Wyvern (Dragon)

Wyvern in 971.

Wyvern is a dragon who lived deep beneath the ground in the caverns of Wyvern Hill. Presumably, Wyvern is the dragon that is the subject of an oath ("By the Dragon,...") used by "Iago", Angel, and Hudson. ("Possession", "Tyrants", "Render Unto Caesar", "The Dream")

History

At some point in the past, Wyvern brought a clan of gargoyles to what would become known as Wyvern Hill, and those gargoyles would become the ancestors of the Wyvern Clan. He brought the gargoyles to Wyvern to protect his lands, his treasure, and his rest from the humans.

Also at some unknown point in the past, Wyvern stole the sword Excalibur and added it to his hoard. The dragon placed an incantation on his horde that should any human lay a finger on even a single coin, they will draw his ire - but a gargate doing so would not trigger his attention.

In 971, Wyvern was awoken by the arrival in his cave of Antiope, the Trio, and Alesand. He quickly picked up the scent of the young human and was feeling... hungry. In the immediate conversation, the quartet of young gargoyles accidently revealed the alliance between their clan and the humans. Enraged, Wyvern erupted from the caverns determined to destroy the humans.("The Dream") In the skies above the construction site of what would become Castle Wyvern, the gargoyles protected the human from the dragon as Mentor attempted to reason with him, to convince him the alliance was working. But Wyvern insisted that humans were the problem, and as the gargoyles continued to protect the humans, Wyvern's patience thinned... threatening to inflict harm on the clan as well. During the battle, the dragon took a shot of magical lightning from the Archmage to his eye, scarring it. He also lost a tooth which he claimed would take decades to repair. ("The Pledge")

The battle ceased when the Light Bringers invaded his cavern and stole Excalibur from his hoard. Before departing, Wyvern told Mentor to keep his alliance as time would prove that Wyvern's hostility to the humans was correct. ("The Pledge")

By 1997, Wyvern had joined the Illuminati and taken up residence at Eastcheap as the Society's treasurer with the rank of Three. When Thailog and Shahrizad arrived to deposit the Hand of Valmont into the treasury, Shari distracted the dragon with her storytelling while the gargoyle clone rummaged through the horde and stole the haft of Gugnir. ("Acquisitions")

Characteristics

Wyvern scarred.

Wyvern is a dragon of immense size and power. He considers the Wyvern Clan and, perhaps, gargoyles in general to be his cousins. But he harbors a deep hatred of humans, considering them the greatest threat to all of the "Stone Flesh". While he is reluctant to kill gargoyles, he's not completely unwilling to. ("The Dream")

During the battle in the skies over the construction site of Castle Wyvern, Wyvern was blinded in his left eye by the Archmage firing a bolt of lightning from the Grimorum Arcanorum. ("The Pledge")

Appearances

• "Possession" (Mentioned Only)
• "Tyrants" (Mentioned Only)
• "Render Unto Caesar" (Mentioned Only)
• "The Oath" (No Lines)
• "The Dream"
• "The Pledge"
• "Acquisitions"

Production Background

Mentor, Goliath, and Angel battle Wyvern in the Gargoyles: Dark Ages pitch.

Wyvern appeared in one of the pitch cards for Gargoyles: Dark Ages that Greg Weisman used to try to sell the show to Disney in 1996, and played at every Gathering of the Gargoyles convention starting in 1999 until the convention ended in 2009. Funny enough, the fanbase never guessed the significance of the dragon. [1]