Talyris

“Perytias (or perytons, as they are now called) are creatures of rare and tragic destiny.

They originally lived in Atlantis. After the cataclysms in which their homeland perished, they settled around the world. In memory of the millions of creatures who drowned along with the entire continent, perytias decided to turn their bodies into shelters for the souls of those who died at sea (like the inhabitants of Atlantis), or just far from home (as perytias themselves): for fishermen, sailors, travellers, wanderers. They received human shadows that glided along the ground, always accompanying their flight.

However, the gentle souls and minds of perytias, weakened by grief, were not suitable for this task. Something in them broke, and perytias turned into perytons. The head of a gentle goat became the head of a deer with wolf's teeth, horns turned into deadly weapons, hooves acquired the sharpness of chipped obsidian. Perytons became predators, no longer satisfied with the dry earth as food. They were hungry for human flesh - only by tasting it peryton could get rid of the weight of another's soul and regain its own shadow.”