The Evil

The Demon Spawn (also called DemonSpawn, quickly, without a space) take the shapes of the Guardians, except evilly warped. Coal black, with red eyes and with ravaging attacks, these are the fiercest fighters in the Evil's army, as well as the least common. Their common nickname in the heat of battle are the Slashes, named after a disease that affects the nervous system of Sentients, Guardians, and humanoids alike. They are said to be the shadows of those Guardians, Sentients, or humanoids who truly exist.

It has been theorized that the Doppelganger (that's also the plural form) were once part of the shapeshifter race, and that the two were separated on questions of moral values. While the shapeshifters go through rigorous and long training to aquire a shape, the Doppelgangers have developed a more barbaric but time effective method. The Doppelganger will aquire a shape through use of a grotesque ritual that results in the death or comatose state of the aquired subject. Few have seen the true form of the Doppelganger and those who have wish they hadn't.

Cowardly elves who did not find it worthwhile to be on the side of the Guardians found work with the Evil One. Their race has grown warped and dark. Shunning the sun, and preferring to attack at night with cunning offenses, the Elves are the most intelligent fighters, riding on the dorsals of Slashes.

The burrow snakes are aquatic and burrow with a pair of fore-flippers equipped with three small clutching claws with which they dig. They swim quickly by undulating long, slimy coils and have bearded faces.

This section contains the good that the Evil accidentally gave the Guardians-- a chance at saving Fyre!

The evil was first detected by the Woodland Elves. In a famed battle with the Evil, a hunting party of Elves numbering to a dozen fought for their lives beneath the boughs of the Greenleaf Forest's trees, their home.

Darra Broadbow, the leader of the party, was the only one to escape alive. He stumbled away, clutching in his hand and dragging the wretched corpse of one of his attackers.

The Dragons and Unicorns were tending to the human children. They were only alerted when one of the little boys noticed the haggard shape of the weary elf stumbling toward them. "RUN!" he screamed, and tripped over his feet in his haste. Children screamed as the bloody elf collapsed before Heartbeat, the Dragon Sage. With a squeal of horror, she swooped low to grab him up in her paws. She rushed him to a clean spring, and three Unicorns galloped after her, including Tellessa, the fellow partner of Heartbeat.

In the excitement, two youngsters-- one a dragonet named Twen, the other a twelve year old girl named Kerra-- crashed into one another. Twen's excited mind rushed out, and they found out to be totally compatible! They suddenly would not leave each other, Twen curled around his new friend.

The Unicorns and Dragons were surprised at this. If there was anyone who despised the Humans, the Dragons did. But Twen told them clearly: "I can hear her every thought, and she can hear mine! I know what she loves, and she knows what I love. I don't want to be away from her! We are one in all but body!"

There was awe in the minds of the Unicorns and Dragons alike. Then Tellessa stood forth.

"Maybe we can all do this," she whinnied. "Everyone knows that Unicorns are high Telepaths."

Then, a foal stood forward. His horn was yet coated in velvet and his face had the clarity of youth. All knew him as the shy little T'sa'tha.

"I will try," he nickered, and before his parents could stop him, he trotted to a girl who stood, confused. He lowered his horn, and gently touched her forehead with his hornlet.

His blue eyes shimmered for a moment, and he shook his head, and moved on to another, a little boy with blonde hair.

On this one, his eyes seemed to glow with an odd light. Then, he screamed, a joyful whinny that seemed to bend the grasses of Hoofpound Plain.

The Unicorns were awed. One, then another, then another-- they tried it out. An older dragon chose one of the women, who clutched the huge dragon's claw. The Dragon curled her head protectively over the slender body poised on the talon.

Then, the somber words were passed: Darra had died of his wounds. But in turn, he had given Tellessa and the other Guardians vital clues to their enemies.

He had held a giant beetle-like entity. It was a deep black, with a greasy sheen. Its feet were like sucker-cups, and the Guardians present realized in horror that such a creature could float on the water with an oil secreted from the pads, or climb up vertical walls. It had a shelled back, like that of a beetle's, that opened up to two halves to reveal immense, fly-like wings. The head was small and round, with two large, red, angled eyes, like that of a fly's. It had a small beak, and large pincers surrounded its beak. Altogether, it was about four feet high, with six five foot long legs that bowed outward. It had no antennas or anything of the sort. Instead, a spear stub had been pounded between the cracks of its shell.

In later battles, the beetles were found to spit acid and their bites were dangerous poison. They could hover and glide, but could not fly upwards. With back legs shaped like a cricket's, they leapt to heights of fifteen feet. Their major weapon was sheer numbers. There were vast amounts of the vermin, and more were produced every day from the middle of the Greenleaf. The Elves were driven from their homes by the menace.

The Guardians sorrowed for the Elven party, but Tellessa had learned from Darra what had happened and how the bugs fought. Such information was immediately passed on to the Griffins.

More evils found later were far more diverse. Even though the beetles (called "Bugs") make up most of the army, there are also the other species, which are presented above.