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Hayati couldn't shake the feeling he had stumbled into a rather unfortunate situation. The fact that he had just woken up in some kind of prison only seemed to confirm this. He had decided to go explore an old barn; then there had been a flash of light. Then he felt strangely weak and tired... And now he was here. Wherever here was.

It was dark and cramped. He didn't even have room to move. At least it was warm, but that was still far from ideal. He could hear noises coming from outside his prison, but they were muffled and difficult to make out. He strained his ears trying to listen to get an idea of where he might be but it was no use. It seemed for now his only option was to try and break out of here.

If there had just been more room to move around that would have been much easier done. But he didn't even have room to stretch his arms or legs to try to push on the walls. He could kind of move his head but that was about it. Since it was all he could do, he tried to nudge against the wall of his cage with his head. To his surprise and pleasure, this worked. It didn't even require a lot of force. It was as if the tip of his face suddenly had a sharp pointy object on it. And with whatever that was... Even without much room to move, he could sort of peck right through the wall.

The prison fell apart and Hayati was free! He was temporarily blinded by the sudden exposure to light again. He tried to hold his hands over his eyes and stand up. This just resulted in him falling down onto his stomach. He gave it a second try, and couldn't stand up no matter what he tried. As his eyes adjusted to the light and he could finally see again he looked down at himself trying to figure out what was wrong.

"SQUAWK!?" Hayati let out a loud yelp as he saw his own body. "SQUAAAWK!?" He let out a second one upon hearing his own voice, or the noise that passed for a voice. It was no wonder he couldn't stand up properly... He had four legs now instead of two. But the legs didn't really match. His front legs looked like bird talons while his back looked more like some kind of furry beast complete with claws. His hind legs seemed to match his tail now... It was long, sleek and furry with a hairy tuft on the tip. But then he had what seemed to be feathered wings. Those matched better with his bird-like talons... And just the front half of his body in general seemed to be covered in feathers. He then paused as he remembered how he had broken out of his prison. He went cross eyed to stare down at what should have been his snout. Instead there was a short bird beak.

Hayati slowly managed to drag himself along his stomach and turn around so he could see the prison he had escaped from. It was a broken egg shell. He had come out of an egg. That was a thing that had just happened.

"Squawk!" Hayati flapped his wings. He was too weak for them to actually lift him off the ground. He was a bit confused as to what was going on. It was all very strange. Where even was he? The egg and himself were in some kind of bed made of straw. So a nest he guessed. He crawled over to the edge the nest so he could get a better view of the room as a whole. The walls were made of stone, and it seemed like his nest was sitting in some kind of alcove. Crawling to the edge of the nest and looking over the edge he could see a red rug that was thrown over a stone floor. The room was lit by wall mounted torches, and there were some kind tapestry hanging on the wall. It showed a knight in golden armor wielding a sword and shield. The knight rode atop the back of a massive beast, half lion half eagle. A griffin. And seeing the image there Hayati was slowly piecing things together.

He was a griffin. And judging by the fact that he had just crawled out of an egg a newborn griffin. He tried to climb to his feet, all four of them this time, and could just barely do so. His legs were wobbly and uncertain. After a few seconds he collapsed again. Seemed it was going to take some time before he was old enough to properly walk again. He flapped the wings on his back ineffectually wondering how they worked. He couldn't flap them hard enough to lift off. He found himself vaguely wondering which would come first, walking or flying.

Well, this was strange, unnatural and just plain weird. It was time to go. He couldn't walk properly, but he could at least crawl. He'd just crawl to the edge of his nest, somehow get down to the ground, find a door. Get out of this place. Go back home, and get back to normal. He had no idea how he was going to do any of that yet... Hopefully he would figure it out as he went.

And then another weird thing happened.

"SALUTATIONS!" A way too energetic voice suddenly called out. Then there was the sound of heavy footsteps against a stone floor as something the source of the voice was coming. A door somewhere swung open. Hayati couldn't see it from his current perch, but he could hear it. The footsteps became softer as they ran across the rug in the room... And suddenly there was an enormous human face directly in front of the young griffin.

"SQUAWK!" Hayati let out a protest as he somehow managed to fall backwards and land on his backside. He had not been expecting giant humans. Then again he seemed to be the size of a lion cub now so the human wasn't actually gigantic. He was just small. Either way having an elderly man with a white curly moustache as long as his shoulders suddenly within his personal space was not acceptable.

