Well, here it is! Way overdue, Scarred's protagonist Kyzaro's finalized design!

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Name Pronunciation

Kyzaro (KEE-zar-oh; ^phonetics kiː'zɑːrəʊ)

Meaning: N/A

About This Picture

Done because Kyzaro badly needed a new design. I mean, just look at his old one. Just look! It's horrendous!

I actually took two attempts at designing Kyzaro, this being the second. The first, while it went well for a while, eventually wound up sucking quite a bit in terms of both background and character design. So it was scrapped and this one started, bringing about some much needed last-minute design changes, all of which were very worthwhile. Also this was my first attempt at a picture with this much grass in it. There could have been more, but I shamelessly avoided drawing any more than I needed too : D

This was also my first pair of feathered wings after several months. There were three attempts - the first two absolutely failed and I decided to search for help. Fortunately help was found and the final results are far better than what it would have wound up being!

About The Character

Kyzaro was born and raised in the Tevuro Clan as the middle of three siblings. He has an older (by one year) brother Eynasu and a younger (by three years) sister Abris. From a very early age Kyzaro displayed strong interest in stalking and catching animals, and at nine years old he was given a position as a hunter. Four years afterwards he was given his own team of three other hunters, Thar, Rukov and (TBN) to lead on daily hunts.

Kyzaro has vague memories of the Thurin War, a battle that took place when he was eight months old. Though Kyzaro never witnessed the actual battle, he does recall the horrific sights of fallen warriors being laid to rest. Subconsciously spurred by these memories, by the time he was thirteen he began considering becoming a warrior, in the childlike hope of preventing such things happening again.

At age seventeen, relationships between Kyzaro and Eynasu hit a rough edge. Their normally playful squabbles grew serious and competitive as each tried to better the other. Eynasu looked to become a warrior and indeed, was inevitably going to become one with the support of friends and family. Kyzaro, still as a hunter and beginning feel rejected, didn't like this at all. Fights for dominance over Eynasu became physical, leading to Kyzaro permanently injuring Eynasu on his left foreleg. During this time, Kyzaro began developing a romantic relationship with Arane. Eynasu, still on his own, grew envious of this, which in turn made him bitterer towards his brother.

THIS ENTIRE BELOW SECTION IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

About Griffons

Griffons are Aisherica's second largest intelligent family behind dragons. They tend to live in complex social orders, craft crude materials and speak languages. All griffons have a decent degree of dexterity and also, unusually, have a thumb on each forepaw. They are writers and it is uncommon for a griffon to not have written something in its lifetime. They are natural hoarders, filling their lairs with varying objects, playing with them and trying to invent new things.

Griffons are primarily carnivorous and hunt their prey with ingenuity, sometimes using weapons and planning out attacks. Though they can consume plant matter, it's at the most just a supplement and more commonly for medication.

Griffons also possess feline molars, binocular vision and paws with talons, each talon equipped with an unretractable claw. Their hind paws, however, retain the retractable claws with the exception of a few species such as the cheetah.

All griffons are described by their feline counterpart - a griffon with the pelt of a tiger would be called a tiger griffon, likewise a lion griffon, leopard griffon and so on. Though each species has visible raptorial features, there is much less bird in a griffon than cat. Since some places have more than one species of griffon, they should only be referred to as 'region name' griffon when talking of an overall region, e.g, African griffon.

Indonesian Griffons

Indonesian griffons originated from, as their name suggests, the islands of Indonesia, and consist of a single species. In the supercontinent of Aisherica they are endemic to the Eijuani Rainforest, where the islands were pushed together between Australia and Asia. They have since begun to spread into the Thurin Rainforest, where conditions suit them well.

Physical traits are heavy, powerful builds designed for pushing through rainforests rather than flight and boxy skulls with a beak made for crushing. Inexplicably, Indonesian griffons typically have blue eyes, and very occasionally green. Most of their traits are reminiscent of a tiger and their avian traits are similar to those of a Philippines Eagle. They are larger than most other griffons, with an average male adult standing at 1.6 metres at the shoulder.

A female griffon will mate for life and only ever produce one litter, usually averaging three cubs but litters as small as one and as a large as eight have been recorded. Able to crossbreed with other species, about sixty of a hundred cubs have more Indonesian traits than traits from the other parent. Both parents will care for their offspring until the day they die. Indonesian griffons may live an average of a hundred and twenty years.

Indonesian griffons are more vocal than most griffon species, being very social creatures. They are capable of a wide range of both feline and avian sounds, including purring, growling, roars, screeches and hisses. They also exhibit most feline body language.

