Butterflies

Butterflies can be found all over Yuriba, even out of season if one knows where to go and look. Due to the presence of ley lines and other magical phenomena on the island, the butterflies of Yuriba are capable of a startling array of unnatural seeming colors. Cases there have been documented of varieties of butterflies which are completely nocturnal; some of these species are even capable of bioluminescence. The most common butterfly to Yuriba appears to be the monarch, most commonly know for its large wings and orange and black coloration.

There are several fanciful stories known among the immigrant population in Yuriba, although it is uncertain if these are native tails or imported. One says that when the first child born on the island laughed, the sound of it was so pure and sweet that rather than simply fading it became the first butterfly. Another story states that the first wail of the first newborn on Yuriba carried with it the babe's dream of life. A passing butterfly saw the girl's dream and decided that rather than let the sound vanish into the ether it would take it and carry it to a special place (often described as a grotto) filled with its kin. Since that day, the superstitious say that butterflies carry dreams and wishes to the grotto. These butterflies are said to save the wishes and dreams of Yuriba's innocents, preserving them for as long as the grotto stands. Since then it has been seen as a sign of good luck amongst the more superstitious families on the Island to bring a butterfly to the birth of a new child and then release it once the child has given her first wail so as to allow the butterfly to carry the child's first wail to the Grotto to be preserved.