| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Jun 2006 : 18:26:45
|
I have some extra time at my hands right now and have decided to maybe translate some of my realms-notes and see if any one at Candlekeep finds any interest in them.
I thought I should try out some articles about bird species of the realms. This should be the first of about thirty.
At the end of the post follows an example of the format I was thinking of using but I would also like to hear any input from fellow scribes and any suggestions about improvements. Any thing you feel is unclear, missing or just out of place, then let me know.
Thanks.
Ashabafisher.
In my travels of the north-lands I have to say to have met few birds as loved as this little waterbird. In the charming backwoods of the Dales one can see the hardiest of fighting men cry over the sight of this bird, something one rarely sees in these semi-barbarous lands. In my opinion it is a result of beneficial influence from the elves who until reasonably lived in these lands. Most of my knowledge of this bird i got from a peddler of crockery from Archendale when i rested out from the hardy travels trough the western lands in a Marsember inn called The Roaring Griffon.
This Blue-green relative of the Kingfisher is common along the entire length of the Ashaba river and its many sub-courses. The bird is slightly smaller than the common kingfisher and the green of their wings clearer. There is relatively little difference between the sexes except for a slight reddish tone on the head-feathers of some males. These are generally the most successful males.
The Ashaba fisher lives mainly in the the lower branches of the Rhododendron thickets along the banks and nests in holes and crevices in the older branches and trunks of trees near the river. The fare consists mainly of the small silvery jaseti-fish and water-insects found in the shallows.
The birds are territorial and are well adapted to surviving the winters of the Cormanthor woods. Usually the only time during a Ashabafishers lifetime it travels for any length is right after leaving its nest, as it searches out its own territory. The females usually outnumbers the males for parts of the season as there is a tendency for the latter to fall pray to predators both under their dances over the water surface, trying to impress the females, and in fishing deeper out in the water when feeding the chicks in the summer months. Because of this it is common for several females territories to over-link the males, but the yearling males usually challenges the old males each spring, so the dance of the birds continues as it has done for years unnumbered.
The rest of Faerun knows the diminutive bird mainly trough Storm Silverhands ode to the bird, called The Song of Mantilia. Here the bard of Shadowdale pays homage to the at times tragicomic sincerity of male would-be lovers. In its basest forms and in the hands of performers of little talent it becomes a ribald comedy, but a true bard, with a sense of the originals nuances, sees this work for what it is, one of the realms greatest homages to the loosing dreamer.
Most people rarely find themselves noticing or even thinking of the Ashabafisher, as the bird rarely flies out of the wooded riverbanks and is, as far as one knows, silent despite various poetic licenses taken by second rate bards when singing about the river in the romantic ballads so popular in Aszouns Cormyr.
Only the luckiest of river sailors get a short glimpse of the small body hurling spear-like towards the water-surface. And then just as quickly returning to its hiding among the shadows. River people in the Dales often say its a lucky sign for lovers to see the males dancing over the river in the courtship, which takes place in the second week of Tarsakh.
This is of most importance in Deepingdale, where any engagements and decision to share a life together is traditionally announced in the courtship-period of the birds. Most couples see it as a bad sign to not see the birds dance in this period, so it is common to travel to known nesting-places of Ashabafishers a couple of days before the announcement is made. The most desperate even travel north to the lands around the pool of Yeven where the greatest concentration of birds can be found.
So, if you ever end up traveling along the great river winding its way through the great elven woodlands, keep your eyes open for this small servant of Sune. At the least you will see a sight of beauty and grace; and maybe, if you are really lucky maybe the Goddess herself will smile down upon you.
|
Edited by - Jorkens on 14 Jun 2006 19:46:08
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jun 2006 : 09:17:21
|
Well, as no one have posted any complaints I continue in the same vein with the next bird. There are some mentioning of tethen (tethyrian) relationship with birds. This is from my own take on tethyrian culture, but i left it in the text as it can easily be shifted over to another race/people.
Comments/suggestions will still be welcomed
The Azure Thrush
The next bird I want to tell you about is an old friend. We make take the Azure Thrush for granted when we ride through the meadows and vineyards around Alaghon, but remember that the most common sights may be the greatest sight of beauty if seen for the first time.
You may ask why I include this bird as we see it daily? Well, believe it or not, the Azure Thrush is not common throughout all of Turmish the Beautiful, and the people of the great cities does not see the bird as one should. This is the bird that the Tethen people of the north call the Bards teacher and that even in the northern city of Berdusk is treated with a reverence one seldom see for creatures of the wild, even with the Tethen peoples legendary love for birds this birds place is special. In our coastal cities the glaring sounds from the docks and the halls near the markets give the bird a distorted and ugly note in its voice and more than one ignorant city dweller has mocked the northern bard that sing his homage to the bird.
I must admit that although I have had many joyous hours listening to the birds song most of my information about the life of the Azure Thrush comes from Jhaelder Illbraen, a perfectly lovely young man I met in Berdusk. He had spent a couple of seasons as a caravan guard and had had many opportunities to study the bird, now making a living in the city of the northern bards he still daily listens to the birds singing from the poplar stands around the Twilight Hall, a center of sorts to the bards of these lands. Those who talk of the northerners barbaric habits and uncouth manners should maybe try to travel outside our fair nations borders once in a while; but i digress.
The Azure Thrush is a big bird, about the size of a small magpie. It is known throughout rural Faerun for its beautiful singing and the colour of its plumage which have been likened with The Sea of Fallen Stars on the clearest day. In the lands around the northern rivers of Chionthar and Winding Water the bird has since unknown times been known as a patron of bards, a belief that with time has spread to the children of old Jaamdath in their new northern homelands.
The bird is a beautiful sight, with a lovely voice and a rather bland taste; all of this makes the Azure Thrush common around human settlements as well as in the wild-lands. The exception is some areas of the lands where the Shoonites once held court; here a bastardized version of the Tethen peoples love for the bird has made it a popular pet among the wealthy to keep in their gardens.
The Azure Thrush is an insect-eater, which only increase its standing with farmers. There is little difference between the sexes, even if the male is slightly larger. The birds only stay together for the nesting-season and in the spring the song of the males trying to impress the females can be overpowering. The nests are usually found in dense bushes and hedges. They rarely nest in trees except for at times in evergreens up north. In most habits they bare a strong resemblance to other thrushes like the Blackbird.
