Kenku

### Language(s)

Kenku (Language), Common (understood but can't speak), Thren (Written language using a system of knots)

## 5e Statistics

### 5e CR

1/4

**Kenku** are a race of crow-like humanoids in Eberron. Haunted by an ancient crime that robbed them of their wings, the flightless kenku wander the world as vagabonds and burglars who live at the edge of human society. Kenku suffer from a sinister reputation that is not wholly unearned, but they can prove to be valuable allies.

## **Appearance**

Kenku have corvine heads with a large beak and glossy black feathers, which covered their whole body except for their bird-like arms and legs. Unlike aarakocra, they lack wings. Kenku are smaller than humans, averaging only 5 feet tall and weighing only between 90 and 120 pounds.

## History and Society

Kenku hatch like birds and dwell in family aeries and nests, most of which are located in or near large cities. At age nine, a young adult kenku leaves the home-nest forever and strikes out on its own, usually falling in with small groups of like-minded kenku. Adult kenku remain with these groups for mutual protection and gain. A few strike out on their own or partner with other types of creatures who value the services a kenku can provide.

Historically, Kenku could be found among the monstrous creatures of Droaam. When humans began to settle Khorvaire, native kenku were intrigued by the tall heights of human-made towers, and so a small but notable population can be found in the walls most cities. There is a more significant community of kenku who enjoy living atop the high towers of Sharn. Because of their presence in most human cities and their natural affinity for mimicry and deception, kenku have several organizations primarily devoted to espionage and thievery. The kenku spy ring Nightswift has secret halls in major cities across southern Khorvaire, while the largest kenku criminal organization is Shadoweye's Flock in Starilaskur. The crime gang Daask in Sharn includes kenku among its members.

The largest community of kenku in Khorvaire is the floating city of Piddlewick, which drifts across the Scions Sea and consists of a massive collection of ships and rafts strung together to form a single landmass. They remain agressively neutral in negotiations between other nations, although they have an obvious distain for Thrane. Piddlewick's stance of neutrality has made it a popular safe haven for Lhazaar pirates traveling in Scions Sea, which surely contributes to the kenku's poor reputation in the five nations.

## Kenku Creation Myths

Much like the diverse peoples of mankind, kenku can't seem to agree on their true origins.

### Kenku: Simple Bird Folk

Although some may weave epic tales of the kenku's mythic history and fall from grace, it is entirely possible that kenku simply evolved from mundane ravens living inside Lamannian manifest zones.

### Kenku: Forgotten Exiles

*Once upon a time, the archfey known as the Forgotten Prince found a clutch of raven eggs. Their mother had been slain and the eggs forgotten, so the Prince took them back to the Castle of Lost Things, where he raised the ravens as if they were his own children. As the ravens grew, they wandered the halls and explored all that was lost. When they came of age, the Prince asked them each to prove their unique talents. The first raven sang a beautiful song. The second told an intriguing story. The third cast a remarkable spell, and the fourth dueled cleverly with a blade. Yet with each impressive feat, the Prince grew ever more angry. For while the ravens presented these achievements as their own, the Forgotten Prince recognized them. Each was the creation of a mortal of Khorvaire, each abandoned and taken to the vaults of the Castle of Lost Things. Despite the ravens’ skills, the Prince could not abide both the plagiarism and the lies, so he stole their voices as punishment and he cast his children out into the world. “Go, and do not return until you have a true marvel of your own devising."*

True or not, this tale is told of the kenku. Like many tales of Thelanis, the story defies time and does not need evidence to become "real"; this version is shared in Aundair, but a different version of the tale was told by the Dhakaani dirge singers, and yet another form can be found in the scrolls of the Cul’sir giants. This story plays out time and time again, and each time it takes root, a new clutch of kenku is cast into the world to seek redemption. Not all kenku believe this myth, and even among those who do, no kenku has ever had any memory of their supposed childhood spent in Thelanis. Such is the strange memory-altering magics of the feywild, they claim.

As a kenku character who believes in this myth, you and your brethren likely inspired the most recent version of that tale. You’ve since been thrown into the Five Nations to atone for your lie and to seek an accomplishment to call your own. When exactly were you cast out? That’s up to you, as Thelanis has a casual relationship with time (and truth). What’s important is that you have been shamed, and you can only undo that shame by mastering the path you previously mimicked and creating a truly unique technique. Many kenku who believe this myth still follow the Forgotten Prince, and steal unloved objects and undervalued secrets as sacrifice to the Prince in exchange for his guidance and gifts. While his thefts often go unnoticed by the greater world, the Forgotten Prince also takes pleasure in seeing celebrated people whose reputations are undeserved brought low, and his agents may act to expose such poseurs.

### Kenku: Fallen Angels

Long ago, the kenku were black-winged angels who served The Raven Queen as her emissaries. Their voices called across the planes of existence to the souls of the deceased, beckoning them towards the Queen's embrace. During an ancient war in the Age of Demons, the kenku narrowly saved the Raven Queen from an attack by the eldest of the demonic Overlords. In this attack they were thought to have been annihilated, but when the great evil was sealed, the kenku reemerged forever changed. They were greatly diminished, having been rendered mortal, stripped of their wings, and memories of their angelic existence. It is said that the kenku knew the true name of the Raven Queen, and gave up their voice so that the great evil could never force it from their beaks.

There are also darker versions of this myth, which claim that the kenku instead betrayed the Raven Queen and were cast out and cursed with their mortal form as punishment. As a kenku character who believes in this myth, you almost certainly feel a close connection with spirits, and might even seek out a manifest zone of Dolurrh to converse with the dead. Depending on which version of the myth you believe, you might be proud or ashamed of your people's mythic history. You might worship the Raven Queen as a vassal of the Sovereign Host, serve the Silver Flame to continue your ancestors' fight against the forces of darkness, or embrace necromancy thanks to your innate connection with the dead. Because of the two versions of this myth, kenku have a complicated relationship with the Church of the Silver Flame that ebbs and flows with the tide of silver zealotry. There have been periods of time when kenku were hunted as monsters, much like shifters, and times where kenku are heralded as heroes. In the modern day, temples of the flame sometimes allow families of kenku to nest within them... but the clergy rarely trusts their neighbors completely.

## **Powers and Abilities**

Despite their inability to speak on their own, kenku can mimic a wide variety of sounds, including the voices of other humanoids. These imitations sound identical to their original source to all except for the most discerning ear. Kenku can use this mimicry ability to communicate with other humanoids by stitching together words and phrases from different conversations the kenku has overheard. Talking with a kenku can feel like trying to decode a jarring collage between dozens of out-of-context audio clips. A kenku's affinity for mimicry also extends to their craftsmanship, being deft at creating forgeries and copies of existing objects. Whether or not the myth of kenku's angelic heritage is true, they seem to be particularly resistant against the ennui of Dolurrh.

### Language

Despite not being able to create their own words, kenku speak among eachother using the sounds of the world. The kenku "language" is the most literal language possible: the