AKA: Headless Angel, BrightwingMoorefield “I saw this thing in the sky once—it looked like a man with enormous wings, sort of like what you see in pictures of angels. It glowed, like a golden light came out of it. Seeing it was terrifying, because, of course that’s not something you see everyday, but, it also made me feel, I don’t know, emotional? Like in a good way. Seeing that, that angel or whatever it was, just made me feel overwhelmingly happy. I saw it on a hill right outside of Petersburg one evening many, many years ago, and I’ll never forget it. It stayed low in the sky for a few seconds before jumping straight up in the air so quickly it was only a blur. Then it was gone.” - RileyA legendary being, the Headless Guardian has an existence intertwined with Red Eyes and Mothman; it is the good-natured entity of the trio. Associated with feelings of safety, healing, and lucky, life-saving turn-of-events, Brightwing is predominantly active during the day, as long as Mothman has not been reborn. At night, when the being seeks to prevent danger or aid humanity, it emits a golden glow from its body. The being is described as headless—a neck with a rounded top only present—muscular, large in stature with a body made up of rough-looking pieces, and has two large, fluffy wings sprouting where a man’s shoulder blades would lie; the creature has no arms, but does have two human-like legs.Believed to be a creature from another dimension (differing from the one paranormal entities originate from), Brightwing has resided in the region since at least the 1500s; though unique to West Virginia, similar beings have been spotted around the country and world (for example, in Ohio, California, Portugal, and Russia). It is most often seen on hilltops, mountain peaks, or tall roofs by children or those lost, alone, and/or endangered. Brightwing is the first stage in the Herald Cycle; it exists to help summon and banish Mothman. It is retired by Red Eyes and reborn by its innards.Anatomy and Physical Descriptions The Headless Angel is about 5.5 ft tall with a 10 ft wingspan. Its entire torso is made up of a rigid, bumpy carapace that is comprised of several pieces that fit together like a puzzle; this exoskeleton shimmers white and is semi-transparent in direct sunlight, but appears silver, blue, or gray in the shadows or low-light. Thin, swirling, shallow grooves can be seen on the being’s exterior. The carapace lends the creature’s body structural integrity, each section helping form limbs and phalanges, while also protecting its soft and aqueous innards. If attacked with great force, sections of this dense armor may be cracked or smashed, then easily pried off; if removed, the gap exposes a membrane-like hide. Tendrils from the hide hold the carapace in place, making a wet, suction noise when torn free.Black and even bumpier than its carapace, Brightwing’s hide is composed of a stretchy material; from behind the exoskeleton, it bulges and quivers, filled with a glowing, squirming substance. The Headless Guardian’s hide, though soft, is elastic and difficult to puncture; even if all pieces of the carapace are removed, the bladder remains resistant. Within, a golden, gelatinous fluid is contained — a multitude of glowing, worm-ish beings responsible for the balloon’s odd pulsation. Responsible for giving the being life, the creatures move like an inchworm, golden yellow balls of light lining their body, furling and unfurling in motion. The strange, internal organisms act as muscles for the body, moving and pulling on attachments that control the Brightwing’s limbs and activities. The creatures die after a few months or after intense activity; corpses dissolve in their aqueous environment, and excess excreted out of the carapace’s grooves. New worms are generated by division. These reproductive individuals are located in the upper torso.The Headless Guardian’s wings are composed of several different kinds of feathers — pointed, rectangular, downy, long, short, and rounded—that are varying shades of bright white and gold, sparkling as if dusted with glitter. With wings as long as a small airplane, the powerful appendages can generate strong winds as they move, carrying the humanoid at speeds comparable to that of a modern jet plane’s. The wing arm is made up of lightweight, curved pieces composed of material similar to its carapace; attached to the structure are tendrils of bloated and thinned hide, which work the limbs’ mechanisms. When engaged with aggressive entities, like Red Eyes, its wings are its most vulnerable and targeted aspect.Documented History and Life Cycle Out of the legendary trio living in West Virginia, Brightwing is active for the longest, though its decay initiates the moment Red Eyes begins summoning Mothman. The first phase of this being’s life is unhindered by its counterparts, who lay dormant for a prolonged, indefinite time. Mistaken for Mothman, angels, and extraterrestrials, the Headless Guardian is sighted from dawn to dusk. In direct sunlight, the being’s body gives off an intense, golden light, but this dazzling display diminishes as