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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #17 - Gender Flow, Gemweaving, Entertainment Houses, ETC.

Posted 1 year ago :: Last edited 1 year ago by MysteriousShine

Welcome to yet another lore update! And time to answer a REALLY old question about grifix in this one >:)

So let's begin!!

Genderflow

It is time to adress a very old question regarding grifix: biological gender.

As it is well known, grifix do not reproduce sexually. They reproduce through magic. So it was asked pretty early in the species' creation... what defies their gender? What organs do they have and so on...

Well for once I am here to explain... at least part of it.

Well, to begin with, grifix biological gender is mostly defied by their body characteristics: size, shape, bones... as well as hormones and such stuff.

Sexual organs are... not exactly present for grifix, at least not in the way they are for other animals. About this subject I won't talk much, I don't really have an answer for it, nor do I plan to find one. All I know is that males and females are almost identical in terms of sexual organs.

Do grifix have milk to feed their young? This is a subject for some other time. I don't have an answer for it yet.

So let's get to the actual subject of today... The biological gender, and the effect of grifix magic on it.

It is well known that the grifix magic acts on the belief of the grifix, and if one thing is believed strongly enough it can manifest it.

And so... the belief of a grifix can even impact their bilogical gender. In other words, they can naturally transition from one gender to another by their will alone.

Basically if a grifix feels very much like another gender, their magic will alter their hormone production, which will then cause a transition, similar to humans, except it happens naturally. The magic will also alter other kind of stuff that can't be changed by hormones, but still, it has it's limits.

When transitioning, the grifix will change their facial features, musculature, voice. Their bone structure can not, however, be changed if the grifix is fully grown, but it will be impacted if they are a child, growing up.

Transitioning lasts a few months for adults. The older the grifix is, the longer it takes. On a baby it can fully happen in a week or even faster. That is because the body is easier to alter, but also because their perception of self is much more frail, and easier to change.

As children, grifix can transition many times without even being aware of it. Babies especially transition a lot of times, as they have no perception of gender or self. And in most cases it is impossible to see by other grifix, since baby grifix have almost no gender differences. So the parents are usually never aware of it. The healers can tell tho - from the baby's magic and other stuff. But it's normal so they usually ignore. It is more weird if it doesn't happen at all.

Usually, by 3 years old, the gender of the grifix is more or less settled, but depending on the family enviroment, how many gender norms and stuff are imposed on them, they could still transition, and quite often. At this age it can take about a month to fully transition.

By 6, grifix usually stop transitioning. It is the time of their life when they have a set identity for the first time, and they usually simply don't focus on gender. Before, the gender change was triggered unconsciously. But from now on, it is much harder for that to happen, since they become much more aware of who they are.

By the early teen years, a lot of grifix rebel on their old identity. It is usually the last period of their life when they might transition. A lot of them decide to do it just to rebel against everyone, but truth is, if the grifix doesn't fully believe in it in their own subconscious mind, it won't happen, so most grifix fail to do it, cause they don't truly want it.

From 15 years old up, grifix rarely transition. Their growth is almost done, so even if they were to transition, their bone structure would remain the same. Transitioning takes from 6 months up to a few years.

From 50 years old up, it is almost unheard of of a grifix transitioning. It is unknown how long it would take.

Most grifix stop transitioning from 3 years old. It is not that common for them to transition when older than that, but still a good number of them do. Few find an identity in this. After all, it is natural.

Those who start finding an identity in their transitioning are usually those who transitioned after 15 years old.

In other words, a grifix wouldn't identify as "trans" if they transitioned before 15. But being "trans" is not a thing for grifix, they don't use that word.

Facts:

✦ a grifix can be biologically androgynous

✦ other grifix's belief can help transitioning. If a grifix manages to convince the others that they are of a different gender, their magic will also help boost the transition. Because of this, babies spend most of their time in the gender the parents believe they are.

✦ sphirix can never change their gender after they set their shape. Before the sphrix shape ceremony, they can change their gender on will.

✦ most sphirix have the oposite gender from that of their grifix.

With this said, I have also made a page exclusive for Magic Manifestations, since the list of them was becoming quite long, so I thought they'd be worthy of it:

MAGIC MANIFESTATIONS

So let us now move on to the next subject... a little bit of culture drop for the Forbidden Colony!

GEMWEAVING

Gemweaving is a traditional practice used by trifix in order to decorate their wood. It involves placing a crystal, jewellery, gems, gold pieces or anything of this kind into a wound made into the tree bark covering their body, and letting the wood grow around it, embedding it inside.

Trifix often use this when they become wounded in a fight, as a way to make their scars look prettier. The embedded oobjects are there permanently, and can only be removed with force. Removing them can cause permanent scars to the wood.

The process hurts when the wound is created, but the rest is just healing, and it doesn't hurt. In most cases, when the wound has been caused in battle, doing this adds no extra pain to the healing process.

Trifix don't only do this to their own bodies, but also to actual trees, like if there's a particularily special tree they would do this to it, or if a tree has been scarred by a boar or something else they would place jewelry inside the tree's wound.

Now, there are some new Entertainment Houses to introduce! That's a constant for lore updates lately... Well I'm quite glad about that. Never thought they'd get so popular.

KRAKEN'S LURE

A shipwreck in the most unusual of places...

You stare at the unusual sight in front of you. A boat...? On a mountain cliff. Surely you can see the port of the Fishing Guild from here if you fly a bit over the surrounding buildings, but still... how you a ship sink... up a mountain??? And it looks othing like the few, small grifix ships they use fir fishing. It's huge compared to those. And old...

You heard that the boat was probably there from before the Empire. It was in fact, a pony fishing vessel. The freezing cold kept it from rotting for thousands of years before the Empire settled over there, and soon enough, grifix started to use it for various things, and luckily, they took care of the wood and made sure it didn't rot and crumble to pieces.

Now a wooden sign swings above the door: Kraken's Lure. The name starts to make sense as soon as you notice your sphirix shying away, hiding behind your ear. He says that there is a giant octopus covering the boat. And he begs you not to go in there. But the thrill that fills you when your shared emotions make you tremble lures you inside...

Inside it's dark, only a dim green glow fills the room - you imagine it's from the giant octopus sphirix, which you can't see, but it's big enough for it's glow to fill the room. The room is filled with smoke, and all sorts of weird smells - none particularily pleasant. You soon start to feel dizzy, so you sit down on a side chair, waiting for an entertainer to serve you. After this moment, you can't seem to remember a thing...

✦

The Kraken's Lure is an Entertainment House based on the legend of the sirens that lure sailors to their death through their singing. Therefore, the entertainers in this house are called "sirens" and they often dress acccordingly, with ripped pieces of clothing, fishnets, seashells and other such things. Inside they often burn various drugs that help induce high sensations onto the customers - the sirens grew up there. They are imune. They often use singing to induce high sensations as well, but they also have a large collection of sea shanties gathered from old pony books, which customers seem to really enjoy singing to, especially after drinking a bunch of sake.

The Kraaken's Lure is a pretty big entertainment house, despite most being afraid to go in there. Mostly really messed up grifix go in there just to feel something. And do not freit, cause even if someone developed immunity to all the drugs and booze - they have one more attraction that is sure to make anybody feel something.

In the back room of the guild there is a small pool of water. When customers are taken there, the sirens will push their head underwater and hold them there against all of their struggles. Fear, terror, imminent death - all building up until hypoxic euphoria hits, after which they'll be pulled out and tossed like a rag onto the deck.

Few grifix walk out of that place before the morning, they usually all fall asleep sometime during the night, only to wake up in the morning robbed of every valuable thing they might've had on them - and no siren to be seen, just other confused customers. They can only walk home, having no recollection of the night before.

So why would one even return here...? maybe it's just... the Krake's lure.

And the last one for now...

OOGAMA SENTO

Oogama Sento is a medium sized but tall bathhouse located in the nicer looking streets of the entertainment district. It is named after the Oogama yokai and looks like a traditional bathhouse with frog theming. The building consists of three floors and a basement.

When stepping inside you will be greeted by a comforting warmth and a sweet lavender smell. There are many fake plants, small ponds and tiny waterfalls about, though on each floor there is one big pond where you can find the Oogama yokai. You can interact with them, give them coins or food but they will do nothing, though it is believed that gifting them something can bring good luck. A receptionist is in the front which will take your order and lead you to a bath. Most baths are small except for the one large bath that may not be used by anyone, for it is for a 'special guest' if he decides to stop by.

Attire for entertainers is traditional bathhouse clothing and they must have their hair tied up at all times. Mostly females and cubs work here, but sometimes there are males as well. Entertainers must have a polite personality and must please their guests.

The bathhouse is run by an elderly enterainer, she lives in the very top of the building. She is quite kind but is known to be crafty, tricking others into working for her.

The basement is for very loyal grifix. Only two or three work there at a time. It is hard work, water needs to be heated and herbs and scents are mixed their then sent to the baths. It is much warmer here, almost insufferably so. To work here is a true testament that you are worthy to be at the bathhouse.

This house is regulated by Dawn-n-Night

This is everything for today! Have a wonderful day and see you next time! We got plenty more to cover!!

