The Everfree Village

You look at the high trees that mark the beginning of the Forest. You know you should not go in there - it is the first thing your parents taught you. It is full of evil creatures that haunt each filly’s nightmares - and also haunt yours. Your eyes look up to the immense vegetation with fear. Who knows what terrors hide behind that green wall? 

But who knows what wonders hide behind that green wall??? 

You raise your front hoof, involuntary. When you’re about to put it down and make your first steps into the forest you realize the move and stop. 




One second. 




Two.





You make the first step. And there is not long until you make the second one. And the third one. Nothing can stop you now. You start walking deeper and deeper into the forest. 

The trees get higher, the light gets darker. You get tired. You look around and realize.





You’re in the Everfree. 




Alone and lost.





You panic. 

You start running completely overwhelmed by fear and terror. 

You stop. In front of you, a small yellow light glows. Magically, hypnotically, calming. Your heart beat starts to get back to normal. There’s something in that glow that brings you silence and peace. You look at it. Another one appears right next to it. No, they’re two. No, three! Four! The whole forest is full of those small lights! 

Around you, the trees start looking more and more like some small houses. It gets lighter. Like in an illusion, the forest around you turns into a charming village swarming of pony-like creatures. But they’re not ponies. 

"Welcome to our village, little filly!”

You hear a voice behind you. You turn around and you face a tall beautiful white mare, with a long weaving mane. 

"I am Queen Selenara, the queen of the grifix. I would be glad to introduce you to my beloved subjects and present to you our little village! But remember! ...”




"... This is a Secret!”

✦ DESCRIPTION ✦

The Everfree Village is the oldest grifix settlement in the world. It was founded in the Forest of Leota by Queen Starla, long before anybody could remember. It could’ve been over 3000 years ago. Around 2000 years ago the Village Grifix migrated and settled in the Everfree Forest, where we can find the Village today. The village is a tribal society, their activities revolving around hunting and defending the village. However, it is the most advanced of the grifix settlements, it’s leadership being organized in a more medieval manner. Their ruler is a Queen chosen by the ancestors, which wields the power of a god on earth. Her job is to protect the village agains everything, and she receives the power of immortality from the ruler before her, being able to rule as much as she needs to.

The citizens of the Village live a peaceful life, where males train as warriors and the females take care of children, food and other things.

✦ hierarchy ✦

At the top of the Village hierarchy is the Queen, her being the supreme leader of the Village. Next after her is the Healer, having the task to connect the living with the ancestors, as well as heal the hurt. Under the healer is the Captain of the Warriors, him being the most experienced warrior in the Village. Next is the Head-Servant and Royal Adviser, followed by the Healer Disciple and the Captain of the Royal Guard. In the end come the warriors, the castle servants and the other common citizens, together with the elders and the children.

✦✦The Immortal Queen

Current queen: Queen Selenara

She is the only immortal grifix, though if she feels the need for it, she can choose the next queen and retire, and in the end - die. To choose the next queen, after she decides to retire, she’s waiting for the Healer to get a sign that will tell that the new queen is about to be born. After she’s born, the queen disciple spends as much time as possible around the current Queen, training to receive her godly power one day. When the Queen considers that she’s ready, she gives the next queen her immortality and leaves, heading for the Queen Cemetery in the Smoky Mountains. The queens aren’t allowed to have any sexual relationships and falling in love is the worst thing they can do. This has as purpose keeping the village integrity (cause since she’s immortal, her lover would eventually die and she would remain heartbroken which can result in a lot of issues for the village), but also the fact that not making the egg spell is an essential action for keeping their enormous magic under control, especially since their sphirix has a free shape which makes it even harder to control. It’s not forbidden to adopt children though - especially the current Queen, Selenara, found a great comfort in doing so.

✦✦The Everfree Healer

Current Healer: Back Sunset

Heals grifix and sphirix and deals with spiritual stuff (relationship with the ancestors, prophecies and other spiritual things). It is essential that the coat of the healers to be dark, but if one isn’t born until the current healer gets to the age of 40, they may take a grey grifix as their disciple, or even a white one in very urgent cases. Because of the herbal smoke they live in - they slowly blind. When they get to maturity they’re already fully blind. After they turn blind though, they gain the capability to see the other grifix’s sphirix, unlike normal grifix. They are not allowed to have sexual relationships, for that could get in between their relationship with the ancestral grifix. They always need to have their mind clear or their dreams might close up to the ancestors. They are respected by all Grifix almost as much as the Queen, if not more. The life of all the grifix depends on them.

