Note: The images for the characters are representations and do not necessarily reflect their appearance as described in the story.
Sunsky/Sunground
The main character in “The Gryphon”, Sunsky is the adventurous, rebellious, yet compassionate heroine of the story. She is destined to become the next Queen of the Gryphons, but the role fills her with uncertainty. Soon after she mates with a winged horse, a hippogryph (gryphon/horse hybrid) egg appears in her pouch, placing her in a very difficult position with regard to her own society. She must choose between her duty to her people and her love for the as-yet-unhatched hippogryph daughter in her pouch.
After the gryphonic society banishes her for conceiving the heretical hippogryph egg, she travels to the Valley of Outcasts to live there. The young adolescent changes her name to “Sunground” and commits herself to a life of groundedness (i.e., no flight) as a kind of penitence for having abandoned the queenship to her jealous half-sister, Talona. Sunground lives in the valley for seventeen sun revolutions as she matures into a middle-aged gryphon mother of two youngsters, Moon Wing and Groundsky. The family faces a great crisis when Queen Talona takes over the reign and they must all leave the valley and flee for their lives.
After the gryphonic society banishes her for conceiving the heretical hippogryph egg, she travels to the Valley of Outcasts to live there. The young adolescent changes her name to “Sunground” and commits herself to a life of groundedness (i.e., no flight) as a kind of penitence for having abandoned the queenship to her jealous half-sister, Talona. Sunground lives in the valley for seventeen sun revolutions as she matures into a middle-aged gryphon mother of two youngsters, Moon Wing and Groundsky. The family faces a great crisis when Queen Talona takes over the reign and they must all leave the valley and flee for their lives.
Dreamspinner
Dreamspinner is an opinicus, or male gryphonic being. He is poised to be Sunsky’s official mate as she prepares to take over the queenship. He is fiercely loyal to Sunsky and does not waver in his love for her, although he does have a tendency to become jealous of other males who may feel affection for his one true love.
He grew up without a gryphon mother fully participating in his upbringing, a situation which is against the rules of his society, as stipulated by a piece of legislation known as The Gryphonic Code. Instead, his father and grandfather reared him. He later leaves his own clan and joins Sunsky’s ostracized family after Sunsky/Sunground is banished to the Valley of Outcasts.
He grew up without a gryphon mother fully participating in his upbringing, a situation which is against the rules of his society, as stipulated by a piece of legislation known as The Gryphonic Code. Instead, his father and grandfather reared him. He later leaves his own clan and joins Sunsky’s ostracized family after Sunsky/Sunground is banished to the Valley of Outcasts.
Skystar
Skystar is the mother of Sunsky and the strong-willed, practical matriarch of the family. She leads them through the dangers that they encounter in a calm and supportive manner. Skystar is a councilor in the gryphonic government and a daughter to the reigning queen, old Heartsong and her consort, King Lightning Bolt.
Sun Quest
Sun Quest is the mate of Skystar and the father of Sunsky. He is a boisterous opinicus who loves celebrations and who is quite traditional in his outlook. He loves the three daughters of his one true mate, Skystar, very deeply. He has an unfortunate tendency to favor them over his lone daughter Talona, the gryphlet chick that he sired by his secondary mate, Soundringer.
Queen Heartsong
Queen Heartsong is the elderly leader of the gryphonic community and the grandmother of Sunsky, the next-in-waiting to the Stone Throne. Heartsong is a gryphon of great wisdom and compassion, ruling her queendom with strength and determination. Heartsong values fairness in all her rulings, and she makes every effort to minimize any bias toward those on the Gryphonic Council who are related to her. When Sunsky is banished from the community and Talona is put forward as the next-in-waiting, she works hard to train her for the new role. As she grows frail with age, however, it is increasingly difficult for her to supervise the young despot and she is obliged to cede her authority over to Talona and her mother, Soundringer.
Soundringer
Soundringer is Skystar's fellow councilor in the gryphonic government. She is a ruthlessly ambitious gryphon who spends much of her adult life continuously pushing her daughter Talona forward into ever-higher social positions. She loves her daughter, but loses sight of this in her desire to see Talona become the queen of Gryphonia. Soundringer is known colloquially among the other gryphons as “the Queen of Gossip” because of her tendency to spread vicious rumors, thereby manipulating situations to her daughter’s advantage.
