What is peryton?

The peryton is a mythical creature described as having the head and forelegs of a stag and the wings of a bird. It first appeared in a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, Manual de Zoología Fantástica (1957). Borges attributed the creature's origin to a medieval manuscript.

According to the mythos, perytons originated in Atlantis. They are said to cast the shadow of a human until they kill one, at which point they gain their true, non-human shadow. They are often depicted as aggressive and dangerous creatures. Some accounts say they are driven by a nostalgia for their lost homeland.