Of course, thank you very much to everyone that contributed to this!

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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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #16 - Firestone, Beekeepers, Kage no Neko-ya, etc.

Posted 1 year ago :: Last edited 1 year ago by MysteriousShine

Hello once again! It it time once more for more lore to drop >:3

Enjoy!!

FIRE AMBER/FIRESTONE

It was thirty years ago when a greenseekers expedition was returning from the southern parts of Equestria. They were supposed to be met by a hunters patrol that would help them back to the Empire through the snowy mountains, but despite waiting in the meeting place for three days nobody came for them. They were running low on food, so as a desperate decision, the leader of the expedition decided to set off and try to find their way to the Empire alone. But that was a decision they had to pay in blood, for even after weeks of wondering through thee frozen mountains they hadn't managed to get a single glimpse of the Eclipse Tower, and soon enough they started losing members of the expedition.

One by one, they succumbed to the cold of the arctic north, until there were only three of them left. And in their despair, trying to find shelter from the snow storm, they stumbled into a cave. But something was strange with that cave: inside, there was dripping water from the ceiling, while in that cold, there shouldn't be no running water. And it didn't take long for them to notice that there was warmth radiating from deeper in the cave. So they went to investigate, and after walking for a while they reached a big opening in the cave:

There was a huge room inside the mountain, filled with a warm, amber glow. But this was different than regular amber, for it was actually, warm. Andd the walls were made entirely of this stone. But that wasn't all. Apparently, the warmth of the stones created a perfect enviroment for plantts to grow: it was like nothing they have seen before so far north. It was like one of those jungles they would find in the southern parts of Equestria, completely covered in plants of all kinds.

Quickly, the greenseekers took out a few seeds and plants they had been carrying with them - which were on the point of dying by now. As they put those on the warm ground, they looked as if they were magically revived.

They looked at eachother and didn't say a word, but they all knew what they were thinking: back in the empire, there was absolutely no way to grow plants. But this - this might allow them to do so! And that would do so much for the herbalists guild and the Empire... They HAD to get these firestones back to the Frozen Empire. They couldn't die now.

But how were they gonna do that? They were lost, they could've been miles away from the Empire, and probably nobody would ever find them. But at least they had food now - the cave was full of plants and fruit they could eat. So they were simply going to wait for now.

A few days later, they were found by a hunter patrol that managed to follow their trails, and they took them back to the Empire together with some Firestones. The Herbalists then started experimenting with the stones and managed to start growing plants for the first time in the history of the Empire. However, the stone's warmth seemed to slowly fade away, and 6 month later it was almost gone. Therefore, a new hunter patrol was sent to gather more stones. It seemed like the mountain in which the stones grew had magical properties, but the stones were mere simple amber once taken away from their cave.

Still, that allowed the Herbalists to grow plants, even if in small quantity. And since then, the Herbalists Guild became a very important guild in the empire, despite still being just an underguild for the Scholars Guild.

Thanks to @rubinoble1 and MidnightStar for the large contribution on this idea.

Next is a new Trifix Role, part of the Artmasters Faction:

Beekeepers

Honey is one of the trifix’s favorite foods, being used as an ingredient for a lot of their traditional foods, or consumed raw. Because of this, there is a group of trifix dedicated to beekeeping, so they can provide honey for the whole colony.

Beekeepers hold the bees in hives placed in a special area, filled with trees. Some of the hives are placed on the ground, while others hang from the trees (they have small bowls under the hives to collect any dripping honey). The bees trust the trifix and rarely attack them, but beekeepers still have special suits they wear just in case.

Trifix use honey for a lot of foods, such as a mixture of honey with acorn dust which is similar to chocolate cream. The cream can be eaten as it is, or mixed with milk.
Honey is also used a lot by medics, as it helps with healing a lot of illnesses.
Beekeepers also collect wax from the bees, which they use to make candles and other stuff for the colony.

Let's continue with some important clarifications about the Hair Vines trait for trifix:

The vines are always GREEN. As the trifix grows old, they become orange/grown-ish as they wither.

Cubs do not have vines.

When a young Trifix turns 13, their vines grow in but before that at age 12 their asked what they want to do. Whatever they say, the forest hears it, and the vines will grow.

Trifix can change their faction. What they do is cut the vines and seek Oracle. She'll let them in a special room where they'll "talk" to the forest and express their wish. Soon, new vines will start to grow. It's not exactly common but it still happens every so often even though most Trifix are completely happy with their role that they initially chose.

Hunters are born as hunters and they can NOT change their role.

Lastly, it is time for one more Entertainment House to be added!! Otherwise known as Not-Quite-Cat Cafe, get ready for....

KAGE NO NEKO-YA

A cat cafe with a rather strange feeling...

Kage no Neko-ya is a Cat Cafe, being set in a small building, painted red, with dark wooden beams and paper screens, set in a quiet alleyway.

The entranceway is flanked by weathered stone steps, leading to a portal framed by an ornate archway.

Inside, the dimly lit space features low tables with cushions on tatami mats, atop rugged stone flooring. Soft light spills from hanging lanterns, casting a faint glow on the ink paintings of cats and caligraphy showcased on the walls. The air is still and quiet, with the occasional creak of the worn wooden beams adding an eerie undertone.

Amidst the serene appearance, the cats move strangely, their eyes glowing faintly in the low light, and their behavior slightly out of the ordinary. Some seem to stare into space or exhibit unusual movements, adding to the peculiar ambiance. Their movements seem oddly calculated, blending seamlessly with the enigmatic ambiance of this unconventional establishment. Overall, there's an inexplicable feeling of unease, as if something is not quite right within this otherwise tranquil cat cafe.

✦

As a visitor in this enigmatic cafe, one would find themselves drawn to the strange cats roaming the place. Engaging with them, one might feel a subtle strangeness, an indefinable quality that sets them apart from what one might think of.

As you sit, enjoying tea with a 'cat' perched contentedly on my lap, you'd pet its fur, noticing an uncanny smoothness and an odd warmth that's different from what you'd expect. Their behavior might have a peculiar precision, almost as if they're performing what being a cat is like. Still, any unusual qualities simply register as unique traits of these unfamiliar creatures rather than deviations from the norm.

Throughout your visit, a lingering feeling of curiosity might persist, a nagging sense that something about these creatures doesn't quite align with your imagine of actual cats. But the charm and the odd familiarity they evoke would likely outweigh any doubts, allowing you to immerse yourself in the whimsical experience of enjoying tea and playtime with these mystical feline entities.

One's lack of prior experience with real cats would prevent one from questioning the authenticity of these beings. Instead, one would wholeheartedly accept them as the embodiment of what they've only heard and imagined cats to be—cherishing the joy they bring and savoring the enchantment of this remarkable encounter.

✦

The workers in this place are sweet entertainers, with personalities much more genuine than in other entertainment houses. Grifix come to this place not for their companionship, but for the "cats", so they aren't so much forced to put on an act, as they would be in other houses from the Entertainment District.
These entertainers embody a genuine affection and care for the cats, treating them as any animal lover would treat a beloved pet.

Their interactions are filled with warmth and compassion, as they attend to the needs of these enigmatic creatures, believing wholeheartedly in their feline nature. They might discuss the cats' personalities, quirks, and preferences with the visitors, sharing anecdotes and stories about their daily experiences with the cats, bonding with the customers and helping the buisness in this way.

The entertainers exude a sense of dedication to their role, ensuring the cats are well cared for and the visitors have an enchanting experience. Their attire reflects a casual yet welcoming style, fostering a sense of approachability and ease among the guests.

While they're genuinely nurturing and attentive to the needs of these mysterious beings, their unawareness of the truth lends an authenticity to their interactions, deepening the veil of illusion that envelops the cafe.

Most of the workers in the cafe do not have cat sphirix, or they think they do, but the sphirix is in fact a not-cat, like the "cats" in the cafe. Those that have actual cat sphirix find the "cats" in the cafe very uncany and strange. So very few such grifix work there.

✦

The Mother of the house embodies an air of enigmatic wisdom, carrying herself with a graceful poise that hints at a depth of experiences and hidden knowledge. Her presence would command respect and admiration among both the workers and the visitors to the cafe.

She dresses in attire that stands out subtly, adorned in flowing garments of exquisite craftsmanship and timeless elegance. Her clothing, while mirroring the workers' style, might bear additional ornate details and embroidery that speak of her role as the keeper of secrets.

Her demeanor exudes warmth and kindness, but beneath that gentle exterior lies a depth of mysteries and untold stories. She possesses an uncanny ability to guide conversations and interactions, subtly nudging them toward deeper truths without revealing too much.

There is an air of melancholy or wistfulness about her, hinting at experiences beyond the cafe's facade. Her eyes, filled with a mix of kindness and a hint of sadness, held secrets of encounters with real cats from a distant past—a past she keeps guarded, perhaps even from herself.

She is be the guardian of the illusion, the keeper of the cafe's enchantment, and the one who understands the true nature of the mysterious beings within the establishment. Yet, she chooses to uphold the illusion, preserving the magic for those who step into her realm of wonder and fascination.

