Anim'Riut Grove
INFORMATION
You walk and talk, crunching a trail in the smooth gravel as the Silver Anim'Riut outlines all he knows of the species he leads......
THE LEGEND BEHIND THE SPECIES
The Anim'Riut has no past and an uncertain future. The 'Riuts are the esence of nature...its basic elements expressed in creatures through natural magick and spirit. The legend of the Anim'Riuts goes all the way back to obscure sects of Rainforest-dwellers in the many-millions BC who painted coarse pictures of a small, ram-horned equine on boulders and etched pairs of ram-like horns into the banks of rivers. In the myths of these people, these creatures are given the name Anim'Riut, which translates roughly to "Living Things." These creatures are said, even today by the descendants of these ancient myth-makers, to be the very life-force of the Rainforest...the matter and the spirit and the life of every element of the entire ecosystem, each representing a key element in the grand circle of life. Creatures made more of energy than matter, they manifested themselves to help the lost and the suffering, to gruesomely slaughter poachers and to bless the fields of Rainforest-dwellers so that their harvests would be plentiful. Parched earth gave forth to verdant greenery and burnt-out swaths of forest regenerated in mere monthes.
And then, one day, everything went straight to Hell....
A dark man entered the forest, a amn with no eyes or mouth or face, whatsoever....or so the legend says. He took the 'Riuts, capturing their escenses in mysterious crystals and locking them inside a box of ivory and Jade. The people were powerless to stop them, without the protection the 'Riuts had always provided. The lands cracked, dusting and swallowing the crops....the trees wilted overnight....death reigned where life had once flourished.
Not too long ago, it is said, a youth was sent by an unknown urge into the wasteland the departing of the Anim'Riuts had left behind. He simply woke up one night and knew what had to be done. He was the Chosen One. He pack nothing but a longblade whom his father, now dead, had taught him to wield with superior skill, and one small dagger that had belonged to his father's father's father. The dagger was etched with pictures of the mythical 'Riut, and of the dark man. He journey 100 days into the desolate expanse of desert and craggy wasteland until he came upon a mage's Circle...with a box at its center. Here, the dark man, long dead, lived on as the demon keeper of the Circle.
The battle was long and valient, and in the end, the youth gave his life to destroy the Circle and its keeper....to free the Anim'Riuts. Life sprang anew again....rivers flows once more....people cried in the streets as the 'Riuts returned to revive the dying and bring new life to long-barren lands.....
As for the boy..... There is a tree in that Rainforest. It is said to be over 1 million years old, but it is not. What it is, is the largest and greenest and most beautiful of its kind. Where the boy fell...where he breathed his last breath to save his dying land....that tree grows. It is no older than that.
And so the 'Riuts returned, multiplying and casting themselves and their crops out across the lands and the worlds to bless other places....and so you are here.....
APPEARANCE & ANATONY
The 'Riut is a simple animal of which little is known. The creature is pure energy, pulsating from it and building itslef from it...and so, it is completely immortal. There are no organs of any sort...just pieces in a network of photons and particles manifesting themselves in a shape.
At the center of the energy is a Core of pulsing energy and light from which the power of the 'Riut eminates. This Core, if pierced or injured, deisperses, only to reform over time....and so an Anim'Riut cannot truly die, but just be outcast for a time. This Core is the place from which the 'Riut's esence is held together to form a visible shape.
To the eye, they seem an equine creature with no mane and ram-like horns. Markings vary from stripes to dapples to solid hues of bright colors.
'Riuts are born live as balls of energy from the essence of their mothers. More on the process of procreation in the Mating Info Section. They grow into more control as they age, a process which takes place at an excelerated rate, and gain their first real form as babies. They grow from their, mimicing other animals, to adulthood. The process in its entirety takes only a week or two. They are fostered out at childhood, a time at which they are all the same grey color. They do not manifest their true coloration or powers until they reach adulthood.
'RIUT COLORATION & RARITY
Anim'Riuts are cropped in ten colors, all of which are the escenses of different parts of nature, with different abilities and myths surrounding each. All Anim'Riut types can be either male or female......
