Mad Mother Mirielda

Mirielda Veyther - or Mad Mother Mirielda as she is otherwise known by - was once a brilliant and rising star within the Aetheri Citadel, strong with her nature magic and bound for a position within the High Aetheri.

She was a High Scholar of Magical Biodiversity within the Aetheri Citadel. Her early research contributed immensely to understanding aetheric mutation in living organisms. But her fascination with pushing boundaries spiralled into obsession. She began cross-breeding magical creature, altering their very aether-threads. Her experiments broke ethical laws and transmuted into chaos.

The Aetheri council did not agree with her experimentations and soon cast Mirielda out.

She took her notes and her surviving creatures and fled to Amarexael, specifically to a tangled forest glade near the glimmering river Vailrethin, on land owned by her dutiful daughter’s husband - a nobleman of impeccable patience and poor judgment in in-laws. There, she created Veyther’s Hollow—an expansive, magically fortified menagerie that pulses with Aether, humming with life not found anywhere else on the continent.

Mirielda refers to all her creations as her "children", each lovingly hand-reared and carefully cultivated. The menagerie is part sanctuary and part chaotic wonderland. Hidden beneath a shimmering dome of Aetheric warding, Veyther’s Hollow is a sprawling compound of moss-covered towers, root-bridged enclosures and bioluminescent glades. Each habitat is carefully tailored to suit the magical temperament of its residents.

A few of her 'children' include;

Lumifoxes

• Type: Emotional-phase Aether-beasts
• Appearance: Small, foxlike creatures with fur that glows softly in ever-shifting colours, like moonlight caught in mist. Their tails trail motes of Aether when they move.
• Abilities: Their colour shifts mirror emotion—pink for joy, blue for worry, crimson for mischief. When startled, they sometimes phase out of existence entirely, only to reappear minutes later in your pocket or teacup.
• Temperament: Curious, aloof, and easily offended by loud or ugly shoes.
• Quirk: “They vanish when they hiccup,” Mirielda warns.

Coilwraiths

• Type: Mirage Serpents
• Appearance: Long, sleek serpents of silver-threaded shadow. Their scales ripple like smoke, and their eyes gleam with mirth and malice in equal measure. Abilities: They feed on emotional resonance -fear makes them shimmer, laughter makes them coil in delight. If mocked, they retaliate with vivid illusions pulled from the mind of the offender.
• Temperament: Smooth, enigmatic, and vaguely theatrical. Love curling around warm stones and ankles.
• Quirk: Will bite when excited but then be instantly ashamed.

Thrembears

• Type: Sentient Guardian Beasts
• Appearance: Towering, thick-furred bears with plush, mossy coats that shift colour with the seasons—cherry blossom pink in spring, golden wheat in summer, russet in autumn, and snow-dappled charcoal in winter. Their eyes are round and amber, always glinting with thoughtful warmth. . Their paw pads are circular and unusually expressive.
• Abilities: Exude a calming aura when near distressed individuals, particularly women. Impossibly strong and fiercely protective, but only show aggression when their “chosen” is threatened. Can sense imbalance in emotions, magic, or intent—when upset, they pace in perfect triangular patterns until the feeling passes.
• Temperament: Endlessly affectionate, especially toward women, children, and gentle souls. Known to offer gifts—usually round objects such as stones, mushrooms, berries, or full moons drawn in dirt. They consider triangles unlucky. Easily bored by long speeches. Will sit patiently for exactly three minutes, then wander off.
• Quirk: Each Thrembear bonds with no more than three people in its lifetime, forming a triad it considers “its family.” If a visitor offers it three round items in friendship, the bear will remember them forever.

Thrembling Cubs

• Type: Miniature Guardian Beasts (Don’t tell them that)
• Appearance: Standing just under knee-height, Thrembling Cubs resemble perfectly proportioned, chubby-furred Thrembears with oversized paws and round little bellies. Their coats are just as seasonally enchanted, and their amber eyes burn with surprising intensity for something so fluffy. Some even wear small, self-fashioned capes made of leaves or napkins.
• Abilities: Can roar loud enough to knock over furniture… Capable of sensing distress from a mile away. Though smaller, they charge into danger with all the misplaced confidence of a much larger bear.
• Temperament: Proud, valiant, and utterly convinced they are the original Thrembears. Will scold full-grown Thrembears for being “sloppy in form.” Adore being carried, but will insist they are allowing you to do so for your benefit. Prefer round snacks and objects. They cannot count beyond three and do not care to.
• Quirk: Refuse to acknowledge their size. If addressed as "little one", they will sit on your foot in protest and sulk for exactly three hours.

Glass-horned Veilstags

• Type: Dimensional Ungulates
• Appearance: Ethereal, deer-like beings with delicate hooves and antlers of shimmering crystal that fracture light and time. Their bodies flicker faintly at the edges, like they're half-dream.
• Abilities: When frightened, they split - one a physical creature, the other a flickering Aether echo. The echo wanders until reunited.
• Temperament: Gentle, intensely curious, and entirely unaware of personal boundaries. Have been found rifling through hats, drawers, and dreams.
• Quirk: They often nuzzle visitors, but only those with unresolved emotional guilt.

Cindrisp Hatchlings

• Type: Fire-breathing pocket wyverns
• Appearance: Palm-sized dragons with butterfly wings, shimmering like flame-touched glass. They glow faintly when content.
• Abilities: Emit tiny bursts of fire when startled or sneezing. Love to nap against warm necks.
• Temperament: Excitable, curious, and dangerously affectionate.
• Quirk: Have an unfortunate habit of setting alight the things (or people) they love most.