Mallista (məˈlɪstə)

The Mallista is a bird-like predator that once existed in abundance but over the years they seemed to disappear without any rhyme and reason as to the nature of its disappearence. Some believe that it was a result of loss of habitat, particularly in the fall of Voran, however some belive that they were a natural carrier of Weird or Magik and the abunance of it within the world caused a mass exodus of the natural carriers of the forces.
By 1879 there were said to only be two Mallista left within the world both of whom were on display in Marine. Both of these Mallista died by beginning of the 1900s, leading us to believe that the Mallista is another creature which will remain extinct, though there is a small belief by some members of Arcanum who think that there is a chance that the Mallista may continue their existence upon a landmass that we are not aware of yet.

I was fortunate enough to see what is believed to be the final Mallista. It was a strange and beautiful creature, I pity those who will have to live in a world where such beauty doesn't exist any more...

— Warden O. B. Davies

Known Broods

While the Mallista is extinct and known for their solitary lives, there were two known broods of almost communities that seemed to have garnered a level of community.

Thoranba

The most advanced of the two larger broods, Thoranba was essentially a settlment by a group of Mallista. From information I have gathered, it almost seems as if this brood was somewhat sentient, providing a source of spiritual connection with the idea of natural spirits (something that we at Arcanum are greatly interested in).

Evelis

While Thoranba was more advanced, there were much larger numbers within Evelis. While there are some notes of a spiritual like nature of those in Thoranba, Evelis is such a diverse split with the Mallista acting extremely territorial and even, apparently, utilising some form of magikal ability to keep people away from their home.

Stanosian Name

Giylwīd /giəlwiːd/

(Lone Traveller)
Known Environments
Lakelands, Forests
First Discovered
1207 CY
Discovered By
Lord Borian Farrelfirth
Status
Extinct (believed as of 1899)

Description

It is important to note that I was only able to see the last Mallista in Marine several decades ago, therefore my own knowledge is limited. As a result, I've asked Warden Mochi to write some notes about the creature, particularly as they have direct experience with the Mallista.

"The strong coloration of feathers was used to attract mates. They were also said to be indicators of magikal abilities..."

– Warden Y. V. Mochi

From my memory, the Mallista seemed to resemble a large bird on two legs with a thick bushel of feathers covering much of its form. The feathers were a grey-ish coloration, with several along their chest being a mass of bright and vibrant colours that seemed to stand out from the crowd. The most prominent feature was however their beak, it was easily as long as my forearm with an almost void-like black coloration that seemed to end in a white spot, almost like a star in the void.

The two Mallista I saw were very playful acting somewhat similar to a feline kitten more than these large birds of prey. There was a strange moment that Mochi describes as "survival performance", this was when one of the Mallista flopped to the ground and seemed to be completely unconcious, if not dead. When the other Mallista came to check on the corpse-like form, the performing Mallista launched itself at its partners neck starting a somewhat terrifying but beautiful display of might and performance. According to Mochi, the burst of colors that I saw was likely a result of their magikal potential wrestling along with their physical forms creating a strange and powerful chromatic illusion.
I will leave you with a piece of writing directly from Warden Mochi.

It is strongly believed that a Mallista would spend the majority of their lives living as a solitary figure, only changing for their rare mating season. Though it does seem that while being independent, like ourselves even the independent can form a community. Though I doubt it is truly possible, maybe at one point there was a chance for a different type of sentient species to exist alongside Emorians as the dominant species.

– Warden Y. V. Mochi