Glyph

I should explain who I am.

My name is Glyph.  I am a griffin.

I spent most of my life living in the griffin capital, Cloud Peak, with my family.  It was pretty dull, but easy all the same.  The surrounding areas of woodland were full of easy prey, and I had only very rarely gone hungry throughout my entire life.

Things started to change when my elder brother, Garth, became...romantically engaged with one of the High King's daughters.  I remember back when he first announced his love for her, and it was all I could do not to burst out laughing at his smitten expression, until she just walked into the room.  Princess Victoria herself.  To which, he hastily added "So I would like you all to meet her!" finishing off that sentence with a nervous laugh.

She regarded us, my family, our small house (especially compared to the Royal Palace, at least) with an air of blatant superiority, which is fair enough, she is royalty after all.  But there was also that underlying tone of disdain, very well concealed, but still most definitely there.

I suppose, in hindsight, I should have overlooked that, too, and just tried to get along with her from the start.  Of course, I went through all the necessary pleasantries all griffins are taught to extend to those in power, particularly to the members of the Royal Family, but that was all I really did.  I never made an effort to get to like her, or in turn, get her to like me.  Maybe if the two of us were better friends, I wouldn't be in the situation I am in.

But that's hardly fair.  If not me, then it would probably be her, and I doubt she would have lasted this long.  I mean sure, I'm no grizzled wilderness survival veteran, but on the other wing, I'm no pampered princess either.  I can look after myself.

I'm getting off topic now.  So, anyway, my brother and Princess Vicky (I called her that to her face once.  Once.)  were to be wed, in the most sickeningly formal way possible.  The royals always need everything to be...just so.  As a result, the wedding was a long and tedious affair, with an equally disappointingly dull party to follow.  Don't get me wrong, high class wines and champagne is all well and good, but the person drinking it is the one to watch.  As it happens, watching was mostly what I found myself doing in that large, luxurious hall, only occasionally having to politely agree when one of the upper class would decide that I must be so pleased, becoming a member of the Royal Family.

I was not pleased.  This would only inevitably serve to separate us even further from other griffins, and from what I had heard, griffins outside the capital didn't exactly have easy lives.

That's an understatement actually.  Even the five of us (me, mum, dad, brother and sister), barely scraping by in our tiny house in the big city were still pretty much living like lords compared to peasants.  Griffins beyond the admittedly expansive walls of Cloud Peak had it tough.  I had heard stories of kidnappings, slavery and dragon attacks, of all the things, out there.

It seemed ridiculous.  There's a lot of space in the city, and it makes no sense for any griffin to be turned away simply because they may not have quite enough money to afford accommodation.  As far as I knew, no griffins had ever moved in to Cloud Peak, at least not as long as I've been alive.  There have been more leaving, in fact.

But, back to the wedding.  Thanks to a piercing stare from my brother as he stood beside his bride so proud and happy, a look that perfectly conveyed the message Don't screw this up for me, I always managed to find a polite smile to put on my beak for the nobility.  Continuing my stellar performance, I would add a gracious nod and simper, "Oh yes, I am ever so pleased.  I wish them both all the best in the future," usually becoming more and more strained towards the end of the overused line, to the point where I would wonder if whoever I happened to be speaking to would notice.

They never did.  Part of me wished someone had, and pressed further, so at least something, anything, might have happened to create a worthy memory of the wedding in my mind, as opposed to the slow, tiring music that never seemed to stop throughout the evening, and the tiny portions of food available which tasted dry and left me feeling dissatisfied.

Oh, and the part about the assassination attempt meant for the Princess in her chamber.

If I hadn't decided to slip out and explore the palace a little, I suppose I would never have heard until the news arrived at my doorstep the next day, in the form of an obnoxiously large headline.

