Crisp, cool air caressed Artex' face gently bringing him back to the waking world. The cold air was offset by warm breath against each of his cheeks. He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of clean Kavim. Cracking open his eyes, he first looked to his right. Razor Wit was snuggled up against him with her chest wedged between his upper arm and the right side of his ribs. Her head was lying on his shoulder and her eyes were closed peacefully in sleep. Artex smiled at her then looked to his left. Sure enough, Oriana was there in the same position as Razor only on his other side. He was surprised to see that she was already awake though. She smiled sleepily at him and nuzzled against his left cheek. Artex planted a quick kiss on her lips then raised his head looking for Rose. He could not spot her easily.

A shift of weight against his crotch made him instantly tense up. He looked down and saw a lump between his legs, under the covers. The thought of the close proximity of what could only be Rose, made certain things come up, both in his mind and on his body. He thanked his lucky stars that for once he had slept with his pants and underwear on. Oriana's giggle at seeing the bulge under the covers caused him to turn his head away in embarrassment. With his eyes averted he noticed light streaming in from outside the two windows behind the bed. It was time to get up.

He reached his right arm up and gently scratched Razor behind her ears. She made a happy content sound and leaned in to his fingers. Her eyes slowly opened and she smiled up at him dreamily. Oriana raised her head and yawned hugely, then smoothly rolled out of the bed. Razor planted a quick kiss on Artex' cheek and rolled out of the bed too.

Once on her hooves she looked back at the bed, "Where's Rose?" she asked quietly.

Artex bit his lower lip and pointed down between his legs, which were comfortably warm. Razor lit up her horn and carefully pulled the covers back. Oriana and Razor giggled at the scene while an embarrassed Artex covered his face with his hands. Rose was lying with her hind legs splayed open next to Artex' own feet. Her forehooves were somewhere underneath her body. The comical part was that her head was lying on Artex' right thigh with her muzzle half an inch from the distinctive bulge in his pants. The mint colored Earth Pony mare shivered and snuggled closed to the warmth of Artex' thighs, absent-mindedly nuzzling up against his morning wood.

Darryl's playful voice came from beyond the closed curtain which separated the main area from the big bed, "I'm hearing a lot of giggling and rustling from back there. You guys better not be doing any bed olympics."

Rose suddenly yawned and smacked her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she froze, staring at the groin of the man on whom she was resting. She blinked twice and raised her head slowly, blushing furiously as she looked around. Razor and Oriana went into another bout of giggles at her embarrassment. Quickly deciding to alleviate the tension in the carriage, Oriana completely pulled back the curtain and trotted toward the tiny bathroom.

Darryl stood on the opposite end of the carriage staring at the sight of Rose with her head just above his friend's pitched tent. The sight was hilariously awkward but Darryl didn't want to offend. He stuffed his fist into his mouth and bit down as he began to pace back and forth the walkway along the front of the carriage. His face quickly turned an alarming shade of crimson but he made no sound save for the occasional snort, until he could help himself no longer, "Hey, whoa dude, didn't mean to interrupt your morning workout."

Artex had enough. He pulled his knees up and turned himself off the bed, landing on the floor with a heavy thump. He quickly scrambled into an upright position and picked up his discarded shirt from the floor. He slid on the shirt while Rose slowly eased her way off the bed. Wishing to avoid any more awkwardness, Artex began the process of folding the bed back into a reclining bench.

It took nearly half an hour, but eventually everybody had used the bathroom and straightened up the carriage. Darryl, having already been awake for a while, had already done his business. While everybody else was doing their own things, he had taken the time to go for the snacks the Pegasus Guard had mentioned the night before. They had been stowed in the far right side of the wooden bins in small crates. The Emissary Staff was sitting down on nearby benches as he pried open the lid of the crate. The lid swung open on its hinges revealing a bundle of white fabric within. He pulled out the bundle and laid it on his bench. Untying a concealed knot, he opened it up, reveling a mound of dried fruits, nuts, and tiny bits of pitch black chocolate.

Reaching back to the same bin, he pulled out another crate and opened it. Inside were a quartet of wax sealed metal carafes. The Marine smiled down at them and pointed to each in turn, "This one has coffee, this one has an aromatic tea, this one has cocoa, and this one contains cantaloupe juice." He tapped on the top of each carafe, "Who wants what?"

* * *

The food and drinks were heated with magic and distributed. Razor decided to get going on the information about Gryphons, "We should be touching down in less than an hour by my guess. Let me give you guys some basics about Gryphons." She cleared her throat and began speaking in her informational tone of voice, "Gryphons are aggressive, that's common knowledge. Despite that, they don't always become violent, especially with foreigners unless, forced into it. They have a very unjust but somewhat understandable reputation for being violent. What most cultures fail to understand is that they have a powerful natural instinct for hierarchy and 'pecking order'."