In the winters it uses its strong beak to dig for insects under the leaves in areas south of Neverwinter. Even if it can not be called a migrating bird it generally travels south during the arctic winters. This accounts for the largest population density of the birds being in the lands south of the High Moors.
The Azure Thrush has its habitat in light forest and stands of trees anywhere where one can see the sun shining through the leaves. It is not found on the great plains of the south and the west and is rarely seen in mountainous terrain. The edges of the great forest of Cormanthor is known to hold a population of the birds, but their presence was a blessing even the elves had to live without in the center of the forest.
The Birds are known for their hour-long concerts from the treetops, often flowering fruit trees. It has been suggested that the Azure Thrush has a better developed sense of smell than most birds and that the aroma from the surrounding flowers somehow increase the birds instinct to sing. Others, more romantically inclined, say that the birds give thanks to Sune for their beauty in these trees.
What most people don't notice in our bustling cities is that each bird has a song that in small nuances sets it apart from other of its kind. Every birds song is unique and it also has a tendency to work its song around the sounds of its surroundings thereby constantly changing its tune. This is not a pure imitation of sound, it is more correct to say that it sings along with the world around it. This is often taken advantage of by bards of the north that use the bird as a acompanigment to their own playing or song. Mages are also known to use the birds beak and blood as components for their spell casting and writing.
Some northern rangers and bards with great knowledge of the wilds claim that they are able to make judgements about the creatures living in an area based on the song of the Azure Thrush, but this is doubted by Jhaelder as well as my self. Another story that I can more or less confirm is that harpys are known to hate this bird more than any other form of life and that a lack of Azure Thrush in a area can often be a sign of these foul creatures presence.
|
 |
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 09:49:17
|
Still no comments? Well I see people are reading the posts so I guess I would have been told if someone reacted negatively to the posts.
To days bird is one of the more inconspicuous birds of faerun.
Grassdragon
The next bird I am going to tell you about I really saw no reason to include, but my dear Jhaelder convinced me that even if it is one of the more humble of birds it deserved its place in this tome. He told me that even if most people hardly notice the small birds, there are lands where the farmers do not laugh over the birds pompous name and live in fear of the hordes from the skies.
Among the caravans and travelers of the northern plains the Grassdragon is a constant, if unseen companion that the guides and rangers use to predict weather changes. According to Jhaelder, this is of little use as the birds are hardly more sensitive to the changes of the air than other birds and one could just as well watch the flight of aerial insects-eaters. As I said, there is not so much to say about the Grassdragon, but what little I learned from Jhaelder follows below.
The Grassdragon is a small Tit-like bird found throughout the grasslands of western faerun. The birds plumage has a brown over-side and a white underside. At each side of its beak it has two feathery ”moustaches” that has given the bird the jokingly name of Moustache Tit along the caravan routs. The Grassdragons live in great migratory groups all over the long-grass plains east of the Swordcoast and in the lands of old Shoon in summer and the lands of great Shaar during the winter. The birds are usually silent, except for a low Piip,Piip that you can notice if you listen carefully. Jhaelder tells me that it is of little use trying to use the birds silence as a warning sign, as they only react to whats happening within a radius of about four meters.
In spite of their numbers the bird is rarely seen by the riders trough the grass seas and most people never guess that they are surrounded by hundreds of the curious birds. The reason for this is simple; to the birds the grass sea is a forest they rarely leave except when under direct attack. The exception is during the early spring and late fall when the birds migrate in great numbers.
As they travel trough Amn, Tethyr and Calimshan on their way it has become a tradition ( and necessity) to harvest and sow right before and right after the birds come through. It is interesting to note that the bird in these lands are seen as servants of Talos, which gives one an idea of the damage the birds can do to a field. Even the priests in these countries use the fear of the birds as a warning to the peasants, a fear the faithful of Chaunthea have not managed to remove.
The rest of the year the birds hide in the grass and jump from straw to straw more than they fly and even nest in boles made by weaving straws together with lighter grasses and feathers. If you walk on foot in to the tall-grasses you will see dozens of small, delicate ”huts” hanging between the straws. These are made by the male and female together and will contain two broods a year, three to four eggs. These nests are safe from most of the smaller predators and birds of pray, but contain a tasty morsel for plains foxes and wolfs traveling trough the grass. Large scale raiding of nests is often a sign of Kobolts or Goblins, who regard the eggs as a delicacy. If the nest is ruined in the first hatching the birds will not lay a second brood that year.
One myth I have heard, but found Jhaelder strangely unwilling to comment, is the story that somewhere in the Fields of the Dead there is a small fairy race that use the birds as steeds during the summer months and that and under ground during winter. I had read about these pixipeople in the journals of Hadhrioor Mabriahn, a linen-merchant that traveled the northern plains extensively about two generations ago, but found that the northerners either scoffed at the stories or went strangely silent. |
|
|
|
Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 13:07:46
|
I'm reading.  Very nice work it is too. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
|
|
|
Swordsage
Learned Scribe
149 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 14:33:51
|
As am I. Most enjoyable.
The Swordsage
|
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 17:57:13
|
| Thanks, its nice to get some feedback. Tomorrow we will take a look at a cormanthian hummingbird. |
|
|
|
Mazrim_Taim
Learned Scribe
341 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 18:12:39
|
| I just saw this, very nice. Reading it all now and looking forward to the next installment! |
And if the PCs DO win their ways through all the liches to Larloch, “he” will almost certainly be just another lich (loaded with explosive spells) set up as a decoy, with dozens of hidden liches waiting to pounce on any surviving PCs who ‘celebrate’ after they take Larloch down. As the REAL Larloch watches (magical scrying) from afar. Myself, as DM, I’d be wondering: “Such a glorious game, so many opportunities laid out before your PCs to devote your time to, and THIS fixation is the best you can come up with? Are you SURE you’re adventurers?” -Ed Greenwood
|
Edited by - Mazrim_Taim on 16 Jun 2006 18:13:00 |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jun 2006 : 20:30:14
|
As my Ladylove has an even greater love for football than me, I have this ready a little early. I cant promise that I will find the time to write about a new bird until Monday, but we'll see.
The Bastet Hummingbird.
