Gallus stood with his claws behind his back in the balcony of the Royal Box. As Queen Giselle prepared for her speech that would kick off the Golden Melee, he surveyed the scene before him.

The floor of the Featherheart Coliseum had been cleared of the various equipment used to divide the great arena into smaller sections for the events. The only thing left was the one thing that couldn’t be removed: the sapling skytree that dominated the center of the coliseum. Fifteen balconies jutted out over the hard-packed dirt, placed to create a perfect ring around the circumference of the coliseum. On each of these balconies stood a male griffon, tall and proud and fully in the colors of their House or Clan.

Gallus himself wore a padded armor suit in the colors of brown and gold, signifying his new allegiance to the House of the Golden Branch.

The cheering and screaming crowd that filled the stands seemed little more than background noise to him as the sun shone through the branches of the great skytree looking over the city, and the sapling standing over the coliseum.

“Bit for your thoughts?” Gemma asked quietly beside him.

He’d been only a little surprised to find her already in the Royal Box in a Golden Branch Attendant uniform when Smolder and he had arrived about an hour ago.

Gallus’s eyes flicked up to the clock. It was about twenty minutes before noon, Giselle’s speech and the beginning of the Golden Melee.

“I was just wondering if this is the best way,” Gallus said quietly, feeling strangely old. “I helped put the griffons into this Grand Alliance and it grows every year. Did you know Zebrica signed on about a month ago? Between pony magic and zebra alchemy, I can’t help but wonder if… I don’t know… there isn’t a better way to make sure we survive.”

Gemma shrugged but looked a little concerned. “I… I don’t know. The Featherheart Championship has been many things over the centuries. In a hundred years, maybe it’ll be something else.”

“I plan to make it obsolete by the end of my reign,” Queen Giselle said as she stepped onto the balcony, Sky Captain Griswald at her side.

“Your Majesty?” Gallus gaped at her. “Are you serious?”

“Nogriffon knows where the Idols came from, Mister Gallus.” Queen Giselle replied, her eyes scanning the coliseum. “King Grover never was one for good documentation. So, their true origin is a mystery lost to time. And magical mysteries can be dangerous, especially when one is banking the fate of a nation on them.”

“Despite what Gass thinks,” Sky Captain Griswald rumbled. “We take his concerns very seriously. We even agree with them, to a point. But the solution isn’t the recovery of the Idol of Boreas. The Abysmal Abyss has claimed too many.”

Giselle nodded, her gray beak glinting in the sunlight. “It’s finding a better solution entirely. We’re not there yet, though. But my administration will find a way. And unlike King Guto and his line, we are not so prideful that we will refuse outside help.”

“So one day… all of this will be gone?” Gallus asked, gesturing out to the coliseum. He didn’t know how he felt about that.

Giselle laughed lightly and shook her head.

“No. For some, coming to the Featherheart Championship is a sacred rite. For others, it is the culmination of a lifelong dream.” She reached over to squeeze Gemma’s shoulder. “I want this to become a time where griffons come together and become who they want to be. Who they were meant to be.”

With that, Giselle turned to Gallus. Gallus bowed his head, though Giselle reached out to lift it again. Then she put a claw on Gallus’s shoulder and looked him square in the eye.

“I release you of my earlier request,” Giselle said in a voice of utter certainty. “You may remain a member of the House of the Golden Branch, if you so desire. But you have no obligation to it from this day forth. And I will have no objection if choose to start your own House. I can’t think of anygriff with a better claim.”

Gallus stared at her, his beak hanging open. “You’re… you’re serious?”

“Griswald told me what transpired last night,” Giselle said. “Between you and me, he seems rather protective over you.”

“I am right here,” Griswald said. He almost sounded embarrassed.

“And it’s hard for it to be ‘between you and her’ when Gemma and I are here, too,” Smolder pointed out, still leaning out over the balcony and amusing herself with little bolts of flame. She’d been oddly quiet this morning.

Gallus just stared at Giselle. He didn’t dare look at Griswald. “I… um…”

“I have not forced you, but I have put you in a difficult situation,” Giselle continued, her wings twitching slightly. “And I am not some manipulative king of ages past. I aim to be a better kind of leader for our people. So, I release you.”

