Lore:The Gryphon

The Gryphon
The Gryphon
Race	Luminary	Gender	Male
Resided in		Wing of the Gryphon Wing of the Crow
Appears in		ESO

The Gryphon, also known more specifically as the Luminary Gryphon, was one of the Luminaries of Magic, mysterious immortal beings of pure magic, spirits likened to beams of sunlight from Magnus himself, his chosen form was that of a Gryphon. The Gryphon was considered part of the Scholarium's heart, he was a combative being described as having feathers like armor, talons that could cut stone, and a beak that could rend the sky, and viewed himself as the Scholarium's guardian. He played an important role in the life of Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen, collaborating with her alongside the other Luminaries to develop the system of Scribing, a "metamagical theoryset" that was the precursor to the modern Spellcrafting system.

The Gryphon believed that it was not how one was born that defined them but what one chose to do. Though he considered the circumstances of his existence strange, he viewed his strength as a gift from Magnus and Aetherius, and so chose to devote himself to living as a "bulwark against the hordes", someone who took action when he saw injustice against the weak, knowing his strength could make a difference. The Gryphon believed that differences from others do not weaken but rather make one stronger, and so viewed his companion, The Fox, not only as a creature to whom he offered shelter beneath his wings, as he would to any other, but as a fiendishly clever partner who was a joy to spend time with. To the Gryphon, the fight for justice was never-ending and a reward in itself.

As with all of the original Luminaries, the Gryphon himself was not aware of his true origins, and had his own theories on his birth. The Gryphon believed himself to have been born as a result of the death of another, a great sage who stood against a terrible enemy and burned them out from within using a mighty and beautiful spell that cost them their life. He thought that the casting of the fatal spell required a lengthy ritual and a vast amount of magicka accumulated during that process, so great that, when the spell was finished, a great reservoir still remained to coalesce into the Gryphon himself. The Gryphon's thoughts on his possible origins helped give Ulfsild the inspiration to attempt to create a Luminary herself, using part her own soul as material, which eventually resulted in the creation of the Crow.

The Gryphon was viewed as having had a complicated relationship with Ulfsild herself, though by his own admission they had also been great collaborators during the creation of Scribing. The Gryphon's beliefs were viewed with some skepticism by the other Luminaries, who viewed him as obstinate to a fault and pretentious in behaving as if he was the only one with a moral compass. They perceived the Gryphon's conviction that he was a shield for the others to hide behind as having gotten him into nothing but trouble, and likened him to a "grizzled old knight who has fallen off his horse one too many times". Of the other Luminaries, The Netch had the highest opinion of him, and viewed him as a heavy soul that had lost sight of what he wanted, but nonetheless meant well.

As with all Luminaries, The Gryphon was said to possess a mastery of magic that made the average archmage look like a neophyte. As a Luminary, he saw the world and magic in a way that was different from mortals, and so was not particularly fond of mages and would only lend them his power if his challenges were completed. As beings of pure magic the Luminaries were said to have understood magic in a way mortals never could and so, their power, freely given, allowed one to access arcane mysteries most could only dream of. Indeed, Scribing is said to have been somehow destined to channel the power of the Luminaries from the start.

The Gryphon had a negative view of Shalidor and considered him an "old fool", he also had a dim view of Sheogorath, who he derided as the "Daedric Prince of Nonsense". According to The Netch, of the Luminaries, people were drawn to The Gryphon due to being of like mind.

History

Before Meeting Ulfsild

The Fox

The Luminary Gryphon came into existence at an unknown point in time, he was younger than The Indrik, but not as young as The Netch. With his birth he chose the shape of his physical form, and his personal realm, the Wing of the Gryphon was also shaped and hewn into existence in the same manner. The Luminary Gryphon chose the form of a Gryphon, a creature which the Elves had been making carvings of since before Man existed. He viewed the shape as a symbol and so took the form to serve as a symbol himself, as the Gryphon, sharp of talon and beak, with wings to block the sun. Justice incarnate.

