Seraph

Sera comes from a kingdom made of clouds. She's here with us this year to explore the world down below her normal fluffy perch! She seems aloof at first but she's actually very friendly and regal once she gets to know you, don't let the opportunity pass you by! It's good to have friends in high places.

Nora

Nora was once a human, just like you and me. She would always pretend to be a Sylestia with her mother, and would always ask her, "Mommy? What's it like being a Sylestia?" She would always reply, "I don't know, sweetie, but I'm sure it's not easy. You'd have to hunt for food, get your own water, and survive in the wild." Nora, being very young, did not entirely understand what she was saying, and would respond with "I wouldn't mind! I bet it's fun being out in the wild!!" Her mother just sweetly smiled.

One day, when Nora was 11, she was playing outside in the meadow, and without noticing, wandered too far away from where her mom allowed her to play in, and stumbled upon a box. The box was made out of silver, and had a black onyx encrusted in it. Being of a curious nature, Nora decided to open it. And boy, was that a mistake! When the box was opened, magical energy crept out of it, and started to swirl around her body. An eerie voice whispered, "Do you really wish to become a Sylestia?" A squeaky "Yes!" escaped from her mouth. "Alright..." The voice echoed again "If that is really what you desire..."

There was a puff of smoke, an exclamation, and then silence. As the smoke cleared, Nora suddenly felt... ...Different. She looked down at her toes, and then she realized...

...She was not a human anymore. She tried to call out to her mother. "Mother! Mo--Screech! Screech!!" She was losing her ability to speak English. She still understood the words she was saying, but she knew that her mother would never understand her now.

She didn't know where she was, and didn't know which way was home, plus she was starting to get hungry. A tear rolled down her eye. She had always fantasized about being a Sylestia, and know she was one. But she had never expected it to be like this. That's when she remembered what her mother said.

"You'd have to hunt for food, get your own water, and survive in the wild."

Nora then thought to herself "I was such a fool! Why didn't I understand her? Why was I so stupid!?" Suddenly, she detected a figure nearby. It had a human body. It wasn't her mother, it was somebody else...

...It was you.

Ray

A sudden flash of light tore the sky apart as an unearthly tremor rippled across the landmass of Sylestia. A hush descended as if the world was holding its breath. The source seemed to originate from the mountainous region near Umbra Forest. I ran there as quickly as I could; my lupora pack nervously followed behind.

At the site was a mangled wreckage of cogs and burnt bits of electrified metal. Magical looking violet fumes spewed forth from a mess of wires and unidentifiable machinery. I peered at it in wonder, and as I did so, saw something struggling to disentangle itself from under the wreckage. Helping it out, I soon saw that it was a griffi, though she sported traits that I had never seen before. The griffi regarded me with a sharp stare then questioned me in a voice tinged with a strange, yet elegant accent.

"What year is it?" She clucked with slight irritation. I stood there, dumbfounded. Can griffis talk?
"Excuse me, goblin." She demanded again. "Could you tell me what year this is?"
"Uh..." I blinked. Goblin! She sighed, then grabbed the map from my hand with her front paws. She gave it a brief once over before calmly eyeing me again.
"Where is Umbra City, and why is this map so inaccurate?"
I finally managed to make my mouth form sounds. "There is no Umbra City."
She fidgeted as she heard this, as if in sudden panic.
"Oh dear." She murmured. "I knew the Time Vectors were set a bit too far back. But did they listen? This is not good at all. Oh, my poor ship..." She cooed.
"Are you from the future?" I asked in disbelief, eyeing the wreckage.
"Oh yes." She murmured absently. "Tell me, Goblin, are there any elves in..." She squinted as she looked at my map. "...Umbra Forest?"
"There are, yes." I said half-heartedly, "But I'm not sure how they can--"
"You will escort me to them at once! We need to build another time machine." She said, as if it was the easiest task in the world.
And off we went...

Aeralya, of Royal Abandon


"Aeralya, come quickly!"
Bright, chilling eyes sprung open as Aeralya rushed out of her room in a flurry of fur and feathers.
"Ugh, I'm late again!" she muttered under her breath. Her hooves and talons clopped and clicked rapidly on the stone floor as she hurried to her soon-to-be cold breakfast.

"This is the third time this week you have been late to breakfast, Aeralya!" reprimanded a very cross, very proper griffi madam.
Sighing, Aeralya plopped down and pushed her food around on her plate as the butler filled her water glass. Sometimes she really hated being royal and 'special.' Every day she had the same schedule of boring etiquette lessons and scoldings. Aeralya yearned to go on an adventure and leave her lavish but lonely life in the huge mansion she bitterly called home. She dreamt of this whenever she stared out the windows, especially during lessons.

