A Bird's Eye View: Windhaven

Vantra set her pack on the floor and flumped onto the living room couch. Kenosera crashed next to her, groaning. Yut-ta sprawled in the padded armchair and sank into the tropical flower softness, eyes droopy.

Mera, curled in another padded chair, lowered the book she read and eyed them. "What happened?"

"Fyrij* happened," Yut-ta told her. "He decided we should see Windhaven."

Mera blinked. "Windhaven?"

"I know, I know, we've only been here a few days. But Fyrij already has favorite places and he decided we needed to see them after Vantra asked how he got so sticky."

"My feet don't want to walk anywhere ever again," Kenosera moaned.


* pronounced fear-y

A Bird's Eye View of Windhaven

by your curious little caroling,
Fyrij the Tirelessly Inquisitive

In this Research Document:

all images by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated

Pie-cooling Shelf

Mera tossed her book onto the stand, amusement apparent despite the attempt to keep it sequestered. "So where'd he take you?"

Kenosera tried to laugh, and Vantra nudged him with her elbow. "It's not funny," she scolded.

"What isn't?" Mera asked.

"He discovered Pie-cooling Shelf," Kenosera said.

"Attached to a cottage just off the main lane to the Zephyr ranch house is the Pie-cooling Shelf," Vantra explained. "Upon this weathered wooden surface an unlucky baker named Macheska cools her wares.

"These wares are delicious pies made from a myriad of fruits—and Fyrij is fond of the mumble berry ones. The baker told us that for the past four days, some creature scraped a small triangle of pie from the tin and left bird-prints and feathers in the juices dribbled all across the shelf.

"That creature, of course, was Fyrij."

"Of course," Mera sighed.

"Macheska offered to bake him his own tiny pies," Kenosera grumbled. "She loved that he proudly showed off her hard work to us. She said she'd send some up to the house so we could all enjoy them."

"Qira will like that," Mera said, glancing around the parlor. "Where is Fyrij, anyway? He'll need a bath, to wash off the pie."

"He zipped to Qira and snuggled in for a nap," Kenosera said. "And yes, the next place he took us had a wash basin, so you don't have to worry about him getting his hair sticky."

Yut-ta howled, and Vantra hissed at him. "It's not funny," she insisted.

Mera raised an eyebrow.

"The wash basin was in Bendsheen Shrine."

De-stickifying a Caroling

The Bendsheen Shrine

Mera's eyes widened as Vantra huffed. "You know the shallow silver one at the front, beneath the wicker statue of Bendsheen the Wavewalker? The one for the priests? He whisked over the congregation at service and dumped himself into it, then had a squabble with the birds already there and interrupted the sermon. The acolyte manning the door told us birds flit in and take a bath in it because the water contains fresh jad leaf oil."

"He did smell nice afterwards," Kenosera said. "Like fresh bread with a tangy honey twist."

"The acolyte said jad leaf oil keeps smaller birds from being swallowed by crackjade snakes," Yut-ta said as he stretched. "It burns their scales, so the birds coat themselves in it to stay safe from that predator. He thought it was good that Fyrij found the basin; the forest around Zephyr Ranch has its share of crackjades."

"That's true, it does. But since curiosity can kill a caroling, he's shielded by a combo Darkness and Light spell. If a snake swallows him, indigestion would be the least of its worries." Mera shrugged.

"That's good, because the acolytes shooed him away before he washed all the sticky off," Vantra said. "So he flew to another water source to rinse clean, and the oil washed away."

Windflip Waterfall

"Yes, but the waterfall was nice," Kenosera said. "It was cooler in the mist than anywhere else we visited, and the beautiful rainbows at the bottom bathe everything in color. Have you been to Windflip Waterfall, Mera?"

"Many times. The winds blow strangely there, and don't strip the ryiam from the water like in other Windtwist Isles locales. It's a good place for ghosts to refresh their energy reserves."

"I don't think I've seen a waterfall where the water changes direction mid-fall and empties into a pool two-widths over," Yut-ta said.

"The visitor's plaque said it's a natural occurrence." Vantra leaned forward and eyed Mera. "But it seems too fantastical. Does Nem Hala bless it?"

She shook her head. "Not as far as I know. I'm betting a strake tampered with the wind direction, funneling it through those lava tubes so the continual gusts hit the water just right."

The Zipdowns

"That seems like something a strake would do," Vantra admitted, sinking back and worming for a better position. "They love to manipulate nature in odd ways."

"Do you think the Zipdowns are strake-created as well?" Kenosera asked. "Fyrij was pretty soggy—"

"He fell into the pool trying to retrieve a lost toy for a child," Vantra said. "Kenosera rescued both."

He laughed. "I just waded in. Anyway, he sat on Vantra's shoulder and pointed his wing in the direction he wanted us to go. That's where we ended up, and he didn't have to stand long in the wind barreling down the mountainside before he was a dry puff of feathers and fur."

"I'm surprised the gusts are hard enough to drive surfers downhill and then up the ramps," Yut-ta said, awed.

