Gargoyles

[Alex McCeol]

Gargoyles

TITLE: // The Stone Guardians of Night
RANK: // Anti-Magus
APPEARANCE: // Varies according to what type of being was sealed inside them, and who made the container. The most popular form is a winged imp or stone angel.

INFORMATION: // Gargoyles were an invention of the upheaval of the middle ages, and the paranoia of the Church and the organization which would become the Clocktower. So it was that when a magus's castle or a church was constructed, whatever magi was in charge would create a statue of a grotesque monster, and seal a familiar inside, bound to the rock. During the day, the new creature would gather Od, while at night, it would act as a defender of the place, destroying anything which came through a buildings threshold without permission of it's master. They are incredibly strong and swift, and can resist most types of magic, bar one. They also are comparitively cheap to make.

This practice was stopped once it's two weaknesses were discovered. One, it would be rendered completely vulnerable and immoble when exposed to sunlight. Many gargoyles were shattered during the day when this was discovered, and there never really has been found away around this flaw. Two, gargoyles, being creatures of earth, are exceptionally weak to earth magics. Some get around this by sealing beings of air within the earth in order to allow them flight. This takes away some of the massive strength of the earth creature, but gives them instead enough speed that they can reach their prey before any form of counterattack can be done.

Gargoyles are unique among the monsters used by the holy grail in that they are not directly made by the holy grail. Instead, they are magus made creations which are corrupted by it. As such, they are much more difficult to destroy then average monsters, in that they were designed by magi to be used against magi. Like many old cities, Lucca has it's fair share of gargoyles, unawakened for centuries. That won't be the case for long.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: //

Stoneskin
As the statues themselves are earth magical constructs, they are made of stone, and can take a lot of physical punishment. A servant would be able to quickly destroy them, but most magi wouldn't, at least not with physical force.

Spell Resistance
Gargoyles have heavy resistance to spells, especially ones made by the Clocktower. With spells from most elements, it would take at least B rank to even minorly damage them, and Wind and it's subelement thunder are completely worthless against them, as they are both immune to most wind effects and completely shock proof. However, this immunity comes at a price, as earth element spells are exceptionally powerful against them.

Flight*
Gargoyles have the ability to move at incredible speeds through the air. The reasoning behind this was to allow them to act as sentinels on castle or church roofs, then swoop down on invaders. Speeds vary, going from that of a duck to that of a falcon. *_{Not all gargoyles have this ability}