---Pictures to come at a later date---
Name/Nicknames: Vivex, "Viv","Guardian" (Given as a general term for her "bloodline"/family),"Young One" (Only given by ones of her own race as she is one of the few in the current youngest generation)
Titles: Only titles that would pertain to her are ones long forgotten. If compared to "humanoid" terms she would be considered a princess due to the legacy her "bloodline" has held, but her race takes no notice to titles as such. They only take notice to certain bloodlines and putting a name to them. Her bloodline being that of the Guardian. The "Guardian" title having been given many several hundreds of years ago from those whom made a pact with her ancestors for protection when needed along with safekeeping trinkets that their "charges" held dear.
Tier/Influence: Tier 3/Low. Her species/race naturally has/had this rank as an overall average and she fits right into the bill with most of them in this regard. They were once more well known as a more "feral" type and considered "monsters" due to, as a whole, their lack of a more considered "civilized" stature like most other races/species that can speak and use tools. Their multiple abilities, techniques and mannerisms helped them to obtain that type of influence. One of the Terins' ability is that they are naturally resistant to direct magic, meaning regardless if it is an icebolt or a stream of lightening as long as it came from magic it generally will not effect them. They are "magic neutral" being resistant to it and unable to wield it.
Groups: Unaffiliated
Description:
Gender: Female
Age: Young for her kind, but well into maturity.
Standing Stance: Prefers to stay on all fours but can walk comfortably on her hind legs and even run.
Race/Species: Terin
Basics About the species:
- Lifespan: They are like turtles, they will continue to age until they are killed and do not become "brittle" with time. They are not immortal, they just have long lifespans.
- Type most people consider them as: Beasts, Monsters, Animals
- Culture: They behave like animals, because that is what they are. They have their own "code of honor" system that every single one takes seriously, meaning it never would occur to them to go against it as to do any differently would mean for them to be a target for their whole race. They would not personally seek out the one whom went against "how things should be" but if that one happened to cross their path it would mean death. Their "code of honor" being not considered up to civilized standards and there are not very "codes" in it, all of them passed down the generations verbally and no other way. As a "pup" they are raised, taught and protected by both their Sire and their Dam. The families ranging no more than 3 pups, any more are killed off by the Dam at birth. When growing up they are taught the basics of the hunt, about their bloodline, basics of where they currently are and minorly about much else usually. Only what their parents know which may not be much else than that. As they progress in age either the Dam or the Sire leaves and the other parent stays. Which one stays depends on which one that that territory was originally claimed by. They mate for life, and are usually living in neighboring territories but do not live their whole lives together. One pair only making one liter for both of their entire lives. The population as a whole has never had a drastic increase and there has always been very few in number simply from them killing each other over territory or other races hunting them for the "monsters that they are" or simply just extreme learning and hunting mistakes. The ones that have continued to thrive are the "Elders", only roughly maybe 30 still living. They are respected by the whole of their species but not revered. Any greater battles that may have occurred, have never had a single Terin in it as an active part. They do not do politics. They think it a senseless notion, along with hierarchy. If you are more cunning, clever and strong then you are the top in your area. They do not go out of their way to bully one another into figuring out who that "top" may be, but when there is a dispute they fight to the death. And word spreads. When one challenges the other over a piece of territory they make it known to one another then choose to meet specifically on the land in question. They meet face to face as if in a civilized duel and tear each other to shreds, and even if it becomes clear that it is an unfair fight they will both continue to fight to the death over it as is their custom. When it may come to more personal disputes and a respect issue is involved one may "take a knee" as a silent request to obtain a painless death from the one they have "taken a knee" to. Mostly, the deaths are drawn out and not a single howl of pain would be heard. To show pain or flee during battle is worse than a slow death to a Terin. Just as the battles are fearless so can be growing up with siblings. When the pups reach a certain age they will attempt to shred one another based more on a hormonal and instinctual thing than anger or wish driven. They are well aware when they do it and it is common among families to happen. In most Terin bloodlines the original territory, the "Nest" meaning the one that continues to stay with that bloodline, is disputed between the last pup out of the nest and the parent. It is common that the parent wins due to skill.
