[color=C71585][b][h1][center]The Mother of Monsters[/center][/h1][/b][/color]

Azlria stared at the corpse that lay in front of her, a human, one of quite a few. All around her lay corpses, remnants of some sort of transport caravan, those trying to flee the nightmare they lived in. No matter now, they were all dead, large claw marks were across their wagons, and many of their bodies had been torn asunder. But in truth, Alzria did not care about them, it was what had left those corpses and their ruined caravan that she was more concerned about, one of her children no doubt, if the utter destruction was anything to go by. 

She searched the area, looking for any signs of where the creature must’ve gone, her gaze soon came upon two small cages, torn asunder by viscous claws, next to them she spotted tracks, both bird-like and cat-like in features. Strange, Alzria would not help but wonder what sort of creature this was, and whatever had brought it to tear these cages open, while everything else seemed, relatively, together. Yet, she could not dwell on it, she had to follow these tracks, there was no telling how long she had, this hellish world was no place for her children. 

With her wings unfurled, Alzria took off, following the tracks throughout the blasted landscape. Soon, she came upon what she was searching for, a creature, half covered in feathers, with a mighty beak, wings, and bird-like claws, and the back of a lion with the tail and paws to match. It looked up at her with both fear and hostility, just behind it sat two smaller versions of it, huddled up against the back legs of the larger creature. Her mind confirmed the being’s name: a Griffin, a parent at that, no wonder it had torn apart the cages, it was trying to get back its children. 

She softly put herself down in front of the creature, it was then she was the reason she could follow the tracks, the griffin’s right wing was broken, clung close to the body, unable to move. She raised her hands, slowly kneeling down,trying to make herself less scary towards the being. 

[color=C71585]”Come now, i'm not a threat, i'm here to help you.”[/color] 

The griffin seemed to calm down some, lowering its stance towards her, slowly drawing closer to the goddess. Alzria in turn kept still, letting them take stock of her, before letting their two children come forward too. She gently petted the majestic creature’s golden head feathers, slowly bringing her hand towards the broken wing. The griffin was apprehensive, but when they felt the soft healing glow emanating from Alzria’s hand, slowly healing their wing, they quickly returned to their softer tune. 

The crunch of dirt behind them drew both of their attentions, the griffin swiftly backed up, feathers rising in anger. Alzria meanwhile quickly stood up, turning around to see what had arrived. In front of her, barely three steps away, where three humans, all emancipated and haggard looking, wearing tattered robes and cloth. They held broken and rusted weapons in their hands, and their faces were filled with horror and fear as they stared at the goddess. [color=8B008B]Fear, that sweet sweet fear.[/color]

The head of the humans stared at her, speaking, his voice wavering “Who...who are you?” 

Alzria stood fully up, her twisted wings unfurling and her tail snapping forward, staring at the humans. [color=C71585]”I am Alzria,”[/color] she thought for a moment, before a devilish idea formed in her mind [color=C71585]”Savior of mortals.”[/color]

“Sa..savior?” The humans looked at one another, clearly unsure of how to respond. “You, you don’t look like much of a savior.” 

She made a ‘tsk’ noise [color=C71585]’Come now, weren’t you taught not to judge based upon appearance? Just because I appear like this, doesn’t mean I'm not here to save you.”[/color]

“But…” He paused once more, taking a quick peek behind her, towards the griffins, before turning his attention back to her once more. “Then, why don’t you show us? Show us how you intend to save us!” 

[color=C71585]”Oh, I will.”[/color]

[color=8B008B]She Smiled[/color]

[color=8B008B]They screamed[/color] 

[hr]

Alzria adjusted the robes on her once more, they were tattered things, but they fit her enough, the bloody cloth over her face and legs helped her appearance somewhat, at least she didn’t have to worry about her lack of eyes scaring off anymore mortals, the rest of her could do that just fine. 

She left her thoughts and turned her attention back to the griffin family she had saved, they sat next to the slimes and their pool, the children lovingly playing with the slimes, who seemed to enjoy the friendship. The parent Griffin looked at her once more, bowing their head in thanks. She smiled, now this felt good. 

Yet, her mind pressed her once more, she knew the cavern couldn’t fit all of her children, and it was doubtful all of them would get as long as the griffins and slimes did. She needed to fix the cavern, make it more livable, expand it, make it fit for her children to live in, and ensure they could have their own spaces. 

So, she set out to work, she expanded the roof some, creating alcoves and landings for flying creatures, particularly the griffins she had just saved. She carved out more of the walls, creating tunnels that led to other caverns, areas for more creatures to live in, able to be changed to fit their preferences, she also created small pipes like tunnels, feeding air in and out of the caverns. She stopped by the small pond, picking up the slimes and letting the griffins head to their new nest, before cracking more of the ground, expanding the pond into a sizable area of water, then gently setting the slimes back down. Finally, she filled the caverns with bioluminescent fungi for light, and various types of fungi, insects, and smaller creatures for food, though she knew some of the large monsters would need to leave to hunt, so she ensured the entrance was accessible, though still hard to spot from the outside, which was helped by its already mountainous and out there location. 

With the preparations complete, Alzria looked at her new creation, her sanctuary, a place for her children to live and endure. And she felt a sense of pride and joy, but, she couldn’t focus on that for too long, she had more children to save. And so, she left the caverns once more, eager to find more and more of her children, and lead them back to this home, a place where even nightmares could feel safe. 

[color=8B008B]And where she could gorge upon all that fear.[/color]

[hider=summary]
We pick up with Alzria looking at a destroyed caravan, trying to hunt after one of her children that she’s come across. She soon finds some tracks and comes upon the creature, a Griffin and two of its children, she tends to them, mending the Griffin’s wing and showing off her compassion. Quickly after, three mortals arrive and are absolutely afraid of Alzria, which just makes her hungry, so she claims to be a savior of mortals, but they’re very obviously suspicious, but that doesn’t matter, Alzria shows them her brand of saving regardless. 
With some new digs, she leads the griffins back to the caverns, but quickly realizes it won’t be enough to fit even a good amount of her children, so she expands it, making it the [b]The Sanctuary of Vartai[/b]. Though she can’t stay for long, having to go save more of her children, and y’know, feed on some more fear.
[/hider]

[hider=MA Summary]
Create [b]The Sanctuary of Vartai[/b] a large series of caverns and tunnels within the mountain range east of the main mountain of Mons Divinus fit for a large variety of creatures and monsters to live in, with water and enough food for smaller monsters provided, though larger creatures(like Griffins) will still have to leave the Sanctuary to still hunt, though they will have a place to live that is relatively hidden. 
[/hider]