“I’ll catch back up with you in a bit,” Wynn said, already running off. “I’ve got to go see my chick in the nursery!”
Eva shouted after Wynn, but the recruit ignored her and she found herself alone. Unlike the rest of the mountain, the air here had a brisk chill. Across from her, the Roost ended in a gigantic shelf into open sky. Beyond that, Eva saw nothing but blue and a few sparse clouds in the distance.
The gryphons themselves rested on hundreds of natural pockets and ledges inside the cavern. These roosts and nests lined the walls all around them, continuing higher and higher until Eva stared straight up the hollow peak of the mountain. She saw gryphons of all sizes and shades of colors: gray, black, brown, white, tan, and every hue in between. Some slept, while others gnawed on quartered carcasses. The air buzzed with the sound of their calls and the rush of wings as the gryphons came and went without pause.
“Looking for a red one?”
Eva turned to find a woman with thick gray hair and a lined face walking toward them. She crossed into the open from a small side door built into the wall, holding Eva’s chick in her arms. With trepidation, Eva reached out to take him and found the hatchling fast asleep, much to her relief.
“So, you’re the one we’ve heard so much about,” the older woman said with a slight bow. “I am Cassandra, the Gyr’s roost master.”
Eva took a liking to the woman at once as Cassandra walked her down the length of the Roost and explained her role. As she listened, Eva got the feeling the roost master’s speech was well rehearsed, but Cassandra spoke in a way that suggested she’d never tire of it, or her position.
“We have over three hundred gryphons roosting at the Gyr at any given time,” she said. “There are other Windsworn holdings across Rhylance, of course, but this mountain is the main headquarters and the largest. It is also the only breeding ground and hatchery in all of Altaris.”
They passed dozens of younger Windsworn going about various chores such as pitching out piles and sticks and straw for the gryphons’ nests, quartering fresh-killed animals for meals, or treating a variety of injuries from chipped talons to pulled muscles and broken feathers. When they returned to their starting position, Cassandra led Eva through side door she’d emerged from when they’d arrived. Inside, they found rows and rows of eggs in as many colors and patterns as there were gryphons outside. Farther back, a series of familiar, ear-splitting shrieks echoed from deeper within.
“Why don’t you leave the eggs with their mothers?” Eva asked. It seemed cruel to separate the mothers from their brood.
“The eggs stay with the mothers until they are almost read to hatch,” Cassandra explained. “By that point, the chicks no longer require constant heat as they’re fully grown inside the egg. The chicks develop a stronger bond with the rider if they are present during the hatching. Not every chick bonds with a rider right out of the egg, however.”
Eva looked down at the bundle of dark red fuzz and fur still asleep in her tired arms and almost asked if sometimes the chicks made a mistake. But after seeing Cassandra’s liking for the red gryphon and her passion in general, she thought better of it.
“Hey!” Wynn said, running up to join them from the tunnel leading to what Eva guessed was the nursery. She clutched a tiny gryphon with tawny feathers and brindled fur in her arms.
“Careful, Wynn,” Cassandra said. “If you trip, you could hurt your hatchling.”
Although she was only a few paces away, Wynn slowed to a walk. “Sorry, Roost Master.” When she stopped, her gryphon chick climbed to perch on her shoulder, peeping and nipping at Wynn’s hair. Eva felt a stab of jealousy as her own chick stirred. He probably would’ve bitten her ear off if she’d tried something like that.
The red gryphon woke growling, and Wynn led them to a bin full of chopped up pieces of meat. Eva fed the chick under the roost master’s watchful eyes, careful of her fingers as he tore at each morsel she offered.
“You’ve got a lively one there,” Cassandra said, chuckling. “He’ll take a firm hand to raise, but being here in the Gyr now will make it easier.”
“Maybe he’ll learn some manners staying here,” Eva said, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. Apparently full, the chick started nipping at her locks. When Eva’s hair was out of reach, he pecked at her shirt and hissed.
“Oh, he won’t stay here,” Cassandra said. “Chicks stay with their riders in the barracks until they reach adolescence. Then he’ll come to the Roost with the adult gryphons. It helps to build a stronger bond between gryphon and rider.”
