Thaliaandra of the Nightwatch

Once, the stars were born.
Some came into existence in a gentle, subtle way; others in a blaze of glory, brilliant enough to set the universe on fire. Each was given their own world to watch over and protect. And with time, each star developed its own distinct mind, its own personality. There were those who were gentle souls and would walk among the peoples of their worlds, blessing all with good fortune. Others were raging stars, as likely to cause destruction as they were to protect. And then there were the cold, aloof stars who cared neither one way or another for the worlds they were meant to be guardians over.
And there was Thaliaandra.
Thaliaandra of the Nightwatch, she was called, and she was a firebrand with a heart of ice. She lived for the cold and the night, so much so that she brought her world to the brink of destruction by suspending it in a permanent state of ice and darkness. So uncaring was she for others that she left a trail of ruin always in her wake. She kept herself separate from all the other stars, convinced that not only did she not need anyone else, none of the others were worthy of her presence. Her complete indifference toward all living beings eventually began to incite the tempers of even the mildest, gentlest stars.
The other stars, tired of Thaliaandra's casual cruelty, summoned her to a council of all the stars. There, they sentenced her to banishment on a world in a universe on a plane adjacent to theirs. Before Thaliaandra could move to react, the other stars had already stripped her powers, opened a rift, and sent her through.

Thaliaandra woke up to darkness in a strange world, lying on a nest of leaves. Groaning, she attempted to sit up, but agony arced through her.
"Don't move," a soft voice commanded. "You need to acclimate to your new body."
My new body? Thaliaandra wondered. What body?
"You're not a star anymore," the voice continued, and this time, Thaliaandra was able to focus on the speaker. She was beautiful -- white hair, bronze skin, long, pointed ears, wings shaped like snowflakes, and a headdress of giant white antlers. A silvery-gray wolf stood behind her, calmly twitching its tail.
"Who are you?" Thaliaandra asked numbly.
"My name is Faiona," the fairy-like creature replied. "And you're Thaliaandra. The other stars from your universe sent you to me. You're in Sylestia now."
But Thaliaandra wasn't listening anymore. She was inspecting her new body (she'd never had one as a star), bewildered by its strange elegance. Her back half was a horse, while her front had the appearance of a lion. Her -- beak? -- stretched wide in surprise. "What am I? What have they done to me?" she screeched.
Faiona watched her, her face expressionless. "You're in the form of a Griffi, one of our most noble and beloved of Sylesti species. You should be honored."
"Honored?" Thaliaandra raged. "I want my powers back! I don't want to be a Griff-whatever! I want to go home!"
"Have you ever thought of anyone but yourself?" interrupted Faiona.
Thaliaandra simply stared at her, aghast.
Faiona sighed. "You have been sent here to Sylestia to learn to love others," she explained. "In Sylestia, everyone helps and supports each other. We are a loving community, and we will not tolerate destruction simply for your amusement. There are good people in this world, Thaliaandra. If anyone can teach you to love, it will be them. I have summoned several of our citizens. You will choose one of them to live with and shadow in your time here. Do you understand?"
Thaliaandra could only nod. "When is my guide supposed to be here?"
"Soon," replied Faiona. "All is not lost, Thaliaandra. You will earn the right to go back one day. I know it."

Guinevere.

Lady of the Earth

The sun flickers as it burns its last embers. The soil she walked upon changes from earth brown and emerald green to deathly white and fiery orange. The realm of her people was dying. Her people whom had long since perished to the unforgiving will of their gods. All that was left of her once great tribe was the few orbs the she could gather from the great halls of life. These few orbs held her people's last hope of revival. within each was the smallest flame of life that needed careful tending else it be extinguished forever.

From the realm of her birth to a small planet filled with everlasting life. Here, she made her home and bestowed the last hope of her people to the worthy youths of the small planet she felt could protect and appreciate the last blessing of her people. She who ushered and bestowed new life from a dying race, became known as Guinevere.