Very few scholars, poachers and hunters have studied their kind simply because of how difficult it can be to even find one... with getting to scribe or tell about it. The only records of some are tales told by some wanderers of carcasses of cattle strung up trees or by the very few scatterings of the elven scholar whom taken some note on the "Guardian" beasts just outside the castle walls many many years ago. Those scrolls and books weathered, torn and lost...
(There is much, MUCH more to this species with their history and their mechanics of living amongst other races with many other things... let me know if you wish for me to elaborate more. For now, I wish to at least get it posted so I will continue with the rest of this bio.)
Size/Shape:
- Tail: Similar in appearance to a long, medium length furred feline. Roughly 5' in length from base to tip.
- Ears: Lightly tufted, seem large for her head. Stand from her head to their tips at roughly 8".
- Eyes: Large for helping to see in the dark.
- Height to the top of her head when on fours: roughly 3' to 3'6"'
- Height to the top of her head when standing erect: roughly 6' to 6'6"
- Build: Lean, flexible, lithe yet muscular
- Head shape: An odd mix between a cat's and a fox's yet not looking completely like either one.
- Body shape: Smooth and fluid with a larger "barrel", very "airstream"
- Legs: Proportionate to her main body.
- Neck: Medium in length and "average" thickness compared to her form.
- Claws: Always sharpened, her "forepaws" do fully retract but her "hindpaws" keep slightly poked out for traction. Both looking similar to a cat's only being a bit more thick and less brittle.
Appearance: When not trying to keep hidden her, just short of medium length, fur takes on a more light silver that changes from how the light hits it to very light to a medium/deep silver. Her natural skin pigment being of a medium to light grey origin, including the inside of her mouth. Around her eyes being a slightly darker shade along with faint "brindle" marks covering all over that faintly show through into her fur. Her claws are mostly dark grey with patches of "white" or lighter greys. Her form looks completely animalistic. No "chest", no "abs". She has a distinctive snout but only slits for nostrils, no "nose". Her teeth are healthy and strong, commonly used if a fight and are tinted very light grey.
Personality: Silent mostly, Observant, Calculating, Strong curiosity bone, Loyal, Disciplined, Careful, Clever, Violently territorial towards her own species, always wanting to learn, Seemingly shy at times
Abilities/Talents:
For Her Species:
(Tier 2) - Her species naturally has the ability to adapt to whatever surrounding they choose to be in (AKA high mountains, thick jungle, marshlands, alpine, tundra, etc...), usually this takes a quite few years (at least 5 to show any real symbolism of that area) of being in that biome/environment to do and as long as they stay they will continue to "change" to match their environment which takes longer time but it is doable. They can adapt so well that as an adult they take on the "appearance" of their surroundings, over time changing shape and even size (like a fish growing to the size to "fit the aquarium") to perfectly match their territory. A good, but off, example is how a sea dragon can virtually "disappear" amongst it's home. Only the "Elders" of the species are the extreme cases of this, being so well adapted that they hardly have any resemblance of what they actually are. Through this "adaptability" they learn small techniques picked up from where ever they decide to claim. One example is the ability to mimic certain songs of birds or other animals to try to lure them closer for an ambush. Another example is having, over a long period of time meaning several years of being in the same environment, developed longer legs and a more flexible spine similar to a cheetah's for quick spurts of chasing prey.
(Tier 2) - Young ones (ones having not yet established/found their own territory yet) are able to rather quickly "chameleon". Not disappear but their fur enables their skin color to show through just enough and their pigmentation can quickly turn (for one that is skilled at it it can take one full second) to that of their surroundings as a defensive and hunting maneuver, with practice and teaching mind you.
(Tier 2) - Even with being separated by many, many miles and long periods of time from speaking to another one of their kind they can still understand one another as far as communication goes due from their teachings by their Sires and Dams of the basic language, along with being taught the basics of other species' languages. But that knowledge varies greatly on what knowledge the Sire and Dam had.
(Tier 1) - All of them start off being able to see in the dark ( as a physical mutation, nothing more ) as that time being the easiest to hunt in for a pup.
(Tier 3) - All are "magic Neutral" meaning they are resistant to direct magic of any form and can not wield it themselves.
Solely Her Own:
(Tier 2) - She had been born with the ability of "Spirit Speech". "Spirit Speech" meaning regardless of the species, dialect, language, etc. she can understand and speak back with them able to understand her. This is not because she can mimic the language but is more of a mentally induced capability as her own speech is not very smooth nor pleasant at times. When she speaks she still voices the words and dialect (just a very rough form of it) but in the other's mind there is no doubt what statement she is getting across. Example, just as when someone claims that a spirit is speaking to them they know what it is saying regardless of what language that person may speak themselves.
