Miles away from the peaceful serenity of the Guild mountain lay the domain of Lady Malystryxx Blackmoon, the two-tailed hematite dragoness of night. Here was Nightwings, the lair of the fair and deadly mistress who ruled over a vast horde of slaves and subjects. Jets of volcanic gas jettisoned with pinpoint accuracy on the hour, every hour, all around the magnificent lair. Bats flew in and out with mindless precision, the favored pets of the sultry lady. Eternal darkness flanked the territory, cloaking the end of Silvertop in a smooth velvet cape through which only stars shone at night, and the great ovoid of the moon.

A bat, larger than most, his fangs glittering crimson in the torchlight, weaved his way through the mass of brethren, past the unseeing gaze of the twin Doomhound guards, their poleaxes at a sharp angle. Here, Sanguine twisted and entered the cave untouched, unquestioned. Rows and rows of smoking sconces, their torches burning thick and unearthly white flame ruled here. Sanguine banked on his inner sail and dashed along a small passage cut into the rock of the left wall; it was small enough only for him, the secret tunnel way of the Nightwing bats.

The trip was a short one; lounging languorously on a dais of silk and velvet was the maleficent Malystryxx – Maly as she preferred to be called. The hematite lady’s twin barbed tails flicked as a cat’s does when resting: flip, flip. She lifted a grey-tipped paw and brushed aside the lock of shining green hair that flopped over one hooded eye. The mistress dragoness rose to a half-crouch, grey-sailed wings coming to rest smartly along her wave-dorsal.

“Sanguine,” she purred throatily. “Do come closer my pet. What have you to tell me?”

The black bat alighted on the proffered taloned paw, hooking small thumbs about each other in the way of his kind. “Oh, my Lady, all is well.”

Maly arched a deadly brow ridge. “Indeed, my pet? How fares the Guild and our friends? They should be through with construction by now.”

“Oh yes, fair Mistress. They have been done for some time now.”

“Indeed. . .,” the dragoness murmured, rising and depositing Sanguine on his gilded perch. Malystryxx wandered over to a silk-enclosed enclave and spread the fine sheets apart. There, resting on an elaborate tripod was a great mirror, rune-worked and encrusted with a hundred jewels. “Come out, my Poison, I wish to speak with you.” Maly reached out and lovingly stroked the border of the large mirror with one claw.

Mist swirled in a bright conical inside the glass; therein appeared a bright purple face, split with a savage blue beak. Huge, luminous fuchsia eyes stared out as the vortex opened and allowed the gryphoness to step through. Backswept blue horns cleared, then the rest of the gaily-patterned body, all whorls and rings of various shades of blue, violet and lavender. Finally, the ridged and tufted tail. Poison the gryphon, Maly’s first bondslave and guardian.

“Mistress.” Poison inclined her horned head and gave homage. “What have ye to bid me?”

Maly waved a careless hand, dismissing the supposed orders. “I thought it was time to let you out, my dear; your punishment is over.”

“My mistress is most kind,” the gryphoness murmured with another half-bow. Malystryxx sighed gustily and smiled at her servant.

“You are free of the mirror for now, but not of Nightwings. You may not leave the boundaries under any condition. I still have not forgotten your previous disobedience. Sanguine will watch you while I journey to the Guild.”

Nothing could disguise the hatred in Poison’s eyes for the overlarge bat; Maly either saw it and dismissed it or the glare passed over her notice. “Yes, mistress,” she replied automatically, backing up subserviently into the shadows.

“Good,” the hematite dragoness praised and gestured into the hall. Two more Doomhound guards, their black fur highlighted blue in the torchlight, red-coal eyes reflecting inner fire, came forth. “Watch,” she instructed them and turned away, twin tails swaying as she walked out of the hall.

From the shadows, fuchsia eyes blazed. You have taken my freedom for the last time, lady, Poison thought. You will pay for my captivity all these years.

“Momma! Momma!”

Shyne was a sun-golden blur on taloned feet. The small Phoenixgryph blazed into the room, followed closely by her brother Sular and their caretaker for the day, a harried-looking grey gryph named Aeris Windchaser. Shyne launched herself at her mother’s open arms, flinging them both back into Crystal’s overstuffed chair.

Wumph!

Sular hit seconds afterwards and they all set up a howl of laughter. Crystal detangled herself from her offspring and set each of them on her golden knee, bouncing them in tandem. “What can it be, my little terrors?” she asked, her great grey eyes sparkling with humor. She arched her crest over her beak and looked at Aeris, taloned hand to his breast, wheezing. The Armygryph’s green pinions sagged on the floor as he strove to catch what was left of his breath. “What have you done to poor Uncle Aeris?”

