Old Griffon's Aerie

Griffon's Aerie
Country Information
Capital:	Neskegow
Ethnic Groups:	Griffons, humans
Religion:	Lilism
Government:	Monarchy
Current Ruler:	Karos Neskibi V
Currency:	Sequin, Asper, Deng, Kip, Karos, Rewop

Griffon's Aerie was once the kingdom of Vallaria, an ancient human empire that once encompassed all of present day Griffon's Aerie, Leturia, Secca, and some parts of southern Zul Kiras. A race of sentient Griffons came to dominate the kingdom, and today, humans in Griffon's Aerie are serfs, bound to the land and the service of Griffons with few legal rights.

History

Main Article: History of Griffon's Aerie

When King Arakatos V of Vallaria was deposed by a revolt and murdered along with most of the royal family in the year 558 BT, his son Relandos fled north into the mountains. Seeking aid or refuge, he encountered a race of sentient Griffons with the ability to transform into a humanoid form. They were sympathetic to his plight, and with their help, he became King Relandos V in the year 554 BT. The Griffons settled in Vallaria permanently under King Adrovos V, who married a Griffon princess and granted Griffons the right to own land after they helped secure his throne from a rebellion in the year 470 BT. The Griffons came to dominate the Vallarian Diet, the ancient assembly of nobles which elected Kings, had to approve taxation, and so forth.

Over time, the kings of Vallaria became powerless puppets of the Griffons, and in 312 BT, the Griffons staged a coup d'etat in which they seized control of southern Vallaria, renaming it Griffon's Aerie, and driving the human dynasty their adherents north. For the next two centuries South Vallaria was ruled by a council of several (between five and eight) Griffon warlords. The human kingdom held out for another two centuries, but it too disappeared in 110 BT when the Griffon hero Neskos conquered the last remnants of Vallaria and had himself crowned King of all Griffon's Aerie--with the same crown once worn by the human monarchs. Indeed, the Griffons have adopted much of the old Vallarian culture, including its infamously complex and rigid court protocol, and the Vallarian religion of Lilism. After a human uprising in the years 8-7 BT, humans in Griffon's Aerie were reduced to a state of serfdom, bound to the land and the service of Griffons with few legal rights. This state of affairs is upheld by a quotation from the Griffon language translation of the Lil, which states that "the winged shall rule over the unwinged."

In the year 443, King Karos IV of Griffon's Aerie was deposed by the evil wizard Rewop, who never managed to subject the entire kingdom to his rule. He was finally driven out and Karos restored to power in the year 466, but he lived as a virtual prisoner of the Griffon nobles who overthrew the usurper and effectively ruled the kingdom in his absence. Karos IV was assassinated in the year 468, and his young successor Karos V is similarly constrained by the same coterie of aristocrats, now acting as regents.

Notable Historical Figures

Adrovos I: the Unifier, or the Great (1090-1038? BT). A warrior-king, he brought about the union of Vallaria by force of arms.

Relandos I: the Great (790-778 BT), founder of the royal dynasty of the Svalastribi

Relandos V: (554-523 BT), son of Arakatos V., restored to power by the Griffons

Adrovos V: (479-433 BT) First made it legal for Griffons to own land in Vallaria and granted estates to several Griffons. This meant Griffon presence in the Vallarian Diet for the first time. Married a Griffon Princess.

Neskos: (ca. 135 BT-86 BT) The great national hero of the Griffons who conquered the northern Vallarian kingdom. First King of Griffon's Aerie and founder of the Neskibi Dynasty. The capital was renamed Neskegow in his honor. His exploits are recounted in the epic poem the Neskiad.

Sintos the Black: (242-261) Secured peace with Leturia and reached a settlement with the Merchant's Council of Secca.

Government and Politics

Currency

• sequin = A small square molded brick recently introduced to replace strings of cowrie shells. Many inhabitants of the Aerie are leery about accepting these coins. A single sequin = paid to the keeper of an outhouse. A few sequins = used in playing cards, or for a cup of tea.
• asper = 7 sequins. A small silver coin, shoddily produced, usually oval or roundish. A single asper = a drink of ale. 2 aspers = whiskey. A meal would be paid for in aspers, as would a simple article of clothing.
• deng = 7 aspers. A larger silver coin. A deng = one night at an inn. Or might be used in buying dressy clothes.
• kip = 7 dengs. Either a very large silver coin or a small gold coin; both circulate side by side. A kip = one week at an inn, or one night with a good prostitute.
• karos = 7 kips. A fairly large round gold coin bearing the portrait of King Karos. A karos might buy a fine purebred horse; several of them might buy a shoe carved from a single sapphire.
• rewop = 7 karos. A gold bar issued under Rewop. These were used principally for the delivery of taxes to Rewop's Castle; those that somehow entered private possession (i.e. through theft) have mostly been melted down into counterfeit kips. A rewop might purchase a village with an adjoining manor.

Religion

Main Article: Lilism

The leading center of Lil interpretation is the University of Randegow, founded in 376. This establishment resembles a cross between a law school and a theological seminary. The Lil is thus used as a basis for both moral guidance and secular administration of justice, and an enormous secondary body of literature has grown up around its proper analysis. Libraries of these meticulous studies exist in all the major cities in buildings known as the Halls of Justice, which function both as courts of law and as places where citizens may ask trained Lilists for advice on personal problems. The Lil has therefore a total sort of power over the inhabitants of the Aerie: its authority extends from punishing high treason to encouraging young griffonettes to eat their peas, from hearing murder cases to advising those with marital or financial problems. The king is the highest authority regarding interpretation of the Lil but rarely exercises this power.

The Lil is also supplemented by a number of cults -- groups which have certain regular rituals and rites of passage, usually performed by their priests. A griffon who does not follow a cult in addition to the Lil is known as a Pempid.

The most important cult is the Rastra, whose current head priest is an arrogant figure named Salinost. This is the group to which King Karos belongs, and it enjoys special privileges as a result. Membership in the Rastra is bestowed by a ritual known as the Junco Celebration while the initiate is still in the egg. Priests of this cult sport a silver-tipped beak.

Griffons are incredibly superstitious creatures, and as such, great superstition also surrounds the semi-mythical figure of the White Griffon. Known as the Restara, one is born once every two hundred years to commune with the Restara's dryad counterpart, the Sainted Maple. The egg of the Holy One is thought to be specially marked with a pattern of crescents, alerting the parents of the great gift they are to expect. The Restara is deemed a fount of wisdom, second only to the words of the sacred Lil. There is in fact a white griffonette alive at present; she is Nikea of the Sainted Maple, and her sympathy for humans is an embarrassing issue the nobles of the Griffon Court spend a great deal of time attempting to cover up.