Hippogryphs

Ferocious and wild, hippogryphs inhabit the upper reaches of the Grey Mountains, occasionally prowling the green lands below for stray sheep and cattle. They are fierce beasts and will fight to the death against any creature that strays into their territory, whether it be a lost peasant or roaming dragon. Only the most committed of men can ride one of these beasts for hippogryphs are strong-willed and ill-tempered, more than willing to fling their rider from his saddle should he prove lax upon the reins.

Taming a hippogryph presents a challenge that many Bretonnian lords cannot turn down, and this has made them into much sought after steeds. To successfully train a hippogryph, the animal must be captured and broken at a very young age but, given the relentless territorialism of adult hippogryphs, acquiring a chick or an egg can prove to be a very dangerous proposition indeed. Occasionally, the task of appropriating such a beast is given to a Knight Errant as a way of proving himself. More often, a duke will find suitable 'volunteers' from the peasantry, promising a huge reward to any survivors that return with a healthy, young hippogryph.

The musters of bretonnia Devoted of the Goddess

Sometimes, young children within Bretonnia are seen to have strange and mystical powers. They might be born with eyes of different colours, milk may sour in their presence or they may be able to predict events before they occur. Other children claim to see ghostly apparitions walking about, or are heard talking to beings that others cannot see. A superstitious people as a whole, whether noble or low-born, the Bretonnians will generally be fearful of such gifted children, and go out of their way to avoid them whenever possible, invoking the protection of the Lady of the Lake and Shallya. Often, especially within Quenelles, such children are perceived as having been touched by the fey inhabitants of the forest, or even replaced with a changeling. However, for every child who shows signs of such mystical powers, there are other gifted' children that never display any outward sign of their strange, otherworldly talents.

Some of these children are sent to the Empire, if they come from particularly wealthy families, to learn the arts of magic, but this is a rare occurrence. Before they reach puberty, almost all children with these strange talents will be visited by the Fay Enchantress. She takes them with her to the Otherworld, and they are mourned by their parents as if they were no longer living. Nevertheless, it is a great honour to be taken by the Enchantress, and it is believed they go on to a better place, where their powers are used to serve the blessed Lady of the Lake herself. While nothing is ever seen of the boy-children again, sometimes the girl-children will return to Bretonnia years later as damsels and prophetesses.

Damsels and prophetesses are powerful individuals, for in their years away from Bretonnia, their innate abilities have been honed and tempered. Their magic is more oriented around nature than that of most other human wizards, for they are taught by the handmaidens of the Lady. Riding into battle, the damsels and prophetesses use their powers to lend protection to the noble warriors of Bretonnia, warding away the foul magic of their enemies as well as casting down the foe with their own powerful spells. They are able to mystically encourage the landscape to fight the enemies of Bretonnia, and the trees themselves lash at their foe; flocks of birds descend on the enemy at their call and some can even draw lightning from the heavens to strike down in devastating arcs.

When not in battle, they fulfil such roles as advisors to the dukes and king, where their magical abilities and visions may aid their lord. They use their powers to scry into the future, to protect the sacred glades favoured by the Lady, to detect the truth in the hearts of men and to lend the Lady's healing where needed. As priestesses of the Lady, they also maintain her shrines and lead devotions and prayers. In a similar way to the Enchantress herself, these powerful individuals exist somewhat outside the usual hierarchy of Bretonnia, and may come and go throughout the realms as they please, for none would dare to cross one so favoured by the Lady herself.