Aeris lifted a hand, forestalling the Ambassador. “Ahhh… haaaaa… not to ….worry, lass. The bairns gave me a good run, that was all. Nothing to be concerned about.”

Ythé “Crystal” Shekeira-Flurrith, Ambassador of the Vahazayi Phoenixes raised an eye ridge at that. “Are you sure, hun?” She stopped bouncing the children, much to their unamusement. Sular claimed her shoulders, his bright smokey-blue plumage with its splash of white chest stark against his mother’s own golden body. Raptorine hind claws hooked into her nape, dexterous forepaws embedded into her head feathers, playing with her earrings. Shyne curled in her lap, black-tipped brush of a tail over her white nares.

“Oh, I’m quite sure, lass,” he replied, coughing and whacking himself in the lungs with his fist. “There we go.”

“Where are my terrors?” Crystal’s mate, the Glacial gryphon scout Muse Flurrith appeared from their bedroom, golden eyes alight.

“Daddy!!” the twins exclaimed and bounded off Crystal’s lap and bowled over their father. Crystal and Aeris chuckled and the gryphoness set aside her pen and parchment to go and stand by the mercenary.

“Seriously, hun,” she said, laying a black taloned hand on his shoulder, “you’re fine?”

Aeris’ face split into a huge grin. “I told ye, lass, I’m fine! There’s not a Guilder in this here mountain that doesn’t adore your tykes.” He ruffled his crest, a less-prominent affair than Crystal’s eight arching secretary bird-like ones. “Let us spoil them. They make up for it enough.”

Crystal cast a glance behind her where Muse and the twins where rolling on the plush carpet. “Indeed, my friend!”

Aeris put an arm around her shoulders fraternally. “Ah, lass, ye don’t know the joy they’ve brought to this here place. Everything is so new and different with those bairns around.”

The golden Phoenix in gryphon form beamed. “Aye, hun; such joy they’ve brought to our lives as well.”

The grey gryphon smiled and patted Crystal’s shoulder a final time before leaving and closing the door behind him.

“Momma!” Shyne demanded from the floor. Crystal turned to see her mate under a pig pile of gryphlets, Shyne standing proud on top of his smokey-blue head. “Momma! Come and play!”

“Please, Momma?” quiet Sular asked, his own black-brush of a tail wagging with pleasure.

“Yes, love,” Muse’s muffled voice added, “come and play.”

Giggling, she did just that.

Down in the Guild’s garden, lounging under the shade of several trees, a small group of friends bade to pass the time.

“Huh, there goes Maly,” one of them observed, watching the hematite dragoness fan her way onto the main ramp jutting nearly a hundred feet above them. The woomph, woomph of her great grey wings cupping air reached all the way to the bottom. Digging a thoughtful foreclaw into her ear, Kimbo gave up and rolled onto her haunches, scratching vigorously into the black-tipped affair. Her pink tongue lolled with pleasure, antlered head canting sideways in that time-honored lupine tradition.

“Oh, do stop acting the fool, Kimbo!” Likeshine admonished with humor, tucking her green forepaws under her breast feathers. Acting the hurt one, the antlered wolf stopped scratching and pulled at her jaws ’til she’d drawn her face into a comical mocking grin with rolling eyes and wagging of tongue.

“Fool? What fool?” she wanted to know, flicking the index claw of her right paw at the green gryphoness. “I was pointing out a fact.”

“You only said something because conversation was lacking.”

“So? Maybe I don’t like to sit in silence with the birds buzzing around my head.”

“Sometimes silence is preferable over random ramblings.”

Beside them, Etherrawen was rising. “I, for one, want to see what’s up,” she said, stretching her long brown legs. “It’s not every day Malystryxx comes to visit!”

Kimbo rolled her eyes again, pawing at her black breast fur. “Not every day? Why, I saw Malistryx just a few minutes ago – popped out of her window to air out her rugs.”

Dark Empress Tyreenya gave the clueless wolf a playful shove. “You know who she’s talking about!”

Sprawling onto her back, Kimbo dug herself into the green turf. “S’not my fault we happen to have two creatures with the same-sounding name in residence, you know. Least one can do is make it clear.” She stopped rolling and heaved to her feet as the others began to rise as well and file through the door. “Wait! I know the difference!” she tried to shout after them, but the three had already passed through. Shaking herself free of blades and stalks, the female wolf bounded with great leaps, clearing several feet in one movement.

They shut the door in her face.

“Ow . . .”

Copyright 2002, Crystal Shekeira. All Guilders are © themselves. The Gryphon's Guild is trademarked to Tserisa Supalla. All other names, places and events are © MH. Do not alter, copy or distribute.