Wingshrug

The use of the wingshrug began early in the life of the valturo, when they flew in significant numbers, and the need arose to differentiate the valturo by rank or special assignment during flight. Because during flight, the back and side of the valturo are usually the most visible, they needed something that can be seen from these directions and won’t hinder its wearer during flight.

At the beginning, they used animal skins that they tied on the back of the valturo at their neck and waist, and they painted signs on them with different colors. This was quite useful, and the signs began to become increasingly intricate.

The next evolution in this cloth came during the great migration from their ancestral home of Eyrie to their new home, the Cutter. During the migration, they observed other nations wearing clothes made from different materials that were more body-fitting and less rugged than those made from animal skin. One of their first action at the Cutter was to find master weavers on Gibora who could create the wingshrugs from all the soft materials and could teach them how to create them. The functionality remained the same, but with the weaving, they were able to add much more sophisticated information to the wingshrugs. Rank and position remained, but they could add the name of the nest the valturo was from, and as the religion of the Divine Scavenger spread among the valturo, they were able to create special wingshrugs for the feathers of the church. All in all, due to the new techniques and materials, they were able to convey more information in less time, which can be crucial during flight.

It was hard for other nations to get used to the fact that the valturo are wearing their ranks on their backs, not on the front of their clothes, like everybody else. However, after a while, they realized that the wingshrugs contained much more information than the bands and stripes that were commonly used.

The nobles were the first to start wearing the wingshrugs. Primarily because of vanity, because they were able to weave their whole family tree into it. But soon it began to spread rapidly among the officials, because with the wingshrugs they were able to recognize someone from afar or in a crowded hall, even if they hadn’t met the person yet. And with this, the wingshrug returned to its original function, allowing the wearer to be recognized.