GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #13 - Entertainment Houses, Arachumo, Birds

Posted 10 months ago :: Last edited 10 months ago by MysteriousShine

New lore update...? So soon...? Well, I gotta make up for the 5 months without any lore updates, din't I? There's a ton of stuff that piled up after all. So I finally managed to make official pages for a lot of old stuff that have been waiting around in the lorebuilding forum for months... As well as some more recent stuff.

To begin with, here are a few entertainment houses which already have tons of characters in them... I should've uploaded these a long time ago.

 

The WATASUMI HOUSE

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✦ LOCATION ✦

the frozen empire

the entertainment district

the watasumi house

✦ OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS ✦

The entertainers wear clothes which resemble long fish fins and tails, usually made of silk.

✦ SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS ✦

The entertainer’s sphirix must be sea animal related or animals that live in water.

✦ CHARACTERS ✦
✦ OPEN ✦

you may create characters part of this faction freely, but you require permission from the regulator of the house, CrystalIzzy77

Name: the Watasumi House
Patron goddess: Watatsumi
Founder: Kai
House Mother: Cordelia
 

SPECIALITY

The entertainers of the Watatsumi House dance in water, using the movement of water and reflection of lights to create mesmerizing effects.
 

OUTFITS AND SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS

The entertainer’s sphirix must be sea animal related or animals that live in water.
The entertainers wear clothes which resemble long fish fins and tails, usually made of silk. They can also have veils which flow beautifully in the water.
 
 

HIERARCHY

HOUSE MOTHER
She decides on the schedule, which stories and dances will be performed and by who. She is the one who raises entertainers from a young age and decides wether she allows or no outside entertainers to join. It is very hard to get into this guild if you haven’t been raised in it.
 
LEAD DANCER
Currently Mystic Waters. She is the most experienced dancer in the House.
 
PERFORMERS
The grifix in this house often have looks that remind one of the exotic pictures in the ancient books from before the Great Cataclysm… One has never seen the sea, yet images of it will flood their mind when witnessing the dance of the entertainers, their sea creatures features, having fish tails or fins, the colors of sand and water, or even manes like tentacles or jellyfish like manes. Their clothes also contribute to this impression, the entertainers wearing silk outfits that can withstand the water, and resemble fish fins or corals. 
The entertainers can hold their breath underwater for a long period of time, being trained since a young age to do so. 
 
They usually start off as synchronized dancers, dancing together with other entertainers, but if their performance is outstanding they can be allowed to dance alone. Still, most of them alternate between synchronized dancing and solo performing, depending on the requirements of the performance, and what the House Mother asks of them.
Some performances require flying out of the water and using the droplets to create special effects, reflect light, or even use their magic to control the water splashes. It takes great skill, so usually only the more experienced performers get these parts of the performance. Still, all of them are trained to have a basic knowledge of doing so.
 
Children raised in the guild aren't allowed in performances because they are not yet skilled enough, but they sometimes stay outside the tank and control fish puppets suspended into the tank. These are rarely used in performances that require grifix to jump out of the tank, because they can get tangled in them, and they're usually close to the surface for the same reason.
 
 

LOCATION

On the Main Street of the Entertainment Guild, next to the Moonshadow Crane House there is a simple entrance to a House, looking just like the rest on that street. But also similarly to the rest of the Houses on that street… once you enter you will be met with a very different sight. The inner yard of the house is covered in a water pool, paths being built on top, which you can walk onto. You will often see a few individual dancers moving smoothly and alluring through the water, sometimes splashing you to tease you. The path on top of the water will lead you to the main building of the House, which is quite big compared to the other buildings that surround the square yard, which are at most two stories high. The main building is, however, much taller, because of what it hides inside…
As you walk in you are met with a tall wall of water, where grifix swim, moving swiftly, turning and swirling in the water, as if they were made of water themselves… you watch mesmerized, in a daze from the movements and lights, when one dancer seems to be swimming closer to you. In the daze, you step forward, until you are just one step away from the glass surface that’s separating you two. But the dancer is still getting closer, and then their head emerges from the water, almost touching your forehead, their breath blowing through your mane. Then they pull back in the water and continue their performance.
Wait what? You only now seem to realize there is no glass wall holing the water there. The water wall seems to be held together by… nothing? Hold on, that can’t be right! Is it… magic perhaps? You seem to remember a rumor you once heard, but haven’t payed much attention to: it is said that the Watasumi house owns an ancient artifact which can control water. Is that really what that is? Guess you’ll never know, after all… entertainment houses are best at one thing, and that is keeping secrets…
 