Nightsky
Nightsky is the lone winged stallion who becomes Sunsky’s forbidden lover. Some beings consider him an idealist because he longs to make peace with the diverse groups of beings that inhabit Gryphonia. His mating territory is in the Lower Mountains, and therefore his mates all tend to be gryphons from the lower classes. Two of his mates are from a much higher class, however: the first such gryphon is Wing Dreamer, whose family banished her to the Valley of the Outcasts for refusing to give up her hippogryph daughter, Night Lover. Many years later, young Sunsky becomes the second gryphon to bear him a daughter; but Sunsky also happens to be next in line to the Stone Throne of Gryphonia. Unfortunately, the majority of gryphons consider winged horses as enemies, or at the very least portents of disaster to be feared and shunned.
Nightsky develops a deep bond with the future queen when a storm leaves her marooned in the Lower Mountains, far from her home. Moon Wing the hippogryph is the precious result of their love.
Nightsky develops a deep bond with the future queen when a storm leaves her marooned in the Lower Mountains, far from her home. Moon Wing the hippogryph is the precious result of their love.
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Moon Wing
Moon Wing is the hippogryph daughter of Nightsky the winged horse and Sunsky/Sunground. She is raised by her mother and her elder sister Night Lover in the Valley of Outcasts. Because she grows up under the guidance of a gryphon mother rather than a hippogryph matron, Moon Wing is both of the herd and yet separate from it. She and her wingless keythong brother, Groundsky, are reared far away from the gryphonic community that cannot accept either of them for who they truly are.
Moon Wing’s half-sister, Night Lover, is the Queen of the Hippogryphs and thus exerts influence on how the members of the herd react to the youngster. Night Lover is able to ensure that Moon Wing grows up having access to the same hippogryph community that mentored her through her own struggles as a youth. Although the herd accepts Moon Wing, they hold her mother Sunground and her brother Groundsky at a distance. In spite of this, Moon Wing is strong-willed and rebellious, like her mother once was as a youngster. Moon Wing often chides Sunground for refusing to use her wings. The mother gryphon remains grounded as repentance for having broken the rules of gryphonic society by mating with a winged stallion. Moon Wing feels hurt by the inference that Mother Sunground is “repenting” of having hatched her into the world. Sunground reassures her daughter that she deeply loves her; but she is nonetheless impatient with her mother’s self-enforced groundedness and loyalty to the society that shunned both of them.
Moon Wing’s half-sister, Night Lover, is the Queen of the Hippogryphs and thus exerts influence on how the members of the herd react to the youngster. Night Lover is able to ensure that Moon Wing grows up having access to the same hippogryph community that mentored her through her own struggles as a youth. Although the herd accepts Moon Wing, they hold her mother Sunground and her brother Groundsky at a distance. In spite of this, Moon Wing is strong-willed and rebellious, like her mother once was as a youngster. Moon Wing often chides Sunground for refusing to use her wings. The mother gryphon remains grounded as repentance for having broken the rules of gryphonic society by mating with a winged stallion. Moon Wing feels hurt by the inference that Mother Sunground is “repenting” of having hatched her into the world. Sunground reassures her daughter that she deeply loves her; but she is nonetheless impatient with her mother’s self-enforced groundedness and loyalty to the society that shunned both of them.
Talona
Talona is the spoiled yet deeply damaged daughter of Soundringer, a high-ranking councilor on the Gryphonic Council. Talona was reviled since her birth by the other gryphlet chicks because of the unpopularity of her mother, who often spread rumors about other gryphons. Adults in the community passed their dislike of Soundringer on to their young, who bullied Talona simply because she was the daughter of Soundringer. To make matters worse, Talona was ignored most of her life by her father, Sun Quest, who favored his three daughters by Skystar. This causes a great deal of jealousy in Talona, particularly toward Sunsky, the popular “next-in-waiting” for the queenship.
Talona has been groomed since she was an adolescent by her ambitious mother to take over the queenship in place of Sunsky, in spite of the fact that her increasingly disturbed temperament causes her to be ill-suited for such a responsible position. Soundringer, and subsequently Talona, spread negative gossip about Sunsky and her family in the hopes of taking the queenship away from Sunsky. All of their schemes backfire, until one day when they discover that Sunsky has committed the heresy of mating with a winged horse and conceiving a hippogryph. This is the opportunity that Soundringer is looking for, and she wastes no time in pushing the young Talona forward as the next-in-waiting to the Stone Throne.
Talona has been groomed since she was an adolescent by her ambitious mother to take over the queenship in place of Sunsky, in spite of the fact that her increasingly disturbed temperament causes her to be ill-suited for such a responsible position. Soundringer, and subsequently Talona, spread negative gossip about Sunsky and her family in the hopes of taking the queenship away from Sunsky. All of their schemes backfire, until one day when they discover that Sunsky has committed the heresy of mating with a winged horse and conceiving a hippogryph. This is the opportunity that Soundringer is looking for, and she wastes no time in pushing the young Talona forward as the next-in-waiting to the Stone Throne.