Inventory:
(Tier 1) - One "handmade" leather necklace, made from various small strands of multiple different animals with fur still attached. Its circumference not much bigger than the thickness of her neck with her fur mostly covering it.
(Tier ?) - One seemingly uninteresting stone located in a pouch hanging from the necklace. This stone being the one that has immense power when augmented with a master smith and into the right hilt. The stone can only show its power through a weapon, meaning that it is just a plain stone until it is forged into the hilt of a specific type of weapon. The crafting of that weapon has to be done exactly right, meaning the exact compound make up of different metals at the right temperatures at the right times throughout the smithing process, for it to "unlock" its potential power. You can not wield it as just the stone by itself. it is purely an augmentation.
It has something along the lines of rendering the target's defense useless per "strike". Meaning it is an extreme case of armour piercing, even when it comes to magic defense. It does not grant the wielder that power, it would be the weapon's alone. It can be taken from that weapon and used again but that weapon would become destroyed in the process. The armour piercing is why the Elven kings held it so dear as it was the "garnish" to a bow that had been passed down through generations, but when they kingdom was to become corrupt and began the slow fall to its own demise a Scholar destroyed the bow to to keep that kind of tool out of the rival's hands. Then passed the stone to the Guardians to safe keep.
(Tier 1) - One leather pouch made from a rare small, extremely hard to catch bird. The pouch is made up of the bird's defeathered, small, mummy-like body still whole. It's mouth torn just enough to fit the small stone and its beak pinned shut by a piece of bone through the singular holes in its lower and upper beak.
History:
Back to the days of the "Ancients" her ancestors (her "bloodline") had had a pact made with them by an Elven king to not eat his people nor livestock in exchange for no one to enter the swamp in his lands. This pact was made after the Elven king sent a quarter of his army into the woods and swamps to search and kill the beast that had disemboweled his warrior daughter and partially ate his grandson. The beasts were a family of five, the Sire, the Dam and their three pups. Only the difficultly of the swamp lands spared the time to turn the tables to the beast's favor. The battle was that of confusion, raw anger and pools of blood... It had come down to just the pups and the Sire and much less of what was a quarter of an army. The king was the one to call for a truce, seeing that due to the swamp that the battle was getting nowhere and seeing his small army spent just for his loss. The king called out to the beast with no real intentions on thinking there would be a vocal response, mentally declaring no one to enter these swamps. As he turned to leave he heard a rough, low rumble of a voice merely just up the side of a large tree he was standing beside. It stated "We call your truce. If you are to no longer come into my territory again. We will leave your people alone." Shocked but actually to afraid to look up he regained his kingly composure just as quickly as he had lost it and gave one solid firm nod. Motioning his army to follow him out of the swamps as he mounted his healthy horned steed.
Many years passed and the truce turned to that of a myth... until the Elvish lay under threat of siege. An elf advisor having kept record of all tales to tell remembered the one that happened when she was just a girl... quite a many decades ago. She took to the swamps as there was no other option even remotely feasible. The army had split as Twins had came to the throne and one could not bow down to the other. One of them had left with over half of the army and was coming back with allies to take what he thought was his. With her secret lover's life on the line, the other King, she had sought out any possible method to win as losing would mean hardly anything to the people, because both had proven to be noble caring leaders, but it mean the life of her beloved. With only herself she called out as she rode to the edge of the swamps fear and slight desperation in her tone as in her mind she counted each step closer she knew that army was taking. She had no real fear of this beast, but apprehension. Not knowing remotely what to expect as all the tales depicting the slaughter of the princess and prince and what exactly occurred were vague. Waiting for what seemed like eons she noticed her mount suddenly become calmer, as if being soothed and realized words were being said, but not to her. She looked around quickly and even up but could detect not. Then slowly the unexpected happened.. her equine suddenly, yet slowly, began to just lay down with her still upon his back. As he did so she got off and just looked down at him in bewilderment. As she opened her lips softly curved lips to ask what and why she noticed something that chilled her to the bone. She had been watched the entire time by something she had just thought was part of a log. The greenish-brown rotting log had mottled, grey-brown eyes that were unblinking and staring at her. She held back her small gasp as the beast slowly stood, on all four limbs, and waited. Listening... Watching.... Learning..... He stood only a head taller than a large feline but something about the creature seemed... more. She darted a quick glance to see the reaction of her faithful companion whom had never let her down and saw that he was still calm with his ears perked. Taking a deep breath, feeling a little crazy, and now fearful she told this beast the plight and waited in silence judging if she was being an idiot talking to some... animal. The beast listened very carefully, letting her explain why she came calling out to the swamp and the plight at hand. At first he pondered if he should just let the awaiting pups toy with her for practice... but... if this happens the woods might be filled with soldiers... half of an army, and he knows the size of that army because since that day his Mate died defending their pups he had taken careful note of their neighbors. His mind made up with no doubts... he would help this King, the family that killed his Mate, to help keep the woods and swam safer. He would kill that other King. No other King means no war. In a low rumble, that of what was the same rumble that spoke to that last King he told her his decision.
