Nightsister Gryphon

NOTE: Even though this species was inspired by the Star Wars Universe, it is not "Canon". It was a species I made up for the "Fictional Gryphon Contest" at GryphonArtistsUnited. Basically the contest is about imagining how gryphons would be in different books/movies/whatever.

I went for a Star Wars inspired gryphon, because the hubby and I are both big fans of Star Wars. It is more based on the expanded universe rather then the movies. I also took some time in thinking about how a gryphon-ish species would come about in such a universe, since magical cat/bird hybrids probably wouldn't make a lot of sense.

Plus I didn't want them to be cute and cuddly as cute critters are the first to be eaten on a planet like Dathomir.


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The Aaardkinat (Dathomir Gryphon)

General Appearance
The Dathomiran gryphon is generally seen as being a "missing link" between the planet's mighty sauropods and birds.
They are heavy bodied reptavians with thick necks and strong shoulders, but a hollowed out (yet strong) bone structure makes them surprisingly lightweight for their size. They are capable of flight, but require a running start to get of the ground.

Their bodies are covered with a thick, leathery hide but have black feathers on their heads, elbows, rump and wings. Each foot has three toes, each one capped by a small hoof.


Society/Ecology
Dathomir gryphons are pack hunters. A pack consists of 5-10 individuals. They will usually prey on smaller creatures, such as baz nitch but a pack can hunt and take down larger prey, such as a malklok.

A single Dathomir gryphon would be easy prey for a rancor, the planet's apex predator, if it wasn't for the fact that they can easily outrun rancors.. A pack will work together to fight off even the largest rancor.

They can make two noises. When angered, they make a deep, throaty growl like a bull alligator or when excited, will emit a high pitched squeal that sounds like the cry of a eagle ending in a warble.


Dathomir Gryphons and the Force
Dathomir gryphons are force sensitive animals. No, not in the sense that they have jedi-like powers... but they can sense individuals who are trained in the force. An untrained Dathomir gryphon will feel uneasy when confronted by a force user and will become violent towards the individual.



Dathomir Gryphons and Nightsisters
Dathomir gryphons can only be domesticated by force sensitive sentients, such as the Nightsister witches of Dathomir. When raised from an egg, a Dathomir gryphon becomes a fierce yet loyal mount who will defend their rider with their own life.

The Nightsisters will ride Dathomir gryphons into battle as aerial mounts or they can be trained to ferret out and kill and light side users of the force (IE the Nightsister's light side counterparts, the Singing Mountain Clan").

Image © 2011 Traci Vermeesch-Vezina
Please DO NOT copy, alter, repost, etc without the consent of the artist! Character/Image are NOT public domain!