~
After his coronation, the Emperor Rhaglan spent much time among his humans, always in disguise, looking like one of them, frequenting the taverns and the halls where the partisans told stories and plotted and drank mead. This had the unintended side effect that, while he was away from the court, he did not persecute the sons and daughters of Udim quite as mercilessly, for he was neither passing laws nor administrating armies when he was in the taverns pretending to drink mead and laugh.
And in time he came to hear the tale of the elf-mage who had been outsmarted by gryphons from some northerners who had come south to help the partisans. This story in particular captured his interest.
After that Rhaglan spent many months in the Imperial Library, reading everything he could about gryphons. Few in his age knew much about such monsters, and many thought them to be mythical, but there were ancient texts and magic books filled with contradictions and ridiculous claims, and some of them said the gryphons could travel the branches of the World Tree, a claim the Emperor found to be intriguing, though initially, he thought it to be false.
As he researched the ancient texts more, he came to believe the tale might be true, and he feared the gryphons, for, he thought to himself, what if there was another Realm like to this one where gryphons or other elves lived, who could come and steal his Empire from him? And many in the courts thought the Emperor Rhaglan had gone insane for he went around babbling to himself about other Realms and Other Elves.
Then Rhaglan himself withdrew to the Iomedae Mountains for a time, but he did not abdicate. He left his kingdom in the hands of a capable elf, one of his Chancellors – and the members of the court all said, “Like father, like son, he goes to meditate in the mountains.”
But in truth, he had gone to find a particular yew tree.
The End
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Appendix 1
Facts & Pictures Relating to the Archaeologickal Discoverie
The documents were discovered inside an intact structure found on the shores of the Black Sea, not far from Zonguldak, a coal-mining town in Northern Turkey. The archæologists decided to search for artifacts upon the hills surrounding Zonguldak after some less successful excavations offshore - while ancient ruins were indeed found, the underwater depth and the weight and sturdy construction of the remains made it virtually impossible to recover anything substantial.
After several months the remains of an ancient pathway were discovered, leading up what would have once been a mountain, now merely a hill, and after some clever deduction regarding the likely lay of the pathway, the entrance to the temple was uncovered at the peak of one of the hills.
Pictures can scarcely do justice to the scale of the temple entrance - the pillars were at least twenty feet high. There was no writing on any of the walls, however the image of a gryphon was carven upon five of the pillars, in various guises.
After three weeks the tunnel was exposed to view, almost certainly for the first time in over twelve thousand years. Not long after this we uncovered the entrance to the stone vault and the scrolls therein.
The entrance to the temple.
The stone vault, and the contents of one of the alcoves, containing scrolls and a pot, the function of which is unknown.
The color plate at the beginning of this section shows the cover of the bound scroll, however the following is the mimickograph by Dr. Martin of the first page of the bound scroll. It may be seen that the writing style follows a completely new script, resembling no other ancient alphabet or hieroglyphic, and it was this script that we had to decipher.
Indeed, the lettering was of a style no-one had ever seen before. The code took many months to crack, and could not have been done were it not for clues contained in an ancient manuscript of Plato’s Agaposophia, in which he described the ancient alphabet of Atlantis, said by Socrates to be the mother of every other alphabet - it is now known that this is the gryphon alphabet, only one of several glyphabets from that ancient time. If it was not for Dr Dean Spitz’ mnemographick recollection of obscure, forgotten passages in the classics, we might never have cracked the code, and this translation might well never have been produced.
Appendix 2
Dates & Times of the Main Events
There are several inconsistencies in this table of events which have been brought to light by Dr. Jean Gaudrié in his article, ‘Recherches sur l’anciennete de la Guivre dans la periode de l’Hwedolyn, en Russie,’ see pp. 322-326, p. 330.
MIDSUMMER SOLSTICE – daylight for about four weeks or so.
ECLIPSE Monday 16/6/659 b.g.d.
Thursday 25/6/-659 Halomlyn finds the wyrded rabbit.
Kereth arrives at the tavern and requests a room.
Friday 27/6/-659 Kereth talks with the men. Also Halomlyn sees snowdragon
2 weeks later.
Friday 11/7/-659 Miners talking about elves
Night sky begins to darken again to twilight
3 weeks later
Tues 29/7/-659 Full Moon
Thurs 31/7/-659 Gibbous Moon – the Mage goes out and makes a thunderstorm.
Sat 2/8 The two families of Gryphons meet and talk. 9 days before the new moon.
Sat 9/8 Gryphons’ mead runs out
Mon 11/8 NEW MOON – Halomlyn goes to get mead. Meets widow Hinfane.
Fri 15/8 Waxing crescent. THE BATTLE
Fri 30/8 Hwedolyn asks father about elf
ECLIPSE Tuesday 11/11/-659
ECLIPSE Thursday 11/12/-659
MIDWINTER SOLSTICE – dark for four weeks or so.
Tuesday 4/1/-658 NEW MOON – elf Mage attacks Atdaholyn
Friday 8/1/-658 crescent waxing – gryphons leave their homes.
Saturday 30/1 Halomlyn finds an eyrie in the Vamyhilae mountains
Thursday 5/2 NEW MOON. Halomlyn arranges deal for mead.
Wed 6/3 NEW MOON. Sunset. Hwedolyn sets off on his quest
Thurs 7/3 at dawn he finds a cave, stays there that night and
Fri 8/3 the next day. “But as the third night fell”
Moon still new – eats a sheep and leaves the cave.
