Regal Peryton

Rihue lay upon a rocky outcropping on the side of the mountain, shivering beneath an overcast sky. He stared at his ruined leg and his broken ankle.

He'd been hunting game and gathering fruits and berries for his wife and daughter who lived back home in their little cabin when he'd slipped and shattered his leg on the rocks. He'd shouted himself hoarse, but it was no use. No one could hear him. No one was coming.

That had been three days ago. His food and water were gone. He couldn't make it back down the mountain on his own. He was going to die.

But then Rihue heard a call like that of a bird and saw a creature descending through the sky toward him. It had the head and body of a stag, with massive antlers upon its head, but instead of forelegs, two mighty wings grew from its shoulders. Its coat and feathers were white and shades of purple, and it was the most beautiful creature Rihue had ever seen.

The Regal Peryton landed beside him on the outcropping and regarding him with one intelligent eye. Then it lowered itself and, with a nod of its majestic head, extended a wing.

Rihue crawled toward it, up the wing and onto the creatures back. He clung tightly as it spread its wings and soared into the sky, down the mountain, and toward salvation. They say there is nothing more beautiful than a Regal Peryton. They prefer to live in the mountains all across the Splinterlands, rarely seen by others. When they soar through the skies, the sunlight catches through their wings and creates rainbows underneath them. Regal Perytons are highly intelligent and consider themselves noble guardians of the natural world, using their magic to help others.