Witchfeathers

Aesahatr walked on silent footsteps along the forest floor. The cloth and string wrappings around her feet and lower legs made no noise, crushed no leaf, snapped no twig.
She rested her hand against a tree, bent at a near 90 degree as it strove inexorably towards the sun. She waited. Silent. Her breathing slowed to a shallow, imperceptible hiss.
A Blood Raven landed on the tree. Its feathers a dark viridian, fading to blood red at the tips.
Aesahatr did nothing.
The Raven picked at the prey in its claws - a greyish lizard, maybe picked up from the pond nearby.
Aesahatr raised her arms towards the Raven. She held a short bow, composites of deer sinew, Ethertree sap, and blackwood. The arrow, viciously barbed, strung with the feathers of a White Wren. She drew it back, to her temple.
She held it there for long seconds, as the Raven looked up, eyeing her silent, motionless form. It returned to its meal.
Aesahatr released, and breathed again.
The Raven let out a screeching squawk, a gurgling scream, as the arrow pierced its heart.
Aesahatr approached swiftly, catching it before it hit the ground. "I am ... sorry, friend. Thank you for your sacrifice." She passed her hand over its head.
The Raven went limp.

Enigmatic Creators

Witches, and their conclaves, covens, and clans, are enigmatic and reclusive. They avoid civilization, and are not above the occasional raid for needed supplies. They lead simplistic, practical, vaguely anti-materialisitc lives. This does not, however, mean they do not develop their own technologies and tools to aid their dangerous lifestyles.
Witchfeathers are one such technology.

Form and Function

Crafted from the tail feathers from either White Wrens or Blood Ravens, Witchfeathers have a wondrous, but highly practical purpose. They are crafted in pairs - one from each bird - and undergo magical rites to enchant them to their intended purpose.
Simply put, when a feather from a pair of Witchfeathers is used as a quill, the other in the pair - no matter the distance of travel - writes the same thing. This is a highly efficient way to communicate, and would revolutionize all aspects of life in Ravengrin, if not for their rarity.
When one feather's command word is spoken, the two feathers in the pair exchange their colors. This signifies that both feathers are active, and that communication can commence. If the receiving feather is somehow restrained, the messaging feather makes no mark on the writing surface, despite ink.
Additionally, Witchfeathers do not take to mundane inks. To use a Witchfeather, a writer must have access to Witchink, a substance only the witches themselves know how to make, a recipe they guard jealously.
Witchfeathers, though fairly easy and simple for a Witch to craft, are rare. Witches have reservations regarding the killing of ravens, especially Blood Ravens. While common folk view the killing of a raven of any kind as bad luck, Witches view it with far more severe consequences. Witches that must kill these creatures out of necessity must undergo a rite of redemption to atone for their actions.

Item type

Communication