The Birth of The Griffins

Long ago, a nobleman boasted that he had the best animals in the world, that not even the gods themselves had better. Cerunnus overheard and challenged the noble, he would best any animal of his in any competition. The noble accepted, but it was only then that Cerunnus told him of the consequences for failure, he would spend eternity growing a tree inside of him. That night the noble, fearing for his life, drugged the god and used magic on his animals to better their abilities. The day of the competition, Cerunnus had to fly faster than his hawk, run faster than his horse and be fiercer than his lion. Just as planned, Cerunnus failed in each of the competitions. The noble, growing bold, decided to boast about cheating even the gods. Cerunnus overheard and was furious, as punishment he decided to fuse all three animals into the first Griffin and set it lose on all who decided to attend the event. With the noble’s dying breath, he begged for mercy, Cerunnus then wordlessly snapped his fingers and transformed him into a peach tree. From then on Griffins would find peaches irresistible and always prize them above all other foods. Nowadays nobles delight on training Griffins even though Cerunnus followers claim that wasn’t the point of their creation.

Summary

A noble cheats the god of nature, becomes a peach tree and his animals turned into Griffins.

Spread

Every follower of Cerunnus knows this story. With it being more common among religious groups and nobles.

Variations & Mutation

Over the years every detail has been changed, but the crux of it always remains the same. A noble tries to cheat the gods, fails and the Griffin is created.

Date of First Recording

151 PA

Date of Setting

150 PA