From that day forth many other pacts were made between that Elven kingdom and that "bloodline" of beasts. Thus, being dubbed "the line of Guardians". Pacts to even come into the stone laced walls and guard over the royal family at night were made and even to the latest of harboring a small stone that is meant to be a powerful augmentation to be placed in the hilt of a weapon. The last pact was made more than five thousand years ago and the once grand Elven kingdom has long since been no more. Each pup claimed to watch over the stone with their lives until the right person comes to seek for it, the one pup out of the litter that inherits their Dam's territory inherited the stone with it. The one to come retrieve the powerful tool is one that knows its origins and its specific use. That person never came... The stone continued to be passed down the generations for protection. Now, it has just been given to Vivex as her siblings have gone long ago by Death's hand and her Dam has chosen to "take a knee" to Vivex as has been tradition for the Dam to do for the last pup ever since the stone became the bloodline's charge.
The common knowledge about Terins having faded to legends and myths and her bloodline's reputation forgotten by the world... The only tales of her species are the ones of missing livestock and adventurers throughout the world and the "unknown" monsters eating other creatures and toying with them... leaving their remains as if a cat with a mouse.
Name/Nicknames: Vivex, "Viv","Guardian" (Given as a general term for her "bloodline"/family),"Young One" (Only given by ones of her own race as she is one of the few in the current youngest generation)
Titles: Only titles that would pertain to her are ones long forgotten. If compared to "humanoid" terms she would be considered a princess due to the legacy her "bloodline" has held, but her race takes no notice to titles as such. They only take notice to certain bloodlines and putting a name to them. Her bloodline being that of the Guardian. The "Guardian" title having been given many several hundreds of years ago from those whom made a pact with her ancestors for protection when needed along with safekeeping trinkets that their "charges" held dear.
Tier/Influence: Tier 3/Low. Her species/race naturally has/had this rank as an overall average and she fits right into the bill with most of them in this regard. They were once more well known as a more "feral" type and considered "monsters" due to, as a whole, their lack of a more considered "civilized" stature like most other races/species that can speak and use tools. Their multiple abilities, techniques and mannerisms helped them to obtain that type of influence. One of the Terins' ability is that they are naturally resistant to direct magic, meaning regardless if it is an icebolt or a stream of lightening as long as it came from magic it generally will not effect them. They are "magic neutral" being resistant to it and unable to wield it.
Groups: Unaffiliated
Description:
Gender: Female
Age: Young for her kind, but well into maturity.
Standing Stance: Prefers to stay on all fours but can walk comfortably on her hind legs and even run.
Race/Species: Terin
Basics About the species:
- Lifespan: They are like turtles, they will continue to age until they are killed and do not become "brittle" with time. They are not immortal, they just have long lifespans.
