Glints

Glints are loose reflections leaking from warps (Story Bible section 1). Every glint shares the VEL-51 base: a faceless, fox-sized newt of living quicksilver, with a blank mirror head like a spoon's bowl and a tail that breaks into three floating shards. They die by melting into a mirror-still puddle. Regional variants take on what their warp reflects, which is how one model covers six regions.

Pack behaviour, every variant (Idea). A pack holds formation as mirror images across its leader: the glints on the left move exactly as those on the right do, flipped, like a reflection of a reflection. Every head turns the same way together (as in glint-pack-river-a.png). In battle, a pack is one enemy with a count (new). Only the leader attacks, and the next glint steps up when it dies. Spells that hit the front hit only the leader. Repel, Squall and Gale strike the whole pack. The tell: all heads snap toward the caster at once, about 1 s before the leader leaps. When half the pack is gone, the mirror formation breaks and the rest attack out of step: faster, but staggered for longer.

Sallow glint — glint

• Region: The Sallow; in Act 3 also every region where new warps open.
• Look: The VEL-51 newt glint: a low, chunky, fox-sized body of living quicksilver with four short splayed legs. Its smooth teardrop head has no eyes, ears or mouth, only a polished mirror that reflects the dusk sky and the caster's glowing hands. A thick tail ends in three floating mirror shards, and wet silver drops and footprints trail back to the river reeds. Chrome silver with sky-blue reflections, using the reflective toon material rather than Meshy's baked texture. Silhouette: a low, wide wedge with a bright head disc. At phone size the pack reads as a row of bright mirror heads all turned the same way.
• Behaviour: Basic attack: a leaping bite every 4 s. Pack rules as above. No specials, since this is the tutorial monster. When the pack scatters it hesitates for 1 s, a free window for a second cast.
• Counters: Repel (tier 1) first, always. The door-mark pins a loose reflection, so it hits the whole pack and staggers it for 3.75 s, not 2.5 (Glass rule 1). Coil (tier 1) one-shots a glint at most qualities. From Act 2, Gale and Squall (tier 2) clear packs, and Wither works at half strength: there is nothing living to rot.
• Rough stats: HP very low (14 each; a pack of 5 is 70). Damage very low (5). Speed fast (4 s), first attack 5 s. maxHp 14, attackDamage 5, attackIntervalSeconds 4, firstAttackDelaySeconds 5, color "#C9D6DF", pack 3–6 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver (1 per 2 glints). Now and then the puddle can be bottled as still_water.
• Where it appears: Prologue, the farm door (scripted, VEL-32). Act 1, the Sallow Road (road_glint) and Sallow Fen. Act 2, the roads out of Halfway (road_glints) and the Sallow warp (warp_glints_1–_3). Act 3, Sallowbank (sallowbank_glints) and the road out of the Sallow (sallow_road_glints).
• Model notes for Meshy: static mesh, animated in code (VEL-32's GlintPack already flocks, holds and flings them). Front and side views exist (glint-ref-newt-front-a.png, glint-ref-newt-side-a.png); poses in glint-poses-a.png. Split the three tail shards off as separate parts so code can float them. This mesh is the base for every glint variant.

Dust glint (Idea) — dust_glint

• Region: The Long Road.
• Look: The base glint, its mirror dulled to a scuffed pewter that reflects the brown dust storm rather than sky. Grit streams off its back like smoke, and its tail shards are chipped and frosted. Pale green Waymaker light from the caravan sails catches on its head. Silhouette: the same wedge, blurred at the edges by a trail of dust; it reads as a smudge that sharpens when it leaps.
• Behaviour: Leaping bite every 3.5 s. Special, Dust Veil: every third attack the pack sinks into the dust for 1.5 s, and spells cast at it miss. Tell: the dust around it thickens and turns brown 1 s before.
• Counters: Gale or Squall (tier 2) blow the veil away and hit the whole pack. Moving air answers moving air (rule 2), so the Waymakers' own spell is the lesson. Repel still pins it (rule 1).
• Rough stats: HP very low (16 each). Damage very low (5). Speed fast (3.5 s), first attack 4 s. maxHp 16, attackDamage 5, attackIntervalSeconds 3.5, firstAttackDelaySeconds 4, color "#A89A84", pack 3–5 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver, mirror_grit.
• Where it appears: Act 2, the Long Road wind pass and the caravan defence.
• Model notes for Meshy: reuses glint with a pewter material and a dust particle trail. No new mesh.