Sephora
I sit alone on a hill deep within the Emerald Forest, the bright green leaves of each tree sparkling with starlight. I gaze up at the cobalt blue sky, the full moon illuminating the landscape as I breathe in the fresh air around me. As I lay on my stomach watching the dance about, I notice a bright flash course through the sky at high speed. The blaze of light grows closer and my eyes grow wide as I realize whatever it is probably isn't going to stop. "Hey, watch out!" I yell, throwing myself out of the way as it grows closer, squeezing my eyes shut. A gust of wind throws my long brown hair away from my face, but I hear no noise except for the sound of breathing. I slowly crack open my eyes one by one, pulling my fingers away from my face. As I lift my chin, a soft face moves in and nuzzles mine, a gasp of surprise falling from my lips. I lift my head, my eyes scanning up over huge paws, a long feathered black chest, and come to rest on the brightest turquoise blue eyes I have ever seen regarding me with amusement. I draw in a quick breath, bringing my hands up to rub my eyes furiously, assuming I am seeing things. I open them once more, and as my vision comes back into focus, I come to the realization that I am not hallucinating.
"W-who...what are you?" I stammer, slowly standing up. The creature cocks its feathered blue head at me, shifting her beautiful wings behind her back. She opens her shiny blue beak and calmly responds to me.
"I am the last of my kind, a Peacock Griffi. I come from Sylestia, a magical land hundreds of miles from where we now stand. There I used to be happy, living among my fellow creatures for years upon years until my beloved Mother and Father passed away. We Sylestians have much longer life spans than any creatures on Earth, but we all have to go some time." She pauses for a moment, gauging my reaction so far. I keep quiet, nodding to encourage her to go on. She blinks in response and takes a soft breath before continuing.
"After Mother and Father were gone, I felt like there wasn't much left for me in Sylestia. I felt sort of pent up, I wanted to experience new things. And so I left, looking for any source of adventure. I hope to return to Sylestia some time soon, as I am starting to miss my old friends back home," she finishes, resting back onto her haunches in a sitting position. I mirror her actions, taking my time sit on the grass, cross legged.
"Wow, that is certainly quite the life you've been living," I respond, taken aback by the Griffi's story. "Do you have a name?" I ask curiously, noticing she hadn't mentioned one.
"No," she shakes her head. "I've been away from home so long that I have forgotten my name, and I have been alone so long that I haven't had a need for one. Is there anything you might suggest if I were to take on a new title?" She lifts a paw and licks the fur into place as she waits for my response.
"Hmm, you're certainly gorgeous, so you need a regal sounding name...Midnight Fire?" I voice too quickly, the Griffi tilting an ear slightly. "Yeah, that does sound kind of silly," I laugh before dropping into silence. I run my fingers through my hair and ponder for a short while, thinking back to the language class I had taken on Greek a few years back. I smile as a name comes to mind, matching the majesty and charm of this Griffi.
"What about Sephora?" I suggest. "It means beauty in Greek, and it sounds lovely," I grin.
"I like the sound of that," she chirrups, winking at me before opening her beak in a yawn.
"Me too," I giggle. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" I ask Sephora gently.
"No, I have just been sleeping wherever there's room these past years," she retorts.
"Well if you'd like you can stay with me..if you'd like," I mention hopefully, giving Sephora a friendly smile.
"I'd like that," Sephora nods, nuzzling my hand happily. I push myself up off the ground, Sephora doing the same, and we start to make our way down the hill and to my house. As we walk, I get an epiphany.
"Hey Sephora, you know what we should do? We should go back to Sylestia," I smile to myself as I think about all of the talking creatures welcoming their long lost friend back home.

Aurora the Polar Light

As the explorers traversed the Arctic, headed for the North Pole, the lights swirled in the darkness above. The Aurora Borealis, caused by the solar wind buffeting the Earth's atmosphere, was brighter and more vivid than any in recent memory - the energy converges and a young Griffi, the Aurora marked on her feathers, appears before the explorers.

The Winter Herald

Sky, hear my call. Send your starkest wind.
Til there's not an adorned branch of Fall. Let the leaves meet here their end.
I have waited for three seasons, to sing this lonely song.
A bringer of life's treason, and flora waning as the night grows long.
For I have not name, but purpose, with which my voice shall ring.
As long as Spring my longest nights shall tame, the cold once more, the Winter Herald shall bring!

Aquila, Night's Savior

It is said that a pantheon of gods and goddesses oversee the universe and its worlds. Two particular goddesses, Vaeluna, the goddess of light, and Aquila, the goddess of space and sky, kept Sylestia's cycles of days and nights in balance. Vaeluna took her place at the sky altar and watched over Sylestia during the day with bright rays of light, and when it was her time to rest, Aquila took her place until she came back, providing the soft glow of stars against the sky during the night to give Sylestians guidance and peaceful rest.

Saphryn, the goddess of darkness, felt that Aquila's place in the cycle was misplaced. Isn't light supposed to battle with darkness in a perpetual and elemental cycle? If Vaeluna was busy maintaining day, shouldn't Saphryn do something of equal value that would play a part in Sylestia?
Vaeluna reasoned that Saphryn was unfit for helping Sylestia, as her powers over darkness included chaos and nothingness. If Saphryn ruled the night, Sylestia would be blanketed in blackness and emptiness, disturbing the balance of Sylestia at night.

Saphryn sought to sabotage the cycle anyhow. When night came to Sylestia and Vaeluna went to rest, Saphryn went to Aquila's sky altar uninvited.

"If you love Sylestia so much, I shall cast you down as one of them!"

Saphryn used her magical powers to turn Aquila into a Sylesti, a black Griffi that fell out of her sky altar and down into the atmosphere of Sylestia. Immediately, all the stars in the sky dimmed out, and the moon disappeared into the darkness.

Vaeluna, awoken by the distress of the Sylestians, quickly came back to the sky altar to see Saphryn bathing Sylestia in darkness and nothingness. With her own magic, she summoned a burst of light to send Saphryn fleeing back into a corner of the universe, away from the world, but only temporarily.

