Overview
Astragons are massive winged celestial beasts with starlit scales, immense essence, and voluntary rider bonds. The world contains both wild astragons in the Plains of Eternity and frog-origin astragons from Erenmyr. Glin, Splin, Gin, and Spin begin as giant cuddly frogs and later use astragon forms.
Astragons choose riders, read or receive thought-like intent, and make tactical decisions during travel and combat. Thalena later builds the Celestial Games prize around this rule: contestants receive the chance to bond with an astragon, and the astragon chooses whether the bond happens.
Description
Astragons are enormous flying creatures with celestial or star-filled features. Their scales are starlit, iridescent, galaxy-like, or luminous like living constellations, and their wings leave trails of stardust or miniature stars as they fly. Their eyes can resemble deep, swirling space, and their wingbeats can throw powerful gusts across streets, docks, and battlefields.
Frog-origin astragons keep recognizable frog traits. They croak or blend croaks with deeper roars, use long tongues, eat fish in flight or from water, and can revert to giant-cuddly-frog form.
Behavior & Ecology
Astragons understand speech and answer through roars, croaks, body language, and impressions. Glin shares wordless thoughts with Eira near Chronasis and later carries Thalena's message to Irrathis. Splin reaches Virel through intrusive thoughts before picking him and Astheron up near the Cyndarel storm.
Their independence matters in combat. Splin refuses Kaelion during the Kaldaryn escape and flies with Astheron to shield Drendyll's skyship. At Ishtanur, Splin's departure warns Simon's army, and Spin and Splin later return with enough fear for Aelius to order a retreat. Gin flies Maric toward the snowstorm battlefield, then nods and scatters the falling snow with a fire ray after Maric sends him away.
Wild astragons remain part of the Plains of Eternity ecosystem. Most are intelligent. Essence-warped astragons can charge travelers. Their attacks, ice magic, and growing aggression make flight across the plains dangerous even for strong mages.
Abilities & Weaknesses
Astragons can fly at high speed, carry multiple riders, and cross long distances quickly. Their massive wings generate powerful gusts, and their size can require reinforced landing areas.
Their magic is strongly celestial. Glin and Splin raise luminous starfield barriers, and Glin's barriers can shield armies or riders from cosmic beams and compressed-air shockwaves. Thalena also teaches Glin temporal magic. Gin uses fire breath and fire rays in astragon form. Spin carries a water affinity from her frog form. Splin uses sonic shockwaves, starfield barriers, and high-speed flight to rescue allies and protect soldiers in combat. Wild Plains astragons can cast ice spells strong enough to contribute to essence storms.
Astragons remain vulnerable to severe injury. Azarion's air-blast weapon severs Splin's wing during the Kaldaryn escape, and she falls hard enough to revert to frog form with missing limbs and blue essence-like blood. Eira and Astrid seal the wounds; Astrid struggles because astragon physiology differs from human physiology.
History & Lore
In Thalena's hidden Xalmyrran past, she trains Glin, Splin, Spin, and Gin in Erenmyr. Glin evolves into an astragon before the final movement of the War of Scars, and Thalena deliberately rides him as part of the Arcanis legend. During the final battle of the War of Scars, she mounts Glin and unleashes a colossal gravity wave that ends the War of Scars.
After Eira leaves Zarephon with Orin, the lands that will become the Plains of Eternity already contain moving flowers, altered animals, and other essence changes. Eira encounters Glin and Splin in astragon form. Glin takes Orin onto his back, Splin joins them, and the two astragons fly south toward the home that Eira expects them to reach.
After Varnhallow collapses, Glin and Splin carry riders, deliver messages, rescue allies, and fight as astragons. Glin carries Thalena during her Haverloch, Kyranthos, and Maraveth visits, carries her message to Irrathis during Varnhallow's collapse, and later carries Lythariel, Thorik, and Kazehiro to Thalassai before shrinking back into frog form. Splin shields Kaelion's escape during the Attack on Kaldaryn, later carries Simon, Aelius, Vianna, and Kren during the failed strike on Ishtanur, rescues Garrik with Astrid after the Battle for Cyndarel, and brings Virel and Astheron back toward Kaldaryn before the city seals itself underground.
Gin and Spin evolve after remaining in Shanari. When they return, Maric mounts Spin in midair. Gin breathes fire. Gin later travels through Vintergard's storm toward Rimvold, scatters snow with a fire ray, and carries Maric toward Rimvold during the Shaper Attack on Rimvold. Spin warns the Haverloch force at Ishtanur and carries Aelius away during the retreat.
Wild astragons also remain active in the Plains of Eternity. They share the region with dragons, enormous fish, and moving plants. Travelers alter routes because random attacks from astragons and dragons make sustained flight too dangerous.
Secrets and Mysteries
Thalena constructs the Arcanis legend around Glin's astragon form. Glin and Splin also travel with Eira and Orin after Eira leaves Zarephon, before their later Erenmyr frog history.