Gryphons Haven

Heraldry

History

The now defunct Barony of Gryphon's Haven was founded in the summer of 1992 in Pampa, Texas. The Barony was located in the Kingdom of Golden Plains. The original founding members were Thrannthalis Aspen aka Thrann Von Doom, Ryu Ivan Spellbound, Drogo Von Rhudy, Corwyn Ash, Nakamura Toda-Mashi Kyoshiro, and Perrin Silverwolf.

The Barony was founded as a result of the founding members dissatisfaction with certain limitations of SCA, namely the limitation on age. The founding members had become dissatisfied with the SCA group they were a part of in Pampa, and specifically with members of that group shunning them because they were too young to play. They heard about Amtgard from someone who attended both SCA and Amtgard. They began to meet in Central Park in Pampa after having attended a few Sunday meetings in Amarillo, and a Kingdom level event in the third reign of Golden Plains. Shortly thereafter, and with the help of such GP notables as Sir Kamal, Sir Guy and Sir Dustin Darkenmane, the group gained Shire status. The group grew and added more members including Fionnigan Hellblazer, Banquo Wulfghar, ID, and Arklon Harkoneen. The group gained Barony status within a year of having been founded, with Thrann being the first to sit on the Baronial seat.

However the group could not sustain its status and eventually disbanded, partly from members losing interest and partly due to political maneuvers within the Kingdom. It could be officially stated that the Barony perished in 1995. Though some members have continued on and made a home for themsleves in other parks or even other Kingdoms.

One of the most memorable moments of Gryphon's Haven occurred on a Saturday during the summer of 1994 during a quest hosted by the then Shire. The Shire had created and hosted a quest incorporating many of the parks in Pampa. This idea stemmed from the fact that the parks in question were all connected or within close proximity of each other. Within each park was a monster to be fought, and a quest item or quest information to be found. By the middle of the day a thunderstorm had rolled in and during one of the final engagements of the quest it began to rain. As rain began to pour down the quest continued, until a bolt of lightning struck a tree less than thirty feet from the spot that had been chosen for nirvana. Those on the field realizing the danger they were now in ran to Adinirahc's truck to flee the scene and get to a safer environment. Fionnigan Hellblazer was standing at nirvana at the time counting his death when the lightning struck. He was knocked to the ground, and swears that he felt a minor amount of electricity pass through his body. This was confirmed as possible because he was standing in a pool of standing water that was also surrounding the tree that was struck. The group which included Adinirahc, Sir Dustin, Sir Kamal, Thrann Von Doom, Sir Guy and Fionnigan Hellblazer fled the scene in Adinirahc's truck to another park which had a pavilion, under which they took cover. The group waited out the storm and when it had passed resumed the quest. Fionnigan Hellblazer's exact quote concerning his minor electrocution was "At first I thought I was dead, and then I looked up and saw I was still in Pampa. I decided either I was dead and in hell or I was still alive and I needed to run. I decided to run."

Gryphon's Haven Alumni

• Thrann Von Doom
• Ryu Ivan Spellbound
• Drogo Von Rhudy
• Nakamura Toda-Mashi Kyoshiro
• Corwyn Ash
• Perrin Silverwolf
• Fionnigan Hellblazer
• Banquo Wulfghar
• ID
• Draven
• Arklon Harkoneen