Frost glint (Idea) — frost_glint

• Region: Hushfold and the Hour Stair.
• Look: The base glint, frosted over like a mirror left outside on a winter night: matt white rime on its back, clear ice at its edges, and a mirror head that shows falling snow. It leaves no footprints, and snowflakes hang still in the air around it (the Still Choir's stillness gone wrong). Silhouette: a white wedge on white snow, so it needs a dark outline; the still-hanging snowflakes around it mark where it is.
• Behaviour: Leaping bite every 4 s, with no sound and a shorter tell (0.6 s instead of 1 s). Special, Rime: a bite that lands slows the player's next cast's breath window by 20% (a chill in the lungs).
• Counters: Calm (tier 1) clears Rime. Repel pins them (rule 1). Echo (tier 1) gives a second hit without a second breath, which helps against a shorter tell.
• Rough stats: HP very low (20). Damage low (6). Speed fast (4 s), first attack 4 s. maxHp 20, attackDamage 6, attackIntervalSeconds 4, firstAttackDelaySeconds 4, color "#E6EEF2", pack 3–5 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver (1 per glint).
• Where it appears: Act 2, Hushfold. Act 3, the Hour Stair's lower flights.
• Model notes for Meshy: reuses glint with a frost material and a small still-snow particle volume.

Shard glint (Idea) — shard_glint

• Region: The Shardfield.
• Look: A glint that has grown armour from the shards around it: three or four flat panes of mirror-glass along its back and head, each reflecting a different sky (a dawn, a storm, a night) as the shards of the Shardfield do. Amber evening light, with thin teal and violet prismatic edges on the panes. Silhouette: the base wedge with a jagged, plated ridge; it reads as spikier and bigger than the Sallow glint.
• Behaviour: Leaping bite every 4 s. Plated (new): an 8-point shield that comes back 6 s after it breaks. Tell: the panes flash in sequence just before the leap.
• Counters: Repel's stagger (rule 1) opens a 3.75 s window after the plate breaks. Squall's three hits (tier 2) strip the plate and then damage. Bevel Lash (tier 3), once both halves are found, ignores the plate.
• Rough stats: HP very low (24, plus an 8 shield). Damage low (7). Speed fast (4 s), first attack 5 s. maxHp 24, attackDamage 7, attackIntervalSeconds 4, firstAttackDelaySeconds 5, shield 8 (new), color "#D9C9A3", pack 3–5 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver, mirror_grit.
• Where it appears: Acts 2–3, the Shardfield. Act 4, the inner ring on the way to the Pane (inner_glints) and the deep Shardfield.
• Model notes for Meshy: reuses glint, plus 3–4 flat pane meshes parented to the back as separate parts (they can tilt in code).

Stilled glint (Idea) — stilled_glint

• Region: Corran.
• Look: A glint caught half-stilled by Ondine's seal: its back half is clear, solid glass like the Stilled of Corran, and its front still runs as quicksilver. Through the glass you see a frozen moment: a falling raindrop, a leaf. It walks with a stiff drag of the back legs, and glowing warp-light shines through its clear parts. Silhouette: two-tone and lopsided, bright front and clear back. It reads as heavier and slower than other glints.
• Behaviour: Heavy bite every 6 s. Glass shell (new): a 15-point shield on its back half that regrows only when it is out of combat. Special, Stillness: if a stilled glint is the last one standing, it locks in place for 4 s and then shatters for 18 area damage. Tell: its quicksilver half crawls back into the glass and it goes silent.
• Counters: Hit it hard before the last one is alone: Toll (tier 1) lands its delayed blow as the lock ends. Brace or Facet Seal (tiers 1, 3) cover the shatter. Rule 1 still applies, so Repel staggers it for longer. Prism Snare (tier 3) stops the lock.
• Rough stats: HP low (40, plus 15 shield). Damage low (10; the shatter does 18). Speed normal (6 s), first attack 6 s. maxHp 40, attackDamage 10, attackIntervalSeconds 6, firstAttackDelaySeconds 6, shield 15 (new), color "#BFE3E6", pack 2–4 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver, mirror_grit.
• Where it appears: Act 3, Corran.
• Model notes for Meshy: reuses glint, with a two-part material (quicksilver front, clear glass back) and a small frozen prop inside the glass.

