School of the Griffin, sometimes referred to as School of the Eagle or Gryphon School, is a school of witchers headquartered in Kovir and Poviss,[4] in Kaer Seren located at the sea end of a mountain range.[3] Leo Bonhart had reportedly slain at least one of its members.[6]
History[]
As the school of the bear, viper and cat were founded the Order of Witchers grew weaker. The witcher Erland of Larvik decided he would not let the original purpose and ideals of the Order fade away. Together with 13 of his closest friends they amicably left the remains of the Order. They then travelled east to Kaer Seren. It was a fortress previously used by Alzur and his associates in the early tests for creating witchers. As the fortress stood upon a confluence of air magic, the spirits of the failed experiments haunted the place. After having dealt with the spirits, the school of the Griffin began.[7]
The Griffins kept the original "knightly" values of the witcher order.[8] Erland was inspired by the ideals of his old sword teacher, Taliesin Bleddyn Yorath aep Lywelyn, whom the witchers called Gryphon. In honour of him and his teachings the school was named the School of the Griffin. Together with their head sorcerer they created a new discipline, one that focused on magic, preparedness, and flexibility. They also taught their students proper etiquette. Griffin witchers were taught that they had a purpose and brothers who would support them. The older witchers stood as examples for the others. When a boy died during his training he was given a proper burial in a graveyard.[7]
At the height of their power the Griffin witchers enjoyed great respect, with the school's grandmaster even being summoned to the courts of rulers to give advice. Like the school of the Bear and Wolf, the Griffins maintained a strict neutrality, even refusing to help Kovir and Poviss fight against attacking Redania and Kaedwen. They reasoned that once a witcher breaks his neutrality he can never go back.[7] Unlike the other schools they had nothing against killing dragons.[2]
The school used to possess important magic books in its library[3] including the Liber Tenebrarum beloved by Old Keldar.[4] Throughout the ages, the other schools respected the Griffins for their study of magic and their fighting style that emphasized facing multiple opponents. Unfortunately, a group of mages became angry because of the Griffins' unwillingness to share their knowledge; when anti-witcher sentiments grew they caused an avalanche in revenge killing several witchers and badly damaging Kaer Seren.[3] Probably because of this, Coën was forced to spend winters in Kaer Morhen instead of his home keep. Even after the school's fall, there were villages in the north where the deeds of the Griffin witchers were celebrated.[7]
Training[]
Students are offered two choices to complete their final trial. They either locate and retrieve a griffin's egg, or recite the entirety of Liber Tenebrarum verbatim. However, none have ever chosen the latter.
Characteristics[]
Griffin School equipment is of medium weight and amplifies the intensity of the wearer's Signs; as such, it is heavily implied that the school and its disciples may have specialized in the use of magic. Griffin witchers may also possess higher standards of social etiquette compared to other schools, which was mentioned in the Dragonslayer's treasure hunt quest, though this might have referred to George specifically.[2]
Members[]
- Coën[4]
- Ealdred[3]
- Erland of Larvik[3]
- George of Kagen[2]
- Jerome Moreau[5]
- Keldar[4]
- Kristov of White Orchard[9]
- Raven[3]
Notes[]
- Contrary to Szpony i kły and The Witcher Role-Playing Game, the Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni locates the Gryphon keep in the Amell Mountains. This was probably changed because Amell is already a seat of School of the Bear in CD PROJEKT RED's The Witcher franchise.
- In The Hexer there is a school of witchers described as being "beyond the mountains", to which Adela attended. At the time, only the Cat, the Griffin, and the Wolf Schools existed in the franchise, and as she didn't attend the Cat nor the Wolf, it's possible she went to the Griffin School. This is however only a speculation as we don't know how many witcher schools existed in The Hexer lore.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ The Witcher: Versus
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 The Witcher Role-Playing Game
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Szpony i kły
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Blood and Wine expansion
- ↑ The Lady of the Lake
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 A Witcher's Journal
- ↑ Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni
- ↑ A Book of Tales
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