"Oh, Aquila," Vaeluna said, looking down from her ethereal sky altar. Aquila was not a goddess anymore, but a Griffi that was much smaller than her. "I am sorry, as I cannot reverse the magic Saphryn has cast on you. And time is short, for I must go back and prevent Saphryn from threatening Sylestia with her darkness."

Aquila flew in the sky, looking up at Vaeluna. Her eyes, though small, glowed brightly with purpose. Although she could not speak the same tongue as the goddess, Vaeluna knew she wanted to help.

Vaeluna cast down her own magic on Aquila's Griffi form, changing her fur from pitch black to feathered shades of night blue, giving her majestic wings that scared away the doubt of night, and sparkled specks that formed stars around her body.

"Aquila, until I can keep Saphryn at bay, you must keep lighting the night sky as you did before. While this is no easy task, you are most suited for this role, and I trust the night to you as always." Vaeluna smiled. "Keep watch over Sylestia until I come back, as always."

And with that, Vaeluna left the sky altar, and Aquila assumed her duty, not as a goddess, but as a Griffi given the power of majestic night. She circled the night sky and spread the glow of her stars across Sylestia's sky, giving guidance to Sylestians in the dark.

Queen Azuli touches my hand and looks into my eyes. I see what she needs. She imparts to me the knowledge of what happened to her land and her people. Dragons have moved into her lands and demand tribute and keep the most beautiful Griffi as their pets in cages. Queen Azuli had escaped and fears for the safety of her people. She needs help now, before the Dark Dragon Karzaxinix wakes and sees she has gone. As a Magi, versed in both magic and combat she knows I can help. She kneels down so I can climb onto her back and together we fly in the night sky to liberate her lands from the tyranny of the dragons!

Serafina

It is cold.

A griffi's blue eyes looked around her, taking in the new snow and heathery sky. She shook off pieces of her shell and tried to stand. A moment later, she flopped over, landing on her back with all four feet waving 'hello' to the sky. Her mother peeked down and snuggled her hatchling closer to herself.

It is white.

Serafina stumbled over her big baby feet. She tripped on a twig and landed flat on her face, snow speckling her dark fur. She looked around, outside the nest, only to find no one around and a quiet over the clearing. She gave her baby wings a flap and set off into the dark woods, small against the trees.

It is gold.

The small griffi with big eyes was hungry. She couldn't understand why everything was blue and cold and empty. The quiet itself was thick enough to be a wall, bearing down on the young Serafina. Finally, she just huddled down and tried to sleep. It was no use; tired though she was, something urged her to move on. She set off in a random direction and soon heard noise. A gentle laughter, combined with a crackling, homey sound. She followed it, and came into a clearing bathed in warm gold.

It is warm.

Serafina snuggled down into her pillow next to the roaring fire. Her sleepy eyes took in everything around her, the people most of all. They were strange creatures, but absurdly friendly. One specifically sat next to her and stroked her head, just like her mother used to. It wasn't home, but it was home.



Thanks for everything you do on Sylestia!

Prisca Marinus

Prisca Marinus was the guardian and protector of a great roman ship who was captained by a young man of the Marinus family, who were well-known sailors and explores. She had been found by a young member of the family when on an expedition to a new unknown land and they took a liking for each other. Though still at the height of her beauty, the young Marinus saw that her eyes were old and so called her Prisca which means 'ancient' in his tongue and served a homage to her beauty as the name was shared with an Roman Empress. He also gave Prisca his last name, Marinus, to let the world know that she was a part of his family. Marinus means 'of the sea', and was a fitting title as she grew to adore the ship that she and the young Marinus would travel on until he became old.

The two would become great friends over the years as adventures would lead them to the ends of the world and the hardest of trials. But despite all the trouble they lived though neither lost the ability to laugh, and even the most harden sailors would smile at the sight of the Griffi and their captain acting like children together.

But the old Marinus did not meet a kind end, as both he and his ship were to die in the fire and flames of war. Prisca Marinus tried her best to douse the flames but she was doom to failure, and the ship vanished beneath the waves along with the body of her friend.

Prisca Marinus's roar echoed over the sea, blood and fire and ash making the water black as a void, before disappearing down below the sea to the wreckage of her old home. A great many ships died that day, and the burnt husks fall one by one around her and her ship until the ocean floor resembled a grave yard for the wooden bones of dead monsters.

Unwilling to return to the loneliness that had been her life before meeting her dear friend it was there she stayed in the dark cold waters, with only the tiny fish that came to live in the ship and the distant mournful wail of whale song to keep her company. As a creature of magic she could survive without air or food but the isolation was far harder to endure, and only numbing sadness kept her in the self imposed exile.

But there came a day where a commotion on the surface would catch her eyes, and as diver came down into her depths to see the remains of the battle, she made her slow way back to the surface at last letting the old, desperate grief go enough to think of the light that could be the future, rather then the dead bones that were the past....