Griffon

The Griffon is a large creature of renowned aggressiveness. It has the back legs, tail, and body of a lion with the head of an eagle as well as their wings and front claws. They are famed in heraldry due to their devotion to their mate, only ever taking one, as well as their bravery in battle. They are wild creatures that terrorize the skies, but a natural part of their ecosystem. Nonetheless, they are considered majestic creatures and are the subject of many a tale.

Habitat
The Griffon live in places of higher elevations, usually found among the mountains as well as plateaus and hilltops. They can be found in snow and desert-like climates, but prefer a more temperate area, better suited to raising their young. They will make large nests from twigs, small trees, scattered bone and other debris that can be found in their area, often with a large enough indent that the eggs can be nestled away from winds and rains. Often nests start to resemble constructed caves or caverns, though they will also occupy actual caves and caverns if they can find them.

Biology
The Griffon is a large animal, that has the hind legs of a lion, as well as a lion's tail, body, and mane. The head, wings, and front claws are that of an eagle. With sizes varying from that of a large cow to around the size of a small house, they are large creatures. Eggs are usually around the size of a dog and are grey, white, or brown in colour with speckles relating to its particular species of griffon.

They are carnivorous by nature, and will only ever eat meat. They will hunt near their nests up to some miles away, hunting down wild game such as boar, deer, antelope, or even human if it must come to that. They particularly like domesticated cattle and will seek the easy hunt over the difficult one every time.

They are feral and wild creatures, but also intelligent. They are able to process what is a threat to them and will retreat from a fight if they are outmatched unless they are defending their nest. They are also fiercely protective of their family, going into a grief-filled rage if their children or mate is killed, and not stopping until such time as they perish or kill everything in the vicinity.

There are three subcategories of griffon distinct from a normal once, each worthy of being noted for its own particular behaviors and abilities. These are known as the Assassin Griffon, the Archgriffon, and the Anointed Griffon.

Assassin Griffon
These griffons have the ability to spit acid. They can spit acid up to three times, each time taking around a day and a meal to be able to replenish the acid in their glands. They are smaller than normal griffons, closer to the size of a large cow, and have red or purple streaks on their wings. They have smaller litters than normal, only one or two eggs each mating season, and are rarer beasts overall. Their egg speckle colour is a deep purple.

ArchGriffon
Archgriffons are so named due to their large size and long claws. They are also have a red mane and red streaks on the wings. They are usually around the size of a small house and are the rarest of all griffons. They have crimson red speckles on their eggs, that morph into vein-like effects upon it. An archgriffon surprisingly needs no more food than a regular griffon, though they are more territorial than their ordinary cousins and will chase off or kill other griffons who do not leave their territory very quickly.

Anointed Griffon
Anointed griffons are also smaller than normal griffons, and have a yellow mane that is very bright and yellow streaks on its wings. They gain their name due to being more passive beasts, never attacking humans unless attacked themselves and usually hunting in the wilds. With a lot of care and skill, they can even be domesticated, though if the process goes wrong they will never submit. Their egg speckles take the form of large splotches and are deep yellow in colour. An anointed griffon who has failed to be domesticated will attack any human who tries to approach it, whereas a domesticated griffon will allow a select few to do so, otherwise reverting to its defensive nature.

Sociology
They have a biological age of around 24 years. They will seek a mate at around 3 years of age, and once mated, they will never separate for the rest of their lives. They will have between 1 and 4 eggs a year and care for their children through their maturity. They will mature within the first year of their life, maturity being when they are able to fly on their own and feed for themselves. Griffons that are mature will then fly away from their birthing nest, to seek out a place to build their own and live their own life.

A Griffon who loses his child or mate to natural causes with go into mourning, entering a sluggish mourning state in which they will not fly from their nest and only leave it for the bare minimum of food. However, if lost to an animal or human attack, it will proceed to go on a murderous rampage, seeking to kill everything in the vicinity and even striking at settlements until is slain or the vicinity is cleared of life. It almost ends in being slain.

Trivia
The Griffon is a popular symbol in Heraldry, used to denote bravery, courage, and strong will in the face of adversity. Where there came from is likely the deeds of the famous Anointed Griffons, though many first think that all griffons are such creatures. In such a way they are not wrong as a griffon always screeches before striking for its foe, but the brutality of a griffon is very far from chivalric bravery.