Instead, as I meandered into the Princess' chamber, I found myself staring down the barrel of gun, which I soon found out was loaded, although it didn't take a genius to figure that out.  The Griffin behind the barrel was wearing some kind of mask, which prevented me from getting a good look at him.  All I was able to pick out was his size, as he loomed over me, and his surprisingly rare blue eyes, with a scar over his right.  If I had been focusing, I might have noticed the colour of his coat, or feathers, maybe whether he had a crest on chest, as most griffins (not all) had.

If I had been focusing, I probably would have died, so that knowledge would have absolutely no value to me whatsoever.

Instead, instinct took over me when faced with a life-threatening situation, so I allowed myself to drop to the floor while spreading my wings, as the shot was fired, roaring over my head.  Pushing my wings down, I surged forwards, tackling the assailant into the opposite wall, a rather impressive twelve feet away, considering how big he was.  All I had to do was survive, someone would have heard that shot, and guards would be on their way as I was struggling with the attacker.

Apparently, he figured out the guards would be on their way as well, and, throwing me across the room as he did so, turned around to force open the massive windows that adorned the Princess' room.  Before I could get up, he was gone.  No sooner had he disappeared through the open window, the guards decided to burst through the door.

I like to think I look fairly innocent, at least innocent enough that a guard would not look at me, still in my formal attire, the still-smoking gun, and finally the open window, before jumping to the conclusion that I was the intruder.

My protests were, rather stoically, ignored, and the two guards that had arrived first began carting me off to the hall.  My first thought was how lucky I was that they didn't just throw me in the dungeon until the rest of the Royal Family was safe, but my brief moment of relief was dashed as they marched right up to the King and threw me at his feet, declaring "This one was caught at the scene of the break-in, milord, along with an empty gun."

I do believe I whimpered as the great griffin that was the High King lowered his gaze down to glare at me.  I doubt anything I may have said would have come out as anything more that a hatchling's squeak, so I stayed quiet and just hoped for the best.

Luck was apparently on my side in that regard.  Princess Victoria, whom I have only ever held an opinion of slight distaste before that moment, decided to speak up in my defence.

"Father, you needn't trouble yourself with her.  She is the sister of my husband, and by extension, a member of our family.  She is a guest at the wedding, after all, why would she need to break in to the castle?" She finished her speech with a titter.

The High King turned his gaze to his daughter, who offered him a sincere smile.  For what seemed like an eternity to me, just laying on the ground afraid to move, they just stood there, however it couldn't have been more than a few seconds, as her smile never faltered.

Finally, the King sighed.  "Very well."  Then, the moment I'd been dreading, he turned his terrifying gaze back to me.  I may have squeaked just due to the sheer intensity of his glare.

I was not prepared for the chuckle.  It threw me off completely, to the point where I was just confused.  What do you say after that?  Scrambling for a response, I hastily gathered myself into a bowing stance and simply said "Your Highness," before risking a glance up at him again.  He then nodded, and moved on.

Immediately, the slow music started up again, as if nothing had happened.  I realised that it had never actually stopped, and I was just too paralysed with fear under the King's glare to pay attention to anything else.

Still bewildered by how easily everyone had let the incident slip, I was taken completely by surprise as my brother dragged my off to the side.

"Hey!"  I protested feebly.  He let go and fixed me with a seething look.

"What the hell were you doing in the Princess' chamber!?" he hissed.

Even though they were married, he still didn't use her name.  That was a bit pathetic.  I voiced my opinion to him, but the ferocity of his glare grew to rival that of the King.  " You didn't answer my question, Glyph."  Deadly serious.

"I was bored, so I went exploring," I replied, trying to act as nonchalant as I could.  His response was pretty funny, though.  It involved a lot of spluttering.

"Wha- WHAT?!" He finally managed.  I shrugged.

"This place is boring.  I got bored.  I didn't mean to cause any trouble."  It then occurred to me that maybe I should tell someone about the assassin as soon as possible.  I really shouldn't have avoided it for so long, anyway.

