Cursed Phoenix
"They are not cursed. They are simply blue."Phoenix are not common but at least they are well understood. Cursed Phoenix must bear the burden of ignorant fame. They are not cursed. They are simply blue. Instead of burning, they sublimate, releasing blue wisps and vapor instead of flame. Cursed Phoenix physiology and abilities are not surprising for the astute scholar after the sublimation/deposition properties of the phoenix are noted. The alchemical, chemical, and other professional uses of harvest Cursed Phoenix parts stem directly from this sublimation as well. It is a shame this bird is not better understood. It might be the most easily accessible lesson on physics a child could hope for. Rogdul's Compedium of Fights and Faeries takes advantage of this. The day orcs are better parents than more gentle races is a day when we must take a hard look at ourselves.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Cursed Phoenix are smaller than their fiery cousins. An average adult has a wing span of 4 feet. It has the characteristic long tail of its genus; from tip of the beak to the end of its tail, the average adult is 6 feet long. A bunching of its plumage around its face makes it appear like a lion's mane while an uncharacteristically predatory beak and claws help the bird hunt and defend itself.
Of special note are the bird's feathers. Rather than burn like a true Phoenix, its feathers condense and evaporate. This is sublimation and deposition in actuality but appear to the common eye as a random disappearance and reappearance of feathers. A rapid change of solid directly to gas implies a massive increase in temperature, a large decrease in pressure, or a combination of both. Since the environment Curse phoenix are found are not scorched, it is likely a massive decrease in pressure. Dissection of preserved specimens have corroborated this fact with the discover of the Cursed Phoenix core.
These cores are massively dense crystals found within the animal. They are the size of a grain of rice or smaller, but carry the majority of the bird's weight. Further parts of the bird are less effected by the abnormal density and the intense and sudden shift in pressure causes the characteristic vapor we see in this species.
Genetics and Reproduction
Reproduction has been studied with captured specimens and round the clock observation in various menageries and enclosures around Corvayn. The Cursed Phoenix has a much shorter lifespan than a true phoenix, lasting only a month at a time. However, rather than leaving an egg behind it simply sublimates then reappears after a few hours. Scholars believe that these are divergent evolutions to the same problem; how to protect oneself when its at its most vulnerable.
A true phoenix has an egg that is nearly indestructible. Rather than offer a target for bandits, monsters, and other ne'er-do-wells, a Cursed Phoenix becomes incorporeal. We believe that the bird doesn't leave this plane and shift to the elemental plane of air, for example. It likely vaporizes then floats about its environment where, hopefully, another Cursed Phoenix has become incorporeal as well. We've taken to calling this vapor "bird aether" but a more dignified name will surely supplant this in later editions. Mixing the two birds before they re-emerge keeps the species diverse. If another phoenix is not found, the bird aether coalesces. If the phoenix has wandered to far from the rest of itself, it coalesces into two birds, propagating the species. Naturally, the two birds that form from smaller amounts of the original phoenix emerge as infants; if all of the original bird coalesces into itself an adult Cursed Phoenix emerges the same size it was when it discorporeated.
This breeding suggests a much larger population of Cursed Phoenix than the stagnant bloodlines of true phoenix. A further exploration of Fey's End Swamp is needed to conduct a census. I realize how ridiculous that sounds; that quagmire is impenetrable.
Growth Rate & Stages
The odd reproduction of the species leads to an odd growth rate. Natural growth does occur over its short lifespan, but a month only allows for a miniscule amount of change. Larger changes are possible during the incorporeal phase of the life-cycle. The mixing of two phoenix may not be equal. One may take more of the shared pool of bird aether. When the birds re-emerge, one would then corporeate into a chick and the other a larger version of an adult Cursed Phoenix.
Naturally, scholars have attempted to force Cursed Phoenix to coalesce into larger versions of itself. Any attempts to merge two phoenix together have been comical at best and frustrating at worst. Enclosures have had large furnace bellows added to them, trying to push bird aether into a single location. Trying to breed the animals using similar techniques to separate bird aether have met the same fate. We still regret not making illustrations of robed scholars sweating to work the bellows as they tried to make bird aether merge or separate. It may be that the size of bird corresponds to the density of the population. If there are more Cursed Phoenix in the area, bird aether may wander further to attempt to merge with another, separating and keeping the population large but the average size small. Birds in lower density areas will likely coalesce back onto themselves, hoarding their short growth cycles to themselves.
Ecology and Habitats
Confirmed sightings have come solely from Fey's End Swamp. The adaptability of the the bird's sublimation/deposition makes it likely it could thrive in any environment, but so far they have remained in that region. Unconfirmed sightings have placed the bird in Lutu as well but difficulty of finding that settlement make true scholarship difficult. Damned elementals...
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
So far, any attempts to domesticate Cursed Phoenix for commercial use have failed. Nothing seems to be able to keep the birds penned for long. Like their fiery cousins, the Cursed Phoenix is harvested for its feathers, eyes, and claws. The high density core of the phoenix is also a potent alchemical ingredient, but these parts have been cleverly used in most professions.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
With the consistent sublimation/deposition process the bird's feathers undergo, a new type of sensation appears to be available to the animal. As feathers a deposited, whatever is in the air near them is often caught up in the process. Newly formed feathers thus contain parts of the bird's surroundings giving it the ability to feel characteristics that may not be available to the other senses. Arcane energy is the such characteristic that has been experimentally proven, but the proof of concept does explain observed behavior of the creature in its environment. Cursed Phoenix have been reported to leave the area before temporal tears and fluctuations in the very Weave itself create dangerous anomolies.
Open questions remain on this form of sensation. Further research is necessary to understand whether or not the "impurities" in the bird's feathers can somehow imbue the feathers, giving the bird a hugely adaptive ability to change to its environment. If so, why would the Fey's End Swamp imbue the bird with what appears to be arcane or possibly Fae magic? Less metaphysical questions remain too. Slevarius the Bold contends that this sensation is a form of smell, treating the impurities within the feathers as a nose would an odorant. Scholars of my own abbey and the mages in Whitehall believe it is a form of tactile or possibly proprioception. That these impurities become a part of the creature and introspection allows the animal to further understand its environment. Admittedly, this view has some weaknesses, most obviously that the creature needs to be sapient enough to introspect.
Lifespan
1 month
Average Height
3 feet
Average Weight
150 lbs
Average Length
6 feet
Geographic Distribution
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