Shy's Growing Family

Blessed Are The Peacemakers Genderless Solar Athid

Name: Soft

Mindspeech: Color #3e35d0

When they were a young Athid Blessed saw something that would forever impact their life: They saw the aftermath of a brawl gone horribly wrong. What began as a simple argument that they couldn't de-escalate due to their inexperience exploded into blades, blood, and death. While left unharmed Blessed made the decision to not only learn as much as they could to prevent such an incident in the future but that they would refuse to use violence for any reason.

In short, Blessed is a pacifist. They Mindspeak in a quiet, steady voice never lifted in anger and move about in such a manner that gives the impression of serenity. They feel anger, of course, as well as all other emotions like any living creature but have mastered their ability to control their emotions and themselves. They are a wellspring of legal and cultural knowledge gathered so that they more fully understand every nuance of disagreements. They also have a habit - call it bad or good at your discretion - of physically getting in the way of that first blow when they are able. Oftentimes they've seen that when the one pleading with others not to fight takes a hit it stops the aggressions for a minute or two, which can give them the time they need to get others to see reason.

When there is no arguments to deal with, Blessed is a warm, friendly individual who willingly listens to others problems to offer what advice they can, though they sometimes struggle to give voice to their own troubles.

In appearance Blessed is a two-foot long scarab battle with a charcoal-colored carapace. While some may worry about them overheating it's actually quite a handy coloration as literally their entire body is their solar panel, absorbing sunlight for conversion to energy. Their eyes are two multi-faceted amber gemstones and the tips of their antenna match.

Endlessly Patient, Hard As Stone Brown Male Firelizard

Name: Pebble

It isn't easy being the right hand lizard in a flight of firelizards. Or even the right hand lizard to the right hand lizard. As patient as can be, he has no temper to speak of. None at all in fact. Never gruff. Never frustrated or annoyed. If it takes a member of his flight twelve days to learn something, he will be with them every step of the way till they were confident in their skill. He loves his flight, no matter if they are all firelizards or not, and just wants to see them succeed. Thick skinned, he doesn't let much bother him or get to him. You can rant and vent to him and he won't take anything personally and if you want help, he is always willing to lend a claw.

About the middle of the scale in terms of size, he isn't the biggest nor is he the smallest. His hide is almost perfectly smooth with just a couple of scales around each of his limbs. His underbelly and wing membranes are a sandy color with the rest of him being a rich brown.

Can You Relate? Male Rose Gryphon

Name: Fluff

Mindspeech: Color #b07bb6

Diplomacy is about opening up both your eyes and your heart to both sides, showing them where they are not so different, and guiding them to compromise and respect that they might have never thought possible. So this Gryphon has a simple question: Can you relate? With a calm gaze Relate listens to both sides then quietly speaks his thoughts. We've all been real, and we've all been fake, sinners and saints, right and oh so very wrong. Mistakes are things that we all know. We don't know what it's like to be each other, but doesn't that just make us the same in different ways? We all know what it's like to hurt and feel pain, to laugh and experience joy. Can't we come to agreements and find better days? Even when discussions get truly heated his feathers never get ruffled nor his voice raised. Though he isn't always successful more often than not he at least gives both sides something to think about and sometimes, later on, both parties will come together in a middle ground on their own with mutual respect. In the household Relate will keep the peace between members and help maintain balance, bringing a peaceful aura wherever he is. And when you need him to he can help by listening to your concerns. After all, he can always find ways to Relate.

Relate carries a dignified elegance with him wherever he goes. Unlike some Gryphons he's a long-legged creature on both fronts, with his hind portions having the elegant shape and markings of a King Cheetah, including the bold stripes down his spine as well as the big cat's notable elegant back limbs. His stripes however are a frosty blue and where a cheetah is gold he is white. This white passed up to his bird front which takes its form from an Secretary Bird. His white neck is a bit longer than others, and his legs are equally long and slender with white lower halves. His wings are white with (instead of black) deeper blue primary feathers, and where Secretary birds have orange around their eyes he has a soft golden shade, which nicely frames his amber eyes.

