Griffon

"'...but of all that, his strongest trait is his ability to persevere when he is needed the most, and in extreme cases, even refuse death itself.'""'All of that, without emotion?'""'I don't think so. I doubt anyone could push themselves that hard without some kind of passion. But maybe that's just me hoping that my brother is still human.'""- Aurius, to Phailak"

Early Life
Griffon, also known as Griffon Tempest, was born in Silverwind to Elysio Tempest, the king of Silverwind, and Lydia Tempest, who died in childbirth, and twin brother to Fantom. Griffon is also half-brothers with Aurius, but he was raised with Aurius instead of Fantom. From a young age, Griffon learned how to fight with Aurius, despite the two having fairly different combat styles. When he was 15, Elysio died during the First Battle of Silverwind, leaving the throne of Silverwind vacant. With Fantom residing in Masaug at the time, and Aurius refusing the accept the throne, Griffon ascended to the throne of Silverwind, and ruled with Aurius as his Commander-in-Chief. Griffon negotiated peace with Harag, ending the war.

Only a year into his rule, however, while attempting to conform to multiple treaties, a coup was led against Griffon, of citizens who felt that Silverwind should have a greater military presence, and led by Aurius. Upon being overthrown, Griffon fled with Crewton, and together they ravaged many of the small villages around the castle town, and even made it to Koheigh, until being confronted by Aurius and Fantom. After the 2 on 2 duel went in favour of Aurius and Fantom, they had Griffon and Crewton's memories wiped, leaving Griffon in the Jungle of Isolation, and Crewton in a small region of islands off the coast of Koheigh.

Rise of The Defender Alliance
In the Jungle of Isolation, Griffon would build up a small fort on his own, totally unaware of any life outside the jungle. It was only after he defeated the Void Dragon, and was transported to an island in the region where Crewton was did he learn of other human life. In this region he would unite again with Crewton - completely unaware of their past - and would meet Jesska, forming The Defenders in an attempt to survive a group of raiders who had targeted Jess. After thwarting the raiders' second siege, Griffon left this realm, returning to the Jungle of Isolation. From here, he journeyed through the jungle to arrive in Southern Koheigh, and founded his own realm here. It is in this realm that the first Defender Stronghold was constructed, and Griffon would discover his telepathic, and later telekinetic powers.

Shortly after, people began migrating to his realm, which is how he would meet a4d9 and Cute, and re-unite with Aurius, forming the Defender Alliance in a pact with his half-brother. He would also re-unite with Valin momentarily, whom he recognized despite his memory not having been restored, with the exception of a few interactions with Aurius, and Jess and Crewton would also unite with Griffon in this realm days later.

In this realm, however, another telekinetic by the name of Hellfire would arise, raising an army to take over the realm one stronghold at a time. After destroying most of the Arkan Creed, he turned to the Defender Stronghold, where the Defender Alliance held out with the remnants of the once-great mage clan. Despite all odds, the battle was a success for the Defenders, but it left Valin as the last member of the Arkan Creed, and Crewton strangely disappeared after the battle. Although Griffon technically fell in the battle as well, Jesska would resurrect him afterwards, leaving her temporarily powerless.

The Search for Crewton
Following the battle of the Defender Stronghold, the Defender Alliance would leave the mostly ruined fortress in an attempt to track Crewton down. Slowly, however, tensions would rise among the group members, particularly between the members of Project Alliance and Jesska. Griffon also began having dreams of his past, and began to recollect his memory of before he was overthrown. They also found Valin with the mages of the Glass Castle on their journey. Here, Griffon would have The Defender's Wrath enchanted to be near unbreakable, and only able to be held by a true Defender. This bound the sword to his life force, however, so if the sword were to somehow be broken, he would perish as well. Soon after the group left, Aurius took Cute back to the Glass Castle due to constant migraines, leaving Griffon with just Jess and a4d9.

Upon arriving at a farming village being raided, Griffon led Jess and a4d9 against the raiding army, and defeated them. He let one soldier of the army, who was being forced to fight as a slave, go free, although Jess did not trust him. When a4d9 took Griffon's side in the issue, Jess left, visibly frustrated by what she perceived as a coalition against her.