"So sorry to have startled you young chap!" The old man took a step back. He made a clinking noise as he did. The man was dressed in an ill fitting rusty set of armor that clicked and clanged with every movement he made. The man's head looked almost tiny sticking out of the top of the way too large for him armor. "But you see... I knew you were hatching now! I have a sense of these things! I try to be here for each hatching but you see... Even knights of my caliber must sometimes heed nature's call... And I'm afraid I'm just not as fast as armoring up as I used to!"

"... Caw?" Hayati tilted his head and stared at what was apparently a knight. Just... Seriously, what even was going on at this point.

"No doubt having just hatched you have a number of questions!" As the knight spoke he threw back a cape over his shoulder and posed with his hands on his hips. "But worry not! For Lord Reid Morrison, Drill Master of the Bastion Sky Knights is here to tell you everything you'd need to know!"

"C-caw..." Hayati just stared at the old knight completely dumbfounded. He could swear that as the knight smiled his teeth actually sparkled. He was pretty much over this now and ready to go.

"Still... You certainly hatched at an odd time." Reid reached up and began to twirl one end of his giant moustache. "The other eggs had already been gathered when you were found. To be honest, we're not even sure who actually laid you. It's like you were from a completely different batch... And such bright yellow fur and plumage. So different from any of the other griffins. But it matters not! You have been born into a long noble line of warriors! And regardless of the strange timings of your hatching you'll receive the same benefits as the others of your line!"

"... Squawk." Hayati felt himself still just staring at this very strange and very loud man. Part of him was just outright considering biting him.

"Now obviously you're too young to begin training!" Reid continue to twirl his moustache. "It will be quite a few years before you can carry a full grown knight! But I see no reason why you can't learn the glorious history that you have been born into! Come! Valiant beast of the sky! Let us go forth! TO THE HALL OF HEROES!" As he spoke he swooped forward and grabbed Hayati by his scruff. The griffin tried to squirm but was helpless until he was lifted up into the air and sat upon the knight's head.

Hayati did his best to cling with claws and talons at the knight began to strode onward. He had no idea where they were going but was just doing his best to be thrown from the knight's head. He dug his claws into the graying knight's hair as he desperately tried to avoid being thrown off. The knight moved quickly for his age, and paid no mind to how hard it was for the young griffin not to fall to his doom. Instead Reid strode on happily down staircases, through multiple halls, up a new staircase and finally into a room full of marble statues, large portraits and polished swords hung on the wall.

"WELCOME TO THE HALL OF HEROES!" Reid shouted.

"SQUAWK!" Hayati covered his ears with his talons. Why was this man always shouting!? He was right there on top of his head! He could hear fine!

"Oh um sorry." Reid chuckled. "I get a little excited. But I bring every newborn griffin here so that can know the grand destiny that awaits them. For here in this hall the history of the Bastion Sky Knights is laid out! For you see it is the honor of the Sky Knights to defend the realms of Bastion! It's a long tradition dating back to when the founder of Bastion King Ross MacDonald I, may his soul rest eternally, first bonded with a wild griffin! This was back when the Kingdom of Bastion was a disorganized mess of tribes. MacDonald riding atop his griffin defended his people and eventually united all the tribes into one kingdom! Since then it was tradition that all knights in his service learn to tame and ride griffins! But the castle wasn't constructed till his son, King Ross MacDonald II, may his soul rest eternally, ascended to the throne when Bastion was attacked by foreign invaders..."

At this point Hayati felt his eyes start to kind of cloud over. It sounded like Reid was going to be droning on for a rather long time. Things about honor, tribes, castles and griffins. Hayati got the gist of it by now. The place was called Bastion, and its defenders were a bunch of griffin riding knights. Hayati didn't quite think it sounded very fair to him! He never agreed to carry around some loud knight everywhere he went!

And he couldn't be bothered to focus on anything the knight was saying. He still hadn't figured out exactly how this had happened. He still remembered the barn... The flash of light. Then he was a baby griffin having to listen to an old knight who never shut up. And the old knight's droning was making it impossible for Hayati to focus on figuring things out. He just felt exhausted listening to him... And without meaning to fell asleep atop Reid's head and began to snore lightly.

Hayati wasn't sure for how long he had slept when he found himself suddenly woken. Apparently the knight hadn't noticed the snoring though because he still hadn't stopped talking. He was further along in the room now gesturing to different portraits and statues as he went along.