At some point the Gryphon encountered the Fox, a Daedric talking fox from a place where people become foxes and foxes become people and the night goes on forever, Hircine's Hunting Grounds. The fox was visiting a little village for food during a time of war, having become friends with the local baker. The village was attacked by elven soldiers coming from the west, and some broke into the home of the baker. The fox tried to defend his friend, but he lacked the strength needed. It was than that the Gryphon, who had arrived to protect the inhabitants of the village from the invading soldiers, appeared, putting his head through the roof and saving the Fox and his friend. The grateful Fox would use his unnatural sense of smell to find the Gryphon's realm, and locate a spot where the dimensional fabric around it was thin, before "squeezing through" to enter it himself. The Fox would keep visiting the Gryphon to bring him gifts for weeks. Though initially reluctant, the Luminary eventually relented, and the two became fast friends..

Meeting Ulfsild and the Birth of Scribing

The Scholarium beneath Eyevea

The door to the Wing of the Gryphon

At some point after 1E 2250, when Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Indrik, she'd also encounter the Gryphon. Ulfsild was studying in the Scholarium, beneath the island of Eyevea. As she was reflecting on a childhood memory, a fox stole her faerite gem and darted through a wall, leading her to stumble into a snow drift and into the realm of the Gryphon. Saved by the Gryphon's protective instincts, Ulfsild came to understand that both the Fox and Gryphon were playful and nurturing creatures, akin to a mischievous child and its protective parent. She observed the fox playing with her faerite and later found herself waking up warmly sheltered under the gryphon's wings.

Ulfsild and the Gryphon collaborated during the creation of Scribing. The Gryphon, sure in himself and direct in his actions, was associated with the development of Focus Scripts, arcane scripts which defined what effect the Scribed magic would have. During this time, Ulfsild and the Gryphon also came up with an idea to create animated constructs based on Ulfsild's own designs, that would serve as guardians of the Scholarium, though their vision was not realized at the time.

Before the doors to their wings were sealed, the Luminaries, including the Gryphon, fed the altar their strength. With their strength fueling it, the altar could achieve incredible feats of magic, allowing it to "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands with the Luminary as the intermediary, thereby changing, or rewriting, both the magic and the mortal, as the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page. The power of the Gryphon himself caused new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, causing new Focus Scripts to appear across the land. Eventually, the Scholarium was lost along with Eyevea, transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum. Enraged at the loss of the island, the Gryphon prepared himself to challenge Sheogorath himself for it. However, Ulfsild, knowing that even the power of a Luminary was no match for that of a Daedric Prince and that the discovery of the Luminaries by Sheogorath would be disastrous, confronted the Gryphon first. Ulfsild froze the Gryphon in a tempest of frost and ice and tied the magic to a ward she left behind, preventing him from confronting Sheogorath. Despite his imprisonment, the Fox would speak to him daily.

With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate. The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers, long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles.

Rediscovery of Scribing

The unstable Scribing Altar

In 2E 582, either before or after Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, complications arose, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent a catastrophe, as the once dormant altar became unstable, threatening the lives of everyone present. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, an event which would've been catastrophic.

After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support in order to return their strength to the altar. An act equated to inheriting Ulfsild's legacy and leaving a mark on spellcraft itself.

The Gryphon, sealed by Ulfsild's magic

The Gryphon and the Fox

The Inheritor of the Scholarium retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, discovering the fable and keys, breaking the wards, and entering the Wing of the Gryphon to reconnect the Scholarium with it. Upon being freed, the Gryphon gave the Inheritor a series of trials meant to make them contemplate what it takes to protect, to shield those who do not have the strength to defend themselves, right what has gone wrong, and stand against injustice. The Gryphon tasked the Inheritor to combat the Worm Cult and powerful liches such as the Mad Architect, Caluurion and Nerien'eth, retrieve shards of Aetherius that could prove dangerous in the wrong hands, and achieve clever redistribution of wealth by carrying out Thieves Guild heists.

