Fahris Quill

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The Fahris quill was simply a wing feather from one of several bird varieties, obtained either through natural shedding or as a byproduct of the slaughter process. Geese and duck feathers were the most common, but the eagle, hawk, crow, owl, and swan were also used. The quill was then sharpened, dipped in ink, and used to write on parchment or vellum. As bird feathers tended to be hollow on the inside, it stored ink inside so the user didn’t need to constantly dip the quill into an ink reservoir. The quills were eventually worn down and needed to be replaced. Only several feathers on a bird’s wing were the necessary size and shaped for proper quills. Common writing mediums included parchment and vellum. Papyrus from Alayas was also used, but it was more expensive due to its rarity in the Insular Sea and Fahris Kingdoms regions.

Significance

The Fahris quill was the name used by human kingdoms when referring to the quill, after the people who first used feathers as writing utensils. This relatively new invention caught on quickly among the Fahris domains. It eventually usurped reed pens and wax tablets among their people. Quills entered the realms of men in the wake of the First Venian-Satri War and the Venian conquest of Valinyd. Before then, the Venians and other peoples of the Insular Sea used reed or wooden pens to write. The quill pen was introduced and quickly became a favorite luxury item. Although it never entirely replaced other forms of writing, it became a popular tool among the elite in the region.

Rarity

Once rare, the Fahris quill, as it was known, became more common around the time of the Venian-Satri wars. Fahris bred geese and ducks on vast farms, primarily for both their meat and feathers. In Valinyd and lands further to the south, it remained a more frequent site than in the human kingdoms and empires.

Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quill
https://carlos.emory.edu/htdocs/ODYSSEY/ROME/writ.html