Light Healer
Light Healer is the chief physician for the gryphonic community. She deeply values life in all its forms and she is committed to using her skills and knowledge in service to those lives. She is a close friend of the oracle, and she has learned much in the way of spiritual knowledge from her. While she respects the rules and traditions of her society, she is sometimes at odds with them when protecting the un-hatched eggs which contain the “lesser” beings, such as keythongs or hippogryphs.
Light Healer proves herself to be a staunch supporter of Sunsky and her family. She advocates on behalf of Sunsky’s opinicus son, Sun Wing, when the gryphon mother is not there to do it herself. She also speaks out against many of the practices of the Talonic regime. She is soon jailed for it, along with the oracle.
Light Healer proves herself to be a staunch supporter of Sunsky and her family. She advocates on behalf of Sunsky’s opinicus son, Sun Wing, when the gryphon mother is not there to do it herself. She also speaks out against many of the practices of the Talonic regime. She is soon jailed for it, along with the oracle.
Truth Speaker (the Oracle)
Truth Speaker is a deeply spiritual prognosticator who councils the gryphons of her society in their various life paths. She treats each being who comes to see her with the same care and grace, regardless of whether they are “higher” or “lower” class beings. To her, it makes no difference what place they hold in society, and she looks askance at self-aggrandizement.
She is occasionally called upon to become involved in the political affairs of gryphonic society when the reigning queen wishes to avoid personal bias in decision-making. Old Queen Heartsong deeply trusts her judgment and calls upon her in times of conflict. The oracle does, however, have a tendency to come up with very surprising solutions to problems.
She also acts as Sunsky’s guide, both in body and in spirit, throughout her life. Truth Speaker’s unwavering support of Sunsky puts her at odds with the post-Heartsong (Talonic) government. She is imprisoned along with the physician Light Healer because of her refusal to accept the untruths and propaganda that the other gryphons spew out in service to the corrupt regime.
She is occasionally called upon to become involved in the political affairs of gryphonic society when the reigning queen wishes to avoid personal bias in decision-making. Old Queen Heartsong deeply trusts her judgment and calls upon her in times of conflict. The oracle does, however, have a tendency to come up with very surprising solutions to problems.
She also acts as Sunsky’s guide, both in body and in spirit, throughout her life. Truth Speaker’s unwavering support of Sunsky puts her at odds with the post-Heartsong (Talonic) government. She is imprisoned along with the physician Light Healer because of her refusal to accept the untruths and propaganda that the other gryphons spew out in service to the corrupt regime.
ThunderCloud
Thundercloud is the elderly grandfather of Dreamspinner. He is an opinicus who has very strong views regarding the right of winged males to assert more power and authority in the community, especially with regard to the upbringing of young opiniclets. Thundercloud believes that opiniclet cubs should grow up in a strict and austere environment, without the interference of gryphons. He is a staunch believer in strong punishment for those who break the rules, especially gryphons who mate with winged horses and subsequently hatch hippogryphs.
Windsinger
Windsinger is the father of Dreamspinner and the son of Thundercloud. He tends to defer to the more aggressive Thundercloud, and others often criticize him for being “spineless” because of it. He appears not to have a will of his own, for he is helplessly obedient to his angry father. He was once the mate of Wing Dreamer (Dreamspinner’s mother), until the incident whereby she mated with a winged horse and produced a hippogryph egg. Instead of defending her, he stood by and allowed a furious Thundercloud to banish her. He took another gryphon, Stormspeaker, as his primary mate, pretending that nothing had happened and that Wing Dreamer had never existed.
Groundsky
Groundsky is the wingless son of Sunsky and Dreamspinner. He is unlike others in his class because he did not grow up within the servant society of the keythongs. Sunsky instead raised him in the Valley of Outcasts to avoid sterilizion at birth, the gryphonic custom for wingless beings at that time. Groundsky is playful and shares a close relationship with his hippogryph sister, Moon Wing. He would like to be able to fly, as she can, and he is somewhat frustrated by his inability to take to the skies. His favorite nonsense phrase is “rug-a-bug”.
Old Egglight
Egglight is the wingless kryphon nanny who cared not only for Sunsky and her sisters, but for Talona as well. Egglight applies the same strict-but-loving discipline to all her charges, no matter who they are. Egglight has served the family of Queen Heartsong since she was a young kryphon, and she has risen in rank to become the chief nanny in charge of a group of winged nannygryphs who help her to care for and educate the young gryphlets and opininci who live in the area. Occasionally, Egglight is obliged to dispatch the nannygryphs to go in search of the young princess Sunsky, who often flies off on adventures and fails to return for several days.
