Harrowgulls
"If the Harrowgull is laughing, you’ll be weeping soon."
The Harrowgull is a rare, black-feathered seabird native to Everwealth’s wind-scoured coastlines. Though small in stature and rarely seen in flocks, the Harrowgull is feared far more than its size suggests. Its arrival is said to presage disaster, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings, and its ember-glow eyes and bone-piercing laugh evoke tales of death’s own mocking herald. In many ports, to kill one is to curse oneself, and coastal folk speak its name only in hushed tones. Yet some alchemists and dark scholars covet its remains, as its glowing eyes retain their fire for days after death and its feathers are said to repel restless spirits. With its numbers dwindling from misguided retaliation and black market harvesting, the Harrowgull now soars through myth as much as through sky.Basic Information
Anatomy
Harrowgulls resemble stout, slightly hunched seagulls with pitch-black feathers that shimmer faintly in direct moonlight. Their beaks are narrower and slightly hooked, ideal for scavenging both fish and carrion. What truly distinguishes them are their ember lit eyes, shifting between hues of red, orange, and yellow, as though flames flicker within their skulls. Their cries are not cries, but cackles, a rasping, twisted mimicry of human laughter. Their wings are shorter than typical seabirds, but broader, granting them slow, haunting glides that make them eerily silent in flight.
Genetics and Reproduction
Harrowgulls reproduce only once every five years, laying a clutch of no more than two eggs on remote cliffside ledges. The eggs are the same obsidian shade as their parents’ feathers, warm to the touch even in cold winds. Parent birds care deeply for their young, guarding them relentlessly. If one Harrowgull is killed near a nest, the remaining parent often mourns with days of uninterrupted, echoing cries, an event sometimes interpreted by coastal dwellers as a Wail of Mourning, a sound associated with doom and misfortune.
Growth Rate & Stages
- Chick (0-1 year): Pale gray with dull eyes. Quiet and flightless, nourished by regurgitated fish.
- Fledgling (1-3 years): Begins to gain black feathers and starts to emit soft, breathy chuckles.
- Mature Harrowgull (4-35 years): Fully black, cackling, and considered dangerous to kill.
- Elder Harrowgull (35+ years): Eyes burn brighter; sightings of elders are associated with mass casualties or entire ship losses.
Ecology and Habitats
Harrowgulls dwell along rocky shorelines, sea cliffs, and abandoned lighthouses. They nest where storms are fiercest, feeding on dead sea creatures, bloated corpses, and carrion washed ashore. Their presence discourages scavengers and other birds. Plants near Harrowgull nesting sites grow in wild, uncontrolled ways, brambles bloom out of season, moss carpets entire rockfaces, and strange fungi emerge with no known seed or spore source. Some scholars believe Harrowgulls exude a field of latent magick that warps local nature, though no formal studies have returned alive from such sites.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Carnivorous scavengers, Harrowgulls favor rotting fish, drowned corpses, and alchemical waste. They are immune to most toxins, and even seem to thrive on diseased meat. They hunt rarely, preferring instead to follow storms or disasters, circling until carrion becomes available. A single Harrowgull can go weeks without feeding, only to gorge itself on the dead in a frenzy.
Biological Cycle
The Harrowgull exhibits seasonal changes most visibly in its eyes, growing dimmer in summer, and flaring bright as harvest season and autumn approach. It does not hibernate but will vanish inland during cold, stormless winters, returning only when disaster looms or the seas grow violent. In spring, feathers molt and regrow with faint crimson tips. Some fishermen say this change signals the Reaping Tide, a time of drowning.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Harrowgulls can detect shifts in air pressure, the scent of human blood, and even trace amounts of sorrow or fear, many believe they can smell despair. They seem drawn to places of recent loss, and can spot a drowning sailor from miles away. Their eyes pierce fog and magick alike, rumored to see the soul’s warmth as a color distinct from the body.
Scientific Name
Larus damnatus.
Origin/Ancestry
Folk tales claim the Harrowgull was once a messenger of the gods, spirit of mourning mercy turned bitter by the weight of souls it ferried. As disasters grew more frequent, its sacred nature rotted, and it became a creature of mockery, sorrowful no more.
Conservation Status
While not officially protected, many communities warn sternly against harming Harrowgulls. A few obscure monastic orders are believed to track their migratory patterns, and small coastal towns have begun performing “Gull Cleansings”, ceremonies of apology and reverence after a Harrowgull is harmed. Their population is in sharp decline, yet they persist in stories and omens, eternal birds that haunt the edge of storm and sea.
Geographic Distribution
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