Gryphons

Although the country's official crest is an eagle, no creature is more emblematic of Valor than the gryphon.

Both the Valorian Gryphons, prized mount of the Valorian Knights, and their wild cousins are muse to many an artist, inspiring to see, emblematic of the ideals of Valor... and terrifying to face in combat.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The gryphon' head, chest, and forelimbs are similar to a harpy eagle in shape and color. Their bodies, ears, and hind limbs are similar to a mountain lion's, though a lighter cream color. Their tail is long and feathered, forming a long, flat paddle shape; its pattern and colors match its wings.

The domesticated Valorian Gryphons have more pronounced black and white barring on their forelegs and the undersides of their wings and tails. They are generally proportioned more for sustained flight or combat than for hunting. Small, round ears, long tails, and extra toes are considered particularly desirable. There are split opinions over crests and ankle frills--some consider them "feral" traits and best avoided, while others prize the striking features.

Biological Traits

Wild mountain gryphons are about the same height as the average man, and twice as long. Their wingspans are the same as their length from the tip of their beak to the tip of their tail.

Valorian gryphons are generally larger--the males by about six inches in height, the females by at least twice that. Their wingspans are generally wider than their length by at least twelve inches. There is a wider range of variation among Valorians, however, and individuals can deviate widely from the average in size or in proportion.

It is difficult to track the lifespan of wild gryphons, though some who hunt in the mountains have reported seeing the same creature in their territories over fifty years. Valorians typically live for about 60 years if not killed in battle. However, they retire by about 45, or sooner if a wing or leg is broken.

For both varieties, female gryphons are generally outnumbered by males. It is rare for a single nest to hatch more than one female. There are various superstitions for telling male and female hatchlings and even eggs apart--but it is impossible to tell for sure until they are kittens.

Genetics and Reproduction

Gryphons lay clutches of 1-3 eggs in the wild; Valorians typically lay 2-5, though single clutches or clutches of 6 eggs happen occasionally as well. Younger mothers usually lay smaller clutches, though timing is also a factor--spring clutches are nearly always larger than fall clutches.

Like cats, a single clutch can have several fathers. Female gryphons typically accept two or three mates, whom she keeps close to guard her during gestation and brooding, and whom she will drive off with the same ferocity as she would any other intruder as soon as the eggs begin to hatch.

Growth Rate & Stages

Hatchlings are small, naked, helpless screamers, capable of eating astonishing amounts of food. Over the next few months, they grow dark gray or black fur and poofy black down.

Once they're so fluffy you can hardly see their beak, they are officially kittens. It is important to socialize them with people beginning at this stage--which can be difficult, as their mothers are usually still extremely protective. Wild-bred kittens who are not well-socialized at this age can become dangerous as adults. For Valorians, a lack of socialization will likely just lead to them being a little more difficult.

Kittens will go through two molts, each time losing nearly all of their feathers, leaving only very short, fine fur in their place. During the first molt, their wings begin a substantial growth spurt, which continues until they reach their adult proportions. After their second molt, they grow in their adult feathers--a milestone referred to as fledging. Their markings may still darken, but their patterns and general coloration will remain the same from then on.

This can be a dangerous time for them in the wild, as a mother gryphon who returns home to find a fledged kitten will sometimes fail to recognize it. Even when she does seem to realize that it is hers, she will generally stop feeding it around this age, leaving it to steal from siblings or hunt for itself.

For a Valorian, the young gryphon is introduced to its future wingmates as soon as it fledges, if they were not nestmates to start with, and it will stay with them full-time while it finishes learning to fly and undergoes training as a mount.

Ecology and Habitats

Gryphons originated in The Mountains that cross most of northern Valor. They prefer rocky nesting sites with good visibility, forested hunting sites where they can ambush prey, and plenty of running water to wash the blood off their feathers; the mountains have each of these features in enough plenty for the gryphons to establish broad territories.

When prey is scarce, they may be seen hunting in the plains (and fields) beyond the mountains, but even the allure of livestock can't keep them for long. As soon as conditions improve, they will return to higher altitudes.

Valorians keep some of these instincts in their desire to roost in high places. Outside of Albion, visiting knights' mounts will typically roost on the tallest roof or tower available, whether its owner wants them there or not. They also continue to like frequent, cold baths, and assembling hand-picked stones for their nests.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Gryphons are omnivores; though the bulk of their diet is meat, they also eat most fruits and vegetables, and enjoy some varieties of leaves. They are known to strip apple trees bare if left unattended, gnawing even of the bark. They drink very little, if anything, but prefer to bathe at least twice a day.

