Anfang Clearwater

This article contains SPOILERS for every book in the series. Traverse at your own risk!
It was not chained up inside, free to roam as it wished. That meant it was not dangerous, right?
-Jack's thoughts on first hearing Anfang inside a cage.Anfang Charles Clearwater, Also known as The Sabertooth Slasher, is a First-Class Gryphon, made in the same lab as Thyra.
=== Biography ===
==== Appearance ====
Anfang is described as having bunches of feathers and fur missing from his pelt, huge metal bolts secured to his shoulders (supposedly to help lab personnel inject him without the needle breaking), bright green feline eyes, and a peculiar half-beak, half-muzzle in which the top half is a beak and the bottom is a regular jaw, with fangs jutting from it. He has bat-like, leather wings, taloned forelegs, and a missing ear, with only one having formed properly. He is described as having a similar appearance to Thyra, suggesting he is also of redtail origin, which is confirmed in the cover of Ascension, which shows him having bright red tail feathers. He is also mentioned as having multiple scars and wounds across his body from bullets.
==== Personality ====
===== In A New Era =====
Due to Anfang’s neglect and abuse, he is unsure on what is right and wrong, making him kill others without a second thought. He does not show remorse for his victims until book 3. Despite this, he has a strong urge to protect Thyra, and cares strongly for her. He enjoys killing his victims and gets angered easily if Thyra is in supposed danger or if humans are being cruel.
===== In Colony =====
Anfang shows remorse for those he killed in book 2, and feels ashamed for how he acted. He tries to act kinder and swears he will not kill again. He quickly feels accepted by Thyra and her group, and becomes kinder and acknowledges his past actions.
===== In Ascension =====
Anfang is devoted to serving the Greifsburg Guard, and enjoys fighting to protect those he loves. He has become a useful fighter and is significantly stronger and more advanced, and helps Joseph whenever he can.
=== Appearances ===
==== In A New Era ====
Anfang is mentioned to be held in a Gryphon Civil Rights group by Sandra after Matthew Darnwall interrogated her for information. Daniel and Jack, along with their men, overtake the place and they find Anfang in a locked room. Upon entering, Anfang leaps upon and kills Jack, but is put to sleep by Jack’s tranquilliser gun.
On return to Matthew’s hideout, Anfang is hauled out of Daniel’s van and taken to a room, where he later awakes in chains. Matthew manages to strike a deal with Anfang - if Anfang kills Daniel for him, he will be free. Anfang threatens Matthew by pinning him to a wall and says Matthew must not trick him like the other humans he has encountered. Matthew declines, lying that he is trustworthy and muttering that Anfang better not threaten him again.
Later, Anfang is on the hunt for Daniel and finds him at a diner, which he bursts into. When asked what he is doing there, he snarls that he’s looking for Daniel, who looks terrified. Anfang attacks the man and teases him, enjoying the fear and pain that the man experiences. Before Anfang can kill him, however, police arrive and shoot at Anfang, causing him to flee. Anfang tries to get back to Daniel and kill him, but is forced to fly away. He then stops at a barn and quickly falls asleep.
Later, a furious Matthew declares that Anfang will not be free unless he kills Daniel. Anfang says that next time, he will not fail, before Matthew tells him that he needs to dispose of Sandra, as Matthew no longer has use of her. Anfang easily kills the frightened woman, and after supposedly eating her, takes off again in search of Daniel.
He arrives at Daniel’s hospital room by smashing through the window, and slashes at the man, killing him before a stunned Thyra Awkright and Isabell can stop him. Seeing Thyra, he is overjoyed, but she rejects him with fear after how he brutally murdered Daniel. Anfang is confused and hurt, but is forced to escape after more hospital personnel enter the room.
Thyra soon flees the hospital, but Anfang follows. They meet and she screams at him to leave her alone, and that he is no longer the gryphon she thought he was. Anfang retaliates, saying that now Daniel is dead, he is free, and he wants to make it up to Thyra. Thyra begrudgingly lets him follow her to her and Johnathen Awkright’s house. At their house, Anfang devours meat and accidentally knocks over Johnathen’s urn containing his mother’s ashes, both of which Johnathen does not take kindly to. After an argument, Johnathen leaves, and Thyra tells Anfang he must lie low the next day as it is her gryphball game.
