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Griffin

Bogyn's Nastiness Rating: 44 (Horrifically Nasty)

A species of fantastic beast that dwells within mountain rookeries throughout peaks, hills, and deserts across Battal, the Griffin is truly a beast of Epic strength and proportions, although sadly not quite as epic as Dragons.

Truly, many refer to them as "Fuzzy Dragons" or "Second Rate Dragons", thinking of them as lesser Dragons for the qualities they share - flight, six limbs, and terrible claws - instead of respecting them in their own right. This state of affairs sadly never gives Griffins the respect they so deserve.

Griffins are one of Battal's composite animals - with the foreclaws, wings, and head of a mighty eagle, the ears of a fox, and the hindquarters of a lion. Griffins have a smaller secondary head for a tail, which resembles a poisonous snake and can regenerate if cut off. They come in a variety of colors: brown, gold, silver, grey, tan, white, and black - but are usually spotted or striped combinations of the above.

Griffins make their homes in mountainous and arid regions, building nests in cool and dry places. They prefer to hunt in flatland areas and avoid forests and jungles. Griffins are carnivorous and primarily prey on herd herbivores, such as Buffaloaf, Fbeasts, and Horses. They will ocassionally also prey on People if their usual supplies of food are low.

Griffins are attracted to bright and shiny objects, particularly metals, and will often carry trinkets back to their nests to adorn them with sparklyness.

Griffins have many ferocious and amazing abilities. They can fly at incredible speeds for up to seven hours without tiring. Their superior vocal chords are able to mimic any sound they hear (although they are not smart enough to truly understand language) and can also emit supersonic screams that can shatter stone. Their powerful wings can channel and focus solar energy, allowing them to create whirlwinds of scorching hot air. Their front claws and beak are strong enough to cleave through steel. Finally, their secondary head on their serpent-like tail can bite down and inject enough poison into a victim to knock a Carmathmodon unconcious.

Despite their many gifts though, most folks simply say "Yeah, but they can't breath fire like a dragon, can they?"

Not to be confsed with Gryphons or Hippogriffs, their less impressive relatives.

Sources

Like many of the "more traditional fantasy staples" (see: The Dragon Fairy Tale Convention Riot for more on this quote and its implications) Griffins made their first appearance in Elemenstor Fairy Tales, but were then gradually adopted by other canon sources and are even said to feature prominently as one of the so-called "Quest-Conquest Monsters" in ELotH Online The Bloodrage Chronicle. A Griffin named Merv also played a supporting role in the Hyacinth Heroes ElemenstorLance novel.