While she presents an outward appearance of nurturing care and warmth towards these creatures, inwardly, she harbors a mix of emotions. She keeps her distance from the cats, but nobody is able to comprehend why. Despite her genuine affection for them, there's an underlying discomfort, a haunting reminder of what these creatures mimic but ultimately lack—the true essence of real cats.

Her care for these beings stems from a sense of responsibility, not just as the owner of the cafe, but as someone who feels a need to protect these creations born from collective imagination. She ensures they are well-cared for, loved, and treated with kindness, even though their existence might stir up conflicting emotions within her.

Note: the text on about this house has been mostly AI generated, as well as the designs of the "cats" are based on AI generated depictions of cats. This has been done in order to deepen the unnatural feeling of this place, and enhance the immersion of the reader.

Lastly, thought I'd link the pages of the existing yokai apparitions here. They were introduced for a while now, but just in case you missed them ^^

NIGHT SQUEAKER

NIGHT BELL

NOT-CATS

KOINOBORI

This is everything for today! Hope you enjoyed the new info, and see you next time!!!

And of course, thank you very much to everyone that contributed to this!

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #15 - The Flame Rising Ceremony, House of the Rising Sun, Sphinxes

Posted 1 year ago :: Last edited 1 year ago by MysteriousShine

Hi everyone! I'm here for a very quick lore update, officially adding a bunch of stuff that sort of existed already for some time and clarifying some stuff.

But don't worry, if this is not enough for you, there will be a BIG lore drop later next week, so look forward to that >:)

THE FLAME RISING CEREMONY

This is the Everfree Village’s funerary ceremony. The mourning grifjx gather in an opening in the forest where the body of the deceased is put on the ground, covered by the Healer in special plants. The ceremonies are always accompanied by the Healer and the Queen.

The body is set aflame by the magic of the Healer, the flames absorbing remains of the deceased’s magic from their body and turning into the same color as their magic due to the plants it is covered in.

Then, the healer would start dancing around the body, moving as if she was just another flame in the fire.

The Flame Dance is, however, not just a simple dance, but a spell that requires moving. It cannot be performed without flame magic, which is a very hard to master kind magic, and requires very strong magic capabilities. It is quite draining for the Healer.

Prior to Eclipsa’s reign, the Flame Dance used to be performed by Flame Grifix, which were specially trained grifix with flame fluffs. For grifix with flame fluffs, Flame Magic is much easier than for others. Eclipsa, however, didn’t like having these grifix learn such powerful magic so she forbade those practices and the task of doing the dance fell onto the Healer.

Recently, a new flame grifix has been found in the Village and now she can perform the dance instead of the Healer. Healers, however, still need to learn the dance and be able to perform it, so sometimes the Flame Grifix is joined by the Healer Apprentice and the two dance together around the fire. The dance is even more impressive when performed by two grifix at once.

The dance is very spectacular, and can only be performed if it is accompanied by flame magic. Most grifix don’t know this, as it is not exactly obvious, but if one were to try performing the dance without the Flame Magic they would fail.

The Sphinxes

The sphinxes were introduced a while ago, but only now I managed too figure out a way to actually explain theeir existence, so here it is:

Back in the time before Equestria, there was a powerful species residing in the desert. They were wealthy and lived very happily, until eventually a tyrant took over as their king. But he liked not to be the king of these people, and he liked not that all of his wealth had to be shared with them, so he took an ancient magical crystal and with a spell absorbed all of his subjects inside, remaining as the only Sphinx, guarding his treasure.
When he eventually died, in the times of the Great Cataclysm, the spell broke and his old subjects were expelled from the crystal. They had no more kingdom to go to, so some of them settled in Saddle Arabia while others set off to various parts of Equestria. As the only safe place in Equestria at that time, they eventually arrived to the Crystal Empire and settled there among the crystal ponies. In the two thousand years that they resided there, they developed thicker fur from the desert counterparts

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

A place for the restless Children of the Sun

Selenara, the Queen of the Sun, offered shelter to many orphans in the village since her reign begun. The children of the Sun often decided to spend their entire life working for her and enjoying their lives at the castle, but some just didn’t fit in. And no matter how many chances the queen might give them… The Head of the Castle Servants, Frozen Mountain, had limited patience. And when one continuously messes up things in the castle… they’re bound to get kicked out.

Truth is these children just had too much energy and mopping the floors all day just ain’t it for them. So they all sort of started to gather around the blacksmith at that time, and help around there, where work was truly tiring and they had something to out their energy into. Truth is they were all obsessed with how freaking cool the blacksmith was and just wanted to impress him.

The daughter of the blacksmith at that time, started jokingly calling her house “the house of the rising sun” as a reference to all the “children of the sun” gathering up in there. Over time, she took over as the Blacksmith but now the place is full of grifix doing various jobs such as glassmaking, pottery, or forging.

They all wear the same feather accessories as the castle servants, as they are considered servants of the queen, but they don’t live in the castle. They’re like a big family.

HEAD OF THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

The old Blacksmith of the Village. He's like a grandpa to the kids. He used to make the coolest stuff out of metal so the kids were obsessed with him. He's retired now, but he still gives a lot of advice to the young ones, and they are often amazed by the results they get by following his advice.

Nowdays his daughter took over the job of Blacksmith, and also that of the Head of the House, but her old man still goes around giving orders to everyone if he feels like it.

CHILDREN OF THE RISING SUN

The grifix that do various crafts in the House, such as forging, glass making and pottery. Some just live here without partaking in any such work, but then they cook and help around the house.

They all wear the special feather ornaments which are the castle servants symbol, as they are in fact part of the Castle Servants.

The feathers can be any type of feathers, but the little wool balls are always the same colors.

The Children of the Rising Sun so far are Pumpkin Flare, Artifice and Malus. Owners can update their bios if they feel like it's needed after this new information, but that is not required. The references of Artifice and Malus need updating, but as the cause of all this I will make sure to handle this myself and add the feather accessories on them.

Other stuff:

The species pages for GRIFFON, HIPPOGRIFF and CHANGELING have been updated with new information. The griffon page is the only one that has actual new stuff, the others only got some info on the species appearance.

This is all for today, hope you enjoyed this lore drop!

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #14 - The Sky Falling Ceremony, Yokai, House of Vanity, Flora

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

Hello everyone! I'm back with a lore update, and this time I'm dropping some very important lore bits, so please make sure to read the first two parts carefully!

I'll begin with the Sky Falling Ceremony: this ceremony replaces the Sphirix Shape Ceremony for the Lost Tribe grifix, and explains their "birthday" system, so it is EXTREMELY important.

THE SKY FALLING CEREMONY

The Starbeam Poppy has a very strange ability, which the Lost Tribe makes use of. This contributes to the importance of the flower for the Lost Tribe and the many beliefs surrounding that flower.

When a baby hatches in the Lost Tribe, the Water Healer Mentor will make a special solution by boiling Starbeam Poppies in water, like some sort of tea. Following that, the family of the baby will gather around for the Sky Falling ceremony. It’s mostly a family ceremony, but a lot of grifix join if they’re free, because all the Tribe grifix know each other so they gladly jump in to see the ceremony. The baby will then be submerged in the Starbeam Poppy solution, together with their sphirix. They’re only submerged for a very short period of time, so they don’t drown, but that’s enough for the solution to take effect.

The solution allows the sphirix to settle its shape on its own whenever it is ready. Meaning the grifix won’t have to go through any sphirix shape ceremony later in life, because the sphirix will just settle their shape one day, whenever they’re ready.

For the Lost Tribe, the actual birthday of the grifix has no meaning, but the day in which they begin their duty (as healer or warrior) is considered their birthday. That is, always, the day when they get their sphirix. If they change their duty later on in life, the day they do so will be considered their new birthday. This is also why cubs with unsettled sphirix shape all have butterfly masks: the tribe considers them to not be “born” yet, just hatched.

After the ceremony is over, the family will give a symbolic offering to he Water Healer Mentor as thanks for doing the ceremony. After that, they will give snacks they brought to anybody who came to see the ceremony.

Following this, I have a new magic manifestation of the grifix to explain. It mostly appears in the Frozen Empire, and it will be relevant for a future event ^^

YOKAI and ApparitionS

Apparitions are a magic manifestation of the grifix, but it seems to only occur in really big conglomerations of grifix, like the Frozen Empire.

The collective belief in something can create very vivid apparitions of that thing. They are like sphirix, beings formed of the grifix magic, but they look much more real and material. The only way to tell them appart from real things is to touch them. They even seem to develop their own will, based on the grifix's belief about their behavior. They can touch and move objects, but they can also pass through walls, but usually they don't because they are unaware of that possibility.

Apparitions form various beings from legens, things that do not exist in reality, and behave accordingly to those legends. Sometimes, apparitions are objects that have been in a place for a long time and have been suddenly removed, but the collective memory persists so an illusion of that object will form.

Illusion beings are particularly common around the entertainment district, while rarely being spotted outside. Perhaps that is because of the many myths and legends spoken in the entertainment houses. They are often refered to as "Yokai".

Illusion objects tend to appear anywhere in the Empire, but they don't have much impact on the life of grifix.