With these tasks completed, the Gryphon gave the Inheritor their final trial. The Vestige was tasked to steal Chaotic Creatia from Evergloam, the Deadlands, and Apocrypha with the aid of the Fox and the True Sight Lens left by Ulfsild. The Gryphon used this untamed power of the Daedric Princes to finally bring to life the construct guardians he'd planned to create with Ulfsild, ensuring the Scholarium would always be guarded even when his own gaze was not upon it. The animated constructs were a success, so powerful that magicka practically radiated off of them, it was said that even Vanus Galerion would be jealous of such creations.

Aut'arioth, the Inheritor's Bane

The Luminaries of Magic

With his trials completed, the Gryphon granted the Sigil of the Gryphon to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigil restored the connection between the realm of the Gryphon and the Scholarium, and the Gryphon's strength flowed into the altar once more. This reconnection led to the great power of the Gryphon causing new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, thus making new Focus Scripts appear across the land. With the Scholarium now protected, the Gryphon was eager to resume his patrol of the skies.

The Gryphon appeared in the Wing of the Crow when the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. The Luminary spoke encouraging words, he communicated through an arcane brazier, and urged the Inheritor to act with justice. Within the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian. the Inheritor bested the Chimera Aut'arioth, which the Crow had summoned to serve as the final challenge. The Gryphon and the other Luminaries than appeared, and acknowledged the Vestige as the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.

Vanus Galerion was particularly enthusiastic of the possibilities it would open up, with early ideas being altars being installed in every guild hall, or that Scribing will perhaps one day be taught in the wilds. The legacy of Ulfsild's lived on, with Scribing eventually evolving into the modern Spellcrafting systems.

Fable of the Gryphon

The Fable of the Gryphon

The Fable of the Gryphon tells the story of Zariah and the talking fox Gray, who sought to steal the treasure of the Luminary Gryphon and blame the theft on Nocturnal. Their scheme was overheard by Crow Daedra, messengers of Nocturnal, who hunted the thieves. Zariah and Gray evaded the crows and Nocturnal's shadows and gathered the three pieces of the Gryphon's treasure from Riften, from beneath Forelhost and from a tomb in the shadow of Hrothgar. Finally the duo were confronted by the Gryphon, who was doubtful that Nocturnal would steal his treasure as she didn't know him. As the shadows and crows closed in and Zariah attempted futilely to fight them off, a desperate Gray revealed the truth. He was originally Nocturnal's pet who had escaped, and she sought to take him back to the Evergloam. They'd sought the Gryphon's treasure only as the means to live a life where they no longer had to run ,and would return it and more in exchange for protection.

The Gryphon deemed Zariah, courageous and loyal, worthy of his power, he raked his claws through the shadows, and granted her powerful magic. The Gryphon opened the gate to his realm and moved to allow the duo through, but it was too late for both to be saved. As the shadows closed in Zariah used the power the Gryphon had granted her to conjure a tunnel of starlight that pushed back the dark so Gray could slip through, and to than seal the gate behind him. Though safe in the Gryphon's domain, Gray keened and clawed at the door for his friend until his paws bled.

Wing of the Gryphon

Wing of the Gryphon

The Wing of the Gryphon is a pocket realm belonging to the Luminary Gryphon. It was shaped and hewn into being in the same way he chose his form. The reason for the realm's formation was unknown, though the Luminary Indrik theorized that the realms of the Luminaries had formed due to the wisdom of Aetherius, which did not wish for the Luminaries to be both alone and wandering.

The realm resembles a snowy mountaintop, with an imposing castle looming in the background. As with the realms of all Luminaries, it had a warded door and a key which one had to use to enter it.

Gallery

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  Animated Tempest, a guardian of the Scholarium

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  Animated Incendiary, a guardian of the Scholarium

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  Animated Chillrender, a guardian of the Scholarium

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.