Firebird

Basic Infomation
A mythical creature hailing from Russia, it is described as having golden feathers that shone like sunlight, and eyes that sparkled like crystal. There are some stories that claim the Firebird could change into a beautiful woman, a tsarina in her own right.

The original legend of the Firebird introduces it as a thief, who snuck into the Tsar's orchard and ate his golden apples. The Tsar sent his sons to investigate, and one by one the Firebird sang them to sleep and devoured the apples. Ivan Vyslavovich, the youngest of the Tsar's sons, managed to stay awake; he told his father of the Firebird, and was sent to find and capture it. He was forced to go through several quests: stealing a beautiful horse and stealing a beautiful princess, with the help of a talking wolf.

The more famous story comes from Stravinsky's Firebird suite, where the Firebird helps another Prince Ivan defeat Koshchei the Deathless.