I remember a time when I was young. I had wandered off the path of the Nyturis Forest and gotten lost. As the sun began to set, the trees started to close in on me. Their branches twisting into dark shapes and clawing at my hair and clothes. The trees began to groan the sound of a tired old man. I tried to run, but the trees kept grabbing at me. Finally, out of pure exhaustion, I collapsed to the forest floor.

A light seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was warm. Peaceful.
Looking up, I saw the form of the forest lord, a kind smile apon his wisened face. He smelled of fresh forest moss.
He spoke not a word, but I could see comforting visions of home in my head. I knew he was here to help me find my way home.
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Personal pic done for fun while waiting for a few clients to getback to me about their commissioned pics.

Forestmute is one of the five gryphon lords in the religion of the land the main bulk of my stories take place in. He is a supernatural being, but he is not a god. Think of him more as a kami, or spirit like those found in the Shinto religion... or if you'd be more familiar with a pop culture reference, think of him as a gryphonic version of the forest spirit from the movie Princess Mononoke.
His true form is actually pure energy, but he manifests himself into the gryphon form shown in the picture to interact with mortals.

He serves all the nine gods of Thera, but is most closely tied to Iris, the goddess of nature.

Credits:
Lovely forest stock by AnaRasha-Stock of DeviantArt - I've been looking for an excuse to use it.


Image © 2010 Traci Vermeesch-Vezina
Please DO NOT copy, alter, repost, etc without the consent of the artist! Character/Image are NOT public domain!