Griffons (concept)
Griffons are Godtouched Creatures that traditionally roost in the mountains of Chevalie. Griffons possess the body and back legs of a lion, with the head, wings and talon of an eagle. Considered highly respectable Creatures in the Marcher mythos, many Marcher folk heroes are griffon riders, and knights riding griffons is a traditional image representing the Anti-Magic Orders.
It is unknown if Griffons have become more rare due to the growth of human settlement in Chevalie of if ancient tales simply overstate their population, but older Marcher sagas tell tales of armies of Griffon riders. In the modern era, Griffon riders are considered somewhat rare, normally limited to royalty and elite units fielded by the Anti-Magic Orders, several of which maintain stables of Griffons and take great pride in breeding the animals. It is tradition for each of the major Anti-Magic Orders to offer a griffon to a newly coronated monarch. The monarch choose the griffon themselves, and then train with the Anti-Magic Order that raised it to learn how to ride the creature and do battle from its back.
Griffons are considered highly intelligent, Griffons more exposed to humans normally seeming to be able to understand spoken language and able to respond to complex sentences, though they are unable to actually speak any human tongue.
Hippogrifs are considered a kindred beast to Griffons, native to the Black Mountains to the east of Chevalie, but are believed to have gone extinct from overuse by Marcher knights during the Marcher-Aversarian Wars.
Aliases: Griffon