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For as long as any of us can remember, the birds of this land have been our friends and allies. They are clever creatures and speak our languages, all of them. We treat them kindly and they return the favor by helping us. Agile sparrows flit between townships and countries, carrying news, trade deals and diplomatic offers. Cunning Ravens sit perched above the shoulders of kings, dispensing advice. Wise Owls teach our children, preparing them for life. Some people even say that birds first taught humans to speak, while others are convinced that some ancient wizard, a friend of all birds, granted them this gift. No matter who spoke first, our lives have always been intertwined with those of our feathered friends. In recent times however, there have been more and more reports of birds losing their voices. They seem to forget how to speak our language and revert to an anguished chirping and cawing. We care as best we can for these friends and hope that this is but a transitory phenomenon. Their tiny avian shoulders carry many responsibilities in our world. I am not quite sure how long this should be, hope this is ok
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Nov 4, 2018 15:15
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 18:41 |
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Kabu, Raven of Ravenhall. 
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Nov 8, 2018 12:16
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The Bridge Your face in the river Kabu sat on the bridge railing, peering down at the water below. The river flowed by lazily and in its clear surface Kabu could see himself. He cocked his head this way and that, and to his great joy saw that his advanced age had not tarnished the glossy black of his feathers, nor the inquisitive look in his eyes. Much as he liked to complain about it, life at Ravenhall was good for a raven. Some said this was because the Magus was kin with the black-feathered birds, going so far as to suggest that ravens played an important role in the Magus’ family tree. Kabu had always scoffed at the notion, fantasies of simple people. In his opinion, the Magus saw to it that the ravens were well cared for simply because he could truly appreciate them as intelligent conversation partners, a role most common folk were sadly not up to par for. He hopped along the railing before throwing himself off and gliding down to the river bank. He angled his head sideways and dipped his beak into the fresh water. There was an ample supply of water in the feeders high up in the rafters of Ravenhall, but Kabu had always preferred to come drink here instead. For this alone he was considered as very adventurous for a raven, maybe that was part of why the Magus had asked him to come on this trip. It had not been an easy decision for old Kabu. It was rare for ravens to leave their home, even for particularly adventurous ones. He had built his nest here with Kira, his mate, over two dozen years ago and the two had lived there happily ever since. A few neighborhood quarrels with other raven pairs, but that was to be expected. Ravens loved and supported each other, but not without much complaining and many snide remarks. The only reason he felt able to go on this journey was that he had managed to convince Kira to accompany him. As long as they were together, no challenge would be insurmountable. As long as they were together, they would be at home. Or so he hoped at least.
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Nov 19, 2018 18:35
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The Rose Gardens +Beautiful +Legendary +Fierce On his way back to the conjugal nest, Kabu landed in the Rose Gardens. He hopped through the alleys, cocking his head this way and that and looking for a rose to pick for Kira. Only the most beautiful flower would do for the most beautiful raven. As he rounded one of the bushes, he caught a glimpse of Justice leaving the gardens. He did not know the midwife personally but had heard the Magus talk of her and had spotted her a few times during previous visits to Ravenhall. While there were many visitors coming to Ravenhall, Justice stood out in his memory. Kabu suddenly realized that it was because in a way, Justice was beautiful for a human. Not physically of course, long fleshy limbs and smooth skin did very little for Kabu, but rather in the way she acted. The way she carried herself and took in the world around her. There seemed to be kindness and joy in all her movements, support and comfort in each of her words. He had met nice and kind humans before, but somehow had not felt the same about them. He couldn’t quite put the talon on why. In any case, Kabu figured there would be time enough to observe Justice during the trip to Umbra. Still he was intrigued why this realization had struck him at that exact moment. He hopped along, lost in his thoughts, completely forgetting what he had come for. Applying Beautiful to Justice, Midwife of Barleytown
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Nov 26, 2018 20:31
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Harper's Road Who you left behind Kabu jerks his head to the side, breaking off the oak twig he is holding in his beak. He lets himself glide down into the grass and adds it to a growing pile of twigs. The sun is rapidly disappearing behind the Oak Hills, bathing the trees in a warm glow. The light has that peculiar quality that Kabu has always associated with the end of summer. To him sunsets were always particularly warm and glowing at that time of year, as if the sun was doing its best to stave off the encroaching night that would soon dominate the day. After picking up as many twigs as possible, Kabu rises above the trees with a few beats of his wings. He flies in a large arc before spotting the road that dips and crests among the hills, and in the distance a thin plume of rising smoke. As he nears the wagon he sees that it has stopped for the night. Down there on the ground, most of the sun is gone, blocked by the hills and trees, but up here in the sky, the light is still fighting. Kabu stops beating his wings and lazily glides towards his destination, basking in the last sun rays. It seems like Kira has had the same idea, Kabu spots her flying in circles above the set-up wagon. He rushes towards her and barrels past in a mad wing-tucked dive before spreading his wings and abruptly looping around. Kira had chased after him, as he had expected and as they come face to face they interlock talons and dance across the fiery sky, letting go and coming back together. When the sun is finally gone, the two ravens land atop the wagon, near the beginnings of their new nest. Kabu drops the twigs and Kira starts working them into their new home. “It took you long enough, I was starting to get worried about you.” She says, chiding him gently, a bit out of breath. “Sorry about making you wait, but there are so many things to see here. The trees feel so different from those back in Ravenhall. I am starting to think the swallows have it right.” “Hah, are you going to start migrating with them? If you hurry you might still catch a flock.” “I think that is a bit too much traveling. There is something to be said about coming back home to your cozy nest at night.” “Speaking of cozy nest,” Kira points at the pile of twigs with her beak, “this one is far from done and I need a few smaller pieces to continue.” As Kabu starts breaking some of the branches into smaller parts, his mind wanders back to their nest in Ravenhall. A true masterpiece of a nest, in his eyes it was the finest one he had ever seen. Kira had been steadily improving it over the last dozen years and if there was one thing both ravens had regretted to leave behind, it was their home. Contrarily to humans, raven families did not stay together and Kira and Kabu’s children had left Ravenhall many years ago to find their own life and partner. They had considered to try and take the nest with them, but over the years it and the tower it was built in had become too interlinked to separate them. So now they had to start anew and while the beginnings looked promising, it would be a while until they started to resemble their old home.
