illustration by V. SLAUK

Arzhaven
Neutral creature
HELLO, IT’s me
I am Arzhaven, the spirit of the swamp covered with rust called arzhavenne.
I am dirty red with rust spots, and have an extraordinarily large belly and thin legs similar to the horsetail stems.
My constant belching is the reason why I am disgusted by all other spirits and living creatures. An animal that flees predators and finds itself in the marsh can become my rare prey as well as a person who wanders into the backwoods swamp in a state of being drunk or sick.
I am quite in comparison with my brothers Bagnik and Balotnik. Even in winter I cannot keep my dwelling a secret: red-brown spots show through ice and reveal my location. The summer sun does not dry the rust swamp, thus people don’t need barren lands. As a result, I rest in loneliness at the bottom of the swamp, become coated with layers of sticky mud and keeps my rusty dwelling feculent.