Starts to skirt edge of desert.
Sat 9/3 flies on. Asks Ellulian’s help that night.
Sun 10/3 crescent moon rises in the morning.
Mon 11/3 crescent moon.
Tues 12/3 close to dawn – he encounters the wyverns.
He escapes the wyverns.
Wed 13/3 he flies all day and all night.
Saturday 14/3? He encounters Gwendolyn and meets the old Gryphon-crone.
Monday 16/3 Halomlyn, Hwedolyn’s father, decides to do something
Sunday 22/3 FULL MOON Halomlyn arrives at Thwyrlyn and Milélyn’s eyrie.
Thursday 26/3 gibbous waning – Halomlyn arrives at Hinfane’s place
29/3 half-waning – the three gryphons leave Hinfane’s place
Sunday 5/4 NEW MOON Hwedolyn comes back from the Other Land.
The three gryphons arrive at Halomlyn’s eyrie and leave again with Tiawéflyn.
Tuesday 7/4 Hwedolyn and Gwendolyn go hunting together.
Hwedolyn leaves Gwendolyn, and meets the wyvern.
Then he comes upon the trail of the Mage and those with him.
Hwedolyn sleeps
Wednesday 8/4 Thunderstorm begins at midday. They meet the dwarf. The thunderstorm ends during the night. CRESCENT MOON
Thursday 9/4 The dwarf tells him how to defeat the Mage.
Sometime around now Udvéwynn attacks Nomoi, beginning of the uprising.
11/4/-658 Half Moon –
Dwarves and gryphons eat goat for dinner – HA
LF MOON RISING
13/4/-658 they defeat the Mage and feast that night
14/4/-658 Hwedolyn and Gwendolyn hide the talisman.
16/4/-658 Halomlyn and co arrive at the mesa.
27/4/-658
1/5/-658 Half waning moon – the elf-mage meets and deceives the dragon.
4/5/-658 The dragon arrives
ECLIPSE Thursday 7/5/-658
Appendix 3
Gryphon Language
Some manuscripts of the Hwedolyn, according to the annotation of the single manuscript we have retrieved from the Black Sea dig, included all the dialogue between gryphons written in the gryphon tongue; and the annotations on the manuscript actually listed some of these in a separate section, together with a short introduction explaining that the inclusion of the passages in the gryphon language greatly adds to the veracity of the documents, in that certain grammatical constructs and linguistic features of the gryphon language had been lost or forgotten for centuries, and explaining that a forgery is therefore extremely unlikely if not downright impossible. Apparently, linguistic features helped the ancients to date old documents correctly – an intriguing fact, for we use similar procedures today to accurately date documents that are ancient in relation to our own time.
The following conversation between Atdaholyn and Hwedolyn is apparently included in some manuscripts, which includes the vow they made to each other, and is an excellent example of the structure and grammar of the gryphon tongue:
Atdaholyn: “What do you dream, cousin? What do you wish? What hope you for the future to grasp?”
Oeddyn beth roedd chåliom ti, wewdichw? Oeddyn beth cwasha roedd chyfro ti? Oeddyn beth ti roedd l’qaii aiyh chwachuyl aiyh aeeyr aewgweld?
Hwedolyn:“I dream of finding a beautiful gryphon-wife one day, and making my eyrie in a lonely place, a place where elves and men never go. But not too far from a tavern where I can get mead, like the tavern in the valley, in the village of Hathon-Kathuiolké, where our parents exchange a goat for a barrel of the mead every new moon.” (every night of the new moon literally – note that the night of the new moon in gryphon parlance is the first night of the dark new moon.)
Ynwn yn chåliom roedd chasha unfad mad aihafe u’gwraig aeuhha fdyr caaiuchw lochiah lyniq ch’m’haqiom, aetaaiy hhwaefelielaim gwyr fdm aed l wi. Ydayr aedim hiroch myllawyyl lydwulha aetd mhaqiom wo wuqocwa lydwulha Hathon-Kathuiolké aetaaiy matrwyn h’chlaid lydwulha aeeyr dyz holl chalynhachw-aetafyyr lhaiolha.
Atdaholyn: “Wonderful dream. I hope it comes true.”
Mad chåliom. Beth roedd aetmedlalae.
Hwedolyn: “What’s your dream?”
Oeddyn beth chåliom ti?
Atdaholyn: “I dream that one day I will be brave enough to leave my parents’ eyrie, and fly on the wings of the wind in a storm.”
Ynwn roedd chåliom un dwyrnos aennwn hbaair aeeyr hichwul caaiuchw famautrwyn roedd hybaair adennyddae dwywynt gwynt wo uwaedaersuch.
Hwedolyn:“I have flown the wings of the wind, and it is a great and glorious thrill. Are you afraid that you might be dashed against the earth by a sudden mighty gust, or broken against a mountain cliff that appeared to be nothing more than a high cloud in the mist?”
Ynwn doedd hybaair adennyddae dwywyntae gwynt. Aetadul usumocha. Oedd’aiyh ti doedd ofni gwynt roedd hutra aeeyr ddaiar daiar gwynt doedd cwathohhaaii cwathohhai ti mynyd dydel l hthaeaid ti doedd hchdai wo chwmwl ucwmwl huwwnuba ucwmwlae?