One night I was strolling along the waterfront of Marsember trying to walk of the strain of a hard nights work (by the name of Inataia) when I suddenly heard a song of the most striking beauty coming from the window of a tall house on the nearest island. Without thinking I hurried over the bridge and knocked on the door. I was met by a little old lady that quite reluctantly told me that this was the house of the lady Dhamina, the Hummingbird mage of Deepingdale. Quite smitten by the song I asked without thinking if I could speak to the lady. The servant didn't seem to like the look of me, but she told me to wait a moment and when she returned, led me up the stairs to the lady's study.
The lady Dhamina was a middle aged brunette with a taste for bawdy jokes and ruby red Chondathan shawls, that would turn out to be one of my greatest sources for this tome. For the price of me resiting all the poems of the great master Jhamgair Dhariir that I had in my memory, she shared with me her extensive knowledge of the birds of Cormanthor. It is therefore my pleasure to dedicate this entry to the bird which had become her namesake.
The Bastet hummingbird got its human name from the first Chondathan settlers which had never seen a hummingbird along the northern coast of that now rotten country, but knew stories of them from the inland. They gave them the name half in joke because of the birds curiosity and fluttering search for the sweet nectars. Even today one can sit in the Dalelands with the birds fluttering mere inches from ones head as the birds with their great speed have few natural enemies except for giant spiders and nest-robbers. The lady Dhamina tell me that it is possible to get the birds to eat more or less from one's hand by holding a flower or a container of sugary fluid.
The Bastet Hummingbird is a tiny bird, not larger than the thumb of a grown man. It is the most beautiful member of its family I have seen in all my years and even put our native Turmish hummingbirds to shame. The birds feather, like other hummingbirds have a metallic glean and shine in the sun like the jeweled fingers of a Thayan merchant. Its backside is a dark green on both sexes, with the males breast being a glowing ruby-red and the females a combination of purple and blue. Its tail is almost as long as the bird itself and parted into two ”spears”, the rapier thin beak is the same length
Like other hummingbirds its nests in small round bowl like nests were the female tend for the hatchlings on her own. These are made of leaves and straws combined with spiderweb. Near the Spiderhaunt forest the birds make their nests entirely out of spiderweb. The male is not involved and disappears after a sort mating-season were the males try to impress as many females as possible. The courting itself finds place at the same spot generation after generation and the males gather in flocks that try to outsing each other from the branches. The Bastet Hummingbird is not a great singer and this mostly consists of chirping louder than every one else.
These courting grounds are popular hunting spots for sembian bird hunters and several of the dales have forbidden its inhabitants to tell foreigners of these places. Lady Dhamina also warns me that the elves does not take kindly to people disturbing the birds as they consider them holy to one of their goddesses.
The bird is a native of old Cormanthor and is found nowhere else in Faerun. The lady Dhamina tell me that it is mentioned even in the oldest elven song as a sibling of the forest orchids and when one has seen a flock of the hummingbirds buzzing around the flowers and bushes in the dales, one is inclined to agree. Even if there is over half a dozen species of hummingbird in Cormanthor this bird is unique in that it stays in the great forest even during the winter months, where as the other birds travel south across the sea to the lands of Vilhon and the heathen empires of the east.
This surprised me as I could not understand how the birds could survive even the relatively mild Coldmonths this far north. Lady Dhamina laughed and told me that the forest of Cormanthor holds more secret sand wonders than a human could learn in a lifetime. One of these is the snow-orchid of Miliiran, a magical flower that blooms on the trunks of the great trees during the Coldmonths and that carries a heart of nectar in its core that the elves since before Cormanthor have used for perfume-making. As the winters have few insects even on the hottest days the birds have this morsel more or less for them selves. She also told me that the elven magic that gives the forest its comfortable clime, in some places deep in the old elven lands, gathered in pockets of warmth were Silvanus and Chauntheas children lived in an endless summer, untroubled by the winters surrounding them. This had made it possible for some species that usually could not survive this far north to survive.
|
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2006 : 14:13:37
|
Here is a more sinister member of the avian family. Enjoy.
Bloodbeak.
My dear lady Dhamina told me about this bird late at night and with the wind and rain banging against the colored glass windows of finest Gildenglade make. I still suspect that she had been waiting for just the right occasion to scare my beard of all my ancestors. Lady Dhamina was just telling me about the excellent contact that she has with the master Merrewill Guildenpeaks, who also supplies her with the the glasses and beakers that she supplies the southern Cormyr with, when she suddenly let out the most godawful scream I have ever heard. As I sat there on the floor in a pool of the finest Berduskian, she started to tell of the great carnivorous bird of Cormanthor. I must say the effect of her story on me was rather strong and I cant remember ever being as nervous as I was, walking home in the early morning hours. Unfortunately I can not retell her story or the mannerism of that usually so lovely woman as she was scaring the life out of both me and my ancestors.
Lady Dhamina admitted to me later that she had never actually seen this creature herself and everything she told me was secondhand knowledge from other people of the Dales.
This bird is rare in today's Dalelands, but in the inner darkness of Cormanthor one can still hear the scream that made the first Dalesmen fall to their knees in prayers to the gods for mercy. In old tales this ”Featherwolf” was the bane of many a dalesman and still today it is used to scare children from going to deep into the forest. Many of these stories are old as the Dales themselves, but despite the arrogant conclusions of Sembian sages, one can still find the bird in the inner Cormanthor and the borders of some of the Dales.
The Bloodbeak is related to the Axebeak and other flightless birds of pray found near the High Moors and in the Shaar, but stands a little smaller than most of these. But if you think this makes the bird less dangerous you are badly mistaken. The Bloodbeak stands around 6ft counting the long neck with powerful legs and a disproportionally large head. The beak is a dark shade of yellow and hooked like the beak of the Aarachocra. Some sages in Chondath have speculated that the Bloodbeak is a primitive relative of the Arachocra and maybe a forefather of sorts. To my knowledge no one has dared to ask the bird men about their opinion on the subject. The bird has a gray-black skin and brown feathers that makes it impossible to see until it moves when one travels in the half-gloom of the forest.