"The competitions are incredible," Mera said, beaming. "I can see why they caught Fyrij's attention. Flips, spins, somersaults, mid-air, all done without the safety net of being a ghost. But the stray gust will obliterate a lead in seconds." She snapped her fingers.

Points of Interest

Little Light

Mera lounged back, propped her elbow on the chair's arm and settled her cheek in her palm. "So where else did Fyrij take you?"

"Well, once he got his wings back, he flew towards the distant brilliant light winking on a precipice," Vantra told her.

"He flew to Little Light?" Mera asked, laughing in disbelief. "That's a ways from the Zipdowns."

"We took the underground railcars to get there," Kenosera said.

"We'd still be walking, if we hadn't," Yut-ta reminded him.

"It's beautiful," Vantra breathed. "I know it's just a one-room shrine, but it gleamed with Light."

"It's tall, bright, and striped, so it's used as a lighthouse," Mera said. "Qira likes it because the offering basins below the Light pool aren't gold, but wood."

"Fyrij wasn't interested in all that," Vantra said. "He wanted a purple flower from the bushes that surround the shrine. He plucked one, waited for us to arrive, and promptly stuck it in his special pocket on my pack."

"That's all he wanted," Kenosera agreed. "We gawked, amazed, and he flew away."

Haven Markets

"Where did he go?" Mera asked.

"He was hungry, so flew downhill to the Haven Markets. I'm not sure I've been to a place with so much food. The desert's sparse at the best of times, so it seems unfathomable to have that much to eat in one place."

"The markets are quite the experience," Mera agreed. "All the blinking lights and bright signs, and food from all over the Evenacht!"

"I'm really surprised they have neon," Vantra said. "The Evenacht is usually allergic to modern Talin technology."

"They've had it since I can remember," Mera said. "I'm not sure how they started, though."

Kenosera leaned over and dug in Vantra's pack, withdrawing several glossy brochures. He opened the brightest pink one. "This says the markets began as a single noodle shop founded by local surfing legend Caver Shal. He was fascinated with the descriptions ghosts gave of neon on Talis, so hired one to make him a sign. It's still there, in all its outrageous pink glory.

"Others saw his success, and followed suit with eyewatering brightness. The markets were born."

"We ate at the Luscious Fruit." Yut-ta rubbed his tummy. "Fantastic food. Then Fyrij flew up with a fake coin he nipped from some decoration, and we decided to leave before the bling overcame him."

"Wise choice," Mera said.

Tempest and Wistful Aquarium

"Quite the day," she continued. "No wonder you're tired."

"Oh, it wasn't over," Yut-ta told her. "He made a fuss and flew down several streets before landing on a fence overlooking a giant skeleton."

"The aquarium?" Mera asked.

"Yep. He flew in and out of the bones, fascinated. We decided to tour the rest of the place."

"The fish were pretty," Vantra breathed. "So many colorful ones swimming in colorful corals. Fyrij would land on the nearest perch and stare at the scales reflecting the light."

"They're so different from the ones Merdia has," Kenosera said. "And the giant waveslicers?" He shuddered. "I wouldn't want to meet one in the wild. I think their teeth were are long as my hand!"

"The aquarium runs a rehab," Mera said. "It's the only reason they have waveslicers and other large sharks. Once they heal, if they aren't released back into the wild, they die quickly. The crescentback, though. He wandered up to the aquarium one day and didn't leave. They took him in and he's been happily turtling in their largest tank for hundreds of years. I think he got tired of hunting for food and decided someone else could do that for him."

"He put his nose to the glass and Fyrij rubbed his head against it," Vantra said. "A group of kids rushed in from the outdoor pools and Fyrij saw the bushes lining the walkway through the closing door. He sprinted to reach them and snagged one with blue petals and rosy stamens before staff stopped him."

Rainbow Beaches

"And that was when he tugged on Vantra's cloak, all excited, and we followed him to the exit facing the sea," Kenosera said with a yawn.

Mera nodded. "The Rainbow Beaches."

"All the sand around Merdia is a yellow-orange color," he breathed. "But we saw more than yellow and orange. Blues, greens, pinks and reds, purples and pastel violets..."

"All the sand starts out as white or pale yellow," Mera said. "It's stained by waves washing waste from bioluminescent bacteria onto shore. Traditional clothing makers have special containers in which they collect the waste, and they dye cloth made from local cloudflowers with it. It's why Tempest and Wistful traditional garb is so bright."

Ewern Park

"We walked the length of them, and while the Evenacht has cloudy sunsets, the pastels were still beautiful," Vantra said. "By then, we were tired. We wanted to come back, but Fyrij took off again. There was a park with tall entry gates painted the same colors as the beaches. People sat on blankets, eating and listening to a band on a raised stage. They played traditional island instruments along with modern Talin keyboards and electric strings.

"We got some treats and sat under a tree and listened. There were eight performers, I think? Fyrij happily sang away with the music."

"Ewern Park is known for its outdoor concerts," Mera said. "And they're popular this time of year, right after the Gales of Wrath subside." She glanced at the dawn-brightened window, then at Yut-ta and Kenosera, who had fallen asleep. "Well, tomorrow's another day, and Tempest and Wistful Islands have much more to see."