Atdaholyn: “No, I’m not afraid of that. I’m afraid of dragons, elves, wizards and men. I’m afraid that if I fly out of my eyrie that I will be captured and eaten by a dragon, or that some worse fate will befall me, if a wizard or elf should perceive me, even though I fly when the new moon is high.”
Aedim. H’baair thamaim, hhwaefelielaim, gwyr, chathhamaewnh. Ofni h’baair m’hchwlchq caaiuchw aedim aetada doedd aethyr thamaim huçoba aeichwun, aei dwy d’drwg drwg dwy f’haihayr m’haihayr qyl, aei chhath’hamaewnh uchath’ham aewnh hhwaefelielaim doedd gweld aeichwun, ydayr h’baair dwyrnosyna chalynhachw-aetafyrr l’haiolha
Hwedolyn: “Look at my wings. Are they not strong?”
Gweld aethuichwun adennyddae. Oeddúchw’hwl aedim?
Hwedolyn: “And look at my talons, are they not sharp?
”Gweld aethuichwun shatroed. Shatwnymae?
Atdaholyn: “As sharp as razors.”
Shatwnymae shatwnymil.
Hwedolyn: “And look at my thighs and my back. Is it not muscular?”
Oeddio gweld aethuichwun taeichwun lelgheyr io aeynil oeddaedim uúchwhwl?
Atdaholyn: “This is so.”
Aetmechw.
Hwedolyn: “I will protect you, my cousin. If you should leave your eyrie, I will protect you. I will make sure that neither dragon nor elf nor Mage nor man can hurt you. And if ever one of these should hurt you when I’m not with you, I will avenge your hurt upon them, so that none will ever dare molest you ever again.”
Mi aed hihwncwa ti wem-dichw’taeichwun. Aeuom m’h’chwlchq caaiuchw ti wi. Mi aed hihwnçwa ti, aedim thamaim, hhwaefelielaim, gwyr, roedd lyhythaeaid ti. Aeuom unaeyle roedd lyhythaeaid ti mi maqyna aedim lyhacwa, aedim dilyna.
Atdaholyn: “And I will protect you also, and avenge you if ever a dragon or elf or Mage or man should hurt you.”
Mi aed hihwnçwa ti. Maqyna ti aeuom thamaim, hhwaefelielaim, gwyr, roedd lyhythaeaid ti.
Appendix 4
Context of the Manuscript Fragments
Possible Sources And Archaeological Context Of The Various Manuscripts And Fragments.
We are gradually coming to know more about the Praeterhistorical period from which come the set of documents now called the Gryphonomicon; that is, the gryphon-lore. New discoveries are being made every month. As is commonly known by now, at least among those who read the daily newspapers, the first manuscript discovery was made in the Black Sea, of an extensive and complete manuscript which is now called the Hwedolyn II Jonesonian Codex. Following this, Hwedolyn Ia was discovered, along with a small library of related manuscripts, many of which were in a partial or fragmentary state. The main body of the tales thus far identified and translated, at least partially, is about Hwedolyn the gryphon, and thus has been nominated Hwedolyn, although some other sources have come forth, leading the discoverers to name the entire collection the Gryphonomicon, our rather whimsical Graeco-latin equivalent for the phrase elsewhere translated ‘gryphon-lore’.
Some of the more recent discoveries have cast some light on the possible sources of the various fragments, quoted in the Preface of this work.
1) The Elf, Elf-Chancellor
These fragments appear to have formed part of a biography of an Nomoi Chancellor, written by an unsympathetic party. It may come from the collection “Scurrilous Deeds and Scoundrels Of The Nomoi Elvish Empire Throughout The First Millenia B.G.D.,” by Wz. Thelthire Shufflethiffacket, which is a collection of contemporaneous eye-witness accounts, collated some five hundred years later. The collection is one of the items listed in another manuscript discovery, the so-called Library Catalogue Black Sea MS Aroskfyrd IIIb, but nothing more of it is known.
2) The Taverner, The Gryphons.
a. The source of this document is unknown, but may be a partial precursor to the Hwedolyn, or a fuller version of the manuscript, or even an extract from a collection of accounts, that may have formed the source material of the Hwedolyn. The textual style and certain linguistic elements are similar to the Hwedolyn but not identical, which indicates that it may be roughly contemporary.
b. A different, longer version of the Taverner was also found among the manuscripts, which has been printed below:
His wife Hinfane finished washing up the mugs, then corked all the mead-barrels and wiped the bench. The last patron had been particularly difficult tonight, and she had had to pretend she had run out of mead before he would leave.
Then she went up the stairs to the bedroom. Gothur smiled at her from their bed. She noticed he had
not touched the mead or the dinner she had brought up for him. He looked so wan. “You must drink, you must eat; you must keep your strength up, husband.”
“I… find it difficult to hold onto the cup, Hinfane. Who could guess that you could run the tavern! You’re making a better profit than I ever made.” He spoke with difficulty, and even to hold a knife or fork for longer than a minute was hard work for him.
“You mustn’t die! How would the town of Hathon-Kathuiolké survive without you, husband? They need their taverner,” she said.
“The miners don’t miss me. I charged more for the mead than you.” And he started laughing, but it set off a coughing fit.
“Gothur, please don’t strain yourself.” She tried not to let the desperation show in her voice.
