The Magical Creatures of Velgarth

Please note that this information is taken directly from the VALDEMAR WIKIA, with book citations intact. Canon modifications, if any are made for Groveborne, will be noted as such. Players are welcome to play any character listed here independently, though we advise against playing Bondbirds or Warsteeds solo, since they do not interact with others outside of their bonded. Companions and Firecats, since they are definitely Not Animals, can be played as solo, unbonded characters or as part of a bonded pairing with a human. The remaining sentient Animal character classes can be treated just as you would a human character.


CompanionsCompanions are highly intelligent magical creatures who look like (but are not) white horses with silver hooves and blue eyes. Companions "Choose" Heralds, and the bond can affect both parties' spiritual and physical well-being.

Though the true nature of the Companions has not been fully revealed, it is inferred they are both the returned spirits of departed Heralds and Companions, as well as divine agents or "avatars" of the gods.

Groveborne Canon: Heralds are, by virtue of the beings that 'Choose' them, sickeningly good people. You won't find a truly 'evil' person among the heralds, though it is certainly possible for a Herald (like any fallible mortal) to go insane as a result of grief, trauma or all of the above. They can come from all sorts of backgrounds, from petty thieves to blue blood nobles, but all Heralds share a unifying, down-to-their-core goodness that makes them attractive to a Companion in the first place.

Additionally, Heralds must have some sort of Gift - even if it is just the most basic of rudimentary, deep trance mindspeech with their companion. There is just something special about them, whether it is their basic good nature or budding leadership quality, that leads a companion to them.

Gryphons

The gryphons are a race of primary avian/secondary feline-based creatures created by the Mage Urtho in the time before the Mage War trilogy. Gryphons, which are quadrupedal, winged, sentient beings, have the ability to fly and the potential for both magic and mind-magic. Usually, all four legs of a gryphon end in taloned feet of great strength. In some cases the forefeet are more handlike and useful for fine manipulations.

Gryphons are deadly fighters and, save for a colddrake, there seems to be no creature that is a match for them without the aid of ranged weaponry, magic, a surprise tactic or a large dose of sheer luck. They also work as scouts and messengers, using their superior senses and speed. Two gryphons together (or a single one, supported by weight-reduction magic) are able to carry a harness or a sled with a human for several hours.

In 'present-day' Velgarth, gryphons reside primarily in Iftel and as members of k'Leshya, as well as in the wild.

Hertasi

This is a race of short lizard-like people allegedly created by accident by one of Urtho's predecessors (The Black Gryphon). The race is known for friendly relations with the Tayledras, as well as making up a substantial part of the population of k'Leshya. The race as a whole has a compulsion to serve, such as cooking and serving of meals and the cleaning and repairing of clothing, pathways, or housing. They are not subservient in this. They are able to use Mind-Magic, and some of them become Healers and Mages as well.

The average Hertasi is described as being about the height of the chest of a man, with a short, stubby snout and short, stubby fingers that are highly dexterous, and covered in pebble-scales of a blue-gray coloration. Hertasi can be extremely timid, though there are exceptions.

Dyheli

The dyheli are a race of stag-like creatures with a talent for offensive mind-magic. Dyheli herds are led by the male with the strongest mind; and in times of crisis the leader can and will psychically control the entire herd. Dyheli herds can be found near Tayledras Vales and as part of Clan k'Leshya.

They seem to be universally white-furred and white-horned by all accounts, with highly intelligent eyes, and instead of antlers they possess long, curved horns similar to an antelope.

Kyree

Kyree are popularly considered to be one of the five non-human sentient races created by Urtho, but in Urtho's time it was believed that a more ancient mage was responsible for their creation. The Sorcerer-Adept who created them began with a "now-extinct species of grasslands lupine." (Finding the Way and Other Tales of Valdemar: "Finding the Way")

They resemble wolves, but are much larger, with shoulders standing as high as a man's waist. They have broad and wolf-like heads with rounded foreheads, forward-facing eyes and enormous jaws. In description the kyree have "rather blunt, wolf-like heads and bodies like a cheetah, with tails and coats like wolves," and they live for "about as long as humans." Kyree have intelligence equal to that of humans and are Mindspeakers. Some kyree are also born with additional Gifts and may become mages, healers or shaman.

