skycatcherchris

[skycatcherchris]

| Winged Cats |

Winged cats have the general appearance of a feral domestic cat, with the wings of a predatory bird whose plumage matches their fur colour. The predatory bird is always a species found in the local area.

Two or all of their legs may be avian, or end in bird feet, or they may be feline. They usually have bigger claws than regular cats, allowing them to perch on branches, and may have more dexterous paws.

At the tips of their tails, winged cats have a single retractable claw, which no longer serves an obvious use. The claw doesn't develop until winged kittens are a few months old.

The cat in the picture, Speedwell, is a black cat with the wings of a raven.

[skycatcherchris]

Something dark is crossing over, burning through the pines.

[skycatcherchris]

Worldbuilding Scraps #1

Often a feather or scrap of fur from someone's first kill is kept as a charm to bring good hunting.

Griffins and dragons will hoard many more items like rings or pebbles, believing then to bring good luck, but usually winged cats and enfields don't keep anything else from their kills unless it's to make their dens more comfortable. Phoenixes believe the paintings on their settlement walls bring good luck, and will often refuse to sleep anywhere else, becoming very tired on journeys to other clans' grounds.

[skycatcherchris]

| Dragons |

Dragons range in size, with land-dwelling dragons being much smaller than marine ones. The smaller land dragons are about the size of a fox, while the bigger ones are about the size of a grey wolf -- marine dragons can be as big as a dolphin, and use their wings as fins as they rarely fly.

They typically have long necks and can have scales in a variety of colours, as well as a wide range of horn types. Beaks or pointed snouts are common.

Some dragons can have full or partial coverings of feathers, quills or fur, and their wings can be membraneous or feathered. While most dragons have tails that taper to a point, some are tipped in plumes or claws.

Their claws usually resemble those of a bird of prey, with large, hooked talons that may or may not have channels running along the sides.

Dragons can use different types of powered breath, usually for tasks like smelting but occasionally for combat. They cannot have more than one breath type, and they usually don't develop until the dragon is a few months old. Common breath types include fire, water, venom, and coldfire -- a silvery substance that resembles bluish-white fire, but freezes whatever it touches rather than burning it.

[skycatcherchris]

I adore your work so much I’d never even heard of an enfield before.

I love the osprey and barn owls in particular

Are there other species of gryphon besides the forest ones?

Sincerely,

@outofangband / @gryphon-lair

Thank you so much!!

I'm really glad my work has introduced people to mythical creatures that aren't very well known. Enfields are from Irish and British mythology and they're used sometimes in heraldry, but they aren't featured in fiction much which is a shame.

There are other species of griffin besides forest ones! This series and blog mostly focuses on forest ones because they're the only kind found in the setting, but other griffins appear occasionally. Some planned species include jungle griffins (jaguar/harpy eagle), savananah griffins (lion/crowned eagle) and Himalayan griffins (snow leopard/Himalayan vulture) to name a few. There are also stone griffins (lynx/various birds of prey) who are said to have a secret outpost of many griffins and other mythical creatures, deep in the mountains in a far-off land.

[skycatcherchris]

| Griffins |

Griffins (specifically forest griffins, the species the picture shows) are about the size of a domestic housecat, although their exact size depends on which bird they have the face and wings of -- a jackdaw or merlin griffin will be much smaller than a white-tailed- or golden eagle griffin. They always have the bird half of a predatory bird, such as an eagle (in the picture, a golden eagle), hawk, falcon, owl, kite, buzzard or crow, and the back half of a feral domestic cat (the feline half of them doesn't resemble any particular breed -- traits vary between clans, and the feline parts of a griffin would be most accurately described as their own unique breed). The bird and cat halves match in colour, and usually in pattern too. Two or all of their legs may be avian, or end in bird feet, or they may be feline, or they may be a hybrid between the two. While they have bird faces, they also have feline ears, whiskers and slit-pupilled eyes (although their eye colour range is that of a bird of prey). They have a cat's night vision, but see the same colours as birds as well as the magnetic poles.

They're apex predators and hunt both in the air and on land, with their hunting methods while flying resembling those of a bird of prey and their hunting methods on land resembling those of a cat.

[skycatcherchris]

| Enfields |

Enfields have the general appearance of a fox (specifically a red fox in European enfields, the example pictured), being slightly smaller and lighter on average as they have hollow bones. They have the wings of a bird of prey that matches their pelt colour. Two or all of their legs may be avian, or end in bird feet, and some clans have bird tails while others have fox tails. Some have plumes near the bases of their wings that can look like an extra pair of tails in flight, and some have a flat ridge of feathers along the spine.

Apex predators, they hunt both in the air and on land, eating a similar diet to regular red foxes. Their hunting methods while flying resemble those of a bird of prey.

