Wind Eagle
From Mizahar Lore
| "Our eagles are our people. They exist at a higher level than we do. ." - Neviath Lyvakin (Kiln), Inarta Watchrider |
| Fauna | |
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| Frequency | Rare except in Wind Reach |
|---|---|
| Threat level | High |
| Major features | Giant Eagles with Talons, Beak, etc |
| Abilities | flight |
| Most common in | Wind Reach, Kalea |
The Wind Eagle is a dire sized eagle that appeared during and shortly after the Valterrian which the people of Wind Reach use as mounts and companions. Highly intelligent, the people of Wind Reach treat their eagles as if they are people because their legends state that the Wind Eagles are their ancestors who fell during the Valterrian. They are known to be the top predators in these parts of Mizahar.
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Appearance
- Size: Huge
- Lifespan: 80 years
- Wingspan: up to 40 ft
Wind Eagles are extremely large raptors that are native to the Storm Peninsula on the western shores of Mizahar. Making their home in Mt. Skyinarta, the eagles are bonded with a rider, normally an Inarta, of their same sex. They have the typical structure of an eagle, though their plumage varies in color based on their age. Born almost black, as the birds grow older they begin to lighten up and most notably their primaries and sometimes heads tend to gain coloration above their standard russet browns and cream. Often slate blue, white, or tones of russet appear on their primaries and sometimes heads, whitening out as they age until the oldest of the Wind Eagles turn solid white,
History and Overview
Only the people of Wind Reach, the Inarta, know the truth about Wind Eagles but they do not speak of it. As a whole the Inarta are under a geas that involve both the eagles and their mountain home. Instead, a story is told that has been repeated in all regions of Mizahar that may explain their origins. The truth, however, lies in the hearts of the Gods and with the Wind Eagles themselves.
"There is a place to the far west, a place like no other here in the lands we live in now. It is along a sea, much the same way Syliras is, where the sun sets across the water, but it is not the same as the Suvan Sea. It is a land of fire and ice and was so, even before the Valterrian. The people there loved the sky. They had legends about the Sky and how they were kin to it always. And because they loved the sky so, people say they took to loving all things of the sky as well, especially birds. They tamed eagles and hawks and other more fiercer things, and in exchange for sheltering them, these things helped them hunt and taught them their ways. It is said from these people a skill called falconry came, and it is the reason we know how to raise and train hawks and falcons now."
"And even though they loved the sky, they could never truly be in the sky, part of it, not like their fierce bird friends or even the smallest sparrow could. But they knew all about it. They knew the winds and Zulrav's arms and where the best food was. They so strongly bonded with their birds that they understood how to be a bird, even if they were locked to the ground cruelly. Then the earth began shaking, and things to the far east erupted. The world changed, and a battle came raging across the land - a battle that would end up ending a war that had barely begun. The gods asked for their help - though know one knows what this help was for - and they readily agreed. And then they died. In droves... because whatever their sacrifice was, whatever the gods needed their help to do, it was something deadly. Only, when they fell they didn't die. They thought they would though, and helped willingly anyhow. But instead, they rose from the ashes of their former lives, bursting from the corpses of their piled up dead, and found wings they had always wanted. And because their hearts were so big and their sacrifices were so great, they were enormous. The gods had given them not only access to the sky but dominion over it."
"And there were those that survived the sacrifice and lived on as the humans they were meant to. Their tears became astonishment as their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters rose up as eagles - the biggest eagles they've ever seen - free from their earth-bond chains. But the birds didn't leave those they loved; their family. Instead, they took them upon their back and climbed the mountain of bodies that was now a mountain in truth and found at the top a high-mountain bowl filled with fresh water trapped in a stone paradise. The mountain kisses the sky and is so big that all of them could live in its arms together. It was riddled with caves, all around the bowl - caves that could not be reached from the ground. The eagles nested there, on the ledges those caves had, and their families settled the interior. And their whole lives changed, so too did their lifestyle. And the mountain, though it occasionally steamed, releasing heat through the lake in its hollow heart, became their home. They live there even now, ever since the Valterrian. They never had to go underground because the air was clean so high in the sky, and even though the cold was harsh, they thrived because their family - the feathered ones - could fly long distances and fish out deep in the sea where the violence hadn't touched the world. They live there because they sacrified their own, helped the gods, and kept their secrets."
Diet
Because their homerange in the Kalea Region is scarce in terms of food resources, the Wind Eagle is primarily a fishing bird. The Storm Bay provides a near endless supply of fresh seafood and meat. Wind Eagles, though known to take porpoises, small whales, and large fish also enjoy various sea lions and the occasional mountain goat or sheep. The Wind Eagles also provide food for their partners, often leaving the people of Wind Reach dependent upon their hunting to survive. They require a steady diet of protein that often equates to approximately 20% of their body weight per day.
Intelligence
Wind Eagles have intelligence on par with humanity. They are slow to develop their intelligence and driven by instinct through the first two to three years of their life, but once fully mature (as evident by their plumage) they can easily communicate with other sentient creatures through their natural telepathic ability. While often prone to communicating with those they are linked to and the individuals in their family groups, it is a rarer occurrence when Wind Eagles actually deem someone who is not one of their people worthy to speak too.
