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// 6 On Griffonstone 
// Story: FiSA: Side Stories and Notes 
// by Cordial Nova 
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The small island realm of Griffonstone, while entirely overshadowed in geopolitics by the Griffon Empire proper, is nonetheless much better known in Equestria. It traces its origin back to the First Griffon War (308), and more specifically to the griffon forces abandoned in the course of the war. Emperor Gyula (239-310) banished all those who surrendered to or were captured by the EUP Guard, along with their descendants for ninety-nine generations, from ever returning to the Empire or any of its eyries.

Those abandoned griffons split into various factions, with the largest two - the Redemptors and the Rebellious - being wiped out shortly thereafter, as the former launched a hopeless second attempt to complete the Empire's objectives in Equestria (the Battle of Red Fields, 309) and the latter mounted a rebellion against the Emperor under the banners of General Gripbeak (the Betrayed's Rebellion, 309-310, which in itself failed but weakened Emperor Gyula sufficiently that he fell in a challenge mounted by his nephew, later Emperor Gallant). Others turned to mercenary work as free claws, but we concern ourselves here with the third faction, which led by Tribune (later First Citizen) Gildedclaw, took wing south-east out of Equestria, crossing the Great Celestial Ocean by island-hopping through the dragon lands, ultimately to arrive on a small then-uninhabited island off the southern coast of the Empire, later named Griffonstone.

When Gildedclaw's people arrived on Griffonstone, they first burnt their banners, and then divested themselves of other elements of Imperial Griffonic culture, abandoning clan, eyrie, custom, and the traditional Griffonic reverence for wingleaders and ancestors. Having been abandoned by their fellows, Gildedclaw thought that it was only fitting that they abandon them in turn.

This abandonment was not undertaken without a replacement in mind, however. As a diplomat before the war, Gildedclaw had found much to admire (and covet) during a posting to the growing Equestrian city of Manehattan, and thus he persuaded his followers to establish Griffonstone as a merchant republic. However, having shed the ironclad customs of the Empire that kept the admittedly quarrelsome and covetous nature of many griffons in check, the newborn republic was deeply divided by internal dissension, and despite advertising itself as a free port, few found it a congenial enough destination to risk the wrath of the Empire.

Gildedclaw himself died under suspicious circumstances (insofar as falling down a flight of stairs onto three sets of wingblades can be considered suspicious) in 318, leaving behind no organized government. By the time that the Empire was able to turn its attention to Griffonstone after the Betrayed's Rebellion and the succession conflicts, it could easily have regained control of the island, but found nothing there worth the effort of reclaiming.

In the following years of anarchy, Griffonstone fell into the Equestrian sphere of influence by default, by the mercy of Our Guiding Sun, whose insistence on sending supplies to the island for the relief of Equestria's former enemies undoubtedly saved many lives, at the cost of a slight chill in Equestrian-Imperial relations.

A new era came for Griffonstone, however, in 480, when an adventurer, Grover, returned to Griffonstone bearing the Idol of Boreas. Little is known of the nature of this idol, or any magical properties which it may have possessed, but regardless, with it Grover was able to unite Griffonstone as never before, and was acclaimed by the population as Griffonstone's first king, Grover the Great. The newborn kingdom was able to build its own merchant fleet, and as its reputation grew, became a popular entrepot for trade between the various powers surrounding the Great Celestial Ocean.

These good times continued for nearly 1,200 years, with Griffonstone and its allies fending off an invasion from the Empire in 560 under its third king, Gaffhook, and maintaining good relations with Equestria, culminating with the Night Guard being permitted to maintain a forward base there during the Great Griffon War (1194), but they were not to last forever.

In 1671, under the fourteenth king, Guto, Griffonstone was invaded by the legendary Arimaspi, who succeeded in stealing the Idol of Boreas from the palace, and attempts to retrieve it were foiled as during heated combat with the royal guard, Arimaspi fell into the Abysmal Abyss, a chasm dividing the island, and was lost. With the famed relic lost, King Guto's rule collapsed, and in the years since, Griffonstone has degenerated once again to its previous chaotic state, dependent on Equestrian support. Indeed, it is known throughout the world as the Lame Horse of Equus, the weakest of Equestria's client states.


- Moondancer, Archivist to the Sisters Two