Kevin's Watch

Which book mentions a Griffin?I have loaned my books out to my sister in law,and why is the idea of their existance in The Land a one off thing?

LFB, they battle with Griffins at mount Thunder..and I'm pretty sure Satansfists army has some too

-they are flying Lions, taken from ancient mythology

And in IW, IIRC.

EDIT: And, interestingly, they are big nastys in TC, but in HP they are good(?). You know, the whole being mascot of Gryffindor thing...

drew wrote:LFB, they battle with Griffins at mount Thunder..and I'm pretty sure Satansfists army has some too

-they are flying Lions, taken from ancient mythology

Duh!I know what they are .

I know what a Griffin is,I just find it a curiosity that they are mentioned as existing in The Land,but seem to play no part in its history and have no back story.This does not seem very SRDish.

The Battle of Soaring Woodhelven, and Troy sees them flying over Fleshharrower's army sometime around the Kevin's Watch-Doom's Retreat bit.

I don't think that they were indiginous to the Land.
Perhaps they are somehting Foul Created himself.

In LFB, I think either Mhoram or Prothall talk about the Griffin in the battle at Soaring Woodhelven as being "formed in some pit of unknown malice" (Or something like that... I just made up the quote, but they talk about it being created). So, yeah, they're not like an actual species. I imagine that having a hybrid of a bird and a lion would probably class as "Wrong" in the Land, so maybe he had to use the Illearth Stone.

At Doriendor Corishev, a griffin kills Ruel (Troy's Bloodguard.) Troy beheads the animal, and the resulting splash of blood blinded Troy.

That was a vulture from the Vortex of Trepidation.

Doh! I stand corrected.

The Somberlain wrote:In LFB, I think either Mhoram or Prothall talk about the Griffin in the battle at Soaring Woodhelven as being "formed in some pit of unknown malice" (Or something like that... I just made up the quote, but they talk about it being created). So, yeah, they're not like an actual species. I imagine that having a hybrid of a bird and a lion would probably class as "Wrong" in the Land, so maybe he had to use the Illearth Stone.

"He" (Lord Foul, I presume was meant?) didn't possess the Illearth Stone until Drool dug it up; in fact, I believe, not until after Drool was defeated. Griffins were apparently already a known phenomenon to the people of the Land, which is why its kind had a name, as opposed to the nameless warped Foul-products of the later wars.

However, the Stone may have contributed indirectly IMO. I had the impression that the griffins were one of the myriad creatures of the Sarangrave. I was given to understand the Sarangrave got its malign mutating power from Soulease River water polluted by the Illearth Stone and other banes resident in Mt Thunder. Alternatively, perhaps, they were another one of the products for better living through ur-vile science.

I think in LFB Mhoram or Prothall says something like 'the Staff of Law does not account for this wrong, I fear Foul has found the Illearth Stone' in reference to the one eyed bird that Korik or someone shot down.

Also, there were plenty of battles before the New Lords came along so the people of the Land probably encountered them in Kevin's wars or something.

There were Griffins in TC???-jay

kevinswatch wrote:There were Griffins in TC???-jay

It probably took you so long to read you forgot the start.

Sunbaneglasses wrote:Which book mentions a Griffin?I have loaned my books out to my sister in law,and why is the idea of their existance in The Land a one off thing?

I'm with you there. I too have often thought that griffins just didn't seem to go with the style of the books. One could assume that since SRD picked the name griffin he meant the mythological griffin we know & the description matches I think. Since almost all the other creatures are quite unique in name & description, with the exeption of wight - well kinda..... the name has been established elsewhere but the description isn't the same, griffin stands out as only creature that I can remember as not unique.

Nope, these beasties weren't mythological Griffins. Traditional Griffins had the heads & sometimes claws of eagles.

The griffins fielded by Drool & Foul were italicized, for one thing , & furthermore described as being similar to winged lions.

I don't see that they're at all implausible as sorta-natural predators of the Sarangrave. Like with bears or panthers, it probably takes a large chunk of Spoiled Plains territory to feed one griffin adequately to drive those huge ponderous wings as it swoops down on prey. They probably hide in the jungle until they see or smell suitable prey, then spring into the air and snatch it with all four clawed feet & those teeth, as it must cost them tremendous energy to fly.

BTW, the 1st mention of a griffin seems to be in LFB when Korik gave his report on his diversionary mission. It seems a warrior named Irin sacrificed herself to kill it, decapitating it as it snatched her up and tore her apart. So the previously cited recollection wasn't actually too far off the mark.

there are many monsters in the final army in ptp.....some have names, some don't.....I think this is immaterial to the story....woolgathering as it were...

*Ouch*

--A

Using SRD's stated convention, griffin must signify a "foreign" word. The people of the Land were remembering or borrowing a term that is not of their common speech represented (and understood by English-speaking "outsiders") as English. ("Landish?") So, from what language or people did the word (and original knowledge, presumably) griffin came from?

I notice that words in the language of the Old Lords ("Old Landish?") are italicized, i.e. they must be regarded as "foreign" to the people of the "modern" Land. Ergo, one IMO strong possibility is that griffins were known to the Old Lords. Perhaps they were created/bred/whomped up, or discovered and "militarized", during that former age.

Oh well, that's my speculation, & it's worth what you paid for it.