Trico

Trico is a huge griffin-like beast and the deuteragonist of the video game The Last Guardian, the third game from developers Team Ico. This creature appears to have physical traits similar to a bird, a cat and a dog. He also behaves in a similar manner to a dog, demonstrating loyalty and love towards the Boy, the game's protagonist. Throughout the game, Trico and the Boy travel together in order to escape from the Nest where they have found themselves imprisoned.

History
Trico is one of a species of such creatures that have fallen under the control of an evil entity known only as the Master of the Valley. For an unknown span of time, the Master would use these beasts to abduct children from the villages outside the Nest which would be converted to raw "essence" for its consumption. The Trico that serves as deuteragonist of The Last Guardian was also under the Master's control until it raided the village where it abducted the Boy. As it flew back to the Nest, the beast was struck by lightning and injured. The mystic armour it wore that kept it under the Master's control had been shattered after it crashed. The Master's Armoured Knights chained up the injured Trico within a cave, hoping it would die from its injuries.

Some time after its imprisonment, Trico regurgitates the Boy that was held captive within its belly. The Boy awakes and is shocked and bewildered to find himself in a strange place with a creature known among his villagers for eating people. The Boy notices that Trico is chained in place and that there are several spears embedded in its body. As the Boy approaches, Trico reacts and knocks him away, not trusting him. The Boy then looks around the cave and finds a barrel containing a strange glowing substance. He brings it to Trico who eagerly gobbles it down. Revitalised, Trico becomes more trusting of the Boy and does not resist when he pulls the spears out of his body.

After further exploration of the cave, the Boy finds a mirror that shines a dazzling green light. When he points the beam of light to Trico's chain, Trico's tail reacts and shoots a blast of magical lightning, breaking the chain. The Boy and Trico then leave the cave and make their way through the Nest, a vast valley filled with many ancient ruins which is protected by Armoured Knights.

The journey is long and filled with dangers and obstacles, but Trico and the Boy work together in order to overcome each challenge they encounter. Over time, the relationship between them which began simply as mutual cooperation grows into genuine friendship and affection Among the many mysteries and dangers in the Nest are several cage-like constructs which affect Trico's mind when he enters, causing him to fall back under the influence of the Master of the Valley. After one such event, Trico swallows the Boy whole before falling unconscious. After awakening, Trico recalls how he first met the Boy after abducting him from his home. Regurgitating the Boy, Trico displays genuine worry and concern for the Boy's well-being, whining sorrowfully as it tries to wake him. After Trico drops him into a puddle of water, the Boy wakes up to which Trico reacts with joy, jumping up and down happily and nuzzling the Boy gently.

Towards the end of their journey, the Boy and Trico arrive at the Citadel in the centre of the Nest. Within the Citadel lies the Master of the Valley. Trico is then attacked by several of its armoured brethren which badly wound him, even severing his tail which falls into the Master's chamber through the skylight. Using the mystic mirror, the Boy shines a light upon the cage surrounding the Master. Even severed, Trico's tail reacts to the light and fires a lightning blast that destroys the Master. With the Master's thralls now fallen, Trico is now able to take flight and returns the Boy home.

Trico lands in the Boy's village but is then attacked by the residents. Already badly injured after fighting its own, Trico is nearly killed by the villagers until the Boy calls out to him, telling him to leave for his own safety. Trico then takes flight again and leaves the village, apparently forever.

In a final post-credit cutscene, it is revealed that Trico is still alive and has returned to the cave where it was first imprisoned, apparently having found a mate and sired a young Trico of his own.

Physiology
Trico is a huge creature, standing at 15 feet tall and 22 feet long. He possesses traits similar to those of dogs, birds and cats: his body is covered in thick layers of grey feathers and has four clawed feet similar to a bird's, pointed ears and eyes that shine in the dark like a cat, and its muzzle is an odd combination of a dog's nose and an avian beak.

Trico also has a pair of neon-green horns adorning its head. At the start of the game, these horns are short and one of them is broken, but towards the end of the game they become fully restored.

Upon Trico's back are a pair of feathered wings that have a span of fifteen feet and allow him to fly. At the beginning of the game, Trico's wings are in tatters and he cannot fly, but they eventually heal completely and he is able to fly out of the valley in order to take the Boy home.