The coughing fit passed, and she took the mug and lifted it gently to his lips. He drank deeply of the mead, and then she took the food and fed it to him a mouthful at a time, but he barely ate half a plateful. The wasting sickness had taken hold of him eleven months ago. Two and a half months after the first signs of the illness, he had become too weak to run the tavern any longer, and she had taken over everything from serving mead to balancing the ledger. The doctor, who came out to the borderlands but once every four months, told her when he came that if he had known earlier he might have done something. But the last time the doctor came, he told her Gothur would like as not die within the week. He had lasted another two months after that, but she felt that he would not live much longer now.
“Fear not, wife, I shall go to the hall of my fathers. Mighty warriors, all! And I have fought my share of battles.” And he laughed bitterly, and coughed, and she had to wipe blood from his chin. “Hinfane, remember our love,” he said, and tenderly stroked her cheek, and that was the last thing she heard him say.
From that moment on he stared unseeingly at the wall, saying and doing nothing except to nod his head slightly if she spoke. She put a sign on the front door saying the tavern was shut and sat by his side for two days and nights. Then as dawn broke on the morning of the third day, he coughed once and breathed his last.
3) The Partisan
“The Acts of Kereth Chufire the Partisan” – an underground document, circulated among the partisans and rebels of the Nomoi Empire in the time of the Hwedolyn. The veracity of this document was apparently questioned by various praeterhistorical commentators in the period following the Hwedolyn, and was criticised for bias by many contemporary commentators, but this section does not appear to suffer appreciably from pro-partisan or anti-Nomoi bias. This manuscript is also mentioned in Library Catalogue Black Sea MS Aroskfyrd 2694-IIIb, and, interestingly, the purchase receipt for this manuscript was also found in a recent dig, leading most scholars to conclude that the discoveries form part of a Library, the dimensions of which are presently being determined – the northern part of the room including the wall at the extremity, however, is yet to be uncovered.
4) Book I of the Gryphonomicon Gryphon Dragon Histories, the Hwedolyn Ia Jonesonian Codex (the main manuscript)
a. Hwedolyn Ia Jonesonian Codex. The translation of this manuscript obviously forms the main body of this book, and in the original was almost certainly a scholarly version, with marginal notes, perhaps analogous to a modern academic edition of a well-known piece of literature, or alternatively the marginal commentary on a religious work from the middle ages – although the format of the notes follows a peculiar annotation scheme which we have not attempted to reproduce here. Wherever we have interpolated notes we have distinguished them from the notes in the original by the appellation “ed.”
b. The original annotation demonstrates a peculiarly scholarly habit of weighing the veracity of the various accounts according to the available evidence, which seems a contemporary habit to us, in the modern ages of the Nineteenth Century, although the credence given to miraculous reports and magic is quite interesting to say the least, and in the opinion of the majority of scholars somewhat damages the credibility of the document; though some scholars disagree quite vehemently.
c. The purported evidence apparently includes rudimentary archaeologickal digs, other manuscript evidence, linguistic evidence, and the opinions of other scholars, called “Wizards” in our meagre efforts at translation – often bearing a title which we have rendered “Wz.” (Wizard) – but not always – apparently it was possible in these far distant times to bear the appellation Wizard without necessary possessing the title, just as a scholar today in certain countries might be called “Professor” without necessarily bearing the formal title of Professor. The aforementioned military ranks and titles are also intricately organised – all of which indicates a society that included many of the features of today’s society, at a time formerly believed to be completely barbaric and primitive, in which mankind was believed to be much less developed and civilized than we are today. The fact that such an advanced society existed in such a distant aeon certainly calls into question our contemporary conception of civilization and Empire.
d. The existence of gryphons, being the main subject matter of the manuscript, is still a moot point. Bones discovered recently by palaeontologists are calling into question many of our assumptions, for they are thought to be the genuine bones of gryphons. Whether there are still living gryphons is another question that may be answered finally, but only when every distant corner of the globe that we inhabit has been explored, and we are very far from that goal today, considering the vast tracts of Africa, Australia, and the Far East that have yet to receive both the attentions of explorers, and the subsequent benefits of civilisation and missionary endeavours.
e. The existence of dragons is a point that has been dealt with elsewhere.
5) The Succession
This short fragment is thought to come from a historical biography of the Nomoi Emperors, called “Lives and Times of the Nomoi Emperors, b.g.d. 2261-250.” The collection is another item listed in the Library Catalogue Black Sea MS Aroskfyrd IIIb. This is the only surviving fragment thus far found, and we are fortunate that it casts such a light on the intermediate period between book I and book II of the Gryphonomicon Gryphon-Dragon Histories.
Appendix 5
Pronunciation of Character Names in International Phonetic Alphabet
Gryphons
Hwedolyn
hwɛ’dɒ-lɨn
A male gryphon
Halomlyn
hae’lɒm-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s father
Tiawéflyn
tiɛ’waef-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s mother
Atdaholyn
aei-tɥa’hɒ-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s cousin
Milélyn
mi’laei-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s uncle, Atdaholyn’s father, Halomlyn’s brother in law.
Thwyrlyn
ð’wiɨr-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s aunt, Atdaholyn’s mother, Halomlyn’s sister
Gwendolyn
gwɛn’dɒ-lɨn
A female gryphon
F’dwyr’llyn
fɨd’wir-lɨn
Gwendolyn’s Mother
Gothlirlyn
gɒd’lir-lɨn
Gwendolyn’s Father
Chalyomlyn
tʃae-li’ɒm-lɨn
A wise female gryphon, of great age, a friend to Gwendolyn.