✦✦The Captain Of The Warriors

Current captain: Meteor Dust

Is in charge of the warriors and their training. He becomes captain by proving during their life that they have what it takes for this task, not like the queens or the healers that are chosen when they’re young. Their most important quality is loyalty to the Queen and the Village.

✦✦The Royal Adviser

Current royal adviser: Frozen Mountain

This position didn’t exist before Frozen Mountain. He was supposed to be just Selenara’s personal servant but he has proven so much loyalty and wisdom as the Queen slowly started relying on him as much as she did on the Captain of the Warriors or the Healer (which played the advising role before, and still do), so at a point Selenara decided to name him “Royal Advisor”. It is not sure if this role will be kept after his death or the Queen will go back to the old ways.

✦✦The Healer Disciple

Current healer disciple: Spring Night

They’re chosen when they’re born, if they possess a strong enough magic power and the stars are in the right place. After the age of 3, whenever their mother needs some free time, they start to leave them with the Healer for short periods. After the age of 5-6 they start spending almost all their day helping the Healer. At the age of 12-15 they move into the Healer’s hut (right after they get through the Sphirix Shape Ceremony) . Only when the Healer dies they are no longer disciples and they can take their own disciple as soon as a dark grifix is born in the right circumstances. If there are born twin dark grifix, the one with the strongest magic is chosen. 

One of their jobs is to keep The Fire in the Center of the Village on. They’re not allowed to have sexual relationships. If they do, they risk losing their position even at the risk that the next disciple to be a white grifix - if the healer is too old. In this case, they risk being exiled from the village.

✦✦The Head-Servant

Currently Frozen Mountain (see The Royal Adviser)

Is in charge of the other servants from the castle. Takes care of everything to go well and to not remain any tasks unfulfilled.

✦✦The Everfree Warriors

Only males are allowed to become warriors, and they all must be enrolled as warriors, only exceptions being those who are hurt too bad for it, elders and those When a colt gets to the age of 12-15 they move to The Warriors Camp & Training Grounds (right after they get through the Sphirix Shape Ceremony). Until the age of 18 they must live there. After that, they can move to their own house whenever they want, or keep living in The Warriors Camp. Even if they move, they still have to do the warrior jobs. Their tasks are defending the village and haunting. They are split in three categories: supervisors, fighters and castle guards. 

SUPERVISORS - the fastest warriors are chosen to become supervisors. Those spend most of their time watching the village from the Supervision Platforms, and if something bad happens, they fly as fast as possible to the guards in the village that must handle it. 

FIGHTERS - the strongest warriors are chosen to become fighters. Those spend most of their time on the Training Grounds, waiting for any sign of trouble from the Supervisors. They train all of the time when there’s no trouble to become stronger and better. Some of them can willingly become permanent castle guards, while others only occasionally have the task to guard the castle.

CASTLE GUARDS - Fighters who are permanently on Castle Guarding Duty. All fighters must regularily guard the castle, but the Castle Guards are permanently there. They are also affilated with the Castle Servants, therefore they must wear the same feather accessory as them.

The warriors' armor

✦✦The Castle Servants

Mostly females that serve the Queen in the castle, cleaning around, preparing the food or the Queen’s clothes (they don’t do that that much anymore, since Nara doesn’t dress too much, but it was an important task during Eclipsa’s reign). They all wear a feather accessory which represents their bond to the queen. Most of them are maids, but not all.

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

✦✦Housegrifix

Usually adult females (housemares) or retired before-time warriors. They usually work around the house, take care of children and cook.

✦✦The Old Grifix

Old mares and retired warriors. The females spend most of their time weaving or doing paw-made stuff for the village. They also watch the kids sometimes, but that’s mostly the young females’ task.

✦✦The Cubs

Young grifix that still didn’t get through the Sphirix Shape Ceremony. They spend most of their time playing around and having fun.

✦✦The banished

Grifix that have been exiled or left the Village on their own will.

✦✦Outsiders

Other characters, usually not grifix, that live outside the village, and somehow interacted with the grifix.