After the battle, Griffon noticed that the townsfolk were visibly afraid of him. It was only when he had a flashback in the town square that he realized that this was a village that he and Crewton had pillaged but a few years prior. It was then that Griffon denounced emotion as a blight upon the world, and swore to never allow himself to feel such emotions again, though this would be an oath that would be impossible to hold.

After he and a4d9 left the village, they travelled for almost a week before encountering Hellfire again - despite him falling at Griffon's hand in their previous encounter. It would turn out that Hellfire could take over people's bodies and use them as hosts to fight for him. After fighting Hellfire, Crewton would emerge to deal the fatal blow, and Fantom would also unveil himself, offering to aid Griffon in his future quests. Jess would also re-emerge, with her powers returned, and being pursued by a shadow version of herself, possessed by Hellfire. Upon defeating this shadow version, and then learning of Cute's death, Griffon and Fantom left, travelling to central Koheigh, and building a small fortress there, while the remnants of the Defender Alliance returned to the Defender Stronghold.

Rise of the Evolution
During this time of Hiatus, Griffon would learn from Fantom the full story of his past, but was committed to being a different person in the future. About 3 weeks after arriving, Griffon would be ambushed by Eagle, who was being pursued by a group of bandits all the way from Masaug. After defeating Eagle with ease due to her exhaustion, he confirmed with his telepathic powers that the group of bandits were not the bounty hunters they claimed to be, and alongside Fantom, defeated them. Eagle, recognizing Griffon because of the stories told by the soldier he had let free a month prior, requested to join the Defender Alliance. Although hesitant, Griffon eventually allowed her to follow him and Fantom back to the Defender Stronghold, where she could become a member of Project Alliance.

Upon return to the Defender Stronghold, having been repaired by the rest of the Defender Alliance, Fantom and Eagle were officially made members of Project Alliance by Aurius. Griffon, becoming increasingly disturbed by the events involving Hellfire about a month prior, was unaware of the rise of a more dangerous group - The Evolution, comprised of Opal Wizard, Firestorm, and Earthen Subsider. This group of 3 telekinetics would make their presence known by leaving a note at the Defender Stronghold, stating that the Era of The Defenders had come to an end, though Griffon would think this to be left by Hellfire.

The Evolution would decide to form a small army, and have it attack the Defender Stronghold, and while the Defender Alliance would be distracted by the army, the telekinetics would undermine the foundation of the stronghold. Upon victory, the Defender Alliance would see the Defender Stronghold collapse before their eyes, though nobody would be hurt in that event. On the commander of the army was another note, challenging the Defender Alliance to meet the Evolution in a forest far to the west in central Koheigh. Having effectively been left without a home, the Defender Alliance began the pilgrimage to the forest indicated on the note.

Upon arrival to the forest, the Defender Alliance would encounter the Evolution face-to-face for the first time, and realizing their true power, Griffon decided retreat was the best solution at the moment. Since the Evolution did not pursue, the group stopped only a short distance out of sight. Here, Griffon made the executive decision to fight the Evolution alone, citing that "the apocalypse is coming" to urge the rest of the group to retreat further. Upon returning to the Evolution, Griffon would unleash the most powerful tool in his arsenal - nuclear energy - effectively creating too much energy for the Evolution to shield themselves from, destroying them, and leaving a massive crater in the middle of the forest in the process. However, since Griffon was slightly more powerful than any member of the Evolution, he was able to survive this blast.

After this display of power, however, Griffon's fears would come to fruition as Hellfire descended the crater to once more fight Griffon. However, Hellfire claimed that this form was his true form, and that this must be the last battle between the two as a result. Griffon, through sheer force of will, would survive until the rest of the Defender Alliance could reinforce him, and collectively they would defeat Hellfire once more, though Griffon would once again fall to Hellfire, being revived once again by Jesska after the battle. Griffon would then send Eagle back to Masaug to collect information about the War of Masaug that was just starting at this point, while the rest of the Defender Alliance would remain behind to construct the second Defender Stronghold in central Koheigh.