Now I have a new Entertainment to introduce, regulated and created by Dawn-n-Night:

THE HOUSE OF VANITY

SPECIALITY

The House of Vanity is an Opera House in the entertainment district where grifix can sit and enjoy performances such as singing and ribbon dancing.

DESCRIPTION

The house has a strict etiquette, if a guest is too rowdy or is not wearing something fancy they can get kicked out. Most grifix that come here are high class, such as Starfell grifix and scholars. The house may have the appearance of being angellic, but the members may not be so pure. Its easier to gather secrets and wealth if they are seen as trusting and innocent.

The House can be rented for high sums of money for parties such as wedding celebrations, and a lot of high class grifix enjoy doing this.

The House of Vanity also has it's darker side, and once the curtain falls and everyone goes home, all appearances are forgotten, and only the drunkards and those wiith dark thought remain, awaiting to be further entertained by the Fallen Angels.

The house isn't only about the wealthy. Despite the appearances, it is still an entertainment guild full of orphans and not so fortunate grifix. None forget where they came from, and where they are bound to die.

No religious house is willing to officiate weddings for entertainers, and in most cases entertainers are not allowed by the house mothers to get married amongst themselves. But the Entertainment District is still full of secret couples, and they often seen a way of linking their souls together, and that's where the House of Vanity helps them out. Fallen Angels often officiate weddings amongst entertainers for free, but in most cases such weddings remain a secret forever...

OUTFITS, TRAITS AND SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS

House members are expected to wear gowns that are flowy, similar to wedding dresses, and a mask that covers the upper half of their face and adorns eyes. The masks are decorated with feathers, wings, horns or rings, and always have eyes on them. Feathers and false wings are also accepted on outfits, as well as gold or silver jewellery. Higher ranking members will sometimes wear veils.

All angel ranks are required to wear a mask with wings and eyes:

You may download this image to use in references, or draw your own mask: House of Vanity default mask

Fallen Angels have a similar wear as the as normal angels, but with darker colours (and sometimes vibrant reds). They can also have more provocative clothes and males would sometimes wear suits. Their masks have no eyes, and the wings are often webbed wings instead of feathered wings, and they also often have horns on their masks.

All fallen angers are required to wear a mask with wings but no eyes, that has a silver part restraining the magic flow of the forehead gem:

You may download this image to use in references, or draw your own mask: Fallen Angel default mask

Sphirix must be feathered or winged creatures.

Forehead Magic Gems with orb magic flow are required for most ranks, the orb determining the rank:

✦ Seraphims: Stellated Icosahedron
✦ Cherubim: Stellated Dodecahedron

✦ Thrones: Stellated Octahedron

✦ Dominions: Icosahedron

✦ Virtues: Dodecahedron

✦ Powers: Octahedron

✦ Principalities: Hexahedron

✦ Archangels: Tetrahedron

✦ Angels: Sphere/none

✦ Fallen Angels: any, but they must wear a magic restraining headpiece made of silver which stops their magic flow.

HIERARCHY

SERAPHIMS

On top of the house's hierarchy, there are the Seraphims, grifix with Stellated Icosahedron magic orbs. Currently there are 3 of them, but at one point there had been up to 7. They all count as the house's "Mother" and together they represent the "Mother". They take all decisions regarding the house together, which often leads to conflicts between them, as there is no one grifix to hold all authority. Unlike other House "Mothers", they are completely uninvolved in the house's life. They simply make decisions and represent the house in Guild Meetings. They are also the ones to turn members of the guild into Fallen Angels.

CHERUBIM

There is only one Cherub, known as the Opera Mother. She has the Stellated Dodecahedron orb. She is the true "mother" of the entertainers, taking care of them, raising them and doing everything a house mother has to do for her entertiners.

THRONES

There is only one Throne, known as the Fallen Mother. She has the Stellated Octahedron orb. She is the "mother" of the fallen angels. She takes care of them and "harvests" secrets. She is the one that gathers all the profits off of the fallen angels' dirty work.

THE HIGHER CHOIR

DOMINIONS

Few grifix that have Icosahedron orbs. They write and decide on which opera will be played. In most cases they don't actually write new plays, but they just assign roles and decide who's gonna do what during the performance, so that it turns out as well as possible.

VIRTUES

The lead actors of the play. They have Dodecahedron orbs. They never take background roles, but they're the only ones allowed to play "characters". They are also the only ones allowed to sing. They are the true stars of the show, and therefore they get pretty stuck up.

POWERS

Grifix in charge of mantaining the order in the house. They have Octahedron orbs. They can kick out any guests if they are misbehaving but they also keep lower performers in check. Those in the lower choir are not allowed to stand out or act as individuals to guests. That is reserved to those on stage or those who have fallen.

THE LOWER CHOIR

PRINCIPALITIES

Grifix that have Hexahedron orbs. They appear on stage behind the Virtues as background dancers and crowds. They never play individual characters. They often dance together on stage between Opera plays.

ARCHANGELS

The grifix in charge of the instrumental music. They have Tetrahedron orbs.

ANGELS

The lowest rank, these are usually cleaning the Opera house or serving guests food and drinks. They have Sphere orbs. Grifix without orbs are also allowed in this rank, but they must work very hard to prove themselves as having them there is considered a misfit and most other angels will look down on them.

✦

FALLEN ANGELS

Grifix who have misbehaved or brought shame to the house. They are not allowed to show up during performances, but are often let out after the official ending of a performance, once most guests have left. Those that are still there are waiting for something else, and that is what the fallen angels must take care of. Whatever desires those guests have, they must take care of them. At this point, all other angels have left. There are no Powers around to keep the customers in check.

They all must wear silver head pieces around their head gems to hide their magic flow. Nobody can know who they once were.

LOCATION

The house has a big room where all the performances are held and where the customers are entertained after the performances. The room has a big auditorium seating, as well as loges up on the sides. Between the auditorium seating and the big stage, there is an area with tables where customers are treated to fancy snacks, and where they can dance with fallen angels after the performances.

On the ceiling there is a large painted depiction of a Thrones Angel. The room has stained glass windows depicting other types of angels and the many house mothers the house has had over the years. Above the main stage there is a smaller stage where music performers will perform, as well as massive organ.

Rooms for entertainers will be found behind the main stage, and the rooms for the house mothers is hidden away somewhere in the house. No one knows where.

Lastly, I have a few animals to introduce from those submitted back in the Loveliest Woods event (click on them to see info):

Pliau

Forest Eggeaters

Misk Moths

Cave Eggeaters

Polar Eggeaters

This is all for today, hope you enjoyed this lore drop, and thanks to everyone who contributed to this ^^

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

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years 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

✦ 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

✦ 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

✦ 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

🎏 🎏 🎏

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:

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

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!

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!!

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #12 - Cataclysm's Breath, Burial Customs in the Lost Tribe, etc.

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

Hello everyone! It's been quite a long time since the last lore update, and since the new lorebuilding forum has been added on Discord there are A LOT of new lore bits that piled up, so I better get to releasing all of it now!

Expect more lore updates to come soon, but for now, here's what I have for you:

CATACLYSM'S BREATH

After the Great Cataclysm, a new disease was found to affect grifix. Luckily for most, it only occurs when a grifix sets foot in a high radiation area.

The Great Cataclysm left behind high levels of radiation all around Equestria, which decimated populations of most species and reached as far as the Crystal Empire. It caused radiation poisoning to almost every species in Equestria, and persisted for hundreds of years even far from the epicentre of the Cataclysm.

The centre of the Cataclysm was no other than the Everdeep Lake in the Everfree Forest. By then, the grifix had already retreated to a place where they didn’t get wiped out by the waves of radioactive water, but no place in Equestria was safe of radiation, which forced them to travel as far as the Frozen North, far beyond the already inhabitable borders of the Crystal Empire.

To this day, high levels of radiation still persist in the Everfree Forest, which is now a swamp of radioactive water, home to strange mutant life forms. Scholars approximate that radiation will only leave that place in 20,000 years from the Great Cataclysm.

The Cataclysm’s Breath is the name that grifix use for Radiation Poisoning. All species can contact it when entering high radiation areas, including Changelings, though they seem to have much higher resistance to it.

On grifix, however, Cataclysm’s Breath manifests differently than on other species, due to grifix’s strange magic nature.

Herbalists and other Scholars that travel to the Kirinaria Mercenary group must be very careful around the Everfree Forest, or if they are exposed too much to the radiation they might contact the Cataclysm's Breath.

Symptoms

The symptoms count as fatigue, migraines and loss of appetite, and even if the grifix eats, the food isn’t absorbed by the body, leading to emancipation. The grifix may also start throwing up blood, but besides migraines they don’t feel any pain. The grifix will also start losing hair and fur, and their skin will lose its healthy aspect.

Once the physical symptoms start, mental symptoms will follow as well: the grifix will start being more aggressive, getting annoyed easily and snapping at everyone. The symptoms will reflect clearly on the sphirix, which will look less shiny and vibrant, and later it will begin to “hollow out”. In the hollowing out stage, the sphirix will start to have holes, which will reflect on the grifix as lack of memory and parts of the self disappearing, until eventually, the sphirix will disappear completely, and the grifix will have lost their mind, together with any memories. This is called the zombie stage.