She paused while Rose and Artex snickered at the unintentional pun. Once they finish she cleared her throat, "When Gryphons meet any new individual, they have to determine what social rank that individual holds so that the Gryphons know how to treat them. Unlike many other cultures, Gryphon cultural development centered around their instincts. When two Gryphons meet for the first time, they fluff up and yell and boast and posture and strut. Other species seeing such a display tend to assume the Gryphons are preparing to fight. What the Gryphons are actually doing is learning about each other. Once they are satisfied they know each other well enough, they tend to get along extremely well. It may be difficult to believe but Gryphons often get along better than some groups of Ponies. Now, that said, one of the most solid beliefs of the Gryphons is that all beings are treated equally when in their territory with no exceptions."

Razor paused to take a breath then continued, "Their society is highly structured but is also designed to allow an individual to advance themselves through efforts, in fact it encourages it. A single Gryphon may be born to an impoverished family but can end up on the High Council; which leads us to the system of government that they use. Every village, town, or city elects a single member of the local population, with annual reelections, to act as a speaker in the High Council. The High Council members act as advisers to the King or Queen. The King or Queen along with the High Council, come together to decide almost every aspect of government and every day life. The position of King or Queen is not an enviable one nor is a position on the High Council. The citizens voluntarily donate what pay the government leaders receive so an unhappy population leads to poor government officials who are not likely to stay in office for very long. The High Council and the King or Queen come up with alterations to laws and the national budget but it is the citizens who have veto power. All Gryphons are very knowledgeable about how their government works and all citizens are required to vote so they know what is going on with their own government."

Razor stopped again and took several breaths before she continued, "Any level of power or authority wielded by the King or Queen is only realized in times of conflict. During those periods, the King or Queen is expected to quickly deal with and resolve the conflict, often with the backing of the Gryphon army. In times of violent conflict the King or Queen takes command of the army in the field and fights with the soldiers. That may seem reckless, but by Gryphon reckoning, if they are a good leader they should survive. I think it is important to note that most of the Kings or Queens who have done so have survived."

Razor stopped and put her right forehoof to her chin, "I suppose the next thing should be the fact that every adult Gryphon is a capable combatant. Their pride in their heritage and nation makes them more than willing to go beak to nose with any violent invader. Let me explain. Far in the past, a species that is gone now, the Balzak, invaded the Gryphon nation. During that time the Gryphons were not very congenial but they had small towns and they did have a capital city at the time. In those days the Gryphons were conquerors. They raided and pillaged anybody who got in their way. Their Capital of Cha'rheid had been taken from another murderous band of stone mason Minotaurs. The Balzak launched a surprise attack against a small Gryphon settlement and massacred every single Gryphon in the town. The Balzak army took the decapitated heads of the dead Gryphons and put them on sharpened sticks before the gates of Cha'rheid. They laughed as Gryphons flew out of the city in every direction, thinking they had abandoned it."

Razor shuddered as she spoke the next part, "At dawn the following morning, the sky darkened as every Gryphon in the entire kingdom descended upon the Balzak army. The Gryphons, stricken mad with grief, slaughtered every Balzak in that army. The Balzak had made a fatal mistake because the Gryphons were far more ruthless than they had expected. The Gryphons struck back against the Balzak with unrivaled fury. They began slaughtering every living thing in every Balzak settlement they found. History states that less than two weeks later, the last Balzak settlement fell to the retribution of the Gryphons. The entire race of Balzak was wiped from existence. Legend says that as the last Balzak died, the Natural Magic struck against the Gryphon species. Let me see if I can remember the quote:..."

Razor tapped the sides of her head with her hooves for a second, "Oh, now I remember: As the last reptilian Balzak child took her final breath, a great wave of profound sadness swept over the Gryphons. They felt the pain of the innocent lives they had destroyed. They felt the anguish of fathers watching their families torn to pieces before their eyes. The horror of mothers watching the bodies of their mates and offspring being rent asunder. The terror of children watching their parents and siblings being slaughtered. The weight of every death pressed down upon their minds. Their pain was beyond what can be encompassed by mere words and in their grief they opened their beaks to the sky and cried out for mercy. They understood their crime by the weight and the anguish of the lives of their victims. They were given visions of their victims; not only what had been: every moment of every life, every joy and sorrow, every thought and feeling of love and hate. They also saw what could have been until the end of time: every good deed, every advance toward their goals, every couple who fell in love, every joyous birth of every child. Every moment of every life filled their vision and everything and all was upon their minds as the Natural Magic of the world punished them for their crime."