They are frequently found in the Pelagirs region, though they may live elsewhere. The Hot Springs Clan, for instance, lives close to the Ice Wall Mountains.

There are three sexes of kyree: males, females and neuters. As with wolves, pack family life centers around the breeding males and females, and thus the neuters often are at loose ends and tend to become wanderers. Neuters frequently become historians and storytellers, carrying the chronicles of notable kyree as well as those of other races (human and non-human alike). As with wolves, kyree packs are family units - not a loose collection of individuals. Oftentimes a clan could have as many as five distinct families, with each family defined as an older breeding pair, their resulting offspring and THEIR mates/offspring.

Ratha

The ratha are mentioned in Storm Breaking by the Gryphon Tashiketh, and are described as being "what kyree are to wolves, ratha are to mountain cats"). They can be assumed in reasonable course, then, to possess Mindspeech, since they're compared to the kyree who by virtue of what they are, always have the Gift of Mindspeech.

Tervardi

The tervardi are a race of flightless, anthropomorphic bird people. Known Tervardi settlements are found among the Tayledras and as members of k'Leshya. They are said to be beautiful singers and musicians. They were once traded as slaves because of their unique and enchanting voices, but the slave trade has stopped since they came under the protection of the Tayledras. It is mentioned in one of the novels that the tervardi are not useful for physical offensive action due to their fragile birdlike physiolog

Firecats
Firecats are similar to the Companions in that they are the returned spirits of the Sons of the Sun, the head of the church of Karse, effectively the head of the country. Because there are far fewer Sons of the Sun, there are fewer Firecats. Firecats do not make any attempt to hide their nature and use the same name they had in their former life. Rather than choosing a human, firecats are assigned (presumably by Vkandis).

Firecats resemble very, very large Siamese cats with red markings instead of brown, and blue eyes. They have the ability to appear as a common cat, become invisible and to transport themselves long distances by teleportation (called "jumping"). They can also transport objects or humans, although the extra "load" tires them greatly. Like Companions, Firecats are mortal, must eat and sleep and grieve.

Known Firecats:

• Altra - Background NPC, not mentioned in Groveborne.
• Hansa - Background NPC, bonded with Solaris, background mentions in Groveborne only.
• Khar - Open to adoption
• Reulan - Open to adoption

Groveborne Canon:
Priest of Vkandis who come to be followed around by a Firecat are rare. Very rare, given how few former Sons of the Sun exist. Players wishing to play a solo Firecat may do so, but players wishing to play a Priest who has been chosen by a Firecat must run their basic background by an admin. Since Firecats speak for Vkandis Himself, it is expected that human Priests who have His favor (i.e. the attention of a Firecat) are basically good people with a true priestly vocation. Evil characters cannot bond with, or be given any time of day by, a Firecat.

Bondbirds


The bondbirds of the Hawkbrothers are similar to Companions in that the birds choose the human that they wish to bond with. They bond only with Tayledras or those adopted into a Tayledras clan. All Tayledras are able to speak with their bondbirds mind-to-mind -- however, this is done in a more rudimentary fashion than the way Heralds speak to their Companions. Unlike Companions, many bondbirds may choose to bond to the same human at the same time. This happens most often with flocks of crows.

Tayledras are known for their bondbirds, who are larger, have enhanced intelligence (compared to normal birds) and limited Mindspeech. Thoughts are more often expressed as images and/or feelings rather than words, but bondbirds are capable of forming simple phrases. Those with more intelligence are more capable at speaking with words. They bond to their birds in a way similar to Heralds and Companions, though the birds are far less intelligent than Companions. Also unlike Heralds, a single Tayledras may bond to more than one bird at a time.

