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The Griffin combines the head, wings and talons of an eagle with the
hindquarters and tail of a lion to produce a fearsome fantastic predator of the Mid-East
and Asia. They were said to build nests of gold and guard precious stones,
especially emeralds. Foolish human trespassers were torn limb from limb, and horses
were their favorite meal. Still, some stories tell of people befriending a griffin and
receiving a griffin's claw as reward. This was quite valuable, as, if made into a
cup, the claw would change color should the beverage within be poisoned. The
griffin
was a popular heraldic symbol in medieval Europe, displaying the courageous strength of the lion and the nobility of the
eagle.
Origins
Griffins are
among the oldest magical creatures, possibly as old as dragons, indiginous to both
Tirialle and Zakotansett. There are many species and subspecies of
griffins, but for the purpose of this discussion we are dealing with the Skyhaven
griffin,
the variety offered here. Skyhaven griffins are a sentient griffin
species, most common in the Midrealm and East Realm regions. Adults
measure approximately three times as high as a Terran lion at the shoulder
when fully grown.
Habitat
Like birds of prey, griffins need
thermals (columns of warm air) and wind for optimal flying. For a creature their size, mountains and
cliffs provide the best of both. A touch of weather magic ensures that
there is always a sufficient breeze for liftoff. The Skyhaven variety
of griffin lives in temperate climates, occasionally wandering into
subtropical regions.
Feeding
Griffins are entirely carnivorous, preferring live food, and
are very effective hunters of all sizes and shapes of prey but favoring
larger mammals. They refuse to confirm
or deny the horsemeat affection. Usually, like raptors, they soar
on thermals or perch on a high place and wait for prey to happen along,
striking in a quick dive and killing with their foretalons. Generally,
griffins hunt alone, but they will cooperate for defense of their aeries
(nesting grounds) or to bring down larger animals than they can handle by
themselves.
Life Cycle
Females lay clutches of
3-5 eggs in spring every five years. Young hatch in three to four
months. Within a year, they are ready to fly. They reach their
full adult size in three years, and leave the nest shortly thereafter.
Griffins are fully mature at ten or twelve, at which time they typically establish
their own nesting grounds. The size and variety of a hoard helps a
griffin win a mate; both males and females check out each other's
gatherings. When they select a mate, the male will move
into the female's aerie, or nesting cave. They become so bonded that, should one of the
pair die or be killed, the survivor will rarely take another mate, often
pining away within a few months. Skyhaven griffins live for three or
four centuries.
Culture
Griffins are usually solitary,
except for mated pairs, though they will form loose associations with
neighbors. They live in aeries, most often in caves (either natural or dug out with
their powerful talons), though sometimes they will nest in sufficiently large trees.
Too large and powerful for ordinary stick nests, griffins use metals and gemstones, notably gold and
emeralds, to line their aeries. Like
many birds of prey, they add to the nest year after year.
It is a Tiriallean joke that griffins only build nests to they have an excuse to
collect precious metals and stones. Like dragons, they have a hoarding
instinct, but unlike dragons they appear to able to survive without a hoard if
forced to. Only a fool attempts to take the hoard of a live griffin.
After a griffin dies is the best time to attempt to take a little
griffin gold, but one had best move quickly, as friends and family will come to
claim a portion of the deceased one's wealth. They may not even notice the fragile
human they are trampling if they get into a dispute over the inheritance.
So long as they know that they have a sanctuary to retreat to, they enjoy
chatting with neighbors, even nongriffin neighbors - sometimes to the point
of tedium. At each season change, griffins gather in
groups to celebrate with song, sport, and story. These gatherings can
span miles in areas with high population density, often attracting
dragons, faeries, and other beings in the area and lasting for upwards of
a week. Residents of such areas often grumble about the noise and
incidental property damage, but generally they are just sore that they
weren't invited.
Temperament
Griffin temperament varies by individual, but they tend to be vain and proud. They are playful, but, like birds,
are easily overstimulated and will sometimes throw tantrums over seemingly
insignificant frustrations. Griffins also tend to be very curious
creatures, and once they decide to poke their beak into something it's
very difficult to discourage them. However, their curiosity is
tempered by a generally short attention span, and once they grow bored or
frustrated they are more likely to wander off in a huff than sit down and
work it through.
Magical Traits
Oddly enough, there don't seem to
be as many practicing griffin magicians as there are dragon and unicorn
magic-workers. Many only have weak magical powers, more like enhanced senses than
true magical abilities, though they are all very effective at using Mineral and Gemstone magic (the
inherent powers in many raw stones and metals, a derivative of Earth magic.) Scholars speculate that this gift is the primary purpose of
the griffin's hoarding instinct; the more stones and minerals a griffin has,
the more magic at their disposal to defend their aeries. What
magic they do display naturally is usually linked to Air, such as the weather
magic that enables them to summon a breeze to facilitate flight.
Griffins are preternaturally sensitive to poisons, able to tell from the
slightest touch, whiff, or taste if something is safe. It is
possible to spell a griffin claw to reflect this sensitivity with a color
change, but only if one is a fairly skilled magician. Still,
powdered griffin claws and feathers - taken from shed nail sheaths and
feathers, naturally - are the main ingredients of most poison detection
spells.
Other Notes
Griffin feathers make extremely durable writing quills, capable of
withstanding several magical inks and liquids that reduce most feathers to
powder. Common lore says that it is impossible to write a lie with a
griffin feather, but this is thought to be mostly superstition. It
is, admittedly, a difficult thoery to test, as anyone testing it knows
that they are writing a lie with a griffin quill just to test the theory. Anecdotal
evidence suggests that the writer must not only believe wholeheartedly that they
are writing the truth, but be unaware that the quill came from a griffin;
considering how distinctive griffin feathers tend to be in direct
comparison to bird, pegasus, or other feathers, this is a difficult
assumption to make for a literate being.
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