Tie It With a Ribbon

Ancient lore says both our kind and the Leonians trace their roots back to the Gryphes. These creatures were half eagle and half lion, having passed down the wings and talons to us, the birds, and the lion’s fierce roar and powerful claws to the Leonians. Long ago, it was said that the griffin mothers died when they gave birth for the first time, and it was also said that their soul was ripped apart, and half of their soul was placed into their newborn child while the other half was sent to the Heavens. The father took care of the children until they were of a responsible age, and then his mate’s soul would return to the earth to bring him back with her.

The first Queen of the griffin creatures was Gladys. They hadn’t chosen a royal pair before, and they cherished the couple so much that they refused to allow them to have a child for fear of losing them. Gladys was absolutely devastated, but her people meant so much to her that she refused to go against them, and as such she lived for 200 years, refusing to end her unnaturally long life. Her mate, whose name was never recorded, also would not die due to the imbalance of nature.

Riots began to break out among their otherwise peaceful town, and Gladys sunk into a depression from which she could not be saved. People claimed the pair should be replaced, but they could not blame her for following their orders. Her mate beseeched the people to allow them to die, to finish their mortal purpose in life. After much persuasion, he rushed home to tell her the news.

The pregnancy went accordingly, and Gladys had never been happier. The scent of death lingered, however, and she did grow sad about leaving her husband behind for a few years. He insisted that he would await her return, but she was still wary about leaving him with only one child to hold. After all, they had spent 172 years together, which was longer than any couple had ever been mortally together. But there was nothing she could do.

However, her birth was the first odd occurrence, as she had twins. She died immediately after the first child, a son, was born, but a daughter managed make into the world and survive. They were named Merit and Temperance. What was also incredibly strange about the children was the fact that they were not griffins in the least. The son held the form of a graceful lion while the daughter was blessed with eagle’s wings. The people were shocked, and they forced their once beloved king from his throne, thus ruining a possible tradition of a bloodline hierarchy. He still loved his children, and the twins grew very close to one another.

As time passed, the people grew more and more mistrusting of the pair. They chased them out of the village, forcing them into early maturity at the age of ten years. The father died the moment they stepped off of the Gryphes’ land, dropping to the dirt, though he had been in perfect health only moments before.

The two roamed the earth endlessly, helping anyone they met along their way, hoping that their kindness might be returned one day in the future. Temperance fell in love with a human boy, and she gave him wings to soar in return for his loyalty and devotion. Merit insisted on continuing on, and he also insisted that his sister remain with her true love and start a new race, one that would not condemn those with wings who lacked the lion’s roar.

Merit continued on, and he, too, found someone for which he cared so deeply. He gave her the song of the lion and the elegant strides of a lioness. They, too, started a new race, one of lions who did not soar in the skies above them; one of lions who dared not remove their feet from the ground.

He remained in contact with his sister, and they managed to bring the kingdoms together. Temperance was a rather frosty Queen, one who remained politely distanced from her people; Merit was a compassionate King, one who spoke to his people as old friends. Speculation remains about the true cause of the split, but the main theory is the twins personalities conflicted so much that the Leonians and Aquilans actually took the difference as malice, though no one knows who threw the first punch. The war has supposedly been raging ever since the first stone was cast, though we all agree on one thing: the twins loved each other, and they surely fled their damned kingdoms, ending their lives together, because they had come into it together. They could not stand the thought of what they had created, and any true king knows when the battle is lost.

In Leonian lore, the twins’ bond was greater confirmed. It is said that Temperance gave to Merit, as a parting gift and something to remember her by, a talon necklace and a bracelet woven of her own feathers. It is said to have been passed down from Merit to his appointed King of the raging Leonians, and then he passed it down to his oldest child. They have a necklace and bracelet, which they claim to be from the first Aquilan.

As an Aquilan princess, I do not believe the Leonian tale of woven bracelets and talon necklaces, because I have been taught to think of the Leonians as mere corpse desecraters and grave robbers. There is a certain mystique to the tale, but to us the tale is only that—a bedtime story. I have heard the tale is held dear to the Leonian hearts, and they praise it like humans would a Bible. We cannot prove anything as to our roots, but I like to believe that maybe—just maybe—even if it is true, we can stop history from continuously repeating itself. My generation will hopefully be the ones to put down their talons and sing a song of peace, not a song of mourning.

The Next Queen of the Dead,
Alena Nicola