Marianne stared at the Gryphon in disbelief and still couldn't believe it. Slowly she tried to get up from the pile of leaves, but the Gryphon hacked in her direction with his beak. She quickly let herself fall back into the leaves. The Gryphon kept an eye on her and walked up and down. He did not turn his head away from her. What was he waiting for? It was clear to her that she had no choice but to lie down.
She sampled the Gryphon. He seemed to be young. Adult Gryphonscould reach the size of horses, but this one was smaller. It had extraordinarily shiny, snow-white feathers, which was very unusual, because Gryphons had actually much duller feathers ... when they still existed.
Marianne had been ten years old when she had seen the Emperor's Gryphon Guard in the Capital up close. They were incredibly majestic animals and they had been the pride of the kingdom. But then the DENERIAS INCIDENT occurred and the Gryphons fell out of favor. One by one, they were hunted down, and by the time Marianne was 12, the Gryphons were extinct. The last Gryphon had even dragged his hunter to his death.
Footsteps approached and tore her out of her thoughts. Marianne turned her head in that direction and seemed to freeze.
"The ... That can't be!" she stammered.
A man in white-gold Half-Armour stood in front of her. The Breastplate was emblazoned with the coat of arms of a golden Gryphon, which was slightly covered by a golden fabric sash. On his back was a two-handed Sword. A uniform of the Gryphon Guard, the defunct Gryphon Guard.
The man went to the Gryphon and gently stroked his feathers with his hand. Then he turned to Marianne.
"Who do I have the pleasure with?" he asked, while the Gryphon lay down on the ground on the man's right side but still did not let her out of his sight.
"I ... My name is Marianne." she answered.
The man nodded and held out his hand to her. "Duke Hawksire."
When she answered, it chilled down her spine. Hesitantly, she grabbed his hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled her up.
She stared wide-eyed at Duke, whom she estimated to be in his mid-forties. "How can that be?" she stammered. "You ... You are ... dead!"
Duke looked down at himself and looked at the Gryphon. "Do I look dead somehow?" To Marianne's surprise, the Gryphon shook his head.
"It seems, young Lady, that the news of my death was a bit premature." A slight smile was reflected from his lips.
Marianne, on the other hand, looked at the Gryphon, who continued to keep an eye on her, but was much more relaxed, which was certainly due to Duke's presence.
"How is all this possible? You are actually dead and Gryphons are extinct," she stammered. The Gryphon then looked at her smugly, which made Marianne take a step backwards. "He ... He understands me?"
The Gryphons she still knew had been more comparable to horses in nature and intelligence, but this Gryphon understood her, understood her language. She was completely confused.
"Yes, he does, but we should get out of here. Just in case the Nexuswyverns should come back. Follow me." Without waiting for another word from her, he walked past her and went deeper into the forest.
Uncertainly, Marianne looked at the Gryphon but followed Duke after she realized that she should go between the two. The Gryphon followed her.
"Wouldn't it be better to see if there were any survivors?" She asked, dodging some branches.
"You mean beside yourself? Do you really believe that?" Duke replied without turning to her.
Marianne bowed her head sadly. "No..." She kept in mind what the Nexuswyverns were doing to their victims, and an uncontrollable rage welled up in her. And she was to blame for it ...
Instinctively, she reached for the tube on her back. The Tube was still there and seemed unharmed, despite the fact that she had been lying on it. Marianne breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a great pain ran through her body. She began to stagger and her eyes went black. Then she collapsed and merciful unconsciousness surrounded her.
*
Marianne opened her eyes. She had a headache. Splitting headache. She grabbed her head and felt a bandage. She closed her eyes again for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she opened it again and began to look around.
Marianne is laying in a simple wooden bed. The room was also very simply furnished. She realized that she was laying in a wooden hut that seemed to have only one room. On a stove stood a pot in which water boiled, two simple cabinets and shelves were on a wall and in the middle of the room was a table with a chair. In front of it lay curled up the Gryphon. He was asleep. Duke sat in the chair and looked at her.
"What ... what happened?" stammered Marianne.
"A Nexuswyvern has caught you with its poisonous spikes, Marianne. However, he won't be able to harm anyone anymore." Duke had his legs crossed and held a book in his right hand. He was no longer wearing the Gryphon Guard armor, but wore green leather clothing.
"Why... Am I still alive? The poison is deadly...." Marianne turned her head, took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling.
"Because I sucked the blood out before the poison could get any further. You were very lucky." Duke put the book on the table.
"Thank you...." Marianne said exhausted.
"And now tell me why they were after you." Duke folded his hands in his lap and looked directly at her.
"What..?" Marianne looked at him again.
"Don't take me for a fool, Marianne. The Nexuswyvern attacked you directly, even though there was actually a more rewarding target." Duke pointed to the Gryphon.
Marianne flinched a little and then looked at the sleeping Gryphon. There was some truth to Duke's words. The Nexuswyverns played a major role in the destruction of the Gryphons because of the DENERIAS INCIDENT.
"I.... I can´t ... it is not allowed to talk about it..." it came out of her.
"So?" Duke reached behind him and placed Marianne's Tube on the table.
"No." She started up, but the pain let her sink back rudely.
"Then let's see what can be more important than a live griffin." Duke opened the tube and pulled out a parchment. He laid it on the table and rolled it out completely.
"Don´t ... do not...." Marianne stretched her arm in his direction and then let it sink powerlessly.
Duke read the document and slowly turned to her.
"Who is it from? And to whom is it to be taken?" he asked in a serious voice.
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