from March’s Creatures Beyond the Walle

Fierce and powerful warriors of the earth and sky, griffins are intelligent magical creatures that possess the body, tail, and back legs of a lion and the head, wings, feathered breast, and taloned forelegs of an eagle. They range in color from brown to white to gray, although royal griffins are gold. Griffins possess the strength of lions and can carry away armored knights atop their horses, but they also possess the swiftness and keen vision of eagles, so they are deadly when angered or protecting their mates and families. They are majestic, formidable, brave, and devoted, so they make puissant protectors or guardians, seekers of truth, and champions of love and family.

Like eagles, griffins can fly and mate for life, although they might find new mates if one of a mated pair dies. They also raise their nestlings in aeries perched on cliffs, mountaintops, or occasionally magically strengthened trees. However, similar to lions, griffins form prides made of mated pairs (usually related ones) and their offspring. Aeries in a pride are located relatively close, and griffins in the same pride often hunt and battle together. Griffins possess human lifespans, and despite myths of griffin eggs, they give birth to live young, and their offspring fledge at around fifteen to twenty years old.

As magical creatures, all griffins possess inherent magic. Their magic helps them fly (although they do have hollow bones too) and enhances their warrior skills. Griffin magic also inspires truth. ‘Tis nearly impossible to lie around griffins, and griffins can almost always tell when people manage it and feel great disgust for deceivers. Finally, griffin magic binds griffins to their mates. Griffins can sense when they meet their mate, and when they consummate their mating, their magic binds their life forces together (similarly to bloodbound human couples.) When this happens, the feathers over their heart become the same color as their mate’s dominant color.

Although griffins rarely sell their feathers and the like because they find it dishonest, humans do get some magical items from them, although they are often extremely rare and expensive. Occasionally, bold and desperate thieves will steal these items (a perilously risky endeavor), but more often, griffins gift them to someone. Griffins will gift their talons to brave and honorable warriors that impress them. These talons make excellent daggers and help the warrior who possesses them see the truth. Mated pairs will gift a pair of feathers to couples that approach them if they believe the couple devoted enough, although couples they consider false infuriate them, so approaching can be deadly. Because of this practice, griffin feathers symbolize ardent lifelong devotion among humans and are common in romantic art. Finally, mated griffins will create griffin cloaks from their fur and feathers for the unmated that approach them if they believe that person desperately needs to find love and commitment. Griffin cloaks are stunning, particularly gold ones from royal griffins. Only those true to their hearts can wear griffin cloaks, and they cannot lie about that truth while wearing it. In addition, they often find love and commitment within a fortnight of first donning their griffin cloak (although often much sooner.)