BACKSTORY

Kai was a scholar who studied old books from the south of Equestria. He was mesmerized by the beauty of the sea from the pictures in the books, by the sea creatures, conches and sand. He wished above everything to travel to the Great Southern Library and witness the beauty with his own eyes, so he worked really hard to be chosen for the expedition team. While part of it, he traveled to the Kirinaria Mercenary Group many times, but no expedition was sent to the Great Southern Library, so he never got to see the beauty of the Sea. As he got older, he decided to take the matter in his own paws and hired a mercenary to escort him there and payed the Mercenary Group to lie to the Scolar Guild Expedition that he was killed by a wild beast. This way, he traveled in the company of a kirin to the Great Southern Library, where he spent a couple years documenting the sea.
One night, as he was sightseeing when he saw a female hippogriff with waterfall-like hair flying on top of a huge wave, diving in and out again as the wave rolled to shore. She would use her magic necklace to turn into a Seapony and back into a hippogriff, sending splashes of water into the sky, making bubbles and water flow around her as she flew up and danced in the water, sending the fish from the sea flying in some of the bubbles. The female hippogriff dove down into the water and started doing tricks in the water, later on going and swimming up a waterfall and diving back down into the sea. Kai was amazed by what he saw, seeing the hippogriff dive in the water...
 
Years later, Kai was getting old, and when she met another kirin that was going to depart for the Kirinaria Mercenary Group he asked them to take him with. From the Everfree Forest, he payed another mercenary to escort him to the North of the Crystal Empire, from where he walked to the Frozen Empire. Few grifix remembered him when he arrived, but he had no interest in his old job. He didn’t even stop to greet his old co-workers, for he thought it was best for them to believe he was dead. He headed for the Entertainment District where he bought a House and gathered a few entertainers. He founded the Watatsumi House this way, then left, nobody knows to where, never to be seen again. Perhaps he still heard the calling of the ocean, and wanted to see it one last time before his end…
Nobody remembers this story nowdays, having been burried by time. All that's left are legends of the goddess Watatsumi.
 

GODDESS: WATATSUMI

She is an elegant grifix with a long mane which resembles a waterfall as she wears golden decals all over her as well as pearls and wears a flowy silky gown. She has finn fluffs, and the legends speaks of her being able to change her back legs for a fish tail. Nobody really knows where her legend came from and she’s a relatively new deity, so the general conception is that she was made up by the founder of the guild. Her magic is said to watch over the guild. In the end… there are a lot of mysteries surrounding this guild, like the water wall standing up on its own, so maybe there is some truth behind this legend. 
But a grifix being able to turn half fish? Really? That seems like total baloney if you ask me!

 

THE SWAN PALACE

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✦ LOCATION ✦

the frozen empire

the entertainment district

the swan palace

✦ OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS ✦

The guild’s aesthetic is based on medieval Russian nobility.

The entertainers always have their eyes covered, ofen by a piece of lace

✦ CHARACTERS ✦
✦ OPEN ✦

you may create characters part of this faction freely, but you require permission from the regulator of the house, CrystalIzzy77

Patron goddess: Morana
Founder: Iceheart
House Mother: Snowflake Ice
Storywriter: Snowbird

 

SPECIALITY:

Figure skating performances, usually accompanied by storytelling.

OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS:

The guild’s aesthetic is based on medieval Russian nobility. The entertainers always have their eyes covered, ofen by a piece of lace.
 

HIERARCHY

 
THE HOUSE MOTHER
An old, experienced entertainer that spends most time training the entertainers. She’s very harsh on them.
 
STORYWRITER
Gathers stories for the performances, often from the popular stories amongst the grifix and writes the steps for performances, planning everything about how that story would play out on ice.
 
ENTERTAINERS
Figure skating performers. Most of them act as background dancers for the most popular entertainers. They are all allowed to prepare single performances but when a less known entertainer does a performance they are usually given no background dancers, and few grifix come to see them. Still, that’s where all of them start from.
Popular entertainers have grand performances with many background dancers, long and complicated storytelling and big audiences.
During storytelling performances, their outfits are specially tailored to fit their roles in the performance. Due to the complexity of the performance, an entertainer will usually perform the same role throughout a couple years, because it’s hard for them to learn a new role, and consumes are too expensive to change often.
Costumes and the skates are purchased from the Tailors guild.
 
ICE BREAKERS
A small group of grifix that take care of the ice and make sure it is in good condition for the performances. They sometimes have to bring water into the cave which they would throw over the ice when it becomes to scratched to clean.
They sometimes pay the hunters guild to bring them blocks of ice from outside the Empire which they use for ice sculpting. Ice sculptures are placed throughout the cave, and they often match the story of the current performance show. Sometimes, ice sculptures even play roles in the performances. It is often in those stories that a character becomes frozen and is replaced by a sculpture. But rarely do those stories have a happy ending, for in that cave, what is frozen often remains so, even in the stories…
 
 

LOCATION 

The house is built above a large underground cave, where the warmth of the sphirix protecting the Empire doesn’t reach. The cave is half full with frozen water, but there’s still a large empty area above. There’s a tunnel leading to the cave from inside the House’s building. They host regular performances from the Entertainers which ice skate of the frozen water, but their performances often include flying as well, and the large cave gives them enough room for that.
The House is one of the oldest in the Entertainment District. It’s been there ever since the cave was found, soon after the founding of the Entertainment Guild.
The cave is not outside the empire, it is in fact quite in the middle of it, but deep underground.
 

HISTORY

Long ago, a young grifix named Ice Heart lived in the house near the hot springs. Because the spring wasn't covered by the gigantic sphirix of Aeterna, the grifix living there had to gather wood in order to keep warm. During a blizzard storm, Ice Heart got lost in the storm on the way back after going with her parents to fetch wood. Ice Heart was shivering and crying out to her parents as she tried to get home, shielding her face from the snow with her wings. Since she couldn't see due to the storm, she ended up sliding on a frozen pond and when she stood up the ice started to crack. She tried to run off the ice but the ice broke underneath her and she fell into the frozen water, crying out for help before she started to drown.. but suddenly a bright glow started swimming down towards her, grabbing her and pulling her out of the water and flying her over to a pile of snow. How could she be safe..? Who saved her..? The young grifix coughed as she saw a tall blue and white figure standing on the ice with shiny silver ice skates and a long beautiful blue gown with snowflakes all over it, crystals of ice and snowflakes dangling on the sides of her face as her long flowy white mane was pulled up into an elegant bun with a silver crown on her head. Ice Heart didn’t say a word until she saw the figure fly off and start skating across the ice, being able to manipulate the snowstorm to her will, dancing on the ice, mesmerizing the young grifix before she skated over to her and took her paws and started to dance on the ice with her. Ice Heart giggled and smiled until suddenly the figure let go of her and little one saw the figure disappear into the storm. Ice Heart found her way back to the hot sprig, but she never forgot the event.
 
When she grew up she began to go out into the forest and skate on the ice after making her first pair of ice skates. Later on she found the frozen cave when visiting the Frozen Empire for supplies. The Empire was still being built, but not far from the cave there were a few other grifix that built some houses where they would entertain other grifix with dancing and music. Ice Heart soon befriended those grifix and got the idea to create an ice skating entertainment house. Together with other three houses close by, they founded the Entertainment Guild. It is unknown which ones the other houses were, but it was never forgotten that this was one of the original four.