Zombie Stage

In the zombie stage, the grifix is hyper aggressive, they are unable to think, communicate or remember anything from their lives. They lack any magic manifestations, such as hair sparkles or sphirix, but their magic still flows, causing corrupted magic to leak in the atmosphere. Healthy grifix that breath in corrupted magic can get light symptoms of radiation poisoning, but they never get past the first stage, and there are no effects on the mind or sphirix, only on the body of the grifix. It is very important that grifix eggs are not placed in areas with corrupted magic from a “zombie”, for it will cause dysfunctions in the development of the embryo which can cause the grifix emerging from the egg to be dead or disabled.

Zombies will seek out magic sources, such as sphirix, which they can now see. They will always follow the strongest magic source they can see, so they will go after the most powerful grifix’s sphirix.

They can only see magic in this stage, but strangely they are able to avoid most obstacles, especially in grifix settlements, due to magic residue on buildings and such. When taken to a forest or area where grifix don’t live, they will be completely blind and walk into things.

When around other magical creatures, they seem to not see them unless they are using magic. Because of the grifix magic flow, they always see the grifix, but if the grifix covers their gems with the magic flow stopping lotion, the zombie will act like they don’t see the grifix anymore.

If the zombie sees a sphirix that has a close resemblance to their own, such as a similar animal, they will follow that one even if it is not the strongest magic source they see.

“Zombies” can hurt and consume sphirix and other magic sources. If they eat a sphirix, the grifix the sphirix belonged to will also become some sort of zombie, but they will not show a lot of symptoms related to radiation poisoning. It seems like the zombie stage is unrelated to the Cataclysm’s Breath and can actually occur without the disease, when the sphirix is destroyed in a certain way, erasing all information that it was holding from the grifix’s mind and causing them to mindlessly seek out a new sphirix.

Cure

For Corrupted Magic neutralization and early stages of the disease

In order to neutralise corrupted magic from an area where a zombie has been, the grifix use a special solution with which they wash all walls of the building, even if it’s outside, and they also give it to grifix that might have breathed the corrupted magic to drink.

The solution is made of Amber dust mixed with oil made from Solaris flowers. Soap is added when the solution is used for cleaning something, but not when it is used for drinking.

Amber is known to have magic restriction abilities, but it usually acts as a barier against magic. Solaris seems to trigger an effect causing it to absorb magic and be especially effective against radiation.

In order to cure a grifix that contacted the Cataclysm’s Breath, the same solution can be administered if the disease is not in an advanced stage. While these grifix must drink the solution, they are also required to take a bath where the water is mixed with the soapy solution. This water will absorb the radiation from the grifix, but don't let them stay in there for too long, cause it wil absorb all the magic. Because of that, they must take such baths for about 15 minutes regularily, until the disease is cleansed.

In small doses this solution can be used as a protective lotion against radiation as well, but in large doses it is strictly forbidden to use it on the grifix, since it can organs that rely on magic absorption on the surface of the skin, and cause temporary or permanent skin infections or diseases.

For the zombie and hollowing out stages of the disease

If the grifix is already in the zombie or hollow out stage, a mixture of dried Solaris and Rewind Flower petals must be burned and the grifix must be exposed to the smoke many times each day, until they will start recovering their reason, but the memories lost and the sphirix can not be recovered.

If the grifix actually has Cataclysm's Breath they must still take baths and drink the amber solution, but if they only got in that stage because another zombie consumed their sphirix that isn't necesarry.

If the sphirix hasn’t disappeared yet, it will remain with holes, but the hollowing won’t advance. In stange cases, the grifix could grow other parts from those holes, but sometimes such parts are completely unrelated to the original shape of the sphirix, such as an extra leg that belongs to a different animal.

If the grifix was already in the zombie stage, they will simply have to re-learn everything about life and who they are, as their entire mind has been wiped out. They can start putting on weight, but none of the magic manifestations will apply to them anymore, they will no longer have a sphirix (but won't be bothered by it because they can't remember having one), and they can still leak corrupted magic sometimes, though in most cases the magic flow completely stops. They will lose their mind again if they aren’t fed any magic, but can live pretty well off of light beans, as they can provide enough magic. They don’t need any other food.

Such grifix can not see regular light, the only thing they can see is magic. In a grifix settlement such as the empire, it isn't a problem because every single thing is covered in magic residue so they can quite clearly see every building and grifix. They can't see through buildings, but they can see sphirix very clearly, as well as magic manifestations like yokai. If taken to a pony settlement or anywhere else outside a grifix inhabited place, they are completely blind due to the lack of magic residue. Unicorn settlements still have a bit of magic residue, but it's far from what a grifix settlement has, so they would still have trouble with seeing things.

If they don’t eat light beans or other magic sources for a long time, they will return to the zombie stage, and they must be exposed to Solaris and Rewind Flower smoke again. The smoke can be addictive, some will refuse to eat anything so they are exposed to the smoke more, but the smoke can lose its effect after too many uses., and then there won’t be any saving the grifix.

Light beans aren't edible for normal grifix. Only “zombies” can eat them.

Thanks to Dawn-n-Night, Emizu_TH, kazoowary and MidnightStar for the large contribution on this lore piece.

THE KNOWLEDGE TREATY

The Great Cataclysm was a result of the Equestrian Leadership hiding information from the public, and even from those close to Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was worried about the statue that imprisoned Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow breaking, but wouldn't talk about it. When anybody would raise that issue she would lie and say it is impossible to break. Perhaps she just found it hard to rely on other people after the passing of her friends. Or perhaps she felt like she would fail Equestria if she couldn't solve the issue on her own. Or both. Regardless, she never solved the problem and the entierty of Equestria was destroyed. She failed everyone by lying and hiding the truth.

By the end of her reign, no dangerous spells were available to anybody but herself. She collected any magical artifacts and completely erased their existence from history. Crime rate was as low as it could possibly be, and all were truly happy, so one could argue it was good. but in the end that prevented ponies and other creatures from finding a way to prevent the Great Cataclysm.

After the Great Cataclysm, a couple of leaders came together in order to find a way to prevent such events from ever happening again. They concluded that no creature should ever unite all species together and gatekeep their cultural heritage. That would make them vulnerable to loosing their cultures and the world's knowledge could be lost. They had to find a way to gather all of the World's knowledge and keep it safe. They concluded that the World's Cultural Heritage and Knowledge was more important than any life.

Those who signed the Knowledge Treaty were Queen Selenara of the Grifix, King Wolfwood of the Hippogriff, Queen Amethyst Flare of the Kirin and Changelings united, the Leader of Farasi and the Silent One.

The treaty implied that 4 enormous libraries would be built in the South, East, West and the North, the North one being the biggest and safest.

The Great Southern Library is situated in the South of Equestria, on Mount Aris, but the most important artifacts are underwater, in Seaquestria. It is ran by Hippogriffs.

The Great Eastern Library is situated in the East of Equestria, in Farasi. It is ran by zebras, abada, kelpies and oni.

The Great Northern Library is deep in the Frozen North, in the grifix Frozen Empire. It is the biggest of them all, and the Treaty implies that all knowledge stored in the other libraries should eventually end up here. That is because grifix can't possibly create a united species empire, because nobody can see them, so there is no threat of history repeating. At the same time, the climate there is too harsh for anything to try to live there. Nothing could take over of that place, because once the grifix are gone it's impossible to live there. They are the only ones that can live there, so all information is safe from harm.

The Great Western Library is a mythical place. It was supposed to exist, but records of who the Silent One was have been forgotten by most, even tho they still exist in the Great Northern Library. If it was another species running this library in the west, they are believed to have went extinct by now, for nobody has heard of them in ages.

Other than that, there's the Kirinaria Mercenary Group in central Equestria, right next to the Everfree Forest. Their "mercenary" title covers up their true purpose. They take jobs like any normal mercenary group and do people's dirty work, but they always keep an eye out for books and ancient artifacts, or anything that contains knowledge, like memory orbs. They temporarily store such artifacts in their camp until expeditions from one of the three libraries come to pick them up. Scholar Guild's grifix often send expeditions here.

There is however another reason for their placement next to the Everfree Forest. But first, it is important to know that the Great Cataclysm erupted from the Everdeep Lake, and caused a huge wave of radioactive water to hit Canterlot, so the area around Canterlot is the most damaged, mostly inhabitable, full of magic radiation. The Everfree Forest is almost entierly covered by a radioactive magic swamp. Still, what has become of the Tree of Harmony is still there, underground. And it hold some of the most important magical artifacts of all, more important than even the Elements of Harmony. That is what the Kirinaria Mercenary Group must keep watch of, in order to protect.

They don't live right next to it tho, because the radiation is too big there, they live a couple miles away, in an habitable area. Still, they are affected by slight radiation which causes their traits to act much more individually then in the past (for example, not all changelings look the same anymore).

Changelings and Kirin are united under one ruler because the changelings trust Amethyst Flare. When Chrysalis tried to take over them they refused because she showed signs of weakness in her actions, which they were disgusted of. Amethyst Flare may show compassion, but she never shows weakness so the changelings chose to follow her.