Even though the shouts of the crowd were loud, silence seemed to fill Gallus’s world.

Like last night, every word spoken to him since he’d arrived in Griffonstone seemed to flood back to him. Gemma’s passion, wishing she’d become a Green before the first round. Giselle’s easy admittance that she’d become a Green for the betterment of her House, becoming a matriarch in the process. Gigi transforming before his eyes, practically crying in joy and pleasure as he took her. Gerie’s pleading for him to claim her as a prize after defeating the male version of her. Even Gass’s rants from last night.

Then, out of nowhere, Smolder stepped up beside Gallus and actually kissed him on the cheek. His claw flew to the spot and he stared at her.

“Smolder, by the Nest, what was that for?”

Smolder’s eyes danced.

“After the Tree of Harmony tested us, Ocellus told me that she’d always suspected I wasn’t as hard on the inside as I pretended to be,” Smolder said, smiling a very honest and very un-Smolder-like smile. “She knew what was inside of me. At least, she guessed. I’ve pretty much known how this was going to turn out since the first night.”

“It’s not… weird?”

“Everything you griffons do is weird,” Smolder replied, her regular smirk returning with a shrug. “But that doesn’t make it wrong.”

Gallus couldn’t help but grin back at her.

As if realizing what was happening without Gallus saying a word, Gemma leapt into the air and plowed into him with a hug.

“I’d like you no matter what you look like,” she gushed.

“Why does everyone suddenly realize what’s about to happen?!” Gallus shouted, thought there was a hint of laughter to his cry. “Come on!”

“As your Princess Twilight would say,” Giselle commented. “‘Because they’re your friends.’”

“And that sounds like something Princess Celestia would say.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Gallus turned to the most silent member of their little group, wondering what he might say or do. But one question had to be answered first.

“You were a Gold, weren’t you?” he asked, point-blank.

Griswald’s wings shifted uncomfortably. “Not… by choice.”

That hadn’t been the answer Gallus had expected.

“When it was Giselle and my turn to enter the Featherheart Championship,” Griswald continued shuffling slightly, as if uncomfortable with his words, “our homeland was under threat by a band of rogue dragons called the Blacktalons.”

Smolder let out a growl of annoyance. “Pirates and cowards. Dragon Lord Ember’s been trying to hunt down the whole clutch down for years now.”

Griswald nodded. “Our family… they were Patriarchists. They were willing to give up one of our kind, but not both. Our Matriarch ordered me to win the Championship by any means necessary, as my skills in combat—which were already formidable—would be needed to fight the Blacktalons.”

“It was a long time ago, Griswald,” Giselle said, sounding pained. “You can’t—”

“I did things during that Championship,” Griswald said, running right over his sister. The honorable soldier looked smaller with every word. “Seduced, tricked, betrayed and sabotaged. All for the good of the House of the Golden Branch. All to be made Alpha. All to follow orders.”

His head hung in shame.

Giselle looked between Gallus and Griswald before sighing. “Our Matriarch died of natural causes before we returned. Griswald already had sired several chicks, but he couldn’t bear to stay in the home of the Alpha. He found good homes for each of his chicks and returned to his House.”

“After the Matriarch died, her views on how our House should be run died,” Griswald growled. “I had not been the only one who believed we were being fools. And I swore I would keep my family and the griffons safe from that day on. Especially from zealots who force their beliefs on others.”

“You tried to make up for your mistake,” Gallus whispered. “And what would you have done if you had had a choice?”

Giselle stepped over to wrap a wing around Griswald’s broad back. She was just tall enough to pull it off. He let her and patted her on the side before turning back to Gallus.

“I would have gone for the position of Alpha, but done it with honor,” Griswald said, standing tall again. “If I lost, I would have gone to the Red Chambers willingly. I would have accepted my place as a proper contender within the Championship.”

“I was just teasing you earlier, Gallus,” Giselle said, for the first time, dropping the ‘Mister’ before his name. “I know full well why Griswald is single.”

“I can’t bear the shame of having chicks after what I did to win in my Featherheart Championship.”

The way he admitted that so blatantly took his breath away. And it gave him the strength to ask another question.

“And if you were me?” Gallus asked, realizing he needed the opinion of the only trustworthy male he’d met since he’d come here. “What would you do?”

