"Haven't you ever heard the name of Rion Gryphonheart, first of your line? Or how about his daughter, Allison? They were two of the fairest, greatest leaders I have ever...heard of!"
—Tarnum
Queen Allison Gryphonheart was the second Gryphonheart monarch, who took the throne after her father, Rion Gryphonheart, died.
Background[]
"Allison is the reigning Queen of Erathia, a young kingdom that her father started. She is determined to rescue the soul of her father from an eternity of torture."
Some years into her rule, she learned that her father's soul had been taken from Paradise by a demon and brought to the Underworld. To save her father's soul from being tortured in the dark depths, she sent out a call for brave knights who were willing to lead the charge into the Underworld.
The only man brave enough to lead her army was Tarnum the Immortal Hero, the former Barbarian Tyrant who had been slain by Rion some years before, but had been banned from entering the afterlife and was forced to return to life to right the terrible wrongs he had committed. Pretending to be a knight, he had gone to the Queen and promised to save her father.
When Tarnum's forces had cut their way through the hordes of the Underworld, Queen Allison travelled to join them, mostly staying in the castle and managing the finances as Tarnum handled the fighting. When Tarnum was plagued by terrible nightmares - forced to relive the things he had done - and became unfit to lead, Queen Allison asked one of the Captains to train her with a sword, so she could lead the armies herself. But before long, Tarnum overcame his worst nightmares, and after apologizing for his conduct, resumed control of the army. He also started training her in combat himself, to ensure that was prepared if she needed it.
Around the same time, he also learned that Allison was his niece, the daughter of his sister whom Rion Gryphonheart had saved from Tarnum's own rampaging horde. He never mentioned this to her, as it would have raised too many questions about who he was.
With assistance from a demon known as Duke Deezelisk, Allison and Tarnum eventually managed to free Gryphonheart's soul from the demon Jorm. Duke Deezelisk, however, betrayed Tarnum's forces after Jorm's destruction, slaying Tarnum and capturing Allison. Certain that Gryphonheart's newly-released soul would expend its energy to protect her from harm, Deezelisk tortured Allison daily, confident that he could now destroy his enemy's soul once and for all. Unwilling to succumb to defeat, Tarnum's nature as the Immortal Hero permitted him to return to life. Counselled by Gryphonheart's gradually-fading soul, he mustered a redoubled force with the aid of Norvan, Trynn, Mensor and the nobles of Erathia above, launching a vigourous assault on Deezelisk's fortress. Deezelisk was slaughtered, Allison was freed and resumed her place as Erathia's monarch, and Rion Gryphonheart's soul returned to Paradise once more.
Later, Tarnum consoled Gryphonheart's descendant, Niven, by openly regarding Allison and Rion as two of the fairest, greatest leaders he had ever known.
Gameplay[]
Allison makes an in-game appearance in the The Queen's Command scenario in Conquest of the Underworld. She's a third-level Knight with the Swordsmen specialty and Queen Catherine's icon. She starts with basic Leadership and Offense, plus two random skills.
Appearances[]
Allison Gryphonheart appears in Conquest of the Underworld and is mentioned in Heroes Chronicles: Revolt of the Beastmasters.
Trivia[]
Allison reuses the portrait of her relative, Catherine, from Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia.