A Hippogryph is a bygone creature.
Overview[]
- So saying he caught him up and without wing
- Of hippogrif, bore through the aire sublime
- O’er the wilderness and o’er the plaine.
- — John Milton, Paradise Regained
Legendry[]
I speak of the love of Ban'ha Rajmach Ka Hala Ben 'Ibmn Ha, a gryphon of the greatest renown, and Cleophemus, a mare of great beauty and striking spirit. True, these two were bred of mortal enemies (for it is aid that no beast loathes a horse more so than a gryphon, and no creature fears the gryphon as does a horse), but such a love did blossom and prosper despite it all. From his great perch on the peak of Amadanthus, Ban'ha brought his beloved trinkets of most extraordinary worth. But she did shun them, not for their giver, but for the dust that made them. Cleophemus was ever the judge of nobility, and gold makes all men fools. "Put such pleasures far from thee," she said in the tongue of the horse-folk. "Give me that which is thyself, not thine vanity."
Forsaking all other company, Ban'ha Rajmach Ka Hala Ben 'Ibmn Ha loved Cleophemus as a mate of his own kind, and she returned the ardor with a passion rare. He brought her to his mountain home and together they watched the waking dawn and the sleepy hand of dusk. In time, she swelled with the seed of their love. But there the spirits played cruel jests, for that seed grew to such size and ferocity that Cleophemus was split from the inside as her child sought its birth. Crying her love to Ban'ha, the mare died a dire end. In his rage and sorrow, Ban'ha threw the child from the top of Mount Amadanthus. As it fell, the matricidal hatchling did unfurl its tiny wings and catch the air. As Ban'ha wept for his beloved and tore the very wing with is howls, the child of their love did ride the gusts of his father's cries/ Such was the noble gryphon's sorrow that the hatchling was carried to the distant Mount Kri. There, it grew to a great and vicious size.
Ban'ha Rajmach Ka Hala Ben 'Ibmn Ha perished from grief on Mount Amadanthus. The fruit of his broken love prospered in the faraway hills, breeding more like itself and making war on the people of its father and mother. A horse, it is said, falls dead from fright if the shadow of the hippogryph should catch it unawares. The gryphon remembering the grief of Ban'ha, slays the thing on sight.
And so the brood of Ban'ha and Cleophemus prospers in the mountains of the desert lands. Hippogryphs often fly to green peaks or nest in deep forests. Many a dark sorcerer or careless witch has chosen such a creature for a mount, and you can still hear the bests' sadistic laughter from the skies.
And sometimes, if you listen carefully, you might hear the echoing cries of Cleophemus and Ban'ha the gryphon.
Description[]
Like the dark legends of their origin, the eagle-horses known as hippogryphs possess a melancholic air and a vicious temperament. Less intelligent than either gryphons or mares, these odd beasts ride the winds of distant places, feeding on wild horses, cattle and deer. A magus occasionally seeks a glorious mount and ventures to the craggy habitats of such beasts. He might actually find what he seeks, but, unless he possesses great skill with animals and subtle magicks of command and taming, he might also find that his would-be steed considers him breakfast!
Unlike the gryphon, the hippogryph is a natural animal with no magical qualities or abilities aside from its powerful wings. The beast's rarity ranks him among legendary creatures, but the gods neither created his kind, nor blessed it with special powers.
The hippogryph's ill humor may stem from his birth, during which he is born alive from his mother's womb. Slashing his way free with cruel talons, the beast murders his mother even as he is born. After drinking her blood for sustenance, the newborn flees the site of its nativity. The hatchling feeds on insects and tiny animals until it either grows strong or dies. Survivors are a harsh and hardy breed.
Hippogryphs live on remote mountains and in large valleys, where their wings can stretch unhindered. Although solitary, they gather occasionally to mate or for protection from greater forces. When these creatures meet, males fight wild airborne duels for dominance. While rarely fatal, these fierce contests establish a hierarchy that holds true until the beasts go their separate ways. Hippogryph "herds" number 10 or less and quickly strip the surrounding area of food. Like gryphons and other large beasts, a hippogryph eats a tremendous amount of meat. Although he can sustain himself on carrion, bushes and fruit, the eagle-horses prefers fresh prey - sometimes while it's still alive. Without meat - and lots of it - the beast weakens quickly. It is said that a hippogryph cannot go more than seven days without eating flesh before it dies.
Intractable and belligerent, a hippogryph makes an unruly mount. The struggle for dominance never ends with such a beast. Although a skilled trainer or magus can tame an eagle-horse, the creature's natural aggression, survival instincts and voracious appetite makes him an expensive, difficult and unpredictable pet. Even so, kings and wizards who can tolerate the expense keep small stables of war-mounts. Pity the keeper of such quarters, for his is an endless chore of dominance, feeding and "accidents."
Future Fate[]
Never common to begin with, hippogryphs disappear from the mortal world by the time of the Renaissance. Although many magicians keep them in Horizon Realms - most notably Doissetep and Horizon - the creatures' hunger keeps them from becoming terribly popular. The Order of Reason, naturally, proscribed such beasts long ago, but Marauds and Infernalists still find them quite useful. Once mad magus, Lady Alcina the Enchantress, claimed to have created the first hippogryphs as a present for her lover, Lord Blackwelder. Both of them ride such mounts into battle in the wild days of the second millennium, but neither seems old enough to have created beasts spoken of 3000 years ago. Legend aside, the "true" origins of the hippogryph are as vanished as their kind.
Image[]
Lifted on the winds by great feathered wings, the hippogryph flies with a graceful ease that belies its bulk. It has the hind quarters of a horse, and the head, forelegs and claws of an eagle. Although it can walk well enough, the eagle-horse prefers to fly, since its short front legs and powerful rear force it to stumble along with an awkward, drunken gait. The beast's cry, an odd combination of a whinny and a raptor-scream, sends any natural creature into a panic. Hippogryph masters train their mounts to shriek as they attack.
Character Sheet[]
References[]
- WOD: The Bygone Bestiary, p. 40-42