In her free time, Aeralya spent time wandering around the garden ponds and tossing pebbles at her own reflection. She cursed her appearance: her dark coat, unusual patterns and wings, and worse of all, her gaudy crown of feathers. Why did she have to be so different?
"No, I'm not going to waste any more time here," she grunted decisively, flicking a final stone into the water. Racing back to her room, she grabbed a long cloak to hide her unique appearance. With one last glance in the mirror, and a snort of approval, she left her old life without even looking back.

Miles of forest surrounded her parents' vast estate, so Aeralya decided to head south. She had heard of towns in that direction and knew she would need to make a fresh start. It was dusk as she stepped tentatively into the darkening woods. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped under hoof and paw. Every now-and-then, she could glimpse the stars through the vast canopy above and made her feel safer.

Snap! A twig broke nearby. Jolting out of her dreamy trance with the stars above, she immediately ran, dodging low branches and jumping fallen trees. There is a light up ahead! she happily thought, seeing a warm light through the trees. Out of breath, she slowed as the approached the light, unsure of who or what may be the culprit. As she peeked out behind a tree, she saw it was a large, bipedal reptilian figure, with flames on his back and tail tip. He seemed to have a menacing aura about him. Time to go thought Aeralya as she turned around to leave. In a horrified gasp, she had turned around to come face to face with a large, snarling face.

"Whats we got here?" he grunted with a rasp, eyes flickering in the dim light.
"Didja find somethin' boss?" chirped the fiery lizard.
"Yeah, we gots some lil lost lass. Dontcha fret," he addressed Aeralya, "we are nice folk. They call me Fat Mikey Knuckles--"
"And I'm known as Davy the Mouth! Though I dunno why I gots a name like that," interrupted the reptile.
"Soon to be Mouth-Sewn-Shut!" Fat Mikey angrily exclaimed. "Anywayses, we are just humble morkko and draeyl uh proprietors!"
"Yeah! What the boss said! Proper-teers!"
One glance from Fat Mikey and Davy backed up and closed his mouth. "Like I was sayings" grumbled Fat Mikey as he slowly turned his attention back to Aeralya, "why dontcha come back to town with us?"
Something didn't feel right, and Aeralya knew that these guys were bad news. She knew that her only choice was to run and hope to outrun them. Feigning a stagger to the left she threw the two shady characters off guard and sprinted the other way.

Aeralya ran and ran, even long after she could no longer hear their muffled shouts behind her. Her cloak was torn, her once gallant feathers stained with tears, dirt, and leaves, and her feathered crown lay in a disheveled mess atop her head. Stumbling blindly, the trees suddenly gave way to a large clearing with a beautiful crystal lake. She slowly made her way to water's edge and collapsed, exhausted. Barely having the strength to hold up her own head, she looked at her unsightly appearance. But she no longer cared that she looked different or unusual; she was alone now and so why should she care what anyone else thought? This was the thought that lulled her to sleep as she gazed out across the moonlit water.

Snap! A twig broke nearby. And a very fierce Aeralya jumped up and turned towards the noise, lowering her head in an attempt to look menacing. Another stranger. But this one looked similar to those of her lessons: huntsmen. They were dangerous and greedy creatures, these huntsmen. But this one was a lot smaller than Aeralya had thought them to be, and it was also a bit frightened looking itself. The stranger did not budge, but just stood there, braced by a tree.
"Do you need help?" it gently cooed. "You look hurt"
Aeralya said nothing. The small stranger took a step toward her. Then another. And another. With each step Aeralya winced. At only several steps away, Aeralya could see that it was a young girl. This girl was dressed in old clothes, dingy and tattered. Perhaps she is the daughter of a huntsman? considered Aeralya. Another step. This was too much. Aeralya beat her wings together, causing gusts and feathers and leaves to berate the young girl, in attempt to scare her away. After a few moments, Aeralya stopped to see if the girl had run away, but found her standing in the same place, eyes clenched shut and fists balled in determination.
"Do you need help? You look hurt," the girl repeated, eyes still closed.
Aeralya was stunned. What trickery is this? she wondered. "Go back to your home, child!" she hissed.
"I don't have a home anymore" the girl whispered, choking back tears.
"Then where are your parents?" she asked, whipping her head to look for others and straining her ears for any sound of movements.
"They are gone too there was a fire. In the forest near our home. My parents went to try and put it out before it spread too much. They told me to stay in the house, it would be safe there. But a long time went by and I started to smell smoke. I looked out the window and could see the glow of the fire not too far away. But I stayed. It got brighter and brighter. My parents said they would be back so I stayed. I tried to stay longer but I got scared and ran into the woods away from" she trailed off, looking out towards the water. "My parents are gone" she cried, tears streaming down her dirt-stained cheeks.
Aeralya looked at her, a pang of sadness in her heart. She approached gently where the girl stood rooted and sobbing, and slowly put one of her wings around her in comfort.
"I do need help, little one. I am hurt. Will you please help me and keep me company?" Aeralya softly asked, realizing the girl desperately needed her. Still comforting the sobbing girl, she felt a few nods under her wing and knew she would be able to help this little one. And so, the great adventures begin for Aeralya with her new friend and new sense of purpose.


