The Songbirds

A Gilded cage for songbirds beautiful and many, the members of the songbirds are artists for it's own sake and though they use their bodies to elicit such beauty it is still art all the same. The Song Bird organization operates a brothel in the Second Ring. They cater to any pleasure that their clients might want to indulge in as long as you have the coin to afford such things. There is also the grand exhibition an artistic display put on once a year highlighting the skills of those that the songbirds have deemed truly magnificent to be chosen to perform with the song birds is truly an honour and few would ever dare turn down such an offer. The Song birds treat their craft less as a means of base fornication and instead look at it as an art form of the highest order.

If you are just looking for a whore go somewhere else, but if it's a truly rapturous experience you are wanting then nothing will compare to a night with one of the Song Birds" -Unknown Patron

Public Agenda:

Publicly the Song Birds provide experiences to their clients of a truly unique nature and no two visits are ever quite the same. A person visiting the song birds is never the same when leaving and while detractors might say that those that work for the Song Birds are merely selling their bodies, their clients tell an all too different tale of revelatory experiences akin to being visited by deific entities. So to understand what service the song birds provide to the city the closest real telling is that they show their clients the briefest moments of heaven before sending them back into the hell that is the streets of Arbor

Public Perception

Lower Class

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To the people of the lower class the Songbirds are something that will always be out of their reach, their costs too high and their services perhaps too extravagant for most to appreciate the value of. Though some do dream of a night with a song bird to elevate them and give them a taste of what the world out of their reach is like.

Middle Class

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Those in the middle class that can afford them will sometimes visit them into excess falling into depravity and poverty by doing so. It is a real danger to become addicted to what the song birds offer in a way that alcohol, drugs or even sex fails to fill the same void. In this way the middle class views them with caution going once in awhile is fine but do not fall into the abyss that is their loving embrace.

Upper Class

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The idle Rich and the upper classes utilize the services that the song birds provide most gregariously, they have an almost hedonistic obsession with the new and the unusual such that many of the upper class have favourites that are reserved exclusively for them.

Rumors

Like most places like this rumors follow it around like a bad smell, one of the most prevalent is that some of the birds within it's cage are not of this world that the odd feeling of traveling one gets when crossing the threshold is more than just an odd feeling. The people inside all behave as though drunk without any alcohol ever touching their lips and the birds have a beauty about them that feels not of this world. More unsettling though is the whispers that sometimes if the obsession takes too strong a hold the birds may ask you for something precious but something you give freely all the time and that if you do so you will never leave and no one will remember you entering

History:

The Song birds started like many other brothels within the walls of Arbor, a seedy establishment in the Third Ring they offered much the same services as any other brothel. It was only when a new madame took control of the brothel that things began to change.

Before the Artist

The original brothel that was to become the Songbirds or at least the business that would turn into it was situated in the Third Ring. It's doors open to any and all along with the legs of those that worked there. It was a mostly clean establishment with some amount of coin spent weekly to a local priest to clear up any maladies that might be lurking in the employees under the understanding that they could utilise the services of the brothel for as long as they wished. It was profitable but it was what it was a place to indulge in carnal pleasures and nothing more. That changed the day The Maven showed up in his white porcelain mask.

An offer and a promise

When the Maven showed up with an offer to buy the establishment from the local madame, no one was sure they were serious, least of all the madame. Why would anyone want such a place to own, especially with the amount of money that they were willing to pay to acquire it? The Maven simply waved their hand in a flourish and said, "My eye sees the potential beauty in such a place, like a sculptor sees their work finished in the block of marble. So do I see what this place could be, should I be allowed to chisel away at its parts!" The Maven's way of speaking was odd and the cadence slightly off, and the mask didn't allow one to determine any kind of sincerity.
The employees had heard that when a brothel changed hands, it was usually bad for everyone who was already working there. Profits were squeezed out of already tight margins. However, the old madame was getting on in years, so she agreed to sell the place. An early retirement wasn't so bad, she considered. With the shake of a hand and the exchange of a huge sack of coins, the Maven simply looked out over the main foyer and declared, "You are nameless whores no longer. From now on, you are my songbirds, and everyone in the city will wish to come and hear you." This quote still hangs on the current Gilded Cage.

A Transformation

The location was shut for a period of three weeks in order to transform both the location and the employees into something new. At the end, no one recognized the place. Such was the change that had occurred and the old patrons did not know what to make of it. Every person inside was clean and seemed to possess some kind of etheric beauty. There were some who said that crossing the threshold of the door felt like traveling to another world.
A period of adjustment began as old clientele were replaced with new ones, and slowly but surely, the change was complete. The new Songbirds was something of a new thing, unique, and people all across the city began making their there to parts of the city they ordinarily would never go, just to experience this place their servants and employees had been talking about as a one-of-a-kind experience.

