Griffon

A grown griffon stands 5 feet at the shoulder and weighs over half a ton. Its front is giant eagle, gold-feathered from beak to wingtips with long hooked talons, and wings of 25 feet or more. Behind, it is lion: dusky yellow haunches, clawed paws and a tail. It has no language but screeches when roused, most often by a whiff of horseflesh.

Horses and horse-kin such as hippogriffs, pegasi and unicorns are its chosen prey. Groups of up to 12 hunt within 20 miles of home, spotting prey two miles away, and attack horses 90% of the time even when ridden. They kill only to eat, so a rider who gives up a horse or two usually escapes, though shielding a mount brings the whole group down on the defender. They plunge from above to rake with talons, then land nearby, and fight to the death over horseflesh. Aloft they grapple until one side dies, and some have fallen from the sky still clutching a hippogriff.

Prides of mated pairs and young, led by a dominant male who settles border disputes and picks each hunt's direction, hold rocky ground beside open plains until game runs out. Each pair nests in a shallow cliff cave lined with sticks, leaves and bones. There is no treasure, only the remains of travelers who defended their horses. One or two eggs laid in spring hatch in late summer; young are hatchlings for three months, then fledglings, hunting after three years. Adults attack anything within 100 feet of a nest.

Caught by age three, a griffon can be trained as a mount with two years of an animal trainer's costly work. It becomes a fearless, loyal steed bonded to one rider for life, though it always attacks horses first. Adults guard nests to the death; 75% of nests hold one or two eggs or fledglings, which sell for 2,000 and 5,000 gold pieces respectively.