Reproduction
Wind Eagles start to reproduce at age ten when they normally have their first mating flight. Mating flights are intense aerial displays of skill and power in which multiple males compete for the right to 'catch' the female and win her affection. In Wind Eagles, there are always at least twice as many males as females. Females reproduce and tend the nest, while males and unattached bachelors hunt for the colony. Immature birds are carefully nurtured and taken care of by the entire colony until they are old enough to fledge. Once fledged, the birds tend to take aeries of their own, but won't begin to build a nest until around age four (if they are female). Nest building takes upwards of a year (to get the perfect structure) and must be completed before the female launches for her first mating flight. Female Wind Eagles may reproduce from age ten to age fifty, and in that time frame can raise anywhere from twenty to forty offspring depending on how healthy they are.
Wind Eagles hatch one or two eggs - rarely three - once every other year, though they have been known to go every three years. Once a mated pair has been established via a mating flight, the subsequent flights are usually between those same birds. Rarely, though it does happen, do the Eagles decide to change mates or partners in the middle of their lives though other males often compete for the females attention during her infrequent flights. Chicks take a great deal of the parents time and often take at least a year before they fledge and then can move into their own aeries. Fledgling mortality is high, unfortunately, so the colony can expect no more than half those offspring to survive unless they form a link with a human at a relatively early age and thus adopt that humans caution and knowledge when increasing their flying skills.
Bonding with The Endal (Eagle Riders)
Once a Wind Eagle chick has fledged and has established its own home, unattached Inarta of all status move into the caves within the fledglings aerie and care for the birds in hopes the bird will link with them. It can be a long or a short process. Wind Eagles are very choosy and never get in a hurry deciding to partner up. Many Endal jokingly say the fledglings enjoy the attention lavished on them too much to be in a hurry to pick just one person to attend them the rest of their lives. These hopefuls often rarely get discouraged, for being classified as a hopeful means that the fledgling - for all that it is only developing its hunting skill - will be bringing in fresh meat and new foods the hopefuls don't often have access too. This is one of the easiest ways for a Dek, a Chiet or even a Yasi with no status to elevate within the Inarta society. Wind eagles will never bond to two people at once. Once linked, the remainder of the unattached humans move on to the next fledgling and the next until all are bonded or it is painfully obvious the birds find them unsuitable. Annoyed fledglings can be dangerous and have been known to toss likely candidates for Endals off aerie ledges to be rid of them. Wind Eagles have never failed to take a human partner, especially of the same sex, and if something happens to their human partner, they will take a new partner - often someone equivalent of age. These re-bondings can come in surprising ways and are often a lot faster and more sudden than the fledgling bondings are. Wind Eagles can also reject partners and break their bondings. It is rare, but it is not unheard of for a Wind Eagle to suddenly 'rogue' and kill a rider. There is seemingly never a good reason for this, though other eagles themselves often sooth their riders when this happens by a quiet word of 'It was necessary.' If an eagle dies on a rider, leaving him or her mountless, often the rider will fall back to an artisan or commoner profession. If they are damaged from the death, it is not uncommon for them to fall so far as to become a Dek and work the rest of their lives without identity and status. Wind eagles rarely bond with non-Inarta. It seems almost taboo among them to do so. And it is common, sadly, for the particularly unskilled or awkward fledglings to die before they bond (or shortly thereafter) and completely master the complicated flight living in Mount Skyinarta requires.
Social structure
The Wind Eagles are perhaps the only known raptors on Mizahar that live in a colony situation. Their entire population, other than the occasional stray, dwells in a singular volcanic structure with a hollowed out core containing a valley and lake at its bottom bowl. Surrounding this valley and lake on all sides are sheer rock walls riddled with caves that contain ledges the eagles nest upon in mated pairs. Wind Eagles live with thier mated pairs after the age of five. They mate for life and if their mates die may take a new mate. Their human bonded (normally of the same sex) form family unites established around the Wind Eagle matings - the female eagle's rider almost always marrying the male eagle's rider. Their children, if any, live with them until they themselves link with a wind eagle of their own. If they do not ever link with a wind eagle, they either leave home or else live the rest of their life without any status in their society.
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Out of character note: Inarta Player Characters may start with Wind Eagles rather than horses in their starting package with Wind Reach's Domain Storyteller's permission. They must have a Storytellers Secret thread accompanying this permission and they must understand Wind Eagles are colony birds and are going to be unwilling to leave their 'colony'. Also, they are sentient keepers of secrets, so be aware that the 'Eagle' characters needs a distinct personality and knows things the character will not be aware of. Brief travel away from Wind Reach with a Wind Eagle is permissible (ten to fifteen days), but long wandering roaming adventurers will never be approved. If your character wanders away from Wind Reach to 'travel' and 'adventure' your bird will unbond and rebond with someone else who is more of a homebody. |
Bond Stories
Examples of Endal Bonding Stories.
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 | I will Ride the Wind | Sairque bonds with Catabasis. (Solo, Flashback) |
 | Kindred Spirits | Amon bonds with Sakima (Moderated) |
 | Turiska | Turiska's history and bonding with Shayth (Character Sheet) |
 | Seeler | Fois and Seeler's bond story (Character Sheet) |