Aves
Keepers of the Divided Truth
Aves are a scholarly, bird-like people driven by a near-religious reverence for knowledge, logic, and written truth. Small and light of frame, their sharp beaks and expressive plumage speak to both their ancestry and the Codex they serve. Following the Sundering of the Aerolith Codex, a civil war that split their once-unified people, Aves divided into three lineages: the shadowed Grave, the radiant Sol, and the arcane Great Horned. Each guards its own Codex and philosophy, believing their record of history is the truest lens through which Erenel must be understood.
The Aves are an avian people known for their keen intellect, striking plumage, and unshakable devotion to written truth. Small in stature but formidable in mind, they believe knowledge is something to be preserved, refined, or transformed depending on the philosophy of their lineage. Once united under a singular purpose, the Aves now live in the long shadow of a terrible civil war that shattered their people, their great library, and the truth they once held dear.
This war, known as the War of Quills, split the Aves into three distinct lineages: the Grave, who preserve history in totality no matter the cost; the Sol, who refine and illuminate truth through law and clarity; and the Great Horned, who weave knowledge into magic and believe truth must evolve with understanding. Each lineage safeguards its own Codex, a living record of truth filtered through their beliefs. These Codices, Nocturnis, Solari, and Arcanum, are central to Aves society, and every member of the species is born into a Codex’s doctrine.
Though their philosophies differ, all Aves are driven by a shared compulsion to record the world. They build elegant cliffside nests near their Codices, inscribe memories with quilled precision, and argue for hours over the ethics of a footnote. Whether you play as a Grave archivist burdened by ancestral truth, a Sol orator wielding law like sunlight, or a Great Horned scribe who speaks in glyphs and spell work, to be Aves is to ask: "What is truth worth and who should be allowed to shape it."
Basic Information
Anatomy
Aves are small, feathered humanoids who stand between 3 and 4 feet tall. Their bodies are lightweight, supported by hollow bones and a unique muscular structure that favors gliding and vertical movement over brute strength. Many Aves are surprisingly agile, using their light frame to navigate complex environments with grace. Their posture tends to be stooped or hunched forward, a trait that grows more pronounced with age and is seen as a mark of long study and wisdom.
Their most prominent features are their sharp, curved beaks which vary in size and shape by lineage, and their expressive, plumage covered bodies, with denser feathering along the arms, shoulders, and upper back. Each lineage carries distinct feather coloration: Grave Aves bear dark, matte tones like charcoal, ash, and indigo; Sol Aves shine with brilliant golds, whites, and sun-kissed reds; and Great Horned Aves wear earth-toned camouflage of green and bark-brown. Eye color is typically bright and glassy, with hues of amber, sapphire, or silver, and most Aves have three-toed talons on their feet, perfect for gripping perches, cliffside shelves, or scroll-wrapped lecterns.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
The Aves view names as reflections of both identity and ideology, with each name carrying deep linguistic symbolism and social context. Every Aves is given a personal name at hatching by their parents. Upon reaching adulthood they officially claim their Feathername, a poetic or symbolic surname earned through action, discovery, or recognition by a mentor. This Feathername represents how an Aves wishes to be remembered and is often inscribed in Codex records.
Masculine Names
Caelis, Drennar, Jareek, Orain, Saem, ThuinFeminine Names
Calyne, Keeri, Ivelle, Myrrin, Saela, VelraFeathernames
Brightcry, Dawnscript, Quillcrest, Scrolltide, Tomekeeper, WhisperplumeCulture and Cultural Heritage
Aves Nests
Aves settlements are known as nests: tight-knit towns built into cliffsides, tree canopies, canyon walls, or floating terraces depending on the region and lineage. Each nest serves as an extension of the nearby lineage Codex, and it is customary for nests to be within flying distance of their Codex stronghold. This proximity allows scholars, messengers, and fledglings to make regular pilgrimages for study, ceremony, or the delivery of written records. While modest in size, nests are designed with layered walkways, vertical tunnels, and open-air roosts that emphasize elevation over sprawl.
Nests belong exclusively to one lineage, and cross-lineage habitation is rare, often viewed with quiet suspicion. Each nest reflects the philosophy of its Codex: Grave nests are quiet and solemn, lined with obsidian script pillars; Sol nests dazzle with sun-polished copper roofs, mirrored windows, and timekeeping spires; and Great Horned nests hum with ambient magical resonance, where the bond is woven into the very architecture. The eldest Aves of a nest, often called Quillkeepers, manage its archives, preserve its traditions, and oversee the rites of passage for younger flock members.
