Have you ever had that feeling of being the odd man out? Just being the one person in a crowd of people who all fit in while you are just there because they needed someone of 'different ethnicity' so they don't get in trouble with the law for not being inclusive or that they needed someone that is outside the social circle so they have a different opinion.

Well, today I get to know that feeling as I found myself walking to the meeting between the various leaders of the kingdom's vassals and outlying territories. Coming to this meeting are the few dukes, duchess's, lords, counts and countess's, all of these important griffons from across the kingdom coming here, dressed for the occasion and to discuss with the king their various problems, successes, trivial matters and sharing of news with one another before calling it a day and continuing the same discussions for an entire week before returning back to their homes.

And why am I there you may be asking? Well normally I would be told to stand outside like any other guard because I had to accompany either the princess or the king, but today I was inside the room standing behind the king, the queen and the princess like a stalwart defender. Another reason why I am here is to also be shown off to the rest of the nobility that is in attendance, a one-of-a-kind guard that no one else will ever be able to get their talons on.

Looking at the other griffons that I do not recognize, the princess beside me whispers to me who each of these griffons are, which province they are from, and if they are truly important or if they are just blowing smoke up someone's ass to make themselves look and feel important.

"He is Lord Goldstone, a noble from the province of Goldstone, and if you guessed what he does for a living involves counting coin and accumulating it then you are correct. He is a greedy, loathsome griffon and he is an annoyance at best when he isn't trying to further line his coffers with more gold but his shrewd nature does make him a useful tool to the kingdom when we need somegriff to do the numbers when we trade with Equestria, Stalliongrad, Nova Griffonia or the other nations that come to trade. From what I have heard lately he is rather upset that one of his business ventures has been ruined because a shady individual has failed to follow through with their end of the bargain..." Eraclea says to me as I lean close, the king smiling faintly to himself as I guess he already knows this and is happy to know that his daughter is taking after him in the political game.

And the griffon in question, Lord Goldstone, his body and fur pattern is that of a typical cheetah which also extends to his wings feathers, slicked-back head feathers and the dullest of brown eyes, in all this griffon seems more likely to make a shady deal with you and leave you holding the bag when the plot falls through and you end up spending several years or decades in a gulag.

"And right there is Duchess Regina de' Flowena, she is the proud owner of the Central Bank of Griffonia and out of the griffons in this room and possibly even my father, she is the wealthiest griffon on the continent. While she may be the wealthiest griffon in the room, she is also the most annoying due to how she tries to turn everything into a business transaction and potential future trade agreements."

The duchess that my princess has pointed out is not only probably the wealthiest griffon in this room, but also probably one of the prettiest one by griffon standards. This lovely hen has the most luxuriously soft fur I have ever seen besides the princess herself, and with that beautiful chocolate fur coloring, crème-colored feathers and just the way she walks, she knows that she is beautiful and not only does she know it but I bet she also uses it to her advantage. In all honesty, I really couldn't keep my eyes off that ass of hers as she walked by me and headed towards her seat.

'Dat ass...please sit on my face and tell me that you love me.' I thought to myself as I watched it bounce right by me, and I swear that if I had a coin on me I sure as shit bet that I can bounce that fucker off it.

'Hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.'

I must say that if I was single and she was offering, I don't think I would be able to say no with a straight face let alone without giving a reaction of any kind.

"I see that he has decided to show up...perfect.." Eraclea says as I watch her shoulders slump and her wings sag ever so slightly, turning my head to see who she was talking about.

"Who?" I asked as the seemingly old griffon was escorted to his seat which just so happened to be next to the queen's. Looking over this old griffon I saw that he was indeed a near splitting image of Grandpa Gruff himself with the exception that he didn't have a fez cap on, both eyes are functioning and not blind, no scars, is wearing what looks like the robes of a holy priest with a matching octagonal cap to go with it.

"That griffon is Franz Galvus of House Blackbeak, he is the Archon of Boreas and is one of the few griffons in this room whose loyalty to father is unmatched."

"And the reason you dislike him?"

"Well...you see, when I was younger I may have said something that he didn't like cause it sounded heretical to him and ever since then we haven't seen eye-to-eye on a few matters."

"Ah, I see...well maybe you should try apologizing to him? Maybe that will start the forgiveness process and smooth things out between the two of you?" I said as I gave a nod to the holy griffon who seemed to nod back at me as he slowly sat down, his age clearly showing as I thought I heard the sounds of bones popping.