(Inspired by the For King & Country song; Relate

Song Of The Sea Female Swell Sweid

Name: Quiet

Mindspeech: None; Song of the Sea can only use a Sweid's whale-like singing at varying volumes in conjunction with empathy

Song of the Sea is a Swell who is prone to sorrow and loneliness due to being utterly isolated from others of her kind and in fact many other species on Teragaia. She is unable to Mindspeak. Instead she can only use their whale-like singing mixed with an Empathy ability to reach out, and to most her singing is unintelligible. She also can't readily receive Mindspeech from others. The only creature that thus far she's been able to communicate with is her beloved Eyes to the Heart, who acts as her voice and her comfort. She is desperate for friends and this has made her also very loyal to the ones she has, to the point that Song of the Sea readily will go along with anything they want and help them with whatever they need. She also craves physical affection, meaning that she will leave the water more often than most other Sweid if it means being with those she loves. Only with them can she find what she believes is happiness and the balm for her heart she needs.

At only eleven feet long Song of the Sea is a rather small Swell. She has the typical body shape for her rank with their unique delicate claws and flowing fins like a betta, and maintains the wave-making and hover abilities. Her body's base color is an almost neon red with metallic blue, irregular blotches all over it that turn into water-ripple like thin streaks on her fins and tailfin, making it very easy to identify her at a distance. She always wears a necklace that Eyes to the Heart made for her, a waterproof, durable chain with three of the Zaithand's teeth on it.

She Prayed For A Thousand Years Female Angel Familiar, Kiyoko

Mindspeech: Italics #88d096

Another time, another place, another world. A place beset by a plague of a sort, a dark curse that infected unsuspecting people and twisted them into horrible monsters. Specially trained individuals were the only ones who could battle them, though they couldn't save the victims of this curse. Only very special people chosen by the heavens could purify those poor souls and return them to their former selves: maidens of special purity in body, mind, and spirit. One was born every several years and both monsters and heroes hunted for them for obvious reasons. But it wasn't just that these maidens could cleanse the possessed.

They also were chosen to potentially end the curse entirely though the cost was high: spend a thousand years in heaven, in isolation, praying for those of the world. By this the plague would be banished forever! But each girl when faced with the ultimate point of no return balked at paying that price. There was too much in the world that they stood to loose from family, friends, lovers, possessions, or were simply too afraid. So though they could help things for a time they never stopped it.

Then as a teenager Kiyoko found herself facing a boarding school friend, possessed by the curse. In desperation she prayed and a brilliant light surrounded her, bursting out in all directions. She fainted and when she awoke her friend was by her side, restored. Within a week she was gathering new adventurer friends - a holy warrior, a healer, a nobleman scholar, and a mercenary fighter - and traveling the nation purifying those afflicted. She was hailed as a hero, a Godsend, a blessing. Through all their adventures Kiyoko became very close to all of them as they helped her, listened to her troubles, spoke to her about their own troubles, and protected her.

Then she came to her final choice after uncovering a bitter, terrible truth: the nobleman who had been traveling with her was far older than the young adult he seemed. He was a physical host, a conduit, for the entity that was the source of the plague. Though he cared greatly for her he had no choice in the matter: he'd been seeking out the chosen maidens for centuries, befriending them then trying to persuade them to refuse to pray for a thousand years. Before their very eyes he transformed into a strange hybrid of himself and a cursed being, his voice warping and twisting as he spoke. Using ancient magic he whisked both of them to a place between the worlds where he asked her a single question: What is your choice?

With tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, Kiyoko answered him: "I will gladly pray for the world."

