Tikbalang

Tikbalang is a Fae — a lanky, horse-headed trickster that haunts mountain passes, jungle tracks and lonely barrios. Field notes record a scent like warm hay and damp earth with a faint ring of wood smoke; sound manifests as irregular hoofbeats that echo where no animal stands, a brittle, childlike chuckle, and occasional mimicry of familiar voices; the air near one feels oddly warm and dry, as if sunlight has been compressed into a pocket you can step through. It moves with surprising jointed grace: long limbs, knobby shoulders and a posture that looks more animal than man, but with a cunning intelligence that studies travelers like prey or puzzle pieces.