- Type most people consider them as: Beasts, Monsters, Animals
- Culture: They behave like animals, because that is what they are. They have their own "code of honor" system that every single one takes seriously, meaning it never would occur to them to go against it as to do any differently would mean for them to be a target for their whole race. They would not personally seek out the one whom went against "how things should be" but if that one happened to cross their path it would mean death. Their "code of honor" being not considered up to civilized standards and there are not very "codes" in it, all of them passed down the generations verbally and no other way. As a "pup" they are raised, taught and protected by both their Sire and their Dam. The families ranging no more than 3 pups, any more are killed off by the Dam at birth. When growing up they are taught the basics of the hunt, about their bloodline, basics of where they currently are and minorly about much else usually. Only what their parents know which may not be much else than that. As they progress in age either the Dam or the Sire leaves and the other parent stays. Which one stays depends on which one that that territory was originally claimed by. They mate for life, and are usually living in neighboring territories but do not live their whole lives together. One pair only making one liter for both of their entire lives. The population as a whole has never had a drastic increase and there has always been very few in number simply from them killing each other over territory or other races hunting them for the "monsters that they are" or simply just extreme learning and hunting mistakes. The ones that have continued to thrive are the "Elders", only roughly maybe 30 still living. They are respected by the whole of their species but not revered. Any greater battles that may have occurred, have never had a single Terin in it as an active part. They do not do politics. They think it a senseless notion, along with hierarchy. If you are more cunning, clever and strong then you are the top in your area. They do not go out of their way to bully one another into figuring out who that "top" may be, but when there is a dispute they fight to the death. And word spreads. When one challenges the other over a piece of territory they make it known to one another then choose to meet specifically on the land in question. They meet face to face as if in a civilized duel and tear each other to shreds, and even if it becomes clear that it is an unfair fight they will both continue to fight to the death over it as is their custom. When it may come to more personal disputes and a respect issue is involved one may "take a knee" as a silent request to obtain a painless death from the one they have "taken a knee" to. Mostly, the deaths are drawn out and not a single howl of pain would be heard. To show pain or flee during battle is worse than a slow death to a Terin. Just as the battles are fearless so can be growing up with siblings. When the pups reach a certain age they will attempt to shred one another based more on a hormonal and instinctual thing than anger or wish driven. They are well aware when they do it and it is common among families to happen. In most Terin bloodlines the original territory, the "Nest" meaning the one that continues to stay with that bloodline, is disputed between the last pup out of the nest and the parent. It is common that the parent wins due to skill.
Very few scholars, poachers and hunters have studied their kind simply because of how difficult it can be to even find one... with getting to scribe or tell about it. The only records of some are tales told by some wanderers of carcasses of cattle strung up trees or by the very few scatterings of the elven scholar whom taken some note on the "Guardian" beasts just outside the castle walls many many years ago. Those scrolls and books weathered, torn and lost...
(There is much, MUCH more to this species with their history and their mechanics of living amongst other races with many other things... let me know if you wish for me to elaborate more. For now, I wish to at least get it posted so I will continue with the rest of this bio.)
Size/Shape:
- Tail: Similar in appearance to a long, medium length furred feline. Roughly 5' in length from base to tip.
- Ears: Lightly tufted, seem large for her head. Stand from her head to their tips at roughly 8".
- Eyes: Large for helping to see in the dark.
- Height to the top of her head when on fours: roughly 3' to 3'6"'
- Height to the top of her head when standing erect: roughly 6' to 6'6"
- Build: Lean, flexible, lithe yet muscular
- Head shape: An odd mix between a cat's and a fox's yet not looking completely like either one.
- Body shape: Smooth and fluid with a larger "barrel", very "airstream"
- Legs: Proportionate to her main body.
- Neck: Medium in length and "average" thickness compared to her form.
- Claws: Always sharpened, her "forepaws" do fully retract but her "hindpaws" keep slightly poked out for traction. Both looking similar to a cat's only being a bit more thick and less brittle.
Appearance: When not trying to keep hidden her, just short of medium length, fur takes on a more light silver that changes from how the light hits it to very light to a medium/deep silver. Her natural skin pigment being of a medium to light grey origin, including the inside of her mouth. Around her eyes being a slightly darker shade along with faint "brindle" marks covering all over that faintly show through into her fur. Her claws are mostly dark grey with patches of "white" or lighter greys. Her form looks completely animalistic. No "chest", no "abs". She has a distinctive snout but only slits for nostrils, no "nose". Her teeth are healthy and strong, commonly used if a fight and are tinted very light grey.