This time, the handsome griffon smiled while Giselle retracted her wing.

“I would choose what makes you happy.”

Gallus nodded slowly and smiled in return. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Since he woke up this morning, after pondering matters during every free second the last few days, there had been something in the back of his mind. Like a quiet, warm wind tickling his feathers.

He’d known what it was almost instantly. Still, he’d ignored it, because a few final questions had to be answered. And now that he had his answers, there seemed only one thing to do.

Smolder and Gemma stood on his right. Griswald and Giselle stood on his left. For a moment, he wished he had the rest of his friends here and now. He wished Sandbar was here, especially.

His claws wrapped around the railing overlooking the coliseum and he took a long, deep breath. No one on the balcony said a word, as if they sensed what was about to happen.

Then, the words were clear in his mind, as if somegriff had just whispered them into his ear. He looked down at the floor of the coliseum and he could actually see the Idol of Aventa through the earth, glowing softly in the reflected sunlight.

And in a moment, that was where he was, transported from his place on the balcony to the Idol Chamber.

Before his eyes, the Idol itself was replaced by the figure of a beautiful griffoness with a glowing gold and iridescent white coat. She had plumage of the purest silver. She smiled warmly at him. Gallus had never known his mother, but this being felt like what he thought mothers should be like.

“You are unique among those who seek my blessing, my child,” the Avatar of Aventa whispered as she stepped forward and stroked his feathery cheek. “You have known the blessing of Harmony. You have become champion to your people. You have learned to care about those around you in a way so few griffons understand. And yet, your passion and strength are undeniable.”

“Is this… really the right path for me?” Gallus asked in a quiet, reverent tone. “I… I have some doubts.”

“That means you are more ready than you know. Throughout this Championship, I have seen the conception of many chicks. I had seen the wild passions and lustful needs of many griffonesses. And I celebrate every moment of that. But I have sought something else. What you call the Battle for Unity changed the shape of the world and the shape of your people. I would like to walk among them once more, as I once did, long, long ago.”

“I don’t understand,” Gallus whispered, flustered and flummoxed in equal measure.

The Avatar reached out and placed her claw on his chest. “I offer you not only the blessing you seek, but a boon, young Gallus. The Boon of Aventa. My power will reshape you, not only into the form you desire, but a form strong enough to house my essence. I offer to help you guide your people as Prime Featherheart. Your Queen shall need all the allies she can get if she is to truly change Griffonstone, the Clans and the Houses.”

“And… you want to ally with her? Through… through me?”

The Avatar nodded, leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek, which left a warm spot long after her beak had left him.

“It is but an offer. I can still give you the Touch of Aventa, if that is your desire. But the Boon is much more. You will remain in control. You will remain you, though it will be you as a griffoness. You will simply have my aid at any time. And I will grant you something no griffon has had in nearly two thousand years. My name.”

“I… I wasn’t ready for this,” Gallus squeaked. “I’m not ready at all.”

“We never are ready for such things.”

Gallus finally looked up into the golden orbs that were her eyes. “Who are you? What are you?”

The Avatar of Aventa laughed in delight, a sound like bells on a warm spring day.

“I am no griffon, young one. I am something else. Something from before. And something from after. Words cannot convey the rest. But with my lover sleeping in what you call the Abysmal Abyss, I think it is time to enjoy the world once more, if you’ll let me.”

Gallus had a million questions. And yet, he had one answer. He wasn’t entirely sure why it was his answer, but he knew this was important. Not just to him, but to all griffons. He was doing it for them.

He was also doing it for himself.

“Yes.”

“Then speak the words, young one. You already know them.”

Then, Gallus was once more on the balcony. It seemed as if less than a second had passed. He closed his eyes, stood up straight and whispered the words that every Green instinctually knew when it was their time.

With a few modifications, of course.

“Aventa, grant me your Boon. I welcome your Blessing, your Touch and your Help. Let it reshape me so I may serve my people. Let it reshape me into who and what I wish to be. Thank you.”

A beam of pure golden light suddenly exploded from the balcony beneath Gallus’s paws. Everyone else on the balcony staggered backward, then took to the air just as Gallus was swept up into the light. He let it wash over his body, slipping under his uniform and caressing both coat and feathers. He let out a soft cry as he began to spin in midair, his wings unfurling to their full length. In moments, he was glowing from the inside out.

