Once upon a time, the gryphons lived in nests on the wild mountain peaks and the elves lived in the old forests. Beyond the forest, among the plains and the coast, were the human villages. The species lived in indifference of one another, until Talent the First created the empire. He sent envoys to the different races, inviting them to establish trade and relations with the Empire.
Since it was far for the gryphons to travel from the mountains to the sea, the gryphons arranged to stay with the elves. In those days, the number of gryphons going back and forth was significant indeed. It was not long before the gryphons asked the elves for permission to establish an Aerie on their land. The elves saw a chance to prosper, so they agreed. It was the first Aerie outside of the mountains; so the gryphons called it the First Aerie.
Conflict between the Elves and the First Aerie arose immediately. The Elves insisted that the Gryphons were subjects of the Elf Queen, while the Gryphons maintained that they were merely allies, not subjects. Further disagreements arose as to the laws. The gryphons believed that only Gryphon Law held inside the Aerie and that Elvish Peace Officers had no jurisdiction in the Aerie.
Further aggravating the situation, a group of gryphon outlaws began targeting elves. The elves, enraged, tracked the outlaws back to the Aerie. The peace officers made it into the Aerie, but when they demanded to search the premises, an argument broke out. During the argument, a team of elvish peace officers attempted to enter a building which turned out to be a nursery for gryphlets. Seeing armed elves entering a nursery, the gryphons attacked, wiping out the elvish contingent.
When the Elf Queen heard of the attack, she became enraged and ordered that the gryphons be subjugated immediately. The gryphons, anticipating this move, immediately began evacuating non-combatants from the Aerie. The warriors of the First Aerie decided to attack immediately, to draw the elves away from the evacuations.
The Elvish warriors had formed ranks and were marching toward the Aerie when the gryphons took flight. They immediately drew bows and prepared to open fire. The gryphons, on the other hand, used air magic to create a massive gust of wind, carrying the gryphons toward the elvish lines at great speed. When the gryphons came within range, the elves fired a volley, but the gust the gryphons were riding simply blew the arrows toward the ground. The bow, the elvish weapon of choice, could not be used. The elves barely had drawn swords when the gryphons collided with the Elvish line.
The gryphon attack, combined with the powerful winds, devastated the elvish front lines. The gryphons and elves fought in vicious close quarter combat. The elves outnumbered the gryphons, but for every gryphon that died, four elves were killed. Many elvish leaders were killed in the initial attack, causing confusion among the Elves. The battle was finally ended when the last gryphon was killed. The gryphon warriors were dead, but they had devastated the Elvish army. Casualties were extreme. With the Elvish Army in tattters, the remnants of the First Aerie returned to the Mountain Aeries.
Neither side was happy with the outcome. The elves had lost eighty percent of their forces in the attack and all of their senior military officers. In the coming months, the elves would lose a significant portion of territory to wargs and other dark forces, due to their reduced military ability. The gryphons not only lost all their warriors, but they also were unable to continue trading with the humans as a result. The First Aerie had been destroyed, and it's remnant was composed of widows and orphans. It would be a long time before the gryphons and elves could become allies.
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