Egglight is extremely loyal to her gryphon family, even to the point of following them into exile.
Egglight is extremely loyal to her gryphon family, even to the point of following them into exile.
Ground Paw
Ground Paw is the wingless son of Queen Heartsong and King Lightning Bolt. He is a respected councilor on the Council of Keythongs. Ground Paw is Sunsky’s uncle, although because he is wingless he is obliged to view her as his “superior”. He is extremely dutiful toward his winged family members, but he also keeps a respectful distance from them so as not to become overly familiar with those whom he serves. He is a very traditional keythong who expresses horror at the very idea of a wingless being, such as his great-nephew Groundsky, not being sterilized at birth as he was.
Mountain Rain and Cloudhopper
Mountain Rain is the outspoken younger sister of Sunsky. She is very opinionated, like her father Sun Quest; but unlike him, she is a harsh critic of the choices that Sunsky makes in her life. She and Sunsky once teased and bullied their half-sister, Talona, when they were all very young chicks. This is a practice that Sunsky later came to regret as an adult.
Cloudhopper is the elder sister of Sunsky and Mountain Rain. Skystar describes her as the gentlest member of the family, although she also has a reputation for being very clumsy. Sunsky has, for most of their lives together, regarded her older sister as a kind but bumbling clown. She does, however, come to appreciate Cloudhopper more deeply after they go into hiding from the ruthless Talonic regime.
Cloudhopper is the elder sister of Sunsky and Mountain Rain. Skystar describes her as the gentlest member of the family, although she also has a reputation for being very clumsy. Sunsky has, for most of their lives together, regarded her older sister as a kind but bumbling clown. She does, however, come to appreciate Cloudhopper more deeply after they go into hiding from the ruthless Talonic regime.
Night Lover
Night Lover is the hippogryph daughter of Nightsky the winged stallion and Wing Dreamer, the banished gryphon. Wing Dreamer died protecting Night Lover from an angry opinicus, and the young hippogryph grew up learning how to fend mostly for herself.
Night Lover takes over the leadership of the herd of hippogryphs when the old queen, Grass Grazer, decides to retire. It is at this point in Night Lover’s life that the young gryphon Sunsky (who later changes her name to Sunground to reflect her pariah’s status) arrives, banished by her rigid society to the “Valley of Outcasts”. Night Lover sees in the newly re-named Sunground a younger version of her own mother, Wing Dreamer, and she intervenes to help both her and Moon Wing.
Night Lover takes over the leadership of the herd of hippogryphs when the old queen, Grass Grazer, decides to retire. It is at this point in Night Lover’s life that the young gryphon Sunsky (who later changes her name to Sunground to reflect her pariah’s status) arrives, banished by her rigid society to the “Valley of Outcasts”. Night Lover sees in the newly re-named Sunground a younger version of her own mother, Wing Dreamer, and she intervenes to help both her and Moon Wing.
Jophriel and Roonen
Jophriel is the first hopha that Sunground meets when she travels to the Flatlands in search of Moon Wing. Jophriel is a curious and friendly two-foot who displays a strong capacity for learning how to communicate with gryphons. As she and Sunground learn each other’s language and ways, they become very close friends. Jophriel develops a fascination for gryphonic beings and their culture, but she sometimes disagrees with her mate, Roonen, over how involved they should both become in the problems of gryphonic society. After they decide to join the peace delegation, Jophriel proves herself as a loyal and steadfast friend to Sunground.
Roonen is Jophriel’s mate. He is protective of Jophriel, but he can be very argumentative and uses a great many hophic “cuss-words”. Roonen eventually develops a bond of friendship with Dreamspinner, who comes to understand his “rapid-fire speech” far better than Sunground. Roonen has also developed a close bond with Nightsky, the winged stallion. Roonen, like many hophas, is fascinated by winged horses and has spent a great deal of time learning about them and their capacity for telepathy.
Roonen is Jophriel’s mate. He is protective of Jophriel, but he can be very argumentative and uses a great many hophic “cuss-words”. Roonen eventually develops a bond of friendship with Dreamspinner, who comes to understand his “rapid-fire speech” far better than Sunground. Roonen has also developed a close bond with Nightsky, the winged stallion. Roonen, like many hophas, is fascinated by winged horses and has spent a great deal of time learning about them and their capacity for telepathy.