In the wild, they spend most of their time hunting, and sleep in the middle of the day and the dead of night when prey is the least available. Valorians, who are fed nearly as much as they want, sleep a great deal more--but can also fly, fight, or haul freight for very long hours once they get started.

The easy access to food has also shifted Valorians' social habits. While their wild cousins live alone for most of their lives, Valorians are quite happy to bond with their siblings and wingmates. Once these bonds have formed, the gryphons will sleep in a pile, preen each other, and even share food... once they've had some themselves.

Both wild and domestic breeds enjoy seafood, and will gorge themselves when salmon migrations drive the fish upstream into the gryphons' ranges. Gryphons enjoy swimming generally, but can be especially hard to remove from a river once it has had a taste of fish.

Biological Cycle

Adult gryphons continue to molt annually, though not as dramatically as while they were kittens. Molts generally occur mid-summer, though a particularly warm spring can trigger them early, and can ground the gryphon for up to week while its primaries grow back in.

Their fur goes through more constant growth and shed cycles, but this is generally only noticeable when they are shedding out their winter coat. Females building a nest will give it a comfortable fur lining; other gryphons make a nuisance of themselves, clogging their bathing sites, their roosting sites, and their knights' faces with shed fur.

Additional Information

Social Structure

In the wild, gryphons are solitary except during mating and egg incubation. There have been reports of a few outliers, most likely sisters who share territory, but these are considered rare.

Valorian Gryphons are much more sociable, forming strong bonds within their Wing formation. Once the relationship is established, it is quite secure--despite any bickering or competition, the gryphons will be quite protective of each other, as well as of their bonded knight. They will sleep in a pile, preen each other, and even share food... once they've had some themselves.

Even for Valorians, however, forming these bonds can be tricky. It is considered easiest to bond siblings from the same nest, so a new Wing of knights will generally be assigned one or two nests, rather than being given their pick of the season's hatchlings. An egg or two may even be (very cautiously, while the parents are busy eating) moved from one nest to another to facilitate this.

The exception to keeping nests together is that, probably due to their instinctual mating habits, males sometimes get along better with unrelated males than their brothers, if unrelated females are present. Females, meanwhile, pretty much always get along better with their sisters than with unrelated females.

As such, the most common Wing makeups are:

• Two complete nests (only one of which hatched a female)
• Two sisters plus unrelated males

Domestication

For as long as humans have had a presence in the mountains, there have been stories of daring individuals stealing gryphon eggs. If incubated well enough to hatch, the hatchling would inprint on the first person they saw. This still happens from time to time, and though they can be tricky to raise, they are reasonably cooperative and safe to keep as adults, even for humans other than the one they bonded with as hatchlings. Though they will never be as suitable for riding or other work as the Valorian lines, they can be excellent guards--so long as you don't want too many guests.

Even more than any use, however, they are highly desired as status symbols. Because Valorian Gryphons are only available to the knights, and wild-born gryphons are difficult to steal, hatch, and raise and even harder to breed, any gryphon will fetch a high price. They exude power and wealth. The so-called "King of the Streets," an Albion Crime-lord, is said to have three of them in his compound outside of the city.

As for the Valorians, they will now imprint on just about everyone they meet until their first molt. This tendency would be very dangerous in the wild, but is very useful for the knights. It allows for the hatchlings to be left with their mothers, while still forming a strong bond with the trainers and their assigned knight. The method has a very high success rate--it is very rare for a hatchling not to survive to adulthood, having learned the basics of being a gryphon and a Valorian from their mother, having been taught the finer points by the trainer knight and gryphon pair, and having formed a lifelong bond of trust with their assigned knight.

Average Intelligence

Gryphons have animal-level intelligence, but for such, are quite clever. They can understand many human words, gestures, and even moods, "reading" their bonded knight and reacting appropriately. They are also skilled at getting into things they have no business getting into, such as windows that don't look large enough to let an entire gryphon into a room that is not of a reasonable size to have a gryphon in it.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Wild mountain gryphons have better night vision, though the Valorian breed seems to have somewhat better vision during the day. Both breeds have excellent hearing and a crummy sense of smell--attempts to train them to follow scent-trails have failed abysmally.

Some say that they can sense anything from danger to earthquakes to disease to lycanthropy, but none of that has actually been proven.

Known To

General: Common Knowledge
Expert level: Valorian Knights

Origin/Ancestry

Wild Mountain Gryphon, Valorian Gryphon

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

1.75 - 2 meters

Average Length

3.5 - 4 meters

by Kaden Peregrine