Bondbirds are mostly derived from raptors, and specially bred by the Tayledras. As a result, bondbirds bond only with those members of Tayledras clans or one who has been fully adopted into one. The Tayledras will select a type of raptor/bird they wish to cultivate, and then work from there, using magic to build up factors such as size, intelligence, etc.

Unlike their raptor counterparts, bondbirds are much larger - approximately 1.5x the average of a non-bondbird bred raptor. They are also much smarter and are capable of cooperation. Birds of different species that would kill each other in the wild get along well and even play together when they are of Bondbird breeding.

Snowfall k'Vala uses the term ye’dorkandan k’shulah in reference to bondbirds. This seems to refer to a grouping or community of bondbirds.

BONDBIRD SPECIES
Forestgyre - Analogous to a gyrfalcon
Crested Hawkeagle - Large eagle-like bird with rich golden plumage, similar to a Harpy Eagle, currently the largest bonbird species known
Cooperihawks - Small hawk type (Similar to a Cooper's Hawk) and very promiscuous in nature
Perlin Falcon - Small falcon, similar to a Merlin
Salt Eagle - Analogous to a Stellar's Sea Eagle, only found near Lake Evendim
Red Hawk - Analogous to a Red Tailed Hawk
Snow Eagle - Analogous to a bald eagle, except pure white
Golden Eagle
Sharpshinned Hawk
Red Shouldered Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Kestrel Falcon
Snow Owl
Eagle Owl
Screech Owl
Gray Owl
Horned Owl
Raven
Firebird
To bond with a bird, a Tayledras simply finds a young or injured bird and offers them the choice. Freedom of the wilds, or the bond.

Non-Tayledras characters typically do NOT have bondbirds. A player wishing for a non-Tayledras character to have a bondbird must have that character at least have spent a considerable amount of time living, or training, with a Tayledras clan in their history.

When describing your bondbird, please mention whether they are large, medium or small. We'll be updating this listing with more accurate measurements per species as time permits.

Bright Leapers & the Deep One

Warsteeds

The warsteed is a type of horse specially bred and trained by the Shin'a'in clans for as long as they have lived on the Dhorisha Plains. Bred primarily for intelligence, agility, strength and endurance were also highly prized characteristics.

In action:

The mare was laying all about her with iron-shod hooves and enormous yellow teeth; neither animal nor man was likely to escape her once she'd targeted him. She had an uncanny sense for anyone trying to get to her rider by disabling her; once she twisted and bucked like a cat on hot metal to simultaneously crush the bandit in front of her while kicking in the teeth of the one that had thought to hamstring her from the rear. She accounted for at least as many of the bandits as Tarma did.(Oathbound, Oathblood)

In description:

"They had thick necks and huge, ugly heads with broad foreheads. They looked like unpolished statues of rough granite, and were nearly as tough. They could live very handily on forage even a mule would reject; they could travel sunrise to sunset at a ground-devouring lope that was something like a wolf's tireless tracking-pace. They could be trusted with an infant, but would kill on signal or on a perceived threat. They were more intelligent... than a mule, even. In their ability to obey and to reason they more resembled a highly trained dog than a horse, for they could actually work out a simple problem on their own." (Oathbound)

Amberdrake, who knew full well what had gone into the breeding program, noted that Kaled'a'in healers and mages had worked together to create the final product. The changes were more subtle than those of the bondbirds, but in his mind, more impressive.

"Bone density had been increased, hoof strength increased, in some cases extra muscles had been created that simply didn't exist in a 'normal' horse. The digestion had been changed; the warhorses could forage where few other horses could feed...[they] were no longer herd beasts. They were pack animals. Their behavior was no longer that of a horse, but like a dog." (The Black Gryphon, Chapter Eight)

The high level of intelligence and skill in a warsteed is much of the reason the Dhorisha Plains have never been conquered. However, the mares do not breed frequently, making the breed somewhat rare. For that reason, no warsteed has ever left the clans. They cannot be purchased at any price, and the horses themselves are too intelligent and well-trained to allow themselves to be stolen.

No stallions are ever allowed to leave the Plains for any reason. Only the mares go out with adventuring clansmen.