Hatzel’s Pride
Hatzel’s pride is made up of of magpie and Cooper’s Hawk (copperhawk) gryphons. It has around 30 members at any given time. Controls a small stretch of the northwestern weald with access to the best parrot hunting grounds and part of the Snowfeather River.
- Hatzel (the last saberbeak gryphon, leader, one of three gryphons to survive the plague, close to the taiga pride leader)
- Zeph (copperhawk gryphon, born in the taiga, mother was a taiga gryphon, can hang upside-down thanks to dewclaws, excellent parrot hunter)
- Xavi (magpie gryphon, denfather, Hatzel’s second in command, often in the company of Pink Paw)
- Pink Paw (copperhawk gryphon, has pink paw pads on one foot, this isn’t her real name but no one ever calls her anything else, loves gryphlets as long as she doesn’t have to take care of them)
Merin’s Pride
Merin’s pride is the second smallest after Hatzel’s pride. They don’t have enough territory to grow. Merin is an unusually large gryphon, and his offspring are also large. His pride is composed of eagles, mostly harpy eagles with hooked beaks.
- Merin (harpy eagle, brown, large, father was killed in a stampede)
- Askel (golden eagle, is good with fire)
- Triddle (harpy eagle, blue, is good with water)
- Carru (Merin’s son, left to be with the fisherfolk)
Strix’s Pride
Strix’s pride is made up of black owls with hints of dark red in their plumage. Nocturnal. They were the last pride to begin to accept the common language and only a few members speak it fluently. Respected and feared by the other prides. Controls a plateau on the eastern edge of the valley. Hosts hunting games with the other prides each year.
- Strix (owl, black with red undercoat)
- Ninox (Strix’s daughter, owl, black with red undercoat)
- Ninox’s Brothers (Tall One, Youngest One, One Whose Colors Are Backwards, etc.)
- Blinky (Real name unpronounceable if you’re not an owl, not one of Strix’s children, likes fish)
Redwood Valley Eyrie
The last eyrie to be built in a small valley in the corner of the world. The mountains keep it isolated from other eyries, though there’s a single trade route to the Crackling Sea Eyrie. Built atop redwood trees. Cleared out a section of the redwoods between them and the weald to convert into farms for capybaras, goliath birds, and various crops. Ruled by green peafowl opinici known for killing snakes. Best known for its university.
- Kia (red-winged parrot opinicus; blue, green, and red; apprentice scholar)
- Cherine (eagle opinicus, gold, food scholar)
- Orlea (female cardinal opinicus, poacher, lost her spouse, underbough)
- Headmaster Neider (eagle owl opinicus, head of university)
- “Black Cockatiel” (real name not given, black cockatiel opinicus, forger)
- Commander Wolden (eagle opinicus, leads eyrie forces, lost a finger to a monitor)
- Reeve Brevin (emerald peafowl opinicus, leads the eyrie)
- Ivess (blue peafowl opinicus, Brevin’s middle daughter)
- Levin (emerald peafowl opinicus, Brevin’s youngest daughter, just finished fledging. The krait is her favorite animal.)
- Bario the Phoenix (cardinal opinicus, scholar in charge of the flameworks)
- Impir the Mad (emerald peafowl opinicus, scholar, locked up for experimenting on opinici)
- Mally the Nighthaunt (unknown opinicus, red talons, banished for crimes against the eyrie)
- Foultner (house sparrow opinicus, poacher, underbough)
Crackling Sea Eyrie
Located on the southern tip of the Crackling Sea, this eyrie was a major trade route between Crestfall and the Redwood Valley Eyrie. It was built right into the cliffs overlooking the sea. During storms, the crackling jellyfish in the water light up in response to the flashes of lightning. Was attacked by the Blackwing Eyrie years ago and is still recovering.
- Crackling Sea reeve (unnamed blue heron opinicus, assassinated before Eyrie takes place)
- Jonas (consort to the Crackling Sea reeve, duck opinicus, was once a merchant, currently at the Redwood Valley Eyrie)
- Ranger Lord Grenkin (blue heron opinicus, leads the military of the Crackling Sea, lost an eye and a few digits to a kjarr gryphon)
- Ranger Captain Rakesh (grey-and-green heron opinicus, a little off)
- Ranger Captain Ellore (blue heron + snow leopard opinicus)
Fisherfolk
The strange fisherfolk have three large villages along the southern shore: Swan’s Rest and Crane’s Nest at the river delta, then Sandpiper’s Dune nestled in the dunes where the taiga mountains reach the water. Unlike opinicus eyries or gryphon priders, anyone can be a fisherfolk and all are welcome. Despite their small size, they’re relatively prosperous because of trade: gryphons love fish and opinici love salt. There are also smaller fisherfolk settlements on the islands in the ocean south of the Redwood Valley.