Roof glint (Idea) — roof_glint

• Region: The Undermere.
• Look: A glint that crawled out of the upside-down reflection on the Undermere's cave roof, and still walks upside down along it. Its mirror is dark, showing the inverted landscape overhead, and its quicksilver is dimmed to gunmetal with faint glow at the joints. It hangs by its feet like a bat and drops onto its target. Silhouette: in battle it starts at the top of the frame, inverted, and drops into the normal glint stance. The drop itself is the tell.
• Behaviour: Ambush: first attack at 2 s, a drop from the ceiling for 1.5x damage. Then a leaping bite every 4.5 s. Special, Climb: at 50% HP it climbs back up for 3 s, out of reach of ground spells.
• Counters: Drift (tier 2) dodges the drop. Gale (tier 2) knocks a climbing glint back down. Repel pins it (rule 1). Linger (tier 1) slows the climb.
• Rough stats: HP very low (18). Damage low (8; the drop does 12). Speed fast (4.5 s), first attack 2 s. maxHp 18, attackDamage 8, attackIntervalSeconds 4.5, firstAttackDelaySeconds 2, color "#5E6670", pack 2–5 (new)
• Drops: glint_quicksilver (1 per glint).
• Where it appears: Act 3 on, the Undermere.
• Model notes for Meshy: reuses glint, with a gunmetal material, played upside down by code.

Glint brute — glint_brute

• Region: The Sallow (the Sallow warp in Act 2, Sallowbank in Act 3), the Long Road, Corran.
• Look (VEL-51 concept): A bear-sized glint of fused quicksilver and cracked mirror-glass plates. It stands hunched like a gorilla on huge knuckles, with a small blank teardrop mirror head sunk between massive shoulders. Mirror shards float off its back, and the surface is chrome silver with sky-blue reflections. Small glints sometimes cling to it. Silhouette: a top-heavy hump with two huge fists, the biggest non-boss shape in the game. It reads at a glance as the heavy enemy.
• Behaviour: Double-fist slam every 7 s. Special, Shed: at 66% and 33% HP it sheds two glint adds, which share its region's variant. Tell: before a slam it rears up with fists raised for 1.5 s. Staggering it in that window cancels the slam.
• Counters: Repel (tier 1) cancels the slam during the rear-up (rule 1). Gale (tier 2) clears the shed adds, and Headwind (Repel into Gale) staggers the brute and pushes the adds back in one cast. Brace or Facet Seal takes a slam that gets through. Later, Tailwind into Bevel Lash (tiers 2+3), the strongest single hit, burns down the second third.
• Rough stats: HP high (220). Damage high (18). Speed slow (7 s), first attack 8 s. maxHp 220, attackDamage 18, attackIntervalSeconds 7, firstAttackDelaySeconds 8, color "#B8C4CC"
• Drops: glint_quicksilver x3, mirror_grit.
• Where it appears: Act 2, the Sallow warp (warp_brood: Act 2 calls it the glint brood, and its Shed makes the adds) and Dace's caravan jobs (caravan_defence). Act 3, Sallowbank (sallowbank_brute, climbing out of the river) and Corran.
• Model notes for Meshy: humanoid. The gorilla stance is close enough for Meshy's auto-rig (VEL-51 says so). References: glint-brute-ref-a.png, glint-brute-ref-b.png. Float the back shards as separate parts.

