The Frozen Gryphon (by SanyokVAMPIRE)
YCH from the talented sanyokvampire!
The blinding white clouds that covered the sky stunned me for a moment as I awoke. The dream clung to my mind like thick vapour. I still felt the chains of golden light that had burned themselves into my scales. But there was no mark upon me, no evidence they had been real except for that burning feeling, and my own vivid memory. And the names that stuck out in my mind.
Nightfall, and Daybreak. Those words, playing over and over in my head. The massive serpent I had met in these mountains had told me briefly of Nightfall. A demon of frost and ice, who had in some way ‘stolen’ the serpent’s scions, who had attacked me far down in the forest below. The great serpent had not put into words – easily understandable words, at least – what exactly that had meant. But it didn’t matter to me. What mattered was that there was some frost demon descending on the forest. What mattered was the creature taunting me in my dreams.
The serpent had spoken of a temple in these mountains. The dark realm in my dreams, if that was where Nightfall presided, had been impossible to even begin to navigate, let alone fight in. But the serpent had told me, in the few words that I could decipher, that the temple in these mountains was home to spirits of fire and light that may be of aid. Of course – what better ally against a demon of frost than spirits of flame?
The cold here, while not as biting as it was in the frozen forest, still penetrated through scale and skin. The cover of the clouds was absolute, allowing no rays of sun to shine through and provide relief. And with no sun, no shadow. My only hint that I was not alone was the rush of wings overhead.
I readied my sword and looked to the sky, shielding my eyes from the blinding white. A blurred silhouette swept across the sky, dark against the glare of the clouds. But it was not a hunter. It couldn’t have been, as it was making no attempt at stealth or silence. It screeched like a maddened thing, the surrounding cliffs amplifying the dreadful cry like a chorus of ghasts all closing in. I cringed and tried to keep the sound out. I dropped my sword and covered my ears, but still the horrific screech brought me to my knees.
Growling, I dashed to the base of a cliff. A rocky outcropping above shaded me from the glare in the sky, and I looked above. Finally, I saw the source of the din – nothing I had expected, a simple gryphon circled above. Its bright blue feathers blended into the haze that hung in the air. Its mighty wings scooped up wind, kicking up clouds of dust and sending pebbles whirling through the air.
I grabbed up my sword and opened my wings, then took flight. I needed to get above the creature. Staying below, with the glaring sky shining into my face, would be a death sentence. And there were few, if any, places to hide. The gryphon may not have been on the hunt, but it flew and screeched like a crazed beast. Even if it didn’t mean harm, it may cause it through sheer wild thrashing.
I flew close to the cliffs. The gryphon’s movements were wild and unpredictable, so the fewer directions it could crash into me from, the better. It twisted and whirled throughout the air, but in its wild movements, it steadily drew closer to me. I swooped down, waiting for the gryphon to draw closer, closer, close enough…
I swooped up, then dove down onto its back.
As I dug my claws into the gryphon’s soft feathers, I immediately got a sense of what was causing the creature such distress. Far from the warm down a gryphon in such an environment should be coated in, each feather felt like a delicate icicle, cold, and ready to crumble in my claws like rimed grass.
I dug my claws in. The gryphon screeched again, but I had to hold on. Of course, I hadn’t thought of what to do next. But the icy touch of the creature told me what I needed to know. This was no wicked beast. This was another victim of the encroaching frost.
“Easy there!” I growled, to no avail. Even if the gryphon could understand me, it didn’t hear. It was too preoccupied with its own pain and fear. Up close, I noticed something even more troubling. Its feathers weren’t just cold as ice – rime and frost was growing on every follicle. It was spreading before my eyes.
The gryphon suddenly lurched down, and I was very nearly flung off. I tightened my grip as I was flung to the side. The sudden jerking tore my sword from my grasp, and it went tumbling to the cold rock below. Never mind. I could retrieve it later. For now, my priority was the gryphon.