 

PATRON GODDESS

Morana is a tall blue and white grifix with shiny silver ice skates and wears a long beautiful blue gown with snowflakes all over it, crystals of ice and snowflakes dangling on the sides of her face as her long flowy white mane is pulled up into an elegant bun with a silver crown on her head.
She was one of the grifix living in the house near the hot springs. She didn’t want to follow in her family's footsteps and always ran off to play in the snow and watch the animals slide around on the frozen lakes and ponds. One day she saw a snowy white deer that looked like to be around her age start to try and cross a frozen pond to get an ice covered flower, the deer getting her hoof stuck in the ice and Regina decided to go and glade over and help save the deer, making a friend and going to play in the snow with the deer. She decided to start trying to skate around the ice, using her wings as support and her deer friend would watch her dance and glide gracefully across the ice.
Soon, her family found out and forbid her to go out anymore, because of the forest's dangers. Morana however, was not ready to give up, so she would sneak out every night to meet up with her firend.
One night, Morana was just showing up at the lake when she saw her friend chased by a wolf, trying to escape on the lake. She ran to save her and distracted the wolf with her torch, but then she found herself endangered. She thought of melting the ice under the wolf, so she threw the torch which melted the ice and the wolf fell in. However, the wolf tried to crawl out towards her, and she couldn't back pout in time. The wolf's weight broke the ice under her and she was dragged under the water, meeting her end in the frozen lake.
Her deer friend mourned her death, crying tears which fell on the snow, meling it and reaching the ground. Legend says it's her tears which later bloom into snowdrops in the spring.
Morana's parents later had another child, Ice Heart.

 

NAISUKE GA FUCHI

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✦ LOCATION ✦

the frozen empire

the entertainment district

naisuke ga fuchi house

✦ OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS ✦

Koinobori Costume - for koi-kodomo

✦ CHARACTERS ✦
✦ OPEN ✦

you may create characters part of this faction freely

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🎏 🎏 🎏
Headmaster: Tomoe
 
The house is ran by Tomoe, a young male grifix. He is known as one of the richest and also brokest grifix in the Entertainment District. He seems to have an endless spring of money, yet he is always broke. He is the one who founded the house, in an old entertainment house building that was crumbling to dust after it was abandoned. The building is in barely better shape now.
 
The house seems to be full of children dressed up as koi fish, the costumes completely concealing their identity. They run around serving guests and cleaning up, but actual entertainers are very few. Even amongst the few adults in the house, a big number of them are merely servants, dressed as koi like the many kids helping around.
It's a great place to go and have a drink and eat some snacks, but that's not what people come for in the Entertainment District, so the income of the house is quite low.
 
 
In the entertainment guild, if an entertainer has a child, that child will have to work their entire lives for the guild they were born in, with little chance of getting out. If the mother has the smallest opportunity to sell their child, they will, because it is a chance for the child to escape that place. But unfortunately the house mothers will ask for great amounts of money for this, and in most cases the child will only be bought by some other entertainment house, which could lead them to an even worse faith.
Entertainers can be purchased later in their lives, but depending on their age the prices can be very high, because the house mother spends a long time training them.
 
Tomoe’s entire savings go into trying to “purchase” as many entertainers as possibly. He gives his best to buy children who never worked, because that way, they may actually have a chance outside the entertainment district. If a grifix is known to have been an entertainer, it is impossible for them to be accepted outside, but if he manages to raise them in anonymity he can use his connections to give them a life outside the entertainment district. He hopes that this way they can have a chance at a more happy, meaningful life.
 
He also purchases entertainers that are already entertainment workers. Even if they can’t find a life outside, if they are miserable in their house he will try to buy them so they can have an easier life in his house. He doesn’t force any to do the entertainment work, but most have to help around and clean, with their identities concealed.
Some still do the entertainment work, either because it’s not something they dislike, or because they want to help him with his work, and it’s the only way for him to gain money and buy more entertainers.
 
