Griffon
Race: Griffon
Age: young
"The Griffon" the party finds this young griffon. I think it should have more of a history than they will expect. The party can name it at some point but for now it will simply be called the griffon. He will be a bit wild, but lonely so will follow the party around. ONce he is old enough, somoene in the party can choose him as a mount. He is part eagle and part lion so I expect that he'll have a rather aggressive predatory streak. He is an obligate carnivore, and will think nothing of killing something in full view. The party will have to teach him some social nicities, I expect.
"Tell me the story again, Grandfather." Griffon asked in the shrieking caws of Griffon language.
"You have heard it a thousand times young one." The old griffon lay his silver head down on his front forepaws.
"Then once more will just make it a thousand and one. Please Grandfather."
"One more time then, then I rest."
"Sky Home may be the last of its kind. Built by spirit folk who lived in the air, like the griffons. Centuries ago, they scooped up in their claws great mounds of earth and formed the cliffs, caves, meadows and buildings that you see around you. Finally when all that was built, they looked at Sky Home. One spoke, saying, "We have called this place we have built, Sky Home but it does not live in the sky. Like the rest it lives on the ground and we are not part of the ground and neither should Sky Home." They all nodded their agreement and then another said, "But what are we to do? We can't make Sky Home float." Again they nodded, all but one. She placed her hands on Sky Home and it shuddered and tore from the ground floating into the air. They all cheered as Sky Home took its position in the air. Centuries passed in peace, until humans and other races came to live below Sky Home on the land. They told stories of the great gods that lived above them and how they would serve the great gods that could do this. The spirit folk nodded again, thinking that this was fine. More time passed and humans being humans, came to no longer fear the spirit folk in the sky. They found ways through magic to fly themselves and they came to Sky Home. They found that the spirit folk were not gods but just another race like themselves. More time passed in peace, humans and spirit folk living and loving on Sky Home. But the humans came to covet Sky Home, wanting it for their own. They fought the spirit folk and nearly one, but the greatest of spirit folk still lived, she who raised Sky Home in the first place. She cast another great spell, this one made Sky Home vanish from sight and from the memories of all the humans that saw the place. The spell was even greater in that anyone who ever left Sky Home wouldn't remember how to get back to it."
"So no one that leaves Sky Home can ever find their way back here?" Griffon asked.
"No, She who raised Sky Home made sure that it could be found again, she left many clues scattered around the islands below, the islands that the humans call Japan. She wanted to make sure that Sky Home wouldn't be lost forever to the spirit folk. Down there somewhere you can find the path to Sky Home."
"And someone did find the way here?"
"Yes, someone did. We Griffons for one, but we who fly the air, like the spirit folk, found it not by the clues but chance. Your ancestors and my great grandparents flew here by such a chance and found this to be a land filled with all we needed. But another a human also found the way. A samurai name Akechi just a few years before you were born, found the clues and came to Sky Home, searching for the last of the Air Spirit Folk. He found the one who raised Sky Home, but not before we Griffons nearly killed him for his efforts. But She knew that her time was coming and could not leave her magic to the griffons but to those she was most closely related. The humans. She told us to bring him before her. We did as she asked. She died that night, but first she passed a portion of herself to the human Akechi. He and only he knows the way back to Sky Home and he is sworn never to tell. But the magic will pass through his line and each child born to Akechi will be part spirit folk and know the way back. She, who raised Sky Home, hoped that her race would not be lost and that maybe some of her would live forever and bear a new race of air spirit folk."
"And what happened to Akechi?"
"We don't know, little one. Just that one day, he or his descendants will come here someday and a new dawning will come. But what part the griffons play, only the one knows."
"The One?"
"You have heard this part before as well. Have you forgotten it already?"
"No but I just wanted to hear it again." Griffon smiled, baring teeth.
"One of us will leave Sky Home, lose their memory and in finding their way home will bring the One with them. Then the One will change both Sky Home and the land below forever."
"For good or for bad?"
"As the One wills but I would hope that it will be for the better. Sleep now, Griffon, tomorrow is another day and with it more retellings of the story."
"One more question, Grandfather."
"If you must," Grandfather lifted open one eye.
"How many have tried?"
"To find Akechi?"
Griffon nodded.
"In the days and years that followed Akechi's leaving, hundreds of Griffons left to find him. None have returned. Yet."
"Maybe they are just waiting for me." Griffon smiled and tucked his head under his wings. In seconds he was asleep.
