Carolings: The Avians of Darkness
bird body by Dan Eklund, Unsplash; caroling nose by Fabian Kohler, Pexels; bat mouth Tod Cravens, Unsplash;
leaves by Tarsila Mesquita, Pexels; rest Shanda Nelson
leaves by Tarsila Mesquita, Pexels; rest Shanda Nelson
What you first notice about carolings is how ugly they are. So ugly, some think they're cute. So ugly, not many bother with them. But those that do, those that wait near their nesting trees and listen? They will soon hear the most beautiful song in the Evenacht.
~~Senderae, Priest of Darkness
Contents:
Overview
The carolings are bird-like mammals found in the Dark, a deep, shadowy forest on Fading Light. They are sacred to Darkness, and very much enjoy being around Darkness acolytes--to the point many think them pests. While considered shy, if they take a liking to someone, they rarely leave them be, and have even followed beings out of the Dark and to wherever they live.
Carolings are so named because of their unique ability to sing. Natives of the Dark refer to them as blaserie, vekek or melayc, which loosely translates to 'singers'.
When ghosts first traipsed through the Dark, they heard the wondrous singing but did not believe creatures so ugly could produce it. Future generations realized the connection but did not care much until Veer Tul became Darkness. He felt the avians represented hidden beauty, and how appearances often deceive.
At this point, the carolings began to show a greater interest in Darkness acolytes, which grew into the rich attraction they now feel.
- Appearance
- palm-sized, black-furred and feathered with blue or purple highlights
- round head with wet-looking, oily fur
- stubby bat nose with large nostrils
- thin lips and a large fang running from the middle of the upper jaw to past the non-existent chin; stubby teeth
- agile tongue to grasp food
- puffy chest with soft feathers
- long bird-like wings with ratty feathers
- black, rough-skinned, bony legs that end in white-taloned claws
- active day or night, depending on personal preference
Life Cycle
Carolings are born live, in nests that are constructed from twigs and leaves, and padded with clay on the outside and moss on the inside. The nests reside either on large tree branches or nestled inside a hollow. They are ball-like, with one opening at the bottom, and always stained a shade of black. The stain comes from a particular black clay found near water sources in the Dark; when applied to the previously dried clay, it darkens before falling off. Carolings have one to two babies at a time. Kits suck milk from their mothers until about a year of age, when they transition to eating fruit brought them by their parents. By this time, they have feathers and take the first timid steps in learning to fly. By the time they are two, they are helping their parents find food. The young stay in the nest until four years of age, after which they join other younger carolings, who live in larger, communal nests. Within the next five years, most find mates, though they do not begin to reproduce until ten years of age. Mates are found in their family flock, or in nearby flocks. If a mate is from a nearby flock, one or the other switches flocks; there is no set rule as to which of the pair does so. Mates can be of any gender. Once mated, the carolings either inherit or construct their own nest. The avians mate until forty years of age, after which they take on babysitting duties for younger couples. Flocks have a hierarchy based on age. Older carolings are respected, and well-cared for when they get too old to fly. At this point, they return to communal living until their death. Carolings can live for over a hundred years, though the average age of death is around eighty-two.Food
Carolings are herbivores. Their primary diet consists of berries, but they will eat tender shoots, leaves, other kinds of fruit, flowers, and sap. They have a rudimentary cooking ability. The artisans will hollow out small blocks of wood, or form shallow clay bowls from leftover nest material, and use them to mash different foodstuffs together using their front fang. They will combine berries and other fruits, sap and berries, leaves with sap, etc. They do not have recipes as such, and combinations appear to be personal taste choices. Not all carolings combine foods, and those that do often share with friends and family.
Caroling Nest
orig. nest by Gary Fulz, Unsplash; tree Anna B, Pexels
orig. nest by Gary Fulz, Unsplash; tree Anna B, Pexels
Flocks can have anywhere from one hundred to thousands of members. Typical flocks are around a thousand. The largest flock is near The Darkened Light, Veer Tul's primary temple in the Evenacht.