“Oh.” Eva did her best to hide both the disappointment and she felt inside. That much bonding time sounded like a good way to lose half her fingers and toes.
“I’m here for whatever you need,” Cassandra said in a way that sounded like the roost master was trying to reassure herself as much as Eva. “I’m sure it will take some getting used to for both of you — gryphons aren’t simple beasts after all — they’re as smart as humans, smarter in some ways. And that gryphon you have is one of a kind.”
As Eva struggled to hold the squirming, pecking chick in her hands, Cassandra led them back out into the gigantic main cavern. “Take a look,” the roost master said, gesturing at the scores of gryphons perched on the ledges. “You’ll see whites, grays, blacks, browns, golds — even a few blue roans — but you won’t find another red gryphon anywhere in Altaris. The birth of a red gryphon has always marked times of great change for our people. As his rider, you are tied to that same destiny.”
When she finished, Cassandra stared at Eva like she was expecting some kind of grand, heroic speech. Eva coughed and looked at the ground. “I — I’ll do my best.”
Almost as if he sensed the uncomfortable moment, the red chick sank his beak into her arm. Eva yelled and dropped the baby gryphon, who scurried under a nearby straw wagon and stared out at them through angry yellow eyes.
“Sorry,” Eva mumbled as she reached in to fish the chick out, jerking her hand back each time his tiny beak snapped at her. After several moments, she managed to distract him with one hand and scoop him up with the other. When she turned around, her face felt like she’d been stoking Soot’s smelter all morning.
Cassandra looked anything but encourage. “You…ah… seem to be off to a rough start,” she said. Behind her, Eva heard Wynn snicker.
“He’s… growing on me,” Eva replied, wishing she could crawl under the straw wagon and hide herself. Several other riders were watching them from a distance, talking and pointing.
“Growing on you like a pox,” Wynn muttered. Eva shot her a dirty look.
“Don’t worry, my dear,” Cassandra said. She patted Eva on the shoulder and then reached down to tickle the gryphon chick under his chin. Much to Eva’s annoyance, the hatchling stretched out his neck and purred at the roost master’s touch. “You’re only one day in. It will come.”
Somehow, Eva didn’t think things would be that easy.
Wynn led Eva down a couple of levels and the tunnel widened into a cavern about half the size of the Roost with terraces carved into the rock on either side. Male and female riders of various ages congregated in a courtyard-like area below laughing and relaxing. On both sides, the balconies rose three stories high and lined the wall as far as Eva could see. When they came into sight, several new recruits around Wynn’s age shouted and waved. Noticing Eva, they entire commons area began to talk in low voices, glancing at Eva until she focused on her feet. Excited by the noise, the gryphon chick struggled to free himself, but Eva held him tight. The last thing she needed was to embarrass herself in front of the entire Windsworn barracks on her first evening.
“Come on,” Wynn said, tugging on her sleeve. “I’ll show you the quarters the lord commander requested for you.”
They went up a staircase to the left of the entrance and continued up to the top terrace. From up here, the hall looked much longer than Eva would have guessed. Doors lined the halls as they passed, some made of wood, w
hile others looked to be carved from the stone itself. They continued away from the courtyard, their path lit by the same flickering crystal lamps, until Eva caught sight of sunlight in the bend ahead. Rounding a corner, she saw the source of the outside light: a wide, curved window carved out of the rock.
Eva shifted the hatchling in her arms and dared a glance outside. They were on the eastern-facing side of the Gyr now, and the pale, fading light illuminated the faint purple of the Windridge Mountains and surrounding wilderness a few miles away.
“You’re lucky,” Wynn said, jealousy plain in her voice. “All the new recruits get inside quarters throughout their first year.”
Eva didn’t know what to say, so she continued to stare out the window. None of the trees had sprouted leaves yet, leaving the mountain range dotted with dark spots of pines and pale gray bunches of barren aspens. In spite of everything that had happened over the past couple of days, she couldn’t help but be taken with the view.
“Come on,” Wynn said, tugging at her sleeve again. “I’d like to get back for the evening meal, you know!”
