The Gargoyle

It is, originally, a gift from the hybrids. They are supernaturally clever and eager to please, making excellent helpers with minimal training. They are are generally around the size of a medium dog but vastly heavier due to a solid stone structure. The hybrids have a certain artistic style they like to adhere to in the creation of these helpers, often embellishing their features with a baroque flair, but can range greatly depending on the hybrid's creativity and the gargoyle's parentage. It is fashionable to craft gargoyles which resemble exotic fauna. In addition to a wide variety of body-shapes, there are also many different types of mineral which are suitable for the creation of gargoyles. Anything from onyx and gold to common sandstone can be used. While they are quite often adorned with ornate wings (regardless of 'species') they can rarely achieve flight, at most they can get a few feet off the ground with some furious magical exertion. Instead they have a natural ability to adhere to anything stone, so are exceptional climbers on stone walls and structures. As a defense mechanism, whenever they are frightened they can temporarily alter their body texture and coloration to either blend in with a rock wall or to look like a stone on the ground.

Even though they are purely artificial beings, they've been crafted to imitate natural life in a variety of ways. Gargoyles appear to display unique personalities, can form relationships with their owners, will habitually consume small pieces of stone and can even 'breed' in a limited capacity. There is no visible gender dimorphism, but there is two distinct categories which hybrids can determine. Two individuals of opposite category can choose to share their aura (the hybrids have been studying the innate magical essence of dragons and some other Sekkain fauna in an attempt to replicate it perfectly), after which they will hibernate next to each other for a short period of time. Over a couple of days they will have secreted tiny amounts of their base mineral in liquid form which they then form into a muddy or clay orb. The orb will harden over the course of a week and on the seventh day it will break apart and reform into a composite of its parents. Anyone who wishes to have the 'newborn' as a pet must be close at hand at the time of hatching, preferably holding the egg, as the gargoyle will bond to the closest human or hybrid available. Gargoyles are not fussy and will bond to an owner who already owns multiple pets.