Also called The Oracle of Hwendoryllyan.
Moçallyn
mo’saei-lɨn
Milélyn’s mother
Camgwynt
‘kaem-gwint
Milélyn’s father
Lhydlaedlyn (deceased)
lid’leid-lɨn
Hwedolyn’s grandfather. Known as ‘the Gryphon Who Lied.’
Humans
Hinfane
hin’fa-nɜ
The tavern-keeper in the town of Hathion Kathuiolké, a woman.
Gothur
gɒ’dɜr
Hinfane’s husband, originally the Tavern keeper until he took ill.
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Kereth Chufire
‘kɛ-rɛð ‘tʃu-fir
A partisan, part of the rebellion against the Nomoi Empire.
Camhar
‘kaem-har
A tall red-headed miner with fair skin
Vivish
‘vai-viʃ
A dark-skinned miner
Gwalt
g’waelt
A tall bearded miner
Tesed
‘tɛ-sɛd
A merchant
Zhallad
‘ʒæl-æd
A merchant, brother of Maddon Udvéwynn
Duke Maddon Udvéwynn
Mɒdɒn ʉdvæiwynn
Duke of kingdom of Hashae Chillaella, Zhallad’s brother, Hval’s father.
Hval Thaddon Udvéwynn
H’væl ðɒdɒn ʉdvæiwynn
Son of the Duke of Hashae Chillaella, and successor of the title.
Uchwotfyrd whose nickname is Huch
ʉtʃ’wɒt-feərd, ‘ɦʉtʃ
Husband of Ondfuth
Ondfuth
‘ond-fʉd
Wife of Huch
Nomoi Elves
Huhufwuerifwuerionaena-iashelosha-kashohosha-rithydénaen-thoihathyloi (true name – not used in daily life)
‘hʉ-hʉ-fwʉae-ri-ɒn-æ-na-i-æ-ʃɛ-lɒ-ʃa ka’ʃɒ-ʃa ri-di’ae-daei-naen doi’ha-di-loi
in the story, called elf-mage or elf Nomoi elf, A Chancellor – the highest ranking military wizard, who reports directly to the Emperor.
Emperor Lhaghr’n’fumu
læ-grɨ-nɨ’fu-mu
The Nomoi Emperor.
Prince Rhaglan
‘ræg-læn
Son of the Nomoi Emperor, and successor to the throne.
Dwarves
Haldar son of Manthur
‘hael-dar, ‘mæn-dʉr
King of the Underground Realm of UnderNurther.
Klaer son of Aelig
‘klær, ‘ai-lig
King of the Underground Realm of Minthenmor.
Hrammir son of Liothan
h’ræm-r, ‘li-ɒ-ðæn
King of the Underground Realm of Vatrarfahond.
Fota son of Hrindaz
‘fo-tæ, ‘hrin-dæz
King of the Underground Realm of Finthanzud.
Wyverns
The First Wyvern
ðɒ ‘fɜst ‘wai-vɜn
The Second Wyvern
ðɒ ‘se-kɘnd wai-vɜn
Both wyverns, dragons with two legs and two wings, able to read minds.
Dragons
Dragon
‘drae-gɘn
A rather unintelligent dragon.
Snowdragon
snɒo ‘drae-gɘn
A fire-and-ice breathing dragon of the far north.
Theologickal
Ellulianaen or Udvé
ɛ’lu-li-ae-nɘn, ud-væi
The God of humans, dwarves, gryphons, and the “Other Elves.”
Afazel
ɘ’fæi-zɨl
The evil bat-winged god of the Nomoi elves.
Appendix 6
On the Udvélogickal & Eschatologickal in the Hhwedolyn
That which is here called the Hhwedolyn is the set of documents herein translated as the Gryphonomicon Gryphon Dragon Histories, books i, ii, and iii.
A) The Hhwellwellyn Sources
According to some ancient commentators the Hhwellwellyn elves, whom many modern wizards say were mythical – though the second book of the Hwedolyn gives us reason to think otherwise – left us the so-called eschatologick books in the Atmedlalin writings, and it is these that tell us much about the praeternal rebellion of the Mihalaetat, including Afazel’s fall and the limitations and extent of his powers, as well as Ellulianaen’s plans for the culmination and continuance of time.
What follows is a summary of the various relevant theologick ideas gleaned from these sources:
1) Ellulianaen and forthtelling: Ellulianaen the high King (whom the dwarves and Northerners call Udvé) alone, who created the world and exists beyond every realm, can forthtell the distant future accurately, i.e. he is able to see all events from the beginning of time to the end of all the universes or realms, and is present at each moment between, yet dwells in an eternal realm of his own. (Of course, we know with our knowledge of ambits that it is perfectly possible for an entity to simultaneously inhabit many ambits:- but according to the ancient philosophognomers Ellulianaen is to be considered as fully present in every point of every ambit, and locally present in none, except of course when in the form of the Gryphon-King – but even when that is so Ellulianaen does not cease being present fully in every point and locally in none, and simultaneously existing in the eternal realm…)
2) The Mihalaetat: Ellulianaen’s winged messengers the Mihalaetat cannot see all things, and while they have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortals and elves, they are nevertheless limited and completely encircled by Ellulianaen’s foreknowledge and praeterdestiny. Now while they do not see everything as Ellulianaen does, the highest of Ellulianaen’s servants, the Mihalaetat, can see around time’s corner, as it were, and can see the inevitable consequences of many, many events, far beyond what a human or dwarf or elf might see, for they are not exactly confined totally within time, but inhabit a realm beside time, one might say, and can manipulate time by making it move faster or slower and can move between the branches of the World-Tree.