After that it was the industry giant, Leron Irontalon, proud owner of the Talon Ironworks and several iron mines in the country, this charcoal feathered griffon lives up to his name as he is sitting opposite of the king, a fat cigar in his beak, lit and emitting the acrid odor of high quality smokeleaf in the room but thankfully one of the enchantments in the room is keeping the worst of it at bay.

Next to come in was the royal archivist, an important job seeing how his assistances and himself are responsible for recording of the nation's history, retainer of every single deal ever made that has been written down and sealed in enchanted frames to prevent the parchment from being altered or damaged. This griffon's name was Felix Kaine, not from a noble family line like half of the griffons in this room, but just a normal commoner family that was steadily making their way through the world and has been loyal to the kingdom for quite a few generations.

Then came in the griffons in charge of the few provinces that remain within the empire.

Duchess Cecania Marshtail of the Frostmourne province, an wintery mountain range that lies near the minotaur lands and while it her lands wouldn't be my first choice of a vacation home, the boreal forests that inhabit her land do offer some of the best lumber in the land due to how thick and tall the trunks are. This province provides the empire with exceptional quality wood for construction purposes alongside decent furniture and also provides most of the lumber used for housing and business.

Duke Bogart Benito of the Sullen Hills province, this land consists almost entirely of rolling hills and fields of grain, the only breadbasket land left in the empire and the duke is making a substantial earning from this due to everyone having to buy their flour and other grains from him at a higher price. Aside from being the primary agriculture province it is also where griffons go to receive their military training for those that are seeking entrance into the imperial army.

Count Ferdinand Bluebeak of the Aditrus province, a bit of a strange land of sorts as its been plagued with more discorded zones than any other province in the empire and in the outlaying lands on the continent due to that land being where Discord supposed had a battle against the pony princesses well over several centuries in the past. The land itself is almost always shifting due to the discordant magic wrecking havoc with the environment but due to the amount of enchantments and incantations that the griffons are using to keep what land they managed to save from the chaos, the province has been a good source of enchanting and invocation training.

Duke Winfield Irontalon of the Dwarftail province, despite its name sounding like that it belongs to a bunny or deer it is actually farther from the truth as its the primary source of iron for the empire and over the past six hundred years or so give or take a few decades, its deep veins have yet to run dry or show any signs of depletion. The ironworks in this region are scattered throughout the hills and a large majority of them are owned by the duke's brother to ensure that they stay loyal to him and the crown, but primarily him.

Countess Rita Windwing of the Nordheim province, nice rolling hills and forests with sparse mountains dotting its landscape, a major provider of coal and minor provider of lumber and iron and so far the countess is doing well for herself but she seems to be getting ready to expand her operations to include lumber yards and an ironworks. This expansion has been said that it may or may not threaten the other provinces as a form of competition but only time will tell if it bears fruit or comes crashing down in flames.

Duke Greg Fallow of the World's Edge province, despite the name for it the province isn't really the edge of the world although at the time for the griffons it might as well be, this large province consists of a large coastal regional with several islands dotting it and serves as a massive fishing and minor trading region for the empire.

And the last griffon to enter the room was a sky blue feathered aging griffon who went by the name of Gunther Skyfeather, and he is the leader of the trade syndicate that forms the veins and life's blood for the empire. The three times I have met this man have been under the cover of night within this very room with the king, and each meeting was about the same thing.

'Large amounts of goods are being stolen right underneath their beaks and that certain councilmembers are starting to become quiet and reclusive.'

And it would seem that Gunther was right, quite a few members of the council seemed rather quiet and withdrawn, and if they are traitors in league with Tazul then I fear that sooner or later they will make their move against the crown.

"Are all in attendance?" The royal archivist said as all of the griffons in the room take a seat, the guards surrounding the room take their positions in the back of the circular chamber and stood silent as the councilmembers remained quiet.

"Good, then I hereby declare the 16,656th Griffonstone Council meeting to begin, King Guto the VII has the floor." and with that said the royal archivist sits down in his seat, picks up his quill and tips it into the nearby inkwell as he patiently waits for the talking to begin.

The king stands up from his seat and for a moment doesn't say a word before finally beginning his grand speech.

"My fellow griffons, it has been three months since the return of the Idol of Boreas, three months since the traitor Tazul Gildedclaw has been rooted out and arrested, his treasonous nature exposed for all to see and for his followers to scatter to the four winds and from those same cowards we have captured enough of them to know more about his plans."

"We have learned that by keeping my daughter away from Griffonstone and with our situation deteriorating to the point that our collapse would have been imminent and that civil war would have torn this land asunder and the amount of griffons that would have died in the ensuing conflict would have been catastrophic, this was his plan all along, to have us at each others throats and killing one another off until there was nogriffon left to stand in his way before he would simply brush aside whoever is still alive and rule over the ashes that remains as the self-proclaimed emperor."