Flocks congregate near berry and water sources. While thornberries attract the most interest, shiny round red balls and bitter bluehearts are also favorites. Nests nearest waterfalls are in high demand, and squabbles take place over who can use them. Most are familial, passed down to subsequent generations. The rest enter arbitration, where those vying for the spot bring the eldest female as much food as they can find. She passes the nest to the ones who give her the tastiest vittles.
Caroling mates who are of the same gender will adopt orphaned kits to care for. They also care for the elderly carolings and many of the oldest male guards come from these couples.
Caroling are intelligent, though scholars are not certain exactly how intelligent. Carolings will purposefully sabotage the tests, which, in itself, says something about their intellect.
Society
Caroling flocks are led by the oldest fit females. The oldest males guard against territory encroachment and handle territory disputes, which researchers see as odd, since many can no longer fly. The elders who are in charge and perform guard duty have separate communal living spaces from other elders. Mated carolings have various tasks, assigned to them by older flock members. They patch nests, clean branches and hollows, retrieve food, babysit, and work on altering the trunks of the trees in which they nest. These alterations consist of wrapping pointed vine thorns from thornberries around the bases, to deter snakes and other climbing predators. Some flocks have artisans, that use their talons to chip away bark and wood from larger branch ends, creating sculpture. What they sculpt, however, is anyone's guess. Friendship is important to the avians. The more friends one has, the greater influence they have in their flock. They congregate on branches and tweet at one another. Small presents between friends is common.Attitude
Carolings are opinionated, obstinate, and vicious to those they do not like. The most extreme example in recent memory is of the Panberry Glade flock destroying a new settlement that cut down a few of their nesting trees for buildings. They were not shy in defecating on every structure, on every crop, on every animal and being, and fouling sources of water. Then they brought long thornberry vines and wrapped them around handles for axes, brooms, doors and the like, as well as the structures, trapping the inhabitants inside. Darkness made it known he forbid retaliation, and the beings moved on to form another settlement far away from the Dark. Carolings also show compassion, sympathy and empathy for other beings and creatures. If a hiker in the Dark is injured, the avians will fly to the nearest settlement and make pests of themselves until someone follows them to the injured party. They have brought the lost food and water, and led them from the forest. If a being does something nice for an avian, they will leave them a present. Healers and doctors are especially nice, because they will leave hard-to-find healing plants as a thank-you. If a caroling becomes attached to a being other than another caroling, they will leave their flock to be with them. This attachment can be to an animal or to thinking beings, ghostly or native. They have a penchant for ghostly Darkness acolytes, however, and will follow their chosen until the day they die.Song
What carolings are known for is song. They have the most beautiful voices in the Evenacht, and when they sing, it is a religious experience. When carolings sing, half begin with high notes, a fifth apart, and the other half echo the notes, an octave lower. While beings have taught them to sing in different ways, they prefer their flock's songs to any other. Flocks have several hundred songs, some short everyday pieces, some very involved and used for special occasions, though these performances are not conducted at the same time every year. They will break into song day or night, and enjoy performing in the twilight hours. The only time a caroling sings alone is when they are a companion to a non-caroling and no other avians are around. Soloists do not exist. Their fang behaves as an amplifier to the sound. An entire flock using amplification can deafen natives and vibrate ghostly essences for the duration of the song. Why this ability developed is a mystery, but it may have evolved from funerary rites. The rites are simple ceremonies when those closest to the deceased sing a dirge, then the body is flown by guards to the nearest large body of water and deposited within. Predators tend to leave them alone while they indulge in song, so it may be a defense mechanism. While the singing can be loud, it is never used to purposefully harm another creature or being, though they can go deaf if they remain in the vicinity for too long.- Common songs:
- lullabys, sung by several nests when sleepytime comes.
- folk songs, with an obvious, upbeat melody.
- sound layering, where the sound is most important. Sounds can be pure notes, growly, rough, a burst of cacophony. The eldest female leads these songs, though how the flock knows what texture to use is a mystery.
- mourning songs. They have different songs for different ages.
- Darkness songs. These are performed only within hearing of a Darkness acolyte or priest.
Complex background to the art! The creatures themselves are quite unusual as well and a mystery to most it seems. Nice culture and attitude sections.