The next day, Matthew visits Anfang as Anfang has a tracker on his foot that Matthew can trace the location of. Matthew manipulates Anfang into following Thyra to her game as she is “controlled by the humans”. Desperate to protect Thyra, Anfang sets off. He arrives at the stadium by attacking and killing a player that tackled Thyra. He announces he is there to save Thyra, who is shocked and angry at his appearance. When most of the stadium flees, he briefly fights with Thyra and her friends before taking off. Luckily, Aadhya Patel is able to stop him and brings him back to earth. Upon learning that Matthew betrayed him and aimed to kill him with his tracker device, they set out to where they saw Matthew last to finish him.
In Thyra and Johnathen’s house, a crazed Matthew uses gasoline and a torch to light the living room on fire. He tries to escape, but Anfang lunges on him and snaps his neck, killing him. They escape the house, and Thyra tells Anfang he must leave, unless the police will find and capture him. Anfang takes off after promising Thyra he will not kill again.
==== In Colony ====
Exhausted from being in the run for days without food, Anfang collapses beside a road where he is found by Jim and Bob. They revive him and take him home to their house, where they discuss about their past and what to do next. Anfang is led to the attic where he spends the night, feeling somewhat welcomed.
The next morning he comes downstairs to see Anthony chatting with Jim. Anfang is shocked and scared at Anthony’s presence, but is forced to comply after Anthony’s soldier gryphon, Joseph, beats Anfang in a fight. He agrees to follow them as he has nowhere else to go, and meets Debra in their van.
He and the group spend the night at a hotel, in which he bonds with Joseph, who seems bent on bantering with him constantly. After Anfang takes a shower for the first time and is dressed up in a sort of disguise, he and Joseph meet Anthony and Debra in the main room. They are soon forced to leave as footage of Anfang and Joesph’s fight the previous day has reached the news channels. They escape the hotel, Anfang and Joseph taking down police soldiers and Anfang almost killing one, much to his pleasure and horror. 
The next time Anfang is seen at Richard’s mansion, where they all sign the forms to move to Greifsburg. Anfang is questioned by Thyra, in which he responds that he wants to change and be given a second chance. Anthony follows this up, saying that Anfang is a good gryphon, and he will be vital in Greifsburg’s growth. The next day, Anfang boards a plane set for Greifsburg, to his excitement, as he has not flown in a plane before. When they arrive, Anfang manages to pass off as a normal gryphon to a security guard, thanks to the help of Debra role playing the scenario to him before they boarded the plane. Afterwards, they are sent to their temporary lodging as their permanent homes are still being constructed. 
During the settling in, most of the gryphons are still wary of Anfang, making him feel outcast. He flees outside, where Thyra has a chat with him, letting him know that he will be accepted in time, and that he deserves to have a second chance. Anfang feels better after the counsel and returns inside, where Thyra gives a speech defending him to the gathered gryphons. 
Anfang is soon sent to training with Joseph, who teaches him to fight better and using his failures as examples for his soldiers in training. Anfang gets angered easily and is prone to attacking when his rage consumes him, which Joseph says that he must overcome in order to be a member of his guard. Afterwards, they go to Joseph’s office, where Anfang drinks strong liquor for the first time, much to his dislike. He chats with Joseph, who reveals that he was once a lot like Anfang, and a lot of training and determination can change a gryphon. Anfang is comforted by this, and doubles down on his desire to change. 
One morning he has some coffee with Thyra, at first not knowing how to hold the cup properly. Anfang tastes the coffee, but doesn’t like it until sugar is added. He is confused when Johnathen drinks pure coffee, and Thyra laughs, saying she doesn’t understand it either. Anfang then says he must go off to work and sets off after saying goodbye to Thyra. 
The next few times, he is mentioned to be training with Joseph or standing guard at an important event. He is also gathered along with the others when Johnathen shares what he found on the floppy disk. He is not aware of the soldier gryphons under the earth when the others are, and it is later revealed to him at the end of the book. At the Christmas dinner, he is seen enjoying the food and the festivities. At the New Year’s event, Thyra feels pride seeing him being useful as a guard. After the assassination of Anthony and the shooting, Anfang is desperate to find Thyra in the chaos, but is pulled back by Joseph, who tells him he can’t risk it, and that he needs Anfang’s help. Anfang agrees, and helps a student soldier bring down a van in which the terrorists escaped in, capturing them successfully. The student worries at what they will do with the prisoners, which Anfang assures that they will take care of it. 
After Thyra returns to Greifsburg, he calls her and they chat briefly, him relieved that she is okay. In the video evidence of Debra and Anthony, Anthony says that Anfang “will do what he does best - kill.” 
