The day had dawned crisp and clear, the air brisk as the seasons turned and turned again. Longheat’s oppressive weight had broken the day before, but the sun’s warmth still lingered as it rose above the horizon and spread gentle runners across the world below. It was a good omen, Jigano thought, perched on a bough looking to the east. He fluffed his feathers, then chirred encouragement at a small, reddish-grey gryphon who was hunting nearby, her long tail lashing as she prepared to pounce on a foraging mouse.
He was not alone on his perch. A full trio of ravens waited past the edge of the Woodlands where the barrier had once kept them caged, outside of the Hollowed Grounds. Two sleekly black and glossy birds and one looking a bit greyer and dustier, a bit worse for wear than his friends. The three birds made occasional soft noises at each other, or shifted to higher or lower branches to investigate bugs for a mid-morning snack, but they seemed content for the moment to wait where they were.
Jigano hoped they wouldn’t be waiting for long. He had been living in his animal shapes for a few days, hiding his stark white coat with dye and dust and ash so that those who even knew of several of his forms wouldn’t be able to track him. He was expecting two more to arrive, friends he had tentatively asked to join him once more, though he was hesitant to do so after how their last exploration had gone. The Greatwood had cost them all dearly, in pain and trauma and shattered confidence in themselves, and perhaps history was doomed to repeat itself… But he couldn’t give up without at least trying again. He had fallen apart, surrendered to his despair and guilt once, and the shadows of that breakdown still clung to him like cobwebs. Thanks to his friends and the family he had found he had risen again, determination shaken and fragile but intact enough that he had found the strength to reach out once more.
And so he waited, eyes to the east, ready to take wing and chase the sunrise once his fellow explorers arrived to help expand their world a little further.
This is a closed Attuned-Only avian PQ to explore the region to the East of the Hollowed Grounds!
1. Amalia
2. Kiada
He was not alone on his perch. A full trio of ravens waited past the edge of the Woodlands where the barrier had once kept them caged, outside of the Hollowed Grounds. Two sleekly black and glossy birds and one looking a bit greyer and dustier, a bit worse for wear than his friends. The three birds made occasional soft noises at each other, or shifted to higher or lower branches to investigate bugs for a mid-morning snack, but they seemed content for the moment to wait where they were.
Jigano hoped they wouldn’t be waiting for long. He had been living in his animal shapes for a few days, hiding his stark white coat with dye and dust and ash so that those who even knew of several of his forms wouldn’t be able to track him. He was expecting two more to arrive, friends he had tentatively asked to join him once more, though he was hesitant to do so after how their last exploration had gone. The Greatwood had cost them all dearly, in pain and trauma and shattered confidence in themselves, and perhaps history was doomed to repeat itself… But he couldn’t give up without at least trying again. He had fallen apart, surrendered to his despair and guilt once, and the shadows of that breakdown still clung to him like cobwebs. Thanks to his friends and the family he had found he had risen again, determination shaken and fragile but intact enough that he had found the strength to reach out once more.
And so he waited, eyes to the east, ready to take wing and chase the sunrise once his fellow explorers arrived to help expand their world a little further.
This is a closed Attuned-Only avian PQ to explore the region to the East of the Hollowed Grounds!
2. Kiada