Trico also has a long tail similar to that of a lion. Over the course of the game, Trico uses it to lower the Boy down to descending footholds and the Boy can also use the tail to climb out of any holes he ventures into.

Personality
Trico's behaviour is very much like that of a dog. While initially distrusting of the Boy, Trico begins cooperating with him for the sake of mutual survival. As the adventure goes on, their partnership strengthens into true friendship and affection, with Trico seeking attention and petting from the Boy and becoming concerned or sad when they are apart.

Trico is not a creature to make an enemy of. When the Boy is in danger, he will react in an aggressive manner and ferociously fight to protect him. When Armoured Knights pursue the Boy, Trico will charge and swipe at them with little regard for its own safety, attacking relentlessly until all enemies are destroyed. Trico becomes quite frantic in this state and will not calm down unless petted by the Boy.

Powers and Abilities

 * Chimeran Physiology: Trico can best be described as a chimera, a creature composed of several different animals. This gives the beast the abilities of all the species it embodies: the strength of a dog, the agility of a cat, and the flight of a bird.
 * Enhanced Strength: Because of his massive size, Trico is incredibly strong. He can destroy stone structures and smash groups of enemies with relative ease.
 * Enhanced Agility: Trico can climb and leap great distances that would be impossible for any other animal. This is embodied by his cat-like traits.
 * Flight: Initially Trico cannot fly because of the wounds that he has sustained, his wings having been badly hurt by lightning and fall damage. However, when his wings are fully healed, he can fly great distances and is able to achieve altitude to soar above the clouds. Even when his wings are still healing, he can glide for a short period of time.
 * Enhanced Durability and Healing: Trico can take massive amounts of damage. Swords do not affect him, spears only slow him down, and even serious wounds sustained by Armored Tricos, long falls, or being struck by lightning can be shrugged off in a short amount of time. Trico also seems to heal very fast, as he does not bleed very much from spear wounds and can quickly get up from even life-threatening wounds.
 * Prehensile Tail: Trico's tail acts as an extra limb. He mainly uses this ability to assist the Boy while his feet are in use. While unable to grab the Boy using his tail, the beast can quickly position it to act like a rope to climb up/down.
 * Enhanced Senses: Thanks to his dog-like attributes, Trico has incredible senses of smell and hearing.
 * Eyeshine: The color of Trico's eyes change depending on his mood. His eyes shine pink when aggressive or angry. The eyes will glow white when excited or interested. When his eyes are dark green, he is calm and friendly. His pupils will contract greatly when he is satisfied when being fed a barrel, closely resembling a more human eye.
 * Electricity generation: Early in the game, the boy finds a mysterious mirror. Upon seeing the symbol produced by the mirror, Trico can fire a continuous bolt of electricity from his tail at the mirror's target, useful for destroying obstacles and enemies. When the mirror is lost, however, so is this ability. When the ability is regained later in the game, Trico now fires a built-up pulse of explosive lightning. Trico's tail can fire electricity even when severed from his body. This ability is not directly controlled by Trico.

Weaknesses

 * The Boy: First and foremost, Trico will do whatever it takes to protect the Boy, even if that means recklessly throwing himself in harm's way or against an overpowering enemy. While he has always survived, he nearly dies several times.
 * Talismans: Huge hexagonal stained glass panes in the shape of a large yellow-orange human eyeball with blue sclera surrounded by a sloppy mix of purple and pink (most likely due to age rather than paint job). Above and below the eyeball are red triangles. When the talismans come within Trico's eyesight, Trico's animal instincts become apparent, and Trico is unable to do anything but fearfully back away unless the offending pane is destroyed. These objects come in the form of small shields carried by Knights that they will aim against the animal, or as larger stationary ones, mounted on trolleys or suspended by chains. Most often they can be knocked over, broken by throwing a stone or destroyed with Trico's ranged tail attack (when available).
 * Armoured Tricos: As powerful as Trico is, he stands little chance against even one of his own kind. While he fights bravely, he is always overwhelmed.
 * Small spaces: Trico's size is not always an advantage, and he has trouble squeezing into tight spots (although not from lack of trying). At one point, he valiantly attempts to squeeze into a mine tunnel, which causes the walls to collapse around him and the Boy.