_Alas are born from galls that grow on treant trunks. Within this parasitic pocket, an ala sickens the treant and consumes its life force. When the treant dies, the ala is born in a black whirlwind._ **Daughters of the Whirlwind.** Alas have windblown hair and wear smoky black rags, but their true form is that of a whirlwind, which can always be seen by šestaci, those men and women with six digits on each hand. In flight or in battle, an ala takes on a form with the upper body of a hag and a whirling vortex of air in place of hips and legs. When an ala enters a house in human form, the whole building groans in protest, as if it had been struck by a powerful stormwind. Alas live in the hollows of trees that were struck by lightning. They are most active when thunder rocks the forest, and when they travel hail or thunderstorms spawn around them. **Enormous Appetites.**The huge-mouthed alas have voracious appetites. In the wild, they devour wolves, bears, and badgers. They prefer to hunt in settled areas, however, because they favor the taste of innocents above all else. Unsavory tribes of savage humanoids may beg an ala’s favor (or divert its wrath) with gifts of bound captives. **Energized by Storms.** In battle, an ala is constantly on the move, weaving between foes like the wind. It tears at its foes with claws and a poisonous bite, or throws wicked lightning bolts and hailstorms from afar. Woe betides the hero who confronts an ala while a storm rages overhead, because such storms energize the ala and make its lightning stronger. Because alas wield lightning with such mastery, some sages associate them with the god of lightning.