3) Afazel: Afazel himself was first created to be one of Ellulianaen’s winged messengers, one of the Mihalaetat, but he turned away in the great rebellion, when a third of the Mihalaetat rebelled, and was banished to the dark realm below with the others. This dark realm is a realm of self-imposed suffering, from whence Afazel comes to the temple and inhabits his idol, that is, when he wills to enter into these four ambits that we call our world. Afazel is powerful but not all-powerful, indeed, in some senses he is just a pawn in Ellulianaen’s plan’s. The Mihalaetat also possess the power to manipulate events, which, of course, the good Mihalaetat never do except at the bidding of Ellulianaen. But Afazel and the other rebels make forthtellings, and then, if they are not merely consequences of events already in progress, they bring them to pass, if they can, by causing other events to happen, but invariably the forthtellings contain many lies and disappointments to those who trust in them, and it is good to remember always that Ellulianaen will always have the last word.
4) The Rebels: The rebels have been forbidden to cross the branches of the World-Tree, except to those worlds where evil has been sown already – some worlds, when given the choice, rejected the rebels’ proferred “freedom” (which the rebel say is a freedom from overbearing domination by Ellulianaen, but is in reality a bondage to the rebels themselves and their influence and power) and those worlds that rejected the rebels, accordingly, are forbidden to them.
5) The Other Realm When a particular people within a world (such as the fabled Hhwellwellyn elves) reject the influence of the rebels, sometimes Ellulianaen gives them another realm to go and inhabit, as he gave their new realm to the Hhwellwellyn elves.
6) The Hhwellwellyn elves: A major theme of the eschatologick writings is the return of the Hhwellwellyn elves to assist the earth in its dark days, in the so-called ‘time of the end of the age.’ Most Wizards and Seers stopped believing in this years ago, thinking it to be a fairy-tale, but there are some, particularly amongst the Krypsos and the gryphons, who hold to this belief quite literally, almost ludicrously so. Nevertheless, there is some fairly disturbing evidence, particularly in the Hwedolyn, that indicates that it might have actually happened once.
7) The Gryphon-King: The relationship between the Gryphon-King and Ellulianaen is greatly mysterious, and cannot be explained logickally, for it refers to facts and relationships that transcend time and the mortal realms, knowledge and thoughts that only the Breath of Ellulianaen can search. Suffice to say that all three: Ellulianaen and the Gryphon-King and the Breath of E
llulianaen, are one, and yet the Gryphon-King refered to Ellulianaen as ‘my Father’ when he came to the earth – and so, in a certain sense, while the three are distinct and unique personalites, their relationship is that of being one in will, but yet they are not to be seen as three, but one. The Gryphon-King is Ellulianaen made visible in the world.
B) The Forthtelling Sources
The books of Forthtelling in the Atmedlalin Writings tell of the more immediate future, and often contain very specific forthtellings. There were elves, men and dwarves who were seers, and one of the minor seers, the author of the book of Alitho, is thought to have been a gryphon.
Interestingly, there are two excerpts from the forthtellings of Hihwncwqa the Seer that are believed to apply to the second and third books of the Hwedolyn – scholarly opinion is divided of course, but due to the specific circumstances of the composition of this passage, it is very hard to argue that it postdates the events it describes. Nevertheless, many scholars argue that the prophecies are very general and could not possibly apply to a time in the future, using the circular argument that, because miracles are impossible in a world ruled by chance they don’t occur – which of course is a totally spurious argument because it neglects the fact that if the world is ruled by chance, then logick would not work, for then all thoughts, being the outcome of the chance interaction of atoms, would have nothing whatsoever to do with anything! It was the rediscovery of the existence of Tarothil the Elf, one of the rulers in the Dynasty of Lethlaelinnllae that made it possible to verify these forthtellings.
Tarothil was forgotten till thirty–three years before the time of the Second book of the Hwedolyn, when the Seer Chashad Zallad uncovered the treasure of Tarothil. As pointed out in the extensive writings of Kereliae the dwarf on this subject the author of this passage could not have been a contemporary of Therae. It is interesting to note that Nomoi Emperor Rhaglan was one of his descendants.
Tarothil the Elf, who rules the world,
Chairman of the council of the kings
Justice speaks through your mouth,
Be comforted, Tarothil, your dynasty shall not pass
Before a ruler should arise in the south
The Elf–Princess will rule, when comes her time,
Warrior and Gryphon–friend, preserver of scrolls,
And purveyor of the one true Rime.
And her companion will look upon the Gryphon King!
But sons of Tarothil, beware,
If your descendants usurp their lawful right,
And arrogate to themselves unlawful might,
Chuillolil, the city you founded, will become
A haunt of wolves, an unclean place,
Where rational creatures are sacrificed
To the King of Flies, Afazel! the empty heart,
Devoid of beauty and grace.
