//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Red Wind of Change 
// by Mimic Kairatta 
//------------------------------//

Red Wind of Change

by Mimic Kairatta

Chapter one
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Here is a tale I'm sure you all heard before: Long ago, two regal sisters ruled over a kingdom together. One was in charge of the day; the other in charge of the night. They worked together and fought off the spirit of Chaos, a dark tyrant of the Crystal Kingdom and more to protect their land and subjects. One sister received more attention than the other and was called out on it. They had an argument. This argument turned into a fight, then the fight became an all out battle. This ended when one sister sent the other to be banished for a thousand years on the cold and desolate moon.  
 
Now, stop me if you heard this one: A man travels to a convention dressed as his favorite character. Once there, or before he even gets there, he bought or found an artifact which he then placed upon his costume.  
 
The trinket in question was actually a magical item. One thing led to another and it activated, sending the poor sod hurtling through the fabrics of reality to end up in a world not his own. This world happened to be inhabited mainly by Ponies and various other mythical creatures. He met up with the rulers of said world, who happened to be the two sisters or even their parents. A time long before the other sister's banishment.

However, the story I'm going to tell will differ from how it usually goes.

He finds himself, not on the lands of Equestria, but farther East within the empire of the Griffin Kingdom.

This is the tale of a man who came to embody the wind.

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        Far to the East away from Equestria borders on top the Grey Mountain stood the proud Griffon Kingdom. Many griffons can be seen flying in and above the great city's skies, going about their business. Within it's rocky cliffs held the arches and buildings of the griffon architecture.The homes and temples were held up by pillars and archways, made from hard marble for strength and purity. Cheap and easy to gather with an abundant of marble within the mountain they sit upon. The castle itself is built within the very top of the mountain itself. Water flowing from the aqueducts from it's side, flowing down the mountain to provide the city with it's water supply. 

Going into the castle, we see a small group of children being led by a much larger griffon down the Hall of Great History. The walls are painted in a soft amber, broken up by sheer, springtime green curtains on the windows.

"Come along class," the male griffon beckons."We still have a lot of ground to cover and little time to cover it." The children follow, looking around in wonder at all the historical artifacts and statues scattered about the area.

"I want to start our trip within the Hall of Great History. This is where the Kingdom holds it's greatest treasures of the past for the public to see and learn." He gestures to a nearby statue. It shows a griffon in battle armor and a large axe in claw. "This statue here depicts Fredericka the Strong. One of the greatest warriors in history. it was said she took down a dragon head-to-head, in the air no less."

"No way," A rather pudgy male fledgling remarked. "It would take a hundred griffons to fight a dragon!"

The teacher, named Marshall, chuckles. "It's one of the reasons she's called Fredericka the Strong. Her skills in combat were second to none. Not only that, she was one of the Aeromancers who perfected wind combat."

A female fledgling spoke up, "An... aero-wha?"

"Aeromancer. It's someone who specializes in air magic." He gestures to a painting which depicted a griffon in robes and a staff casting a spell. 

"It's a craft that not all griffons can accomplish. Those who are born with the affinity of the wind can, if they desire, to refine it into their craft to better themselves and learn control."

"You mean like how the baker who lives near me who uses it to make fluffy bread?"

The older griffon chuckles, "Something to that effect." 

Another hatchling in the back made himself known, "Could griffons always control wind?"

"Ah, an excellent question. Which actually brings us to something rather interesting." He gestures to the next statue near them. This one looked very different from the previous ones. It didn't show a griffon, but something that stood on it's hind legs and wasn't like any animal or species anyone ever seen. It stood straight while holding both arms in the air. "Now can anyone tell me what this statue is?"

The kids were puzzling to find out what it is they were looking at. One spoke, "A monkey?"

"A Minotaur?"

"An alien!"

Everyone glances at the fledgling questioningly.

"... what? It could happen."

The teacher shakes his head. "As amusing as all those answers are, they're not entirely correct. There is no record of what he was. This creature is known as the Red Wind. Legend has it that Red Wind powers over air dwarf even the best Aeromancers of our time. He was able to shield an entire village with the power of wind alone, alter it to control weather in enclosed spaces, and use it to cut as well as any blade. He was once the advisor and bodyguard to the first ruler of the Griffon Kingdom, Damon the Wise. Red Wind was known to be the first Aeromancer."

The class "awe"s at the revelation.

"What happened to him?"

"He fell in battle." He gestures to another painting close by which depicts the Red Wind flying through the sky with a tornado around the lower half of it's body while throwing spells against a pair of Alicorns who were doing battle. One was dark blue and the other was a shining white. They had 6 gems hovering around them. 

 "Who did he fight against?" The same hatching asked, making some of the others around him frown and put their claws down.
 
" He fought against the pony leaders of Equestria. Two immortal Alicorns. One who controls the power of the sun, Celestia-" he gestures to the white alicorn. "and one who draws power from the moon, Luna" He gestures to the blue one.

 "How do they raise the sun and moon?" A smallish hatching asked, pushing her glasses up.

 "With great magic." He gestures to three old banners which held 3 different images of ponies. One was a simple pony, another had a horn, and another showed a pony with wings. "You see, ponies usually come in 3 different species: Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony. However, the princesses Celestia and Luna are a combination of all three called 'Alicorns.' Not only can they fly, but hold unspeakable power as well.  "

The class “ooh'd” and moved closer to the teacher, "Why were they fighting?"

He chuckles. It does his heart proud to see youth so eager to learn. "Well.... the reasons for the battle were many. We Griffons always have trouble seeing eye-to-eye ponies. Ponies tend to fear that which doesn't fall under the normal.... such as seeing someone eating meat."

One of the students lowers her head and frowns, "I thought ponies were nice..." Then looks at the teacher, "I've met ponies, they played with me!"

He nods. "And ponies are nice. Very much so. Especially in this day and age. Though there are some who fear that which they don't understand or believe the stereotype.... then again, who doesn't?" He chuckles for a moment before following up. "However, long ago, ponies only started meeting with griffons. Historically, Ponies have always been herbivores and Griffons are Omnivores, we could eat meat and veggies. So you could imagine what someone who only eats plants would be thinking when meeting with someone who is willing to eat meat."

The class let out a collective "ah" and one of the students in the back puts a claw up, waving it about to get attention.

Marshall sees the waving hand and nods to the young fledgling. "Yes Jedd?"

"When is break time?" He asks with a small whine. A couple of the other students laugh and his face goes red with embarrassment. "I'm hungry..."

He smirks. "Yes, I suppose would be a good time to take a short break." He gestures to the class. "We'll head over to the mess hall for lunch. You'll get to eat the same food the Knights eat there."

The class cheered and follow the teacher to grab a bite to eat. Hopefully something tasty. As they leave, the statue of the Red Wind could be seen glowing a little, a small crack forming on the side of it’s face.