To the future

Eventually what was the brothel was brothel no more and in a few short years relocated to the Second Ring after a donation from a patron who did not wish to travel so far to see his favourite bird. The Maven spent weeks planning the building and how it needed to be laid out, from accounts gathered the building was unusual in the extreme many from the Tree-Wrights told the Maven the building would fall over the first stiff breeze.
They ignored them and told to where to put every timber, nail, tile and carpet. Everything to exacting standards but when it was done, the Gilded cage still stands as one of the most beautiful buildings in all of Arbor. The Maven continued to want to improve and grow the artistry of the song birds inside this new building, and thus the Grand Exhibition came into being. A spectacle of the highest order client and employee equal in role to create a thing unlike any other a form of art that none could look away from. At the first Grand Exhibition the Maven looked upon his work shed a single tear and vanished the only thing left of them their mask. A new Maven was crowned and has continued to this day an unbroken line of artists always seeking the greatest expression of beauty and artistry that the physical body can perform.

Attire / Common Garb / Quirks:

As a place of pure artistry and the exhibition of what the physical can do, there is no set attire and all walks of life and perceptions of beauty are not only found here but encouraged.
The one thing that is present though is an homage of to the original Maven a small porcelain mask somewhere on the person, this can be something simple like a charm or necklace or a whole body tattoo, the only exception is the current Maven themselves who wears what is thought to be the original mask.

Structure and Hierarchy:

There are a few roles that exist within the Song Birds some are more to do with the desperation of their clients than that of the jobs themselves though.

The Talons

These folks are hidden among the others and are constantly watching for any sign of obsession or violence, neither of which is tolerated at The Gilded Cage. They are responsible for removing any one who displays behaviour that could be dangerous or ruin the performance that is taking place. Where possible they will remove the offending person or persons quietly to the street trussed up artistically for the local The Green Cloaks to pick them up. If this is not possible they are quite capable of adding a person's swift death to an already ongoing performance.

The Birds

The main focus of a person's time at the Gilded Cage, these are the people that perform either privately or as part of a show for the various patrons. They are capable of artistry via the physicality of their bodies that defies logic and the requirements to become a bird are strict and complicated. The final test is with the Maven themselves where you must bring a tear of pure joy to their eyes with your artistry. What the birds do transcends the simple carnal pleasures of other brothels though these are often involved, it is a spiritual experience and each Bird brings something unique to the Art.

The Maven

The Head of The Song Birds, their role is to approve new Birds and to seek out talent where they can find it. In addition to this they are also the face of the Song Birds ensuring their business stays open and they always have fresh clientele. They also make sure that all of the performers are taken care of none of the Birds are hurt or ever in any danger. The Songbirds is a place of sanctuary for those who sell what they do and the Maven is a big reason it stays that way.

Notable People:

The Maven - Current head of the songbirds but per their structure the true identity of this person is a mystery all that is known about them is the mask they wear and that they are the final word in any dealings with the songbirds.
Heeka - An Aarakocra who tends to the bar in the Gilded Cage, she has the appearance of Golden Pheasant with luxurious golden feathers that cascade from the top of her head down to just above her chest which she keeps bare to show off her bright red plumage that contrasts in a way that dazzles all who come to drink. She has an almost lyrical way of speaking though slow and gives off the impression of knowing far more than she is letting on or should have access to. She though unlike other birds in the cage is not for the entertainment of guests and seeks only to council those who come to her bar seeking drinks or a friendly face to talk to and hers is one of the most friendly.
Bubbles - A Water Touched who is a frequent favourite of many of the patrons of the inside the Gilded Cage, his talents in particular his great lung capacity make him a favourite of many who frequent the establishment. However Bubbles acts as both bird and talon so those who think they can get away with being rough without consent will quickly find themselves shown the door by the person who they may have engaged with oral activities mere moments ago.
Grim Evenwood - A Fae Touched who is a regular in the Gilded Cage, they rarely take any of the songbirds offers content to simply drink with Heeka on a nearly nightly basis. Their presence has been felt for so long that some have suspected they were the original Maven come back to check on the place after leaving. Grim denies this of course simply stating that the Gilded Cage is one of a few places in Arbor where he feels like home.
The Oculus Luxuriae - A beautiful woman cloaked all in black whose sole purpose is to vett those who enter. Upon gazing into them from beneath her black veil she hands them one of 14 cards assigned with a particular picture and colour.
The Hare - The concierge at the desk of the Gilded Cage. His role is to explain the rules of the Gilded Cage to all patrons. He is a well dressed white hare Beastkin. 

Territory:

The Songbirds only territory is The Gilded Cage within the Second Ring.

Notable Structures:

The Gilded Cage a large building in the Second Ring the Gilded Cage is both a building and work of art commissioned by the first Maven before their disappearance it is truly a wonder to behold.

"Where beauty and pleasure meet"

Type

Entertainment, Troupe

Alternative Names

Birdies

Leader

The Maven

Controlled Territories

• Gilded Cage