Personality: Silent mostly, Observant, Calculating, Strong curiosity bone, Loyal, Disciplined, Careful, Clever, Violently territorial towards her own species, always wanting to learn, Seemingly shy at times
Abilities/Talents:
For Her Species:
(Tier 2) - Her species naturally has the ability to adapt to whatever surrounding they choose to be in (AKA high mountains, thick jungle, marshlands, alpine, tundra, etc...), usually this takes a quite few years (at least 5 to show any real symbolism of that area) of being in that biome/environment to do and as long as they stay they will continue to "change" to match their environment which takes longer time but it is doable. They can adapt so well that as an adult they take on the "appearance" of their surroundings, over time changing shape and even size (like a fish growing to the size to "fit the aquarium") to perfectly match their territory. A good, but off, example is how a sea dragon can virtually "disappear" amongst it's home. Only the "Elders" of the species are the extreme cases of this, being so well adapted that they hardly have any resemblance of what they actually are. Through this "adaptability" they learn small techniques picked up from where ever they decide to claim. One example is the ability to mimic certain songs of birds or other animals to try to lure them closer for an ambush. Another example is having, over a long period of time meaning several years of being in the same environment, developed longer legs and a more flexible spine similar to a cheetah's for quick spurts of chasing prey.
(Tier 2) - Young ones (ones having not yet established/found their own territory yet) are able to rather quickly "chameleon". Not disappear but their fur enables their skin color to show through just enough and their pigmentation can quickly turn (for one that is skilled at it it can take one full second) to that of their surroundings as a defensive and hunting maneuver, with practice and teaching mind you.
(Tier 2) - Even with being separated by many, many miles and long periods of time from speaking to another one of their kind they can still understand one another as far as communication goes due from their teachings by their Sires and Dams of the basic language, along with being taught the basics of other species' languages. But that knowledge varies greatly on what knowledge the Sire and Dam had.
(Tier 1) - All of them start off being able to see in the dark ( as a physical mutation, nothing more ) as that time being the easiest to hunt in for a pup.
(Tier 3) - All are "magic Neutral" meaning they are resistant to direct magic of any form and can not wield it themselves.
Solely Her Own:
(Tier 2) - She had been born with the ability of "Spirit Speech". "Spirit Speech" meaning regardless of the species, dialect, language, etc. she can understand and speak back with them able to understand her. This is not because she can mimic the language but is more of a mentally induced capability as her own speech is not very smooth nor pleasant at times. When she speaks she still voices the words and dialect (just a very rough form of it) but in the other's mind there is no doubt what statement she is getting across. Example, just as when someone claims that a spirit is speaking to them they know what it is saying regardless of what language that person may speak themselves.
Inventory:
(Tier 1) - One "handmade" leather necklace, made from various small strands of multiple different animals with fur still attached. Its circumference not much bigger than the thickness of her neck with her fur mostly covering it.
(Tier ?) - One seemingly uninteresting stone located in a pouch hanging from the necklace. This stone being the one that has immense power when augmented with a master smith and into the right hilt. The stone can only show its power through a weapon, meaning that it is just a plain stone until it is forged into the hilt of a specific type of weapon. The crafting of that weapon has to be done exactly right, meaning the exact compound make up of different metals at the right temperatures at the right times throughout the smithing process, for it to "unlock" its potential power. You can not wield it as just the stone by itself. it is purely an augmentation.
It has something along the lines of rendering the target's defense useless per "strike". Meaning it is an extreme case of armour piercing, even when it comes to magic defense. It does not grant the wielder that power, it would be the weapon's alone. It can be taken from that weapon and used again but that weapon would become destroyed in the process. The armour piercing is why the Elven kings held it so dear as it was the "garnish" to a bow that had been passed down through generations, but when they kingdom was to become corrupt and began the slow fall to its own demise a Scholar destroyed the bow to to keep that kind of tool out of the rival's hands. Then passed the stone to the Guardians to safe keep.
(Tier 1) - One leather pouch made from a rare small, extremely hard to catch bird. The pouch is made up of the bird's defeathered, small, mummy-like body still whole. It's mouth torn just enough to fit the small stone and its beak pinned shut by a piece of bone through the singular holes in its lower and upper beak.