"But because of our friend here, that act of high treason was stopped and returned to us our idol and my daughter from his clutches after stealing the idol from our human friend and kidnapped my daughter after her diplomatic trip to Equestria."

"With the idol back in our talons and its placement back in the Temple of the Tempestuous Fury we have all noticed that with its return that it has rekindled the spark within each griffon that has been previously snuffed out from its absence, and it was that spark that allowed us griffons to emerge from our hovels in the past to create the empire we we have now."

"The news about the return of our idol has already spread outside the empire which means that all of our neighbors now know that we are returning to who we once were before the loss of our precious relic. With our resurgence of who we once were, the other nations know that it will only be a matter of time before we return to our full strength and with the knowledge and assistance from our human friend, he will catapult us beyond anything the minotaurs, diamond dogs or even what the ponies have created in the time we were reduced to nothing more than squabbling birds!"

"But for now, we rebuild, we plan, we prepare, we wait and see what the other nations do, and then we act when all is set and ready for us to push forward. When we are finally to truly announce ourselves to the world that the Griffonian Empire has returned to the world stage as a global power, only then will we have returned to our rightful place in the world."

And with that said I watched as the griffon king sit down, his wife and daughter already talking in hushed tones to him as I then returned my gaze to the other high rank nobles in the room, making sure none of them are planning anything shifty.

"If that is all our royal highness has to say, than Duchess Regina de' Flowena has the floor." the archivist said as continued to write down everything as the wealthiest griffon in the empire and quite possibly the continent stood up from her seat and gave a curtsy to the king before beginning her own little speech.

"Thank you, now, before I begin in earnest I just have to say that I have seized all of Tazul's monetary assets that he has left within all imperial banks and what was found in his private vaults have cause for concern." the good duchess says as she motions for one of her guards as said guard steps forward and in one of his talons is a briefcase. Placing the briefcase on the massive table the guard then bowed to the duchess before returning to his place against the wall as the duchess than clicked it open and revealed to everyone its contents.

"These are documents from an outside party 'politely' requesting Tazul to abduct the princess and to keep her locked up until after the coup has taken place and all of the royal family to be executed and then proceed to eliminate every single noble house and imprison anygriffon associating with those houses. The promise of payment for doing this has already been paid for but I sadly do not recognize the insignia that has been burned into the letter." the duchess says as she passes around the documents for all to see, leaning over the princess's shoulder to see what it is, even I don't know what it could possibly be.

Staring down at the table with the letters, burned into the lower righthand corner is what looks like a black thorn-encrusted crown with a pair of what looks like wings of some sort.

"I will be looking into what this symbol means with the assistance from the archivists to find out whose house this symbol belongs to, but in the mean time it I would suggest everygriff to keep their eyes peeled for any foreign saboteurs. For an outside party to pay a low noble whose main strategy was skullduggery and undertaloned tactics to wipe out the entirety of the noble and royal caste of our society such a large amount of gold means that they must not only believe that it would have succeeded, but also that in the end that they would be killed off as well to reclaim what they have paid." Duchess Flowena says as she sits back down as she cools herself off with an ornate paper fan, I take it saying such things wasn't easy for her since she and the entire upper crust of society just had a hit placed on all of them and that it was going to be executed by someone that they looked down upon.

In all honesty I am even more surprised than the rest of the griffons sitting at this table because I met the griffon who was hired to perform this act of regicide and complete destruction of the upper class, and I must say that I think his plan was to not only replace everyone above him with himself and his lackeys, but also to avoid getting killed as well from the person who hired him.

"The crown appreciates your assistance on the matter Duchess Flowena. Next on the docket is Duke Greg Fallow, you now have the floor."

And thus began the monumental boredom for me as I had to stand there and listen to these griffons talk for hours on end about various things happening in their kingdom.

A shortfall of food because the harvests were ruined by insects and other pests.

A shortfall of iron ore because their tools are shoddy and need replacement but due to poor tool production nothing will change unless outside help is received.

Trade is barely staying afloat as other nations are finding alternatives to what the griffons can provide.

But all of that was in the past, because of my interference in the world order by retrieving the idol when all others thought it was lost for good.

With the idols return to its sacred pedestal within the Cathedral of Boreas, it has revitalized the griffon people, knowledge that was once lost is now returning to the masses as ancient griffon techniques of ages past is being remembered and used to enhance all fields of employment. It was almost akin to a racial buff from a videogame after completing that one quest that is annoying as all hell but is totally worth it in the end.