The Condemned Alliance
Almost a month after construction of the Defender Stronghold was commenced, it would be completed, being far greater than its predecessor. 2 weeks after finishing the stronghold, Eagle would return bearing news of the war in Masaug, and how Dystral, under the command of General Thor, was the dominant superpower in the war. Shortly after, despite his true form being defeated, Hellfire would appear outside the stronghold, alone and without his telekinetic powers. He claimed to be a changed man, and that he did not intend to take his current body as a host, but sought aid from the Defender Alliance to defeat the Underworld Dragon, which had a sizable bounty on it. Despite protest from the rest of the group, Griffon would allow Hellfire to join them, to show him how a real team worked, and why he lost in each of their encounters.

In the Underworld, the group would reach the dragon's nest with relative ease, where they would fight the dragon's offspring unknowingly, defeating it with relative ease. It was only when Hellfire was swallowed whole by the giant dragon did the group realize how much danger they were truly in. Despite this, the dragon would be defeated without casualty, though it took a great amount of time and running to accomplish this. In order to ensure the dragon would die, Griffon would pierce it through the base of its skull with The Defender's Wrath. The blade would become stuck in the rock, however, as the section of the Underworld the group was in began to collapse. Only now telling the group that the sword was bound to him, and that he knew if it remained, it would be broken, he pushed the group through the portal to return to Menoia with telekinesis, all except Fantom, who turned ethereal to avoid the force. Fantom would aid Griffon in dislodging the sword, and the two would barely escape. When confronted as to how he could hold the blade, as only a true Defender could, Fantom claimed that it was difficult, and awkwardly tried to avoid the subject.

Returning to the Defender Stronghold, Griffon found he began having difficulties fighting against his emotions, as he began to fall in love with Eagle. Becoming increasingly distant from the group in order to keep his emotions at bay, and mixed with the fact that the group no longer had a real foe to defeat, internal tension began to grow, particularly against Aurius, who tried to lead the group whenever Griffon was not around to do so. Aurius and Fantom encouraged Griffon to accept his emotions, as they could be used for good, but Griffon insisted that in the end, emotion could only lead to harm.

Eventually, Griffon would decide the best course of action would be to travel to Masaug, in order to put an end to the ongoing war there. However, shortly after the group had left the stronghold, they would once again encounter Hellfire, who had survived within the dragon, and escaped the underworld.With an army, and his telekinesis restored, albeit weaker than before, he swore to destroy the Defender Alliance at any cost. Here, Griffon would summon a vicious thunderstorm, becoming the self-proclaimed god of storms, and with this, Hellfire's army would be defeated, and Hellfire would be routed into Northern Koheigh. This changed the plans for the Defender Alliance, as they tracked Hellfire down to defeat him once and for all.

The Ultimatum
Chasing Hellfire through the mountain ranges in northern Koheigh, the Defender Alliance eventually reached a small town known as Atipor, which Hellfire had robbed a mere day earlier. Here, Spade, the ruler of Atipor and Fendar was investigating the crime, and gave Griffon what information he could about where Hellfire may have gone. Griffon offered for Spade to join them, but he refused, stating that although he was a warrior, he was needed as a ruler more.

Knowing that there was a portal to The Void to the south, in a small valley that could only be accessed by going through the north, Griffon led the group in that direction. Griffon realized that, if Hellfire were defeated in the void, then he would likely take one of the Defender Alliance as his next host, and simply return once more. So, he knew that a sacrifice was needed in order to truly defeat Hellfire, as well as perfect timing and execution. As he would not allow any of his friends to die in his place, Griffon began mentally preparing for the task ahead, in the process, becoming even more distant from the group.

As the group reached the void portal, Griffon deduced that Hellfire had in fact entered the portal, and only shortly before the group had reached it. As the only one with knowledge of the Void realm, Griffon claimed that Hellfire would have to return through the portal, and volunteered to take the first watch. Although hesitant, the group agreed, and set up camp somewhat close to the portal. About halfway through his watch, he left his sword in the stone beside the portal, and entered.

Upon entering the void, Griffon found Hellfire battling a Void Dragon, as he had done so long ago. Realizing that the dragon was nearly dead, Griffon threw a bolt of electricity at the dragon, dealing the killing blow, and absorbing its energy. Now far more powerful than Hellfire, Griffon defeated him easily, leaving him alive, however. Here, he claimed that neither he nor Hellfire should have ever been allowed to exist, as their mere existence threw the world out of balance. He began charging a nuclear blast, and out of desperation, Hellfire tried to stop him, failing, and being immobilized when he tried to retreat.

