The time had come to confront her destiny.

Her quest began with a visit to the Wyrm's Cavern, a labyrinthine undersea cave rumored to hold the key to finding the Ebon Coral. Eira navigated the treacherous passageways, her heart pounding with anticipation. At the cavern's heart, she discovered an ancient altar inscribed with runes that glowed faintly in the dark. The runes spoke of a curse - one that would only be broken by an act of pure selflessness.

The first test was a vision, summoned by the cavern's magic. Eira saw herself, not as a Kelpie but as a human, living a life of glory and renown, only to be consumed by greed and betrayal. The vision twisted into a nightmare of destruction and despair. Shaken, Eira faced the truth of her own heart's shadows.

Determined to break the curse, she emerged from the cavern and traveled to the ruins of an ancient temple, said to be the resting place of the Ebon Coral. As she approached, the earth trembled, and a dark mist emerged from the ground. The Ebon Coral was guarded by a fearsome entity - a twisted spirit of the past who had once been a noble protector of the artifact. Now, it sought only to defend its charge with unrelenting fury.

Eira engaged the spirit in a battle of wits and will. She spoke of her true intention - not to claim the artifact for herself, but to ensure its safety and redemption. The spirit, seeing the sincerity in Eira's eyes, began to falter. It was then that the Kelpie made a critical choice. She offered her own essence to mend the spirit's torment, thus proving her selflessness.

In that moment of sacrifice, the spirit's form dissolved, and the Ebon Coral was revealed. As Eira approached the artifact, it shimmered with a radiant light. The power that had once corrupted was now subdued by her act of pure redemption. The Ebon Coral, now cleansed, granted Eira one final vision - her true form, a Kelpie, now free of curse and bound to her purpose as a guardian of the artifact.

Eira returned to Loch Morag, her heart lightened and her spirit fulfilled. The Ebon Coral was hidden once more, not in darkness, but in a place where it could be safeguarded by those who understood its power and its perils.

The Kelpie's journey had transformed her. From a creature of mischief to a protector of ancient balance, Eira's redemption had ensured that the Ebon Coral's power would never again threaten the world. In the silent depths of the loch, her legend grew - a tale of courage and selflessness whispered among the waves.

Long time ago, far away, in the bleak epoch of the world's twilight, where civilization had crumbled into ruin and the skies were perpetually shrouded in ashen clouds, the land was ruled by entropy. Once-thriving cities lay buried beneath a tangle of decay and weeds. The few remaining humans lived in scattered enclaves, their once-great achievements reduced to myths and forgotten relics.

The calamity had begun with the coming of the Ruin Star, a celestial body that streaked across the sky like an omen. It was said that its arrival heralded not merely a physical destruction but the unraveling of the world's very essence. The Ruin Star's influence began to twist the fabric of reality itself, warping nature and infusing it with a malign force.

The first signs were subtle. Rivers flowed with a toxic green hue, forests grew unnaturally dense and hostile, and strange phenomena began to plague the land. It was then that the ancient texts - those few that survived the fall - spoke of a curse, one that would befall the world and give rise to creatures of great and terrifying power.

The Epoch of the Cursed saw the birth of beings that were once mere figments of human imagination but now roamed the corrupted earth as grotesque embodiments of nature's revenge. Among them were the Kelpie, creatures born of sorrow and despair, whose origins were woven from the threads of this cosmic disintegration.

In a forsaken valley, where the land was a churning cauldron of murky waters and gnarled trees, a river became the site of dark transformation. The once-pristine waters had turned malevolent, reflecting not only the corruption of their surroundings but also a profound sadness. The river was cursed, and as it poisoned the soil, it began to give life to something new - something that bridged the gap between the living and the damned.

From the depths of the corrupted river emerged the Kelpie, a creature of haunting beauty and monstrous form. It possessed the semblance of a horse, but its eyes were pools of abyssal darkness, and its coat shimmered with an otherworldly, iridescent sheen. When it moved, it was as if the water itself flowed around it in hypnotic patterns, and its cries echoed the sorrow of the world's downfall.

The Kelpie was a manifestation of the river's anguish, its power rooted in the tragedy of its creation. It was bound to the waters, and its presence was both a blessing and a curse. The creature could offer respite to those lost in the wasteland, guiding them to safety - or it could ensnare them, dragging them into the depths to become one with the cursed waters.

As the Ruin Star's influence deepened, more such creatures emerged. The once-innocuous elements of nature, twisted by the star's corrupting touch, gave birth to a myriad of beings: the Sphinxes with their riddles that ensnared minds, the Gryphons who soared through the polluted skies, and the Banshees whose wails foretold doom. Each was a product of the world's degradation, their very existence a testament to the catastrophic power that reshaped reality.

In the crumbling remnants of human civilization, a few scholars and mystics endeavored to understand and possibly reverse the curse. They delved into the ancient texts, seeking knowledge that might restore balance or at least bring peace to the tormented creatures. They discovered that the Ruin Star was not merely a celestial body but an artifact of a bygone era - a fragment of an ancient magic that had once governed the cosmos.

These scholars hoped that by understanding the nature of the Ruin Star, they could find a way to heal the world, to mend the rift between creation and destruction. Yet, their attempts were often met with failure, and their knowledge was fragmented, a cruel irony in a world where understanding seemed forever out of reach.

As the centuries passed, the world remained a place of twilight and sorrow, with the Kelpie and their kin roaming the land as both guardians and predators. They were reminders of the ancient curse, symbols of a world that had been irrevocably changed. The Ruin Star still hung in the sky, its ominous glow a perpetual reminder of the world's fall from grace.

In this new age of darkness, the legacy of the Cursed Epoch endures. The creatures born of despair continue to weave their tales through the twisted remnants of the earth, each story a chapter in the epic of a world forever altered by the malign touch of the cosmos.


The Cursed Epoch is not just a tale of transformation but a poignant reminder of the fragile balance between creation and destruction, and the enduring hope that even in the darkest times, understanding and redemption might one day prevail.