Phoenix

artwork by queerly

The Phoenix is a large bird native to Drakefire Wood. It is a distant cousin of the peacock, and similar to it in size and appearance. Females tend to be slightly bigger than males, and both sexes grow beautiful, long tail feathers, that require yearly clipping and trimming due to continuous growth.

Despite the legends claiming otherwise, the Eithne Phoenix is not immortal. The species is quite long-lived, however, and with good care can live to be over fifty. They are famous for setting themselves on fire to change into an adult plumage, and are a popular subject in Aodhian artwork as a symbol of reinventing oneself.

## Abilities

The Eithne Phoenix is a fairly large, heavy bird. Although it can fly, it is not particularly good at it, and usually keeps to the ground. When they fly, they make tremendous noise with their wings, and tend to fly dangerously close to the ground, making sudden run-ins with wild specimens something of a yearly spring hazard in Drakefire Woods.

They are famed for setting themselves on fire to come into their adult plumage, but their fire related abilities are limited. The Phoenix can not breathe fire - despite popular depictions in Aodhian artwork - and is best described as fire-resistant, rather than fireproof. They can survive high temperatures, but will die if exposed to a flame not of their own making. Phoenixes can spontaneously combust into flame, and although most individuals only do this at the end of adolescence, some birds may combust again later in life. This does not seem to be entirely within the animal’s control, and seems to be linked more so to stress and excessive molting than any kind of combat ability.

What the Phoenix would truly deserve to be famous for is their beautiful song. They are excellent singers, possessing beautiful, bright voices that can carry for miles on a clear day. Their songs have innate magical properties dependent on the scale. When a Phoenix sings on a major scale, their songs make the listener happy and peaceful, and may evoke feelings of inspiration in certain individuals.  When singing on a minor scale, their songs are instead similar to the Lullaby blessing, putting the listeners to a magically induced, peaceful slumber.

Less charmingly, the Phoenix loves to imitate distinct sounds it hears in its home environment, and can wonderfully recreate all the sounds of screaming children, rude neighbors, yowling cats and off-tune street musicians. They can even mimic speech, but do not learn to speak, instead just repeating words and phases at nauseum.

## Lore

The Phoenix was known to the ancient kirins, and although not common as a pet, it was considered a good therapy animal due to the innate magic of its song. Beautiful public relaxation aviaries were constructed to house them, complete with greenery and water fountains. The Phoenix was not known to other herds, and took no part in God’s War.

Like the Faerie, the Phoenix was ‘rediscovered’ by the equines who settled in Bloom. The magic of their song was soon discovered, and their beauty and magical talent made them popular as pets for artists of all strokes. Although they never received quite the same widespread popularity as the Faerie or Pygmy Dragon, they certainly have their dedicated fans, and are considered a beautiful pet suitable for any member of the upper class - although artists still seem to have a special fondness for the birds.

The Phoenix is considered somewhat of a vain bird - they groom themselves thoroughly and often, and seem to enjoy being the center of attention. When properly kept, the Phoenix is an enthusiastic singer who bonds closely with their owner, and will accompany them everywhere.

The chicks of a Phoenix are born a dull brown-grey color, and are not easily recognized as Phoenixes at all. They retain this color until the cusp of maturity at around two years old. At this time, the adolescent Phoenix will begin to assemble a nest. It will gather any dry, flammable materials from the vicinity into said nest - including wood, paper and fabrics. Clothing, books and draperies are not safe from the determined bird. Once the nest is complete, the bird beds down, and unceremoniously bursts into flame. Once the burning has begun, it can not be stopped, nor can the bird be distracted from its task. House fires caused by Phoenix burning are common with first time owners who have not realized to coax the Phoenix to nest outside.

The burning may last anywhere from just a few minutes to several hours, and will eventually extinguish on its own. After the fire has finished burning, an adult Phoenix emerges with their new, fiery plumage.

## Creation Rules

### Phoenix will **always**

* Resemble a large bird, with a size and overall build similar to a peacock
* Have a warm color as their main body color
* Have feathery wings
* Have a long, silky and flexible tail
* Be born dull brown-grey, and only become colorful in adulthood, after their burning

### Phoenix **can:**

* Have cold colors, black or white as accent colors, but never as a dominant color. At least 70% of the body needs to be warm colors.
* Have eyes that are either a warm color, or blue
* Sport magnificent plumages on their head
* Have feathery collars, or other extra fluff

### Phoenix can **not:**

* Be immortal or undergo multiple burnings
* Be monochrome (including albino and melanistic), nor be mostly cold colors
* Have horns, spikes or batlike traits