I attempted to mention it to Garth, but he just cut me off as soon as the first word left my beak.

"Go home."  His voice held no inflection.  It was just a monotone, signalling that I had no choice in the matter.

"But-"  I began.

"No."  The rage in his eyes seemed as though it would bore right through me.  "Just go.  If you're bored, you'll cause trouble.  Always do.  Just don't okay?  This is my night.  Mine and Victoria's."

Well, at least he had used her name this time.

I turned to leave, but at the last minute turned back to try and blurt out the assassination attempt before he could recover.

He was quicker.  "Just GO, Glyph!"  The hiss was rapidly increasing in volume.  I had no intention of drawing any more attention to myself so I complied.

I'll admit, I was upset.  Being thrown out of my brother's wedding by none other than the groom himself, I felt pretty bad at this point.  Despite this, I held my head up high, and strode toward the great doors at the end of the hall.

As I passed through the doors the guards at either side had dutifully opened for me, I paused.  I had to tell at least someone.

"Hey, just so you know, there was an assassin in the Princess' room.  He escaped.  You should probably up the security."

The guard gawked at me.  I held the stare.  Finally, he decided I was serious, and sped off, presumably in the direction of the barracks or something to pass the message along.

With a sigh, I exited the Palace.  The air was slightly chilly, and I knew I would want to get home quickly.  I unfurled my wings, no longer caring about the state of my formal clothes, and took off, faster than I usually do, in the direction of home.

Of course, there had to be another surprise when I shambled over to my bed.  As I was about to flop into it, fully clothed and grumpy, the unmistakable slam of our letter box jerked me to attention.  I hurriedly made my way to the front room to inspect the delivery.

What I saw chilled me to the bone.  It was a simple message that read:

If the princess lives, then you die instead.

That was it.

A single line of claw-writing on parchment and suddenly I was having trouble breathing.

Someone wanted me dead.

I was endangering my family by being near them.  Probably.  The note did say I would be the one doing all the dying...

There was no question in my mind who the note was from.  The griffin who had almost killed me earlier, in the Princess' chamber.  It struck me as odd that he would leave a note instead of simply killing me, but then I recalled how he had hesitated before pulling the trigger when I entered the Princess' room.  If he was an absolute cold-blooded killer, I would be dead already.  But he didn't seem as though he was very good at his job.

First of all, he hesitated before pulling the trigger, so he must have seen I wasn't the Princess.  Then, he pulled the trigger anyway, after it was clear I wasn't his target.  Finally, he allowed himself to be slammed into a wall by little old me.

So he had substandard reaction timing and panicked easily.

Either that, or he enjoyed theatrics.

Big deal.  He was still prepared to kill me.

I doubted he would hesitate again, given the chance.

I doubted he would miss the target again, given the chance.

Nor would he give up until I was dead.  He said he was holding a grudge, and I believed he meant business.

I suddenly regretted the last thing I said to my brother being admittedly surly and obnoxious.  I doubted I would ever see him again, and he would probably blame himself for my sudden disappearance, knowing him.

Well, there's one way to fix that issue.  I turned the note over and picked up the quill that sat on the desk opposite the door.  I dabbed it in the ink pot and shakily wrote out:

Hey family,

I need to tell you all that I'll be going away.  I don't know for how long, exactly.  But for your sakes, and safety, it may well be forever.  An assassin is going to come after me, and I'm going to have to leave the city if I want to have any chance at survival.  Not to mention keeping you lot safe.

On the other side of this note is the message I received from the assassin.  I would normally dismiss something like this as a stupid prank, but I've seen this guy.  It's real.  The note he sent is on the flip side of this parchment.

Sorry it has to be this way, but I have to leave as soon as possible, so I know he won't come for any of you.

Love,

Glyph

P.S.  Garth, I wish you and Vicky all the best for your future together.  Don't you dare go feeling like any of this was your fault.

Love you, bro.