I clawed my way up its back and sat at the base of its neck. All the while it rolled and dove wildly.
“Easy!” I called, more out of habit than any inclination that it would do any good. The clouds swept by in a blur, then the ground. Clouds, ground, sky, cliff, all blurring in my vision as the crazed beast thrashed in the air. Growling, I grabbed the back of the gryphon’s head and pushed down. Again it shrieked as it plummeted to the could ground below.
Snow and mist scattered as the two of us crashed into the ground. I pressed myself down against the beast, its feathers cushioning the fall. It skidded along the ground, drawn forth by the ice, before finally coming to a stop.
The beast was still.
I leapt off the gryphon’s back, the snow crunching beneath me. I gently placed a claw upon its shoulder. There was brief movement, up and down, slow and gentle. It was still breathing.
“Sorry I had to do that,” I said through heavy breaths. “It’s better for both of us though, trust me.”
I stepped back and breathed out a gentle wave of fire.
It was not a huge blaze; I didn’t want to engulf the gryphon entirely. It was a steady stream, a lick constantly washing over the creature’s body. I could feel the burn in my chest that always came from breathing fire. Like a warm hand gripping my heart and squeezing. It was always an effort to sustain, less useful as a weapon than as a tool. But I needed it now. The gryphon needed it now.
The rime slowly started to thaw from the gryphon’s feathers. Water ran in rivulets off the oil-slick feathers and pooled by the beast’s side. I broke the wave of fire to catch my breath, taking the time to rub the gryphon over, then continued with the fire treatment.
When the creature awoke, the glare of the clouds had faded.
The blinding white clouds that covered the sky stunned me for a moment as I awoke. The dream clung to my mind like thick vapour. I still felt the chains of golden light that had burned themselves into my scales. But there was no mark upon me, no evidence they had been real except for that burning feeling, and my own vivid memory. And the names that stuck out in my mind.
Nightfall, and Daybreak. Those words, playing over and over in my head. The massive serpent I had met in these mountains had told me briefly of Nightfall. A demon of frost and ice, who had in some way ‘stolen’ the serpent’s scions, who had attacked me far down in the forest below. The great serpent had not put into words – easily understandable words, at least – what exactly that had meant. But it didn’t matter to me. What mattered was that there was some frost demon descending on the forest. What mattered was the creature taunting me in my dreams.
The serpent had spoken of a temple in these mountains. The dark realm in my dreams, if that was where Nightfall presided, had been impossible to even begin to navigate, let alone fight in. But the serpent had told me, in the few words that I could decipher, that the temple in these mountains was home to spirits of fire and light that may be of aid. Of course – what better ally against a demon of frost than spirits of flame?
The cold here, while not as biting as it was in the frozen forest, still penetrated through scale and skin. The cover of the clouds was absolute, allowing no rays of sun to shine through and provide relief. And with no sun, no shadow. My only hint that I was not alone was the rush of wings overhead.
I readied my sword and looked to the sky, shielding my eyes from the blinding white. A blurred silhouette swept across the sky, dark against the glare of the clouds. But it was not a hunter. It couldn’t have been, as it was making no attempt at stealth or silence. It screeched like a maddened thing, the surrounding cliffs amplifying the dreadful cry like a chorus of ghasts all closing in. I cringed and tried to keep the sound out. I dropped my sword and covered my ears, but still the horrific screech brought me to my knees.
Growling, I dashed to the base of a cliff. A rocky outcropping above shaded me from the glare in the sky, and I looked above. Finally, I saw the source of the din – nothing I had expected, a simple gryphon circled above. Its bright blue feathers blended into the haze that hung in the air. Its mighty wings scooped up wind, kicking up clouds of dust and sending pebbles whirling through the air.
I grabbed up my sword and opened my wings, then took flight. I needed to get above the creature. Staying below, with the glaring sky shining into my face, would be a death sentence. And there were few, if any, places to hide. The gryphon may not have been on the hunt, but it flew and screeched like a crazed beast. Even if it didn’t mean harm, it may cause it through sheer wild thrashing.
