Sylvan

Backstory

Sylvan was created alongside many other Gargoyles their mistress has created over the last few years. The Mistress tells her creations that they were all created using the recycled souls of horrible beasts and monsters, and that she revived them to give them a chance to atone for their previous atrocities. 

She doesn’t tell her Gargoyles who or what they were in a previous life, only that she will guide them to become her patrons of justice before sending them all on their own quests to rid the world of evil where they can.

Each Gargoyle she creates specialises in certain abilities and skills that she teaches from afar with strange, mysterious magic. She often appears to them as spectral visages, a face in a tree or voice from a nearby animal. None of the Gargoyles have ever seen her in person, or even know her name, but they still hold strongly to their loyalty to her. After all, without her, they might still be horrible monsters stalking the country side for their next innocent to kill.

Sylvan, in particular, has been sent to try to use their Druidic powers to help those whose towns or farms have been effected by blights or droughts. They chose to name themselves after their favourite language they had been taught.

Description/attributes

Sylvan is rather thin and gangly in comparison to a lot of their more brutish siblings, but is no less strong. Their horns are large and their hair is tied back in a long ponytail that drapes between their small, bird-like wings. The jewel on their head is both a Druidic focus and a marker for their mistress to identify them.

Sylvan is skilled in shaping both the stone around them and the stone of their body. They can manipulate stone in their environment to move, or take on different forms, as well as using their wild shape magic to turn themselves into both organic-seeming creatures and man-made pottery.

When they ‘sleep’ they enter an inactive state for only a few hours as their body hardens to become solid stone in a pose of their choosing. In this state they are fully aware of their surroundings but can take some time to wake from this state if interrupted.

Personality and Interests

Sylvan, though still technically ‘young’ on this earth, is surprisingly wise and well attuned to the world around them. They understand basic universal mannerisms, and have a sharp eye for detail. They will not turn a blind eye when someone is being wrongfully treated, and will try their best to help when they can, though they don’t always get it right.

They know their appearance can be quite startling to those who haven’t met a Gargoyle before, so they will typically keep to themselves most of the time. If one does give them a chance, most will find Sylvan to be rather friendly, if not a bit mysterious. They are very weary of their sharp claws, tail or horns accidentally bumping into people, and are good at keeping them in check, but at the same time they tend be clumsy with their spells and accidentally cause collateral damage.

They can be surprisingly cunning, and will do what it takes to ensure justice, even if it means stepping on a few toes, or killing villainous characters in alley ways. They can be a bit awkward in social situations, but learn quickly with experience. Talking about nature or magic and learning about other cultures is one of their favourite things, and one of their biggest weaknesses. If they connect well with someone and get to talking about magic, it’s hard to get them to stop.

While they do not need to eat, they have found most organic races find it impolite to refuse food, so they originally starting eating food to keep the peace, but over time, have found they enjoy the different textures, even if they can’t taste it that well. They are also fascinated by different clothing textures, and will absentmindedly stroke different rugs, clothing, or knitwear they come across.