Wyvern Hill

For the dragon known as Wyvern in Gargoyles: Dark Ages, see Wyvern

Wyvern Hill

Wyvern Hill is the hill upon which Castle Wyvern once stood on the west coast of Scotland, near the Point of Ardnamurchan about eighty-three miles from Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness. [1]

History

It was a home for gargoyles since time immemorial, and also had a series of strongholds built upon it. The present-day Castle Wyvern, built on ancient foundations in 971 and sacked in 994, was the last such stronghold. It was built by Prince Malcolm under the direction of Brother Valdez, after Prince Malcom formed an alliance with the local gargoyle clan's Rhydderch. ("The Reach", "The Promise")

Wyvern Hill was the former home of Princess Katharine and the Magus. Before the castle was built, Robbie, Alesand, her granddam, Mary, Nicolas, and Tom grew up in the village down the Reach near Wyvern Hill. ("Awakening: Part One", "The Reach", "The Draw", "The Promise") [2]

Hakon and the Captain of the Guard fell to their deaths off the cliffs after pursuit by Goliath, though their ghosts remained in the area due to the magic of the cavern. ("Shadows of the Past")

In 1995, Tom (now the older Guardian of the Eggs) left Avalon to see if it was safe for Katharine, Magus, the Avalon Clan and himself to live in the mortal world again. He found himself in Wyvern which was without the castle, and discovered in the village that it was moved atop a skyscraper in Manhattan. [3][4] Guardian then explored the hill and caverns, unaware that his presence alerted the ghosts that their enemy might be alive. [5]

In 1996, Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx visited Wyvern Hill during the Avalon World Tour for Goliath to help the Captain to atone for his participation in the Wyvern Massacre. Later that year, Wolf encountered Hakon's ghost at Wyvern, and left a constable stranded in the process. ("Shadows of the Past", "Vendettas")

At some point between 1998 and 2188, gargoyles (possibly descended from the original Wyvern Clan – most likely via the Avalon Clan, Labyrinth Clan, and Manhattan Clan) will resettle here and found a new clan at this place. They will also be known as the Wyvern Clan. [6]

Characteristics

Wyvern Hill's location.

Close to Wyvern Hill is also a cavern that contained the lair and hoard of the dragon known as Wyvern. The cave was later used by the Archmage as a secret hideout and later still by Hakon and his band of Vikings. ("Awakening: Part One", "Long Way To Morning")

In addition to the dragon Wyvern, the hill may have been named because of the resident gargoyles; in medieval legend, a wyvern is a two-legged dragon, and it is quite possible that superstitious Scotsmen may have found it easy to confound gargoyles with wyverns.

It is unknown if Wyvern Hill has had an uninterrupted human presence since the 10th Century, but by the 20th Century, the Wyvern village locals considered the castle ruins to be haunted. Indeed, the surrounding area, including the Archmage's Cave, is "a nexus of power" or "holy ground". ("Awakening: Part Two", "Vendettas") [7]

Production Background

Before Wyvern's reveal in 2023 in Gargoyles: Dark Ages, Greg Weisman was asked if there was a reason the hill was named after a dragon species. He replied, "if you come to a Gathering, you'll get a clear hint of what that is when you see the DARK AGES pitch". The pitch included artwork of the gargoyles fighting a dragon. [8]