The Cursed Nobleman was shocked. He questioned her again and again, pointing out everything she stood to loose forever because though time would stand still for her it would not for everyone else. Everyone she knew would be dead, the world changed beyond recognition. But she stood firm. Even if she never saw them again knowing she was ensuring they would have much more peaceful lives would be worth it. The demon screamed, then vanished leaving the Nobleman behind, finally free. They barely had time to exchange a few words - his shocked that she was so willing and her asking him to pass on a few final words to the others - then he was returned to their world and she… was never seen again though stories of her legend and her heroism were told over and over for ages untold.

Now a thousand years have passed. Her debt is paid, and in thanks she's been given a new life on Teragaia. A chance to find new friends, new family, and new adventures in a new body. It's a gift she's very grateful for especially when a familiar spirit joined her.

Though physically she has changed Kiyoko's heart and personality hasn't altered a bit. She's warm and gentle and kindly to a fault. She's self-sacrificing for the greater good of those she loves and though not really a warrior she isn't afraid to do what she can when conflict erupts even if it's just carrying supplies or helping the wounded to safety. Sometimes she'll share stories about her past but it's always a bittersweet topic. Memories of the past don't stop her from cherishing the present and anticipating the future with joy. Is there any wonder why she would gravitate to Shy, who once faced down terrible creatures to help save people they'd just met but already deeply befriended even at a personal cost?

About the size of a housecat Kiyoko is a creature of pure fantasy. Mostly pristine white with shades of blue and gold for accents, her round body is covered in ultra-soft fur. She has two pairs of wings, one pair feathered and one pair that resemble flowing cloth. She has no legs to speak of though she can hover indefinitely so it's not really an issue. Her long, silky tail starts white then faces into various shades of blue. A short, ivory horn is set above a sky blue diamond between her equally blue eyes and golden eyebrows. A golden collar gleams with a celestial light, a remembrance of Kiyoko's time praying for a world and the gratitude of the heavens.

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The Once-Cursed Nobleman Male Scholar Familiar, Priam

Mindspeech: Bold #44304e

Another time, another place, another world. A family of great wealth had one son, the heir-apparent to a name holding influence and power. But wealth, power, and prestige can only get one so many things in the world. Priam found that he was restless, filled with a longing for… something! He traveled, studied, participated in foreign courts, adventured and sampled the rarest of cuisine and everything that money could buy. Nothing appeased his desires. Then one day he suffered an accident while boating, falling into the waves and sinking so deep down that he thought for sure he would drown. But he didn't - something found him there in the deeps, a presence that not only saved his life but offered him everything he could ever ask for. All he had to do was allow the presence to come with him to the surface. It seemed like a simple thing, so ease, and he didn't want to die.

Looking back on it Priam wishes he would have drowned for what his agreement cost so many. Priam became the Host for a being that sought death and destruction, and it started by destroying Priam's entire family and the heritage they had built up to be his legacy. For the next several centuries Priam was the puppet of the being. He acted as it's silent agent as it sent it's dark energy into the world to possess and corrupt, sewing destruction. What Priam's purpose was to seek out the maidens chosen by the heavens to defeat it, befriend them, gain their confidence, then undermine their willingness to pray for a thousand years to save the world. Though he tried to resist at first he was tormented by nightmares and flashbacks to when he nearly drowned only he was susceptible to all the sensations he experienced at the time with no release of death. Eventually Priam's spirit broke and he simply went along with it, living decade after decade never aging a day and with no hope of release. Every time he found a heavenly maiden he did the being's bidding and every time he was successful.

Until he met Kiyoko. She touched his heart in a way that no other maiden had, warming it and restoring life to his hope. She was simply so good and pure that he began dared dream that maybe she would triumph. He even dared to resist when he was supposed to start hampering her progress though the nightmares didn't let him resist long. And when the final moment finally came and he revealed himself and his true purpose she didn't revile him as the others had nor tell him how much she hated him now. When they were whisked to that place between worlds there were tears in her eyes but not tears of hate. They were tears of affection and sympathy for his suffering. Then she said the words he'd hoped to hear for so long: "I will gladly pray for the world."

At last, he was free.

