If you'd like to skip to the campaign update & poll, feel free to scroll to the bottom!

The wolf's body shimmers like fire as it steps into the sparse light between the trees. Physical, immaterial, and then physical again.

Maybe once, it was a wolf. But no longer. This is something sharper, more intelligent - the way it looks back at you indicates it is expecting you to follow.

You open your mouth to speak, but you know there's no point. You wordlessly follow the beast as it guides you into the trees, the clearing disappearing behind you. The wolf's body continues to flicker in and out of the cold afternoon air before its form eventually extinguishes altogether, like a projection stuttering to a stop.

Its efforts were not in vain. What you are led to is, indeed, a path through the forest. But you are not certain this is the path you began on.

You're no practitioner of magic by any means, but even you can tell that The Blight seeps deeper than the animals. It just feels... "off". Disturbing to your core in a way you can't articulate beyond biology.

And alone again, you swear you're seeing faces in the trees. The branches lurching inward, oppressive eyes studying you as you mindlessly follow the trail deeper into the woods-

"Hello."

"...Hello?" You answer reflexively, but soon realize you never even spoke the word aloud. A gentle, comforting voice nestles itself amongst your very thoughts.

Twigs snap underhoof as something steps onto the path before you. "I've found you. Please, do not be afraid, bookkeeper."

What appears before you is unmistakably a Unicorn, though something is deeply wrong. The skin flakes from its sallowed face like scales of a mothwing or peeling wallpaper - it's a ghastly visage for sure.

"I don't blame your apprehension." The voice reverberates through your mind, "I am afflicted with a presence that overwhelms the very fibers of my being. The time I have left is only as myself. I am not dying, but..." The thought is left incomplete.

Legends describe Unicorns as a being of pure good, only surfacing in times of turmoil. You wonder how many humans have been graced with such a presence.

"...We are cousins, bookkeeper." It thinks, plainly, "Please, while we can still see the sun, let us speak as friends. Ask me any questions you might have. I don't have all the answers, but I long to hear your voice and will answer at my capacity."

The excitement prevails your hesitation. This is not an opportunity to be wasted. You ask anything that comes to mind, writing what you can in your book, as you struggle to make out exactly what you see...

(Backers may ask the unicorn ONE question per person! Feel free to get weird with them. It's just an animal, of course, but it is magical... maybe it knows wisdom beyond its forest. Ask about the Blight, what it feels, its thoughts on other animals, how it knew to find you... anything!

We will answer as many as we can before the poll ends, and several questions & answers will be featured in the next update. If you are not comfortable with this, please mention as such in your post!)

We've blazed past 5 digits, and all the initial goals we've set out for Blighted Bestiary have been met. You guys are absolutely incredible!!

But it's far from what we have cooking in the background. Since the campaign is already hitting what would otherwise be the funding goals for new goodies, we'll be back soon with some cool new options for you folks to pledge for.

Additionally, we've had people ask about the fate of designs not chosen by the votes - All I'll say is this is not the last time you'll see these options 🤫BUT the choices you make have narrative weight, so please vote honestly! 

In the meantime, all stretch goals are unlocked and you're able to include any in your order! Designs not yet voted on (IE; The Dragon jumbo pin) are also available to pledge for, but follow the updates for when their vote goes live so you can pick a design!