Description
Griffon riders are an elite warrior class of
Amiraspian renowned for using trained griffons as steeds. Like all amiraspians, they look like muscular humans with a single cyclopean eye, but are far more athletic and agile than an average member of their race. Griffon riders have such a visible role that the common people call amiraspians in general "The Griffon Riders" although this is erroneous as calling humans "The Paladins." A standard griffon rider is equipped with a chain shirt, battleaxe, longbow and multiple spears.
Knights of the Air. Griffon riders follow a code of honor, but it mostly covers how they should interact with other amiraspians. How a griffon rider treats other races is often left to the individual rider, and griffon riders can have wildly different personalities and tempers. An evil griffon rider might be a saintly hero toward her own race but a murderous brigand for non-amiraspians, while a lawful griffon rider could treat everyone with strict impartiality.
Griffon riders and their griffons are housed in a special building called a "Mews". The mews of the griffon riders' home base (see
The Lion's Eyries below) can house enough griffons for the entire squadron. There are mews at every significant amiraspian settlement and in strategic positions scattered about the wilderness between them. Most smaller mews are tower-like structures that can only accommodate a few griffons, but a few important positions have mews as large or larger than an eyrie. Wilderness mews are often on mountain peaks above the snow line, so they can be stocked with frozen meat to feed their griffons.
A griffon rider's primary purpose is protecting the Land of the Amiraspians from monsters and invaders. They typically fly a circuit from one resting post to another, spending the nights in a mews at the center of their daily patrol area. A rider usually flies a different route each time so cunning enemies cannot easily predict and avoid their patrols. If they spot a monster or invader, it is up to the rider how to respond. Doctrine is to send an alert and then decide between challenging, attacking or shadowing the intruder. Reckless griffon riders like to immediately swoop into melee combat while the more cautious prefer sniping from the sky, especially if their opponent is lacking in ranged weaponry. The griffon riders sometimes perform surveillance missions over lands outside Amiraspian territory.
Communications is as important a duty for the order of griffon riders, whose civilian members operate the signal towers and bird coops used for routine Amiraspian messages. These signal towers also act as lookout posts and some wilderness towers are griffon mews too. Griffon riders also operate a Pony Express style postal service and act as couriers for high priority messages and items, such as emergency medicine deliveries. The riders sometimes carry passengers as well, since a griffon can fly with about 500 pounds of weight. Message duties are typically flown by young trainees carrying minimal gear rather than fully equipped veteran riders, since a lightweight griffon rider can carry more cargo or a heavier passenger. Very important messages, such as military secrets or diplomatic parcels, are generally carried by seasoned griffon riders who are better able to traverse dangerous regions or reach distant destinations.
Finally, the third major duty of the griffon riders revolves around their race's monstrous ancestors, the cyclopes (see
Amiraspi Cyclops). Experienced riders monitor the lairs of these fey monstrosities from the air, tasked with rescuing any human-cyclops offspring the cyclopes cast out. Both amiraspians and cyclopes have a strong taboo against slaying their one-eyed kin, so if a griffon rider accidentally "rescue" a lost cyclops youth (see
Young Amiraspi Cyclops), the creature will be exiled or returned to its lair rather than killed. The rescued amiraspian hybrid children are raised in an orphanage run by the griffon riders. Some cyclops-sired amiraspians find homes and acceptance in mainstream Amiraspian society as adults, while those that fail to integrate mostly live as wilderness farmers, herders or watchpost lookouts. A significant portion of cyclops-sired orphans never leave the protection of the order; some of the most famous griffon riders were born in a cyclops den.
The Lion's Eyries. Griffon riders are organized into squadrons or "Eyries" whose griffons view each other and their riders as members of the same pride. Each griffon rider is partnered with a personal griffon who is both steed and boon companion. A trained griffon will
usually tolerate being ridden by another rider from their eyrie but will refuse or outright attack strangers if not restrained by its griffon rider partner. This training also allows each eyrie's riders to keep a few spare griffons to replace exhausted or lost mounts.
A typical eyrie has from a dozen to fifty griffon riders lead by their most experienced and powerful champions (see
Griffon Rider Gallant and
Griffon Rider Mystic for examples) plus a considerable number of trainees (see
Novice Griffon Rider). The actual griffon riders are vastly outnumbered by the support personnel who maintain the eyrie's buildings, herd livestock, staff lookout posts and courier stations, administer their housing and messenger services, and fulfil the many other tasks needed to keep the order running.
The eyrie itself is a fortified base whose territory covering multiple amiraspian settlements, the most important of which will have mews to accommodate visiting griffon riders and their mounts. A settlement halfway between two eyries may have an extra-large mews shared by the eyries that can also serve as a meeting place and communication center. There is also a Grand Eyrie where the masters of all the eyries meet to discuss issues that affect the entire order or the Amiraspian nation. The griffon riders have no single leader so a "Council of Eyries" decides on important issues. In extreme situations, such as all-out war, the council can elect a Marshall with executive power over the entire order. While a few Marshalls have tried to exploit this dictator-like power, amiraspians are a strong-willed folk with a streak of chaos and would quickly overthrow a wannabe tyrant who refused to stand down once the emergency is over. While a standard eyrie resembles a castle keep, the Grand Eyrie looks more like an enormous cathedral. The building complex contains a huge library and house of records as well as the largest messenger center of any griffon rider base. The Grand Eyrie is also used for festivals, ceremonies, military musters and disaster relief. The building complex is so large it seems eerily empty when only its clerical and janitorial staff are present.