Atmedlalin Writings — Hihwncwqa 7:14–21
Take comfort, for Ellulianaen tells you what is to happen,
That you might know that the highest King knows everything beforehand
The Gryphon King sees it from his throne.
Trouble is coming on the earth!
The council of Kings will be overturned!
An Elvish Emperor will take the throne,
One who comes of the lineage of Aed’l’dae and H’chethay–aedefyyr;
One who comes of the family of those who came from the caves of Nefiloyym–Hamu!
He rules harsh, but some of his sons rule wisely,
The twelfth is gentle as the breeze, and goes unto the mountains to dwell.
But the thirteenth son will take all the power unto himself!
Beware those evil days, all you who dwell upon the earth!
For the council of Kings will be overthrown,
And evil Elves will rule the earth.
Tell me now, men and Elves, Gryphons and Gnomes,
Did any other power tell you this? Did a statue tell you this?
A piece of wood? A piece of gold, fresh from the oven?
Afazel didn’t know, did he?
Did Thaizdae know? Did Ychwocyr know?
Did the powers or authorities of heaven know, whom you call upon?
Only Ellulianaen told you this.
On “that day” the Gryphon King will come
In the name of the High Udvé
And do not fear, daughters of Glyf’mae;
For he has planned an end to the ‘days of injustice’ already.
(Atmedlalin Writings — Aechwaetmechw 51:1–11)
C) The Historical Sources
~ ~ The Atmedlalin Writings also contain historical sources, documents from the libraries of Kings, and other eyewitness accounts of events that Ellulianaen accounted to be important, including the reknowned account of the Creation of the World, accounted a very early document, without a doubt. One of the other favourites among many readers is the story of Corajinn the Farmer, a tale from the early days of the world. We will not speak much of this here, because it does not bear greatly upon the Hwedolyn, except rather obliquely.
Bibliography
~
Gaudrié, Jean Albert, ‘Recherches sur l’anciennete de la Guivre dans la periode de l’Hwedolyn, en Russie,’ Revue De Paleontologie Contemporain, January 1892
Goldenhardt, Prof. J., Smythe, Prof. W., Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. J., ‘Halomlyn: Pre-addendum to Hwedolyn Manuscript Discovered In the Black Sea,’ Jonessonian Archaeological Quarterly Jonessonian Press, November 1891
Goldenhardt, Prof. J., Smythe, Prof. W., Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. J., ‘More Evidence of the Hwedolyn Discovered in Russar,’ Jonessonian Archaeological Quarterly Jonessonian Press, January 1892
Goldenhardt, Prof. J., Smythe, Prof. W., Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. J., ‘Various Treasures Uncovered In The Black Sea,’ Jonessonian Archaeological Quarterly Jonessonian Press, January 1887
Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. Jeanne, ‘Puns In An Hitherto Untranslated Manuscript’ Journal of Praeterhistorical Studies XVI New Aemsterdotham University Press, August–September 1886 pp.30–35
Smythe, Prof. W., Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. J., ‘An Unknown Glyphabet Deciphered’ Journal of Ancient Linguistics Parthae Press, Westnueven Hollandes, December 1886 pp.2–26
Smythe, Professor Walter, ‘Ancient Units of Measurement in a Black Sea Manuscript’ Jonessonian Archaeological Quarterly Jonessonian Press, August 1886. pp. 44–87 (see also table Appendix ii p.86)
Spitz, Dr. D., Goldenhardt, Prof. J., Smythe, Prof. W., Lavinsky–Martin, Dr. J., ‘Exciting Linguistic Discoveries That May Hold The Key To The Earliest Language,’ Journal of Ancient Linguistics Parthae Press, Westnueven Hollandes, December 1886 pp.28–34
What is a Gryphon?
From the introduction to the third edition of the translation of Golluthrim Norothrimae the half–Dwarf (a.e.g. 1236)
Concerning Gryphons.
Gryphons are rare today, due to the age–old battle between Gryphons and Dragons for the minds and hearts of men. When, by about the two hundred and eighty–fifth year of the dynasty of Eriod, the Dragons seemed to have won, the Gryphons, who were ever their enemy, were hunted to near extinction, but in the latter days with the victory of the rightful King and the exile of the Dragon Kings, Gryphons were forgotten by the sons and daughters of men and consigned to myth and legend.
But some nevertheless continue to dwell in the lonely places and the distant reaches of the earth, and since those days they have increased somewhat, seen by solitary wanderers and sheep herders in faraway lands, until the more recent times when the Dragons returned, and the Gryphons seemed to be in danger again. Now they are seldom seen even in the mountainous lonely places, but for a momentary glimpse of wing or claw, as they no longer wish for Dragon–friends (as so many humans became in more recent times) or even friends of Dragon–friends, to know where their dwelling places are.
Yet even in the days when Gryphons did not mind being seen by others, sight of them was a rare ev
ent, for Gryphons are fond of eyries, high rocky places where they can make a nest for their young, and caves in the side of mountains. They breath fire like Dragons, yet have the claws, wings and beaks of eagles, with the strong body of a lion, and bad weather, wind, rain, snow or hail does not worry them, except for wild hurricanes, which buffet and twist their wings, in which case they seek out a deeper cave or cleft rock nearby to hide in until the storm is past.