The bird is common in the more hilly and heavily overgrown areas of the forest where it hides in between dead-falls and ferns. It is not the fastest runner and a grown man can usually outrun them in open terrain over distance. Most of their pray consists of wild boars and other herbivores, but it knows no fear of two legged creatures, anything smaller then themselves will do.
In some cases lone birds has been known to jump down on pray from logs and rock outcroppings, but generally their method of hunting is rather simple. Wait in hiding until something passes by and then rush it screaming in hope of paralyzing the pray with fear. One usually find the bird in groups of four to ten and they will then at times employ wolfpack tactics against bigger and faster pray. In the nesting season the packs will generally split up into one or two pairs and retreat to the farthest reaches of the forest for about three months. It is when the birds return to their usual haunts with the half-grown hatchlings that they are at their most dangerous with the parents taking any possibility to try to teach their young to hunt.
Among the wild elves of the forest the bird has played a special role since the beginning of elven memory. In the world of the forest elves the bird is among the most feared of the forests inhabitants as more young hunters have fallen for their powerful beaks and claws than to almost any other carnivore or monster. On the other side several of the clans have the bird as their totem and in earlier time it was a right of passage of sorts for the young to hunt the Bloodbeak. Even today the old of the tribes say that it is the Bloodbeak that teaches them how to hunt and that the spirits of the birds follow them in war if the forest lands are threatened. I find it a little strange that the elves rank the bird with monsters such as the fang dragon while they scoff of creatures that I myself would find a much bigger threat. According to lady Dhamina this has as much to do with the elves ideas of the spiritworld as it has with the concrete danger the birds are in their daily lives.
Also among the faithful of Malar and some clans of goblinoids the Bloodbeak hold a high position in myths and world view. In some cases the spring rituals and courtships are made up to simulate the birds violent dances and mating acts. The more decadent festhalls of northern Sembia also supply a special Bloodbeak service, where one mock hunts a partner (or more)in a forested garden area. There are also rumors from Ordolin of an alternative version of this where one is polymorphed into the bird and kill the intended victim instead of enjoying them sexually, but I can not verify these stories. |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jun 2006 : 10:25:09
|
Here is the next bird, as is said, the tethen lore is my own and not cannon. It can easily be dropped or changed to another race or monsters belief.
The Chionthar hawk
Even sitting here among hundreds of scrolls and ornamented mahogany furniture I can still remember the joyous feeling in my heart the first time i saw the great fisher of the great river Chionthar. I was traveling with a caravan destines for the markets of Baldurs Gate and we had had some trouble with raiding hobgoblins that led the caravan master to decide that we should rest out for a few days along the slow-traveling waterway. His scouts, a couple of wild looking tethen from the interior near the Highmoors led us to a semi-permanent campground for the Riverfolk were we were sold some of the best brandy I have drunk in all my travels. I have not here the space to dwell further on the subject of the tethen of the river, as it is a subject worthy of a tome of its own.
As I was laying at the sloping hill over the river, relaxed and warmly enjoying the summer sun on my body, I suddenly heard a splash from the river and saw a shadow flying fast as a northern storm wind over my head. I jumped up and to the amusement of my companions, two drovers by the name of Imalljaher and Astarata, lost my balance and rolled ignobly into the thick Rush along the riverbank.
When I had finally crawled up the hill, giving the sun a nice view of the moon, I asked the two merry jokers what the shadow had been. They both got very serious and seemed reluctant to tell me, but finally Imalljaher told me that what I had seen was a Chionthar hawk. They told me that the bird held a special place in the beliefs of the people of these lands and agreed to tell me about the hawk and take me to a spot where I could observe them if I also promised to never hurt a member of the species if I ever saw one.
The Chionthar hawk (My observations lead me to believe that it is really a Harrier, but it is called a hawk so hawk it is.)is about the size of a Goshawk. It is a low-flying bird with a very light underside going to white at the lower part of the head and the tail-feathers. The over-side is a dark shade of brown. The species live in monogamous pairings that keep together until death. It is unusual for a bird to find itself a new partner later. The birds usually nests as close as possible to the riverbank, preferably in thick willow-stands or other thick vegetation. Of the the two eggs lain each year only one hatchling usually survives. As the name says, the Chiontharhawks main pray is the fish of the Chionthar, but waterbirds and swimming rodents will also be taken when the possibility arises.
The hawks are aggressive against intruders and utter a harsh Kii sound as a warning. Astarata told me that in old times this scream was imitated by the tethen warriors attacking the Shoon legions crossing the river. Imalljaher said he thought that the Calishites habit of enslaving the birds in their garden is a sort of symbolic revenge for losses to tethen tribesmen trough the ages. This fashion have now spread to the lordlings of the Border kingdoms, where an egg or hatchling can be sold for as much as a thousand dantars. You should be warned, a nest-robber will be killed directly by most rural tethen, especially around the big rivers of the western heartlands. Even among the people of the Dragoncoast you will get a negative reaction. The reason for this is the role the Chionthar hawk plays in tethen culture.
I know that some scribes of fair Alaghon and Chondath the Rotten, say that there is no such thing and I advise them to travel to the villages of the Western Heartlands and make that statement. I apologise if you find the information I am going to tell you barbaric or shocking.
Among traditional tethens the Chionthar hawk is said to be the protector of women and it is tradition for a girl to carry white feathers from the bird during her first bleeding. These feathers will be marked with blood that are used to see the future of the woman's children. The feathers are then put in individual small pouches that will be given to a child at its day of the second naming except for one that she keeps her self. The young boy will carry the feather with him for the rest of his live while the girl will burn the feather in meditation at the time of her own first bleeding. Astarata told me that they believe that a little part of the soul of the woman travels with the feather and protects the man as a medallion whilst it goes up in the daughters own soul.
It is said that if one looses the feather one looses contact with the soul and the soul of the ancestors. I would think that if you could capture a tethens feather you would have a pretty good blackmailing tool. This led me to think of the tales I had heard of the Swanmays of the Northlands; could these be a special order of tethen mystics. When I proposed this to Imalljaher and Astarata they both laughed; of course there were people that could take the shape of birds, the birds were of the same spirits as man so why should the shapes be different?