Winged glint — winged_glint

• Region: The Long Road, Corran, and the Sallow in Act 3.
• Look (VEL-51 concept): A hawk-sized bird of living quicksilver with a faceless teardrop mirror head. Its broad wings are made of overlapping flat mirror-glass shard feathers, with a short tail of floating shards. Chrome silver, flashing sky-blue as it banks. Silhouette: a wide, flat T of wings, flashing light every time it turns. It flies in the upper middle of the frame, where the player's eye already is.
• Behaviour: Dive every 3.5 s. Flying (new): ground-bound spells (Coil, Wither, Root's roots) do half damage. Special, Flash: every fourth dive it turns its wings to the sun, and the player's next cast starts 0.3 s late (the glare). Tell: it climbs and hangs still for 1 s before a dive.
• Counters: Gale and Squall (tier 2) do full damage and knock it down: a 2 s stagger where it is grounded and takes full damage from everything (rule 2). Repel pins it mid-dive (rule 1).
• Rough stats: HP low (50). Damage low (8). Speed fast (3.5 s), first attack 4 s. maxHp 50, attackDamage 8, attackIntervalSeconds 3.5, firstAttackDelaySeconds 4, flying (new), color "#D6E4EE"
• Drops: mirror_grit, glint_quicksilver.
• Where it appears: Act 2, the wind pass (pass_kites_1, pass_kites_2: Act 2 calls them kite glints), the Long Road ridge and the caravan jobs. Act 3, the road out of the Sallow (sallow_road_winged) and Corran's rooftops.
• Model notes for Meshy: static mesh with the wings as two separate parts, flapped and banked in code. Reference: winged-glint-ref-a.png.

The Windglass Kite — windglass_kite

• Region: The Long Road (the wind pass).
• Look: A large glint riding the wind out of the warp in the pass cliff, about 5 m from wingtip to wingtip. Its wings are sails of loose reflection that show the sky behind them in reverse, so it looks like a hole in the weather. The body is the winged glint's, quicksilver with a blank teardrop mirror head, and a long tail of floating shards streams behind it. Silhouette: a huge, flat kite shape across the upper frame, its reversed sky a little wrong against the real one. It reads as the boss of the pass.
• Behaviour: A diving strike every 5 s for 15. Airborne (new): while it flies, only Gale can hit it. A Gale hit grounds it for 4 s, and on the ground everything works. Special, Sail Turn: it banks to dive at a wagon instead of the player (the wind pass's protect objective, new: wagon HP). Tell: the sail-wings fold flat and the reversed sky goes dark for 1 s before a dive.
• Counters: Gale (tier 2) first: moving air answers moving air (rule 2). Then Repel (tier 1) pins it while it's grounded, for 3.75 s (rule 1), and Coil hurts it. Brace takes a dive; Drift (if learned from Ness) steps out of one. It is the fight that makes Gale, learned on the ridge the same day, the player's own.
• Rough stats: HP mid (180). Damage mid (15). Speed normal (5 s), first attack 5 s. maxHp 180, attackDamage 15, attackIntervalSeconds 5, firstAttackDelaySeconds 5, airborne until hit by Gale, grounded 4 s (new), color "#CFE3EE"
• Drops: glint_quicksilver x3, mirror_grit x2.
• Where it appears: Act 2, the wind pass, the last of the three fights (pass_windglass).
• Model notes for Meshy: static, animated in code. Reuses winged_glint, scaled up, with two new flat sail-wing parts that take a reversed-sky shader in Unity. No Meshy model needed.