I flew close to the cliffs. The gryphon’s movements were wild and unpredictable, so the fewer directions it could crash into me from, the better. It twisted and whirled throughout the air, but in its wild movements, it steadily drew closer to me. I swooped down, waiting for the gryphon to draw closer, closer, close enough…
I swooped up, then dove down onto its back.
As I dug my claws into the gryphon’s soft feathers, I immediately got a sense of what was causing the creature such distress. Far from the warm down a gryphon in such an environment should be coated in, each feather felt like a delicate icicle, cold, and ready to crumble in my claws like rimed grass.
I dug my claws in. The gryphon screeched again, but I had to hold on. Of course, I hadn’t thought of what to do next. But the icy touch of the creature told me what I needed to know. This was no wicked beast. This was another victim of the encroaching frost.
“Easy there!” I growled, to no avail. Even if the gryphon could understand me, it didn’t hear. It was too preoccupied with its own pain and fear. Up close, I noticed something even more troubling. Its feathers weren’t just cold as ice – rime and frost was growing on every follicle. It was spreading before my eyes.
The gryphon suddenly lurched down, and I was very nearly flung off. I tightened my grip as I was flung to the side. The sudden jerking tore my sword from my grasp, and it went tumbling to the cold rock below. Never mind. I could retrieve it later. For now, my priority was the gryphon.
I clawed my way up its back and sat at the base of its neck. All the while it rolled and dove wildly.
“Easy!” I called, more out of habit than any inclination that it would do any good. The clouds swept by in a blur, then the ground. Clouds, ground, sky, cliff, all blurring in my vision as the crazed beast thrashed in the air. Growling, I grabbed the back of the gryphon’s head and pushed down. Again it shrieked as it plummeted to the could ground below.
Snow and mist scattered as the two of us crashed into the ground. I pressed myself down against the beast, its feathers cushioning the fall. It skidded along the ground, drawn forth by the ice, before finally coming to a stop.
The beast was still.
I leapt off the gryphon’s back, the snow crunching beneath me. I gently placed a claw upon its shoulder. There was brief movement, up and down, slow and gentle. It was still breathing.
“Sorry I had to do that,” I said through heavy breaths. “It’s better for both of us though, trust me.”
I stepped back and breathed out a gentle wave of fire.
It was not a huge blaze; I didn’t want to engulf the gryphon entirely. It was a steady stream, a lick constantly washing over the creature’s body. I could feel the burn in my chest that always came from breathing fire. Like a warm hand gripping my heart and squeezing. It was always an effort to sustain, less useful as a weapon than as a tool. But I needed it now. The gryphon needed it now.
The rime slowly started to thaw from the gryphon’s feathers. Water ran in rivulets off the oil-slick feathers and pooled by the beast’s side. I broke the wave of fire to catch my breath, taking the time to rub the gryphon over, then continued with the fire treatment.
When the creature awoke, the glare of the clouds had faded.
Category All / Fantasy
Species Western Dragon
Gender Male
Size 1866 x 1975px
Listed in Folders
To have gone through all this mess and cold, and to be confronted by a creature so frost scorn, it is amazing that you could still pull out your incredible heroics without meeting ground in a raid dive
Don't get used to it. You know how much I like my shield.
This is the first warrior's tale of yours I've heard and I must say it's rather enthralling, such strength!
Thanks a bunch! Many more in my backlog to come, of course!
Beautiful art ! And beautiful story !
With all that seems like it's just a tuesday for you to defeat dangerous beasts and help creatures in needs ^^(all at once there, that's efficiency !)
With all that seems like it's just a tuesday for you to defeat dangerous beasts and help creatures in needs ^^(all at once there, that's efficiency !)
I ask nothing if not efficient!
And reckless, I'm that too.
And reckless, I'm that too.
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