Then, as if he were watching from outside—perhaps from some strange force the didn’t fully understand—he could see the stares and dropped beaks of the entire coliseum. Gemma’s eyes were full of tears of joy. Smolder even looked like she might cry. Giselle smiled like the mother of a chick who had just flown for the first time. Griswald looked so proud he might burst.

And then, he was brought back into himself as the light flowing over his body began to flow into his body.

“It is time,” the Avatar of Aventa—or maybe just Aventa herself—whispered in Gallus’s mind.

Gallus nodded and surrendered to the light.

It began with his claws. Gallus had always had large claws, but no longer. They slimmed down, losing none of their strength, but now presenting an air of grace. His arms were next, his muscles changing from bulky to lean. His somewhat broad shoulders shrank next, becoming petite and feminine. Then his torso, slimming down a little, though he felt something shift and he knew he was somehow softer. He thought it a little odd that the light hadn’t granted him the most obvious of female attributes, but that thought was banished when the light flowed into his waist. While his stomach went in, his hips went out, quickly growing to an impressive span only to develop thick thighs to go with his new hips. Again, the most obvious change was skipped, only for the light to slowly sculpt his legs. They grew smooth, the fur finer and more delicate. Even his paws were changed into something almost dainty.

The light paused for a moment as he continued to spin in place. Then, it surged back into motion, sweeping over his head in one great surge. His feathers grew a little, the yellow highlights stretching back farther along his fringe. His skull and face reshaped, becoming more shapely and beautiful. He had to screw his eyes shut as a brief bolt of pain blasted through him as the transformation of his face was complete with the changing of his beak.

By now, the constant changes had made him rock hard, and his cock was making a massive tent in his uniform. He knew he was on display for the entire coliseum, but couldn’t find it in himself to care. This felt too right to worry about such silly things as embarrassment.

He had another moment to breathe before the light filled him again. This time, he let out a coo of pleasure of his rear began to bubble outward. He wanted to grab it, but he was locked in the light’s embrace. Still, the light seemed to understand his needs and somehow ran bands of solid color along his growing ass as the light moved into his tail, stretching it and growing his tuft at the end. His new tail thrashed wildly as he tried to contain the mounting pleasure.

Moments later, the light filled his wings, reshaping them gently into a softer, more feminine appearance with longer feathers and a slightly smaller wingspan.

“Do you wish to be granted the passion of your peers, young one?” the Avatar’s voice whispered in his head. “I can make you skilled in the art of feminine sexuality.”

Gallus could only nod as he realized he would very soon no longer be Gallus. This thought strangely excited him. He gasped as the light flowed into his chest.

“We will feed so many…” the Avatar whispered.

Then, Gallus’s breasts began to come in. The sensation of the fabric against his growing chest was almost too much to bear. His eyes flew wide as his new tits swelled against the uniform. Everything was so sensitive! He couldn’t… couldn’t take… take…

Then, a familiar long tongue was wrapped around his cock. He managed to look down to see that Smolder had unzipped him and was now eagerly bobbing on his cock. In moments, Gemma had been overcome by lust and quickly flew up to begin licking him too.

“You have passionate mates,” the Avatar said. “I believe they are deserving of their own blessing…”

To Gallus’s shock, Smolder’s tits and hips suddenly swelled. This seemed to drive the dragon wild as her blowjob became even more frantic. Gemma all but burst out of her clothes at her new size. Soon, the two girls were making out fiercely over his cock. That, and the sensation of his uniform finally bursting at the seams like a party cannon of fabric, was enough to drive him over the edge for one of the last times as a male.

Both girls eagerly drank from him before collapsing to the ground in a handsy, needy pile of limbs and passion. Their attention now focused on each other, Gallus managed to stretch his claws out to grab his new chest as the rest of his padded armor fell to the balcony in tatters. He immediately let out a moan of satisfaction. They were huge. Easily as big as any griffoness he’d ever seen. Probably even bigger than Professor Fluttershy or even Professor Pinkie Pie’s!

“Are you ready to leave your old self behind?” the Avatar asked. “Ready to accept the full Boon of Aventa?”

Gallus didn’t hesitate, though he couldn’t be sure if that was because of lust or belief.