==== In Ascension ====
Anfang is mentioned several times to be a guard or training with Joseph by the others. He hugs Thyra, who is comforted by his presence, but the two are interrupted by Johnathen, who doesn’t look happy at the two’s intimacy. Anfang worries, but Thyra assures him that John is just wary of him still.
A few chapters in, he has a talk with an angry Joseph, who declares that he does not trust humans, and he may trust Anthony and Debra, but is glad that Greifsburg is getting an election so it can be run by a gryphon like it should. Anfang admits that Johnathen dislikes him due to Anfang’s romantic feelings for Thyra, and Joseph agrees, saying that he has to deal with Johnathen one way or another. A confused Anfang asks how as he is not a good talker. Joseph assures him he is, and waves him off, saying that he’s just mad after Anthony’s death.
During the Greifsburg Redtail’s travel throughout the world for gryphball games, Anfang is worried about Thyra, and phone calls her, where she assures him that she is ok. When Johnathen’s car arrives and Yama interjects, bothering Johnathen, Anfang tells Yama she must leave as she is not welcome, making Yama taunt him into attacking her. During the fight, Yama breaks his leg, and beats him, yelling at him to yield. Luckily Zero stops the fight, and Anfang is let go. After Yama and Zero fly off, Anfang calls Yama a bitch, and finds that his leg has healed already, causing Isabell to call him a “freak of nature” affectionately.
Later, he and Joseph fly to the town that Yama’s platoon overtook to recruit the soldier clones. They come across Jessie, a raven gryphon who tries to force them to leave, but Anfang and Joseph easily beat the clones in a fight and tell Jessie that he must show them where the rest of the clones are. They then recruit all the other clones in the nearby towns and bring them back to Greifsburg.
Joseph gives Anfang a gun which he says has been loaded with black mamba poison, and could kill a clone due to the paralysis it causes. He says he wants Anfang to have it. Anfang thanks him and leaves, flying back to Thyra and Johnathen’s house. Inside, he greets Johnathen and tells him he wants to talk. He presents the gun to John, who is concerned, and tells him it can kill clones. He adds that John is right to be jealous of his feelings for Thyra, and the two make up. He shows Johnathen his samurai sword, saying that he sliced off a clone’s wing with it, and adding that he always wanted to be a protector, ever since he watched action movies while he was in captivity. John is sorry of Anfang’s past, but Anfang assures him that it is ok as Johnathen wasn’t a part of it. After John tells him that it was good that they finally conversed, Anfang says it was no problem.
Anfang atttends the finals party, which is a celebration of the Redtails winning the championship. When they arrive back at Rachel and Nathanial’s home with Victor lying unconscious on the deck, Anfang helps by getting a healing gauze out of a first aid kit and passing it to Joseph. He also fights Yama the next night after she attacks Thyra, along with Joseph, and they injure Yama enough for her to be shot by the poison bullets.
=== Quotes ===
"Is it food time?”
”Jack? Oh yes, you friend! I not get to eat him. I was sad.”
”So this a fugitive?”
”Tastes weird, like bread water.”
”I know red and blue!”
"He likes the stuff before you added the sugar? (…) How?"
“She a bitch.”
”It genuine, I sliced off a clone’s wing with it.”
”Do not hurt Thyra.”
=== Gallery ===
=== Trivia ===
* Anfang is stated by Thyra to be 20 years old in A New Era, meaning, if his date of birth stated in Colony is correct (November 2011), the series takes place in the early 2030s.
* In book 2 Anfang is quoted as having four Avian feet. "Anfang chirped and slowly stood up. His body trembled weakly as he stepped forward, balancing on his four avian feet." Alexander Bizzel has noted that he was "fixed" in the time between when he last saw Thyra, and their meeting in book 2.
* Anfang’s surname, Clearwater, takes after Anthony’s as he is Anthony’s creation.
* In Colony, Anfang is confirmed to have romantic feelings for Thyra, even though they are technically related and that Thyra only views him as a brother. Johnathen was aware of this and things were tense between them until they finally talked it out in Ascension.
* In the epilogue of Ascension, where Nero is revealed to be the oldest gryphon alive at 30, making Anfang the second oldest.
* Anfang’s name is German for “beginning”, with him being one of the first gryphons created.
* In Ascension, Anfang reveals that the guard who watched his cage often watched action movies and let Anfang watch them too, which made Anfang want to be a protector, like the people in the movies.
=== References ===
Category:Gryphons
Category:First-Class Gryphons
Category:Major Characters