____________

I know this is long, I am so sorry... I just couldn't build a decent enough backstory for her in only a couple of paragraphs. She deserves way more! Thank you for reading.

Night's Sapphire

Long ago, there lived a queen named Night. Beloved by all, she ruled alongside her dear husband with kindness and grace. Time passed and Night's birthday quickly approached. So the king commissioned a pendant for her that was to be made from a magical sapphire found in the kingdom's mines.
It took several weeks, but on the day of her birthday, the pendant was ready to be presented to Night. The queen was delighted with her gift. She wore it every day and rarely took it off. Her daughter absolutely adored it.

"Mother, may I try on your necklace?" Night's daughter asked one day.
"Of course you may."

The queen gently took off her present. But as she went to hand it to her daughter, it slipped from her hand, fell to the ground, and shattered. Then the pieces of the jewel shimmered with blue light and vanished. Seconds later, a beautiful Griffi appeared. Night had never seen one quite like it before.

"Thank you for freeing me, kind human." it said softly.
"You can speak?!" both women asked, completely stunned at the talking Sylesti.
"Yes, and as your reward, I shall be your companion."

So from that day forward, Night's Sapphire was not the queen's beloved pendant, but a treasured companion.

In a small house lived an older woman who tended her garden.
"Good morning, my children," she sang to her peonies. "How are you, today?" she asked her dahlias.

She lived alone; her family was her garden, her friends were the birds and animals who visited. While she loved her children and adored her visiting friends, she wished each night on every star she could wish upon before she fell asleep that she could have just one real friend with whom to share things.

"Did you see how big the moon was two nights ago?" she exclaimed at a grazing deer, who barely blinked at her.
"And did you like the rain yesterday afternoon?" she asked a cardinal, picking at the ground.

"And did you see that shooting star last night?" asked a strange voice. It had come from behind the older woman, who spun as quick as she could around to face this voice. She gasped at the sight before her: a beautiful, mythical looking creature, something from fairytales. This creature had fur and feathers, and both glistening like jewels under the soft morning sun.

"My name is Tirnel, and thine prayers and wishes hath landed on my ears. I wish to fulfill your dreams and become thy companion," said Tirnel.
"Oh, thank you! You are truly a gift given from the stars! I cannot express how happy I am!" exclaimed the older woman, who would never be alone again.