- Rorin the Hunter (Japanese crane opinicus, leader of Swan’s Rest)
- Turresh “Tresh” the Shark (Diving petrel gryphon from Crane’s Nest, only gryphon in a family of opinici)
- Quess (Diving petrel opinicus, Crane’s Nest, married to Tresh’s brother)
- Piprik (White-tailed kite opinicus, doctor, Swan’s Rest)
- Carru (blue harpy eagle gryphon, Merin’s son, large, left to join the fisherfolk, used to hunt with Xavi)
- Gressle (blue heron opinicus, emmigrated from the Crackling Sea to be a fisherfolk, trades with the Redwood Valley Eyrie)
- Naya (Sandy-colored gryphon, Sandpiper’s Dune, sister to the leader, who was an opinicus)
- Dusty (sandy-colored gryphon, Sandpiper’s Dune)
Kjarr Pride
West of the taiga and south of the Crackling Sea, the kjarr becomes a bog. Where once two prides lived in harmony, the kjarr pride eventually took over the smaller deep bog pride, becoming one super pride—albeit with hard feelings. Their massive nesting grounds follow the kjarr river from the edge of the taiga into the bog. They are resilient to disease and infect. Kjarr gryphons are half caracal and half songbird, while deep bog gryphons resemble a mixture between a shrike, mockingbird, and raccoon. The kjarr is full of strange wildlife such as electric knife fish (electric eels), sailfin monitors (dimetrodons), and sharks. Its southern shore is all mangrove swamp.
- Jun the Kjarr (caracal wingtorn gryphon, leader of the pride)
- Satra (Jun’s youngest daughter, songbird/caracal gryphon, not wingtorn)
- Urious (Jun’s right hand, mockingbird wingtorn gryphon, Thenca’s twin brother, deep bog)
- Thenca (Jun’s left hand, Urious’s twin sister, mockingbird wingtorn gryphon, once dated a snowy owl gryphon, deep bog)
- Ari (cheetah gryphon, denmother)
Taiga Pride
Once, the taiga pride was actually many prides, filling mountains such as Williwaw, Hoarfrost, and Snowfeather. Then the blizzard to end all blizzards came, the Connixation, and only the pride at Snowfall Mountain survived it. They exist above the conflicts of gryphons and opinici and trade with both sides. They patrol their borders, turning back gryphons in the east and opinici in the north and west. The old nesting grounds have been boarded up, but small outposts for patrols are maintained, including one at the catacombs of Hoarfrost. When a gryphon is born in the taiga nests but doesn’t have the plumage/fur to withstand the winters, it’s given to another pride after it fledges.
- Vosk (pride leader, snow leopard / gyrfalcon gryphon, one of three gryphlets to survive the plague, close to Hatzel, father of Mignet)
- Mignet (Vosk’s daughter, snow leopard / gyrfalcon gryphon, rumors her mother was an opinicus, drowned)
- Younce (Zeph’s friend, gyrfalcon / snow leopard gryphon, grumpy)
- Deracho (snowy owl gryphon)
Fantail Pride
The might Glacial Run river divides the weald in two, and the fantails control the southeastern quadrant as one of the largest weald prides. The fantails and feathermanes have a long-standing (but friendly) rivalry. Fantails are excellent flyers.
- Erlock Fantail (leader, has 42 tail feathers exactly. Hints of a starling ancestor.)
Feathermane Pride
The feathermane pride is one of the largest weald prides and has a friendly rivalry with the fantails with whom they share the southern weald. Most of the medicine gryphons are feathermanes.
- Zrim Feathermane (lion gryphon, pride leader, roars a lot)
- Medicine Gryphon Leader (lives in a cave where the taiga, Hatzel’s pride, and Merin’s pride meet. Losing her eyesight. Mostly trains new medicine gryphons)
- Biski (bluejay + jaguar gryphon, apprentice medicine gryphon, just starting to grow her mane, unnamed in Eyrie)
Parrotface Pride
- Parrotface Elder (not named, kakapo + cougar gryphon, had several children with a kjarr gryphon, paints her fur with violet berry juice, loves circles and beads)