The lighting gryphon is the national animal of Avalyn and the guardian animal of the royal family. All throughout the world fear the sight of the purple feathered gryphon and the insignia of it on the banners and shield of the royal guard commands awe and respect.
It is the sight of this insignia that puts the gargoyles at unease because the agreed convention is that the Dawn family and the powers that be at Erebus would not interact unless Avalyn was on the brink of destruction. Monkeyhead closed her eyes, sending a telepathic signal to the Steward, the Castellan and the rest of the gargoyles, to warn them that the presence is needed.
“I don’t like the look of this.” Said Cowhead with a serious expression, forgetting the previous scam by others, “From the magical signatures those knights are emitting, I can tell that they are first class.”
“It's worse than that,” said Snakehead, “There are 3 fingers on the claw of the gryphon on that banner. Those are Queensguards.”
“Urgh, I hope we don’t have to fight them or anything.” Said Monkeyhead, “Though it’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to flex our muscles, those knights would rip us to shred.”
The sound of flapping wings reached them as the rest of the gargoyles arrived. Their leader, a dragon-headed gargoyle sat perched on the gate itself. Compared to the others, who have lithe bodies with disproportionately long limbs, Dragonhead has a body twice their size and filled out like a barbarian. He was also the only one carrying a weapon, with a large longsword resting on his shoulder.
“Listen up you lazy bums, we don’t get to pay back the Lord for his generosity often, so this is a rare chance to show that we are not parasites to Steward. If we embarrass the castle then he kick us out.” Dragonhead said as he glanced around the gathering. “It’s unlikely they are here to fight but be ready for anything.”
“YES BOSS” shouted the rest of the gargoyles.
As the royal procession came up to the gate, Dragonhead jumped down and came forward. “Halt, identify yourself and declare yourself.”
A knight wearing a purple and white armour came forward to greet the gargoyle. “Watch your tone monster, you are in the presence of Her Majesty Elise Amelia Altia. Call your masters at once.”
Dragonhead bristled at the dismissal and stood to his full height. “You must be new because the authority of the Crown is not the highest authority on this island. We respect Her Majesty due to her relationship with his Lordship but you do not get throw your weight around her.”
The knight’s face flushed in anger but before he could retort back, the gates of The Stygian Castle opened. Only one person walked out of the gate, a huge man dressed in an immaculate suit. The first thing that people noticed other than his tall frame was the large, wild mane of silver hair on his head. The second thing is black horns coming out of his forehead, and his black, pupil-less eyes. This isn’t a human but a devil from the realm of demons and though he is alone the presence he carries puts massive pressure on the knights.
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“Please, can we drop the hostilities? We are not enemies and this behaviour is not becoming the people we serve.”
The devil walked past Dragonhead and putting a hand over his heart knelt in front of the carriage. “It is an honour to greet Her Majesty, the humble person in front of you is the Steward of The Stygian Castle. My name is Renard and I apologise for the shoddy reception you have received. Due to the short notice and Lord Emile’s benevolence, many of the castle’s usual residents are away. Some are in the city while others went to the Festival of Absolution. Once again, I apologise.”
“Do not fret Mr. Renard, I’m not offended nor am I here representing Avalyn. My reason to come here today is mostly personal.” A rich, velveteen voice rang out of the carriage. “We are not staying for dinner, so you can put the kitchen staff at ease. I expect the head chef is running out like a blinded gryphon.”
“Of course, Your Majesty as you wish,” said Renard as he stood up. He turned to face the gargoyles first. “You may return to your post, I’ll be enough to service Her Majesty.”
The gargoyles return without a complaint and Renard leads the royal procession into the castle. The Stygian Castle is a large and complicated structure, with most of the castle being off-limit for the mortal staff. In fact, considering its size it doesn’t take the royal group long to arrive at the throne room. Behind Renard and the leading knights is a tall woman, with dark braided hair. She wears a purple blouse with gold embroidery and wearing dark leather pants. She carries herself with the regal air of a ruler and walks down the corridors not worried about the dark and suffocating that the castle emits.
Behind her is an old man and a young girl. The old man is dressed in the traditional robes of the Avalian mages, the dark blue robes accented with the colour of the wearer’s element. The old man had the grey of the wind and the light blue of the water on his robes, denoting him as a dual wind-water mage. The number of lines on his robe also revealed his status as a grand mage. Like Elise, he wasn’t fazed by the castle, though he was curious by the gazes he felt as they walked to the throne room. The girl seems to be in her early teens and similar to the old man was wearing grey robes. Hers however had only black lines, showing her as a dark mage. She did feel overwhelmed in this place of immense dark magic. Her own magic began to flare uncontrollably as if to devour the ambient dark magic. Before it could burst out of her, the old man put a hand on her shoulder and calmed down the magic.
“Don’t worry my dear, this is the best place for you.” He said reassuringly, smiling down at her.
The girl gives him a small smile, though it’s strained. She carries a black book wrapped up in chains, and she keeps glancing at it with a worried expression. They soon arrive before two large doors made of black wood that only grows on Erebus or the Dark Continent. In front of the doors are two knights holding polearms, when Renard comes in front of them they move to open the doors.
Just like the rest of the castle, the throne isn’t lavish like most noble estates. Instead, it seeks to intimidate visitors by shrouding the walls with darkness. They step into a small throne room with seems to be empty. But the wall at the far end of the room is covered in darkness and in that darkness staring back at the Queen and her entourage are two violets eyes.