Grimm Guide

A Minotaur-like Wesen with the head of a bull and body of a man. Taureus-Armentas are famous for stubbornness and courage in the face of adversity. Highly respected on the battlefield, they are often found on the front lines willing to face down any enemy, with nerves of steel under fire. Known for their keen inclination to volunteer for even the most dangerous tasks, they are steadfast in their approach and are amongst the most honorable of Wesen.

"He sang a sweet song in tones so full and soft that no human ear could resist them, nor fathom their origin..."

This was actually a made-up quote by the writer Richard Hatem, although he did draw a little from a piece of elegant personification within the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Garden of Paradise." "The East Wind took the prince in his arms, and carried him over, while the flowers and the leaves sang the sweet songs of his childhood in tones so full and soft that no human voice could venture to imitate."

A scary, goblin-like Wesen whose fingernails extend into long, sharp blade-bones when Woged. Fuchsteufelwild's muscles secrete a highly concentrated acid, allowing their blade-bones to burn and slice through their victims like butter. They are typically ill-tempered and small in stature but incredibly agile. Their large egos fuel their capacity for horrible and cunning acts of violence. Fuchsteufelwilds love to play intricate games with their victims and always go by an anagrammed name with the same letters that make up the name Rumpelstiltskin.

"Then he seized his left foot with both hands in such a fury that he split in two."
- "Rumpelstiltskin," the Brothers Grimm

"Nameless" was inspired by the classic Brothers Grimm tale "Rumpelstiltskin." In the story, a poor miller brought his daughter before the king claiming she had the ability to spin straw into gold. The king entertained this wild story by locking the girl into a room full of straw and demanding her to spin the entirety into gold. If she failed, she would be put to death. The girl began to weep at her fate until a small man entered the room and exclaimed he could do the task for her in exchange for a reward. She promised him her necklace, and the small man spun all of the straw into gold. The king saw what the girl had done and was astonished, but instead of letting her go, he took her to a new room full of straw and demanded she repeat the deed. There she sat unsure of what to do, and the little man appeared yet again. This time the girl promised him her ring in exchange for spinning the gold. The king saw the result and was again astonished. He took the girl to a third room, full of straw and pronounced that, if she succeeded a third time, she would become his wife. The girl sat in the room full of straw, and yet again the little man appeared; but this time, he demanded that if the girl became queen, she would have to give the little man her first-born child. The girl had no choice but to agree, and the little man spun the straw into gold with ease. The king discovered that the girl had succeeded, and they got married immediately. A year later the girl, now the queen, gave birth to a beautiful child. Shortly after, the little man appeared and demanded what was promised to him. The queen began to lament and cry so much that the little man gave her an opportunity to keep her child. The little man gave her three days to guess his name. The queen thought of every name she could, sent out messengers far and wide, but to no avail. But, on the third day a messenger returned who had stumbled upon the little man deep in the wilderness, dancing and chanting around a fire. It was there he learned his name was Rumpelstiltskin. So when the little man appeared for the last time to collect the child, the queen was able to guess his name. The little man was so furious that he tore himself in two.

"So the animals debated how they might drive the robbers out, and at last settled on an idea."

The Sand-Man - Ernst T. A. Hoffmann

Is a short story written by E. T. A. Hoffman in a series of letters from a man named Nathaniel in which he recaps the events of his childhood and his fear of a presence in his house he believed to be the Sandman. At a young age he was told the Sandman would steal the eyes of children who wouldn't go to bed and feed them to his own children who lived in the moon. Nathaniel was determined to catch a glimpse of what frightened him so and one night snuck into the room in which he often heard the Sandman move about. He soon came to discover the Sandman to be his father's ill-natured business associate Coppelius. Nathaniel was caught upon learning the truth and Coppelius punished his act of eavesdropping by threatening to burn out his eyes but settled on giving him a severe physical beating. After this Coppelius was run out of the town and wasn't seen for a long while until one night he returned to the house to call upon Nathaniel's father who reluctantly received him. Nathaniel's mother quickly put him and his siblings to bed before the nasty man entered the house. Shortly thereafter a huge explosion was heard and Coppelius fled the house. Nathaniel and his family discovered his father's dead body in the same room where Nathaniel had first learned the truth about this Sandman. The rest of the story is about Nathaniel's slow descent into insanity, his strange infatuation with an automaton named Olimpia, and his eventual suicide.

A hideous, fly-like creature that feeds off its victim's tears. It causes blindness using microscopic sand-like parasites that burrow into and eventually destroy their host's eyeballs. The process can be impeded by constant exposure to light. The only way to successfully cure a victim is by extracting the Jinnamuru Xunte eye, crushing it up and administering over the victim's eye. Due to their insatiable thirst for tears, they have been known to work as priests and in other positions that frequently deal in high emotion. Jinnamuru Xunte frequently re-visit their victims, targeting family members whose tears are readily accessible.

"So the animals debated how they might drive the robbers out, and at last settled on an idea." - "The Bremen Town Musicians," Grimm Fairy Tales

In the story, an elderly donkey begins to suspect his owner plans on doing away with him, so he leaves home on a journey for the town of Bremen. He plans on being a musician there, as donkeys often do. On the way, he meets several elderly animals that share his concern. He convinces a dog, a cat and a rooster to journey with him to the town of Bremen and to pursue their musical careers. After some time, they grow tired and decide to seek shelter in a forest. In the forest, they come across a small shack inhabited by robbers. The group of animals decides to give the robbers a taste of their musical abilities and they crash through the window heeing, hawing, barking, hissing and crowing. The robbers run away in fear. The animals make themselves at home and quickly fall fast asleep. When the robbers finally decide to return to the shack, they startle the sleeping animals and are attacked. When the robbers run away for a second time, they swear they have encountered a witch and vow to never return. The animals claim the house for their own and live out the rest of their lives in peace.

Owl-like creatures with extraordinary eyesight that allows for them to see what otherwise cannot be seen. They have been known to find work as key masters and locksmiths because they can peer directly into locks and easily decipher the intricate mechanisms inside. When Woged, they display a pronounced beak, a plumage of feathers and extremely large eyes. The large eyes likely account for their elevated field of vision.