Several griffons have already remembered how to do things that have been once lost and that the technique to make griffon steel has been rediscovered and that an attempt is already underway to combine both griffon and human steel to see what comes out of it, the combat efficiency of the guards and royal knights has started to go up as their unit cohesion started, ancient griffonian medicine is now being relearned and made, the nations scientists and alchemists are working together to understand the nature of the world around them through the power of science and logic with sprinkles of magic thrown in as their race can only work their magic through enchantments, the peasantry are working harder and are also happier that their object of worship is back where it belongs.

The Talon Ironworks in the Dwarftail Province has finally started to produce quality iron and that their production of steel is now underway.

Sullen Hills Province is repeating that their crops are finally free of pests and that this years harvest will be bountiful.

In the Aditrus Province, the scientists and mages there have finally started to get their act together and began working on a project that has been eluding the for years, the use of enchantments on tools to make them more durable and to make labour easier and faster while also placing enchantments on industrial machines to run more smoothly and faster than conventional unenchanted machines. Another project the Aditrus Science Committee have begun to work on is attempting to find a means of shrinking down the discorded zones to reclaim lands that have been lost to the cursed creature and possibly even find a means of weaponizing it as well.

And to think that I once thought that gods didn't exist, but to see their work first hand and also the fact that one is somewhat residing in my head would have made me a devout believer if I already didn't believe in the philosophy that the only people that should decide their fate is mortals themselves.

While we do love seeing our creations living their lives to their fullest, we still have to on occasion give them a guiding hand...or talon or hoof, paw, whatever they use to help themselves. And you, my most favorite of pawns, you are doing exactly what I told you to do and it is delicious!

I actually had to stop myself from moving head to find the source of my semi-benevolent benefactor as I remembered that she resides in my head.

'You know it would make my job easier if you can at least give me a bit of a guiding hand to speed things along. Just because I have a laptop with a seemingly endless battery doesn't mean that I can just tip the scales of society and the world with ease, even with all the ideas I have written down or stuff that I copied from the videogames I played. You can't just look at the end result of a long chain of trial-and-error and go 'oh boy I sure like this greatest thing, lemme just skip all this other shit before it!', it takes experiments, time, resources, dedicated manpower or in this case griffonpower, somewhere to do these projects at in safety, and above all else you have to start at the very bottom before you can work your way up.'

But my lovely little pawn that is so boring! Why should I wait for a flower to blossom when I can just make it so?

'Because if you are impatient and get what you want immediately, you will find no joy in what you have done as it will be empty and meaningless. That is the reason why we mortals do things the hard way, because we know that when it is finished we will be able to look back and see all of the struggle and toil we went through to complete it and smile knowing that it was worth it in the end.'

The voice in my head was quiet for all of about five seconds before it spoke again, but this time it sounded more mellow.

Fine, have it your way, but just know that if you take too long or those that you give your knowledge to drag their paws cause something is troubling them, I will give them a helping paw to speed things along.

I actually had to pause and think on that for a few moments, this is the first time my benefactor actually is going out of their way to help others. My guess is that the only reason as to why she is even doing such a thing is that by helping them complete the revolutionary ideas I have given them, then they are by proxy helping me achieve my goal of changing the world to upset the balance and probable stagnation that it is currently in.

Don't you dare think that I am helping these mortals to make you happy and your life easier, I am simply doing this on my own accord because I want to watch the chaos spread from these ideas of yours. Nothing more!

And with that the voice in my head was gone and that everyone sitting at the table was still talking about the amount of progress that has been made ever since the Idol of Boreas was placed back within the sacred cathedral.

The meeting went like this for several more hours and it was when I started to doze off and began thinking about whether or not if I could excuse myself, the archivist knocked on the table with a gavel and said that the meeting is now adjourned for the day.

With it finally over I was allowed to leave the chambers and was dismissed from my duties for the day, I was happy for that because I really needed a drink after standing roughly almost all day staring at masonry and tapestries while old griffons spoke at lengths about topics that went over my head.

And to the bar I went, a stiff drinking waiting for me and my friends waiting to hear my day as I hear about theirs.

After all this is said and done I will be leaving Griffonstone for quite some time, my project being approved and resources being diverted for said project. I must say that I am nervous beyond belief because if this fails than not only will I be a laughing stock to the entire griffon council, but also the king will be insulted that I wasted his time and resources on such frivolous things instead of directly aiding his fellow countrymen.

I just hope I don't fuck this up beyond belief.

Next Chapter: Griffonsplaining Griffon Relationship Culture Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 12 Minutes