Gryphonlords were the powerful gryphon-riding kings of the Ayleid Empire.
History[]
Leadership of the Ayleid Empire was contested by a score of noble families who normally elected from among themselves a high king, although it is unknown if all twenty Houses controlled gryphons and were gryphonlords.
Strong in sorcery, the gryphonlords of old are said to have used binding spells to control their gryphons. Some scholars have written that the gryphonlords considered themselves more powerful than gods.
Almost all gryphonlords died during the Alessian Slave Rebellion.
The Aranas were one of the gryphonlord families, but far from the most powerful. They were the last gryphonlord House to survive the Rebellion, as Anumaril IV had led his family from the broken land of Cyrodiil after the Ayleid defeat. Riding three gryphons, the Aranas eventually conquered the Summerset Archipelago during Aerel's Invasion.
Known Gryphonlords[]
- King Anumaril IV Arana
Quotes[]
The gryphonlords of the old Empire were strong in sorcery, and lesser men defied them at their peril.
—writings of Sapiarch X