May your dreams take wing

I ended the letter with the family motto.  If nothing else, it was an honour thing, for all the good it did me.  With a sigh, I put the quill down.  I read over the letter one more time before carrying it through to my room and placing it on my pillow.  Hopefully, it would be morning before it was discovered.  I needed to put as much distance as possible between that killer and my family.

I dug my saddlebags out of the chest at the foot of my bed.  Stripping quickly out of my formal clothes, I discarded them carelessly to the side.  They would be useless where I was going.

I paused.  Where was I going to go?  I had no idea how far I could get before the assassin would start to come after me.

I shook the thought out of my head.  That would be something to worry about later.  I grabbed the essential gear I would need for this trip, however short it would turn out to be.

Not even five minutes later, I was set to go.  I had grabbed my tinderbox, as much money as I could (which still wasn't much, maybe only about two hundred and fifty bits), a hooded travelling cloak which I decided to pack until I got out of the city, and my own personal treasure.  A very masterfully crafted pair of clawed gauntlets.  They were made of dragon fangs, and were probably the most expensive thing I owned.  My father had got the teeth after a hunting party had been dispatched to get rid of a dragon that had been hunting on our land.  Apparently, the dragon had not been fully grown, but it had still managed to roast one of the hunters before a spear had pierced its heart.

Most griffins, upon seeing clawed gauntlets on display at a blacksmith's, would scoff and mock the seemingly pointless weapon.  After all, why wear clawed gauntlets when you have all natural claws built in, right?

I like my clawed gauntlets.  Not only because they are incredibly well-made and very beautiful to look at, but also because they grant a longer reach, which is useful not only for hunting, but also in regular brawls.  I have escaped a fair few fights unscathed thanks to these babies.  Hopefully, I would escape this whole ordeal unscathed as well.

Part of me wanted to leave them behind, in case the assassin caught me and ended up taking them for himself.  The thought alone repulsed me.  But then a larger part of me wanted to bring them along just to make sure he never would.

I was ready to leave.  I stepped outside to face the now colder night air.  I was relieved the wedding party was going on so late, or  a member of my family might have already arrived home by now and that would complicate things.

I set off into the night.  I already knew where to go.  The utility that allowed anyone to cross vast treks of land with no effort.  I could get well away from the Griffin Kingdom overnight.  It was a brilliant idea.  I congratulated my own foresight.

"Last call for Canterlot!  ALL ABOARD!"  the conductor bellowed.

Yeesh.  Canterlot?  The royal capital of Equestria, home to the Princesses Celestia and Luna, who controlled the day and night?

Better than here.

I dashed to the conductor.  "How much for a ticket?" I blurted out.

"That'll be fifty bits, ma'am.  Regretfully, we only have space in first class."  The conductor did not look the least bit regretful about it.

It would have to do.  Admittedly, it was a whole lot more of my total spendings I would liked to have relieved myself of in one place, but there was no other choice.  I had to get the heck out of here, and this train was the fastest option available.

I nodded, fishing the bits out of my saddlebag.  "I'll take it."

The conductor accepted my money graciously, and handed over a ticket.  With further ado, I boarded the train.

"Wow."

First class was first class for a reason.  The seats were massive, for a start, and there were only four in the carriage.  I also got a generously sized bed with soft sheets and to top it all off, a separating curtain so I didn't have to look at the other griffins riding the carriage with me.

I tossed my saddlebags onto the seat and drew the curtain.  "Last call!"  I heard the conductor shouting.  "All aboard!"

With a sigh, I fell onto the exquisitely soft bed.  Drawing the sheets over me, I suddenly realised that this may actually be my very last time in the Griffin Kingdom, my last time in the place I had grown up.  My home.

It was certainly a sobering thought.  I drifted down into a fitful sleep.  When I awoke, I would be in a completely different land.

I allowed myself a quick smile before finally succumbing to sleep.  This was going to be one hell of an adventure, no matter how long it lasted.