None of them would tell me more of the background or role of these Birdmaidens
I asked him if it was usual for these traditions to be practised today. They both laughed and Imalljaher showed me a small leather pouch sewn into the inside of his boot. I would be surprised he said, if I knew how many of the old traditions that can be found among tethens even in far of countries. He admitted that he himself had only traveled the lands between Baldurs gate and Iriabor, but he could not believe that the tethens of the south and Dragoncoast had completely left the old ways. |
Edited by - Jorkens on 20 Jun 2006 14:21:53 |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 09:47:35
|
Today's early bird (sorry).
Yardbarrier Chirper.
The Chirper is an other of those small and seemingly insignificant creatures that one pass daily and hardly give a thought. But it would surprise you how many stories there are tied to this bird throughout Faerun.
During my travels of the lands around Berdusk I often heard the locals bless the little bird for protecting them from the raiders of the Black Lord of the Moonsea and Bugbears from the deep. The Tethen peoples know the bird as the enemy of the Nightdancers children and say its a servant of Selune protecting one against the Shadow-lord (Mask) and the Death-rider (Bhaal).
A legend found among the Dalesmen of Cormanthor holds the bird to be the last part of Tyches individual being in Faerun as its warnings and song will in ones life amount to as much aggravation as blessing. And I must say that traveling trough the back country of southern Cormyr, trying to recuperate after the lady Dhaminas extensive study of the oral traditions of Turmish, I soon found the birds one of the most annoying creatures I have ever met. No matter where I rode one of the little demons flew up singing its heart out, and when five birds sings its own little melody at the same time it is more a case of ruckus than beauty.
This lark, common throughout most of Faerun has been the object of curses from hunters and raiders since the beginning of time and life's ascent from the primeval muck. The Chirper is a small brown bird with a greenish-yellow speckled chest the size of a woman's palm. It is known for its alertness and constant vigilance towards its surroundings. If a living( well, moving I should say) being larger than itself comes within fifty yards it will take to its wings and sing its heart out until it leaves its territory. As the chirpers generally nests near each other the leaving of one birds territory will generally only get an other bird going. The bird live in bushes and hedges, sometimes in stone-heaps and fences, where it lives of small insects and seeds. Its habits are much like those of our own Turmish Kalandra Lark and the Bahjadan bird of the Perloush. It can handle winters chill to a degree, but the areas from the Moonsea and north in the east and High Moor in the west will usually get to cold for the bird who will migrate towards the areas of the Dragoncoast and the Shining plains.
There has always been a good relationship between the Chirper and farmers that use the birds nesting around the farm as guards. Among the Hin of the lowlands in the shadows of the Sunset Mountains it is common practise to feed the birds trough the wintertime and in some cases the birds will stay through the winters in evergreens and stone-heaps located against the Hin barrows, where the extra warmth makes their lives in the cloak of the northern goddess a little easier. Attempts by city dwellers in Cormyr and Sembia to semi-domesticate the birds as both a diversion for its song and a practical warning system against burglars and assassins, have failed. It seems that its only the Hin that have a special hand with the birds, and the Hin I talked to in Berdusk told me that it is a special gift to the Hin of the Sunset Vale given to them by their goddess Yondalla.
My good lady Dhamina the Hummingbird mage told me when I asked her about the Chirper, that it is still commonly blessed by the people of the eastern Cormyr and is there looked upon as a symbol of vigilance. This goes back to a local tradition that king Rhiegard I was warned of an ambush by the Shoonite mages during his wars in the west. She could not say if the story had any ties to an historic incident, but said she had found examples of other scribes talking of the tradition in the times of the Winter Spinx of Westgate.
Of course, if one were to ask any group that depends on stealth or silence, on will get a totally different opinion of the bird which have destroyed the day for more hunters than any other creature in our blessed world. |
|
|
|
Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:02:48
|
| I say this ought to all go into a future Candlekeep Compendium. Good stuff. |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:15:42
|
Now that I take as a compliment  .
There's many birds left, so I hope you are not tired of these posts yet. |
|
|
|
Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:17:53
|
| It would be extremely good to have in the Candlekeep Compendium because then I could print it out and even share with my computerless friends. :) |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
|
|
|
Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:21:28
|
| ----post deleted---- sorry bout that Sage, jus' tryn' ta help is all :) |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
Edited by - Alisttair on 21 Jun 2006 16:40:06 |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:40:42
|
I've since sealed that voting scroll, as it's not really the best way to deal with something like this.
The more effective way is for Jorkens to, if he's interested in having his "Birds" work included with the Compendium, contact Alaundo by PM and he'll handle the rest.
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31777 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:42:56
|
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
----post deleted---- sorry bout that Sage, jus' tryn' ta help is all :)
It's not a big deal  .
It's just more effective. And personally, I think Big Al likes getting fan-crafted Realmslore sent to his inbox  .
|
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
|
|
|
Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 16:44:30
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Alisttair
----post deleted---- sorry bout that Sage, jus' tryn' ta help is all :)
It's not a big deal .
It's just more effective. And personally, I think Big Al likes getting fan-crafted Realmslore sent to his inbox .
Hmmm....then I am hoping to get a big fat lightbulb appear above my head :) In any case, I'm hoping this one does make its way in :) |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
|
|
|
Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 17:56:27
|
quote:
Originally posted by Jorkens
Now that I take as a compliment .
There's many birds left, so I hope you are not tired of these posts yet.
Well met
Keep 'em coming, Jorkens  I'll keep thy (upcoming) page updated in the site proper when ye add new birds to the list. |
Alaundo
Candlekeep Forums Head Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Candlekeep - by Ed Greenwood
The Candlekeep Compendium - Tomes of Realmslore penned by Scribes of Candlekeep
|
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 18:01:46
|
I think I prefer posting these articles here actually, as I have to translate them and posting them daily is a little more motivating than writing all thirty at once. Now I wouldn't mind writing for the Compendium, but I think that as I already have started posting them here its easier to just finish what I started. I think I have an other idea I will contact Alaundo about for the compendium when the time comes.
It was a nice thought Alisttair, so thank you for your interest; there are more birds to come. |
|
|
|
Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2006 : 18:04:07
|
| Then again, you could post them here and have them copied over elsewhere??? |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2006 : 10:14:52
|
The Bird of the day.
Emerald eagle.
I remember once as a young student under the honorable Bhadaian Nobrathan walking through the corridors of white and pink marble with the leaf decorated open archways and windows. I remember looking out over the great gardens that at the time were the talk among the upper classes of the city and the irritation of the rest of the city's elitist academic circle.
