Golden Wind-Weaver
A small bird with bright, glittering gold feathers, the Golden Wind-Weaver appears, from a distance, to be a soaring speck of sunlight. Golden Wind-Weavers are quite timid, physically weak, and utterly harmless. Left on their own they are extremely vulnerable, with absolutely no natural defenses. A golden wind-weaver sits comfortably in a human hand and has a remarkably loud and harmonious call. They all have arrays of beautiful songs, may specific to individual birds. Listening to different musical compositions, other bird-song, and different instruments can teach them new ways of singing.
A wind-weaver survives by using its song, which is so melodious that flocks of birds are immediately attracted to gather around the wind-weaver. The flocks then provide protection for nesting and for transportation across open skies. While the mechanics are unclear, the golden wind-weavers compensate for their small size by entering a flock of different birds, intermingling with them and somehow throwing their voice to guide the flock's direction of travel and encourage them to settle in areas for nesting. Its because of this that golden wind-weavers are often called "Golden Guides."
Golden wind-weavers have remarkably poor vision and will often cover their nest with their own fallen glittering gold feathers to make it easier to locate. Of course this makes their nests more visible to all other creatures as well. Golden wind-weavers try to make-up for the danger by building their nests in very high tree-tops and singing to keep other bird flocks near-by to help protect them. Unfortunately this does not always work, contributing to the golden wind-weaver's rarity.
Golden wind-weavers are originally from Delv. Legend has it that they were created when Mother Dragon caught an annoying sun-sprite that was zipping around her head when she was trying to nap. Amused and yet annoyed she gave the sun-sprite feathers made from sunlight, wings, and a mortal existence. The natural lack of defensive abilities would make it so that the golden wind-weavers were cursed to always be zipping around due to being chased by hungry predators, rather than to annoy dragon goddesses trying to nap.
Golden wind-weavers were over-hunted for their beautiful feathers and now no longer can be found on their native island of Delv. Rare sightings have occurred along the coastal areas ranging from Avavel all the way down to Serta, but the birds seem to be dying out...
Uses
- The Golden Wind-Weaver Head Feather are often collected for decorative and magical purposes. A female wind-weaver will shed her head feather once a year - these feathers provide a decent source of magic power, especially an affinity for flight or light related powers, for those who possess them. Unfortunately few are patient enough to wait for the birds to shed their feathers and hunt them down instead.
Size: Small
Type: Holy Bird
Intelligence: High
Strength: Fragile
Nature: Timid
Rarity: Rare
Habitat: Native to Delv, but the population has been hunted to near-extinction there. Rumored to be seen around the islands and coastal regions, but the species may become extinct.