The young recruit led her down the hall past a couple more windows until they stopped in front of a thick wooden door. Wynn knocked and then swung it open, gesturing for Eva to go ahead of her.
Eva stepped in the room looking forward to meeting her new bunkmate… and stopped in her tracks, nearly dropping the chick in surprise. Propped against the wall on a cot in the far corner of the room, Sigrid looked up, brow furrowed in a deep frown. Her lips pulled back into a grimace, and her hawkish nose wrinkled like Eva smelled of something dead and rotten.
“Well, well, look what the gryphon dragged in.”
Chapter Nine
“Can’t you keep that thing quiet?” Sigrid hissed for the dozenth time.
By now, it was early morning and gray light seeped through the small window between their bunks. Eva sat up in her bed, flustered and exhausted. Throughout the night, the chick had woken up almost every two hours, raising enough racket to wake the entire garrison. Eva had tried feeding him, but that only worked the first time. Afterward, nothing helped, and the chick screeched until he wore himself out and slept for a short while.
“I’m trying,” Eva said. She stretched out a hand to stroke the hatchling’s soft down. The baby gryphon snapped and her and let lose another wail.
“I don’t care if it’s the first storming gryphon born again,” Sigrid seethed. “If you don’t get him to shut up, I’ll throw him out the window!”
Eva should’ve probably been offended or at least a little concerned by her roommate’s threat, but she half entertained the idea herself as the chick darted under her bed. Fully dressed, Sigrid shot her a glare sharper than the two daggers at her hips and strode from the room, slamming the door behind her. Exasperated, Eva clenched her hands into fists and fought the urge to scream. She tried not to think that, in just a few short hours, she’d be appearing before the Windsworn Council, a prospect that would’ve been daunting enough even with a full night’s rest.
Fortunately, the chick fell asleep again a few minutes later. Eva had just finished a hurried braid to hold back her long hair when someone knocked on her door. Opening it revealed Wynn holding a stack of blue tunics and pants in her arms. Her tawny gryphon bumbled around a pair of tall brown boots beside her feet.
“I’m supposed to escort you to the lord commander as soon as you’re properly dressed,” Wynn said, holding out the clothes. “Here; you’ll need to be in uniform. I think these should fit.”
Thanking Wynn, Eva closed the door and slipped into the uniform. The clothes fit well, a small mercy she was grateful for — the last thing she wanted to do was appear before the lord commander and Windsworn Council in too-short leggings or an extra large tunic. She already felt ridiculous enough.
All dressed, Eva slipped on the boots and opened the door. Wynn stood waiting, shifting from one foot to the other. “You ready yet?” the younger girl asked. “The lord commander doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Eva nodded and stepped out of her quarters. She had the door half-closed behind her when Wynn put a hand on the door to stop here. “Where’s your gryphon? You can’t leave him there alone!”
Berating herself, Eva went back in the room with some reluctance. After his all-night antics, the gryphon chick lay curled up at the foot of her bed, fast asleep. Using extreme care, Eva picked him up and cradled the gryphon in her arms without waking him. She tried not to imagine the ruckus the hatchling would cause when he came to and found himself in a strange place.
Eva followed Wynn down a new series of twisting, winding tunnels and staircases. There seemed no rhyme or reason to the Gyr’s interior although every passage and staircase was shaped with perfect symmetry. In some spots, a staircase hewn in the rock melted away to a gentle slope. Tunnels ended in random chambers with no explanation or gradually shrank until only two or three people could pass through them side by side.
Riders of all ages stared in surprise as they passed, pointing to the still-sleeping red gryphon chick in Eva’s arms. A few nodded or said hello but most looked at Eva like she’d grown a second head overnight. Wynn seemed to love the attention, smiling and waving to everyone. She’d say things like “Yeah, that’s her!” or, to Eva’s horror, “Make way for the red gryphon!” While the young girl blazed ahead, heralding their passage, Eva walked with her head down, hoping their destination wasn’t much farther.