"And now this part of the Hall of Heroes is devoted to Sky Knights who have clearly distinguished themselves in the line of duty! Every Sky Knight dreams of having their portrait along this wall some day! And it is customary for each of them to be painted directly next to their griffin! Remember, knights and griffins are partners, equals in responsibility and honor. Look at each of these pairs in the paintings and dream of what you can one day-" As he spoke Reid suddenly froze as they reached one specific painting. The painting even gave Hayati pause.

It showed a giant of a man in an enormous suit of armor. What was not covered in metal was bulging with muscle. The man almost managed to make the griffin he stood next to look small... And as far as Hayati could tell the beast was an impressive creature. It had golden fur and silver feathers. The griffin had stunning golden eyes and was almost as muscular as the man... The man though... As Hayati studied the armor it looked familiar. He had seen another suit of armor quite like it today, but not nearly in as good condition. The person who now wore the armor didn't look nearly as magnificent as the man in the portrait though... But there one thing that convinced Hayati he recognized the man. The knight in the portrait had a curly moustache as broad as his shoulders.

"I hadn't realized they had put it up." Reid spoke in a voice that sounded less than honest. "Well this is embarrassing, and they used the younger me too. Really, I was just doing my job... Shame to get a portrait just for getting a career ending injury... But I was still granted nobility and named LORD REID MORRISON, DRILL MASTER OF THE BASTION SKY KNIGHTS! It truly was... No still is an honor!" At this point Reid's entire demeanor changed. He stared at the painting with something resembling longing though. "But really Quill was the real hero. He deserved better." At this the knight became silent as he moved on past the portraits and slowly approached the end of the hall.

"C-caw?" Hayati couldn't notice there was more than was being said. For the first time since hatching he felt something other than annoyance today. He couldn't be sure of exactly what happened... But he could infer a few things based on the knight's very sudden change in demeanor... And for the briefest of moments he felt some sympathy for the obnoxious knight.

"Right now the lands are peaceful for the most part." Reid spoke up as he reached the very end of the hall. The last thing in the hall was a massive ten foot tall golden statue of a griffin. "While most of the populace respects the Sky Knights themselves, King Ross MacDonald I wanted to make sure the 'real heroes' would never forgotten. Before we had a castle this statue was originally just a wooden carving. It's to honor Macdonald's own griffin partner. Tempest, the first hero of Bastion. He was even granted his own title of nobility. Many of our griffins trace their parentage directly back to him.

"Caaaaw." Hayati couldn't help but feel slightly impressed as he stared at the golden figure.

"Well then I believe that's enough history for today." Reid seemed to recover his composure and return to his bombastic self. "But as you can see a noble and bright future awaits you! But... You're still a few years from being able to begin training, but as Drill Master in charge of training new griffins I feel each of them should know their history!"

"Squawk?" Hayati tilted his head. He wondered if other griffins were even intelligent enough to understand history. Obviously he did... But this wasn't exactly his natural state. And that was still causing him a mild bit of distress.

"Well! That's enough for now! We should get you to the tower to meet some of your siblings you'll be growing up with!" Reid began to stroll back for the entrance of the hall. "You're not all related by blood, but we like to encourage you all to see each other as one big family! Enjoy your youth while you can! We hope you'll all grow into might and regal beasts, but we need to wait a bit before you start training! Oh... But of course you'll be assigned a squire very soon!"

"CAW!?" Hayati wasn't sure he was willing to agree to that.

"A knight and his griffin are partners for their entire career." Reid clucked. "When a child becomes a squire they're assigned a griffin to bond with. As you both get older they'll be responsible for feeding you, grooming you and of course ensuring you're entertained. It builds a closer bond."

"Cawwwww..." Hayati was a bit unsure about this. He didn't like the sound of being someone's pet. On the other hand... It was a bit more tolerable if he thought of them as his new servant instead. After all, just cause he was stuck like this for now didn't mean he was going to start letting someone else call the shots!

"Well I'm sure you've heard enough of me for one day!" Reid boomed.

"Squawk." Hayati had to admit... That was something that he could agree with the old knight on.

"No need to agree with me so quickly!" The knight chuckled indicating he wasn't actually that hurt by the sentiment. "But very well, let's go ahead and get you up to meet with the other new hatchlings! I'm sure they'll be excited to know they have one more younger brother!"

With that the knight continued through the castle, taking a maze of staircases and hallways. By this point Hayati was getting used to clinging to the knight's hair. It was quite a bit easier. After several hallways the knight climbed a staircase as he scaled a tower. Upon reaching the top he opened a door... And there Hayati was introduced to his new family of siblings.

The End