-Tirnel, Gift of the Stars-

One quiet night when everyone was sleeping quietly, a Griffi was sent down to Sylestia to guide all those who are lost in their dreams while they quietly slept, Starlight a beautiful young Griffi was late, it was her first time to enter one anothers dreams like the others. Starlight was nervous about entering dreams, "what if something goes wrong, oh no" she entered the house where a human and a normal Griffi slept in their beds. Starlight closed her eyes and concentrated on the Griffi and entered his dream, it was a a huge mountain with a valley and river below. she spotted the Griffi and slipped on a round stone and, SLAM, right onto the Griffi and jolted out of his dream and woke in the house in a split second, at the same time the Griffi woke with a scare. Their was silence and Starlight found a collar which spelled "Cliff". "oh im so sorry Cliff, oh my god i knew would have failed im sorry" Starlight went through the Sylesti door (like a doggy door) and began to run out of town and tried to fly by getting a running start. Starlight caught a breeze and began to lift but something was taking her down. She and whatever got her landed in the grass and took a moment to figure out the situation, Starlight looked behind her and it was that same Griffi, Cliff. "what do you want!" starlight hurt her wing on a rock when they landed. "It's ok, i just want to know who you are" Cliff had a warm smile on his face. "I am Starlight one of the Majestic Peacock Griffi apprentices", Starlight then had a nod goodbye and flew up, up and up into the sky with the other Griffie's. (the 4 nights later) Starlight landed gently on the meadow ground and looked at the town, she concentrated on the town, nothing was disturbed and she knew their was nothing to do so she decided to go for a walk, as she just turned away something hit her side and her thoughts flew like birds. She was freaking out, "Shut up" the figure said and she obeyed. she looked up to see a female Griffi with fire in her eyes, "Who are you" Starlight yelled. "Cliff broke up with me because of you" the Griffie said. it couldn't, Cliff fell in love with her, why did this happen. "You will pay for stealing him from me, he talked nonstop about you and, poof he broke up with me to have a chance with you". "STOP you can't kill me im a-" her voice broke off as claws raked at her throat. She felt frozen and cold. "oh no im so sorry, i didn't mean to-" the female Griffi broke in tears and screeched in sorrow. In a few moments two more Peacock Griffi's came her mentor and sister and tried to help her but there was nothing they could do. then another Griffi came, he stood there and tears welded in his eyes, he looked at his ex and gave her a push away from him. "don't go, i want to get to know you better and i caused this" he broke in tears and put his head close to Starlight's head, "it's ok we all make mistakes" Starlight said weakly and closed her eyes and was no longer on Earth but another world. Starlight has a funeral, and Cliff's ex was found guilty for manslaughter and was no longer aloud to be in a relationship for safety, Cliff became depressed along with Starlights sister and mentor. On some calm nights some can be able to see Starlight dancing among the stars with others who passed, lets this be a lesson, just because you love someone doesn't mean they will always love you back. Thank You for reading

~Avariella~

2016, a new year has just started. Just a few hours ago, there was a bright diamond shaped light that emerged out of nowhere in my garden. I stood rooted to the ground, jaw dropped, as I saw an elegant majestic creature emerging from the fading light. I gulped at its magnificence. Half of it resembled a peacock, and the other half looked like a creature from the future.

It walked toward me and nuzzled me. I relaxed as I felt her magical warmth wrap around me. I somehow felt that she was asking me to give her a name. "Avariella", I said suddenly. Where did that come from? It just came out of my mouth! I stared into her eyes confusingly. "I shall show you...", a voice rang in my head. Then in a split second, something weird happened and I somehow knew that I was looking at a memory from this creature...

~

It was the year 2116, and there was nothing left on Earth except for a peacock and a griffi. They miraculously survived the war. They were the last living things on Earth after an entire century of bloody battles and a million massacres between the countries. The atmosphere was filled with the stench of rotting flesh and dried blood.

Then suddenly, a blinding light emerged from the very inner core to the surface of the Earth. The diamond shaped light pulsed and wrapped the Earth with it's calming warmth. The peacock was in what once was called India, and the griffi was in what once was called Ireland. "Come to me...", a soothing angelic voice came from the light.

The peacock and the griffi knew that the strange light was talking to them. They walked and walked for what seemed like forever. They walked amongst dead bodies and burnt ruins, till they finally stood in front of the light. In that instance, the light turned into a dreamy blue colour. The light smelled sweet and calming.

"Both of you, step inside... I'll bring you back, and you shall show them...", the light whispered. The peacock and the griffi did as they were told and stepped into the light. The light then closed in on them and in a blink of an eye, the light disappeared....

Sapphire

The sky was filled with lightning as an egg fell through the rumbling sky. The egg hit branches, surprisingly holding up as it tumbled down into a small pool. The sky suddenly cleared, and a beam of light shot down to the egg. The beam of light ignited the whole pool with light. The sudden light attracted the attention of some nearbly peacocks that lived by the pool. They walked silently over to the glowing pool, spotting the egg floating on a dark green lilipad. Deciding they couldn't just let the sylesti die, they fished it out of the pool with their feathers and claws. When the egg was finally fished out there was several scratches on the sapphire blue egg. Since the egg seemed to be abandoned the trio of peacocks decided to raise the mystery sylesti by themselves. Therefor the peacocks named it Sapphire for its unusual blue and green color.
When the egg finally hatched, it was a griffi with many peacock feathers and markings. For many months the peacocks raised the griffi as it grew bigger and learned how to provide for itself. One day it became to big to live with the peacocks. Sapphire said goodbye to her only known parents and begun the jurney to find new friends and new family.