They can intermix with red foxes to produce halfling cubs (these cubs have a 50% chance of being winged, and will usually be slightly bigger than an enfield once grown), and often enfield clans will partially consist of non-enfield foxes.

[skycatcherchris]

Forest griffins (worldbuilding visual)

A little visual thing for forest griffins, one of the main species in Skycatcher. They're about the size of a housecat (the exact size depends on the bird half: a jackdaw or kestrel griffin will be much smaller than a white-tailed or golden eagle griffin).

[skycatcherchris]

Tempest's family tree (full version)

[skycatcherchris]

Feldspar

Feldspar is the chieftain of the griffin clan Quill. An albino buzzard-griffin, she has white fur, a pink beak and eyes, and a web of thin scars across her throat, chest and side (the scars are usually invisible due to her thick coat covering them). Her ears are peppered with clawmarks and tears, which are decorated with rings (a common griffin custom is to regard battle scars as a sign of experience).

Due to her albinism, she rarely goes hunting in broad daylight, preferring to catch prey at dawn or dusk, as the sun hurts her eyes. She likes to spend time inside or in shadowy parts of the forest, and only goes flying on overcast days. She has poor eyesight, and sometimes blurry vision or dizziness. Due to this, she mostly uses scent, hearing and her whiskers to locate prey rather than sight.

While she cares about her clan's wellbeing, she can sometimes be afraid to let Quill griffins leave clan territory due to a deep mistrust of the dangers that could be out there.

[skycatcherchris]

Rue

The chief hunter of Clan Quill, Rue is a patched grey tabby/grey-white gyrfalcon griffin. She is tall, with broad shoulders and green eyes, and is a skilled hunter. Following the retirement of Finner, the previous hunt chief, to the Council of Elders, she took his place after vying with Blackthorn for the position. Despite this, her and Blackthorn are still firm friends, as they are fledgemates.

She can sometimes be a tough teacher, pushing hunters in training to their limits, but cares deeply about her clanmates and is considered a worthy and loyal griffin by the Elders.

[skycatcherchris]

Quetzal

Quetzal is a barn-owl griffin in the clan Quill. Learning hunting from Blackthorn and Rue, she is best friends with Tempest and Dill, and is the most outgoing of the three. She is much more hotheaded and prone to recklessness, and often charges into situations without thinking. She was the first of the three to attempt flying.

She has thick, striped ginger fur and amber eyes, and likes to collect rings.

[skycatcherchris]

Snakeroot, the enfield (clan Sinnan)

A rusty red-brown enfield with the wings of a golden eagle, sunflower-yellow eyes and one shredded ear

[skycatcherchris]

Name: Glimmer

Gender: Female

Alignment: Formerly clan Sley; after the schism, she travelled with Hailstone and his group, eventually meeting and befriending Dill. Following the exchange with clan Sable, she is part of the rebuilt clan Sley.

Rank: Hunter, later Advisor

Scale colour: Greenish-yellow, like leaves in sunlight

Eye colour: Brown

Description: Glimmer is a young, lanky mountain dragon, with light greenish-yellow scales and brown horns, eyes and claws.

She is very reserved, and at first can seem cold, but is very loyal and friendly to those she trusts. She has trust issues, as a result of the schism of clan Sley. She has a sarcastic sense of humor and is best friends with Dill, the two of them sharing a dream connection as they are both seers.

[skycatcherchris]

Here's one of the main characters!

Name: Tempest

Gender: Male

Alignment: Quill

Rank: Hunter

Lineage: Hawk

Bird half: Hen harrier (marsh hawk)

Cat half: Solid grey

Eye colour: Yellow

Description: Tempest is a forest griffin from the clan Quill. He has sleek, medium-length silver fur that is longer on his throat, tail and cheeks. He has yellow bird-legs and paw pads, and a yellow beak tipped with dark grey. He has curved black talons and the tips of his wings are a darker grey than the rest of his body.

He is unsure of himself and sometimes doubts his own judgement. He tries to be a skilled hunter, as he wants to impress his clan and family. He is good friends with Quetzal and Dill.

DeviantArt:

https://www.deviantart.com/skycatcherchris/gallery

[skycatcherchris]

Forest griffin | Gryps silva | Osprey variants

Forest griffins are one of the smallest species of griffin. They have the feline half of feral domestic cats, and the bird half of whatever predatory bird matches their colouring. They are closely related to the highland griffin, which is rarer and has the feline half of a Scottish wildcat.

The osprey variants of forest griffins are usually brown and white, and eat predominantly fish. They can have yellow, orange, green or brown eyes, with pale blue possible in predominantly white coats and darker blue common in the siamese pattern. Red eyes are sometimes found in individuals with highland griffin blood.

DeviantArt:

[skycatcherchris]

Name - Blackthorn

Clan - Quill

Rank - Chief Hunter

Bird half - Golden eagle

Cat half - Solid dark red feral cat