There used to be a tradition among all gryfons of giving titles not just for feats in flight (the stormwing, the nightwing) or for being close friends with a species regarded as difficult to get close to (the raven), but also for feats of combat (these would have the suffix “claw”, such as “the lionclaw”) or hunting (the suffix “talon”, such as “the swordtalon”). The titles gryfons receive for close friendships have changed over time, dropping the suffix; Hrafn’s title of “the raven” would have been “the ravenheart”. It is passed down between the healers of the Vanhar that the gryfon who discovered many of the cures known and used today was titled “the greatheart”, for they would heal any and all manner of creatures, with no demand for recompense.
These types of titles are largely forgotten by canon; the Vanir, of course, will still use -wing based titles, and the Vanhar still tell tales of those who have earned the other titles--but time, and the Vanhar’s pacifist and isolationist tendencies, as well as their fish-based diet, have caused their usage to die out. Occasionally, a Vanhar will get the -talon suffix; but it’s rare.
