Wyverns are far less timid then most dragons and were once known in Europe, especially in England, before weapons technology and the growth of human populations depleted their numbers. Leonardo da Vinci recorded an encounter he observed between a lion and a wyvern; although it seems unlikely that he observed it first hand.
In the bestiaries of the Middle Ages, the wyvern was used as an allegory of Satan, and was associated with war, pestilence and sin. It was especially said to spread plague, a heinous charge in a medieval Europe reeling from the horrors of the Black Death.
The Wyvern was given other meanings too. The medieval alchemists dressed their knowledge in obscure codes and allegories, and the wyvern was used to represent matter in its basest of state. The alchemist himself was depicted as the worthy knight overcoming the beast -- that is, transforming it into gold.
Wyverns survive today mainly as a heraldic emblem. Wyverns tend to represent war, envy, might and conquest -- and are a sign of strength to those who have born it through the ages on pennants, shields coat-of-arms and the like. While they must be considered virtually non-existent, the relatively undisturbed mountains and forests of Eastern Europe and Russia just may conceal a few surviving wyverns.
Read more: Mythical Realm
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