“Yes.”

Hands of light wrapped around his cock, which grew to an impressive size for a moment before letting out a last burst onto the still-entangled girls beneath him. Then, they began to gently fold his thickness back inside of him. His balls were slipped up inside of his body, remade into the fundamental female parts he knew he would be using all too soon.

His cock shrank, inch-by-inch, until his body reacted in a final shuddering orgasm that released nothing. And then…

He felt a glowing presence fill his body and his mind as he…no, as she was reshaped into a vessel worthy of hosting something akin to a Goddess. Her pussy now complete, the griffoness had her first orgasm right there floating in a beam of golden light above the balcony. She felt arms wrap around her spirit from the inside, guiding her into her new home within herself. She eagerly flew into the embrace.

“Speak your new name, my love,” said the sweeter part of her soul.

“Gaventa,” she whispered.

Then, she was reformed in light, her colors of blue, yellow and white replaced with divine silver, gold and white. She cried out, feeling the final changes wash over her as her mind was adjusted into her new form. She welcomed the changes, eager to have Aventa’s perspective and passion.

Then, she absorbed the light flowing around her. In less than a minute, the light show was over, save for the faintly glowing griffoness that had been its center.

Gaventa slowly fell toward the ground. With Gemma and Smolder now locked in a fierce licking war, Griswald stepped forward and caught her.

As Gaventa settled into Griswald’s strong arms, she snuggled against him, happy to finally let her feminine side out for the first time in the arms of the most honorable male in Griffonstone. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked up at him. She could see her own eyes were glowing gold in the reflection of his gaze.

“You…” she said in her new breathy voice. “You said you weren’t worthy to sire chicks.”

“Y-yes…” Griswald said, apparently at a loss for words at the sight of the faintly glowing naked griffoness in his arms.

Gaventa didn’t blame him. It wasn’t something that happened every day.

She ran a finger along his chest. “You are the best male I’ve met here. You’ve protected me. You’ve trusted me. And you truly want what’s best for all griffons.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Griswald stammered. He looked completely out of his element.

Meanwhile, Giselle giggled off to the side.

“I want nothing more than to lay beneath you as you make me a true griffoness… and your mate.” Gaventa said, both parts of her in full agreement. “If you’ll have me.”

“I… I…” For the first time, he looked more than a little panicked.

Giselle pushed him lightly. “It’s rude to keep a lady waiting.”

Gaventa giggled, then leaned up to whisper in Griswald’s ear. “I am Gallus as a griffoness with the love of Aventa… and both of us crave your seed. Please? Mount me and make me a good breeder? I want to have your chicks, more than anything.”

Then, she swept around and kissed him. He froze for a moment, then took charge of the kiss, just like she wanted.

Everything she had said was completely true. While the piece of her that was Aventa—once one of the great fertility goddesses of the East—had plunged their body into her deliciously needy heat, they both really did want this male. Gaventa—the piece of her that had been Gallus—had repressed her desire for him. But when one had become the living spirit of griffon passion… it was impossible to repress such things anymore.

“Go on, you two,” Giselle said with a smirk as they broke apart. “I already set aside the Northern Green Chamber for today. No sense in letting it go to waste.”

Gaventa giggled as Giselle lightly kicked Gemma and Smolder out of their passion—though both still had their new and improved bodies. “Go make sure those two make it upstairs and don’t end up rutting on some carpet somewhere.”

With that, Griswald took to the air and quickly flew out of the room as Giselle stepped forward to begin her speech to begin the Golden Melee.

Gaventa smiled. She was still who she had been, but a better version of herself. There were parts of her—the parts that had always craved: family, love and passion—that she could finally embrace. As Gemma and Smolder flew behind Griswald—Gaventa still safe in his arms—she could feel another competitor bow before the final Melee even started. The words slipped out of her and she could feel the griffon join the ranks of those that would ensure the future of the griffon people.

Just as she would soon.

It had been centuries since Aventa had enjoyed the carnal pleasures of creating the next generation. And Gaventa found herself thinking of all the stories and tales.

Both couldn’t wait to see what Griswald did to them.

And both suspected they would not be disappointed in the slightest.

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!

Yeah, I like divine possession/merging. It's fun. But this one's different~! You'll see~!