Wei Bao

This is an example of a Wei Bao. The base feathers symbolize that this male is of dominant status. 

The Wei Bao are guardians of treasure. Much like griffins and dragons. In fact, that is where the Wei Bao originate from. In Feudal China, war lords would capture live dragons and breed them with other creatures that were able to be tamed. A man named Fai Long bred a young Asian red dragon with a European griffin that he had obtained through a trade. The offspring that was born had large wings, horns, feathers, scales, and clawed hands as well as feet. It was a monster. The Beast escaped and attacked villages. Many people died. Fai finally recaptured his beast and had it contained. There was no way for him to control it. He then took the great leap and bred the animal hybrid. This time with a war horse. The end result was the Wei Bao. A much more docile animal with a hunger for fruit and nuts. But by this time the military was onto him. They had bred their own hybrids by stealing Fai's dragon and griffin. The man laughed as the offspring of the two turned on their masters and destroyed their homes before flying off to pillage the world. It was a lesson learned. 

Fai then resumed to breed his hybrid with horses. Creating many Wei Bao. By this time though, many years had passed and Fai Long had grown old. Then the strangest thing happened. When Fai Long died, the hybrids disappeared. There were no more attacks. They were gone. His son Chen took up the slack and began breeding the Wei Bao together. They were around 19 feet at the shoulder and took up a lot of space. Chen eventually released most of the Wei Bao into the mountains and plains where they spread across the continent. Europeans eventually began to see Wei Bao living in the forests and captured them for themselves.

They were extremely popular and it was rumored the King of England had 20 brought to him and lived in a secret sanctuary. They were also brought to the New World as trading fodder. The beasts were now world wide and were often used to guard treasures. As many many many years passed they grew smaller. Losing their monsterous figure and becoming more horse like the people desired them less and began killing them for their soft and colorful feathers as well as their glowing scales. 

They were hunted nearly to extinction. Only the rich kept theirs in tip top shape and health. Breeding them and selling the offspring for top dollar.

In modern times the rich still only have them. They are play things and are often put into shows where their beauty and breeding are key roles.

Wei Bao Ref