One day I heard the a cry as of a frightened child and ran through the beds of giant lilies and Gulthmeran woman-orchids (I use the polite term for the readers sake) to try to help. I came suddenly to a stop as I stood on a small opening of the walled forest; there before me was the largest bird I had ever seen. Even sitting on the ground it stood almost as tall as me, but what caught my eyes were those feathers. I had never seen anything as radiant even in the Master's gardens with green colour almost sparkling in the sun. This was my first sight of the Emerald Eagle.
I must admit that even after all these years the one thing I was hoping most for traveling north was to see these great birds in their natural environment. It took me close to a year before I got a small glimpse of a pack hunting elk whilst I was staying with the Hin of the Sunset vale. There is no words in any language spoken around the Sea of Fallen Stars that can express my feeling that day.
Unfortunately I found that most people of the Northlands have a far less glamorous picture of the bird, as it is a threat to livestock and travelers alike.
This bird of prey is one of the largest avians of Faerun, with the exception of the so called ”giant birds”. It is a dark emerald coloured eagle with a silvery shine to its back in the sunshine. It has a wingspan of about four yards and is quite slim and light of built for an eagle, more like a giant buzzard. The head is typical for an eagle with a powerful beak and large yellow eyes. The birds are monogamous and the nests can be found at the highest mountain tops of the Sunset mountains and western Storm horns. Some small groups have been seen in the mountainous areas surrounding the High Moor, but I cant say for sure if this is a sign that this beautiful bird is spreading its territory or disappearing from the northern lands. They usually come back to the same nests each year and the whole flock of birds usually nests pretty close to each other. There is usually a reaction from one of the pair if even a flock mate gets to close to the nest.
One of the greatest differences between the Emerald eagle and other great birds of prey is that they actually hunt in groups and therefore attack far larger prey than is usual for birds. Each pack of eagles usually consists of between four and eight eagles (more as the hatchlings are learning to hunt) that scout individually over their collected territory.
When a large prey is discovered the spotter will circle like a Shaaran vulture to attract the other birds. The birds will then start harrying the pray to wear it out and employ dive attacks to bleed it into exhaustion. The desperate prey will be forced to run the gauntlet as the birds attack it from both flanks and tear its back to pieces with claws and beak. Generally they remind one more of canine hunters than birds. Using these method the eagles has been seen hunting pray as large as auroch and bison even if they usually go for slightly smaller pray. Some flocks have been known to drive their prey toward cliff-sides and falls where the panicked animal is forced into a fall that will kill or mangle it to make the birds Job easier. These groups often hunts the largest prey.
The birds are not found near dragons or perytons as both these creatures are competitors. Especially the perytons will attack the birds with a hatred they usually save for humans.
The strange coloring of the bird as well as its habits has led some people to believe that the eagle is the result of an experiment from the cursed empire of Netheril that once spread its glory and terror over the northern lands that we now know as Anauroch.
These theories I have discussed with the honorable sage Dezalun of Procampor, with whom I had a chance meeting with in Berdusk and who is one of our times most knowledgeable persons on magical creatures, aside from Dadhailaia of Arrabar, Thileion Simarera and the sage of Shadowdale. He told me that he does not believe that there is any magical origin for the eagle. Instead he believes that it is a guest in Faerun from an other world. One hint of this is that it has no role in tethen folklore and all my attempts to get my friends among these people to tell me of their view of the bird went unheeded. |
|
|
|
Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2006 : 11:18:05
|
| Impressive work! Keep it up! I'll keep up reading! :) |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 22 Jun 2006 : 17:17:09
|
One more for today.
The Eprastar.
When one thinks of a bird able to crack the armor of the crustaceans and shells one would suspect a large bird with a heavy beak. Not so with the Eprastar, the thin legged and long beaked sandpiper of the wetlands east of Cormyr. Whilst traveling to the city of Ireabor in the late spring I got the habit of always ordering a roasted Eprastar at every inn along my travel route.
It took a while before I started actually wondering about what the bird looked like in real life. I don't know about you dear reader, but I have a little trouble thinking of my meal as a living creatures. One night in the town of Priapurl I finally asked the serving maid at the excellent in the Boars head if she knew of any way for me to see a live bird. She looked me a little strangely, but asked me to wait for half an hour. When she came back she was carrying a shivering bird in her hands. I looked into the pearly black eyes of the bird so stiff with fear that I felt I was looking at the jewels of a noble woman at a spring ball.
I payed the inn the price of the meal to get the bird alive and let it loose outside of town while the town guards were shaking their heads and a wemik in the service of the local Mindugulph mercenaries calling me names I will not repeat here. I have not eaten a single Eprastar since.
The Eprastar is a medium sized long legged sandpiper with a plumage that glows as gold on the back and the clearest mountain snow on the chest. The back is speckled with brown-black stars whilst the chest is clear. These beautiful feathers are used by some Tethen men as a talisman when courting, but for some reason this is only in the eastern lands where the traditions are weakest. My bed-mates in my travels along the great Chionthar river, Imalljaher and Astarata, told me that it may have something with an old misunderstanding about the chondathans love for the golden metal, whereas the Tethen always praised the Silver of Selune. I don't give this story much credence, but it is the nearest thing to an explanation I have found.
The bird is most commonly found along the edges of the marshlands directly west of Cormyr, the Tun and Farsea’ they are more rarely found along creeks and near ponds and mires south to the Shining Plains. These latter often spend their winters along the Dragon coast. The Eprastar feed mainly on small crustaceans and shells in the pools and creeks, but will expand to insects during the summer. This is not without risque, as the fishermen of the coast regard the bird as a delicacy.
One usually finds the birds eggs in shallow, dry, depression located in the tall-grass not far from water. As with most birds nesting on the ground the eggs hatch in a very short time and the chicks leave the nest almost immediately. The parents will continue to feed them for about three weeks before they can manage to find food on their own. The marshes of the Tunlands are known to be the habitat of the Dhugin, a small crayfish that is very common in the shallows and which supply the birds with an easy source of food.