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Dec 14, 2018 11:18
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Farmers Market What you need for the journey Good beer, good year! As he flies lazily over Barleytown, Kabu thought back to the group’s arrival. The Magus had been as slyly mystic as ever. Even after all these years the old raven could not tell if her words carried a higher meaning or not. Following the little ceremony with the Barley Lord, Kabu had paid a brief visit to the keep’s resident raven to announce Kira’s and his arrival. They had exchanged the customary pleasantries before quickly providing each other with an excuse to cut the conversation short. After these formalities Kabu had left the keep behind, as was expected of him by the traditions of ravenkind. He had better things to do anyways, the Magus had given him a list of supplies to buy at the market. As he dives towards the marketplace Kabu decided to start with the most interesting part of the shopping list, time to visit an old friend. He sets down gracefully on the windowsill of Ganseman’s Quills, the premier supplier of writing utensils in Barleytown. It is of course also the only supplier of writing utensils in the region and the only reason it is keeping afloat is the proximity to Ravenhall. As he hops in Kabu spots the gander himself waddling in from the reserve. Gustav Ganseman, quill salesman, poet extraordinaire and goose. People were a bit off put at first, a bird selling quills seemed a bit strange, but no one knew as much about feather, goose or otherwise, than Gustav. “Ah, Kabu!” The gander exclaimed. “How long has it been my friend?” “Far too long Gustav, far too long.” The raven replied, before both birds broke into cheerful honking and cawing. Birds cannot hug each other welcome, nor would they if they could. They instead rely on their language, the common language of birds that carries emotions more than meaning. “So what brings you here? Has the Magus burned through her supply of quills again?” The gander asked. “In a way I suppose. The Magus is setting out on a journey, all the way to Umbra, and the few quills and rolls of vellum we have brought from Ravenhall will not last that long. She also wants to buy enough for all of us to write, keep notes, keep a journal. Not just for her.” “Going to try writing again, are you?” Gustav asked Kabu with a sly grin. “Yes well, we’ll see if the Magus requires this of us or if she only provides the opportunity.” Kabu had always hated writing, his letters were big and rough, shaky and misformed. “In any case, you will need an assortment of quills, let’s see.” Gustav waddled from one rack to the next, already deep in thought. “Some goose feather of course, always a sure bet, especially for beginners. A couple swan feathers for big letters and a few beakful of crow quills for the tiny ones. I met the most delightful crow family earlier this year, excellent plumage, the Magus will love these quills. I daresay she will be able to pack her scrolls even more tightly than before!” “Do you have anyone who can help me carry all this back to the caravan?” Kabu asked anxiously as he added up the amount of quills in his head. “Of course, my apprentice should be back soon, he will bring them to you. Along with some parchment, vellum and ink I assume?” “Enough vellum to blot out the sea!” Kabu replied while hopping towards the door. There was no need to watch Gustav assemble the package, Ravenhall had been buying almost all their writing supplies from him for years and everyone knew that you could trust the gander’s judgement in these matters. “I have a lot of other errands to run, but maybe I can drop by a bit later and you could read me some of your newest poems?” “Ah my newest poems.” Gustav winced, his jovial mood vanished instantly. “I haven’t been writing much lately, the words just don’t come anymore. Not like they used to. Writing has become a struggle.” “I am sorry to hear that Gustav.” Kabu answered, worried about the poet. He had never seen him look this old, this tired. “Then I will drop by and we’ll just talk about the good old days.” The two old birds honked and cawed their good byes, and the raven was off again. The list the Magus had given him was still long.
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Sep 10, 2019 20:07
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 18:41 |
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Inn of the Axe and Fiddle A song of your people As usually the inn was mostly empty in the early morning, any humans that were awake at this hour were awake for work, not leisure. Gustav, Kira and Kabu were sitting together at a table (or on the table in the ravens' case) in a corner. "That is still my favorite of your poems Gustav." Kira cawed as the gander honked the final verse of Over the hills of gold. "But why don't you read us anything new?" "Oh Kira! I wish that I could, but there have been no new poems. As I told Kabu yesterday, the words just don't come to me anymore." He gave her a pained look. "You can't force poetry you know?" "I still don't understand what you mean, do you mean you feel uninspired?" Kabu asked. "It's not a matter of inspiration, I-" Gustav paused for a second. "I just know which word I need, but I can't remember it. I know that I know it, I have no doubt used it hundreds of times. It's there in my mind, but it's fuzzy, I can't grasp it. I don't know if this makes sense." For a moment the three friends stayed silent, Gustav picking at the bowl of grains in front of him, Kabu and Kira looking at each other worriedly. Then Kabu broke the silence. "Bah, who needs new poems when we have classics like Beyond the walls of Ravenhall?" Kabu began humming the familiar tune, it was croaky and rough but soon Kira joined in, and then Gustav and the three of them filled the common room with honks and caws, getting louder and louder as they went on.
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Sep 23, 2019 19:43
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