The rest of the Defender Alliance realized that something was amiss, and tried to follow Griffon through the portal upon realizing that he was not on watch, but they were too late - by the time they had reached the portal, Griffon had entirely destroyed the island in the Void, causing the portal to close behind him. Left without a leader, the group elected an unwilling Fantom as the leader, as he was the only one who had held the Defender's Wrath before, having him carry the sword in Griffon's place. Then, the projection of the face of Brennen Leiden appeared in the sky, claiming to be the new superpower of the world, and giving the Defender Alliance 10 days before his armies would destroy them. Fantom decided to journey to the Jungle of Isolation with the group to use the void portal there, in order to try to revive Griffon once more.

Return to Menoia
Despite the fact that the group reached the void portal in just under a week, they still had no idea how to bring Griffon back, as they could not enter the void themselves without certain death. Crewton, a4 and Aurius would set up fortifications while Jess, Fantom, and Eagle would contemplate how to approach the task ahead. On the 10th day, it was finally decided that, using Fantom's powers and Cute's spirit, they might return the body, after which Jess could revive it. The process was mostly successful, but required that Aurius give half his physical strength to restore Griffon's atrophied muscles to a working state. This left Aurius incapable of fighting temporarily, but a rejuvenated Griffon would be able to stop Brennen's rain of meteors, while the rest of the group, minus Aurius, held off the ensuing army.

After another decisive victory, Griffon and Aurius both needed a great deal of rest. Since Brennen was effectively powerless without his army, the group was able to get 2 days to rest, before Griffon decided to take the fight to Brennen. Using his telepathy, Griffon was able to easily identify Brennen's location, which was in his old fortress in the jungle, and led the group there. Due to his physical weakness, Brennen stood no chance, and was easily defeated by Griffon. The group would rest there for the night, and then they would begin to travel to Silverwind, as Griffon pursued his past, and he hoped, his future.

The Extinction War
With an easy trip to Silverwind, the Defender Alliance reached the castle without hassle. Here, Griffon and Aurius were greeted as Kings, and Crewton and Fantom were recognized as well. Entering the castle, the group met Sky, the redeemed bandit who was elected as the steward while the kings were absent, and Orrus van Kyre, the sworn protector of the monarch, and father to Crewton. Here, Griffon learned that Fantom was his twin brother, and that they were raised separately in order to avoid conflict for the throne, as their births were 1 second before midnight of the new year for Griffon, and 1 second after for Fantom. There was a prophecy that the Tempest born on the stroke of the new year would bring Silverwind to its greatest golden age yet, hence why Elysio wanted to avoid a battle for the throne between the two of them. Griffon also learned that in every generation of the Tempests since Sigfried Tempest, one of the siblings would sacrifice their life for one of the others.

Leaving the province of Silverwind after a few nights, the Defender Alliance traveled to Harag, which at the time, was in civil disarray, with the national guard primarily concerned with keeping peace among constant rioting in the more populated areas. This led rise to two rival groups in rural areas - one of men and one of women, led by Isaac the Cruel and Torhild the Cold, respectively, and each focused on the genocide of the other sex. Seeing that the two groups were nearly about to cross paths in the village of Lyenn, Griffon placed the village under protection of the Defender Alliance, and waited for the first army to attack.

Torhild would be the first to attack, leading her army from the west to confront Griffon, as she was angered by the fact that it was Griffon and not she who slew Brennen Leiden. When Torhild claimed that Griffon stole her valor, Griffon argued that a hero did not need to always slay the villain, and that all that mattered was that the evildoer was defeated. Angered by this, Torhild ordered her army to attack, who reluctantly followed her orders. Griffon and Crewton then slew Torhild with ease, while the rest of the Defender Alliance held off the army, who stood down after their leader was defeated. It was then that the Defender Alliance learned that not only was Torhild going from village to village slaying every man and conscripting every woman, but she forced each of her conscripts to execute their male loved ones personally. The army left, with hopes of rebuilding their lives.

