The Sky-Sword Eyrie

Lars Skalgaard had heard all about the famous griffons of the Sky-Sword Eyrie. According to the stories his father told him whenever Lars had trouble sleeping, the magnificent beasts had already been living in these mountains for centuries before the arrival of humans into these lands. When the  clans had settled into the plains beside the mountainous Eyrie, they were at the mercy of the soaring overlords. For generations they had accepted that the occasional goat or disobedient child would be snatched up by the griffons and never be seen again. Lars' father would always look his son in the eye at this point of the story, giving a playful smirk at the sight of Lars' frightened expression.

Anyway, this state of affairs occurred until Sven Skalgaard had enough of living in fear of the griffons. Sven was the greatest warrior of the Trevast clans at this time and he fearlessly climbed up the Sky-Sword Eyrie to confront the griffons. Ignoring their swooping dives and terrifying roars, Sven made his way to the highest point of the mountain where the Gale King, the ruler of the griffons, lived. People may have thought of the griffons as mindless beasts, but Sven knew they had cunning and intelligence, it was just in a different way. Knowing this, Sven Skalgaard challenged the Gale King to a duel. The ruler of the griffons, a massive beast that was fifteen feet long and could swallow a rabbit whole, wordlessly accepted Sven's challenge and charged the brave warrior.

The battle was long and harrowing, neither side having a distinct advantage. The Gale King may have been huge and strong, but Sven was smarter and more agile, weaving around the griffon's lunges and swipes. Unfortunately, whenever he tried to grab hold of the Gale King flicked him off with his great wings. The two fought during the long darkness of night as it passed over them and did not stop until the rays of the sun began to rise from the east. At this point, both Sven and the Gale King were too tired to fight and simply began to look at each other. By this point the clansmen in the plains assumed that Sven had long passed, devoured by the griffons for his foolish affront. They were surprised that day when they saw the Gale King fly toward them, Sven riding on his back as one would a stallion.

Sven had not mastered or tamed the griffons, but he had impressed them with his skill and valor, earning their friendship in a way no other man could. The mountains, once so ominous and dangerous, were now safe to those with the courage to follow Sven into the home of the griffons. This was the birth of the Skalgaard clan, the griffon riders of the Sky-Sword Eyrie. As Lars looked from the castle walls to his mountainous home, watching the beasts soar and swoop majestically through the outcroppings, he wanted nothing more than to make Sven and his father proud when he was old enough to ride a griffon.