✦ history ✦

The First Grifix Village arrived in the Everfree Forest around 2000 years ago, under the rule of Queen Starla. She was the first grifix to have ever lived. Soon after, she retired, leaving a new Queen to rule the village, but her reign was insignificant compared to how great Queen Starla was, so it barely lasted a few hundred hears, her retiring soon and leaving the Village in the paws of a tirant, King Umbra. His reign lasted a few hundred years longer than the Forgotten Queen’s, time during which he conquered the whole forest and even attacked the pony settlements around. His reign was brutally ended one night when he was assasinated by one of his maids, striving for liberty. The Village was left without a ruler for a short time during which the healers searched for a new Queen, until eventually Queen Rosa came at the leadership of the Village. Her reign was a peaceful one, but it eventually came to an end too, when Queen Eclipsa was crowned. She seemed to be a promising Queen, but she would soon prove to be another tirant. Inspired by the sight of Nightmare Moon, she kept the Village in a dark era for one thousand years. But that too came to an end when she chose a new Queen, Selenara. She is the Queen that reigns today, and so far her days have proved to be some of the best the grifix have ever seen. Her prophecy compared her to the First Queen, and she may just raise over the grifix’s expectations.

✦ CULTURE ✦

✦ Holidays ✦

During the Equinoxes and the Solstices, the magic of the grifix gets stronger, and the border with the other realm gets thinner. Because of that, their most important holidays are held on those days. These holidays are the Great Harvest Holiday, the Ancestors Day, the Friends and Lovers Day and the Memory of the Big Drought. In addition to that, they also have days to celebrate all the rulers they had before: Starla’s Day, the Forgotten Day, King Umbra’s Day, Queen Rosa’s Day, Queen Eclipsa’s Day and Selenara’s Day. Lastly, they also celebrate Hearts Warming.

✦ Legends and Stories ✦

The Village grifix have a rich history filled with many legends and stories. They make up a very big piece of their culture, and fill a big part in their daily life. The Village grifix gather in the center of the village around the sacred fire every dusk, where the elders tell stories. It may not seem like much, but this is very important to keep the community together.

Still, these stories are too long to tell here, so if you wish to read them go here|http://aminoapps.com/p/wjkmm6b.

✦ Laws and Punishments ✦

They have mainly the same laws as us (don’t steal, don’t kill, etc. The only special laws are that the Queens, the Healers and the Healer Disciples are not allowed to have sexual relationships.) so I’m not gonna go into that. But, they have some pretty different ways to punish those who broke them. See them below:

4. If they’re accused of breaking a law, they are brought in front of the whole village and judged. Respect for the other grifix is very important for a grifix, so, if it proves that they broke a law in front of the whole village they feel extremely broken, and many times it completely reforms them. 
5. If what they did is really bad, like stealing something important, besides being judged in front of the whole village, they are also kept for a while in the castle chamber. 
6. For killing, there is one of the worst punishments there can be for a grifix: spending time without their sphirix. The sphirix is so important and essential in their lives, so spending even a few minutes without it can make them feel like nothing worths anymore. It makes them feel like they’re dead. To make the sphirix disappear, the healer makes a magic plant cream and puts it on their gems. The cream stops the magic from flowing out of the gems and it causes a temporary disappearance of all the magic manifestations, including the sphirix. The effect doesn’t last long, but it usually is enough to make the grifix be really sorry for what they’ve done. 
7. In case of repeated murder and other crimes, the grifix is exiled from the village forever. But it usually never gets to that.

✦ Wedding Customs ✦

Read about them here.

✦ Games little grifix play ✦

Read about them here.

✦ RELATION WITH OTHER SETTLEMENTS ✦

✦✦The City of Thicket - The Deer are the other intelligent species living in the forest, and they can see the grifix, even as adults. Those two species had a good relationship for a very long time, until Eclipsa broke it and almost started a war once. Now, Queen Selenara tried hard to bring back what once was lost and the species are good friends again. It is not rare to see a grifix and a deer be good friends and hang out together.

✦✦Ponyville - the Grifix aren’t really allowed to go there, but let’s be serious, who wouldn’t break that rule? Every village grifix has been there at least once in their life.

✦✦The Divided Grifix Camp - the Camp knows of the Village existence, but the Village knows nothing of the Camp.

✦✦The Lost Tribe - the Tribe knows of the Village existence, but the Village knows nothing of the Tribe.