Storm Gryphon
Basic Information
Anatomy
Storm gryphons are immediately identifiable by their massive cat-like forms and vast eagle-like wings. Their heads are a curious merging of their feline and avian aspects with a cat's attentive ears and brow, but an eagle's sharp eyes and beak. Fierce in battle as evidenced by their claws and beak, gryphons are also dangerous for the piercing cry they give that can drive even the hardiest warrior to their knees.
Genetics and Reproduction
Gryphons reproduce sexually. During a gestation period of six months, the parents will collect Katra crystals to line the nest. After the six months, the female gryphon will lay up to three eggs in a single clutch, which she and her mate will then take turns incubating. The eggs must then be struck with lightning, hence the inclusion of the Katra crystals, in order to quicken their development. Roughly three months after being quickened, the eggs will hatch into small, flightless hatchlings.
Growth Rate & Stages
Gryphons are generally born about the size of a large cat, but they grow rapidly, gaining size and weight at an almost exponential rate. By the time they are a year old, they are almost the size of a pony. By three years old, they are fully grown to the size of a draft horse and sexually mature.
Ecology and Habitats
Storm gryphons naturally roost in the Bluelight Mountains. The Katra crystals that speckle the peaks are collected by the roosting parents to fill their nest in order to attract the errant bursts of lightning that are necessary to quicken an incubating egg.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Gryphons are the apex natural predators of the Bluelight Mountains. Their speed, stealth, flight, and incredibly acute senses mark them as the most deadly creatures to hunt in the peaks. Their favored prey include the mountain goats that populate the crags and valleys as well as elk, boar, and moose.
Biological Cycle
Gryphons are largely unaffected by the changing of the seasons beyond growing a thicker pelt in the winter months. The largest influence the seasons have on a gryphon's behavior is dictating their mating season, which falls around the autumn months so that the laying of the eggs coincides with the spring months that bring the most thunderstorms.
Additional Information
Social Structure
In the wild, storm gryphons live in loose pride structures, but within the Vale, their social structures solidify around a central matriarch, their own Storm Queen.
Domestication
There is little to distinguish between a wild and a "domesticated" storm gryphon, particularly given the relative overlapping between the two populations. Within the same clutch, one hatchling might choose a rider while another chooses to roam the peaks alone.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Gryphons are treated as honored members of society within The Vale. Those that have riders are considered the first and last line of protection for the few denizens that populate the the valley.
Average Intelligence
Highly intelligent and quick to learn, it is commonly joked that the only thing keeping a gryphon from speaking is a lack of patience with human foolishness.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Attuned to the flows of weather and storms, gryphons are blessed with the ability to mold the air currents around their bodies and draw energy from bursts of lightning.
Lifespan
70-80 years
Average Height
5-6 ft at the shoulder
Average Weight
1100-1500 lbs.
Average Length
9-10 ft from beak to rump; 25-30 ft wingspan
Average Physique
Whether wild or "domesticated", storm gryphons are muscle-bound creatures, capable of carrying one to two full-sized humans in flight.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Gryphons come in a variety of colorings and markings, ranging from solid black to pure white with possible shades of grey, brown, tan, red, silver, and gold within the wings.
Related Ethnicities
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