First – and understand this, ’cause it’s very important – not all creatures are good. Some of them go bad. And there are some that went as bad as they can go. When the titans reigned…it was dark times, dark times. The titans started to gather some followers from among the creatures, brought em’ over to the dark side. Creatures who stood up against them ended up dead, or worse, banished to the far reaches of the Earth. The gods fought against the titans and their allied creatures, but none survived when the gods decided to end them. None…not one…’cept those whom the gods deemed not as big of a threat.
(You can bet being demoted to minor threat status hurt some of the creatures’ prides! Especially those drakons and dragons, as if they needed another reason to fight…)
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Land
Now some creatures that had joined the titans returned to the light side. A few stubborn ones refused to give in, but since they were usually of little threat, the gods found new purposes for them. One type of creature, the Hellhound, entered the service of Hades. Hellhounds are feared by half-bloods especially, except the children of Hades. Hellhounds have been portrayed as being extremely large mastiffs, but other details have varied from them being larger than grizzly bears, rhinos, and even garbage trucks, to having eerie glowing red eyes, or even large, reptilian-like teeth. One thing is certain though – the bark of a Hellhound is louder than artillery in battle. Hellhounds are also unique in that they can shadow travel – the ability to travel by slipping into the shadows and coming out somewhere else of their desire. The shadows are not exactly a physical place, but more of a tunnel concept, transporting the Hellhound (or child of Hades) from one point to another. It takes a lot of energy to shadow travel, but the method can prove extremely effective, especially when used to travel behind enemy lines (another reason it is feared by half-bloods: they can sneak up on you!) For those not familiar with this concept, think of as being able to apparate, as they do in Harry Potter. (Unless you’re a muggle or not a child of Hades, then you can’t, sorry.) Oh, and did I mention that children of Hades can also communicate with Hellhounds through their minds? And they’re not the only person-creature pair that can do that! Pretty cool, huh?
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Water
If you ever saw a Hippocampus (pl. Hippocampi), you would think you were taking something illegal. A Hippocampus is multi-colored, with the body of a horse from the waist up, silvery fish bodies, glistening scales, and rainbow tail-fins. Hippocampi reside in the sea, and are under Poseidon’s rule. Children of Poseidon, whether man, cyclops, or other, are linked especially with the Hippocampus, and most children of Poseidon can communicate telepathically. Hippocampi are portrayed as having a friendly, peaceful personality, ready to help when called. Otherwise, Hippocampi are mysterious creatures – not much is known about them. But as mythical creatures, they certainly are curious…very curious…
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Sky
First thing you wanna know about Pegasi, is that they’re very proud creatures, very easily offended. You do not want to insult a Pegasi. It may just be the last thing you ever do. While Pegasi are pretty to look at, they are vastly misunderstood creatures, Pegasi are. They have wild tempers and personalities you would have never thought could be associated with a creature so beautiful. Pegasi are overly sarcastic in communicating, they are extremely selfish, and they are SO stubborn. But Pegasi are also very brave and loyal to those they bond with. As the offspring of THE Pegasus, their honor is unquestionable. And if you’re a son or daughter of the sea god, you’re in luck! You can communicate with Pegasi (and horses, among other animals) through your mind! Look’s like Poseidon’s kids are two for three here, not bad! As I said before though, Pegasi are beautiful creatures. Their coats come in numerous colors, and the large, feathered wings on their backs spread wide and majestic while in flight. They are certainly a sight to behold.
……
Like I said before, not all creatures returned to the “light” side. But even some of those that did maintained their previous dispositions – i.e. Drakons are usually more destructive and have a curse (or curses) associated with them, while Dragons were powerful and strong and acted more as protectors. But like the gods, whenever a mythical beast is defeated, it is not gone forever. Nope, they’re still out there (usually in dust form in Tartarus), too tired to carry on. But one thing’s for certain – it’s changing out there. Just like last time (around the defeat of the titans). There’s a storm coming, and you all best be ready when she does.
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I’m pretty sure you alluded to Hagrid when describing the Pegasus, which I wholeheartedly appreciate. I was most interested in how the hellhounds travel, using the shadows. I noticed Rachel also found this particularly appealing, and I can’t help but wonder why we so easily are mystified by such a dark and sneaky way of transportation. The cynic in me suggests it’s because of something dark and bad in our subconscious.
I suppose I should say “congratulations”, since you are the first person to pick up on that without me saying anything. However, you did miss four other HP references…
As for shadow traveling, it’s not always to be used for evil- think how much shorter trips across the country would be- six hours become a matter of mere minutes! But perhaps the origin of the story can from a negative or dark experience, and that is why it has always been such an association between hellhounds and shadow travelling.
I’m not exactly sure but I think you briefly referenced hippocampi, hellhounds and pegasi in your last post so its cool that you’re going more in-depth about them in this post. I appreciate the background in the introduction. I didn’t know that certain creatures were banished or killed; and it’s really strange to see that the creatures that do exist are really weak and not much of threat. And the pictures do make it a lot easier to visualize these creatures. The most I’ve ever really seen things like hellhounds and pegasi are in movies related to mythology (I’m guessing that’s where most other people have seen them too) like Percy Jackson or Hercules so it’s cool to learn a little more about them. And I learned a lot of new stuff. Like I never knew that certain half bloods could communicate with certain creatures. And the fact that hellhounds can shadow travel is pretty awesome too.
This post was fascinating! I’m glad you added the disclaimer at the beginning that all creatures are not good and some are bad because that is true of everything in life, especially people. Hellhounds sound absolutely terrifying and I can totally understand why they are feared. The children of Hades are either extremely brave or they bond with the Hellhounds through their devilish ways. Shadow travel would be so cool, though! I need to find out how this is possible because invisibility/shadow traveling would be the greatest super power to have. The Hippocampus and Pegasus are absolutely beautiful, though. I’ve always heard of Pegasi, but I’ve never heard of a Hippocampus. The picture makes me wish that I had before! It makes sense that I have never heard of them since they are such mysterious creatures. However, I almost laughed out loud when reading the description of the Pegasus. A large part of that description is also how I would describe myself, which is extremely odd. Maybe I am a Pegasus in the modern world. There’s only one way to find out: I need to try to talk to horses.