Red Eyes strengthens.When Brightwing’s physical body dies, the worms within it burrow deep into the ground; there, they harden to an amber-colored stone. After the retirement of Mothman and complete decay of Red Eyes, these stones crack, releasing a thick goo. Out from the stones, new worms emerge, emitting a weak glow. On the surface, in quiet, lonely, unsullied terrain, the creatures form a tight ball—a dark casing developing from their secretions; the shell grows and bloats, filling with more worms, as those within divide, reproducing asexually. Once grown to the size of a man, a new, oily substance leaks from minuscule pores in the hide. The liquid shimmers and pools in sections, grooves developing between each. Tiny, dark tendrils reach from the gaps, sculpting the metallic substance; it is prodded and pulled into sections, joints, and limbs. The body requires several months of non-stop development before it is able to move.Once Brightwing’s torso and legs are fully functional, it moves around slowly, testing its new body; amends are made by the worms’ reaching tendrils as needed. Wings begin growing behind the nub on the upper torso, the sinewy arms stretching to create a skeletal structure. Once wing arms are formed, the being lays in direct sunlight; on the appendage, feathers made of light slowly appear, a ghostly image of a wing growing more corporeal with time. After this formation, the being is fully matured. It roams less active regions of the state, helping those it desires to.According to reports and folklore, those that see Brightwing are filled with passionate feelings of hope and happiness; the creature seems to seek out only those that are alone or in pairs, healing them of ailments, preventing them from becoming involved in accidents or meeting their death, and helping the lost find their way.When Red Eyes grows in power, the glow of Brightwing diminishes, its body grays and takes on a bluish hue, even in direct sunlight. Its carapace becomes less malleable, more brittle, and its reflexes slow, becoming less graceful. The creature prepares for its disembodiment by the decrepit bird and its impending hibernation. As Brightwing dulls, the spawn of Mothman nears, its form resembling stone more and more each day. The first documentation of the Headless Guardian occurs during this declining phase of its life cycle.The earliest notation of Brightwing—outside of oral stories—originated in 1960. Along the Ohio River, just off Route 2, a woman and her father saw a strange entity in the middle of the road, off in the distance near the Chief Cornstalk Hunting Grounds. The being was large and tall with a gray coloration mirroring the overcast sky; the most shocking part, however, was that the man-like figure had giant wings folded upon its back. As they drove closer in awe, the being unfurled its wings, which were about the size of an airplane’s; it jumped straight up into the air before disappearing into the clouds with a single flutter.Five years later, another encounter occurred. Near Clendenin, off the Ohio River, a seven-year-old boy playing on a hilltop saw a strange man with wings. Only one year from the beginning of Mothman’s infamous reign, the otherworldly creature was sluggish, almost dark in color, and easier to spot as it clumsily flew through the air with heavy, hardening wings.It is inferred that between this sighting and the next, Red Eyes destroyed Brightwing’s physical form—worms embedding themselves underground in an unknown location.On May 19, 1967, though Brightwing’s body was consumed by Red Eyes, a ghostly image made of light remained; the eerie form was seen shimmering where it last stood, waiting for an unknown call leading it to Mothman — where it works to calm the creature and send it elsewhere.That night, in the TNT Area at 10:30 p.m. on Route 62, two women saw a flying creature with glowing, red eyes meet a hovering, golden, luminous object in the sky. The dark, flying humanoid met the glowing light, which turned a bright red, its body matching the other’s eyes; the pair ascended into the sky, disappearing in a brief, bright flash of light. This marked the end of Mothman and Brightwing’s life cycle; the Headless Guardian transported the other legendary figure elsewhere, likely to its original dimension. It is unknown why the trio flits to and from Earth/this dimension or why the events repeat — and will likely always remain a Kristen Puckett 289 mysterious occurrence until humans develop the technology to travel from one plane to the next or into deep space.Rebirth of Brightwing In August 1978, residents of Wyoming County witnessed an unusual form in the shadows during the day; the creature had an enormous wingspan and was colored in hues of silver and blue.2 This sighting marked the return and rebirth of Brightwing, as other sightings of golden, gray, or bluish, flying objects and humanoids were reported after this date; later, they coincided with horrendous sightings of a bird-like man until the summer of 2015, when they ominously ceased—replaced by sightings of a dark, flying, man-like figure with red eyes.