(Artwork and description by player Regina Carey)

Light's Wings

Light's wings are large beautiful birds native to the forested mountains. 3 and a half feet tall at the shoulders, their tails are another three feet long, and they have an impressive wing spread of 14ft from wing tip to wing tip.

These feathered beauties are mostly a pure, pristine white in colour. Except for their wings and tail feathers. Starting with their outer feathers, they are a golden colour, merging to orange, to red, to purple, to blue and finally to green. Male Light's Wings have another layer of feathers. Merging from green to grey. These birds eat fish, snakes, and small game like chiantas.

Incredibly intelligent, there are many a mountaineer who swears that the Light's Wing have driven them away from hidden cliffs, or dangerous predators. Others have stories that the Light's Wing have lead searchers to people lost in the mountains. And there is one famous tale about Terrella Ferrith.

...A young girl who wandered from her parents when she was only 4 years old. Lost in the forest for a week, search parties had been long called off. The girl given up for dead. Until a lone man, searching for herbs was attacked, and hearded through the woods by a male Light's Wings. Forced to follow a path set by the bird, he discovered the missing girl, sleeping happily on some moss, watched over by a female Light's wings...

And wild unicorns from the mountains, come to the academy make claims that the birds are intellegent and that they can communicate with them.    The females grow 3' to 3'4" in height, while the males grow 3'2" to 3'6" in height. The birds can live for 20 years and have few, if any predators to fear. In spring, females come into season all through the first month. Any males in the area when she comes into season are alerted that she is ready to mate by her clear, piping calls.

Males immediately gather in the trees near the female, though they dare not go near the female tell she is ready. Once she wishes to mate, she takes off into the air, the males taking off after her moments after her rise. The male that can outfly, and catch her in mid air, mates with her while the losers wait for another female's call. In hopes of better success. Mating in midair does have some dangers, and if the couple cannot pull out of their mating dive in time, they can kill themselves on the rocks below.

After mating, the male and female build a nest together. Two weeks after mating, the female lays three to five pearl coloured eggs. After this she does not leave the nest again for ____. Remaining with the eggs, the female keeps the eggs warm, dry and save from egg eaters while the male hunts for himself and his mate. After another two weeks, snowy white fledgelings hatch from the eggs and the male has to spend most of his time hunting for the hungry chicks. Bringing food back to the nest, he leaves it with the female who tears the meat into small enough pieces for the chicks.

Two months after hatching, the young chick's feathers start coming in and by the end of the thrid month, they are ready to learn to fly. Usually by being booted off the tree by the mother and father to force them to test their wings. After that, they remain with the parents for another month, perfecting their flying skills and learning to hunt before chicks and parents go their seperate ways. By the time the next breeding season comes about, the young birds are also ready to mate.

There are people who try to hunt the Light's Wings for their colourful, beautiful feathers. To date, hunters of these birds usually return empty handed, having been unable to spot even one. Perhaps a touch telepathic, Light's WIngs seem to always know when someone is hunting them and are able to avoid them.