Concept art for the elden ring boss challenge contest from vaatividya!
Guardians of the last bit of forest still brimming with life and magic, two warriors from different lands who share a goal.
Gruffud comes from the mountains in the north, he's a special breed of dog, highly intelligent and attuned to magic.
Because of his ability to channel simple forms of magic and sense magical anomalies, he was tasked with finding a sacred tree in the lands below.
His search led him to a small hidden forest that survived the effects of the "shatter", where he found Caerwyn, the last of a fairy tribe who was badly injured.
Her wings damaged, body burned and almost too weak to stand, Gruffud stayed with her to help her recover, he understood his place was by her side.
Now stronger and devoted to protecting her homeland, Caerwyn rides Gruffud into battle, to keep at bay the dangers of a "shattered" world and the greed of Man.
This boss was heavily influenced by Celtic mythology, more specifically some Welsh legends that portray an important connection between fairies and corgis.
Some even say the fairies created the corgis, usually referring to the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, for labour, herding and steeds.
For Caerwyn, the design was meant to show someone battle-hardened yet beautiful. The name of welsh origin represents this with the meaning of Caer being "fortress"and gwyn "white, fair".
Upon the "shattering" of the Elden Ring the fairies lost most of their magic leaving them exposed to outside threats. While the rest of her tribe stayed true to the old ways, trying to summon what little magic they had left to fight their enemies, Caerwyn adapted, repurposed the metals of Man for armor even though it caused her horrible burns, as fairies are naturally averse to metal. This choice saved her life, resulting in being the sole survivor of her tribe.
The spear she carries was the staff of the fairy matriarch, used in rituals to comune with the forest, now sharpened into a deadly weapon.
Gruffud's design had a different inspiration, going towards nordic culture, with more exposed metal and runes.
There is a speculation that the modern breed of Cardigan Welsh Corgi may have descended from breeds brought to Wales by Vikings, thus the final design being a mix of the Pembroke and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, resulting in a bigger dog with a fluffy tail.
Even though he is a beast the idea was to give him an impression of nobility. A highly intelligent creature that won't attack mindlessly but take it's time, focusing even on ranged magical attacks.
His name, given to him by Caerwyn, again reflects this by being a common name among Welsh royalty, where "udd" means lord or prince and "gruf" may be a variation of "cryf", meaning strong.
His chest piece adorned with runes allows him to channel magical energy into blasts.