History:
Back to the days of the "Ancients" her ancestors (her "bloodline") had had a pact made with them by an Elven king to not eat his people nor livestock in exchange for no one to enter the swamp in his lands. This pact was made after the Elven king sent a quarter of his army into the woods and swamps to search and kill the beast that had disemboweled his warrior daughter and partially ate his grandson. The beasts were a family of five, the Sire, the Dam and their three pups. Only the difficultly of the swamp lands spared the time to turn the tables to the beast's favor. The battle was that of confusion, raw anger and pools of blood... It had come down to just the pups and the Sire and much less of what was a quarter of an army. The king was the one to call for a truce, seeing that due to the swamp that the battle was getting nowhere and seeing his small army spent just for his loss. The king called out to the beast with no real intentions on thinking there would be a vocal response, mentally declaring no one to enter these swamps. As he turned to leave he heard a rough, low rumble of a voice merely just up the side of a large tree he was standing beside. It stated "We call your truce. If you are to no longer come into my territory again. We will leave your people alone." Shocked but actually to afraid to look up he regained his kingly composure just as quickly as he had lost it and gave one solid firm nod. Motioning his army to follow him out of the swamps as he mounted his healthy horned steed.
Many years passed and the truce turned to that of a myth... until the Elvish lay under threat of siege. An elf advisor having kept record of all tales to tell remembered the one that happened when she was just a girl... quite a many decades ago. She took to the swamps as there was no other option even remotely feasible. The army had split as Twins had came to the throne and one could not bow down to the other. One of them had left with over half of the army and was coming back with allies to take what he thought was his. With her secret lover's life on the line, the other King, she had sought out any possible method to win as losing would mean hardly anything to the people, because both had proven to be noble caring leaders, but it mean the life of her beloved. With only herself she called out as she rode to the edge of the swamps fear and slight desperation in her tone as in her mind she counted each step closer she knew that army was taking. She had no real fear of this beast, but apprehension. Not knowing remotely what to expect as all the tales depicting the slaughter of the princess and prince and what exactly occurred were vague. Waiting for what seemed like eons she noticed her mount suddenly become calmer, as if being soothed and realized words were being said, but not to her. She looked around quickly and even up but could detect not. Then slowly the unexpected happened.. her equine suddenly, yet slowly, began to just lay down with her still upon his back. As he did so she got off and just looked down at him in bewilderment. As she opened her lips softly curved lips to ask what and why she noticed something that chilled her to the bone. She had been watched the entire time by something she had just thought was part of a log. The greenish-brown rotting log had mottled, grey-brown eyes that were unblinking and staring at her. She held back her small gasp as the beast slowly stood, on all four limbs, and waited. Listening... Watching.... Learning..... He stood only a head taller than a large feline but something about the creature seemed... more. She darted a quick glance to see the reaction of her faithful companion whom had never let her down and saw that he was still calm with his ears perked. Taking a deep breath, feeling a little crazy, and now fearful she told this beast the plight and waited in silence judging if she was being an idiot talking to some... animal. The beast listened very carefully, letting her explain why she came calling out to the swamp and the plight at hand. At first he pondered if he should just let the awaiting pups toy with her for practice... but... if this happens the woods might be filled with soldiers... half of an army, and he knows the size of that army because since that day his Mate died defending their pups he had taken careful note of their neighbors. His mind made up with no doubts... he would help this King, the family that killed his Mate, to help keep the woods and swam safer. He would kill that other King. No other King means no war. In a low rumble, that of what was the same rumble that spoke to that last King he told her his decision.
From that day forth many other pacts were made between that Elven kingdom and that "bloodline" of beasts. Thus, being dubbed "the line of Guardians". Pacts to even come into the stone laced walls and guard over the royal family at night were made and even to the latest of harboring a small stone that is meant to be a powerful augmentation to be placed in the hilt of a weapon. The last pact was made more than five thousand years ago and the once grand Elven kingdom has long since been no more. Each pup claimed to watch over the stone with their lives until the right person comes to seek for it, the one pup out of the litter that inherits their Dam's territory inherited the stone with it. The one to come retrieve the powerful tool is one that knows its origins and its specific use. That person never came... The stone continued to be passed down the generations for protection. Now, it has just been given to Vivex as her siblings have gone long ago by Death's hand and her Dam has chosen to "take a knee" to Vivex as has been tradition for the Dam to do for the last pup ever since the stone became the bloodline's charge.
The common knowledge about Terins having faded to legends and myths and her bloodline's reputation forgotten by the world... The only tales of her species are the ones of missing livestock and adventurers throughout the world and the "unknown" monsters eating other creatures and toying with them... leaving their remains as if a cat with a mouse.