About the Tevuro Clan

The Tevuro Clan is a large clan of griffons located in the Thurin Rainforest, the largest rainforest in Aisherica, between Supervolcano Jyarii and the Thurin River, in a large tree known as the hometree to its inhabitants. Allied directly with the powerful desert kingdom Ramuda, it is their task to keep an eye on the rainforest and its surrounds, essentially gaining them the title of the Thurin Guardians. It is an egalitarian clan, with females as powerful and as influential as males.

The Clan is unique in that it doesn't consist of only a single griffon species. Instead, it has multiple species including some hybrids found only very rarely anywhere else. The Clan was led for years by a snow leopard griffon, Ituser, who fell from leadership and was replaced by Veyust, a panther, who retained his position for a few years until Kyzaro stepped to power.

Because of the wide range of griffons from all over the world, the art style of the Clan is quite unique. Crafting is an activity enjoyed by most members, ranging from simple wood carvings to intricate metalwork in styles from all across the continent. Though lacking refined dexterity and motor skills, griffons are capable of writing and even basic artwork. Writings are usually done by using sharpened sticks dipped in certain plant juices, and drawn over treated ranuki skin.

The Clan has a tattooing system to identify ranks, but usually these are optional. The only time in which a tattoo is a requirement is when a griffon claims leadership. Each rank has its own distinct design and unique tattoos are not allowed, lest confusion occurs. Tattoos are created through the process of scarification. A tattoo is placed on a certain area of the body - the leadership tattoo is always on the right thigh. A trained medic uses a metal blade to first make the pattern by cutting the flesh, then proceeds to rub in a black ink-like substance. The healing wound is often agitated to turn into a raised keloid, particularly for darker furred individuals on which ink is hard to see. Because the follicles are destroyed in the cutting process, there's no worry of the tattoo being hidden by fur.

Ranking System

The Tevuro Clan has seven ranks: Leader, warrior, medic, hunter, scout/gatherer, carer and the unworking.
There is always only one leader at any given time in the Clan. As soon as a new leader steps up, the retired leaders serve as mentors and may or may not take up place in another rank.

The Riserthunn is what determines a potential leader. At age twenty - around twenty-five human years - griffons who aspire to be a leader, warrior or just looking for an excuse to show off their skills enter themselves into the Riserthunn.
Essentially, the Riserthunn is a fight against the leader of the Clan. Leaders are notable for being extremely good fighters - they have to be. The fights take place in a crude, caged arena and consist of two rounds. The first round is where weapons are sheathed and if the contestant is defeated by the leader, they are given two options: admit defeat and try next year or choose a lower rank. If the leader is defeated on the first round, weapons are unsheathed and the fight becomes more serious, with injuries dealt. Though without the intent to kill, these rounds are very risky and a contestant may simply surrender. In the case of a surrender or defeat, a contestant has the same options as above, along with the option of claiming rank as a warrior. If the leader is defeated in this final round, all the above options are presented along with the option to claim leadership.

If the winning contestant's choice is the latter, the current leader has right to judge the winner and also take opinions from the rest of the Clan members. If all is good, the leader steps down and the winner takes place, claiming the elaborate helmet the leader wore as a sort of crown. The new leader then has an entire cycle of the moon to act as leader, aided by his mentors - if he is deemed not up to the task, he is denied position. Alternatively, he may decide of his own accord to step down.

Warriors do just that: Fight to defend the Clan. Usually consisting of the strongest griffons in the Clan, they also act as hunters and will take up whatever task than can or need to do.

Medics care for the old, young, injured and sick. Some may also be trained in the art of scarification.

Hunters' sole purpose is to gather prey animals to feed the Clan. Since they're typically strong, they make good makeshift warriors and may help with some of the heavy work around the Clan. Most hunters are split into groups of four or five, and one is put in charge of their group.

Scouts patrol the Clan territory from the sky and ground alike and are the first to be sent out to investigate things. Able to travel long distances in the air, scouts are usually the ones to cross the inland Ilar Ocean to reach Ramuda to exchange information. They also double as gatherers, picking up resources when needed. These may range from small animals to plant matter.

Carers look after members of the Clan who are unable to look after themselves. In general, because of the Clan's highly supportive nature, every member fits this category. Only those who don't do much else are referred to as carers, though. These usually consist of mothers and their cubs.

All members have at least basic combat training, lest the entire Clan need to defend their home. The Thurin Rainforest is home to some particularly hostile clans and fights may break out without notice.