Storm glint — storm_glint

• Region: The Shardfield.
• Look: A glint that came out of the glass after a storm's peak, crusted all over in mirror shards picked up by the wind, about 2.5 m long. It is heavy and slow, and the shards on its back flash a different sky each, as the standing shards do. Amber storm light catches the edges. Silhouette: the glint wedge grown huge and spiky, low to the ground. The shards on its back lifting is the tell.
• Behaviour: A heavy bite every 7 s for 18. Special, Shard Volley: every third attack it throws the shards off its back at the player for 22. Tell: the shards lift and turn towards the player for 1.5 s. Glass-born (rule 1).
• Counters: Facet Seal (tier 3), cast for real minutes before in the storm, takes the whole volley: its 22-point shield is the volley's size on purpose. Brace (tier 1) takes most of it. Repel pins it for 3.75 s (rule 1), and Coil and Gale hurt it. On the Lanternfall-first route the player meets the storm before the Long Road, so it's Coil and Repel without Gale.
• Rough stats: HP high (200). Damage high (18; the volley does 22). Speed slow (7 s), first attack 8 s. maxHp 200, attackDamage 18, attackIntervalSeconds 7, firstAttackDelaySeconds 8, volley 22 every third attack (new), color "#D9C9A3"
• Drops: glint_quicksilver x2, mirror_grit x2. On the way back the player picks up the Corran shard (corran_half_wave): a scene, not a drop.
• Where it appears: Act 2, the glass storm set piece in the open Shardfield (storm_glint, scene 3.6), after the square half of Facet Seal is traced from a standing shard and the storm peaks.
• Model notes for Meshy: static, animated in code. Reuses glint, scaled up, with the shard_glint pane parts doubled and floated off the back in code. No new mesh.

Bramble glint — bramble_glint

• Region: Twinhold and Greenvault (Greenvault's decay terrace).
• Look: A glint that has grown into the hedges of a decay terrace, about 3 m: quicksilver threaded through thorn and bramble, the mirror head half hidden in leaves. Violet Greenvault light catches on the thorns. Behind it is the dead stump that carries the Wither glyph. Silhouette: a low, tangled mound with a bright mirror head inside it. It reads as part of the hedge until it moves.
• Behaviour: A thorn lash every 6 s for 12. Special, Overgrowth (new: weakness and immunity by effect type): growth spells feed it. Coil, Mend and Root heal it by what they would have done. Gale, Repel and Wither hurt it in full. Tell: the thorns pull back into the hedge for 1 s before a lash. Glass-born (rule 1).
• Counters: Gale (tier 2) and Repel (tier 1, a 3.75 s stagger by rule 1). The puzzle is not to reach for Coil or for Root, learned on the terraces the same day: not every Tender spell helps. Wither (tier 1) would rot it in full, because the hedge is alive (rule 5), but its fragment is on the stump the bramble guards, so the first fight is Gale and Repel.
• Rough stats: HP mid (150). Damage mid (12). Speed normal (6 s), first attack 6 s. maxHp 150, attackDamage 12, attackIntervalSeconds 6, firstAttackDelaySeconds 6, healed by growth spells (new), color "#8FA86A"
• Drops: glint_quicksilver x2, mirror_grit. Beating it frees the stump: the Wither glyph (fragment_wither) is a find, not a drop.
• Where it appears: Act 2, Greenvault's decay terrace (bramble_glint, scene 6.1).
• Model notes for Meshy: static, animated in code. Reuses glint, scaled up, with thorn-and-hedge parts parented over it. No new mesh beyond the bramble parts.

Echo glint — echo_glint

• Region: Hushfold and the Hour Stair (Hushfold's empty bell tower).
• Look: A thin glint living in the bell frames where Hushfold's bells used to hang. Frost lies on its back, and its mirror head shows the player's own silhouette, flipped. It has been signing the monks' signs back to them wrong. Silhouette: a narrow, upright glint high in an empty bell frame, the player's shape in its head.
• Behaviour: No attack of its own. Special, Echo (new: a recast of the player's last spell): every 6 s it casts the player's last spell back at them, at full power. A Mend comes back as a heal for it, a Brace as a shield for it. Tell: the player's silhouette in its head traces the spell's glyph for 1 s. Glass-born (rule 1).
• Counters: Cast cheap before you cast big: whatever you cast last comes back. Calm (tier 1, from Wen at the listening stone) clears what its copies land. Repel's stagger (3.75 s, rule 1) pushes back its next copy. Hush would silence it, but Wen teaches Hush and Echo hand over hand right after this fight, so the first time through it's Calm and timing.
• Rough stats: HP mid (120). Damage equal to the player's last spell. Speed normal (6 s), first copy 6 s. maxHp 120, attackDamage copy (new), attackIntervalSeconds 6, firstAttackDelaySeconds 6, recasts last spell (new), color "#E4ECFF"
• Drops: glint_quicksilver x2, mirror_grit.
• Where it appears: Act 2, Hushfold's bell tower (echo_glint, scene 6.4).
• Model notes for Meshy: static, animated in code. Reuses glint, thinner, with the mirror double's flipped-silhouette material on its head. No new mesh.