Gryphons once had their own language, a close cousin of the language of the Elves of El’hhenellian, the very first Hhwellwellyn Elves, whose tongue it is said was the first language of the earth. But such was the scattering of Gryphons in the trouble of the Bad Years, that many of the Gryphons lost their original dialect, and speak only the Northwestern tongue of men where that is spoken, or some variant of it, for this was the language in which they fought their battles, in the time of Eriod and his descendants. Nevertheless, Gryphons have a remarkable facility with language that surpasses every other race, and a cleverness in intellectual tasks that is easily overlooked by the other peoples of Eddellyon, and were ever quick to pick up three or four languages when they mixed with other peoples. (Some philosophers say the parrot, with its facility for imitating tongues, shares a distant ancestor with the Gryphon, but only those philosophers of the peculiar school of Alentyalor the palaeontologist, who spent his time studying ancient fossils and had many peculiar beliefs that contradict sound magic.) But the Gryphon is N’shymhllyan (spiritual) and rational, speaking with comprehension, unlike the parrot which generally only imitates speech after the fashion of a dumb animal.
Gryphons have ever been the companions of Wizards, and this may be the reason that Wizards live in towers, for a balcony on a high tower is the closest thing to an eyrie that a town or castle can afford, and it is said that Wizards will tell their most secret spell to their Gryphon but once for safe–keeping instead of writing it down, for a Gryphon can recall the most insignificant events and words with perfect recollection for long years afterwards, as the common proverbial saying “he has the memory of a Gryphon” implies.
It is said that Gryphons also have a unique friendship with the Hhwellwellyn, the true Elves of Eddellyon, who are also famed for their longevity, and some rumours say that, once, long ago, in the years before the Hhwellwellyn withdrew behind the curtain of Hwendoryllyan, Gryphons were the guardians of the gates of Time, guarding the bridges between this earth and the Other Lands and the lands of the Elves. Indeed, it is said by Wizards that even today, if you chance upon a mountain where a Gryphon dwells, it will be a locale where the barrier between this earth and the Other Lands is weak, a place where everyday objects often tend to be misplaced and disappear, only to be found again unexpectedly where one had already looked for them, the sort of place where one’s sock drawer ends up with only odd socks (because the even sock has winked into Elf–land temporarily). But Gryphons are never troubled by these sorts of petty problems, firstly because they do not wear clothes and never have to worry about having odd socks, but also because, uniquely among the N’shymhllyan creatures, they see things where they really are, not in one realm or Land or the other, and can negotiate the borders between the different Lai’hhanyllh’ places with an ease that even the Elves admire. Thus the Wizards have a proverb about Gryphons too, “The place where Gryphons dwell and eat, Lai’hhanyllh’ lines are sure to meet.”
But Gryphons, like humans, generally have less lofty ambitions than Wizards, living for their family and to bring up their young, to visit their relatives from time to time, and to listen to songs and couplets about the heroes of the distant past, enjoying food that they gather and cook themselves and a variety of mead that men still make in the country parts where wheat cannot be grown for beer. In fact, in many ways Gryphons are the most human of the rational creatures of Eddellyon, for all that their dwelling places seem remote and inaccessible. To a Gryphon, his eyrie is his home, and while it may seem a lonely, forsaken place to townsfolk and farmers, to him (and her, usually) the eyrie carries as many connotations of comfort and homeliness as the cosiest fireside does to a human.
The one thing that Gryphons have not mastered for all their cleverness is the making of mead, and their taste for the thick honey–wine has been the undoing of many Gryphons, for they must get it from humans, and in these days the curiosity and paranoia of men has caused the discovery of many Gryphons in their secret excursions to civilization for a barrel of mead.
Read the other two books of
The Gryphonomicon Gryphon Dragon Histories
BOOK II: Gryphon of the Hidden Realm (available for US$0.99 at your favourite ebook retailer)
Hwedolyn and his human companion, Boy, set out on a quest to save Gwendolyn and the other female gryphons from experimentation at the hands of the evil elves of the Nomoi Empire, in the dungeons of the great city of Aros.
&
BOOK III: Talon of Destiny
The saga continues in the shadow of a great evil - the Mammohulg and his hordes are descending from the north.
Will Princess Aerae discover her destiny in the library where she continues to work, or as forthtold: as Elhu Enuliana, the victorious warrior sent by Ellulianaen to trample the hordes of evil? Yet the Eriéneth say that her heart will be pierced by a sword of sorrow...
And Boy seeks his own destiny, studying as a wizard’s apprentice- will he find it there, or with Hwedolyn the gryphon, fighting evil in the north? More books Coming soon...
And the prequel – The Snow-Dragon and the Taverner.
Also by the same author: Robert Denethon’s new series
Gryphonomicon Cryptogryph-the da vinci machine
Set in 1851 in London. The story begins at the funeral of Jonathon and Amelia’s parents. They are sent to live with their ward, Mr. Ravencaw, a strange, taciturn man. Puzzles and codes, and strange clues, promise to lead them to the truth about what happened to their parents, and what the strange machine was that their father was working on. And what are the creatures Reverend Prettyfoot saw crouching like gargoyles atop the newly built, gothic Westminster Houses of Parliament?
Alternative History Novella
Henry Lawson Hero of the Robot Revolution
Henry Lawson is reduced to writing propaganda, complete with spelling reforms, for the Kommunist Government in this alternative history Australia.
Henry Lawson Robot Besieged
A Feather on the Breath of Ellulianaen Page 50