Razor shook her head sadly, "The legend goes on to say that the Gryphons heard a voice. The voice shamed them for their vengeance and told them of the kind of disappointment they were. The Gryphons begged for mercy for days. They neither ate not slept until one of them, and the legend does not say who, but one Gryphon offered up their Eternal Penance. They would watch over all the world to ensure that no other species ever fell to genocide. They would never again allow their blood-lust to manifest itself. They took the heads of every Balzak, not as trophies but as grim reminders of the hideous face of vengeance. To this day nearly every Gryphon household has a preserved Balzak skull resting in plain sight. The Gryphons say the word 'forgiveness' every time they see a new one. Gryphons have long memories and they hold to their traditions with a granite grip. After they recovered, the Gryphons declared themselves the peace-keepers of the world."

Razor seemed to perk up slightly as she spoke the next part, "Every time a large scale conflict arises, Gryphons interpose themselves between the factions in order to diffuse the situation. They often end up fighting both sides. If any armed force from one nation invades the city of another nation, the Gryphons come in force to ensure the proper treatment of innocent civilians. Gryphons have earned their place as harsh but neutral guardians. There are stories of two factions fighting in the streets of a city and the two groups of combatants stopped in their tracks as a small group of Gryphons led a frightened family to safety right through the middle. During a war, if an innocent is injured or hurt because of cruelty, hatred, or malice the Gryphons will find the culprit or culprits and execute them publicly. Gryphons are the most efficient killers in the whole world, not counting Dragons. If the Marines have murdered any Gryphons in cold blood, expect executions. I can only hope that the Marines are as honorable as you and Artex have claimed."

Darryl drew his right hand down his face, "Well fuck-nuggets." he groaned in American English. He switched back to Velensovth, "Let's hope this situation isn't as bad as it could be." He stoop up and stretched, facing toward the front window, "Huh, we're in the mountains."

Razor instantly perked her ears up, "Mountains? Cha'rheid is in the mountains of Gryphonvale. It's the capital and our destination. We should be landing in just a couple of minutes. Let's get ready..."

"Razor," Artex addressed, "You never told us about King Myrmidon."

Razor nodded, "I'll tell you about him while we get ready."

Everybody began either putting on armor or checking packs or saddlebags while Razor explained, "King Myrmidon is his title. The birth name of a King or Queen is taken from them while they wear the crown. They are known by their first deeds as a King or Queen. Myrmidon earned his name by boldly confronting the High Council on his coronation day and demanding they reevaluate the training of the army because he did not feel as though he had been pushed to his physical limits when he had served. Oh that reminds me, all Gryphons are required to do five years in the service of the army. They enlist on the day of their fifteenth birthday and are 'set free' on their twentieth birthday. Of course they have the option to continue their service in the army if they chose, but the vast majority decide to go elsewhere and train to become whatever it is they wish to become. Some become butchers, some become artists, there are so many different jobs a Gryphon can do and the training and schooling are always free..." Razor stopped when she spotted something through the front window.

She smiled and gestured to the passing scene grandly, "Behold Cha'rheid, the capitol city of Gryphonvale."

The others all crowded around the windows, staring at the sight before them. The mountain was hidden from view because the mountain was the city. Terraces, balconies, doors and windows dotted the bare rock of the entire colossal mountain. Bright red fires lit the insides of many of the portals and all around were Gryphons. Some flew casually, some flew aggressively, some walked with a regal gate, some scurried around like bees in a hive. The entire city was built in tiers, fifty-nine in all, though the passengers didn't bother to try to count. Each tier was just as finely carved from the rock as the previous tier and the next tier. The entire mountain/city looked as though it was carved from solid granite and none of the passengers on the carriage could even fathom how deep into the mountain the passages went. Gryphons by the tens of thousands went about their business while brilliantly colored flags, some of the few colored decorations outside the houses, flapped and flew in the constant wind. Snow glittered off of rooftops and spires in the rising sun like a million diamonds reflecting light. A dizzying series of aqua ducts ran all around the city ferrying crystal clear water to every resident. Smoke rose from innumerable chimneys lending smoke to the mist rising from the forest surrounding the mountain. The entire scene was as overpowering and intense as a tsunami.

Darryl was awestruck. Artex could only say, "It makes Minas Tirith look like a child's sandcastle." He turned to Razor, "How many Gryphons live here?"

Razor tapped her right forehoof against her chin, "Um... last I heard... around two million. That's not counting the other races who live here though."

The Pegasi pulled the carriage higher and higher into the sky. The mountain seemed to go on forever as the passengers watched each passing tier in amazement. The Pegasi finally leveled out of their gradual ascent and angled themselves toward a flat circular area near the top of the mountain. The was obviously a landing place for vehicles and by the look of the armed and armored Gryphons waiting by the edge of the landing platform, they were expected. There was a stone path leading away from the landing platform which led up to a palace-like structure carved out of grey stone.

Razor noticed the angle of the carriage and quickly trotted back to her reclining bench, "Get ready for landing. I can't imagine any of you will want your faces squished against the glass."

At her statement everybody else went back to their seats and held on tightly. Cha'rheid and Gryphonvale awaited them.

Let me know if you spot any typos.