Garuda Bird (Basic Lore)

Garuda Bird (Legend; CR 40)
Neutral - Titanic - Magical Beast
This creature possesses the Legend role, and therefore counts as 5 monsters for purposes of encounter size, XP award, and treasure. Garuda Birds are the largest of the flying birds. They are so large, and their existence so intensely magical, that they are believed to only be able to exist in the Outer Planes, notably the Wards of the Will, where the dreams of Deities provide them with sufficient Reality to thrive. Some scholars and Sages speculate that Garuda Birds who have made their way to the Prime material over the eons are the source of the mighty Rocs and Thunderbirds, but the Garuda is believed to be larger and mightier by far. Fighting a Garuda is the province of the truly mighty, and rumor has it that meeting a Garuda Bird on the ground is the height of folly, and taking to the air in the presence of one is even worse. Garuda's are said to be absolutely masterful in the air, incredibly fast and flitting and hovering with ease despite their wings beggaring a galleons sails in size, and they are supposedly able to see or hear even the tiniest sparrow that dares approach them. Exact descriptions of Garuda Birds are sparse and contradictory, with some accounts likening them to vast Eagles or Hawks with massive, cruelly curved beaks, while others say they are more akin to long-legged Secretary Birds that attack on the ground with titanic talons like a forest of spears. Some accounts label them as akin to terrible Owls, with great and fiery eyes that burn anything, even to the far horizon. Yet other accounts say they are akin to incredibly vast Hummingbirds, moving so fast they are difficult to even see, despite being as tall as a castle tower. The truth of it is unknown, and a dreadful possibility is that there is more than one sort of Garuda Bird, although the truth of this is unknown. One constant is their color. Garudas are associated with the color red. Red for blood, red for fire, red for the vast feathers, as long as a wagon, that have been recovered as artifacts by the intrepid and adventurous. Their plumage is likely to have other colors, blacks and browns and even greys, but all accounts recall the red. Garudas are intensely magical, and there is no safe way to combat a Garuda Bird. Their gaze is flame, their pinions rain harpoons, and their beaks smash chariots.