What's in a Wose?
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- Darker_Dreams
- Posts: 608
- Joined: February 1st, 2008, 5:26 pm
What's in a Wose?
This thread is a place for continuing a conversation started here regarding the lore and history of the Wose. A place to philosophize on the nature of Woses, and question if they would smell as sweet were they to have another name.
That's somewhere to start.
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- Midnight_Carnival
- Posts: 836
- Joined: September 6th, 2008, 11:08 am
- Location: On the beach at sunset, gathering coral
Re: What's in a Wose?
I actually had a similar idea I was going to use in my Obscure and under represented race lore thread. I think I'm done with Goblins now anyway, I was going to write a Troll saga, This would begin with a sort of creation myth in which I speculated on how the various fairy (faerie, however you want to spell it) races were formed before light came to their realm, and how they were totally different, but then they came over to our realm, they attached themselves to the element they were most drawn to: Trolls to rock, Elves to the evening breeze, Goblins to dark caves and shadows, Woses to trees, etc... And I'd have it so the father or Trolls died and became the earth, sort of stealing norse mythology stuff there.
...to cut a long story short, I really like your idea and I probably won't ever write the Troll Saga
...to cut a long story short, I really like your idea and I probably won't ever write the Troll Saga
...apparenly we can't go with it or something.
Re: What's in a Wose?
Looks like this conversation ended a while ago. Anyone still interested in talking about it? I'm reworking some old UMC with a guest appearance of an Elder Wose and there's nothing at all helpful in the wiki. So I resorted to a real world search, curious about the origin of the name. I know within Wesnoth things are whatever we make them and need not follow or reference any other source. Still, I find it helpful to consider other sources.
Turns out the Wose (Woodwose, Wodewose) is a kind of wildman of the forest (not a tree! or even an Ent! more like Bigfoot) typically described as a 'human-like' animal covered in hair (sometimes a long mane like a horse's along the length of the spine). Many images (some are paintings but lots are stone carvings) are not all that hairy, however, and simple bearded and wild-aspect naked or semi-naked men wielding clubs or branches as either weapons or walking sticks are often depicted. This is medieval imagery common on religious structures (chapels to cathedrals) throughout Europe, but especially common in Germanic regions.
'Green Man' images are also very common on the same types of buildings and on the same parts of the buildings where Woses were generally depicted. A Green Man is a face only, made out of leaves (easy to find images on the internet—an excellent example accompanies the wikipedia entry for 'Green Man') and is much more suggestive of an Ent-like plant creature. No doubt the Green Man and Wose were somewhat confounded since they show up in similar locations. A Wose may have a head of hair full of twigs and leaves lending an Entish aspect as well.
I am trying to put a characteristic speaking style to Wose dialog. I have seen Wose dialog written in Scots brogue which just seems wrong to me. I am trying to give my Wose speaker a germanic feel without resorting to phonetic spellings and accents. I am also trying to tone down the tree-ness. For instance, I would use 'Ach!' or 'Hurra!' for interjections and avoid onomatopoeic tree sounds like 'creak' or 'kerack'.
I am also interested in the notion discussed up thread that Wose magic is a form of fairy magic (faerie) and the unit description as it appears in game. Outside sources relate Woses to spirits and even demi-gods, so it makes sense to me that their magic might be similar to, but not at all the same as, Elvish magic (which I think of as tied to—generated from—the forestland they inhabit). I would expect them to have competence with elemental forces and nature magic since they spend their lives exposed to the elements and in a "natural" state (I.e. without cultivation, construction or manufacturing). I think Woses could generate the forests Elves live in. The Wose, it seems to me puts magic into the land. Where a Wose stands, soon a forest springs up. The Elves, I think, draw on that source and depend on it. As the forest declines, the Elves must depart. A Wose in the campaign 'A Rough Life' declares, "The ancient tree power is the power of spring", then proceeds to melt glaciers off the tops of mountains to make them passable.
Turns out the Wose (Woodwose, Wodewose) is a kind of wildman of the forest (not a tree! or even an Ent! more like Bigfoot) typically described as a 'human-like' animal covered in hair (sometimes a long mane like a horse's along the length of the spine). Many images (some are paintings but lots are stone carvings) are not all that hairy, however, and simple bearded and wild-aspect naked or semi-naked men wielding clubs or branches as either weapons or walking sticks are often depicted. This is medieval imagery common on religious structures (chapels to cathedrals) throughout Europe, but especially common in Germanic regions.
'Green Man' images are also very common on the same types of buildings and on the same parts of the buildings where Woses were generally depicted. A Green Man is a face only, made out of leaves (easy to find images on the internet—an excellent example accompanies the wikipedia entry for 'Green Man') and is much more suggestive of an Ent-like plant creature. No doubt the Green Man and Wose were somewhat confounded since they show up in similar locations. A Wose may have a head of hair full of twigs and leaves lending an Entish aspect as well.
I am trying to put a characteristic speaking style to Wose dialog. I have seen Wose dialog written in Scots brogue which just seems wrong to me. I am trying to give my Wose speaker a germanic feel without resorting to phonetic spellings and accents. I am also trying to tone down the tree-ness. For instance, I would use 'Ach!' or 'Hurra!' for interjections and avoid onomatopoeic tree sounds like 'creak' or 'kerack'.
I am also interested in the notion discussed up thread that Wose magic is a form of fairy magic (faerie) and the unit description as it appears in game. Outside sources relate Woses to spirits and even demi-gods, so it makes sense to me that their magic might be similar to, but not at all the same as, Elvish magic (which I think of as tied to—generated from—the forestland they inhabit). I would expect them to have competence with elemental forces and nature magic since they spend their lives exposed to the elements and in a "natural" state (I.e. without cultivation, construction or manufacturing). I think Woses could generate the forests Elves live in. The Wose, it seems to me puts magic into the land. Where a Wose stands, soon a forest springs up. The Elves, I think, draw on that source and depend on it. As the forest declines, the Elves must depart. A Wose in the campaign 'A Rough Life' declares, "The ancient tree power is the power of spring", then proceeds to melt glaciers off the tops of mountains to make them passable.