Fenhuan

Description and Distribution

The Fenhuan, known to many laypeople as the Phoenix, is a large bird of the Deep South, similar in size to a Peafowl. Its feathers are purple-red in hue, with a brighter red cap and feather crest. From a distance male and female appear similar, but they are noticeably different when their tail feathers are examined: the male has five serrated tail feathers ending with large eyespots, while the female has two long curling tail feathers. The eyespots on the tail of the male, and on the crest feathers of both sexes, offer a slight orange glow, which persists even after the feathers are removed from the bird.

Reproduction

Fenhuan reproduction is a difficult process. While ‘male’ and ‘female’ are assigned to the two variants of bird, this is not strictly true: each type is hermaphroditic, carrying an egg internally as well as being able to fertilize the other variant. Eggs are carried until nearly ready to hatch, but the Fenhuan lack ability to lay the large eggs or birth live young, which are simply too large. Instead, the birds seek out the fires which dot the far reaches of the Deep South when the time for hatching comes, leaping into the flames and allowing their bodies to be consumed. The eggs, shielded by a thick shell, are freed as their bodies are consumed, the fire cracking the egg and allowing the young bird to take to the air and begin its life.

Diet

Fenhuan consume a diet primarily based on cacti, which they dig into with powerful beaks. Some egg-carrying Fenhuan have been seen, when no open fires are to be found, killing Cactus Snakes and using their flesh-disintegrating venom to commit suicide so their egg might be hatched.

Cultural Significance

The Fenhuan is viewed by many cultures as a symbol of loyalty and romantic devotion: dying to reproduce, it must be dedicated to the task, and must choose the best mate as it chooses only once. It is a symbol of royal wives and consorts (those whose power ought derive only from devotion to their spouse), sometimes of true love that is doomed to consume itself, sometimes of the immortality achieved by living through one’s children.

The Fenhuan symbolizes the rank of Imperial Consort in the mandarin square badges of the Thousand Scales .

Godblood and Phoenix

The association of the Fenhuan with the Phoenix is a reason for its significance in mortal cultures. Many simply consider them one and the same, but this is not strictly true. Fenhuan are seen by many fire elementals, including the powerful Garda Birds and ubiquitous Flame Ducks, as beautiful and alluring. When a spirit takes a Fenhuan lover and fertilizes their egg with a godblooded child, the resulting creature has plumage which glows and flickers with fiery essence, and which is able to breed true. Though rare, they exist in small numbers in the Deep South, and in flocks found in the vicinity of Garda-dominated Elemental Courts. Such a godblooded bird is known as a ‘true’ Phoenix.