Kelpie

A shape shifting water spirit that commonly inhabit the lochs and pools of Scotland. Usually described as appearing as a horse, it is believed to be able to adopt human form, though it retains the hooves of its equine shape. This lends to the kelpie an association with common depictions of the Christian figure of ‘Satan’, and has given the kelpie a demonic connotation in modern folklore. In their human form, kelpies are almost invariably male. Every source of water in Scotland is believed to host at least a single of these water spirits, and while tale would tell that they are fiercely territorial, they are quite amenable to humans. Often they have even offered passage over rushing rivers and deep lakes to travelers who were unable to make the swim themselves. As their governing aspect is of water, fire spells are wholly ineffective against the kelpie in combat. One is recommended to either wield ice magic, or deprive the kelpie of moisture until its body begins to shrivel, and then strike at its heart with a weapon of silver or heated iron. When killed, the kelpie becomes nothing more than “turf and a soft mass like jelly-fish”.