In their last moments she asked him to relay some sentiments and also told him that she didn't blame him. In this place she understood what transpired before to cause all this and what he'd suffered. She only asked that he be happy and perhaps occasionally think of her. Then he was returned to the normal world alone. To say that he never forgot about her would be an understatement; every day Priam thought about Kiyoko and her sacrifice, what she was doing every minute of every day and what she did for him. He perhaps out of everyone feels the depth of what she has done more keenly. In her honor he spent the remaining years of his life helping others everywhere he went.

Without the being's presence Priam aged naturally and eventually passed away, long before Kiyoko ever completed her prayers. It was the one regret he had that he never would see her again. Or so he believed. Fate or the gods or something had decided to give him a second chance at life in a new body with a familiar friend. What that life will become is now entirely up to him. But whatever it is he will do it at Kiyoko's side, determined to serve her for eternity if he can in gratitude.

Priam is quite a cultured Familiar. He has lost nothing of his nobility and carries himself with a quiet assurance and social graces that might be a bit offset from what some think when they hear Scholar Familiar. But Scholar he is, with a penchant for learning everything he can about the darker arts of magic. It might seem like a dangerous repeat of history but not so! He learns about them for the express purpose of countering such things, destroying wicked artifacts and providing valiant heroes with facts that can help them in any way. His ultimate goal is to never let such a thing as happened to him happen again to anyone. He hopes that he can help Shy better understand their Soul Magic and ensure that the potential for darkness inherent in many soul-relating magics doesn't come anywhere close to tainting the Vessel he calls his Bonded.

Priam's new form is a clear cross between a cat and a bat. He is a solid charcoal gray all over with no markings save for black lines tracing the 'fingers' of his wings. He wears gold cuffs on his wrists and around his tail as a nod to his noble heritage. As is normal for a Scholar Familiar his eyes are deep green but appear as solid orbs of color; they lack any whites or pupils. He is not blind however as his agility in the air and quick reading speed will attest to.

Let's Go On An Adventure Male Feidh Nympkin

Name: Rush

Mindspeech: Italics #ff8a65

This Feidh is a hyper little Nympkin. Lets Go loves to be on the go, seeing, exploring, experiencing! A spooky dark cave? Lets see what's in there! A deep forest? Just begging to be hiked through! The horizon? He's running to catch it! Life is worth living and he's living it for all it's worth! He's rather fearless, to say the least. This can be a blessing, and a curse. His fearlessness tends to make him blind to the potential dangers. He really needs someone to keep an eye on him, if they can with his invisibility powers at his disposal.

Let's Go's favorite treat certainly doesn't help his hyperactivity. He simply adores chocolate chips. White, milk, dark, doesn't matter to him. If it's chocolate and in the shape of a tiny little droplet he's in heaven!

At a lovely average weight of 12 pounds and two feet nose to tail, Let's Go has the markings of a tabby in sea green and white. His smooth, single horn is pale yellow like a star, and suits well with his midnight blue eyes.

A Loving Sweetheart Female Naiad Nadur, Tara



Mindspeech: Italics #ff71ee

Tara is a Nadur who has a very loving heart. She struggles when confronted with the suffering or hardship of others; she has before wept on their behalf. So it's not too surprising that she naturally took well to being a healer. What better way to ease another's pain than to mend their wounds, treat their illness, and if she can restore their spirits though that is often the hardest task of them all. She has an extensive knowledge of plants and their medicinal uses that she isn't afraid to use. Sadly, she is a bit naïve when it comes to the extremes of darkness that others can reach. While this tendency to hold out hope for anyone and everyone it does leave her vulnerable to being taken advantage of or even harmed herself. Surely having someone kindly that can look out for her would be in Tara's best interests.

A delicate four-feet tall, Tara is pure white in color with a pale yellow blanket across her flanks; it almost looks like she's wearing a lacy skirt. Her eyes are mint green. She has a pale gold sock on her right foreleg and favors the leg when offering comfort. As a female Naiad, she has no antlers.