Sky home shivered in the night. Grandfather woke, "More skyquakes. They are getting worse." He turned to look at his grandson, "Your parents went looking for Akechi and haven't returned yet. If it is you young one, you had better grow up fast. Sky Home won't be here much longer."
Griffon waited until his grandfather slept again, then rose into the night, claws clicking quietly across the floor. Griffon stood on the highest cliff overlooking the ground below. It was a long way down, but he didn't fear the fall. It was the part about not remembering how to get home that scared him.
A rumbling tore through the cliff, then a large snap and the ground collapsed beneath Griffon, sending him tumbling down the cliff side. Rocks battered him and he scrabbled to hold onto Sky Home. A rock slammed into Griffons chest knocking him clear from Sky Home and out into the night air. Griffon tried to focus on Sky Home, but the rocks still raining down made him have to look down. In that instant it was gone, Sky Home was no more. He couldn't see it anywhere. It was right there and then it was gone. For an instant he swore he heard his Grandfather's voice calling his name but he could never get a fix on it.
Griffon landed on the ground called Japan for the first time. Alone with only his thoughts for company, he knew only that he had to find the one they called Akechi.
It was not an easy task. Not understanding the language or the customs, Griffon wandered for a few years, searching. He found other griffons, but those that knew of Sky Home had given up on ever finding the way home, but Griffon searched on. 4 suns ago, Griffon came upon a strange girl in the woods, becoming naked in the water. Humans did that sometimes, odd ritual. This human was different, she had images around her, ancestors that floated about, guiding her. One floated toward Griffon.
"You lost?" It said in his mind.
Griffon shook his head in disbelief, something that could understand him.
"No, then be off, you will not eat my descendant." It was an old human floating about, grouchy too.
"No, not food, looking for another human called Akechi."
"Akechi? Everyone wants a piece of Akechi, so it seems. What do you want him for?"
"I need to talk to him. He has information for me."
"Suit yourself. Well if you are looking for Lord Akechi, he is off to become Emperor or something like that. Reiko over there knows more, but she isn't talking to me. Ticked her off about something. Probably her last mate, ugly little guy but she was in the mood. Just glad she wasn't in season. That would have been one ugly baby."
"Can you take me there? I need to speak with him."
"Don't know what kind of reception you will get but follow her home if you want."
Griffon followed Reiko in, keeping his distance from her. He was pretty sure that she didn't see him but the guards did. A swift net came down over Griffon and he was hauled away to an enclosed space. For the next few days, he was held there. People came to see him. He saw the girl that he followed in Reiko, she seemed nice enough, she tried to feed him things but these round red things were not meat and tasted awful. A striking female, with white hair regarded him with curiosity and twice he almost heard a whisper in his head from her. Not quite human that one.
Grandmother Lin came back three days later, floating her way into his now prison.
"Told you I didn't know what kind of reception you would get. Though they think you are an omen, a sign of good portent or all that rot. I finally convinced Reiko that you needed to talk to Akechi. Akechi agreed and they are locating an necklace that should allow you to speak and understand the language. It will probably happen tomorrow, but that is also Akechi's coronation, so you may be able to talk to him. A week or so from now you should know what you need and then be able to get out of here."
Griffon nodded and said little, he felt kind of strange, light headed in fact.
Morning, June 2nd 1583
Griffon awakens, his hind left quarters are hurting some, probably from laying on them all night but that same lightheadedness is there. In fact it is somewhat worse. Twisting around, he notices a puncture mark back there, several in fact. His anger starting to rise again, subsides as Lord Akechi approaches with an entourage of people surrounding him. He dismisses them all, including Reiko, and the white haired warrior named Panda.
Akechi reaches out and places an purple and silver amulet around Griffon's neck.
"Reiko said you needed to talk to me? I would find it strange that a Griffon would need to speak with me but seeing as I once visited your home. Nothing seems that strange."
Griffon was shocked first to understand his words and then to discover that this was the Akechi that every griffon was looking for.
"Home?" Griffon said, the first words from his lips seemed foreign to him.
"Your home? How do you get back to it?"
"Yes."
"I will tell you, if you will do me a favor in return. The people believe you to an omen of good. I would like very much if you would attend my coronation and after that, I will tell you how to get home."
"Yes."
"Do you have a name?"
Griffon shrieked in his language. It didn't seem to translate.
"Griffon, I think. I couldn't pronounce it if I tried. Griffon, one more thing, if something should happen today, stay with Yukiko, my mate, Reiko, my soothsayer and Panda, my most trusted Warrior. They will take you home."
Griffon nodded, wondering if he could trust this one or not, better than that strange general that came in one night, whose eyes glowed red.