//------------------------------//
// Noble Blood 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Proudly, Gerardo leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and preparing to launch into an epic narration. "Ah, the great eastern continent, the Griffon Empire! Land of my forefathers and their forefathers before them. Legend has it that in times of old, when it became ruled by the great-"

Slipstream shot up an eager hoof, interrupting already. "The Griffons have their own religion that runs counter to the yaks. Everyone from there I've talked to acts like they have a goddess who is physically there, in their capitol. Is that true?"

Gerardo winced. "You seem... err... well-informed. That was actually right where I was going."

Slipstream nodded, smiling, and Starlight looked sideways at her. She was showing off for the griffon, wasn't she?

"Ah, yes, well, ahem." Gerardo coughed, regaining his composure. "The Empire is indeed ruled indirectly by the goddess Garsheeva. For the most part, however, the citizens are free to make their own laws and governmental structures, though they do tend to model society in respect to her. There is an Empress, after all... again, usually."

Again, Slipstream interrupted, raising a hoof. "The last Empress got assassinated years ago on a diplomatic visit to Varsidel, right? I remember that. It was big news at the time."

"I'm telling the story," Gerardo meekly replied, looking hurt. Slipstream sneezed again, though it might have been deliberate in realization that trying to impress him wasn't working.

"Go on," Dior urged him. "I'm familiar with Griffon politics, but it should be interesting to hear it directly from a citizen."

Gerardo rubbed his forehead. "I'm slightly at my wits' end trying to recall where I was going with this. Would you mind asking a question and then not interrupting until I've at least found my bearings?"

"Goddess," Slipstream said, pointing a hoof. "Garsheeva. My ears are... ahh..." She held the hoof to her nose, stifling her sneeze. "...Whew. Ready."

"...Yes." Gerardo cleared his throat, trying once again. "As I was saying. Garsheeva is an immortal who predates modern knowledge of the country. She is a creature that is halfway between a griffon and a pony, capable of bearing a brand yet also feline in form known as a sphinx. Also, she is the size of a house. Mortal, equine-sized sphinxes also exist in extremely small numbers, and it is widely held that she is the ancient progenitor of their race. As such, the Empire's landscape is divided amongst a number of territories governed by noble houses of the sacred bloodline, each seeing to their own laws and political landscape while being collectively governed by the Empress and her royal family, who is second only to the Goddess in authority."

Starlight blinked. "So it's called the Griffon Empire, but isn't even ruled by griffons?"

"By sphinxes," Gerardo corrected. "Which are half griffon and half pony, as far as our lore goes. Imagine a pegasus such as yourself..." He pointed a wing at Slipstream. "Yet with paws such as mine on all four legs, a slim tail also like mine, and an equine head save for sharper teeth and vertical pupils. Also, they tend to have alternate colorations on their bellies. And I personally find this rule appropriate, since the citizenry of the Empire is half griffons and half ponies. It is quite properly representative."

Slipstream looked politely wary, and Starlight had nothing else to say, so it fell to Dior to ask the next question. "Empress, you said? Could you talk about the central royal family?"

Gerardo bowed. "As you wish. Customarily, the Empire has always been ruled by an empress, passed from mother to daughter upon perishing or abdication, though as was stated the present empress is dead and her daughter the princess is not yet of age to take up the full duties of her position. The noble houses, by contrast, are all ruled by lords, and it is from them that the empresses obtain their husbands. Typically, houses endure as heads of their region until they no longer hold holy blood, and then retire to their manors and allow one of the princes to form a new governance over their territory."

At that, Slipstream looked confused. "Lineage can expire?"

"Indeed." Gerardo nodded sagely. "You see, one of the things that make sphinxes worthy of note is that griffons and ponies are incapable of having offspring together, yet sphinxes can do so with both. However, race then becomes variant. Thus, the only way to ensure a child is of the proper race is for both parents to be sphinxes as well. And as males regularly leave the imperial family to start houses, yet females never do... you can see how one of the two might be in short supply. In fact, the Goddess holds it as a heresy of the highest order for any of holy blood to inbreed, because if a house were to have a sphinx as a daughter... well, you can imagine what would happen."

Slipstream turned vaguely green. "I think I'll pass on that."

"A wise decision," Gerardo said. "Nevertheless, it still creates quite an interesting political landscape. Regional boundaries never expire, yet rulership transfers by law the moment a local lord's line has no more sphinxes. Obviously, this isn't always a concern for the lord themselves, as it will only become a problem after they've passed away, but for any descendants they choose to leave... Well, it is considerably nicer being a member of a household in power than it is living in a secluded manor and knowing your family's glory days are forever behind it. But any house who does produce a daughter suddenly becomes of great importance, since there is no law about betrothing them to a different house! And any house that manages to obtain a pureblooded marriage for their lord is virtually guaranteed another generation in power."

"Ironridge has its changing economy and fighting districts," Dior cut in with a smile. "The Griffon Empire has their noble families who play with eugenics. Varsidel has their war, Yakyakistan has their own transition issues if Herman was to be believed, and who can say what the Plains of Harmony suffer from? I wonder if there's anywhere in the world that doesn't have tension bubbling just beneath the surface."

Starlight shrugged. "Riverfall seemed pretty peaceful."

"Riverfall possessed an extremely large quantity of single, unaffiliated mares," Gerardo remarked, lifting a talon. "Though to be fair, I believe Dior was talking about tension of a different sort."

Slipstream heavily blushed, and Dior fanned himself with a hoof. "I wouldn't have much experience with that. Carry on about the Empire, though. I assume you have some sort of background with all this political play?"

"Some sort, you could say," Gerardo acknowledged. "The best way to start this, I suppose, would be with a question: have any of you ever taken a close look at my talons?"

Slipstream hid her face, and Starlight and Dior both shook their heads. Was she supposed to have been staring at them, or something?

Gerardo held both up. "Notice how one is the usual yellow, yet the left has bands of charcoal gray? Imperceptible at a distance or in most lights, yet that is a marking distinctive of having holy blood somewhere in one's lineage. They only manifest on griffons, and merely have a chance of being passed down, so will ultimately leave a family forever and have little actual importance beyond a matter of personal pride or honor. However, yes, I am one of the final scions of a house that faded into obscurity generations before I was born, and was raised on tales of political skullduggery and intrigue."

Starlight could perfectly imagine Maple or Valey's voice remarking that that explained a lot.

"Now, however, I am a griffon adventurer extraordinaire," Gerardo continued, "having forsaken my life of passable luxury and extreme irrelevance for the high living of the open road. While there is no bad blood between the Empire and I, it simply wasn't enough. And so, I wander."