The birds have a very long and intricate courtship where the males go through long and meticiously slow dances that are said to be the inspiration for the dance of Iljahiev-dhan that can be found among the Silver elves and that I have been told, is the latest rage among the upper classes of the city of Waterdeep far to the north. My lady Dhamina told me that this dance is not found among the elves of old Elven Court and I would therefore be inclined to agree with the idea that the elves of the old western kingdoms once took inspiration for their court dances from these graceful birds. Even today it is common for priests of Lliira to travel to the Tunlands to study the birds movements and dance and the clergy of The Dancing Maiden will in the lands surrounding the Dragon coast say a prayer for the birds at the fifth day of Mirtul.
The Eprastar is also well known for its call of Tiuu-tju-hu-hu, a signal easily copied by a human whistling and a signal often used by the Tunlanders when spotting intruders to their lands. In a panicked state the bird generally fly away with a stream of clear and loud whistles
The goblins of the Faersea marshes use the birds as a guide to where to find the crayfish and I have heard some stories that seem to show an amount of respect for the bird that show them where food can be found. Some leader have forbidden the raiding of the birds nests and that they are said to also believe to have thought them how to pierce the humans heavy armour with arrows by aiming at the joints as the birds do with shells and the crayfish. Rangers I spoke with in Berdusk scoffed at these notions though and said that for each goblin that give any praise to the bird there are ten that are trying to kill it and that the Farsea goblins are the greatest nest-thieves of the marshes.
|
|
|
|
Bladedancer
Learned Scribe
USA
149 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2006 : 14:36:19
|
| I have really enjoyed these Jorkens! I almost feel as if I am watching a National Geographic special or old episodes of Wild Kingdom. Keep up the good work. I look forward to the next installment. |
Solarr Bladedancer
Mercenary For Hire
Master of the Ginsu Knives
They Slice They Dice They Will Cut through A Tin Can |
Edited by - Bladedancer on 23 Jun 2006 14:37:47 |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jun 2006 : 15:28:02
|
Sorry I am a bit late, but the bird I was going to use was no good, so I had to do a quick brainstorming.
The dragon crow.
While talking to a couple of the softer-handed workers of the docs of Baldurs Gate I suddenly saw a man sitting at the waterfront stuffing his pipe. He was a man about my own age with straw coloured hair and a Amnitic cotton blouse open in the front. But what really caught my eye was the mans face.
I have seen victims of back alley beatings with every bone in their face broken and I have seen the bodies of thieves hanging from city walls with their faces skinned of. For all their gruesomeness these sights still did not revolt me such or stir the kind of pity I felt at that moment. The man started fiddling with the pipe to get it lighted and I caught myself staring in morbid fascination at the patchwork of sores and scars that covered the mans face. It was as if the Grand Whip of The maiden of Pain had worked on his face for hours with her finest instruments carefully finding the strokes and gropes that would do the most damage without undoing the previous wounds. I was marveled at how the skin was able to even hold the face together.
One of my conversation partners, a young Hin by the name of Bandarin Bucklebender nudged me carefully and whispered that if I valued my life at all I would stop staring at the sailor before he noticed me. I quickly withdrew my eyes and walked over to the narrow stone steps leading up into the city itself. I drew forth a bottle of the finest Dawnwood Sherry and asked Bandarin and his partner Wabranina of the Red Scarf if they knew what had happened with the sailor. They looked at each other and finally Bandarin told me that the man had drifted to shore hurt after a shipwreck three days south of Waaterdeep; at the beach he had been found by the Dragon crows. I gave them a blank look and Wabranina asked me if I had never heard of the Crows. When I shook my head she started telling me of one of the most frightening birds I have heard of in my travels of the Northlands. I will retell the story shortly from memory without grandeur or poetic form, as I am no teller of tales or writer of stories.
Once thousand of years ago there was a dragon in the lands south of the High Moors that learned to take human shape and lived as humans and other two-footers live. The dragons name was Orogoth and with time its eggs hatched and these dragons also took the shape of humans. In time the dragons became numerous and they ruled a mighty empire that stretched from the Moors ’till the Chionthar. No one dared oppose the great dragons that were men. But finally one day after many years, one problem Orogoth had not foreseen shook the dragons world.
In the years that had passed many of the dragons children had themselves given birth to more children and some of these had been borne in human form. These children were not like their parents, with emotions and reactions the dragons could not understand. The younger dragons did not know what they should do with the children so they went to old Orogoth and asked their father what to do.
The great old dragon pondered the question and then called the human dragon-children to its great hall. The children saw the great dragon and pulled back in terror. Orogoth was disgusted with the children, but decided to try to tell the children the truth. But these children reacted like human children, not dragons and cried in fear. Old Orogoth screamed in rage and cried that the children had forgotten their own nature and that he would therefore give them a new one. They would have a form even more small and craven than now and he turned them all in to crows with feathers the colour he called their hearts. But Orogoths curse was even greater then he himself knew, for the children's dragons blood gave them a vicious nature and a hate for all other forms of life.
Now I myself think this story is disgusting and I hate to think that these fearsome creatures are the descendants of innocent children. I also talked to several sages and historians of Alaghon and they told me that the story of the dragon Orogoth is a fabrication based on half-truths and misunderstandings.
I tried to get other people to tell me of the Dragon crows, but the information was sparse and mostly from sailors that seemed superstitiously afraid of talking of the bird. They all agreed that the bird looks like a large crow with feathers a dirty yellow and that the birds live along the Sword Coast between Waterdeep and far of Candlekeep. They come in groups of ten to a hundred and probably nest in the seaside cliffs where few can threaten them. The sailors also claim that the birds are more intelligent then any other birds along the coast and that they in vicious joy will attack and torment any creature they can. Even if they are not hungry or threatened they savour the feeling of inflicting pain on others and the sensation of killing. Sometimes whey cruelly let the victim live.
I can not say for sure what the truth about this bird is, as I have never seen it with my own eyes and I have therefore pondered the question of whether I should include it in this tome or not. In the end I came to the decision that the thought of the bird scares me enough that I want to warn any travelers of the coast of the possible danger. |
|
|
|
Alaundo
Head Moderator
United Kingdom
5695 Posts |
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2006 : 11:31:23
|
As I feel a little burned out when it comes to birds right now, I will take a couple of days break at least. I will not write more birds before I feel prepared even if I may post a couple of things on other subjects.
