When our own tradition comes around, it can be talked of here. Normally that comes on/around the 18th of December. Last time we saw a fabulously cute bunch of bumble baublebees come visit us. I ask of you now, post here what you speculate we may get this time around and... hopefully... no insects. Er... that's to appease those who get tired of the buzzing of the... bees? >.> Anyhoo...
Rosehill has posted when the Solstice celebration will start!
https://magistream.com/3-site-news/2303 ... ec-th.html
Happy Holidays, my friends!
*******
It came upon a midnight clear... yes... they arrived just around/at midnight! 3 beautiful, tiny creatures decided to grace us. Here they are and may your days be merry and bright!
This egg is covered in snowy crystals.
Spoiler
Snowchins are immensely talented, using their ability to sculpt snow into food that they eat or tools they use to burrow long tunnels in snow and ice. They reside in regions where snow can be found year-round, and will hide underground on warm days in icy tunnel networks. Remarkably hardy creatures, they need only snow or ice to survive, and at the Keep a spell or two to provide snow for them is all they need. Explorers have even found them living in floating icebergs, residing comfortably in tunnels they create as they voyage wherever the iceberg goes. Individuals in regions of Arkene and Boreus often consider them mischievous, as their primary method of self-defense is a barrage of tightly-packed snowballs that they will launch at individuals who get too close to their dens.
Spoiler
When the little egg hatches, a fluffy, snow-covered creature rolls out, regarding you with adorably beady eyes. These young creatures seem to change size constantly, as they bathe themselves by rolling in freshly fallen snow. Being made of snow themselves, the snow will often stick to them and increase their size and roundness to the point where they resemble snowballs themselves—albeit snowballs with ears and whiskers.
Male/Female
Spoiler
While their size changes often when they are young, one is able to tell when a Snowchin is fully grown by the development of their paws and snowy, fluffy tails. Instead of rolling in snow with their whole bodies, they now use their paws to make sculptures, shaping the snow into a variety of things. In nature, they are inclined to shape the snow into nuts or fruits that they will then eat. Some suspect that they change the taste and nutritional value with magic, although tests by magi have revealed that their sculpted food still just tastes like snow. With training, they can sculpt beautiful statues out of snow, with dexterity unmatched by human hands.
Noelino
This egg's golden shell smells like sweet gingerbread.
Spoiler
The noelino is a seasonal creature, most active during wintertime. It sleeps starting late spring until the end of autumn. It is often associated with the winter festivities, as wherever the noelino goes, the sweet smell of gingerbread lingers in the air. Small and curious, a noelino can find its way in the kitchens, giving the impression that sweet gingerbread cookies are baked, fooling everyone with its delicious smell. The odd thing about the noelino is that it lacks whiskers. For a creature that relies so much on feeling its surroundings, the noelino could be considered lost without whiskers. However, colorful ribbon-like appendices grow on its back. These ribbons move in weird patterns as if blown by the wind. Although the movement seems random, the noelino moves the ribbons in a way that allows it to understand its surroundings better. As the ribbons are a vital part of the noelino, cutting them off is forbidden. Those who wish to use the ribbons have to wait until spring when the noelino sheds them.
Spoiler
Noelino hatchlings are blind and hairless in the first few days of their lives. If it weren't for their tasty gingerbread smell, many would dismiss them. As days pass, the little hatchlings turn into cute rodents with soft, golden fur and curious eyes. Colorful ribbons sprout from their back, moving continuously like tiny tentacles. The noelino hatchlings are ready to play and explore, happily befriending magi who offer them sweet treats. Although they prefer to stay near fireplaces, the noelinos are not afraid to play out in the snow. During the start of the winter, when these hatchings are the most active, it is best to pay close attention to where one walks. The noelino hatchlings can pop up out of nowhere and cause people to trip as they approach those who are known to give them treats.
Male/Female
Spoiler
The ribbons of an adult noelino are truly magnificent. They are soft to the touch and shiny, their different colors giving the noelino a festive look. When the time comes for the noelino to succumb in its deep sleep for the warm seasons, the ribbons fall out, becoming inert. They are no longer magical, and the noelino has no interest in them. However, magis gather them with care. As they are almost impossible to break, these ribbons are used by many, from tying scrolls to braiding hair. And to make things even better, the sweet gingerbread smell persists on the ribbons for years after being shed. As soon as the winter months arrive, the noelino wakes from its deep sleep. New ribbons grow on its back to help the little creature feel its surroundings. Those who keep these creatures as companions often compete to see whose noelino can grow the longest ribbons before being shed.
Ornate Sylph - (yay! dimorphism)
This golden egg has bright festive stripes decorating its shell.
Spoiler
After years of sylph origins being a closely guarded secret, magi at the Keep woke up one cold morning to discover decorations hanging from every tree in sight and a gorgeous, previously unknown variety of sylph perched upon them, trilling bell calls at each other. Keep researchers have since found that they arrive from lands yet undiscovered on the far side of the world, using their masterful control over wind to make the unfathomably long journey, and the Synaran varieties were likely carefully cultivated from these wild ones. They arrive only when it snows and disappear again when the weather grows warm, and appear to have taken up residence at the Keep in particular due to the abundance of shiny things they can steal to decorate trees with there at wintertime. Male ornate sylphs claim a tree and then use whatever shiny things they can find to festoon it. They then perch upon it, displaying their bright feathers and chiming at passing females, who choose mates based upon which tree is best decorated. In their zeal to decorate, no tree is safe, not even oracle trees or vosmari, and so it is not uncommon to see brightly decorated trees slowly migrating around the Keep with a mildly alarmed sylph perched upon it during solstice celebrations.
(male)
(female)
Spoiler
Ornate sylph hatchlings are festive, carefree little things, happily riding breezes all day from almost the moment they hatch. Their wings are still small and unable to support their weight on their own, but this is not a problem when they can command wind - albeit only in small amounts. Hatchling sylphs soon learn that they can summon much larger winds if they work together, and so it's common to see whole flocks fluttering from tree to tree together, making a chorus of happy bell-chime chirps, while their parents keep careful watch over them. Even at a young age, ornate sylphs love shiny things, so magi seeking to make friends can play with a whole flock for a day by offering them small pieces of tinsel.
M/F
Spoiler
Ornate sylphs grow up quickly, between the first snow of the year and the last, and are considered adults once their antlers grow in. Ornate sylph parents lovingly decorate their hatchlings' antlers with the shiniest, most durable of the ornaments on their tree, and the sylph will carry those same decorations for the rest of its life. Adult ornate sylphs are about the size of a small deer, and have great mastery over wind, able to easily summon a small breeze or a strong gale in an instant. Before they fly off to lands unknown, newly grown sylphs often gift their molted hatchling down to favored magi friends. These gorgeous feathers are treasured belongings, often made into jewelry or carefully crafted into rare, precious potions, and it is said that they can be used to summon the sylph in times of great need.
Event badge (gifting a certain number of gifts) -
***Thank you to BBkat and vividmirage for the help with their posts!***
***Poll added. Enjoy!***
[
