Juncane

Juncanes are medium-small sized spirits, linked to rural environments that are characterized by the presence of rivers or thermal springs. It is a false elemental, with a magical inclination that focuses almost entirely on the element of water; the second element that is most similar to it is earth, classifying this harmless spirit, technically, as "dark".

Unlike other spirits that mainly inhabit the Beyond or the Otherworld, the juncane also finds a comfortable home in the phosphorus plane, and it is precisely this characteristic that has made those who have studied the species over the years hesitate to classify it as lemures, although they share many biological characteristics with them. In the Mediterranean areas their territory often borders, and in some cases even coincides, with that of the water gnomes.

Etymology

Uncertain. In the past, an Anglophone origin has been claimed, as a fusion of the words "jumping" (jumping, which would be easily linked to his gait) and "cane" (i.e. stick or, more probably cane, referring to his tail that resembles the plume of a marsh reed); however, the theory that his name originated in a Mediterranean Italy has become particularly relevant after the discovery of an old grimoire in which the spirit is reported as "giuncane", with a g.

According to the so-called "Italian theory", his name would therefore be the union of two other words, namely "giunco", which would then become junco incorporating the j used in the writing of various southern dialects, and "cane", for his appearance of a small mammal and his docile nature.

Appearance and biology

Fully grown adults are between fifty-five and seventy centimeters tall, although they are very light for their size. The juncane's physical structure has developed to allow it to move easily both in water, whether flowing or stagnant, and on land. This spirit has long, strong hind legs, which act as excellent "paddles" in swimming and which it uses to move by hopping on dry land, in a funny and typical bipedal gait.

The long tail, with a plume similar to that of a reed (like Phragmites australis), easily camouflages itself in the environments that the juncane prefers to live and nest, but it also helps in swimming and as a sensory organ: the tiny, very light hairs that make up the plume are very sensitive to electromagnetic changes in the area, warning the juncane in advance of storms or great spirits approaching and, capturing static energy from the atmosphere, they swell when this increases.

The juncane is covered in a very light wheat-colored coat, with more or less extensive portions of brown that darken the tips of the ears, the legs and, sometimes, the jaw, throat and the entire ventral area.

The young, called juncanetti in Italian ("juncubs" for English speakers and "junchiots" for those who speak French), have a coloration that tends to be darker and tends towards green or gray, with which they blend in with the low grasses and gravel on the bed of rivers and bodies of water.

The second sense that the juncane relies on most is sight, which is easily understood by its large dark eyes. The juncane has teeth, a feature that it uses practically only to defend friends or younger members of its species, given that it has the tendency to swallow food whole and prefers to avoid any kind of fight.

Habitat

First appearing from the Veil Beyond in Eurasia, this species has a cosmopolitan distribution and seems to have achieved a wide geographic spread, also touching the Middle East, Africa and, very limitedly, America.

Juncanes nest in multiple layers of the Umbra, which means that their nests are present on the levels of existence in which the environment around them seems to be safest. They generally develop from the material plane up to the first two layers of the Umbra. This species lives among dense reeds near swamps and wetlands, near rivers, ponds, lakes, hot springs, tolerating even a moderate level of salinity.

Diet

The juncane has a hybrid diet, feeding on both ectoplasm and small aquatic spirits as well as small animals such as small fish, water snakes, frogs, and sometimes mice. Although it is a good hunter in the water, preferring to feed on meat and fish, it does not disdain to supplement its diet with berries or plants with moderate magical potential.

Behavior

The juncane is a spirit that does not like conflict, and will prefer to quietly retreat when approached by a creature the size of a human. If it feels seriously threatened or pursued, it will use the water as a portal to the Veil Beyond.

If it cannot escape to safety, and feels truly cornered, it may bite, but this is a rare occurrence and never the first choice, if possible. It has about the intelligence of a small child, between three and four years old. It rarely opens its mouth, often making sounds with its mouth closed even when it has to communicate with its own kind.

Taxonomy

The juncane has three main subspecies in addition to the common juncane, which was the first to be described and is the juncane par excellence.

The Viking juncane. This juncane, which has a fairly small population, has specialized in living as an invisible passenger on ships in the North. It is the only subspecies of juncane to abandon fresh and brackish water to live solely between seas and oceans. Just as the common juncane sometimes finds itself sharing its space with water gnomes, the Viking juncane's territory often overlaps with that of the Klabautermann spirit, so much so that this subspecies is sometimes mistakenly called the Klabautermann. Unlike the common juncane and water gnomes, peace is rarely an option in the relationship between the Viking juncane and the Klabautermann.
The Junkane. This subspecies has adapted to environments where it is difficult to escape increasing levels of anthropization, and inhabits polluted rivers. It is the main subspecies present on the American continent, in the few places reached by the juncane.
The ethereal juncane. Subspecies that prefers to live beyond the phosphorus plane, near portals linked to blessed sources or bodies of water with a particular spiritual charge.

[ More creatures on the Spiritdex ]