Mauro
Legacy Name: Mauro

The creature has been dubbed Mauro and he has been seen in too many forms to count; some travelers report seeing a large, sleek feline, others claim to have seen a bird, but most overwhelmingly travelers swear to seeing a terribly large, black-furred deer. All of the forms are reported to have have just one distinct feature in common: two spiraled ram horns that farme a stark white mask with a black mouth open as if perpetually gaping at a strange sight, eyes also permanently open- two perfect spheres that create a seemingly endless abyss that you can't seem to look away from.

Locals who live in the village are tentative of this evil spirit (if the rumors are true, of course), but mostly they are grateful, for this spirit seems to offer their secluded village a rare kind of protection. Unlike other villages in the deep mountains of the north, ever since the appearance of the spirit Mauro, the village has been surprisingly unscathed by any local warriors or robbers that plunder vulnerable mountain towns. A few members of the village have gone missing in particular- an older man known to refuse paying back his staggering tab at the local bar, a couple of rowdy pick-pocketing men, a horse thief, just to name a few.

Travelers claim that this is because the spirit Mauro will lead explorers either to death, or for those true of heart, to salvation when they are lost in the woods. More often than not those who transport goods back to their town to feed their friends and families get lost in the maze of dense trees; many such travelers report falling asleep next to their campfires hopelessly lost and alone, then suddenly feeling a crisp breeze and looking up to see a deer-like figure who leads them back to safety when they dare to follow. The deer stops and stares with it's wide-set eyes as if passing a judgement before leading them away.

Although Mauro is a legend among the villagers and many fear him, those with good intentions have nothing to be afraid of. Mothers even discipline their children with the threats that if they don't behave or decide to cause trouble, Mauro will come out to get them when they are older. Those who travel through the woods with intent to burn, steal, and destroy are met with the awful fate of the mysterious terror of what lies beneath Mauro's mask...