The glint colossus — glint_colossus (boss)

• Region: Corran.
• Look (VEL-51 concept): A towering giant fused from hundreds of quicksilver glints. It has a top-heavy body of liquid silver and cracked mirror-glass plates, long arms with heavy fists, short thick legs, and a small blank teardrop mirror head. Small glints cling to its shoulders and crawl over it. Behind it, the glowing crack of Corran's warp pours white light, and Corran's people stand frozen in clear glass mid-step. Silhouette: a huge, top-heavy figure filling the upper half of the frame, dark against the white warp-light, with the small mirror head as the one bright point.
• Behaviour (phases):
  1. The Mass (100–60%). A sweeping arm every 7 s (24). Each hit on it sheds a glint (stilled_glint), up to three alive at a time. Tell: the arm draws back across the warp-light for 1.5 s. Stagger cancels it.
  2. The Crack (60–25%). Its chest plates crack and show the warp inside. Hits to the chest during a stagger do double damage. Special, Warp Pulse: every 12 s, 20 damage that ignores shields, unless Hush is up. Tell: the crack brightens from white to blinding over 2 s.
  3. The Pull (25–0%). It turns towards the Stilled at the arena's edge and starts pulling them toward the warp, and a 40 s timer shows on screen. When it runs out, its reaching blow lands on them: one Stilled figure cracks (it doesn't break, and it heals later in Act 3, but Aske sees it; Act 3 moves rep.facets −5 and sets corran.cracked_figure). The fight goes on: it is not a loss. A Repel or Bulwark (Repel into Facet Seal) in the wind-up turns the blow. Attacks speed up to every 5 s. Linger slows the timer by half while it lasts.
• Counters: Phase 1: Squall or Gale (tier 2) on the adds, then a thread on the body. Phase 2: Repel's stagger opens the chest (rule 1), then Toll or Bevel Lash. Prism Snare stops the plates re-forming. Hush (tier 1, Still Choir) stops the Warp Pulse: the warp's hum is a sound. Phase 3: Linger (tier 1, Keepers) and Hasten for longer threads, and Repel or Bulwark to turn the reaching blow. It is the first fight that strongly rewards cross-side threads (Codex section 6).
• Rough stats: HP boss (1,400, about 12x the golem). Damage high (24; Warp Pulse 20). Speed slow, then normal (7 s, then 5 s), first attack 8 s. maxHp 1400, attackDamage 24, attackIntervalSeconds 7, firstAttackDelaySeconds 8, phases (new), color "#E8EEF2"
• Drops: colossus_heart (key item: the warp-light it held, used in the post-fight scene where the stilling is undone), glint_quicksilver x10. After the fight, Aske and the player trace Pavilion Wake together at Corran's well: Aske's hourglass half (corran_half_hourglass) and the player's low-wave half from the Act 2 storm (corran_half_wave). Then the player threads Thaw (Repel into Pavilion Wake) while Aske casts Brace across the warp, and the Unstilling begins. That is a scene, not a drop.
• Where it appears: Act 3, Corran's warp (corran_colossus, the set piece). Its first phase is shorter if Ondine set fewer seal-stones, and a fallen player who broke the diggers' props in the Undermere starts the fight at phase 2 (Act 3).
• Model notes for Meshy: humanoid (Meshy rig). Reference: glint-colossus-ref-a.png. The clinging glints are the glint mesh parented to its bones and moved in code.

From Bestiary › Glints