        Her partner was a fellow Northerner named Fortrakt. He was quite younger than she was and had only earned a leather pauldron last month, which he wore proudly on his left shoulder. His coat was the same shade as hers, though his feathers were darker. And like any younger griffin, he thought he’d endeared himself to his new superior partner by trying to invade her wingspace. She’d promptly responded by slamming him through the table, hard. 