I don't know how long it will take, but be sure, there is more to come. |
|
|
|
Varl
Learned Scribe
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2006 : 05:00:58
|
| I'm going to go back and read all the bird entries you made, Jorkens, but one species you might consider covering (a favorite of mine) is the shrike. An interesting bird that likes to "spike" its food. Heh. If you've already done one, please disregard this post. Just a suggestion. |
I'm on a permanent vacation to the soul. -Tash Sultana |
|
|
|
Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2006 : 11:17:04
|
The King Pheasant
If you have seen some of the old murals made by the emperors of Shoon during their later days you will often see a slave following the flying chariot of the wizard emperor, leading a group of chained birds the size of pigs. This was to symbolize the emperors domination over the Tethen tribes of the lands between Calimshan and the Twin rivers.
Today the bird is a common sight among the gardens of the wealthy between Calimshan and the Vilhon Reach, as the bird is sedate and breeds happily in captivity. There has however been several incidents of traders from the northern, more traditional Tethen lands and the highlands bordering the nations of Tethyr and Amn, kidnapping the birds and setting them free.
I myself find these actions a little extreme as the birds them self are generally happy in their new environments and I have doubts about their ability to manage on their own in the wilds. I once talked to my Tethen companions Imalljaher and Astarata about this and for a second I thought Astarata would use that curved dagger on me in a far more effectual way than the teasing of last night. Both of them were enraged at my, in their eyes, belittling of their sorrow at seeing this majestic bird enslaved. I had to use all my abilities of persuasion to explain to them that I had not understood their feelings about the bird. A quick word of warning, even my lovely Jhaelder Illbraen of Berdusk shook his head when I told him of this incident.
The Kings Pheasant is a large bird, about double the size of most other species of Pheasant. The male has a shining black plumage with blue-green glowing eyes on the wings and the same colouring on the long tailfeathers. The bright red wattles of the birds swell and becomes blood-red during the mating season. The female is much less conspicuous with a brown and black coat that makes it easy to hide during the nesting season. The only markings of note on the female is a reddish stripe over the eyes and tailfeathers of the same colouring as the males, if somewhat shorter.
The Kings Pheasant lives a quiet life in the undergrowth of the light forests and the shrubs of the grasslands. The exception is during the mating season where the males give their all in a performance of posing and dancing near unequaled among the birds of these lands. The males will dance and prance chortling out their challenges to males and their lust to females. Now, dear reader, a word of warning. This bird is of a rather single mind when it is in heat; it will attack all creatures smaller than a horse that intrudes on its courting ground and the beating one might take from the wings, beak and claws of the bird is not a thing to take lightly.
Out of mating season the bird is rarely seen except near sundown, when it comes out into more open landscape, but even then the bird is careful and will take flight at any signs of a threat. A good archer will usually have little problems in hitting the bird though as it is a rather large target even at a distance. Even today the bird is pretty common along the caravan routs north of the Cloud Peaks, as the bird has a reputation for being inedible and even poisonous.
This is not completely trough as the meat is excellent if well roasted or cooked; but if one were to eat the bird raw or semi-raw the result would be days of stomach-cramps and diarrhea locally called Prince Iriiaes revenge. This has kept the bird from ever becoming popular on the cooking spits of travelers. If the birds are bothered at all it is usually by egg-hunters that sell the birds to the lands of the east. If raised from the egg the bird will become as tame as any dog and this has as I already mentioned, made the bird a popular pet in some lands.
Among the Tethen the bird holds a higher position. It is said that the bird is the symbol of the rightful ruler and his host and that the bird will only bless those fit to rule. The chief or clan leader will usually bear feathers from the bird on his helmet and he can give his most honored men the right to bear feathers from the bird on them self. even among the rulers of the city states on the borders of the Tethen lands and among the people of Amn and Calimshan the feathers are considered a precious gift and a suitable decoration for the regalia's of the rulers. The famous Cavaliers of the civilized Tethen lands of the north wear the feathers from their helmets as a homage to the old traditions.
If common man were to find a feather of the bird on the ground he will keep it as a lucky charm, even if it is forbidden to wear it openly except when given by a chief or other ruler. Most people will not keep the feather for long though, as it is considered the greatest gift one can give to a Tethen and it is always wise to have the good will of the ruler. The feathers are never traded, only freely given. Anything else would be an insult, almost as bad as plucking the feathers from the body of the bird itself, which is never done. This goes whether the bird is alive or dead. It is seen as a act dedicated to the Dancer of the Darkest Nights to pluck the feather from the bird. There are several legends that tell that the birds are children of Shar that teared themselves loose from their harsh mistress. They can therefore give the blessings freely, but their bodies are still of the Dark Ladys heart and therefore cursed. I have not had the possibilities to find out how the priestesses of the Night goddess view the bird.
There has been a tendency, especially among Calimshites, to joke about the Pheasant and the Tethen reverence for the bird. Many of these jokes compare nature of the birds rather unfavorably with the Tethens own. Those telling these jokes have often ended up with a rather red smile from ear to ear in a back alley soon afterwards.
In the Dragon coast lands there has been written several plays about monarchs and rulers that decide to try for their moment of glory , only to go down in bloody catastrophes. The most famous of these are Amvardraxes of Cimbars satires , By the Laws of Women, The King Pheasant, and On the Words of Men, which tells of the rulers Queen Regent Lharida, king Myntharan, and The Reaver king Gostaraj of Westgate.
Worth mentioning is also The Feathers of Harpys, detailing the last days of Shoon, written by Amanduc Aspenrod and Who’s next? The story of Azoun of Cormyr learning a lesson from Vandergahast, by an anonymous writer.
All of these stories play heavily on the thematic symbol of the Kings Pheasant and the would be conquerors fall. Well, the Azoun play is more about Azoun being changed into a bird to be thought a lesson, except that he becomes turned into a female bird by mistake. I will not go further into this, except to mention that the reward for the name of the writer has rissen to two thousand lions. |
|
|
|
Arkhaedun
Senior Scribe
869 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2006 : 16:37:42
|
| I like the fact that the Realms is big enough to have a lot of small details, and I like the idea that its inspired you to write about wildlife, in the traditional, non-magical, not-likely-to-eat-a-whole-village sort. |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Birds of Faerun (Comments wanted)