Most changelings in the Mercenary Group stay in their dark form, but it is unknown wether that's their true form or they just choose to shapeshift into that permanently. Kirin can now control their fire and use it to fight and kill if required.

Regularily, the Scholars Guild sends expeditions to the Kirinaria Mercenary Group or one of the two other libraries that are part of the Knowledge Treaty in order to bring artifacts and books to the Frozen Empire. Most grifix aren't aware of the Treaty, but it's usually cause it's none of their business, not because the information is kept away from them.

The Crystal Empire Academy is not afiliated with the Knowledge Treaty, and the crystal ponies are not aware of it. The Crystal Empire has the 4th largest library in the world, tho they believe it is the biggest because they don't know of the Treaty. Members of the species part of the treaty do sometimes try to infiltrate and steal from the Crystal Academy so they can bring the Knowledge to one of the Knowledge Treaty libraries. However, in most cases they just transcribe books instead of stealing them.

Plants of the Grifixverse

The plants submitted during the Loveliest Woods event are finally up on the site! You can see all of them here together with some other plants created in the past which fibally have proper pages of their own! Thanks to everyone who submitted, and stay tuned for the release of the birds and animals submitted during the same event!

THE WATER PASSING CEREMONY

Funerary customs of the Lost Tribe

When a Lost Tribe grifix dies, the tribe will build a boat or a raft, depending on the deceased's social status, on which they will place the body under a pile of hay and dry wood, sometimes with important objects for the deceased. They will then push the raft onto whatever water they find close and an important grifix for the deceased (a member of the family or a friend) will fire a flaming arrow at it, burning the body.

It is believed that crossing the water will lead the soul to the First Warriors. The body and objects are burned to set free the soul from any earthly bindings.

Grifix believe that having their death ceremony held on the Origin Shore is much more honourable than anywhere else. Stubborn elders will not die anywhere else and drop dead the moment they reach the Origin Shore out of pure will power. Some will refuse to leave if they believe they will die the next 7 years, so sometimes members of their family will have to stay with them on the Origin Shore and wait for the Tribe’s return.

If there is no water next to where a grifix died, their body will be simply burned on the ground, but that is considered very humiliating for the deceased. Sometimes the family will refuse to hold the ceremony there, and carry the body around until they find some water, risking the well being of the tribe by attracting insects that carry diseases or animals that feed on corpses.

Thanks to CrystalIzzy77 for the large contribution on this lore piece

This is all for now!

All the lore bits posted in this lore update have their own official pages on the site. Please do not refer to this lore update for the canon versions, as this post will NOT be updated so any lore changes in the future will only be visible on the official pages. Click on the titles in this post to see the official pages.

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Frosted breeze raffle

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #11 - Traditional Empire Food, the Harpsong House, God Sphirix Pass

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

It's been a while since the last lore update, so we got some big stuff to cover.

Let's begin!

Empire traditional foods

Submitted and composed by RubyNoble1

✦ Tokku: A bowl or cup of shaved milk ice made with musk ox milk, traditionally topped with cloudberries and cloudberry syrup. (inspired by Bingsu)

✦ Litsat: A dish consisting of cooked fish (traditionally Salmon) marinated in arctic water (containing salt), Pepper, and parsley leaves. On the side is cooked reindeer moss with parsley.

✦ Ratir: A dish consisting of Arctic Bunny meat cooked with sage. With Reindeer moss seared with sage and parsley.

✦ Askat: A Cloudberry Liqueur, Cloudberry can be processed down into liquor, this became a traditional alcohol for the Grifix later on in the generations, At the same time as Tokku became traditional.

✦ Vinn: A soup consisting of rabbit or arctic owl meat, water, Eskimo potato, reindeer moss, 1 bay leaf, topped with salt, pepper, and Parsley.

✦ Atak: A traditional “medicinal” tea, made up of bearberry, although the taste is good, it is recommended not to drink too much, as it can cause a bit of a stomach ache.

✦ Varin: A snack consisting of fried shrimp with sage, this snack is most enjoyed on a skewer similar to Arin.

✦ Arin: Not to be mistaken with Varin, this savory treat is arctic owl meat marinated in sweet cloudberry syrup and pepper. This is most enjoyed on a skewer.

✦ Lit: A sauerkraut made up of roseroot, traditionally fermented with sage, pepper, and boiled salt water. Put into a jar and sealed by wrapping cloth around it. Then digging a hole and leaving it in there for 18 marked days. (it is recommended to mark the spot it is in).

(Lit, Tokku, Askat, Varin, and Arin are most enjoyed and famously bought on holidays and especially the New Year's Holiday)

Ingredients:

✦ “Butter/oil”: Sea lion fat

✦ Herbs: sage, parsley, eskimo potato, bearberry, roseroot. Grown by the Herbalist Guild, they are plants that grow at the south of the Frozen Empire. The Hunters Guild sometimes find them in their expeditions, but they are mainly supplied by the Herbalists Guild.

✦ Meat: Rabbit, Arctic Owl, Shrimp, and fish from the arctic.

✦ Seafood and fish: obtained through long expeditions made by the Hunters Guild to the Ocean. The Empire is far from the shore, so it takes a very long time to get to somewhere where one can fish, therefore the Hunters catch very big quantities for provisions.

✦ Salmon: can be found in rivers slightly south of the Empire.

✦ Cloudberry, bittersweet and can taste sweeter when turned into syrup. It can also provide Vitamin C. The Herbalists Guild have been able to grow those for a long time, even before they discovered the formula to magically growing plants in the Empire. They also grow naturally around the Empire in the warmer seasons, but even so are hard to find outside. They are however, very important in preventing scurvy so the grifix consume them throughout the year.

✦ Vegetables: Reindeer Moss, also grown by the Herbalists Guild, can also be found outside the Empire.

✦ Musk Ox Milk: can taste sweet. It seems that the Crystal Empire has a consistent drading market with the Musk Oxes. The Miners Guild sometimes obtains Ox Milk as payment for minerals.

✦ Pepper: from the herbalist Guild. It's a relatively new ingredient as they only started growing it recently but it gained a lot of popularity amongst the grifix.

✦ Salt: derived from the arctic ocean water brought by Hunters from their expeditions.

✦ Bay leaf, Parsley, sage, and Pepper: Hertbalist Guild.

✦ Bearberry has actually adapted to the Artic climate, likewise Cloudberry.

PS: If anybody wants to contribute with foods, it would be very helpful, especially for the other grifix settlements. They will soon be added on the site with artworks, so it would be nice if we would have some for the other settlements as well.

✦ ✦ ✦

The harpsong House

Regulated by CrystalIzzy77

Patreon/ goddess: Harp Song

Founder: Melody

House Mother: Celtic Harp

Apprentice: Faith

Speciality:

Unlike other houses, which do have almost always music playing in the background, this house is exclusively focused on entertaining their guests with music alone.

The Harpsong House is asociated with the Music Underguild of the Scholars Guild, having a common history and often working together to bring more music to the Empire.

Harpsong Entertainers are thought to play and sing by the more experienced members, mainly by the House Mother, and also have knowledge of crafting musical instruments on their own. Songs played in this house cannot be heard anywhere else in the Empire, as they are written by the Harpsong entertainers. They also play songs from the archives of the Music Guild, archives which contain songs from all over Equestria, being the largest music sheet library from before the Cataclysm. Therefore, in the Harpsong House, you will sometimes be taken back to the days before the Great Cataclysm, where all species in Equestria were living in harmony under the rule of the Great Princess of Twilight. Sometimes they speak of even older times, when the Sun and Moon were reunited after their long parting of 1000 years... Somehow none of those songs seem to mention grifix. One will often find themselves wondering why.

Hierarchy

The House Mother

They are the regulator of the guild, training and raising Entertainers with rich music knowledge. They sometimes recieve older members, but most have been raised in the house since a very young age, like in most entertainment houses.

Instrument Crafters

All members have knowledge in crafting musical instruments, and they usually craft their prefered instrument on their own. However, there are a select few which are masters in instrument crafting and provide guidance to the other Entertainers.

Music Writers

All entertainers can write their own music, but there are a few who prefer just writing over performing. Their songs are often performed by others.

Performers:

Grifix who perform music on a regular base, entertaining the guests.

Note: there are no music "teachers". as with every House, the entertainers are trained by the house Mother and other older grifix. Elders often don't retire, as singing is an activity that can be performed at any age. They do, however, perform less often and spend more time educating the younger ones.

History:

Long ago, deep in the snowy forest, a young grifix hunter got lost from the rest of the patrol. After hours of walking around aimlessly, she sat down in the snow, ready to give into despair. All of a suden, she started to hear sounds in the distance as trees blew and birds chirped. The song of the forest, it was so wonderful, as it gave her the impression that it was the first thing she ever heard. She thought to herself that if she ever comes out alive, she will chase the beauty of sound her whole life.

Suddenly she heard a voice singing in the distance, and upon going closer she saw a beautiful female grifix with flowing mane and tail that looked like music notes, playing the harp in an open field. The young grifix was overwhelmed by the sound, so she grabbed a hollow branch and used a small brace to carve holes in it, creating her first instrument, a flute. She then played it while walking the forest, forgetting all of her fears. The sound travelled over the trees and reached the Expedition Patrol, which followed it until they found the lost grifix, Melody.

