After we’d deposited our things in our dorms and changed into some day clothes, Kiara and I began roaming the gardens. It was a beautiful day. Spring had finally arrived, and the snow had ceased to fall. The sun was shining on the new buds in the gardens, which would soon be blooming with grand flowers. It was still chilly out, but the warm weather was definitely on its way.
“Do you think we should’ve asked Alexei to come?” I asked as we took a winding dirt path into the woods.
Kiara made a sour face. “No. He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“That’s not true,” I insisted. “You two need to make up and apologize to one another.”
“Apologize! I did nothing wrong!” Kiara huffed. “Alexei is being stupid. It’s like he can’t make up his mind to be with me one way or the other. He can’t be jealous and aloof at the same time.”
“But he has good reason,” I hinted. “He wants to be with you, but there’s so much getting in the way.”
“Did he tell you something?” Kiara stopped, and turned to me.
I swallowed. “I can’t really say— it’s private. But I’m sure if you asked him to explain, he would at least consider it. His reasons are devastating, Kiara.”
She mused on this, chewing on her bottom lip. “Even so, I can’t help him if he won’t be open. At this rate, we’re hardly friends.”
“Don’t say that. You can’t give up on him,” I insisted.
Kiara raised her chin. “Whatever his reasons are, it’s clear he doesn’t want to share his past. And if he’s not going to be honest with me, I might as well start looking elsewhere.”
I dropped it at that. Kiara and Alexei had to come around in their own time. Forcing things would only make it worse.
I heard chatter, and the sounds of a working village as we walked through the woods. I looked around, and asked, “Are we close?”
“You’re already there.” Kiara pointed upward. My mouth dropped open at the magnificent sight. Above me were giant trees, and clustered around the trunks of these trees were massivenests. Spanning above us were rope bridges that crossed from tree to tree. Griffins flew from nest to nest, hundreds of feet above our heads.
“Come on.” Kiara brought her wings out, and fluttered upward. I followed her. We landed on a wooden platform, suspended between two trees. Around us was a gathering of houses and nests. Every house was placed in the middle of a nest, which rested on the heavy branches. The nests themselves were made of a collection of branches, feathers, and pebbles. The nests spanned hundreds of feet in diameter, to contain the houses in the middle of them. Each of the houses was small, barely a cottage, with thatch roofs and tiny crooked windows. Little magical yellow lights hovered between the leaves of the trees, providing light all on their own. Vines hung down from the trees, which griffin children swung from with loud whoops. I held my breath, but whenever one of them fell, a griffin flying by would swoop down to catch them, placing them in the safety of one of the nests.
One particularly large tree wrapped upward, supporting several nests in its arms. This treehadto have been grown by magic, as I’d never seen such a behemoth— the tree itself was a hundred yards across or more, and just as tall. There were stairs winding up the large trunk, leading up to what seemed like paradise.
Kiara began walking up the stairs. I saw that these nests sitting in the branches of the giant tree were full of shops. There were cozy bookstores, mingled among places for magical ingredients, apothecary houses, homeopathic remedies, and potion stores.
“I didn’t know griffins were so obsessed with armor,” I said as we passed a crowded armory. Most of the griffins I’d met had been more concerned with learning magic than fighting. They seemed a more peaceable Faction.
“Griffins are the guardians of the Arcanea. They have been well known to guard sacred sites of the Seelie, and protect the royal family. There are more griffin guards in the palace then there are of any other Faction,” Kiara informed me as we wound upward. “It is even said that griffins guard the gate into the Great Hunting Grounds when we die, and you have to pass them before you’re allowed into the afterlife.”
We walked by one store in particular that had sets of jeweled eggs in the window. They were gold and silver plated, coated in precious gems like rubies, sapphires, and diamonds.
Kiara caught me looking. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Gorgeous. But it’s the only… well… grand store in the village, I’d say.” Since being to the dragon and the alicorn village, I’d noticed the Arcanea were particularly interested in showing off the aspects of their own Faction. The griffin village, by contrast, seemed much cozier and welcoming.
“Griffins are particularly concerned with family. Our treasures are heirlooms that have been passed down for generations. We don’t need treasure, like dragons do, or grand titles like wolvens,” Kiara said. “But we do have a fondness for jeweled eggs.”
I had to rip my eyes away from the beautiful eggs as we continued to climb higher. Vendors gave children fruits freely from their carts, and crafters made necklaces and clothes sewn beautifully out of griffin feathers. Everyone here was smiling. A few people even inclined their head to me, which I was shocked by, because I was a wolven.
“Everyone is so nice,” I marveled.
“It’s like one big tribe here in the griffin village. Everyone knows everyone. Griffins are very hospitable,” Kiara informed me.
“Because you’re empathic.”
“Yes. We can understand different perspectives much easier than the other Factions do. Most griffins join the royal guard, but those that don’t usually become therapists, writers, healers, or join the priestesshood. Out of all the Factions, we’re the ones who rely on our magic the most, and are the most accomplished sorceresses and sorcerers.”
I knew Kiara had it in her heart to become a priestess one day, and I hoped she achieved her dream. She had a natural talent for magic, and knew more about the gods than any of us did. She’d do well serving the Seven Gods.
Kiara turned down a path that walked downward, and I was relieved, because I was getting exhausted from climbing these stairs. There was a door carved into the inside of the giant tree trunk. She pushed it open, and I gasped once again as we stepped into the interior of the tree.