Mere hours later, Isaac led his army to attack from the east to attack, and were confronted by the Defender Alliance. Isaac swore to defeat Torhild, to which Griffon told him that she had already been defeated. Unwilling to accept this as the truth, Isaac attacked, but was quickly slain before he could even reach the group by an arrow from Jess. Griffon instructed the remnants of the army to disband and try to rebuild their lives, as Torhild's army had. Speculating that Isaac had similar practices to Torhild, Griffon informed the army of the direction Torhild's forces had left, advising them to try to cooperate with the women, and work together to rebuild much of the society both armies had destroyed.

With internal tensions rising once again within the group, Griffon decided that it was best to temporarily disband the Defender Alliance, leaving with Jess and Crewton to return to the Defender Stronghold. Aurius and Fantom would travel to Northern Koheigh, while a4d9 would return home to Oakenvale, and Eagle would return to Masaug, where the civil war had just finished. Before leaving, Griffon told Fantom that the group must reunite in Masaug when the time comes, but to not search for him until then.

Preparation for the Second Invasion
Upon returning to the Defender Stronghold, Griffon told Jess and Crewton his plan - he would fake his death in what would seem to be a great battle at the stronghold, and then return to Masaug in order to ensure that the forces on the island could survive the next war it would have to endure. Griffon speculated that Anathos was behind the civil war that had just passed, and would thus strike again while the islands nations were weak. However, Griffon claimed that if all 3 of the Defenders were presumed dead, it would arouse suspicion, and more importantly, would lead to the rise of more groups who would seek to do evil in a time in which the Defenders were needed elsewhere.

Agreeing to the plan, Jess and Crewton forged a false grave for Griffon outside the Defender Stronghold, and sent messages to the members of Project Alliance, while Griffon left. First travelling to the most northern reaches of Koheigh to meet with Zamrous, Griffon tried to convince Zamrous to be prepared to assist in Masaug, but made little ground. Then leaving for Masaug, Griffon met with Mr. Iager and King Falcon upon his arrival. He then waited in Sahag for Eagle to return from his own orchestrated funeral. When she did arrive, she was initially angry, but after explaining his reasoning, Eagle began to understand more, but was still upset that she thought Griffon had died.

After waiting nearly 5 years, when Afratu returned to take over Masaug, Griffon and Eagle would remain behind in order to help Dystral hold off the demonic invasion, while King Falcon led Sahag and the Lake Village to Northern Koheigh, where Griffon instructed him to find Spade, Fantom, and Aurius. Hiding in the upper floor of Sahag's castle, Griffon and Eagle waited for the demons to pour out to unlock the Balance Gate, unable to stop them without direct aid from Dystral. Realizing that Dystral's army would seek to intercept the demons, Griffon left on his own to ensure the war was not lost immediately. Arriving just in time to participate in the battle, Griffon slew two demons who were about to execute General Thor. When asked why, Griffon told Thor that he was needed alive in order for Menoia to win the war against the demons, and thus could not be afforded the death of a warrior.

Working in tandem with General Thor after this, Griffon and Eagle helped lead successful skirmishes against the demons, who had opened the Balance Gate, and could thus pour out as quickly as they were killed. Realizing the desperation of the situation, and that Dystral's troops were tiring, Griffon left in the night to enter the Underworld. Here he would stay and defeat any demon who tried to reach the surface through him, effectively cutting the demon army's potential in half, as the demons were extremely disorganized in the underworld and would almost never be in groups of 3 or more. Here he would await the return of the Heroes of Masaug, with reinforcements from Koheigh. By broadcasting a telepathic signal regularly, he was able to get the attention of Fantom when they did arrive, who convinced the rest of the group to journey through the Underworld to reunite with Griffon. Griffon would then assist in the battle against Afratu, and would help hold the Balance Gate shut while Phailak would seal it.

Trivia

 * Griffon is a projection of lead game developer GriffonDefender's values.
 * GriffonDefender is a student in Mathematical Physics at Queen's University.

Quotes

 * "My plan is to unite the armies of Menoia here in Masaug. After that, winning this war becomes as simple as keeping General Thor alive... and that, I can do."
 * "And so, here, on this remote island detached from most of civilization, will the fate of the world be decided once more. Should Masaug fall, it will become a permanent outpost of Hell."
 * "There are some who say that I am the most powerful person in all of Menoia... those people have no idea what my brothers are capable of."