Without warning, they appeared at the edge of the Main Hall. It looked like most of the riders were done with their morning meal, but a few remained in small groups at several of the long tables, chatting among themselves. At the top of the hall, Eva noticed balcony overlooking the tables below that she’d missed the night before.
“We’re normally not allowed up here,” Wynn said before they started up the stairs. “All of the officers’ quarters are located back this way, plus the Council chamber.”
When they reached the top of the stairs, Eva felt the eyes of everyone in the Main Hall on her back. She felt a wave of relief as they disappeared from the dais down a long passage lined with pillars. In between each column, Eva noticed tapestries interspersed between the columns and doors. The murals depicted a variety of Windsworn and their gryphons with plaques beneath each to identify them. Every now and then, Eva spotted a red gryphon and couldn’t help but notice how brave and heroic their riders looked. Each one they passed made her stomach sink a little more.
The traveled about halfway down the hall without seeing anyone until Wynn came to a stop in front of a door inlaid with a pair of silver wings. Lifting the large knocker carved in the shape of a gryphon’s head, she struck the door twice. Andor appeared a few moments later, and Wynn snapped to attention. Eva did her best to imitate the younger girl, but the result seemed awkward and ridiculous.
“Recruit Winifred, thank you for your assistance,” Andor said. Eva looked sideways at Wynn, who grimaced, apparently not fond of what must’ve been her full name. “You are dismissed.”
Wynn saluted, thumping her fist to her chest. “Good luck,” she muttered under her breath as she passed Eva.
“Come in,” Andor said.
He led Eva up a short spiral staircase into a spacious room with a large window across from the entrance. Charts and maps of all kinds covered the walls inside the lord commander’s chambers. Eva recognized one depicting Rhylance, but most were of places she’d only heard in name or not at all. A stone table, seemingly carved out of the mountain itself, stood in the middle of the room and was stacked with books, scrolls, and more maps. Andor motioned for her to take a seat.
“Did Wynn show you around?”
Eva nodded. “Yes, she’s been good company.”
“Good,” Andor said. “She looks up to you, you know.”
At a loss for words, Eva nodded again, focusing on containing the struggling chick in her arms.
“You can set him down,” Andor said. “There’s nothing on the floor he’ll
hurt.”
Relieved, Eva let the baby gryphon spring from her arms. He landed like a lopsided ball made of wool and scurried under the table at once.
“I trust that everything else is going well?” Andor asked.
For a moment, Eva considered saying something about being placed in the same quarters as Sigrid, but then she realized the lord commander likely had something to do with the arrangement in the first place. It didn’t seem like a very good idea to start complaining on her first full day in the Gyr.
“Yes,” she said, trying not to sound as lost as she felt. “It’s just a bit…overwhelming.”
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Andor assured her. “I know Soot, and if you lasted all those years with him, you’ll do just fine here. But I want to stress that you’ll receive no special treatment because of your circumstances. You’ve got almost five years of catching up to do.”
“I understand,” Eva said. When the lord commander put it that way, she didn’t feel like she had a chance.
“My lord,” Andor said. Eva looked at him, confused. “Our interactions until now have been somewhat…out of the ordinary, but now that you are a recruit, you will refer to me as either lord commander or my lord. Is that understood?”
“Yes, my lord,” Eva said, unsettled by the sudden change in Andor’s demeanor. His formality made her feel even more anxious.
“Very good,” the lord commander said, offering her what Eva guessed was supposed to be an encouraging smile. It didn’t help. “Let’s not keep the Council waiting.”
The hall ended in a pair of stone doors almost twice Eva’s height. Two guards stood outside, each wearing gold-chased armor and sky-blue capes, a spear in one hand, ruby-hilted swords at their belts. When the lord commander approached, they both snapped to attention.
Fighting a growing panic, Eva followed Andor, doing her best to keep the hatchling from raising a racket in front of the Windsworn leadership. Late morning sunlight flooded through the windows, highlighting several men and women seated along the rounded outside wall of the chamber. As the lord commander took his seat in a chair carved with outstretched wings, the Windsworn Council studied Eva with a mixture of expressions.
Windsworn: Gryphon Riders Book One (Gryphon Riders Trilogy 1) Page 6
