Woodland Spirit

The Woodland Spirit is an ancient leshen that the villagers of Fayrlund in the Skellige Isles worship as their protector. The bestiary notes that some monsters become so powerful that local people start treating them as gods. Fayrlund’s elders believe the spirit’s trials are what makes their young men the strongest warriors in Skellige, even though many die trying.

This leshen can mark a villager and plant part of its essence in them. As long as the marked person lives near the village, the leshen will rise again near its lair. In battle it calls on the forest itself and summons wolves and ravens to fight for it.

You deal with it in In the Heart of the Woods, after finding a man mangled by tree branches near Fayrlund. The elder Harald wants to renew the old pact with an offering of five wolf hearts, while the young warrior Sven wants the beast dead. Siding with Sven means finding the marked one, a young woman named Hilde, then destroying three totems to call the leshen out. Killing it earns a leshen trophy, an ancient leshen mutagen and the Woodland Spirit achievement.

Combat strategy

Only fight it after you’ve dealt with the marked villager, or it will come back. The totems count as enemies, and the leshen can attack you through them, so destroy each one quickly instead of first clearing out every wolf. In the final fight it brings more wolves. Keep the pack thinned out while you focus your burns and strikes on the leshen.

Coat your silver sword with relict oil.
Use Igni heavily. Leshens are weak to fire.
Throw dimeritium bombs to disrupt its magic.
Kill wolves between leshen attacks so they don’t surround you.
Siding with Harald skips the fight and the achievement, so save before you choose.