Kenku

Songbirds without a song to sing, the Kenku are a wretched people, cursed to an incomplete existence. Children of filth and squalor, they are the result of a divine curse which has doomed their kind for generations on end.

Origin 

Before they were the Kenku, there were the Aarakocra: prideful, mischievous and vain creatures which acted as guardians of nature in the Feywild. These creatures were infamous for toying with unsuspecting mortals who threatened to infringe upon the beauty of the wilderness. Thus, when a mysterious woman, a companion to darkness, chose to stride into their world, they toyed with her all the same. They pridefully stood against her, mocking her appearance and apparent confidence. They attempted to trick her and make her their plaything. Unfortunately, these Aarkocra had made a terrible mistake: they had attempted to play a trick on Teresa, Goddess of Final Judgment. And she was not amused.
Teresa had come down from the Celestial Plane to punish the blasphemy and vanity of the Feywild. And as a part of this punishment, she wrought a sickly plague upon countless Aarakocra. The darkness ripped their wings from their body, causing them to crumble to the ground. It seared their feathers black, leaving them with a dull, lifeless plumage. And it swelled in their throats, ripping their voices from their bodies. These birds would never sing again.|
The newly formed Kenku resorted to crying out in horrid, raspy voices. As they did, Teresa opened a pit of darkness in the Feywild: the Great Sickness. Many of these Kenku, wallowing in their own despair, leapt into the pit, and were swallowed by the darkness. They would come to inhabit the Shadowfell. Others, too ashamed to continue in the Feywild, would come to the mortal plane, where they would live out their days mourning their lost songs.

Description 

The Kenku of Tetraverium are feeble, wretched creatures. They stand at roughly 5 feet tall, and weigh between 60 to 120 pounds. They reach maturity at age 14, and most don’t live longer than 60 years. They tend to have small frames and weak bodies. They have dark black feathers across their bodies, sharp talons for feet, beady black eyes, and protruding beaks for mouths. Others have more distinctly human features, with less protruding beaks or even normal mouths. Others have normal human legs.

Socialization 

Most Kenku have spent most of their mortal existences living in shame and squalor. They are traditionally looked down upon as vermin, hiding in the streets and falling into poverty. Many consider them bad luck, and will move away if a Kenku comes to live nearby. Smaller villages and towns have habits of running Kenkus out of town, out of fear of their kind.
Kenku struggle with their voices: they are usually raspy, coarse, and sound horrible. Instead, they take to the art of mimicry: a mysterious talent honed culturally over the years, that they seemed to have a natural talent for. While a Kenku’s own voice is usually less than preferable, they have the ability to mimic others. Some Kenku can speak in another’s voice perfectly, stringing together new sentences and ideas. Others struggle with their mimicry, only able to repeat back statements they have heard prior.
Kenku have become famous for their supernatural memory, able to recall things with impressive talent. Some Kenku have been accepted into society for this trait, particularly into arcane study. Kenku can be found in the towers of mages, simply to recite back information to them. Others are given jobs working in libraries and other collections of knowledge. Kenku are best known for their work in criminal groups and syndicates: Grayscale, or the Arzukan Mafia, is infamous for employing Kenku to recall the routes through sewers, combinations to vaults, and other helpful information.
Kenku are flightless, to a supernatural degree. Many have tried to find ways to circumvent this, with prosthetic wings or magical spells. However, Kenku who attempt to find these loopholes, even as far as mastering the ‘Fly’ spell, are often stricken with exceptional bad luck. Countless poems and plays have been written around this, particularly in Zinshali or Sunkangden. Kenku are simply cursed to never fly again.
Whereas many Kenku came to live normal lives in the mortal plane, others find themselves doomed to the darkness. The Shadowfell is filled with pockets of Kenku society. These Kenku are often cult-like, violent, and dangerous. They have frequent conflicts with the Cognethels, warring for control over territory. Many resent the Legislator’s Asylum, attempting to tear down its walls or murder the Cognethels that live there. They resign themselves to living in valleys or on mountains, ever-fearful of the more powerful undead that walk the realm.

Living in Tetraverium 

Despite the modern age, Kenku continue to be victims of discrimination and superstition. The Holy Kingdom have made efforts to support their kind, but they are minimal at best. There aren’t many Kenku communities outside of the Shadowfell, leading many Kenku to be loners. The largest centers of population for their kind are Nerukudo, the Gray Isles, and Usheldom.
The Kenku of the Shadowfell have maintained their wretched, violent behavior. As connections between the mortal plane and the Shadowfell have strengthened, many have bridged the gap to Usheldom or the mortal plane. There, they struggle with mortal customs, used to a life of violence and pain. Others simply come to the mortal plane to acquire sacrifices for their dark overlords in the Shadowfell.

Subraces 

There are no Kenku subraces.

Mechanics

If you select Kenku as your species, you gain the following traits:

Ability Score Increase: You can increase one Ability Score by 2 and another Ability Score by 1.
Creature Type: You are a Humanoid.
Size: Your size is Medium or Small. You choose the size when you select this race.
Speed: Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision: You have Darkvision out to a range of 120 ft. 
Expert Duplication: When you copy writing or craftwork produced by yourself or someone else, you have advantage on any ability checks you make to produce an exact duplicate.
Kenku Recall: Thanks to your supernaturally good memory, you have proficiency in two skills of your choice.
Moreover, when you make an ability check using any skill in which you have proficiency, you can give yourself advantage on the check before rolling the d20. You can give yourself advantage in this way a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Mimicry: You can accurately mimic sounds you have heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations only with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check against a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.
Flightless Acrobatics: You have a climb speed equal to your walk speed.
Languages: Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language.