History
War of Quills
Long ago, before their division into Grave, Sol, and Great Horned lineages, the Aves were united under the Skybound Concord, caretakers of the singular Aerolith Codex, an enormous living tome perched at the summit of the Talon Heights Mountains. But a dangerous truth was discovered within the Codex. Some say it was a divine flaw, others a spell that could unravel the Bond. Whatever it was, it fractured the Concord, and peace turned to bloodshed.
“One truth. Three feathers. Countless wounds.”
War of Quills Timeline
Year 122 EoIF – The Discovery
- In the early years of the Era of Inner Flame (EoIF), the Skybound Concord discovers a dangerous truth hidden in the deepest layers of the Aerolith Codex.
- Initial disagreements spark between factions of inkcallers and archivists. Aves society remains officially unified, but tension spreads across scholarly circles.
Year 124 EoIF – The Quill Disputes
- The Sol Aves faction begins burning "tainted" passages. The Grave Aves retaliate by seizing and entombing scrolls. The Great Horned Aves try to mediate, calling for interpretation, not erasure.
- Clashes begin in the skies around the Codex. Scribes refuse to collaborate. Scholars refuse to speak to former colleagues.
Year 127 EoIF – War of Quills Begins
- A full civil war erupts between Sol and Grave Aves after a failed ceasefire summit results in the assassination of the Grave Aves, Dirvahn.
- The Great Horned Aves declare neutrality but begin evacuating portions of the Aerolith Codex to protect it.
- The Battle at Feather's Cradle marks the first full-scale battle between Aves lineages.
Year 132 EoIF – Sundering of the Aerolith Codex
- The floating Aerolith Spire is destroyed in a final arcane strike during the Siege of the Shattered Nest.
- Pages rain for days. Thousands of years of writing and collective memory are lost.
- Survivors scatter. The Skybound Concord is no more.
Year 136 - 150 EoIF – Codex Foundations
- Grave Aves retreat beneath the Talon Heights mountains before establishing Ravenspur city and their Codex Nocturnis.
- Sol Aves depart to the Scabbard Wastes, founding Blazing Dawn Roost and their Codex Solari.
- Great Horned Aves reclaim the fractured remains of the Aerolith Codex and begin their Codex Arcanum at Galemoore, a city on Tempest's Edge mountains, the farthest western mountain range on Erenel.
Lifespan
About 150 years
Average Height
Small (about 3-4 feet tall)
Grave Aves
by Jarek Madyda
by Dean Spencer
The Three Codices
Codex Arcanum
Lineage: Great Horned AvesLocation: Galemoore, Tempest’s Edge Mountains
Codex Form: A living vault of bound arcane feathers, suspended runes, and enchanted parchment that rearranges based on magical resonance. Scribes here “tether-write” using bonded ink that pulse in time with the eight schools of magic.
Purpose: The Codex Arcanum is a manifesto of magic itself, recording discoveries in tethering, innovations in spell craft, and secrets hidden in the Bond. Great Horned Aves believe magic must evolve through risk and revelation and view the Codex as a breathing spellbook of the world’s hidden syntax.
Guardians: The Inkwings, eccentric scholars who tattoo arcane loops into their feathers and bind themselves to specific schools of magic for life.
Codex Nocturnis
Lineage: Grave AvesLocation: Ravenspur, Talon Heights
Codex Form: Carved basalt tablets, bone-scrolls wrapped in spider silk, and preserved feathers plucked at the moment of death.
Purpose: The Codex Nocturnis exists to record the truths that others fear such as extinction events, divine errors, broken oaths, and prophecies too dangerous to speak aloud. Grave Aves believe unspoken knowledge festers, and so they preserve every failing, tragedy, and corruption with precise neutrality.
Guardians: The Feathers of Dirvahn, masked archivists who do not speak.
Codex Solari
Lineage: Sol AvesLocation: Blazing Dawn Roost, Scabbard Wastes
Codex Form: Prism bound tablets, golden folios, and sun glyphs etched into stained glass. Pages are read only under direct sunlight, revealing encoded meaning through refracted beams.
Purpose: The Codex Solari charts the rise and fall of empires, oaths kept and broken, and moments of divine reckoning. Sol Aves believe that only light reveals the true shape of things, and so they chart history through what was illuminated, never what hid in shadow.
Guardians: The Heliarchs, interpreters and light binding scholars, determine which histories are worthy of preservation and which events are not yet fully seen.
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