Perhaps because they lived so close to the sky, griffons possessed plumage and fur the color of sunlight. Their lion-like hindquarters were covered in tawny brown fur, while their eagle-like heads and forelimbs were entirely cloaked in golden eagle feathers—though they could also be creamy white feathers speckled with deep red. The feathers on their heads and wings might be blue or green, those upon their chests vermilion, while their eagle-like beaks and feet ranged from translucent yellow to brilliant gold. Their claws were black.
---This was the description of griffons in Oddities and Curiosities by Robert Impan, a renowned bard of the North.
Yet a thousand describers would produce a thousand different griffons. And to ordinary adventurers, these apex predators were extraordinarily dangerous. Their powerful claws could easily snap a horse's spine, while their iron-hard beaks could just as effortlessly peck through a human skull.
Especially once they realized someone had come for their eggs, these beautiful creatures, who treasured their young as dearly as their own lives, would often become exceptionally frenzied and dangerous.
Thus, even adventurers who had glimpsed griffons from afar generally gave inaccurate descriptions.
The flock of griffons now spread before Levis's eyes came in shades ranging from golden-tinged bronze to dark brown, their coloration deepening with age. Excluding the tail, an adult griffon measured a full seven to ten feet long—roughly two to three meters. Males weighed around 1,100 pounds, or about half a ton, while females were one-third lighter.
Being surrounded by such a mass of "colossal beasts," one could easily imagine how spectacular the sight was.
An ordinary adventurer would likely have wet himself long ago. Nor would the threat posed by a typical intruder have been enough to summon griffons from over half the mountain range, gathered in force as though