When she arrived back in the Empire, Melody left the Hunters Guild and joined the Scholars Guild. Looking through the ancient books in the library, she found a large number of unintelligible sheeets of paper, filled with strange round symbols that sat on lines grouped as five. The symbols remined her of the hair of the mysterious mare she saw in the woods, so she had the idea of playing thise on her fute, and so she discovered they were in fact music sheets.

Upon that discovery, she went to the higher ups and played a couple sheets in order to demonstrate their use, which had been unknown until that point. That's how the Music Underguild of the Scholars Guild was formed, in order to study the large amount of music sheets in the library.

But Melody did not find joy in orderign and classifying pieces of paper. She wanted to spread the joy of music. So she left the Scholars Guild, leaving one of her students in charge of the Music Guild.

She then went to the Entertainment Guild, a dirty place of desire, secrets and corruption. She liked not the reputation of that place, but it was the only place where she could make the music heard. And so she founded the Harpsong House, named after the strange mare in the woods.

Location:

The guild resides in one of the main buildings in the Entertainment Guild, being accessible from the main street. There is a black and white house that contrasts the bright red surroundings of the Entertainment District. A statue on Harp Song thrones in the inner yard of the house, playing the harp, in the same position as Melody saw her in the forest.

Patron Goddess:

Harp Song is the Music Guild and Entertainment Guild's Goddess. Harp Song was once a unicorn that roamed the streets of Equestria playing music in secret due to no one seeming to care for her music, as the times were too troubled back then.

PS: information on the Music Guild's organization will be added soon. Do not mistake the Harpsong Guild with the Music Guild, they are different organizations part of two different parent guilds.

✦ ✦ ✦

God sphirix pass?

I thought about how one could make a God sphirix work, lorewise. And I actually found a way. Grifix that actually have God sphirix, don't have an animal but a character as their sphirix, a person.

So here's how it works:

Ghosts of all beings roam the Forest of Darkness, the World of Neant, lost, forgotten, forgetting. They have no recollection of their past lives, all memories being forgotten by time itself. They sometimes get hooked by livng beings, attached to them, they remember nothing but the life of that who they follow. They have no sense of self, they believe they follow their own person around.

When one gets hooked by a grifix, sometimes the grifix's magic solidifies around the ghost instead of the grifix's sphirix. That way, the grifix and the ghost both believe they are one and the same, the ghost living as the grifix's sphirix. When that happens, the sphirix is unable to change shape even at a young age, always having the shape of their past self. The sphirix remembers nothing of their old life, being convinced they are in fact the sphirix of that grifix, but it can have a perssonality far different from the girfix, which usually doesn't happen in the case of an actual sphirix.

If you want your grifix to have a god sphirix, this is a way you can do it. However, in most cases you will be asked to provide a design for the sphirix in their past life, alongside a bio. They will be a full right charater part of the grifixverse. They will also have to get approved separately from the grifix.

This can be used by anybody who is allowed to use legendary traits.

If you want the sphirix to have recollections of their past life, you will have to justify it.

Looking for ideas

Here's a couple suggestions that species members submitted, but they are incomplete. If ylou have any ideas on how to elaborate them, please submit them in the #suggestions channel on Discord:

✦ Effects of insanity on the sphirix: marks on the sould of the grifix are reflected on the sphirix. How does one loosing their mind reflect on the sphirix? And could the effects it had on the sphirix reflect on the grifix as well?

✦ New Year’s Day for the Empire: the celebratory events would include traditional snack market, lantern flying (a competiton to see who’s child’s lantern floated up the fastest, the referee would be flying up in the air to see which one was moving the fastest), and a day that would include wearing detailed and intricate clothing and accessories. (this one is close to complete, but if someone could illustrate the traditional clothing it would be amazing)

✦ Special foods for the Empire icluding Walrus, Seal, Narwhal, Penguin meat?

✦ Traditional foods for the Lost Tribe, Divided Grifix Camp, Everfree Village

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #10 - Special Edition

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

Hello and welcome to the 10th lore update!! The first lore update has been done on 08/27/20, so it's been... exactly 800 days? That's funny. A bit over two years, but I didn't expect it to be such a fun number of days XD

Anyway, I asked all the species members to submit random ideas for this special edition lore update on Discord. All the information will be added in this post and all the people who submitted will receive a special limited item:

OLD DRAGON NECKLACE

Category: Event items

Rarity: ✦✦✦✦✦

You found this item in the forest, close to the village. You wore it once and thought of something, which then seemed to... become reality. But that only happened once, now the necklace is useless to you.
You wonder who it belonged to? Does it really have supernatural powers? If so, why can they only be used once?

Uses: Collectible

Source: Given as a reward to users who submitted ideas for the 10th lore update

So, let's begin!

RubyNoble1's SUbmissions:

✦ The same way the Frillback Pigeons came to be through selective breeding, something similar happened to the Starfell Clan. It is quite common that the Starfell Grifix have feather fluffs that look this way.

Frillback Sphirix Wing Alteration

✦ There are some rare vegetables that actually grow in the snowy biome of the Frozen Empire. They are extremely rare. The grifix love them.

✦ Some gems are prominent in the Frozen Empire: amber, seraphinite, and Dendrite Quarts. Amber is used as the symbol of the Frozen Empire since it represents warmness in the freezing cold.

✦ The Grifix in the Frozen Empire are much fluffier and have more feathers especially around the wings since they have adapted to the cold weather over time. They also can have insulated feathers (instead of fluffy feathers they have insulated feathers and fur that allows them to keep their heat in the cold weather).

✦ Shaped Freckles: this is a new trait category which will allow some sort of freckles customisation. However, it will be locked behind this item that you will have to purchase from Wolfsbane's Store. Some shapes will be locked behind special events.

SUN STAINED BRUSH

Category: Collectibles

Rarity: ✦✦✦✦✦

This old brush seems to do more than manipulate paint... Selenara told you it belonged to her predecessor, Queen Rosa.

Uses: Unlocks usage of Freckles Shape traits

Purchaseable At: Wolfsbane’s Store

Emizu_TH's Submissions

✦ Everfree Village grifix parents tell little myths to their cubs to make them behave, or just have fun seeing them get excited over the information and spreading it around: "If you (inset action) at (location or infront of a random item) during (time), you will be (insert effect which is totally not real, but kids trust it anyways because they are kids)." These are often influenced by the Queen who is reigning at that time. Back in Eclipsa's reign this myth was similar to "standing infront of a lake during an eclipse will make you trip thrice in a row". But there were also myths like "helping with the harvest while wearing a flower on their head during the Great Harvest Holiday will bring you good luck", so that kids can be tricked into helping. In the future, these types of rumours help shape their personality, discipline, etc. The myths are different from family to family, but it also happens that the cubs tell them to eachother and they spread around the Village. Sometimes two different versions of a myth appear and cubs start fighting over which is the true one.

✦ There is a common tradition that if parents place a egg looking rock or object near their egg, it will protect the egg to not be eaten by predators. This variation of Rumours varies in different locations.

The origin of this story is old, from back in the Old Kingdom, when grifix were slightly more exposed to predators and started placing egg shaped rocks near nests to distract them. As grifix settlements evolved, the tradition lost it's original meaning in some places, and changed more to some sort of superstition.

The Divided grifix will Surround their egg with a lot of rocks, almost making some sort of rock bed.

Lost Tribe grifix place moss and leaves on top of the egg to make it in with the surroundings.

Everfree Village grifix place a painted rock near the egg, decorated with the same patterns the egg has. they say they do this to fool the evil spirits that might want to harm the cub inside, so that the evil spirits will attack the rock instead. When the grifix born reaches adulthood through the Sphirix Shape Ceremony, they take the rock that was placed near their egg outside and break it.

Summer_Stars's Submissions

JOKE PLANT LANTERN

Category: Collectibles

Rarity: ✦✦✦

Dangerous is this plant to the Grifix species. Because of a certain hair growing event, the grifix cubs are warned to avoid plants like this.
This lantern has multiple purposes: to be of a thing to fear, or serve as a good light source.
Still, what is it doing here if it is so dangerous? Is that glass really enough to protect you from it's influence?

Uses: Collectible

Purchaseable At: Wolfsbane’s Store

This was all for the 10th lore update, our first milestone! Should we hold events like these every 10 lore updates, or have bigger milestones? It did take us over 2 years to get here, so I think 10 posts is enough.

Either way, see you next time and hope we will reach 20!

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GRIFIX LORE UPDATE #9 - Yokai no Ie, the Jewellers Guild, New Traits, Styles

Posted 2 years ago :: Last edited 2 years ago by MysteriousShine

Hello and welcome once again! MysteriousShine here. In this lore update I will cover two new underguilds: Yokai no Ie (Entertainers Guild) and The Jewellers Guild (Tailors Guild). I am so glad to see once again people contributing to the lore of the grifix like this!

After that I will cover information on some new traits, but most important STYLES which are a trait category I've been using for a while but people still seem to not understand what they are so maybe I should clarify it in a post.