Children and grifix that do not work as entertainers in the house wear a koi costume that completely covers their face and any features people could recognize them by. These grifix are called Koi-Kodomo. Here's how the outfit looks:

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The outfit is usually dark blue/black for male adults, red for female adults, and children can have it in any color. But this is not enforced, every grifix can wear whatver color then want.

This outfit is mandatory for Naisuke Ga Fuchi grifix under 16 or those that do not perform entertainment work, so you must include a version of your grifix wearing in the reference if the grifix fits in that category. There is one base available for this outfit which you can use.
 
Tomoe was one of the first, maybe the first entertainer raised and trained by Lady Byakko when she started her house (or started being the house mother). Back then she was more involved with her house, because she was just starting and had to get it working. Because of that, Tomoe knows more about her appearance and stuff than most entertainers in her own house. Even now, they are quite close, and Tomoe often seeks her for help. It takes a lot out of him, but he usually manages to persuade her to give him money every time he decides to purchase an entertainer and doesn’t have money for it. Time is important for this, so he can’t just wait, plus he would never get enough money to help all the grifix he wants to, so he persuades her for it, sometimes promising to give it back but never doing so.
That’s where he gets his money from, and it's also the cause for the rumors that he is so rich, when he’s in fact broke all the time, because his house is one of the poorest out there and business is a mess with how few actual entertainers he has and how many members he has to feed. Nobody knows of this though.
 
 
Now... another thing that has been waiting around for months is the legend about the spider monster in the Frozen Empire, Arachumo.
 
 

ARACHUMO

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Legend speaks of a monster that once roamed the Frozen Empire’s streets during the long months of complete darkness in the winter. She sought for light in despair, yet her eyes could not perceive candle lights or fire. She, however, saw the light of the sphirix and was attracted to it. When she would find a sphirix, she would grab it and wrap it in a web cocoon which she would take to her cave, where it’s light would shine from the cocoon for a couple hours, until she grifix’s life would fade away, being deprived of his sphirix, so the sphirix would die as well. Then the monster came back, looking for another light.
In the day of the Equinox, a grifix was chased by the monster in the darkness. Despaired to protect his sphirix, he did not watch for his step and tripped, the impact making his light beans fall off and roll away. He then watched hopelessly as the monster reached for his sphirix, unable to move, but right when he lost all hope, the monster turned around and looked at the light beans. She then turned around and rushed towards the light beans, which she picked up and took into her cave, outside of the Empire. She then didn’t return anymore, for the light beans did not loose their light for the whole year. Grifix, however, did not forget.
Every year, on the spring Equinox, after the grifix’s light beans fall off, they place them in front of their home, so the monster would pick those up and leave. Legend says that every Spring Equinox the last year’s light beans’ light fades away so she comes to the Empire together with smaller spiders to gather new lights. If a grifix doesn’t place light beans in front of the door, the monster will come inside the house and take their sphirix away in a web cocoon.

Arachumo belongs to Dawn-n-Night

 

Lastly, here are the official pages for the birds submitted during the first phase of the Loveliest Woods event earlier this year!

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SUNSET BIRDS

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LUTES

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EVERLUSH BIRD

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BOREAL LIGHTBIRD

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GEMSCULPT BIRD

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GIANT ARCTIC PIGEONS

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CARRIER PIGEONS

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MAGANA BIRD

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GHANGEWINGS

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BLIZZBEAKS

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DULCE NUBE

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FLUZENBALL

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VITRI

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BLOOD HERONS

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ROSEWINGS

Well, this is all for today, hope you enjoyed the new lore additions and thank you to everyone who contributed to this! Stay tuned for what's yet to come!!

As always please reffer to the official pages for the canon information. All the titles in this post are links to the official pages. This news letter will NOT be updated in case of any changes to the official lore, so it shouldn't be taken as reference in the future.

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