SILVER: The Silver 'Riut is the Alpha, the leader of groupings of 'Riuts. They are the superior intellects, surveying all. They are able to travel in time and in space at a thought. These 'Riuts have no elemental affiliation, but instead are a conglomerate of all other 'Riut types - a slightly telepathic product of powerful joinings and extroardinarily rare. (Very Rare)
AIR: A sky blue 'Riut with power over the elements of air. These 'Riuts do not walk on the ground, but instead float about two inches above it at all times, levitating effortlessly even in sleep. One of the two types of 'Riuts that can fly, they control winds and weather. Along with this weather control comes the ability to exact deadly punishment on those who betray the beauty of nature. With lightning and storms - hurricanes and tornadoes - at their bidding, they are a very damaging type to cross. (Common)
EARTH: A brown and red Anim'Riut with control over all things of the earth. Dirt, mud, stone and all things such as that are at the whim of this creature. Legend has it that their power is drawn from the convection of molten lava beneath the earth's surface, and that the natural disasters of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides have been caused by a simply sneeze from one of these small creatures. (Common)
WATER: This deep blue striped 'Riut is another powerful one, in control over all the chirnings of the sea as well as the fall of life-giving rain. One of the more gentle 'Riuts, they prefer to bring rains to parched land rather then to tear the countryside with tidal waves or typhoons. (Common)
FIRE: The 'Riut of flaming red whose power lies in the flickering of the burning fire. The most violent of the 'Riuts, given to bouts of ptromania bordering on sheer insanity and resulting in sweeping forest-fires. This Anim'Riut has long been labeled the avenging 'Riut, as its fire holds not positive purpose in the Rainforest. The dark angel 'Riut, the Fire is called upon to torture, burn, and even kill offenders of natural law and order. (Common)
BLOOD: The warrior 'Riut. While more peaceful than the Fire 'Riut, they too are fighters and superiorly quick learners. This caste has control over the bodies of living things and the things that make them work, such as...well...blood. They are very dangerous, as they are the deciders as to who dies and how. The death 'Riut, you might say. (Semi-Common)
MOSS: The 'Riut of all things flora, as opposed to the Blood 'Riuts. As its coloration might speak, this green 'Riut is the essence and the life force of all things thata grow of the earth. Principle caretakers of crops, they've been fabled to ruin one crop and make another spring up in parched land, kill off all of one plant only to have another flourish in its place. The most unpredictable of the 'Riuts, as well as the most influential over the wellbeing, if not the very lives, of the people inhabiting their territories. (Semi-Common)
LIGHT: A pastel 'Riut with control over light on all its forms. The entire spectrum of the world around us is under the whim and balance of this more mentally stable 'Riut, influencing how we see and even what we see. Mythically able to create mirages and illusions comprised of light particles under their control, these 'Riuts are the tricksters of the species, playing mind games for the fun of it. They shapeshift at a thought and put people in very dangerous situations simply because they can, but they do not ever kill. No death has resulted of any trick, some of which have been elaborate light shows, indeed. (Semi-Common)
SHADOW: A deep gray Anim'Riut of black and white markings, this rare one is the form of all things in nature that are dark or bad or painful. Bred from the other end of the spectrum, the Shadow 'Riut is not as violent or evil as its name and origin might lead you to believe. They are peaceful creatures, seeking only to bring balance to a world of light providing it with the shades of grief, pain and sorrow to name a few. The 'Riut of sin, the Shadow observes the dark deeds of creatures and encourages them to the goal of maintaining a balance with the light...not black or white at all...but a median of gray..... (Rare)
SMOKE: Relative to the Shadow, this lighter gray and black 'Riut is the harbinger of danger and all other such fleeting things as those. Where these creatures tread, nervousness and angst spreads light wildfire, causing restlessness and even anger and annoyance. Violence has broken out where a Smoke has remained overlong, and so the Smokes are wanderers, constant nomads within their territories, as fleeting time and danger...and smoke. (Rare)
And there is another. There is one Anim'Riut that exists no where in reality...or at least it has not yet been documented. It has said the wild 'Riuts...the few there are...have cropped a creature of growing neon and black which they deemed a Dream 'Riut, as it reigns over the realm of fantasy and dreams, bringing elements of light and dark - sweetness and blood-curtling nightmare. But...it's only a legend...we think....
ENVIRONMENT/NEEDS
While veru adaptable animals, the Anim'Riuts prefer to live in Rainforests like their original home. Anywhere that offers life in all its forms is good, with both. Forested land for protection and open fields for exercise and raising young are neccesities. Over time, as their numbers grow, the 'Riuts have spread to all types of environments, bringing life no matter where they are. While the misty lands of moist foliage are prefered, anywhere with green and creature life is perfection.
Riut's need very little to survive, as they are esencially beings of energy. They all need sunlight to survive...it is their food in ways as it is the source of their energies.
For breeding purposes, 'Riuts need open space that is also protected. A forest clearing, or, as in these lands, a walled ring of boulders, are perfect for breeding. More of such in the Mating Information section.
BEGIN THE ADOPTION PROCESS
or
LEAVE THE ANIM'RIUT LANDS FOR GOOD
The Grove | Info | Rules | Crops | Fosterers | Mating Info
Tons O' Thanks to my buds on the Silver Unicorn's MB for fun and love and inspiration, and to Yahoo! Geocities for the free space!