So, let's begin!

YOKAI NO IE

Headmaster - ???

Members - Akuma, Angelfox, others

Yokai no Ie or House of the Yokai is a Entertainment guild that is centered around myths of strange creatures.

As you walk in the small side alley house you will be welcomed by grifix with animal tails, each having a story to tell. You will sit down at a table in the side of a room and loose yourself in the quiet ambiance. Sweet scents will fill the room and the music of a sanshin will suround you. In the darkness of the room your senses will loose themselves and everything may seem as something it isn't... You are not sure about what you are seeing anymore, believing your eyes deceive you, and maybe they do... cause what are the creatures you are seeing, what are the images that run before your eyes, of fantastic animals that run and shapeshift before your eyes?

A sweet voice begins to tell a story, one you never heard before, and the images play their role, taking you through the story as if you were there to witness it...

The story of a fox who turned into a grifix and fooled a king to fall for her, leading him to his demise...

The story of the snake with a grifix head that emerged from the water and lended a baby to a grifix, only for the baby to turn into a stone and the snake to eat the grifix alive...

With each story you lose yourself deeper in that world, you become unsure of the truth. Cause everything you tought was true would prove to be nothing but a trick in those stories...

You leave, shaken by the stories. You swear to never return. Yet you can't stop thinking about it, and, once again, you find yourself knocking on the doors of the House of the Yokai.

THE JEWELLERS GUILD

Name: The Flame of Aspirita (For short The Aspirita Guild)

Patron/ goddess: Aspirita

Founder: Caritas

Headmistress (Master): Scarlet Lily

Apprentice: SunSong

Specialty: Appraising jewels and gemstones as well as the making of accessories and jewelry.

Members: (to be added)

✦ Personal Merchant (who regulates the stock of gemstones and materials): needs character

✦ Regulator of Mines (Who regulates the trade between the mines): needs character

✦ Multiple students(Of different specific jewelry and accessory crafts): needs character(s)

BACKSTORY:

What started out as a humble under guild not known by many over generations became one of the most respected and known underguilds, receiving commissions from famed customers and their jewelry and accessories worn by important figures in the Empire. They worship Aspirita as their patron goddess and her entrapped gem soul is on display in front of the guild as a reminder of the prosperity and wealth she brought to their expertise. They were once an underguild part of the Craftsman Guild, but when the Tailors Guild split from it they became an underguild of the Tailors Guild instead.

LOCATION:

Their guild is located in a big area, the guild operates more like a luxurious market and so there are specific stalls for certain students and their personalized crafts. These students further their craft under the funding of Master Scarlet Lily who generously lets them live in her guild building as long as they are working hard. Scarlet Lily is noticeable especially in a crowd, with her scarlet red hair and vibrant arctic eyes, as well as the luxurious items she wears. Most of the items she dons are specific gifts from her students to her and in respect of their hard work, she wears them, being the model for their work. It is said among the customers of this guild that if you leave empty-pawed you haven't got any sense, and therefore have no taste in anything fashionable. This guild is most well known for being able to start known trends and adapt to any taste.

PATRON GODDESS

There was a fiery Grifix full of spirit and passion who brought life to a hidden gem in the tailors guild faction. Her mane was as fiery as her spirit and her eyes and bright as the ripples of a lake on a sunny day. Three generations have passed since the fiery phoenixs rise to their business and fame and the Grifix whom work in the guild nowadays worship this Grifix as their patron, their goddess who was generous enough to be their wealth and prosperity. These Grifix work hard day and night because of their unending passion and fiery spirit towards their fervence to their Goddess. They wish to be like her and those who have similar features to her are seen to be a signs from the Grifix as a sign of future prosperity. In the first generation of the guild the fiery spirited Grifix known as Aspirita walked around showing off the items and pieces of the masters work and brought fame to the guilds work.However over time that Grifix grew tired and weary and spoke to her friend the Master that she was tired and could no longer walk around happily. She told her friend that like a Phoenix she would turn into “ashes”. That she would convert herself into a gem and later on come back into the world anew from the “ashes”. The Master did not agree but out of dear love for her close friend, and in a way her goddess, she left the guild on a fateful day with Aspirita and went to an unknown sorcerer who turned Aspirita into a gem alike to her spirit, a Stone of Fire, the gem would pulse like the heartbeat of Aspirita and shone like several stars in the sunny sky. These days however in the third generation of the guild, the heartbeat of the Firestone has gotten slower and dimmer, and the members of the guild pass the stone with sadness and weariness, hoping that someday that their patron will come back.

(The heartbeat in the stone gets slower and dimmer since she is coming back from the “ashes” it represents her “death” of sorts. This the Grifix do not know)

This guild is regulated by RubyNoble1

Thank you RubyNoble for coming up with this aewsome underguild, I think the backstory of it is awesome and hope it will get filled with characters once!

Now I'll go into some new traits and what the Trait Styles are!

NEW TRAITS

Please don't use these posts as notifications for new traits as most new traits are not announced here but on Discord. It's just now and then I add them to lore updates.

EAR LAYERING

WING EXTENSIONS

Sphirix Wing Alteration clarification:

The feathers are shaped in such way that they resemble the wing shape of the sphirix. The wing is NOT the wing of the sphirix animal, it is just altered to have a similar shape.

The image displays a butterfly EXAMPLE. It can be any animal, that is just an example.

Styles

Styles are NOT traits. They do NOT have to be selected or anything like that. They are purely for inspiration.

They are often trait combinations that can look cool together, ideas, all sorts of stuff like that. They can all be found here, and you can always give me more ideas for them. Each of them has listed in the description what traits you must use to obtain that style. The rarity I picked for each is just the highest rarity of the traits it contains.

Again, they are not traits, they are just possible combinations and ideas with the already existing traits.

I'll dump here all the styles that exist for now, you can pick any for inspiration and click on them to see what traits they require. This will NOT be updated so do not use this post for reference in the future.

They also have no specific order. I just copy-pasted them from the visual trait index where you can find them updated whenever you need.

Arrowhead Fluff Style (Common)

Leaf Ear (Common)

Petal Fluff Style (Common)

Rib Fluff Style (Common)

Star Ray Fluff Style (Common)

Sun Ray Fluff Style (Common)

Teddybear Ear (Common)

Fur x Feather fluff material (Rare)

Heart Fluff Style (Rare)

Phoenixtail Ear (Rare)

Valkyrie Fluff Style (Rare)

Chicken collar fluffs (Epic)

Fur x Smoke fluff material (Epic)

Pigeon Collar Fluffs (Epic)

Smoke Cluster Tail Fluff (Epic)

Smoke Tail (Epic)

Spiral Fluff Style (Epic)

Unlayered Double Underside Ear (Epic)

Bat Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Bee (Insect) Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Butterfly Sphirix Corruption (Legendary)

Butterfly Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Dragon Sphirix Wing Alteration V1 (Legendary)

Dragon Sphirix Wing Alteration V2 (Legendary)

Fish Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Frillback Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Pterodactyl Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Whale Sphirix Wing Alteration (Legendary)

Feel free to trace any of the wings if you want to use them but don't know how to draw them well enough. Or ask me for it if you want to use wings for an animal I didn't make examples for and I'll draw it for u.

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A shipwreck in the most unusual of places...

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Beekeepers

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

HEAD OF THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

CHILDREN OF THE RISING SUN

Other stuff:

THE HOUSE OF VANITY

SPECIALITY

DESCRIPTION

OUTFITS, TRAITS AND SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS

All angel ranks are required to wear a mask with wings and eyes:

All fallen angers are required to wear a mask with wings but no eyes, that has a silver part restraining the magic flow of the forehead gem:

HIERARCHY

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CHERUBIM

THRONES

THE HIGHER CHOIR

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VIRTUES

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ARCHANGELS

ANGELS

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FALLEN ANGELS

LOCATION

✦ LOCATION ✦

✦ OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS ✦

✦ SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS ✦

✦ CHARACTERS ✦

✦ OPEN ✦

Name: the Watasumi House

Patron goddess: Watatsumi

Founder: Kai

House Mother: Cordelia

SPECIALITY

OUTFITS AND SPHIRIX RESTRICTIONS

HIERARCHY

HOUSE MOTHER

LEAD DANCER

PERFORMERS

LOCATION

BACKSTORY

GODDESS: WATATSUMI

✦ LOCATION ✦

✦ OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS ✦

✦ CHARACTERS ✦

✦ OPEN ✦

Patron goddess: MoranaFounder: IceheartHouse Mother: Snowflake IceStorywriter: Snowbird

SPECIALITY:

OUTFIT REQUIREMENTS:

HIERARCHY

THE HOUSE MOTHER

STORYWRITER

ENTERTAINERS

ICE BREAKERS

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PATRON GODDESS

NAISUKE GA FUCHI

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Headmaster: Tomoe

Symptoms

Zombie Stage

Cure

For Corrupted Magic neutralization and early stages of the disease

For the zombie and hollowing out stages of the disease

Funerary customs of the Lost Tribe

Empire traditional foods

Ingredients:

Patreon/ goddess: Harp Song

Founder: Melody

House Mother: Celtic Harp

Apprentice: Faith

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