Expanded Universe  The Council of Three Hammers:Fire and Iron
by Matt Burns   His gryphon, Sky’ree, glided above him with
three of her kin, as vibrant as she had ever been over the last
two decades. He craved to be up there with her and feel the
mountain air rushing against his face. Fate had ordained that he
would walk the earth on two legs, but the sky was where he felt
free. That was Sky’ree’s greatest gift to him. More than her
ferocity during war or her friendship during peace, it was
flight. For now, though, he would let her soar in the sky on her
own.  Kurdran took a deep breath and surveyed his home: verdant
forests stretched out in all directions; Wildhammer dwarves
milled about in shops and homes along the mountain’s slopes; and
the colossal aviary, a stone enclosure sculpted in the image of
one of the noble gryphons, towered atop Aerie Peak. Everything
was just as he had left it.  He drew a small iron scepter from
his side, wrapped in strands of grass and adorned with gryphon
feathers. It wasn’t a