|
|
Post by Red Charge on Dec 18, 2011 3:59:59 GMT -5
Unlike the Pony tribes, Griffins in Pre-Equiterian Era were all members of Clans. Large extended families marrying between one another and uniting in large groups to take as much territory as possible.
These clans finally united into a kingdom, however, after the ponies. Though talks of uniting the clans were started long before. After Equestria was claimed and Alicorns came to be, the Griffin Clans finally took the bold step and united under Clan Whitefeather. It was first run by a council of all the clans, and with time a King was crowned, for the constant squabbles in the parliament made decision making impossible. Enter King Whitefeather the First, a truly disastrous monarch.
During his reign he focused almost entirely on construction, high ground for Clan Whitefeather and low ground for the lesser clans. In doing so however, he inadvertently started the Dragon Wars. Official sources claim that while digging the cotes and caverns in Ironside Mountain (Named for its rich iron veins and rich red color of its formations and soil), they caused a collapse inside a large cavern system inhabited by dragons. The Dragons, interpreting this as an act of aggression, began relentlessly attacking the Griffin Kingdom under the orders of the vicious Matriarch.
King Whitefeather first refused appearing on the battle field, claiming his life was far more important than a mere soldier, until he was finally pressured by his officer elite. It was ironic that Whitefeather's first battle would be his last. King Whitefeather died shamefully in the Dragon Wars, as he attempted to flee the field and was caught by the dragons.
After the monarchic fiasco known as Whitefeather the First, talks were made of splitting up the kingdom, some clans even suggested joining with the dragons. At this point entered Dreadwing Whitefeather, second of the King's sons (the first died in battle). As the temporary head of the military, he crowned himself by the old tradition as Warlord of the Clans, uniting them all again under the Whitefeather banner. He was the first who turned to the ponies for help, and so the Dragon Wars began in earnest.
Dreadwing was also the founder of the Griffin Armada, strongest air force in the world. This fleet of air ships was loaded with cannons and massive balistras and were the only way to engage Dragons in the air. As until then, any griffin caught in the air was immediately torched by the Dragons' flaming breath. Collaborating with the ponies, he also helped create the Dreadnaught, the flag ship of the Griffin Kingdom, which was later downed in the Prism Wars.
Dreadwing's success in his rule, has raised the confidence of the people in a Kingdom, and so after the Dragon Wars were over, he was crowned the Griffin King, by both his people and the Elements of Harmony.
The Prism wars were harsh on the Griffin Kingdom, the loss of many warriors, their flag ship as well as their monarch nearly threw them into disarray, however they managed to recover and help create the Griffin Kingdom we know today.
On Dreadwing -
Dreadwing Whitefeather, or King Whitefeather the 2nd, was a brilliant strategist, mechanist and warlord. He was known far and wide as the best aerial fighter in the world. He was a professional dog fighter at a very young age, and when the Dragon Wars started, the first thing he did was enlist to the army, against his father's wishes. Rising through the ranks quickly and achieving victories in many battles.
When his father and older brother fell in battle, he immediately took to the ancient tradition of becoming a Warlord, by a show of strength in aerial dog-fighting tournaments. Once he claimed that status he immediately set an entire clan to create the dreaded airship fleet, the Armada while also establishing strong ties to the Pony Kingdom, especially with their chief of arms Destrier.
When Silverback and the Silver Core joined the war, he was saved, along with Destrier from a Dragon by Silverback and the three later proceeded to slay the Matriarch together. He was awarded the Wind Talon Medallion by The Guardian, a medallion of tremendous power, allowing him to fly at extremely fast speeds with no whiplash.
Sadly however, his end, like his two comrades, was not a happy one. King Dreadwing Whitefeather died in battle fighting the Adversary at the end of the Prism Wars. Due to the fact he had no male heirs, (only daughters) the throne passed to his brother, King Whitefeather the 3rd, though his line exists to this day.
Post Prism Wars
After the Prism Wars had ended, the Griffon Kingdom under the leadership of Ivor Whitefeather, or Whitefeather the Third, worked hard to reinstate their good relationship with the pony kingdom of Equestria. Ivor, the youngest brother of Severus Whitefeather and Dreadwing Whitefeather, was the natural candidate for the throne as neither of his brothers had a male successor.
Ivor's efforts in rebuilding trust between the pony and griffon kingdom seemed very curious to historians until the resurfacing of a certain hidden historical fact only known to the Griffon Military elite and royalty. During the Prism Wars, the Griffon Armada under King Dreadwing allied itself with the Adversary and in fact were one half of the famed forces of the adversary, the other being the Silver Core under Silverback.
Historians still struggle to understand why the Three Heroes joined together once more to defeat the Adversary and most assume they were under a certain type of mind control they were finally able to shake off. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna refuse to retell their experience of the war and under their orders, so do Red Charge and the Iron Shoes, leaving no living witnesses to reveal the truth.
After securing their ties with Equestria once more, the Griffon Kingdom returned to focus on construction and trade, rebuilding most of the Armada and establishing aerial shipping lanes all over the world. It was during this time that the Kingdom most flourished, making Royal Rocks the richest city in the known world, sadly however, many other griffon settlements did not share the wealth. Such as the well neglected Hollow, the other major Griffon city in the kingdom.
The Griffon Civil War
Recently, the Griffon Kingdom came under attack by a mysterious Griffon with the ability to control the infamous golem - Rust Phoenix. This Griffon took claim that the monarchy of the Griffon Kingdom had degenerated and that corruption within the government was far beyond what could be tolerated. The Griffon refused to identify himself at first, but later on revealed himself as none other than Severus Whitefeather himself, proving this by being able to reactivate the ancient Griffon Capital Ship - The Dreadnaught, only to be activated by Whitefeather blood.
Demanding equality to all Griffon settlements, Severus was able to bring the tensions between Royal Rocks and the Hollow to a boil and eventually took the canyon city with a storm, raising his own fleet of airships to attack Royal Rocks itself, while discreetly contacting the Griffon Admirals and Stygg Whitefeather, the daughter of the current King. Much of the claims of Severus were against the Griffon Royal Advisor, Loci.
Loci, having impressed the admirals as an honorable griffon with the true interest of the kingdom at heart, he managed to create dissent among them, this was aided by the King's panicked attempts to survive by locking up his own daughter. When the final battle over Royal Rocks came, the panicked king ordered the Maginot to fire upon the enemy, trapping the 1st and 2nd fleets in between, much like Severus had predicted. This was the last straw for the griffon Armada, in an instant the fleets turned back and returned fire on the city. The city was conquered shortly and Severus revealed himself to the rest of the nation as Rust Phoenix. Too stubborn to die but too weak to live, Severus was brought by his brother before the Equestrian Golem Maker and his soul was bonded to Rust Phoenix, appointed with the task of guarding the Griffon Kingdom, even from itself and given a writ to annul the Griffon Kingdom's Right of Heir if the time came when the Monarchy became corrupt.
Upon suspension of the griffon throne the Military Council took power, led by Stygg Whitefeather, who has been leading a cooperative with Equestria to eliminate the rest of the Griffon Kingdom's corruption and their collaborators in Equestria.
|
|
