Gargoyles

Gargoyles emerged during the experiments that eventually produced Dragons. After weaving Giant Bats into Cliff Drakes created Wyverns, the Wardens were disappointed at the still lacking size, but mainly that the drakes' powerful forelimbs had become its wings. They next wove in a primate donor, hoping to restore independent arms that could grasp as well while retaining flight. As Bioweaving often did, the result stabilized broadly across the primate template and produced the six-limbed Gargoyle. The desired forelimbs were present, but the creatures were smaller than hoped and lacked the intelligence the Wardens now realized they desired. The Wardens finally turned to themselves—primate enough to provide the necessary anatomy, but something far beyond ordinary primates. Warden and Wyvern stabilized beautifully together, producing the much larger, semi-sapient and magical Dragons.

Wild Gargoyles were carnivorous, territorial predators that lived in loose social groups around cliffs, caves, forests, and other elevated terrain. Powerful wings made them capable fliers, while their grasping forelimbs allowed them to climb and move easily across rock faces and trees. During their active season they hunted aggressively and defended established roosting grounds, but as their off-season approached they retreating to sheltered communal hibernation sites, often returning to the same caves for generations. During hibernation, Gargoyles would crouch with their wings folded tightly against their backs and enter an extraordinarily deep torpor. Their breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and metabolism slowed to almost nothing, allowing them to remain nearly motionless for much of a season.

This natural ability proved remarkably useful and the Wardens learned to induce it at will. Dormant Gargoyles were encased in stone using Geo-enchantments that sheltered their hibernating bodies and warded them against decay. Both the casing and hibernation could be bound to a specific trigger, causing the stone to release and the Gargoyle to awaken when its post was threatened. As Warden numbers dwindled, these inexpensive and enduring sentinels became increasingly common around remote vaults, passes, and restricted sites, often hidden among ordinary Gargoyle statues so that intruders could never be certain which ones would wake.